Posted: November 11, 2011 | Categories: Sales

A few weeks ago I was talking with a client who was working on his selling skills. He said, “I’m good at selling on the phone, but I have trouble getting appointments”…”One of my teammates is not good at selling on the phone, but is good at getting appointments.” He and his associate decided to put their thoughts together to find a way to create the best of both worlds. Here is what he discovered from their discussion:

When we are phoning for an appointment, what are we selling? The appointment or our product or service? Answer: We are selling the appointment. And since we are selling the appointment, we need to sell the idea that investing some time with us is going to be a good decision. How do we do this? Here are the fundamentals:

• Clearly introduce yourself and your company. Do it with pride and conviction. Just doing this takes away that question, ‘And who may I ask is calling?”
• Respect their time. Ask, “Can you take a moment to talk?” or “Is it convenience for you to talk now?” (They will appreciate you asking)
• Generate interest. Assuming they said “yes”, that means we have a very short window of opportunity to get their engagement. We need to make a statement that hits home, and makes them want to meet with us. For example, if a financial advisor wanted to get an appointment, they might say:“We are finding that there is much financial uncertainty today, and our clients tell us they appreciate how we partner with them to move from uncertain to confidence. My goal in calling you is to look at a time when can get together over a cup of coffee, understand your situation and what you are looking to do, and determine if there is some common ground….How does your schedule look for next week?”

You will note that throughout this track, there was no talk about product or service. The focus is on the prospect, and what we believe is important to them. Remember, the next time you pick up the phone to get an appointment, keep in mind what you are selling…the appointment.

Posted: October 10, 2011 | Categories: Sales

Comedian Rodney Dangerfield immortalized the phrase, “Can’t get no respect”.  One of the most common gripes I hear in the business world today is, “I can’t get an audience!”  Voice mail, automated attendants, and social media have made it more challenging to get those face-to-face meetings we need to have quality sales conversations.  So what can we do to get to our audience?
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Posted: August 3, 2011 | Categories: Networking, Sales

With social media, internet marketing through websites, pay-at-the-pump, ATM machines, and voice mail technology, we can begin to think that the personal touch is not as important as it once was. That thinking can be costly. If we want to increase our client base and profitability, there is not shortcut: We have to deliver our product or service with excellence.
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Posted: July 28, 2011 | Categories: Sales

A frequent comment I hear from my clients this time of year is, “summer is a tough time to sell”.  We could debate that question.  We all know how important attitude is in selling, and if we are willing to write off 25% of the year as a bad time, it might be time for an attitude check.
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Posted: July 20, 2011 | Categories: Sales

Here’s a question…How much time do we have on our average sales call…30 minutes…60 maybe.  And how about our attention span?  Is is getting longer or shorter?  Face to face time is like gold, and just like gold, we need to treat it as a precious metal.  That means doing our due diligence…no excuses.  Because of the Internet, our prospects expect us to research their company well before we meet.  If we haven’t they will notice it, and they probably won’t be impressed.  I’ve found it helps to have a key web page or two printed out and highlighted so that the prospect and I can both refer to it if appropriate.
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