Showing posts with label Sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sales. Show all posts

Monday, May 18, 2015

8 Ways Smartphones Assist Your Sales Team

smartphones assistIn the current market, it’s now or never when it comes to closing a deal. If the prospects don’t buy when an irresistible offer is in front of them, chances are they’ll take their business elsewhere. But, with a smartphone at their disposal, your sales team can go the extra mile to eliminate any reservations and earn clients' business.

Here are just a few ways smartphones are boosting conversion rates in the world of sales:

Email Management

Sales representatives' email inboxes can quickly become inundated when out in the field pitching to prospects. However, having access to a smartphone makes it easy to quickly respond to basic inquiries, send out email blasts and reach out to customers with any questions, all while being away from their desks. And, if you invest in a smartphone with a strong battery life like the HTC One M9, your reps won’t be forced to linger around the nearest outlet to charge their phones.

Remote File Access

Now, there is no need to spend hours at the office digging through client files in search of historical sales data. If the files are held in the cloud, your team can access them directly from their smartphones and gather all the needed information for meetings while on the go. And, you can rest assured the information is up to date if your accounting system uses real-time reporting.

Contact Information

Should the prospect decide to check out your offerings and make a purchasing decision at a later date, you want to have a way to follow up with him or her. Instead of stuffing a business card in your wallet that can easily be misplaced or forgotten, you can train your sales reps to lock the prospect's information into their smartphones and set a calendar reminder to initiate contact.

File Swapping

If you or someone on your team needs to place an important account in the hands of a colleague, Dropbox is a great file-swapping app that lets you send large client files, presentations and any other documentation they’ll need to make the meeting a success.

Remote Closing

Long gone are the days when a client would come into the office, sign on the dotted line and remit payment. Through smartphone apps such as eFax and Square that allow the transmission of files and mobile payment processing, sales representatives are able to close the deal outside of the office, whether it’s at the local coffee shop, a fine dining establishment or the client’s office.

Product Pocket Guides

While seasoned salesmen typically have their product pitch perfected, it doesn’t hurt to use a smartphone to show the prospect how your product or service works. Smartphones are a great way to show portfolios, product designs, blueprints, testimonials and any other information you have.

GPS

Sales representatives no longer have to rely on physical maps or GPS devices to navigate unfamiliar territory. Google Maps shows you where to go and even provides real-time traffic updates and alternative routes, which can help when planning out your daily route.

Travel Expense Reporting

If your sales representatives are incurring expenses while on the road, it can be difficult to organize and process handwritten records of expenses and accompanying receipts. Instead, encourage your sales team to download the Concur app and use it to record their expenses. And, since it easily integrates with most major accounting systems, your accounting process will be much more efficient.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Really, “Close” the Sale? Eh, no Sparky. It’s “Earn” the Sale.

Jeffrey Gitomer King of SalesBy Jeffrey Gitomer


It never ceases to amaze me how many people still ask me, “What's the best way to close a sale?”

Other than cold calling and finding the pain, this is one of the biggest misconceptions in sales. It's not a technique. It's not a manipulation. It's not something that you wait until the end of your presentation to do. It's not something that requires intimate timing. You don't have to be afraid of being rejected.

What you have to do is have an intelligent and engaging conversation with someone who is looking to buy you and your product or service – a conversation that involves value, a win for them, a visualized outcome, and an understanding that the sale is made emotionally and then justified logically.

That's a far cry from “closing.”

MAJOR AHA! If the sale doesn't start right, it will never end right.

“Close the sale” is the wrong thought process. The prospective customer is making his or her decision AS the sales call progresses.

If you're really wanting to complete the sale – also known as getting the order and also known as creating an atmosphere in which the customer will buy, ­ there are questions you must answer for yourself in order to increase the chances the sale can be yours.

CAUTION: When you ask yourself these questions, and your own answers come up short of mastery, it’s an indication of why you lose sales. The better and stronger you answer each one, the more likely you are to make the sale.

Think about your last ten sales calls, and ask yourself…
• How prepared were you in terms of the customer?
• How ready were you to make a sale?
• How friendly were you?
• How enthusiastic were you?
• How emotionally engaging were you?
• How intellectually engaging were you?
• How self-confident were you?
• How relatable were you?
• How compelling was your presentation?
• How different were you perceived to be?
• How valuable were you perceived to be?
• How believable were you?
• How trustworthy were you perceived to be?

Close the sale? No! It’s not an action. It’s a culmination and sum total of the elements that makes a favorable decision possible.

The close of a sale is a delicate balance between your words and deeds, and their thoughts and perceptions. And a sale is ALWAYS made – either you sell them on yes, or they sell you on no.

SECRET: You give me a prepared, friendly, enthusiastic, emotionally-engaging, intellectually-engaging, unique, valuable, compelling, believable, self-confident, relatable, trustworthy salesperson… And I’LL GIVE YOU A SALE! No close needed.

It is NOT the responsibility of the salesperson to CLOSE the sale. It is the responsibility of the salesperson to engage the prospect.

It is not the responsibility of the salesperson to CLOSE the sale. It is the responsibility of the salesperson to prove value to the prospect.

It is not the responsibility of the salesperson to CLOSE the sale. It is the responsibility of the salesperson to prove differentiation to the prospect.

It is not the responsibility of the salesperson to CLOSE the sale. It is the responsibility of the salesperson to EARN the sale.

