soft skills

Sales Skill: Dream Big Then Plan To Be Successful

10/15/2020 By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

Great salespeople have a vision of their future. Call it a dream if you want. And they know how to make dreams come true. It’s not enough to dream. You must plan to realize your dreams. Muhammad Ali one of the greatest boxers of all time and a pretty good philosopher too put it this way: “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”

Great salespeople not only dream big but they diligently plan to achieve those dreams.

Dream Big – Plan To Succeed
Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

The Best Salespeople Plan

What Muhammad Ali meant is you must plan and do all the preparatory work before the first contact with a prospect to be successful. Preparing is the key to winning. Great salespeople plan the month, the week, the day and each sales call. In each salesperson’s sales funnel there are prospects at various stages of the buying process. Near the top are those who have just begun thinking about a purchase and at the bottom are the few who are now ready to buy. Great salespeople plan to be successful all along the sales funnel….

Selling Skills: Your Personal Brand

10/01/2020 By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

Great salespeople know they have a personal brand separate from the products and services they sell. They understand their brand is the basis for developing and growing relationships with their clients. Whether or not you intentionally create your brand you are one in the eyes of your customers. So as long as you will be branded, create one yourself.

Great Salespeople Have A Recognized Personal Brand
Image by John Hain from Pixabay

What Is A Personal Brand?

When you see a red soda can with white lettering most likely you will identify it as a product of a particular company. And you will assign certain attributes to the product. Seeing a three-point star in a circle on the front of an automobile you form an opinion about the vehicle and maybe the driver. Similarly others you meet see certain characteristics in you. Physical appearance, cadence and resonance of your voice, attitude, emotional strength, knowledge and other recognizable traits taken together create your personal brand….

Sales Skills: Keep Customer Relationships Fresh

09/25/2020 By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

Great salespeople know that “out of sight is out of mind.” They keep customer relationships fresh by regularly meeting with their best customers. One way to keep in touch now that COVID 19 has limited face-to-face meetings is to simply make a phone call. But don’t call to make a sale. Call just to learn how your customer is doing and how COVID pandemic has changed their business.

Handshake showing affirmative customer relationship

Great Salespeople Keep Customer Relationships Fresh
Image from Pixabay

Ask For Feedback

Keeping your customers happy requires good communication and feedback. Don’t be afraid to ask your customers how you are doing. You may find out some very valuable information—like why they keep using your services or products, or that they are unhappy with something that you need to fix ASAP. By speaking with your customers you can find out a lot about customer relationships. How do you think you are doing? Do your customers like you? Why do they keep using your service or business? Or why do they leave? Are you afraid to ask? Do you think that if you ask, you’ll get an ear-full?

What Should You Ask?

Are you wondering how to start the conversation? Here are a few questions to ask your good customers:

How did your company originally select us as a supplier? (This reinforces their decision.)
What do you like best about dealing with us? (Points to remember when prospecting.)
If you could change anything to improve our relationship, what would it be? (Fix the problems immediately!)
How can our company increase market share? (Good customers are eager to help and like to be asked for advice.)
How does our company stack up against the competition? (You need to know this.)
If you were the CEO of our company, how would you go about holding on to good customers like yourself? (They’ll tell you.)

Keep ’em Talking

Did you notice? These are all open-ended questions designed to get and keep the customer talking. Remember, your role as a salesperson is to ask good questions and listen to the answers. Make sure the customer is talking more than you are. When you allow your customer to speak they feel cared about. That’s the feeling you want engender to keep customer relationships fresh.

What Can You Do Right Now To Keep Customer Relationships Fresh?

Make a plan to regularly call your best customers
Call to thank them for their business
Ask questions which lead you to understand how to keep the customer relationship fresh

To learn more, see Chapter 22, Customer Management, in Secrets of the Softer Side of Selling. For even more sales help, join our FREE Sales Club! “See” you next week.

Good selling!
Don Crawford

Focus On The Buyer’s Problem Or Need

08/20/2020 By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

So there you are great salesperson. You have a collection of products and services to sell. All presented in living color on a well-designed website and in a beautiful printed catalog. Off you go to meet with the buyer proud of what you have to offer. But more importantly armed with the tools to understand the buyer’s problem or need.

When seller's ask about buyer's needs or problems and listen well, they are prepared to win the order

Great Salespeople Focus On The Buyer’s Problem Or Need
Image from Pixabay

Buyers Don’t Care What You Are Selling

Don’t believe this statement? Think about your own experience. Here’s one from my past. I needed a new lawn mower. I went to the local dealer and was met with the most enthusiastic salesperson. He wanted me to try the new 48” mower with power drive. I had a small yard I could cut in 20 minutes with a small electric mower. So since the salesperson didn’t take the time to understand my problem or need, I moved on to the next dealer….

Sales Skills: Dealing with “NO”

08/06/2020 By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

Great salespeople are expert and dealing with “no”. It’s part of the sales process. Not every prospect is going to want or need your product or service. Sometimes salespeople are dealing with “no” for reasons outside of the control of either the buyer or the seller. Think about a company supplying food to restaurants when they were shut down during the pandemic. Recently the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project was shut down. Something the contractors never wanted to happen but didn’t control. Airplane manufacturers are dealing with “no” aircraft deliveries since airline traffic is drastically reduced. So what do great salespeople know about dealing with “no”.

All great salespeople see NO on the way to YES

Great Salespeople Are Expert Dealing With “NO”
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

Get To “NO” Quickly

Prospecting is the art of finding good potential customers. Great salespeople know how to determine the quality of a prospect quickly. They are skilled at asking questions and actively listening to prospects answers. As soon as they find the prospect doesn’t have a need or want the product or service, doesn’t have the budget or the decision maker is apathetic about the project the salesperson has two choices. Either drop this sales pursuit and move on or determine how to overcome the barriers to this sale. Great salespeople are expert at evaluating a prospect….

