AUTHOR NOTE TO READERS: This article was written to assist my clients in the advertising sales sector. I say all the time, “if you can sell a newspaper ad, you can sell anything.” I think we all can learn from these street smart sales superstars. So, take the info and translate it for your industry. – Ryan Dohrn, Founder, Sales Training World
Every single sales call with an advertiser is valuable. So valuable that you do not want to waste time asking questions that will not help you close the deal. After 30 years of selling and marketing media, I find that you have three to five questions, and that is about it, on every sales call. More than that and you might as well turn on a bright light and point it into your advertiser’s eyes and take the interrogation to the next level. I am kidding, of course. The issue is that many media sales warriors have been misled to ask the wrong questions. When you first start your training as a salesperson, there is usually a conversation about asking the three critical sales questions that are core to your success. Those three questions normally include the following: Are they the person that can make advertising decisions? What marketing are you currently doing? What is your budget for marketing? But what if I told you that I deeply believe that these are not the best questions to ask on a media sales call? Would you read on? Or would you roll your eyes? Well, thanks for reading on because I feel we need to sell differently, now more than ever before. In previous blogs I have stated that if we keep selling traditional media in traditional ways, we are destined to get traditional results. So, what can we do to be bigger, badder, and better in the media ad sales business? I believe it starts with reformatting the questions we ask. I deeply feel that we all need to think like a doctor and not like a salesperson.
Consider this: you go to the doctor looking for relief from some type of ailment. They will normally ask you these three questions. What is causing you pain? How long has this been a problem? What have you done so far to fix the pain? If we can be in the business of removing pain, like a doctor, we have a repeatable pattern for ad sales success. Let’s start with the old questions and move to the prescription for success.
Do we need to know if the person is the decision maker? Of course. But, if we only meet with decision makers, we will not have enough meetings to get to our sales goal. In addition, in the media business, we are working with a different buying structure compared to “normal” companies. Unlike a copier salesperson, we are working with marketing directors or business owners. Both are in a unique position, unlike an acquisition clerk at a standard company, to make decisions or highly influence decisions. There are normally not many layers to get to a marketing decision. So I suggest that we swap this question out for a new one. Keep reading, it is coming up.
Do we need to know what marketing they are currently doing? Of course. That helps immensely. But, this question leads the advertiser to hijack your sales call and talk about the other things they are doing. You have just invited them to talk about your competition on your sales call. There is a better way to handle this question and get the answer that you need to move your ball down the field towards a touchdown. We need this answer, but we should ask it in a different way. So, I suggest that we swap out this question for a new one. Keep reading, it is coming up.
Do we need to know their budget? Of course. But how many times have you been given an accurate answer? How many times have you been told, there is no budget? Asking an advertiser their budget forces you to live in their often unrealistic reality of what it takes to market their product or service to your readers. You are asking them to force you into their reality instead of guiding them to the actual reality of what it takes to have a presence, be competitive, or dominate the pages of your publication or website. Asking for budget without showing them the reality of marketing is a waste of a question. Again, we need this answer. But I suggest that we swap out this question for a new one. Keep reading, it is coming up.
When it comes times to asking questions of an advertiser, I have a proven three-step process that has worked over and over again. I truly feel it is the prescription for getting the answers we need and for closing deals. It will probably sound like just what the doctor ordered. So, what is your biggest problem or pain point? How long has that problem been painful? And, what have you done to fix that problem or alleviate that pain? Let’s expand on this three-step process of questions, right now.
Question #1: I like to ask, when you agreed to meet with me today, what is the one business challenge or point of pain that you think I can help you solve? This helps the advertiser get specific with you. It allows you to provide them with specific solutions to specific problems. This helps you get clear on their points of pain. They may have one or they may have five. Ask them to get clear with you, and take notes. Sympathize with them. Tell them they are not alone. Reference that you have heard this pain point before and have some ideas to help. Once you know their pain, now you want to enhance the pain … just a touch.
Question #2: Pain is a real motivator in problem-solving and customer relations. If you can be seen as the person or company that removes the pain points a business owner is facing, your secret media elixir will sell like wildfire. After I ask and identify their pain points, I will ask this simple question: “How long has this been a problem?” Normally, the answer surprises me. I am trying to enhance the pain. I want to make it very real for them, especially if they have been advertising with a competitor for years. I want them to subtly realize that they have been advertising elsewhere and this darn problem still exists. I am not looking to make them feel dumb, however. I just want them to see that they still have the pain point and they do not like the pain. Once the pain is real, I dig just a bit deeper by asking my third question.
