Selling

In Fundraising First, Get The Meeting

In this series of blogs I’m looking at the similarities between professional selling and volunteer fundraising. Great salespeople know the first step is to convince the prospect to meet with you. Likewise in fundraising, getting a visit with the donor is the first step. I’m reading the book “Asking” by Jerold Panas. In chapters Seven, Eight and Nine, he outlines his process of getting a meeting. Writing to set up a phone call to set the time then calling to convince the donor to meet is the same process great salespeople use to arrange meetings with prospects.

Both Selling And Fundraising Are About Getting People To Part With Their Money

Salespeople and Fundraisers Are Skilled At Asking People For Money

Why Send A Letter?

Panas recommends sending a letter to set the stage for a phone call to arrange a time to meet. The purpose of the letter is to prepare the donor for the phone call. Like in professional selling, the fundraiser needs to present an overwhelmingly compelling reason to meet. The letter should be personal. Take a paragraph to promote the organization in need of the donor’s money. Briefly describe why the campaign is important. And here are the most important sentences: “I promise not to ask for money during this visit. All we will discuss is the program and your good counsel and advice on what we should do next. What comes next is up to you.”…

Secrets of the Softer Side of Fundraising

By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

After retiring from 45 years as a successful professional salesperson, I thought I could contribute to my community by helping organizations with their fundraising. Not having much experience in fundraising I wondered how different asking people to support a valuable community organization was than asking someone to make a purchase. I was surprised to find out there is very little difference between the process of closing a sale and getting a donation.

Salespeople and Fundraisers Are Skilled At Asking People For Money

Secrets Of A Successful Fundraiser

While cleaning out our bookshelves, my wife came across the book “Asking” by Jerold Panas. Mr. Panas in a few short pages (there are only 108 including the appendices) outlines the process a successful fundraiser uses:…

Time For A “Toolbox” Check Up

By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

Did you ever take a look in the maintenance bay of an auto repair shop? See all those large toolboxes? One at every workstation. They contain the tools a mechanic needs to do his job. Like the mechanic, great salespeople have a “toolbox”. It’s a collection of the attitudes, behaviors and knowledge a salesperson needs to find, win and keep good customers.

Red tool box illustrating salespeople need to keep their sales tools organized

Are Your Selling Tools Ready To Go?
Photo Courtesy of Snap-On Tools

What’s In Your Tool Box?

Those big red toolboxes a mechanic has have lots of drawers and those drawers are filled with specialized tools to do a particular task. Great salespeople, too, have lots of tools. We have techniques to keep ourselves motivated and optimistic. Each day we go out and do the things needed to find, win and keep good customers. Great salespeople know their products and how those benefit their customers….

Great Salespeople Are Thankful

By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

This blog was first posted at Thanksgiving 2019. Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. Thanksgiving is also celebrated at different times in many other countries. The early Thanksgiving celebrations were to pause and show gratitude for the harvest of the previous year and the sacrifices making it possible. In our family we gather with friends and relatives to mark the day with pleasant conversation, sumptuous food and of course a glass (or two) of wine. As we enjoy the meal together we take turns saying what we are particularly grateful for.

Great Salespeople Celebrate Their Success

Great Salespeople Are Thankful
Image by GraphicMama-team from Pixabay

A Grateful Attitude

Great salespeople approach their work and their life with a grateful attitude. They don’t presume success as they begin each sales pursuit. But at each step along the path to winning the deal they are thankful. Even when success seems remote, great salespeople celebrate the lessons learned from the failure. Like those early Thanksgiving celebrations for a bountiful harvest, great salespeople appreciate the journey to sales victory. Although we celebrate each accomplishment along the way, great salespeople defer gratification until the deal is done….

When The Buyer Is A I Want To Think It Over Type

By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

There I was in the final minutes of the presentation. Heads were nodding “yes”. The body language was positive. So I asked for the order and got: “That was a great presentation. You answered all our questions. Looks like it will solve our problem. Let us think it over and we will give you a call.” I was young and naïve. I waited for the call that never came. Over time I learned never to accept “I want to think it over.”