There have been more words written about closing the sale than any other aspect of the selling process or the sales cycle. Most of it is manipulative rubbish. Most of it centers on your ability to push the prospect into a corner and make them feel pressured to make a decision. That pressure will often result in a no, or some kind of stall that will ultimately result in a no.

I've just given you an accurate dose of just who is responsible for making a sale, and how it should be completed.

NOTE WELL: By using this approach to selling you have just eliminated all of the silly objections and stalls. Price too high, need to think it over, we all meet next week and will decide then, call me next Tuesday, send me a proposal, yada, yada, yada.

Yes, I too have written a ton of information on “closing the sale.” You can find it in The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, The 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling, and various blog posts and webinars. All of that information is in harmony with my philosophy: zero manipulation and build a trusting relationship.

THE KEY: Be comfortable with yourself. If you're in a selling situation and you aren't feeling the love, or feeling the comfort, or feeling the relationship, or feeling the mutual communication then the best thing to do is back off, and be truthful. Truth will win you more sales than manipulation. All you have to do to change and improve your outcome is change your mindset from “close” to “earn.”


Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling and 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling. His books are now available as online courses at www.GitomerVT.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or www.GitomerCertifiedAdvisors.com, or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com.





© 2015 All Rights Reserved - Don't even think about reproducing this document without
written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer, Inc • 704/333-1112




Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The Old Way or the New Way? It’s Really Not a Choice Anymore.

Jeffrey Gitomer King of SalesBy Jeffrey Gitomer


My sales perspective flies in the face of traditional selling. And it’s not just a disruption – it’s the new way of sales. What’s your perspective?

Last week (in part one) I discussed the worthlessness of the old way of selling – everything from cold calling and finding the pain to overcoming objections and closing the sale. I referred to “the old ways” as manipulative, insincere, and aggressive and cautioned that customers and prospects are not only against it, they’re insulted by it! Ouch.

Me? I prefer being assertive. And there is a huge difference between assertive and aggressive. Here are the four majors:
• Aggressive salespeople tell. Assertive salespeople ask.
• Aggressive salespeople try to “close.” Assertive salespeople use testimonial proof.
• Aggressive salespeople go for the sale. Assertive salespeople go for the customer.
• Aggressive salespeople think “quota.” Assertive salespeople think “relationship.”

Which one are you? It's the difference between the old way and the new way.

Here's my list of what's happening NOW in sales. The New Way. UPDATE: Sales will be happening the new way for the foreseeable future:
• Value attraction. A marketing approach that tells me how I win, not who you are.
• Social attraction. A social presence that’s value-message based. Social messages that your prospective customer can find. NOTE: It's time to rethink and revamp the so-called "law of attraction." If you're looking to identify and attract willing buyers, value attraction and social attraction are the new laws. Value attraction and social attraction are the new way of selling.
• Find the pleasure. Things you both know about and like will make the sale easier and faster than painful things (that are likely none of your business) that make the prospect uncomfortable.
• Ask emotionally engaging questions. Ask questions about them (the prospect or customer), that make them respond in terms of you. Uncover their experience, their wisdom, and their knowledge.
• Discover the customer’s motive to buy. Why people buy his one billion times more powerful than how to sell.
• Give perceived value beyond price. As a customer, I don't need justification to make a purchase. I need a perception that the value you offer me in exchange for my money is greater than the price you’re charging. I need to know how I win, produce, and profit as a result of purchase. I already know what it is, I already know what it does, I already know how it works. I don't need you to tell me you're the greatest. I just need you to tell me how I win after I take ownership.
• Confirm the urgency of your offer. Once you understand the customer's motive to buy, their urgency becomes apparent. If you haven't uncovered their motive, you will never know when they intend to purchase.
• Provide “voice-of-customer” proof. Video testimonials are the new black. When you say it about yourself, it's bragging. When a customer says it about you, it's proof. Take advantage of your best salespeople – your loyal customers! Testimonial videos can be offered as sales proof during a presentation and can also be posted on every form of your social media outreach. One of the most interesting aspects of testimonials is they also reinforce the belief of salespeople in their own product.
• Be both available and easy to do business with. 24.7.365 is the new 9-5. I want a friendly, intelligent, live human being to answer the phone when I call, and so does EVERY HUMAN BEING ON THE PLANET.
• Give “after the sale” value. Once I purchase, show me more and tell me more about how I can use, produce more, and profit more from what I own. Give me a weekly value message, not another sales message. Serve me, WOW me, and surprise me.
• Earn customer loyalty. Loyalty is earned slowly over time. (Just like trust.) Loyalty is gained with quality of product, ease of doing business, availability of people, online alternatives to both purchasing and service, speed of response, and value received. Loyal customers purchase time and time again without regard to price. Loyalty is defined in two parts: Part one: Will the customer do business with you again?Part two: Will the customer refer you? If they do both, that’s loyalty. Any other measurement is bogus.
• Earn referrals. Asking for referrals has been replaced by earning referrals and giving referrals. Think about the last time you GAVE a referral. Oh wait, maybe you never have! That's because giving referrals requires work. I didn't say the new way of selling was easy, I just said it was a new way. Ask before you tell. Give before you get. Earn before you ask.
• Build online and word-of-mouth reputation. What are you known as? What are you known for? What is your image? What is your Google image? What is your social image? These five elements comprise your reputation. No asset is more valuable.
• Build relationships. Everyone talks about being relationship oriented. But my findings show just the opposite. A quick review of the elements above will let you see exactly where you are on the “solid relationship” scale. I don't want you to be relationship oriented, I want you to be relationship building. Every day.

