It seems that one of the most difficult things for most salespeople to do is ask for the sale.  We are so often afraid that the answer will be no that we hesitate to ask. The Good Book says, “Ask and ye shall receive.”  That is most certainly true.  The opposite is just as true; if we don’t ask, we will not receive.

Asking confidently for the sale is really just a matter of crafting an effective question and rehearsing it until it is completely comfortable and rolls off the tongue.

Here is a quick sales tip for you:

If you have a product or service that can be divided into packages, you can ask a question that gives your prospect a choice. For example, a client of mine helps people maximize their presence on the internet. We developed a package that simply offers a review to determine how visible the client is on the net.  A second package for a substantial monthly fee provides coaching for improving visibility, but the client must do most of the actual work.  In a third higher priced package, the coach actually does most of the work to make the client more visible.  With a little coaching, almost all salespeople have the ability to package their products and services.

After explaining each package and the pricing, the salesperson should recommend one of the packages, giving good reasons, based on his or her understanding of the prospect’s needs.

Then the salesperson can ask for the sale by saying, “That is my recommendation, but it is your money and your decision…so let me ask you this:  Which package do YOU think is the best fit for you?”

This is a great question because it does not require a yes or no answer.  When the prospect chooses a package, the sale is complete.  By the way, most prospects will choose the middle option, so price the middle option at a level that creates acceptable profit for you!  The prospect may still raise an objection, but this question will minimize the likelihood.

So if you want to become more successful in converting prospects to clients, try packaging your product or service and asking the prospect to choose one.  It will take a lot of the stress out of your sales process.

Good Selling!

Hugh

If you would like to find out where you are strong in your sales process and where you may want to make some changes, take my free, fun sales quiz. CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE QUIZ It includes a complementary 45-minute phone consultation to review your results.

 

Fear of asking for the sale is common to most salespeople. Often a fine sales presentation is followed by a pause, while the salesperson waits for the prospect to say, “That sounds great! I want to do it.” That does happen occasionally, but not often. The salesperson must be the leader and direct the sales process. And that means actually asking the prospect to do business.

I was on the phone a couple of years ago with a sales rep from a credit card processing company. I was definitely in the market for the service, had researched a number of companies, and was already 99% sure I wanted to do business with the company I had called. I just needed to check the pricing and ask questions on a couple of other issues.

The sales rep asked me what type of business I had, and when I told him I was a sales coach, he said, “Great! Can you tell me how to sell you today?” We both laughed. He did a great job of explaining the product, how safe it was, how convenient it would be for my clients and how inexpensive it was. I was ready to buy…and instead of asking me, he paused…and waited.

After a brief moment, he thought of another benefit of his product and explained that to me. Even better, I thought, I definitely want to do this. And the sales rep paused again…and waited.

Then he offered the coup de grace. “We have a special promotion going. If you sign up today, we’ll send you a $50 American Express gift card! I thought, Hooray! A product I need that fits my needs, is the right price and they’re going to send me $50 too!! And the sales rep paused and waited.

Well the conclusion to this story is that I did purchase the service, and I did get the $50 gift card and everybody was happy.

You see, I had decided to provide the sales rep with a learning opportunity. I said, “At the beginning of the call, you asked me if I would tell you how to sell me. Would you really like for me to do that?

“Absolutely,” he responded.

“Ask me if I think this would be a valuable service to me.”

“Do you think our service would be valuable to you?” he asked.

“Yes it would,” I replied.

“Just ask me if I want to get started,” I told him.

“Do you want to get started?” he asked.

“Yes I would.  Sign me up!”

Two simple questions.  Yes, that really is all it takes to ask a prospect to buy. I hope the young merchant services sales rep is still asking his prospects to buy. I hope you are asking yours to buy as well. If you need to script to effectively ask for the sale for YOUR product or service, let me know! I can help!

Good Selling,

Hugh

If you would like to find out where you are strong in your sales process and where you may want to make some changes, take my free, fun sales quiz. CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE QUIZ It includes a complementary 45-minute phone consultation to review your results.

