Nov 272011
 

 

 
 
This is one of the conundrums of selling. Salespeople fear that all customers want is to obtain the lowest price or else… or else the customer will proceed to buy from someone else.

Several months ago I wrote about a pre-emptive approach to selling one’s value, as well as justifying one’s price. http://www.alighaemi.com/wp/?p=747

 

It might bear repeating the lowest price is not always the winning bid. In fact, more often than not the lowest price is not the winner. Product price point is a little like setting employee salaries. So long as the employee believes his or her salary is fair, and so long as it is near industry average and provides a level of comfort the amount goes away as a deciding factor and factors like relationship with one’s manager and co-workers, growth, learning and respect become job satisfaction criteria. In the same way, as long customers feel that they are not being taken ‘for a ride’ and have received fair value the selling conversation will shift from price to criteria like needs’ satisfaction, reliability, after-sales support, prestige, name brand and more.

 

There is always someone or something that is less expensive in one’s category. Yet, the cheapest steakhouse is not always the most popular. There are plenty of diners that serve steak, but they are nowhere near as popular as the more expensive steakhouses. Does Prada sell more hand bags or ‘Joe?’ A Chevy will transport one from point A to point B. Yet, people still buy and drives Acuras, Lexuses and even Porsches. Indeed, the most expensive mobile smartphone is the most popular, Apple’s iPhone.

 

Salespersons need to remove the pricing-only mindset from their heads. Sell the value of the product or service and become comfortable that a less expensive alternative exists, and will always exist, and yet there is a market for other (more expensive) options – ones you might be representing.

 

Nov 012011
 

Many a sales technique teaches salespeople to adapt to a methodology and process and follow the ‘rules’ to a successful career and riches.

These sales courses are often beneficial and instructive, no doubt. I have both taken and taught many and remain a supporter of process and methodology.

I sat through a 317 Consulting training recently, which talked about, among other things, Verbal Aikido. Sandler Sales calls it Match & Mirror. These refer to the idea that a salesperson should match his or her words, tonality, posture and emphasis to a prospect’s. They reasonably argue that relating and bonding between buyer and seller are important.

 

Be that as it may, one point should not be lost. Unfortunately, it often is. Salespeople should not override their own personalities to become someone they are not. I often tell my salespeople that there is not one path to success and they should make their personalities work for them. Do not become someone your personality does not allow you to be. Improve yourself, invest in yourself, learn and grow, but do not become someone you do not enjoy being. It will adversely affect your sales.

Do not let your personality become subservient to a script. It is important to remain genuine. After all, every sales training will also tell you to not come across as phoney.

 

 

 

Aug 152011
 

If I were to ask you, as an enterprise salesperson, what the biggest headache or obstacle in your sales process would be, what would you say?
My guess would be that ‘price’ and ‘the competition’ or ‘discounting by the other guys’ are prime issues on, or near the, top of most salespeople’s list. Stating the obvious, it is a competitive environment out there. The advent of communication and the Internet has made matters worse. Customers are knowledgeable and informed. It is a toxic environment for sales and margins and an optimal situation for buyers.
Solution? You have to show value above and beyond the competition and you have to do it proactively and on your terms.

Your statements, presentations and discussions with your potential customers need to convey what you offer above those contending for the business. Reality is that often you will not be the cheapest offering. To stay in business one cannot consistently offer the cheapest price or show the lowest dollars figure to a prospect – that would be a recipe for bankruptcy, which does not serve either party. Most customers do not want to bankrupt a supplier. Find out (ask or anticipate if you must!) who the competition is. Include your value against theirs to your customer. Be positive and honest in disclosing their value. However, present your added value and why you are a better bargain. Why are you superior and where do you perform better than they do? Perhaps, your presentation can feature a check list depicting you versus the competition? Rationalize your higher price point positively. This also acts as a competitive trap for the competition. They will have to navigate through the landmines you left in their way.

Oh #1: you are up-to-date and an expert on your competition, right?
Oh #2: if you cannot show better value than whoever else is vying for the business then it is time to go back to the drawing board, isn’t it?

 

Aug 032011
 

I don’t mean to understate the value of facts, data or rationality, but when selling never forget the power of emotions.
As much as we like to think we make good choices based on regimented and thought-out reasons, emotions are a big factor in our buying decisions and often a bigger criterion than most of recognize or understand.