Great Salespeople Work Hard To Prevent A Buyer Being A "I Want To Think It Over" Type

Great Salespeople Work Hard To Prevent IWTTIO
Image from Pixabay

The Close Begins At The Beginning

Great salespeople know that the opening sales conversation begins the close. And when the sales process is followed the close naturally follows. So if we have identified a problem we can solve, understand what the problem is costing the prospect, proven competence in solving this type of problem and proposed a solution within budget when we ask the decision maker for the order they just say “yes”. Yep, that’s true most of the time. But when we miss a step or something changes during the sales cycle, that’s when we get stuck in limbo with “I want to think it over.”…

Selling Against The Status Quo

By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

I was reading chapter Six in The Seller’s Challenge by Thomas Williams & Thomas Saine (Tom&Tom). This informative chapter about selling against the status quo reminded me that unless there is a compelling reason to change a prospect won’t. Great salespeople not only need to find or create pain in a prospect but be able to convince them to use your solution.

Selling Against The Status Quo Means Helping The Prospect Make The Leap From Competition To You

Selling Against The Status Quo Means Making The Leap To You
Image by Igor Link from Pixabay

Finding The Pain

Create enough pain and the prospect will likely change. Or the prospect may already be in pain and recognizes the need to make a change. While pain is experienced emotionally as frustration, fear of failure or job insecurity, the source of pain is rational. Buyers are looking to solve problems of existing bad service, poorly functioning business processes, market changes, etc. Great salespeople ask good questions to find the source and severity of the pain….

Understand The Competition

By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

Great salespeople take the time to understand the competition. Like winning sports teams look at films and data on their competition, you need to know all you can about the competition. By cataloging the strengths and weaknesses of the competition great salespeople know how to position themselves to win the deal.

Great salespeople understand the competition to position themselves to win the work

Great Salespeople Study The Competition ‘s Strengths And Weaknesses
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

Who Is A Competitor?

The simple answer is any other company who wants the same business with a customer as you do. They either are the incumbent supplier to a company you want to gain business with or a company looking to take business away from you. Sometimes the customer can be seen as type of competitor when they are reluctant to change from the status quo regardless of the current problems….

Qualify Hard – Close Easy

By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

Most sales are made way before the great salesperson asks for the order. That’s what I mean by qualify hard – close easy. Think back over your most successful sales. When did you know the prospect was going to buy from you? What conversations did you have before you felt the commitment? Did you really have to ask for the order?

Great Salespeople Win When They Qualify Hard – Close Easy
Image from Pixabay

The Journey To Close

My sales experience has been with products having long sales cycles. So I had to “qualify hard” over many sales meetings. When I asked good questions and listened well, I found the prospect usually convinced themselves my solution was a good deal. I understood their decision making process. I had a good relationship with the decision maker and his team. We had a common understanding of the problem they wanted to solve and the amount the prospect felt was a reasonable to invest. Great salespeople have a process to qualify hard – close easy….

The Art Of Business-To-Business Networking

By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

Business-to-business networking is more than schmoozing. Ever been to one of those business gatherings and found cliques of people chatting among themselves? Did you ever wander into a room full of business people only to be overwhelmed by the large crowd? Or as a great salesperson have you mastered the art of business-to-business networking?

What Is Business-To-Business Networking?

Great salespeople look for the opportunity to meet new prospects in a variety of places. They enjoy introducing themselves to potential customers. Sometimes they exchange ideas and take away new knowledge to make them better salespeople. Business-to-business networking is simply meeting with other like-minded people in a formal or casual setting for the purpose of finding new prospects or ideas. Some networking events are small and informal organized by an interested salesperson. Others are formal and require a group membership or registration fee. Trade groups have market focused networking events. Chambers of commerce networking events are more broadly attended….

Do You Sell A Commodity Product?

By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

Buyers consider a product as a commodity when there is no differentiation between brands or sellers. So what do they base their buying decision on? Price! Buyers pit sellers against each other to get the lowest price on a commodity product. But there are great salespeople who are very successful selling commodity products.

Three components of each purchase are quality, service and price

Develop Your USP For Commodity Products On One Component Of The Buying Experience
Image from Pixabay

Break The Commodity Product Mentality

We say there are three components to each purchase: quality, service and price. Buyers can’t get all three but they can choose which two are most important. Commodity products vary by quality. Copy paper made from recycled material is different than that made from new pulp, for example. But the same branded item purchased from multiple distributors has the same quality. So to break the commodity mentality about a product great salespeople focus on service and price….

Selling

Why Send A Letter?

Secrets Of A Successful Fundraiser

What’s In Your Tool Box?

A Grateful Attitude

The Close Begins At The Beginning

Finding The Pain

Who Is A Competitor?

The Journey To Close

What Is Business-To-Business Networking?

Break The Commodity Product Mentality

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