 

As I watch what is currently transpiring with our government, the economy, debt, spending, the new health care legislation and taxes, I am increasingly convinced that our nation, and especially we small business owners, are facing a time of imminent crisis.  It is small business that will take the brunt of the tax burden and the economic fallout caused by bad decisions, bad laws and bad economic policies being made by the politicians in Washington D.C.  I also believe that it is not what happens or what “they” do that is important, but how we react to what happens and what “they” do that will make all the difference.

One of my favorite cable news shows has been making reference to a fascinating study, conducted post-911, to determine how people react in time of crisis.  The result of the study described what I will refer to as the 10-80-10 rule.  The study showed that 10% of people facing crisis will panic and immediately react in the WRONG way.  Some in the twin towers on 911 decided to go upstairs to get away from the fire or to jump out the windows.  80% of people facing a crisis will simply sit and do nothing.  They will wait for some authority figure to give them some direction before acting.  Many in the World Trade Center just sat and did nothing, waiting for the fire department, the police department, FEMA, the City of New York, the mayor, the president, the National Guard, the federal government or SOMEONE to come and save them.  Unfortunately, this group also oftentimes influences others to just sit tight and wait rather than taking swift and decisive action.  “Just stay right where you are!  Don’t move!!  Someone will be along to help us any minute now.”  Only 10% of people facing a crisis will make the right decision, look for opportunities and move themselves to a better place, often leading others to safety as well.  “Come on!  We need to get downstairs.  We’ll be safer there.  The fire department may be on the way up, but we need to go meet them.”

Now, take the 10-80-10 rule and apply it to business.  If small business in the United States is, as I believe, on the brink of a financial and economic time of crisis, 10% of businesses will make truly ill-advised decisions and quickly disappear.  80% of businesses will just hunker down, sit and wait and attempt to ride out the storm.  “Well, it can’t stay this way forever…we’ll just lay people off, cut expenses (especially training and marketing) and wait for things to get better.”  Most of those businesses will soon disappear.  Only 10% of small businesses will identify the opportunities that always exist in tough times and act decisively to take advantage of them.  It is no wonder that the majority of small businesses fail in the first year and 95% fail in the first five years!

Small businesses have a decided advantage over big businesses in tough times.  Big businesses have boards of directors, shareholders, a hierarchy of executives and many committees. They are like an ocean liner that needs about a mile and a half to get ready to make a turn.

Small business owners are not encumbered by any of those.  We can get up in the morning, make a decision and IMMEDIATELY our businesses can be totally different. So what do we need to do as small business owners to take advantage of the crisis currently on the horizon?

1)      Figure out how our clients, customers and prospects will be impacted by the challenges in our economy and create solutions to help them survive and thrive.

2)      Stay in touch and communicate with our clients.  Too many salespeople (especially financial advisers) go into hiding, just when their clients need them the most.  Let’s be the salespeople or business owners that reach out to our clients and help them find their way through the smoke and chaos.

3)      Develop new ideas, new products, new strategies and new ways of providing customer service that will benefit our customers and help them profit.

4)      Continue to study, read, listen to and watch uplifting and informative CDs and DVDs.  The more we learn and the better we get at what we do, the more we will have to offer our clients.

5)      Stay positive.  Look for the opportunity in the crisis.  Our bright, optimistic attitudes will be one of the greatest gifts we can give our customers.

6)      Get involved politically.  Vote in November.  Support candidates for public office (especially governor, senator and congressperson) who share our values, support what we believe is best for our families, our communities and our businesses.

Crisis time is a scary time, but it is also a time ripe with opportunity and promise.  Remember that there were more millionaires made in the 10 years between 1929 and 1939 than at any other time in the history of the United States.  The remainder of the decade can be OUR time, if we commit to being part of the 10% who rise to lead in time of crisis.

Good selling,

Hugh

If you would like to find out where you are strong in your sales process and where you may want to make some changes, take my free, fun sales quiz. CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE QUIZ It includes a complementary 45-minute phone consultation to review your results.

