Stephan Schiffman posted about
beating the sales slump.
His insights on the cause of a sales slump?
“Most times slumps are caused by
not prospecting awhile ago.
In other words because
you did not prospect 6 months ago,
you maybe feeling it now.”
That’s why its important to
always keep the sales funnel full.
Prospect, prospect, prospect.
Put it on the top of the to do list
and get it done.
Ever receive an e-mail and
ask “why was this sent” or
“what am I supposed to do with this?”
You’re not alone.
Stephan Schiffman in his book E-mail Selling Techniques notes
that the number one mistake
businesspeople make in e-mails is
“Not asking for, confirming or setting the next step.”
How to ask?
He suggests the timeless yet effective P.S.
with the action to be taken.
My guidelines for pitches is
one pitch, one product.
Don’t try to sell every service
your company has to offer.
Adrian Savage,
author and business executive says
“Each additional message causes
an earlier one to be forgotten.
What do you want the audience to hear?
Say it clearly and with confidence
… then shut up.”
Daryl T. Logullo observes that
most companies spend 80% of their promotion dollars
on outbound marketing and advertising.
The remaining 20% is spent on current customers.
He suggests flipping this allocation
for a better return
(as the advertising arena is crowded).
The three simple actions he recommends
(educating existing customers about your product offerings,
informing them that you wish to grow, and
then rewarding them for referrals)
will grow your business.
On the same topic,
Troy White suggests reminding existing customers
about all the products you offer
(his fruit stand method).
If a customer comes to you with
a complaint,
action steps to fix it,
and
perhaps even volunteers time and energy,
listen up.
This person is passionate.
This person is driven.
And if this person is not listened to,
they will either go to the competition
or build a competing product.
Recently a group of advanced members of an investing forum
spent time and effort on proposed fixes.
These were presented.
These were not listened to.
A month later, a competing forum is now active.
Their first customers?
The attendees of the previous forum.
Ray Silverstein talks about
the three styles in sales.
The finder looking for her next conquest,
the minder thriving on relationships, and
the grinder working the numbers.
You can also apply these personality types
to entrepreneurs.
The finder has the big idea
but if it takes time,
not much follow through.
The minder needs to work in
a group to be truly happy
and can usually charm the birds out of trees.
The grinder, which I am,
simply applies the ratio of success to failures
and then works the ratio until she is successful.
As a grinder,
when I look for partners,
I look for someone with a finder or minder profile.
In an interview with Joel Peterson,
the founder of Ravenswood Winery,
he talked about wine tasting
at the tender age of 11.
He would taste and
his Dad would ask him for descriptions.
Why?
Because “kids have better words for wine.”
Its all about keeping it simple, understandable,
approachable for the average person.
That’s how you sell.
Hidden within Kelley Robertson’s great article
on dealing with time wasting prospects
is this truism
“the person who asks the questions
is the one in control of the sales process.”
That’s why I answer the phone with
“What can I do for you today?”
That’s why I ask more questions
regardless of being the interviewee
or the interviewer
(that and people like to talk about themselves).
That’s why when I attend seminars,
I arrive with questions prepared.
Asking questions is powerful.
Jeff Cornwall writes
“A local entrepreneur, Charles Hagood,
co-founder of The Access Group and
Healthcare Performance Partners,
always tells my students that
if he had just one dollar left
to spend in his company
he would spend it on marketing.”
If I had one dollar left to spend,
I’d spend it on an immediate sales driving activity
which marketing often is not.
Sales and cash flow today
keeps companies alive for tomorrow.
There are a number of techniques
to sell into large companies,
most require an affiliation or introduction
from an already known entity
…like your lawyer or accountant or advisor.
That’s right.
One of the best value added services
your advisors can provide is access
to their contact list.
That should be taken into
any advisor evaluation.