Question #3: What have you done to fix this problem? I might even ask how much money they have spent to try and fix the issue. Oh wait, did I just ask their budget? Well … sort of. I want to enhance the fact that they have spent money and time and the problem still exists. Again, sympathize with them. Tell them they are not alone. Reference that you have heard this pain before and have some ideas to help.
Your doctor does the same thing when you come to their office. Right? What is the problem? How long has this been a problem? What have you done so far to fix the pain? If we can be in the business of removing pain, we have a repeatable pattern for ad sales success.
Now, I am not suggesting that these are the only questions you should ask. If you read this blog often, you know that there are many other questions to ask. I am simply suggesting that we have limited time on that single valuable sales call, and we want to ask the best questions to get the best results. The other thing is that there are so many age-old sales questions that make us sound like every other media salesperson. In most markets, the questions that you ask will set you apart from the other salespeople that are calling on your same clients. Do you believe that questions separate you from others? The answer is yes.
Two final points. If we keep selling traditional media in traditional ways, we are destined to get traditional results. So let’s change a bit. And remember, if ad sales was an easy job, everyone would be doing it. We are the chosen few. Let’s always be looking to improve our media sales game.
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales keynote speaker
What a crazy year—it seems like it was March just yesterday! But we’re moving into that time of year when we need to close out 2020 in as strong a way as possible. And we also need to be looking at 2021 and Q1, Q2.
So what are we going to do in the remainder of 2020 to close more sales deals as we roll into the New Year, and close them faster? Our goal as a corporate sales training company is to help you win!
Here are 10 time-tested ideas that work for me.
1-Present Options and Recommendations in the First Sales Meeting
I’ve said this before in the past, but I want to reinforce this simple fact: the conversion rate is 70% higher when you recommend a product. A full sixty percent of people make decisions based on FOMO, that fear of missing out.
So why it is that so many sales people go on a discovery meeting and then leave that meeting to create a customized solution and proposal?
In some instances, I get it—this specialization that you’re trying to bring in front of your customers. But it’s hard enough to get meetings as it is, much less have to schedule a meeting, go to discovery, leave the meeting to create a proposal, come back and track the person down to present the proposal. Then after all that they’ve got to think about it. And then you’ve got to track them down again.
You might say, “My process is a lot more streamlined.” But I doubt it. I’m here to be real with you.
So when I’m on a sales call, I’m ready to present options in that very first meeting. And I am ready to make recommendations and proposals on the spot.
2-Use Research to Your Advantage
If you want to move from the transactional selling that has been necessary during COVID to relational selling, you’ve got to use research to connect more deeply with customers.
As I share in my sales training, I use tools to do this. LinkedIn is one obvious example. And some of us have LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and it’s a really great tool. I’m also using a Chrome extension with a website called Crystal Knows (www.crystalknows.com). And the shortcut is that Crystal does virtual personality profiling. The extension syncs with LinkedIn when you’re in Chrome to pull up personality profiles and traits of the people that you’re looking at. This tool is not free, but it’s not expensive, either. And I use it all the time.
So, I’m using research to connect more deeply with sales clients. It’s called “building quick trust.” And “quick trust” must be built within 5-10 seconds. You’re going to do that most effectively by having more information on the customer, their company, etc. So dig in on LinkedIn and make sure you’re prepared for all your calls.
I realize this is kind of 101, but are you actually doing it?
3-Ask Better Questions
Your questions simply have to be better. One of your main questions that makes me nuts and that I hear when I’m doing sales training is this: “Tell me more about your business.” C’mon, you’re better than that.
Or “What keeps you up at night?” Okay, c’mon, you’re better than that one, too. And then, “What’s your budget?” You can do better than that.
Those are three questions we do need to ask, but maybe ask them in a more vibrant kind of way so that we don’t sound like every other salesperson that’s calling on that customer.
Here are four that I really like to ask: 1.) “When you agreed to meet with me, what business challenge or problem were you hoping that I could help you solve?” That is one of my absolute favorites.