Think about it. We all make decisions based on how we feel about something. After all, if emotions were not a major buying factor wouldn’t everyone buy the same car with the highest price-to-feature rating based on the class of vehicle one required? Of course, we consider a car’s features, horse power and fuel efficiency, but when all is said and done, we must like the look and image of the car. Wouldn’t the market for CD cover designs diminish rapidly? After all, we would be buying the disc based on its content and its style. Many managers know, but may not openly admit, that they hired a candidate based on a ‘gut feeling.’ There are numerous examples.

What this means is we need to understand the power of emotions when selling. It follows that we need to consider the customer’s feelings. The buyer must be comfortable. They must trust. They must have that ‘gut feeling.’ This is why advanced selling is often called ‘relationship-based selling.’ This is why they say ‘you have to sell yourself.’ Give people a reason to buy from you. Give yourself some emotional appeal. Make yourself part of a story… at least until human beings evolve to more rational beings!
This is not to suggest creating and demonstrating value is meaningless. It is meant to address the need for a balanced (using that word in this context seems odd to me) approach.

Your manager or company will ultimately not care if you made the sale because the prospect felt sorry for you, laughed at your joke or counted the most number of benefits in your service versus something else.

Jul 232011
 

A woman in Norfolk, in southern Virginia has been receiving salary for the past 12 years. This is not about the US debt negotiations or recent recession. She was fired 12 years ago. Yet, the pay from the Norfolk Community Services Board kept coming in.

According to the report, “for the last 12 years the agency has been paying her $25,000 to $40,000 a year with full benefits even though McGlone was not coming to work. Also, she was given regular pay raises.”

Nix everything you have read here about pay raises and how to negotiate them.

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/norfolk/no-show-worker-in-norfolk-identified-jill-mcglone

Jun 032011
 

One of the worst behaviours in the realm of sales and sales management is discounting. The corporate euphemism is usually something along the lines of ‘providing the customer an incentive to buy.’
Hold on a second! Why does a customer need another incentive to buy if the product has benefits and offers superior advantages over the competition?
Discounting – or positively responding to such requests from potential customers – is self-defeating and bad practice. It is a negative not just for the seller either. It is also a negative for the buyer. How so?
First, giving away margin and price points upfront is rarely, if ever, a temporary situation. The new lower price is now the permanent price. A customer that has successfully obtained a lower price will demand the same going forward. Not only are customers prone to protecting their gains, but also the discounted price is perceived as the fair value price for the product or service. Any salesperson that agrees to a lower price should not be under any illusion that the loss will be made up later. There is no such thing as an introductory price anymore.
Moreover, prices are set according to costs, business plans and market conditions. Losing the required profit margin might imply incurring a loss and jeopardizing the seller’s longevity or security. Buying a customer’s business is the wrong notion.

Why is the lower price ultimately bad for the customer? It does several things. A buyer and a seller should maintain a mutually beneficial synergistic relationship. When one is threatened, the other should be concerned. The seller needs to provide after-sales support and, in most cases, enhancements, maintenance and upgrades. Furthermore, discounting tells the buyer that the initial price was dishonest and false. Not a good start to a relationship. Pricing integrity takes honesty and courage in the short-term, but is a good idea for the long-term.

    1. Maintain a healthy pipeline
    2. Allow your fair pricing policy to become your reputation
    3. Sell according to identified benefits and Return On Investment and
    4. Remember that a customer should not be a loss leader.
      Apr 172010
       

      Steps To Effective Listening:

      1- Listen – yes, oddly enough one has to listen without prejudice or interrupting.
      2- Listen For The Main Idea – what is the main and specific idea being put forth?
      3- Listen For The Reason – what is the rationale and reason behind the ideas discussed or proposed? Is the premise correct and based in fact?
      4- Organize – give the message conveyed an organization and order. It helps results gel and and for the listener to retain the information.
      5- Ask Questions – once the speaker has ended ask questions. Be sure that your own biases have not tainted what you heard.

      Taking notes is a good idea. It shows that the listener is interested. It also is a better method of keeping record than memory alone.

      *Things That Need To Go Away: listening meetings where the decision has already been made and conclusion already reached.

      j03992151

      Mar 152010
       

      A good salesperson knows that unless the product being sold has to do with ‘purchasing’ or ‘supply chain’ or ‘procurement’ then he or she is not ultimately selling to the Purchasing Department. The purchasing agent or manager is shopping or buying for another group within the organization.