Review this list and rate yourself between 1 and 10. Anywhere you score less than a seven in is telling you you're not near the new way yet. Work at it!

The new way will pay.

FREE GITBIT. I'll be writing more about the new way of selling, but for now if you would like to get both part one and part two that I've written, go to Gitomer.com and enter the words NEW WAY in the GitBit box.


Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling and 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling. His books are now available as online courses at www.GitomerVT.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or www.GitomerCertifiedAdvisors.com, or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com.





© 2015 All Rights Reserved - Don't even think about reproducing this document without
written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer, Inc • 704/333-1112




Monday, March 23, 2015

8 Scientific Steps for Hiring the Best Salesperson

Peak SalesIs selling an art or a science?  Do new school algorithms and big data trump old fashioned methods such as a charming smile and a firm handshake?

This has become an industry-wide debate, in fact, using more science and data is now a debate across all industries including “Money Ball” in sports or native advertising in marketing.

While the science and data debate persists among salespeople, with each side having valid points, the issue becomes clearer when discussing the best practices of hiring of a salesperson.

The fact is, while old school sales and hiring techniques are timeless, a hiring manager would be remiss not to use all the latest data, tools, and techniques at their disposal when  making a decision as critical as hiring.  Bad hires not only affect the company’s bottom line but can ultimately impact the lives of its employees.

Eliot Burdett, CEO of Peak Sales Recruiting, a leading B2B sales recruiting company, explains that a scientific approach is essential to hiring and that when hiring managers “go with their gut”, it can be a recipe for disaster.

Why? In the absence of science, subjectivity enters the equation.  Methods such as a rigorous and consistent process, using third party psychometric testing, and hiring based on score not feel, have proven to achieve better results.

Burdett offers the following 8 scientific steps proven to hire the best salespeople, a process that has led his company to achieve a success rate 50% higher than the industry average:

1)    HAVE A STRUCTURED AND CONSISTENT PROCESS: Everything begins and ends with a consistent hiring process for each and every candidate.  This will offer an ‘apples to apples’ comparison and allow the company to determine with the highest degree of certitude who the best hire will be.   Multiple interviews involving all stakeholders in the hiring decision should be used for each candidate.

2)     REMOVE SUBJECTIVITY, BE OBJECTIVE: Without science, an interviewer’s mood - good or bad - can come into play.  The Halo Effect, a cognitive bias based on preconceived notions can also falsely determine the best candidate. Removing subjectivity also has the added benefit of protecting a “green” interviewer who may not yet possess the battle-tested ability to spot salespeople who ‘blow smoke’.

3)    EXTENSIVE BACKGROUND RESEARCH: Every person will play up their successes.  Were they real or not?  Verify everything the candidate claims and cross-reference it to double check.  This is an often overlooked step and taking a candidate’s word at face value can lead to a failed hire.  

4)    CONSTRUCT A HYPOTHESIS AND THEN TEST IT: Determine why the candidate will be successful in the organization.  Is it because they have consistently exceeded their quota?  Worked in the same industry for years dealing with target buyers?  Are they an ‘up-and-comer’ who is hungry to move up the corporate ladder?  Then put them through a rigorous test including multiple rounds of behavioral based interviews with trained interviewers, with a focus on the candidate’s experiences, selling approach, personal and professional objectives, and behavioral traits. Look for correlations between a candidate’s selling success, their selling environment, and DNA to determine situational selling results.

5)    HIRE BASED ON SCORE NOT FEEL: Create a unique point system using set criteria.  Award points if they have met or exceeded their quota for the past five plus years, fit into company culture, and other categories based on a particular role.  While certain intangibles don’t always show up in the stat sheet, when it comes to an industry where meeting numbers is king, hiring based on score, not feel, has a proven success rate.

6)    USE THIRD PARTY PSYCHOMETRIC AND BEHAVORIAL TESTING: These standardized tests or procedures give insight far beyond what an untrained mind can see. Psychometric tools vary in the degree of formality but have enormous predictive ability.

7)    NON-TOKEN REFERENCE CHECKS: Calling a reference and meekly accepting canned answers about how the candidate is a “go-getter” will not get the job done.  Dig deeper and really find out about their strengths and weaknesses, why they lost deals, and how they responded.  This thorough approach can tip the scales between two finalists.

8)    ANALYZE THE RESULTS: Tally up the results and include all the stakeholders in the final decision making process.  By making the final decision based on score, not feel, in addition to the stringent, scientific approach listed above, a company will have a much higher success rate when hiring salespeople.

About Peak Sales Recruiting:

Peak Sales Recruiting is a leading B2B sales recruiting company that specializes in finding sales professionals in the technology, professional services, telecom, manufacturing and industrial sectors.

Founded in 2006, the company has achieved a success rate 50% higher than the industry average, working with a wide-range of clients including mid-size and world-class companies including P&G, Gartner, Deloitte, Merck, Western Union and others.

A proven, rigorous, scientific methodology is specifically tailored to meet each client’s unique needs.  This includes detailed role profiling, targeted headhunting, comprehensive candidate assessment, a unique fee structure and guarantee, all complemented by on-going advisory services.

