Myth: Customers Value (The cheapest) Price Above Anything Else

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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.

 

Don’t Lose Yourself

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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.

 

 

 

An Effective Presentation

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Oct 052011
 

In the same way that an effective salesperson makes the customer the focus of his conversation, effort and work – as opposed to talking about and focusing on himself or his company – in order to succeed, an effective presentation is all about the customer. The focus should be on translating all the knowledge of the customer to a presentation about the customer.

 

One simple way of accomplishing this is to ask those present at the presentation which topics they would like you to cover, what they would like to see or hear and which steps need to be covered. Your questions will demonstrate your knowledge of the customer’s environment. However, the danger one runs here is that the presentation, along with all the facts the seller has gathered, will go awry and the agenda and its flow will turn to incoherence.

 

Solution? Suggest the topics, ask whether they cover everything the audience expects, add/augment/complement or subtract the presentation accordingly.

 

Both the seller and buyer are happy.

Sales: A Numbers Game?

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Sep 152011
 

If you believe the B2C marketers sales is a numbers game. Cast as wide a net as possible and reap the maximum rewards.

Case in point: the credit card companies. Their mantra: offer the most number of people, the highest amount of credit, sit back and watch the filled out applications come in.

Sales technique: adorn the mass mailing with words like ‘exclusive’ or ‘limited’ or ‘deadline’ or ‘act now’. ‘Limited’ as in limited to 3,000,000 Canadians.

At which point does one cross from sales technique to cattle call territory? When will the government step in to regulate industries-gone-wild and their untrue statements?

 

*Things That Need to Go Away: Marketing that the company knows is false, the customer knows is false and the regulator allows.

How To Work With A Recruiter And Get A Job – An Interview With Kristin Condon

 Articles, Management, Selling  2 Comments »
Sep 092011
 

Kristin Condon is a Toronto-based recruiter specializing in sales positions. We picked her brain on what recruiters recommend and look for, how to get a job and the state of the job market.

 

 

– Kristin, could you elaborate on your experience and career thus far. What is your area of focus?
I have 13 plus years of recruitment experience – both agency and corporate. My current area of focus is sales recruitment of all levels, for all industries.

– What is some advice you would offer to individuals seeking a sales role or seeking a team management role? What traits are needed and what background is desirable?
This all depends on the level of role and industry – and there may be specific experience needed or required for example industry experience, inside sales management experience over outside, et cetra. Overall, most sales management roles are looking for leaders that have previous experience managing a team, someone who has previous experience as a proven salesperson and someone who is passionate about coaching and mentoring others.
As for Salespeople, desirable traits are previous experience, motivation, drive and being incented by money is key. Any sales metrics where they can show and prove their success – ideally on an incline in their career is key, that is how each role provides new and additional experiences. As far as advice please make sure to have voice-mail on your cell phones! So many salespeople do not and be sure to leave your name and number when you leave a message. Have firm handshakes, know your metrics like what is your sales quota, did you meet it or exceed it and if so, by how much, were you number one on your team? What was your average sale size? What was the sales cycle? Who do you sell into? Et cetra.

– What does a recruiter look for when interviewing, filtering and assessing a candidate for the above-mentioned roles? What would a recruiter appreciate from the candidate?
The ideal candidate is someone who is truly looking for a partnership. They value the recruiter and what the recruiter can do for them which is to get them in front of the decision-maker, give them all the necessary details so that they can properly prepare and give them feedback afterwards whether good or bad. A recruiter needs the candidate to have the right attitude – positive, thoughtful – and to know what they want. It is very difficult to help candidates that are looking for any role in any industry and don’t know what type of role or environment they like or at what they have excelled. A candidate needs to prepare properly. At the end of the day a sales interview really is a sales meeting. It is up to the candidate to sell himself to the hiring manager and to close the deal – or at least get to the next step in the process.

– Conversely, what are the bigger mistakes or faux-pas you have seen from candidates?
Candidates that try to wing the interview and don’t prepare; are not specific in their answers and are vague rather than giving specific examples; that are negative about past employers; that have too many excuses about why they were not successful and that have jumped around too much.

– Any recommendations or thoughts for individuals who are interested in a career change into sales or group management?
You need to expect to start at the bottom. The best sales role to get into is a hunting or business development role even if you only do it for a year or two. It will give you great insight into sales and help you evolve.

– How is the market as of today? What is the job market outlook for candidates in your territories?
Great! Sales is one of the best roles to be in – no matter what the market looks like, companies are always hiring sales people – they help grow the bottom line (smiles)!
Kristin can be reached at Kristin@salestalentagency.com or by calling 416-605-5964.

Garnering Committment!

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Aug 262011
 

A week ago, I wrote about the need for field sales to maximize their presence at the customer’s office to take advantage of the opportunity and as much as possible press forward.

http://www.alighaemi.com/wp/?p=760

What about inside sales? What inside sales representatives occasionally forget is the goal of their telephone discussion. Once a request has been made or once a suggestion is put forth, the salesperson needs to obtain a commitment. What is the next actionable item to which the customer is committing?

Here is an example:
Customer is being non-committal or simply blowing the salesperson politely off: “send me the brochure and I will look at it.”
Assuming the customer is either an influencer or a decision-maker here is what the salesperson needs to say and do while the customer is on the telephone: “For which information would you be looking? Can I answer the question or we dig deeper together? Who else would need to look at the brochure and what are they looking for? May we set an appointment to review the next steps? Which day and time? Etc.”
The salesperson needs to get a commitment from the customer that aligns with the communicated sales objectives. Short of getting a sale on the books, the salesperson needs to obtain a definitive and time-bound promise from a customer on that telephone call.
The answer might not always be a ‘yes,’ but not asking might be a problem of the salesperson’s making. Simply seal your request for a definitive next action with a ‘would you have an objection to that?’

 

 

Does The Sales Funnel Still Function?

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Aug 232011
 

For years the sales funnel has given order to sales opportunities, forecasting and businesses’ financial predictions and revenue reporting. But does it still matter? Does it work? The sales funnel or pipeline typically began with awareness/contact and progressed to the sales process’ completion. Nowadays though customers come much better informed, occasionally knowing what they want, having seen/ran their own demos online and care nothing for the sales process. In the information era how can a funnel exist if customers can enter it anywhere and anytime?

This Is It!

 Articles, Selling  1 Comment »
Aug 162011
 

Out: Arriving at a prospect’s office, shaking hands, commenting on the framed picture of the children on the desk, yanking out the laptop and launching into the company presentation, taking some notes, promising a proposal for the second meeting and driving off.
In: Arriving at a prospect’s office having arranged to meet as many people as possible, asking as many questions collaboratively as possible, sketching out the needs, desires and plans and cooperating with one, or more, of the decision-makers (there is more than one) on your proposal, possibilities and outcomes because this might be the only chance you will get.

Of haggling, discounting and price pressures

 Articles, Negotiating, Selling  1 Comment »
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?

 

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