Sales Skills: Selling Virtually

07/02/2020 By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

Every sales blog I read is tackling Selling Virtually; so I’m going to add my opinion to the discussion. Great salespeople know there is a fundamental selling process to winning and keeping good customers. That process doesn’t change just because we can’t meet in person. The challenge for salespeople during this pandemic is to practice the fundamentals while selling virtually.

Two characters popping out of laptop screens and shaking hands showing success in virtual selling

Virtual Selling Wins Business
Image from Pixabay

What’s Different Now?

Depending on how you sold the answer ranges from “not much” to “everything.” If you were already mostly selling virtually then the difference is minimal. But for the road warrior sales team now required to work from home it’s a major change. Even as the economy opens up companies are limiting face-to-face contact. Selling virtually, that is using video conferencing and the telephone to find, win and keep customers has become the new normal for old road warriors.

But we can learn from the Millennials who grew up in the digital age. Communicating online is their normal. As they move into decision making roles with their digital comfort we old road warriors need to change. The pandemic has just accelerated the change….

Sales Skills: Talking About Money

06/11/2020 By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

Great salespeople know that talking about money is an important skill. When the salesperson can align the price of the need or want with the budget or perceived value, closing the sale is easy. The best salespeople are comfortable talking about money. They have a positive attitude when asking questions to understand the cost of the problem and the depth of commitment to change.

Sales People Are Comfortable Talking About Money

Great Salespeople Get The Prospect Talking About Money
Image from Pixabay

First Discover The Problem

It doesn’t make any difference in what you are selling, unless there is a compelling reason to buy there won’t be a sale. So great salespeople ask questions to get the prospect talking about a problem the salesperson can solve. Since the prospect has committed to having a conversation with you they probably have a problem (or want or need or pain) they think you can solve. Your goal as a salesperson is to get the prospect to define the problem. (For more how to discover a problem click here.)…

Sales Skills: All Buying Decisions Are Emotional

05/28/2020 By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

“Yeah, right!” You’re thinking this is a bunch of hooey: “all buying decisions are emotional.” “My customers give a lot of thought about what they buy from me.” Or “It’s how I present the opportunity to prospects that convinces them to buy.” Or “When the price and benefits align, that’s when the customer buys.” These are all true statements. But think back to the beginning of a successful sales event. Didn’t you first have to earn the respect of the prospect. Wasn’t your first encounter all about building rapport; getting them to like you enough to be comfortable answering your tough questions? Great salespeople know prospects don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

*A NOTE ABOUT SELLING DURING A PANDEMIC

Even Remotely Great Salespeople Connect Emotionally
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

All Buying Decisions Are Emotional

Yes, that’s true. It took a while for my “engineering mind” to understand it. But think about it. For consumer products marketing works hard to make an emotional attachment to a brand. I like Coca Cola. The real one made with sugar and sold in glass bottles. Now my ability to taste is not particularly well developed so I couldn’t discriminate between Coke or Pepsi in a blind taste test. In fact all colas taste pretty much the same to me. But I only buy Coca Cola made with sugar in glass bottles. This is emotional attachment to the brand is it not? Ever bought a home or a car? Didn’t how you felt about the vehicle or house tip the decision? True after you made the selection, then the rational mind cataloged all the reasons it was a good decision. Still wondering whether all buying decisions are emotional?…

Sales Skills: Make A Great First Impression

05/21/2020 By Don Crawford Leave a Comment

For the next several months my blog will focus on the attitudes, behaviors and knowledge that makes a great salesperson. Great salespeople know selling is a process. It begins with the first impression you make on a prospect and results in a mutually beneficial long-term relationship. You only get one chance to make the first impression. Whether by phone, video conference, written correspondence or a networking meeting, be prepared to make a great first impression.

Great salespeople make a great first impression

First Impressions Are Very Important
Image From Pixabay

*A Note About Selling During A Pandemic

The Importance Of Rapport

Prospects don’t care how much you know about a problem until they know how much you care about them. This first step in the selling process is called “rapport”. Great salespeople know the importance of the first impression. They are diligent in the preparation for the first meeting. Even before making the phone call to schedule a meeting, salespeople have done research on the company and the prospect. They seek to know whether there is potential opportunity here and the role the prospect has in the buying process. Armed with this information great salespeople are equipped to begin a dialog. Done well the rapport step builds respect for the salesperson and confidence they have the best interest of the buyer at heart….

Sales Skills: Customer Management

05/14/2020 By Don Crawford 2 Comments

Great salespeople know about customer management. They have the skill to deal with customers upset with service, quality or price. An email from the Smithsonian Curiosity Council, presented the graphic associated with this blog post. It illustrates results from a survey of members when asked what they would most likely do once the stay-at-home order is lifted. The larger and bolder words indicate the most responses.

A list of words in different font sizes and colors reflecting patrons desire to do after stay-at-home is lifted

What Is The First Thing You Will Do When This Is All Over?
Source:Smithsonian Curiosity Council May 2020

While this blog usually focusses on face-to-face professional sales, I realized that helping customers regain their business is important. So we need to use our sales skills to help our customers reopen. The quicker our customers open for business, the sooner they resume purchasing.

In a recent discussion with the staff of our local Small Business Development Center the question came up of how to treat customers who object to the rules allowing businesses to open. So let’s think about the sales skill of customer management which great salespeople do well. Since this is a skill widely needed by all who interact with shoppers and diners we can help our customers with their customer management….