Peak Sales Recruiting has proven to help clients accelerate and ensure superior long-term sales growth; enhance the effectiveness of HR teams; reduce operating costs, and; enhance company valuations and investor confidence and attractiveness.

The company was founded by CEO Eliot Burdett and CSO Brent Thomson.  They share 40 years of experience leading and recruiting high performance sales teams and co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast.

 

About Eliot Burdett:

Eliot Burdett is the Co-Founder and CEO of Peak Sales Recruiting, a leading B2B sales recruiting company launched in 2006.

Under his leadership, the company has achieved double digit annual revenue growth and has a 90% success rate working with many leading boutique, mid-size and Fortune 500 companies such as Gartner, Deloitte, P&G, and others

Prior to Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies by recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software) and served as Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.

Eliot received his Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.  He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

You Cannot Ignore the Present. It’s Where Your Sales Are!

Jeffrey Gitomer King of SalesBy Jeffrey Gitomer


My sales perspective flies in the face of traditional selling. And it’s not just a disruption, it’s the new way of sales. What’s your perspective?

Here are seven realities to get your thinking started:
FIRST REALITY: Traditional selling is aggressive – telling, pitching, manipulating, and closing. This old-world approach to sales is over and has been for more than a decade.
SECOND REALITY: The first sale that’s made is the salesperson. If the prospective customer does not buy you, they're not buying anything.
THIRD REALITY: The customer is as smart or smarter than you are. The internet has provided them with competitive savvy and social media has provided proof.
FOURTH REALITY: Your customers and prospects are busy with THEIR stuff and may have little or no time to be bothered by you and your stuff. It's so much more powerful when they find you in time of need.
FIFTH REALITY: Customers and prospects want intellectual engagement about how THEY WIN, not a sales pitch! They do not care about your urgency to make quota. They only care about their urgency to make profit.
SIXTH REALITY: The prospective customer must perceive value in your sales offering, trust you as a person and as a company, perceive that they win as a result of purchase, and be able to visualize outcome after purchase (maybe with the help of your video testimonials).
SEVENTH REALITY: You better have a social presence and a social reputation that proves your worth to others, and provides peace of mind to the prospect.

Look at this list – carefully – and see if what you do, the actions you take, or any of the strategies about how you sell are contained here. If they are, you will consistently lose to the “new way.”
• Cold calling. If selling has a dark side, it’s the cold call. Total interruption of others (the prospect), and predominantly a waste of salespeople's time. Higher than 90% rejection rate and the major cause of sales failure.
• Hunting and farming salespeople. This is basically a sales specialist making a sale and then running away. Leaving behind the service department, or inside sales, or the delivery guy, and the customer to feel deserted. Hunting and farming is the worst case for relationship building ever created.
• Find the pain. Perhaps the rudest of all sales processes, it’s “probing” to make prospects feel uncomfortable. This is an old-world tactic, where the salesperson miraculously proposes a solution to an issue that the prospect has. The solution is not the issue. The issue is that finding the pain is the focal point of the sale. No value, no engagement, no connection – simply manipulation. The only thing more idiotic (and more rude) than “finding the pain” is cold calling.
• Pitch the product. Telling your prospective customer stuff about your product that they could've found online in three seconds, or that you could've emailed them in advance of your meeting. Customers do not care what you're selling, unless you're showing them how they win as a result of purchase such as how they will produce more, and how they will profit more. Start there.
• Overcome objections. “Your price is too high.” Really? You still dealing with that? Where's the value? Where's the testimonial? Where’s the relationship? Where’s the trust? Where's the social proof?
• Close the sale. Manipulative closing is a thing of the past. The sale is made emotionally, not manipulatively.
• Proposals and bidding. This part of selling will never go away, but can be significantly reduced with loyal relationships and proven quality.
• Insincere follow-up. Call looking for money.
• Customer satisfaction. J.D. Power and Associates gives “customer satisfaction” awards to airlines. Do I need to say anything more about how ridiculous customer satisfaction is?
• Ask for (beg for) referrals. If you ask for a referral once, and the customer does not give you one, and you call again reminding the customer that they promised to give you a referral, and the customer still does not give you one, they will never take your call again. Instead of asking for referrals, why don’t you give one?
• Low or no social media presence. Failure to understand the fact that social media is a combination of attraction, proof that you are you say you are, and a sales tool.
• Low or no social media awareness. Inability or refusal of salespeople to participate gives your competition an ability to use it and dominate.
• Low or no relationship. The quality of the relationship allows you to make multiple sales, earn more profit, earn referrals, and gain their testimonial proof. If you’re lacking in these four areas it’s your relationship report card, and loss of sales or profit, or both.

Me? I prefer to be assertive. Assertive salespeople ask. Aggressive salespeople tell. Assertive salespeople go for the customer. Aggressive salespeople go for the sale.

Which one are you? It's the difference between the old way and the new way.

The “new way” is next week – stay tuned!


Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling and 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling. His books are now available as online courses at www.GitomerVT.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or www.GitomerCertifiedAdvisors.com, or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com.





© 2015 All Rights Reserved - Don't even think about reproducing this document without
written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer, Inc • 704/333-1112





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Monday, March 16, 2015

Cutter & Buck Names Bryan Dickson 2014 Salesperson of the Year

Bryan Dickson Cutter & Buck Salesperson of the YearWhen Cutter & Buck, which marks its 25th anniversary this year, sought out its top salesperson for 2014, the Seattle-based company didn’t have to look too long or, as it turned out, too far.  Born and raised in nearby Bellevue, Bryan Dickson is Cutter & Buck’s 2014 Salesperson of the Year.

