Posts Tagged sales training

There’s only one problem salespeople face when times are good—getting sloppy. It’s easy to be deluded by success into believing success is due to our incredible ability to convince customers to do business with us. Truth be told, we believe customers are flush with cash and just want to place orders.

For the moment––and perhaps longer––customers are cautious, somewhat fearful and far less willing to sign our orders. They are more thoughtful and slower to act. In such circumstances, what are salespeople to do? Simply hope for the best or emphasize lower prices? I offer these 20 tough-times sales tactics:

1. Keep customers and prospects informed, but don’t bombard.
There’s been hardly a day since January that the warehouse retailer, Costco, hasn’t e-mailed to its customers.

2. Don’t blink.
There’s a tendency to want to hunker down and let the storm go by. This is the time to increase your visibility, particularly since the competition will likely become invisible, waiting for the good times to roll.

3. Offer help.
What customers need more than anything else is help with innovative ideas. Be their sounding board. You’re the expert. Help them. If you can’t be of assistance, you don’t get business. Show them you can deliver more than a product or service.

4. Stay away from stupidity.
In tougher times, the scam artists come out of the woodwork to prey on companies and salespeople feeling the impact of a downturn. It’s easy to be drawn to such offers as “100 FREE leads” or “We’ll make you more appointments than you can handle.” Salespeople are believers who fall for a good sales pitch.

5. Hang on to customers.
In the summer of 2007, Sprint Nextel sent letters canning a group of customers who called too much. While getting rid of high-maintenance customers may seem tempting, it can backfire. Wharton professors Jagmohan Raju and Z. John Zhang indicate that dumping low-value customers may actually reduce profits, while efforts to enhance their value can be counterproductive. Instead of firing high-maintenance, low-value customers, a better approach may be to keep them but find more efficient ways to serve them.

6. Get serious about prospecting.
The goal of a prospecting program is long-term growth, not instant sales. Get serious about identifying those who fit the profile of your best customers and start staying in touch with them via opt-in e-mail and direct mail campaigns, for example. Let them get to know you are serious, competent and can help them. It pays off over time.

7. Focus on value.
A clear shift is taking place with buyers. They want to know, “Where’s the value?” If this isn’t made clear, will they go elsewhere?

8. Make every meeting valuable.
Because most meetings waste time, have a clear purpose when you ask for a meeting and make sure the customer agrees it is worthwhile. Stop dropping in on customers.

9. Answer communications.
Prompt, clear and complete telephone and e-mail responses send the message that you’re timely and efficient, qualities that will set you apart from a majority of other salespeople. Use the spell-check, too.

10. Know the economy.
Reading trade publications is essential, but not enough. Know what’s going on in the economy, both short and long term. If you must choose one source, make it USA Today online (www.usatoday.com) with its concise, helpful and accurate information.

11. Keep your antennae up.
It’s easy to get blindsided in tougher times. Listen to customers. Don’t ignore their concerns and fears. Make sure your sales pitches and presentations speak to these issues and send the message that you are in sync with their concerns.

12. Show customers ways to reduce costs.
Don’t assume your customers believe you are looking for ways to save them money. In fact, they may actually feel you want to do just the opposite. Always be alert for cost-cutting solutions and be sure to let them know this is how you’re working for them.

13. Tighten your schedule.
We all fall into regular routines and would go nuts if we didn’t. Yet, this can work against us. Giving customers proper attention takes time, including making sure we stay in contact with them.

14. Introduce proprietary products.
There is nothing more useful and beneficial than proprietary products and services. Look at your supermarket’s shelves. Name brands are disappearing and lower-cost store brands are taking up more space.

15. Always tell the truth.
While being truthful is always essential, it’s even more important in difficult times when customers need candid, thoughtful advisors more than ever. In such times, you can demonstrate to customers your true value.

16. Make every minute count.
Never call a meeting without having an agenda. Also set time limits for meetings. If you’re making sales calls, do everything you can to group them as close together as possible. If you’re traveling to a specific area, arrange other appointments; don’t plan to drop in and hope someone will see you.

17. Stop the jargon and BS.
Some customers will tolerate it in good times but not when they are stressed and under pressure. Tougher times require plain, clear and direct talk. If you don’t stop acting as if everything is coming up roses, you’ll come across as disingenuous or a fake.

18. Be patient.
Acting rushed sends customers the message that you’re panicked. We don’t see it as much in ourselves as we do in others––and we don’t want to be around them. It’s time to nurture customers, not bombard them.

19. Don’t over promise.
This is a tough one. When there are fewer or smaller orders, salespeople often have trouble resisting the temptation to over promise just to get an order. Then, when you can’t deliver on the promise, the empty excuses only serve to undermine your credibility, and the next order goes to a competitor.

20. Don’t rely on the past.
While Shakespeare said, “The past is prologue,” it may not be today. It’s always more comfortable to look backward than forward and talk about what may lie ahead. Where we have been is more comfortable than an unknown future. How many salespeople say, for example, “I know what my customers want,” while totally oblivious to the changing behavior, needs and wants. They are blinded by a past that may lead them down the wrong path.

In tougher times, selling is more challenging than ever. To be successful and buck the trends, we must make use of every resource we can. These 20 tactics can be helpful in making the most of a difficult economic environment.