Posts tagged ‘Sales Tip’

It continues to confound me that sales people do not totally understand what flexing their style will do for their sales results. It is a basic communication technique used to gain rapport with others. It is the key to effective communication.

Yet, every week I see sales people mismatching their styles with customers and then complain about the customer not acting upon their offer.

One sales person last week was a perfect example. An aggressive, direct and fast paced individual who usually takes no prisoners in their selling style is selling to a passive, yet friendly and slow paced customer. The sales person was talking business for the start, using logic to gain acceptance to ideas and statements. The sales person asked direct (and uncomfortable) questions to the customer and expected direct and compelling answers.

The customer was friendly and smiled some, yet, became visually uncomfortable with the barrage of direct questions. This person needed time to review the process and find out the answers to the questions. The customer listened to the logic driven explanations and was polite, but was not buying in to the pressure packed offers. Finally, the old “I’m not ready to buy anything today, let me think about and I’ll get back to you!” statement came from the customer.

The reality of the situation was the customer would use passive aggressive techniques to get rid of the sales person. Appearing to accept the logic and the pressure, while knowing that there will be not buying happening soon with this sales person.

Why does this happen? The sales person is selling the way the sales person would buy, rather than observing the style of the customer and selling to the customer the way the customer wants to be sold. This is not some type of rocket science – it is style in action – preferences of each person overriding the need for rapport and trust.

The sales person was not paying attention to the fact that this customer preferred indirect questions which in the customer’s mind are “safe” questions. And, surprisingly an indirect question will be answered with a direct and real answer. This customer needed to know that the offer was safe, “quiet” and smooth in implementation, would cause no issues for the customer in the future and that others would approve of the decision.

These are simple techniques to use, however, a sales person must take the time to learn about the styles and how to flex to the different styles effectively. This requires some training and development time, that will convert into major gains in sales results, rapport with customers and higher levels of trust.

Contact us about learning how to flex your style. Check out our Flexible Selling website and gain some insight into why it is important to understand your own style, how to recognize others’ styles and then use the most effective techniques for rapport and trust building. Call us at 901-757-4434.

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Posted by Voss Graham on June 8, 2009 at 5:24 am under Sales.
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Yes, selling is all about effective communication. Just ask any sales person who has failed to say the right things or said the wrong things to a customer or prospect. Delivering the right message that the customer can understand is the goal of effective communication.

Sell to people the way they want to buy.

People want to buy solutions to their issues or problems, yet, few sales people take the time to learn how to recognize this key. They go into presentation style – using their style only – and then are amazed that the customer or prospect is not signing up. The reason again, people want to buy they do not want to be sold.

What does this mean to the effective sales person? Continue reading ‘Selling is All about Effective Communication’ »

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Posted by Voss Graham on June 1, 2009 at 5:26 am under Effective Communication, Sales.
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Today’s tip is for sales people and leaders. It’s a simple concept that works its magic with no pain or ill feelings. It’s all about focusing on the other person. Here how it works.

Ask a question of a customer or employee, listen to the response and then ask another question for clarity on the topic answer. You use a simple phrase:

“Help me understand…(fill in the blank based upon the previous answer).”

This three little words will open up the flood gates of information flow. Your responsibility is to continue to listen to the flow of information and possibly new ideas. There are three things you need to do:

  1. Listen with an open mind. This is not the time to argue a point or detail. It’s time to listen and acknowledge the other person.
  2. Continue to ask questions when you are uncertain of the direction or flow of information – especially to gain clarity regarding a point. A major opportunity for sales people is to learn more about the impact of problems, especially the problems that you or your company can fix.
  3. Assuming you understand the definition of general or specific words or terms can be a fatal mistake. Here’s a new flash – your definition of a word or term could be materially different from the customer or employee! The only way to know for sure what they mean is to ask a question looking for meaning. A simple yet mostly overlooked method for gaining understanding about your customer or employee.

Asking questions and listening to the complete answers, then asking follow-up questions without bias or assumptions facilitates real understanding. And, a greater benefit of these methods is the customer or employee becomes committed to helping you – because they feel respected.

To learn more tips for sales or leadership, contact us at InnerActive Consulting Group – 901-757-4434. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Posted by Voss Graham on May 7, 2009 at 5:30 am under Leadership, Sales.
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This is a common statement and question for sales people and comes up in sales training sessions on a common basis. However, in practice, do sales people really understand the true meaning of this question? Do they understand the ramification of a lack of understanding of this key success question?

I’m sure that you know the Golden Rule and probably the “Platinum Rule of Selling” if you have been in sales for any length of time. Yet, Bob Burg who is a prospecting guru states a little different golden rule and he has been quoted:

“Internalize the Golden Rule of sales that says, ‘All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like, and trust.”

This statement is very true – even in today’s economic climate. In fact, I would believe that it is even more important today than ever. Customers and Prospects are looking for people to trust more than ever! They seek out referrals based upon who others like and trust. Continue reading ‘Do You Know What Your Customers Want?’ »

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Posted by Voss Graham on December 9, 2008 at 6:26 am under Sales.
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Okay, today I want to share the number one sales tip for the coming year. It is very simple and straight-forward.

Ask the Customer what they want and then Listen intently to their answer!

I am still amazed by sales people and customer service personnel who fail to get clarity regarding what is most important to the customer. The best salespeople and customer service people take the time to learn about what is important to the customer and then deliver it, if they can.

The reason this simple tip is not followed by sales people or customer service personnel is twofold. One, the agenda of the sales person or customer service is to do what they want rather than what the customer wants. This the root cause for all the hostility or confrontation in selling circles. It is also why customers get frustrated and stop doing business with a company or individual.

The second issue is a systematic issue – Rules or policies set up by a faceless non-customer oriented individual. Again, the root cause for the system to break down is they are set as an internal rule with NO consideration for the customer impact – usually negative. Bureaucratic rules and policies should be dealt with regarding the impact upon the customer. If the rules are stupid or restrictive to customer satisfaction – then they will fail in the long run. Common sense needs to gain some ground regarding these decisions.

I recently experienced this type of injustice in customer service where I was basically told I was totally out of luck regarding this issue because their records did not reflect my explanation. DUH! That was the issue, their person made an honest mistake in trying to assist me – but the impact was very negative to me! I was told over and over that their system could not correct “after the fact” mistakes! Again, DUH! When do you believe most mistakes are found? Right – “After the Fact.” I feel sorry for this organization for they will always have to compete on price rather than service levels due to their rules and policies. What a JOKE.

Remember this as you are called upon to set up rules or policies for your organization. Make rules and policies accountable to customers and customer satisfaction. Value-added is a real issue and needs to be at the top of sales, customer service and managerial groups.

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Posted by Voss Graham on December 2, 2008 at 5:55 am under Sales.
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