“Since joining our team in 2010, Bryan has worked tirelessly to transform the Pacific Northwest into one of our strongest territories in the company and has consistently been one of our top performers year after year,” said Jake Rawson, global director of sales-golf, Cutter & Buck.  “In 2014, Bryan found creative ways to keep our customers engaged and buying our products and, as a result, he realized a significant year over year increase in his business. It’s an honor to recognize Bryan as we’re celebrating a significant milestone in the history of our company, founded in 1990 here in the Pacific Northwest.”

Dickson’s territory is vast, encompassing the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.  He said he is particularly excited that this year’s U.S. Open Championship will be held in mid-June in his territory – at Chambers Bay, overlooking the Puget Sound near Tacoma and 40 miles south of Seattle.

“Chambers Bay has been a terrific partner and has generated a lot of business for us,” said Dickson, who formally received his salesperson of the year award during a recent ceremony in Orlando, Fla.

For additional information on Cutter & Buck products, contact Cutter & Buck at (800) 713-7810 or visit its website at www.cutterbuck.com.

About Cutter & Buck
Established in 1990, Cutter & Buck has become a hallmark for delivering fresh approaches to classic sportswear. Based in Seattle, the company prides itself on the design, manufacturing and distribution of premium, versatile apparel that meets the demands of an active lifestyle. With an expanding line of products for the golf, corporate, collegiate and professional sports, and specialty retail markets, the company is proud to provide its customers with safe and compliant products as a certified QCA supplier since 2011. Cutter & Buck has partnerships or licenses with the NFL, NCAA, MLB, PGA of America, USGA, PGA TOUR and USTA. The company is the exclusive North American distributor of Clique, a premier sportswear basics brand in the European marketplace. Cutter & Buck is available worldwide in golf pro shops, fan shops, resorts, specialty retailers, through premium promotional product distributors, and at cutterbuck.com.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

20 Phrases To Use When Your Client Says “Too Expensive”

No is Short for Next OpportunityBy Martin Limbeck

No matter what business you’re in, you are always in the sales business.  Think about it: without new sales, new accounts and a flow of new and continued business coming through the door, you’ll be out of business before you know it.  This is true whether you manage a web design agency, software company, shipping business, staffing agency, cleaning service or anything else.  Being a good salesman is important no matter what you do.

One of the areas that most professionals have difficulty with is when the customer says, “It’s just too expensive.”  What usually follows is some negotiations with both parties giving and taking a little from the deal to make it work for everyone.  And there’s nothing wrong with this strategy and sometimes there is no other choice.  There are instances, however, when it is appropriate to stand firm on your number.

The next time someone says to you, “It’s too expensive” or “Can’t you do something about the price?” here are some great phrases to fire back with.

-          The other offers are cheaper and they deserve to be.

-          Discounts are the first signal of bankruptcy. Are you sure you want to go down that road?

-          Quality comes at a price and that price includes me.

-          If you pay 100%, you get 100%. If you pay 90%, that’s what you get.

-          If competence is too pricey for you, then wait until you try incompetence.

-          Cheap dreams lead to rude awakenings.

-          What would you advise your own salespeople to do if they were constantly under pricing pressure?

-          I can assure you, nobody is paying less than you are today.

-          Thrift is good, but quality is better.

-          Lowballing is not a sport I play.

-          You’re also buying our blood, sweat and tears.

-          Go with the cheaper option and things will really get expensive.

-          The price is a reflection of our experience.

-          How motivated would you be working for $10?

-          If you want to haggle, try the flea market.

-          This is not a yard sale.

-          Cutting the price means cutting the quality, and that is not an option for us.

-          The grass is always cheaper on the other side.

-          Discounts don’t fit in our budget.

-          If I give you a discount, you may as well give me a donation receipt.

Be careful: not every phrase is appropriate for every customer or every sale. And the most important thing: the phrase must be delivered with a smile and a slight twinkle in your eye.

Getting the price you want and deserve can sometimes be an uncomfortable situation for anyone to be in, but if you know what to say and are prepared, you can stand your ground while maintaining your pride.

Martin Limbeck is an international sales authority dubbed “The Porsche of Sales” and author of NO Is Short for Next Opportunity: How Top Sales Professionals Think. Visit http://www.martinlimbeck.com/ and http://no-is-short-for-next-opportunity.com

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned. Or is It?

pennyBy Jeffrey Gitomer


Ben Franklin sought to cultivate his character by a plan of 13 virtues, which he developed at age 20 (in 1726), and continued to practice in some form for the rest of his life.

His autobiography lists his 13 virtues as:
1. Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. Industry. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths (sic), or habitation.
11. Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
13. Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

Franklin didn’t try to work on them all at once. Instead, he would work on one and only one each week, leaving all others to their ordinary chance. While Ben did not live completely by his virtues, and by his own admission fell short of them many times, he believed the attempt at living them made him a better man. He believed these virtues contributed greatly to his success and happiness.

In his autobiography, Franklin listed and wrote about the virtues, “I hope, therefore, that some of my descendants may follow the example and reap the benefit.”

His list is certainly no be-all end-all list of virtuous characteristics, BUT it gets you thinking about yourself and your virtues. Impossible not to. Not wanting to in any way infringe on the genius of what was Ben Franklin, I’d like to offer some of today’s characteristics of virtue and add to Ben’s list.