 

It seems that one of the most difficult tasks for all of us is maintaining a proper balance within all the areas of our lives.  The late, great speaker and motivator, Jim Rohn said,

“Life without balance can cost you your relationships. Life without balance can cost you your health. Life without balance can cost you your spirituality. Life without balance can cost you your wealth and your happiness. So find things to motivate you from all areas of life. Your success depends on it.”

Keeping balance in our lives is not simply a matter of setting great goals at the beginning of the year, although that is vital.  Action is needed to bring our goals to reality!  How can we do that? It is a matter of DAILY planning.  Commit to yourself that you will sit down at the end of each day (or first thing each morning) in a quiet place and spend 20 minutes planning out the events of your day in great detail.

First, write your goals out on paper EVERY DAY.  This will provide clarity and feed your subconscious the information it needs to assist you in keeping your goals uppermost in your mind.  Your goals then become the basis for planning your daily events.

Pay attention to each area of your life (Spiritual, Family, Physical, Career, Financial, Social, Mental, etc.).   Write down everything you want to accomplish today in evey area of your life.  How much time do you want and need to devote to each area TODAY?

Prioritize carefully, using the ABC, 123 method to make sure you are covering all the bases.  Then schedule specific times to accomplish each task.  For example, if you need to make 10 phone calls today to new prospects, schedule in the hour or two that you have estimated it will take to make the calls.  Then keep that appointment.

It is important to remember that the appointments we make with ourselves and with our families are as important, vital and even sacred as the appointments we make in our businesses with prospects and clients.  If we set an appointment with an important client and someone calls and asks us to do something else in that appointment time, our response is, “No, I have something already scheduled at that time…can we do it at (whatever date and time is available)?”  Guess what!  It is OK to say the same thing if we have scheduled time to go to the gym, play with our kids, spend time reading studying or meditating or anything we have determined it was vital to schedule for ourselves.  We will not lose the client’s respect or good will if we keep our appointments with ourselves.

Daily planning is a dynamic and powerful tool in establishing and maintaining  life balance.  You will find that planning daily will quickly become a habit and a blessing!

Good Selling,

Hugh

If you would like to find out where you are strong in your sales process and where you may want to make some changes, take my free, fun sales quiz. CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE QUIZ It includes a complementary 45-minute phone consultation to review your results.
 

I often hear people insist that they are not salespeople, as if it was something to be ashamed of. In all likelihood, this is because they have encountered a salesperson who has not evolved into the new model of sales. The day of the hard sell, arm twisting, arguing and hit and run selling is long gone, and yet some salespeople and sales trainers still hold on to the old way of selling.

The new model is all about building long-term relationships with clients and prospects rather than making a sale and disappearing. It is about finding out what the prospect needs and wants and supplying it rather than trying to sell a product or service that is not a fit. It is about becoming a partner with the prospect in finding solutions to a problem or narrowing the gap between where the prospect is and where he or she would like to be rather than trying to find a way to separate the prospect from his or her money.

Think about a time when you were “hard-sold”. How did it FEEL? One of my students described those feelings as “icky”. That’s why many people don’t want anyone to think they are salespeople. It is also why many salespeople are not assertive and confident when they make a call or when it’s time to ask for a sale or to answer an objection and help the prospect buy. They don’t want their prospects to experience that “icky” feeling. The result is often that the sales process does not come to a successful conclusion. That is a disservice to the salesperson, to the company being represented and most of all to the prospect, who may want, and more importantly, truly need the salesperson’s product or service.

The solution to this challenge begins with attitude. When we go out to sell, our focus MUST be outward directed — toward the prospect’s needs and welfare, not toward our own needs and desire for commission.

I welcome your comments, questions and stories about old style versus new style sales and your feelings about encounters of both kinds.

Good Selling,

Hugh

If you would like to find out where you are strong in your sales process and where you may want to make some changes, take my free, fun sales quiz. CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE QUIZ It includes a complementary 45-minute phone consultation to review your results.