      This can be empowering for the seller. For one, the purchasing department has rules and regulations it needs you to follow. Ask what those are, follow them and you have a level playing field of sorts (more on the “of sorts” in a moment). Secondly, if the purchasing department is speaking with you then the decision to buy has likely already been made. The purchasing agent is simply relaying the information and seeking to fulfill a request. Whether the action was prompted through your activities or in the background is a different matter. At this juncture, one can stop selling (not in the need creation sense) and concentrate on following the rules set forth. One of these might be the procurement of the lowest price possible; however, this requirement is usually offset by minimum quality standards imposed upon the product and the vendor. Countering a lower price request with information on the quality, reliability and service of your company is sensible at this juncture.

      With all due respect to the Purchasing Department, which has an important role to play in ensuring various rules and regulations are followed and that the organization takes delivery of the correct service or product it requires, selling to this department is often not fruitful. The needs are determined by the various lines of business and relayed to the company’s buyers. Spending time to create needs and describing a product or service’s pay-off does not belong to this part of the organization. Neither does excessive price negotiations because, at the end of the day, this branch of the buying firm has to be, and is, concerned with taking timely delivery of the correct product without subsequent deficiencies or defects. The price negotiation, if any, is simply the methodical processing of a buyer’s duties.

      Nov 262009
       

      Common wisdom in sales and management circles has revolved around the need to set personal goals, visualize, negotiate, and achieve.
      A new school of thought suggests that the secret to success could actually be to take the opposite route.
      Two new books regarding happiness, success, communication and persuasion argue respectively that happiness should not come at the expense of realism and the way to negotiation is to be receptive and listen with purity.

      Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, from the author of over a dozen other books, has used her experience as a breast cancer survivor to argue that the advocates of positive thinking are doing their followers a disservice. She insists that being positive about everything is not always good or superior. In other words, in corporate-speak, not every problem is a challenge and not every challenge is an opportunity. Ehrenreich claims that the incessant abuse of positive thinking has lead to a culture of not confronting problems. This school of thought leads to tangible problems.

      Dr. Mark Goulston’s Just Listen: Discover The Secret To Getting Through To Absolutely Anyone comes from the perspective of a psychiatrist and an FBI negotiator. He claims that the contemporary needs for ‘producing’ costs us business and personal relationships. Should we accept that sales, marketing and management have relating and relationship building as their cornerstones then we would do well to delve deeper into his thoughts. The book takes the stance that the best way to achieve what we want – be it a sale, a promotion or a concession – is to be receptive to the other party – i.e. empathy. The book insists that taking a more ‘natural’ stance is actually the better way to succeed. Goulston believes by listening, and listening even more deeply, could one get through to the angry customer, narcissistic co-worker or dissatisfied employee. He goes on to insist that the social media does us a disservice by emphasizing quantity over quality. According to the book, the best way to listen is to listen without an agenda. This would be the purest form of listening. Oddly enough, he does have a Facebook account!

      Just Listen To Buy The Book

      Just Listen More information

      justlisten

      Bright-sided To Buy The Book

      Bright-sided More information

      brightsided

      Jan 202008
       

      There comes a time in every salesperson’s professional career in which he or she is at the stage where the hard work pays off and a sale is imminent – and then the prospect goes silent. It is a bewildering time assuming one has done all the right things. Why was one promised and consequently presumed success only to be confronted with silence instead of a Purchase Order? Where has the contact gone? Why are they not returning your calls? Did you miss something or have circumstances changed? Who knows?

      It is time to call a meeting!

      Without news or updated information it is impossible to act, react or interact and to find out whether a deal is happening or not. If not, why not? Is it something that can be addressed? If yes, when and are there any modifications at hand?

      It is time to invite the prospect’s team to a meeting – telephone, videoconference or in-person. It is important to invite a team from the customer for several reasons. A larger team can bring any concerns to the table. It can give one different perspectives and open up the flow of information. It signals a sense of immediacy and a desire to resolve the issue.
      It also has the effect of nudging your contact(s) into action. It is likely that this escalation will help one receive the information one needs either through the group’s collaboration or by forcing the other party’s hand, providing momentum and illuminating the situation. Their acceptance or rejection of the meeting will yield plenty of information either way.
      Of course, isn’t it time your customers started feeling like collaborators and part of the team and accepted periodic meetings?