I’ll add a few words of definition to each, but more important, think about each of these virtues as it relates to you, your self-disciplines, your actions, and your ethics. Maybe even RATE YOURSELF on each one as you read.

Were he alive today, Ben’s virtues might have included:
• Truth. Your ability to be truthful to others and truthful to yourself.
• Honesty. Take honest actions you can be proud of.
• Trust. Be trustworthy and trusting. Trust others until proven otherwise. Be trustworthy by example.
• Ethics. The right way you conduct yourself in business and life.
• Speed. Response in today’s world is immediate. How immediate are you?
• Reliable. People want to deal with reliable people. How reliable are you?
• Loyal. Getting loyalty because you earned it. Giving loyalty because it’s your philosophy.
• Responsible. Not just responsible to others, but both to yourself and for yourself.
• Observant. Having value based peripheral vision, both of others and yourself.
• Consistent. Making the highest and best decision – all the time.
• Independent. Not a follower to be “safe,” but a self-ruler of your time and fate.
• Faith. Not just religion, faith in people, faith in family, and spirituality of self.
• Self-belief. Belief in company, product, customer, and especially in yourself. Be a believer.
• Confidence. Confidence is evident often without saying a word. Radiate yours.
• Enthusiasm. Generate the inner spark of self-induced energy that lights up a room and the people in it.
• Study/Student. Learning more leads to earning more. Resolve to learn something new every day.
• Respect. Things and people deserve initial respect. Give it to get it.
• Kindness. Every ounce of kindness is worth a fortune to those on the receiving end of yours.
• Forgive. Until you forgive the past – both actions and people – you are likely to repeat it.
• Thoughtful. Expressing both thanks and feelings. Remembering events and people.
• Open-minded. Willing to accept new things. Willing to encounter “change” and see it as “opportunity.”
• Appreciate. Art and life. Look and see the beauty that abounds, the opportunity life affords, and appreciate your ability to choose the values you represent.
• Grateful. For health and happiness. Saying grace. Counting blessings, daily.
• Loving. Give love to get love. Give love to be loved.

Wow! Those are some values. How many are yours?

Why not tackle one a week? I’ve given you a six-month supply.


Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling and 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling. His books are now available as online courses at www.GitomerVT.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or www.GitomerCertifiedAdvisors.com, or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Old Way or New Way? Only One Way Works. My Way.



Jeffrey Gitomer King of SalesThe old way of selling is dead.

The only people who don’t know that are other sales trainers, recently released old-world sales tactics books that are still trying to convey old messages, and several million salespeople still trying to cold call, pitch the product, overcome objections, and close the sale. Don’t forget their managers who force them to use an uncomfortable “system, “ a non-sales helpful CRM, and hold their salespeople accountable for their actions and numbers. It’s over. Dead and over.

What killed it?
Who killed it?

The internet and its immediate access to any information – including one’s reputation – the economy, Google and online searchability in general, social media, smart phones, one-click buying, Amazon feedback and other ratings sites, and smarter customers and consumers both B2B and B2C. WOW!

The online and smartphone evolution has become a sales and selling revolution.

The NEW big picture of selling is quite simple. Here’s what to train and teach your salespeople:
• Teach why people buy rather than how to sell. My mantra and trademarked phrase is, People don’t like to be sold, but they LOVE to buy.
• Teach customer loyalty, not customer satisfaction. Customers may never be satisfied but will continue to do business with you based on your perceived value.
• Teach salespeople to “ask” questions about the customer rather than “tell” about their product. The old way of selling doesn’t work anymore. And no one is more aware of that than an informed customer.
• Teach salespeople to be responsible for their actions instead of being accountable for their activity.

Here are 4.5 NEW ways of thinking, acting and selling responsibly:
1. FIND THEIR WHY. Uncover your customer’s intentions and motives for purchase before or during your sales presentation. Do online searches for why they might buy, and ask emotionally revealing questions. Their “why” is your order.
2. TALK ABOUT THEIR OUTCOME. Share with him or her how they produce more and profit more AFTER purchase. Explain what happens after they take ownership Talk about how they win, not a bunch of boring crap about you that the customer could have found in less than two seconds on Google.
3. PROVE YOUR VALUE. Get several of your existing (best) customers to do video testimonials to corroborate your claims. When you say it about yourself it’s bragging, when others say it about you it is proof. Voice of customer is the proof you need to convert selling to buying.
4. DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A PRISTINE REPUTATION. Not just your company and your products – you personally. Information and reputation arrives before you do. Google yourself right now. That’s what your customer sees before you arrive.
4.5 BEWARE AND BE AWARE OF THE INTERNET. It has changed and continues to change the face of selling, and the lives (not to mention the incomes) of salespeople. EXAMPLES: Retail sales, banking, trading stocks, buying cars, traveling, and, most important, the ability to research the opinions and outcomes of others. Get internet savvy. Get internet fluent. Then stay there.

A few months ago I wrote about the difference between aggressive selling and assertive selling. That difference is pivotal in the company’s philosophy of selling, salesperson’s method of selling, and the customer’s decision to buy your product or service.

Here is the CliffsNotes™ version of the difference:
• Aggressive salespeople “tell.”
• Assertive salespeople “ask.”
• Aggressive salespeople “go for the sale.”
• Assertive salespeople “go for the customer.”

Aggressive salespeople sell the old way. They talk, they brag, they give a demo, they manipulate to close the sale, they send proposals, and in general they fight. They fight to get an appointment, they fight price, they fight competition, and they fight for the sale – a sale that even if they win they have lost profit.

The assertive presentation challenges you, the salesperson, to bring forth a combination of your knowledge and value as it relates to customer needs as well as a superior ability to connect both verbally and non-verbally with the person or the group you’re addressing.

You’ll know your assertive strategy is working when the customer or the prospective customer begins asking questions to get a deeper understanding about the value and difference your product or service offers. This changes monologue to dialogue and creates the power of engagement, or should I say assertive engagement.

A FEW MORE WORDS OF CAUTION: The new way of selling requires more work on the part of the salesperson. More research, more preparation, more knowledge, better presentation skills, more value differentiation, and more proof.

This accentuates my rule of, “the more the more.” The more research, preparation, knowledge, enthusiastic presentation skills, value differentiation, and proof you bring to the sales presentation, the more sales you will make.

Which type of salesperson are you?


Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling and 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling. His books are now available as online courses at www.GitomerVT.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or www.GitomerCertifiedAdvisors.com, or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com.





© 2015 All Rights Reserved - Don't even think about reproducing this document without
written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer, Inc • 704/333-1112





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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich is Full of Timeless Lessons



Jeffrey Gitomer King of Sales“Thoughts are things” is the title and the first words of the first chapter of the book.

When I first read those words, I didn’t really understand what they meant – even when I read the first chapter and the examples offered in Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich. It didn’t resonate until I got to the end of the chapter and read, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive, and believe, it can achieve.” Then I started to get it. That was 1972.

By coincidence, it was only a few days later that I heard the late, great Earl Nightingale say, “You become what you think about.” At that moment, I got it. It clicked. And it has clicked ever since then.

More reading and studying about thinking and the thought process revealed that neither Hill nor Nightingale had the original thought.

From Socrates to Samuel Smiles, to Orison Swett Marden, to Elbert Hubbard, to Dale Carnegie, to Napoleon Hill, to Earl Nightingale, to Jim Rohn – they all had their own way of saying THE SAME thing.

Your thinking becomes your actions. And it’s those dedicated, well-planned, and directed actions that lead to your outcomes. Your reality. Better stated, your success.

All of these legendary scholars can’t be wrong.

All of them told me in their writings – the same way I’m telling you – that positive thought leads to positive actions and positive results, if the aim and the purpose are passionately believed.

Orison Swett Marden’s book, He Who Thinks He Can, written in 1908, says it in the title. It’s plain as day right on the cover of his book. It was Marden, by the way, that FOUNDED Success Magazine in 1888.

Hill’s title THINK and GROW RICH tells you first you gotta THINK! Your thinking will affect your BELIEF, your belief will help you create your MAJOR PURPOSE, your major purpose will clarify your DIRECTED ACTIONS, and your actions, combined with your DESIRE, your DEDICATION, and your DETERMINATION will determine your WEALTH. First THINK, then GROW RICH.

Got it? Sure you do. Getting it, that’s the easy part. First you get it, you understand it THEN you agree with it. Easy so far. THEN the harder part, you have to believe you can do it. You have to THINK YOU CAN. Finally, the HARDEST part is you have to be willing to TAKE ACTION! Do it! That’s chapter one. Read it lately?

The rest of Think and Grow Rich contains the ideas, the definitions, and the clarifications that provide the ANSWERS. Hill describes it as the roadmap to riches. I’m telling you, it’s the most important success thinking you’ll ever be exposed to – as long as you repeat it until it becomes your reality.

But I have to stop here and clarify the book. Think and Grow Rich, and Hill’s writing, is not written in today’s language. There are no references to computers, email, the web, Facebook, social media, credit cards, or even television. Because none of those things existed when Hill penned this classic self-help book. Yet somehow the book has managed to sell more than 100 MILLION copies over the past seven decades.

To receive all the wealth in the book, you have to get over the fact Think and Grow Rich was written 70 years ago. As a country, we were fresh out of the Depression and the stock market crash of 1929. World War II was in full swing, the mood of the country was nervous, and Napoleon Hill – and his colleague Dale Carnegie – were screaming, “Make friends, be positive, believe in yourself, be influential, develop a goal and a plan, articulate yourself clearly, dedicate yourself to excellence, take directed action, and encourage others to do the same.” Pretty cool, eh?

These books aren’t 70 years old, rather they were 70 years ahead of their time. Maybe that’s why Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People have been on bestseller lists for 70 years.

The first chapter ends the same way it began. With one sentence of immortal wisdom. “Whatever the mind of man can conceive, and believe, it can achieve.”

I’m sharing this information today in the hopes you will read or re-read this timeless classic. Rededicate yourself to YOUR best thinking (first), so you can do your best for others (second).

That’s the secret! Please tell everyone.


Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling and 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling. His books are now available as online courses at www.GitomerVT.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or www.GitomerCertifiedAdvisors.com, or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com.





© 2015 All Rights Reserved - Don't even think about reproducing this document without
written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer, Inc • 704/333-1112





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Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Salespeople Have Questions. Jeffrey Has Answers.



Jeffrey Gitomer King of SalesBy Jeffrey Gitomer

I get a ton of emails from people seeking insight or asking me to solve their sales dilemmas. Here are a few that may relate to your job, your life, and (most important) your sales thought process right now.

Jeffrey, A company that installs gutter guards recently lost my business. I was solicited by their sales team twice. The second time I was in the market to buy. But their technique is different. They require both the husband and wife be home during their estimate. I do understand why they want both to be there (so they can eliminate any obstacles). However, my wife doesn’t care, nor does she want any involvement in these type of decisions. I told them if they require this, I will take my business elsewhere. They simply stated, "Thank you," and hung up. They lost the sale, but I now have new gutter guards that were installed by another company. What is your take on this? Mike

Mike, Old-world salespeople are gonna die. In sales, it's called a one-legged sale when only one of the two deciders is in the room. Companies don't want to "waste their time" on someone who "can't decide without talking to their spouse" because the objection they use is, "I'm going to talk this over with my …" The bottom line is that company is rude, stupid, and will lose people (just like they lost you).

First of all, men don't decide anything, anyway! Only women decide. The woman will approve all decisions in any household. Don't take my word for it, ask any husband.

HERE’S THE SECRET: If you're in the business of sales, you're also in the service business, you're also in the people business, and you're also in the friendly business. Anyone says, "I'm not going to give my sales presentation unless both decision makers are in the room," doesn’t fully understand that concept. But that's the bad news for them. The good news is you can call their competition and coach them on what to do correctly. Somebody obviously did. Best regards, Jeffrey

Dear Jeffrey, My company delivers mobile dictation and transcription service to field workers in IT and health care, saving these people time in reporting. Lately I have been promoting the service to sales professionals. I have written several 30-second commercials for this but keep running into all sorts of objections. Salespeople are difficult prospects and I’m constantly trying to find the right pitch. How would you approach the market of sales professionals and sales management? Do I need two different approaches? Gerhard

Gerhard, No. You need one approach. Every salesperson who has a CRM - SalesForce.com, Microsoft Dynamics, whatever it is - is required to put stuff into their computer on an everyday basis for every sales call they make and there's one universal truth about it: they all can't stand it.

But if you could get them to record something on their laptop immediately, like a two minute, this goes here, this goes here, and you could actually do their CRM entering for them… Oh baby! Their boss would buy it, they would buy it, their CEO would buy it, and their spouse would buy it. Everybody would buy it and they would pay double.

The problem is you're trying to sell your service instead of giving them an answer that they're looking for. Big mistake. Don't tell me what you've got. Sell me what I perceive that I need and then I will buy. Best regards, Jeffrey

Jeffrey, I'm an independent commercial real estate lender and commercial real estate mortgage broker. I'm trying to link up with referral sources such as CPAs, commercial realtors, financial planners, etc. Do you have suggestions for a thought provoking question or line of conversation to help me connect with these folks and open the door to more meaningful dialogue? Dennis

Dennis, Dude, you're providing them with money. You're helping them get deals done. Why don't you ask them questions like, "What do you think about when your deal doesn't go through? Do you think that there's another alternative way?” and then follow with, “My name’s Jeffrey, and I would love to be your secondary source for the deals that don't make it. If I can prove myself on a couple of them, maybe I can earn my way to becoming your primary source. Fair enough?"

All the people you're talking to in the real estate business only want to get a deal done. That is their primary objective. It doesn't matter what the interest rate is. It doesn't matter where they get the funding from. They only want to get the deal done. If you can be a person who can help them get the deal done, they will use you. Best regards, Jeffrey

Jeffrey, I am a devoted reader of your weekly email magazine and a fellow Phillies fan. I'm not a salesperson by title, but as GM turned entrepreneur, selling is a vital skill, and your insightful information is greatly appreciated, not to mention it just makes sense. My strengths are more on the production and supply side, so I was wondering if you had any advice on how to find qualified salespeople in specific industries. I have several products that I'd like to develop sales channels for, but I’m not sure where to begin effectively. Rob, Chief Cook and Bottle Washer

Rob, Qualified salespeople are already working someplace else. You must attract them with reputation, range of salary and incentives, and social proof that you're great. Look for people in related industries or directly at your competition. Ask your vendors. Ask your customers who they love to buy from. Search LinkedIn by keyword to see who may be “looking for career offers.” Go Phillies! Jeffrey

Jeffrey, My boss and I have drafted emails to different types of industries specifying how they can make money and profit from our service. The plan is to send out these brief descriptions through email and see who gets back to us. After reading almost all of your material, I know you don’t believe in cold calling, but in this case is it better to email the companies or call them on the phone? Ryan

Ryan, The answer is neither. What you need to be doing is blogging information about these companies that they would consider valuable. You have an email magazine. You post something on Twitter. And with their search for keywords about their own stuff, they will find you. If you only send out information about yourself… "We have this great service and it's the greatest thing in the whole wide world” …delete, delete, delete! But if you put value messages out that they might be able to find, it will be delight, delight, delight! Best regards, Jeffrey


Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling and 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling. His books are now available as online courses at www.GitomerVT.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or www.GitomerCertifiedAdvisors.com, or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com.





© 2014 All Rights Reserved - Don't even think about reproducing this document without
written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer, Inc • 704/333-1112





- See more at: http://www.gitomer.com/articles/ViewPublicArticle.html?key=ajcdMibak3PVmNoUbpV4Zg%3D%3D#sthash.kXFsevKp.dpuf