The next one is similar, but it’s more of a storytelling kind of approach. 2.) “If I could give you a magic wand that you wave, what would you want to see happen as far as our relationship goes—what’s your buy-in from me?” Or “If I could wave a magic wand for you, what business challenge could I help you resolve?”
The next question I like to ask is, 3.) “When you think about competing here in our community and against others in your industry, do you want to be seen as having some sort of a presence out there? Do you want to be competitive? Or do you want to be dominant?”
And the reason this works for me is because, sure, I can ask them their budget for buying whatever product I’m selling. But they’re going to give me a number based on their reality.
Let me stress it again, when I ask this question and give them those three options, that’s going to lead me towards a budget number that’s based more in actual reality–rather than simply their reality.
The other question I like to ask on a regular basis is, 4.) “If everything went perfectly, if our relationship was perfect, you buy the product I’m selling, and then … what do you want the end result to be? What would the perfect end result be for you?”
Or, more simply, you could say, “If I’m going to keep you for a lifetime as a customer, what do I need to do?”
I think those are just better questions than, “What keeps you up at night?”
4-Prepare Yourself to Talk About COVID Delays
Delays are happening right now. People are delaying Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4. Be prepared to talk about it.
Jot down the most common objections you’re going to get on one side of a piece of paper. And on the other side jot down what your answers are going to be. And be prepared for delays.
5-Revamp Your Proposal
You’ve got to think about revamping your sales proposal based upon the research that I hit on before. Let me give you two tidbits that might help motivate you to do this.
From our Sales Training World research, we’ve found that when we looked at 1,200 pages of 100 different proposals that 79% of our test users simply scanned the proposal, and only 16% actually read it. So I think we sales pros need to remove about 50% of the text from our proposals.
Another telling find in our research is that nearly all of the most successful businesses we looked at had proposals that presented three pricing options.
And then, the last finding was that these successful businesses used proposals that were full of pictures and a wealth of examples.
So, be thinking of the research out there and revamping your slide decks, your capabilities decks, and these kinds of sales tools. And again, remember that only about 16% of people actually read what it is you’re putting in front of them.
6-Give More Than One Pricing Option
Why do I love three pricing options? I love three pricing options and I stress them in my sales training because if you give somebody one choice, it’s sort of a yes or a no. If you give them two choices, now you’re starting to get them thinking. But if you give them three choices, they will typically buy the middle option.
So you create your pricing and your proposals around the middle option.
To reiterate, present three pricing options. I want to see a good, better, best in almost every situation. Or a presence, competitive, dominant—or a gold, silver, bronze. However you word it, present three pricing options if you want to sell more.
7-Set a Very Specific After-Proposal Follow Up Plan
So you’re on the meeting (remember, I suggest you go there with a proposal), and you’ve gone there ready to sell them something—ask great questions, share testimonials, and show them what you’ve got.
Then when the client says, “I need to think about it,” you’ll be ready for that too, and you’ll be ready to implement three steps, which are No. 1, tell them “Let me back up and in 48 hours check in.”
Then No. 2, if they need more time and 48 hours isn’t enough, ask them, “If you need more time, what are we going to do?”
And finally, No. 3, ask “What if we miss each other?” which is how I psychologically try to program my customers. “If you stand me up for this date, then what?”
It’s also worth noting that we need to be prepared for when their answer is “no.” I’m not going to beat them up about it. But I might say, “I’d rather get a ‘yes,’ but if it’s going to be no just tell me ‘no.’” Or, “If the timing isn’t right, tell me ‘no’ so I can quit bothering you.”
A very specific follow up plan that I stress in my sales training is: after I get finished with my sales call, I check back in 48 hours. So, consider these follow-up statements: “If you need more time, let’s text about it.” “If we miss each other, then what?” “What do you need?” And then, “If the answer is no, tell me ‘no,’ I’m not going to beat you up about it.”
8-Talk About the Love You Have for Your Customers
A lot of times salespeople feel like they don’t want to talk about their clients. But you have to.
In the land of COVID, stranger danger is real. People are more likely to buy from you if you’ve helped other people be successful. That’s why I’m always open to share and talk freely about my other clients.
Yet, in nearly every slide deck I see, in just about every proposal that I see, there’s no mention of anybody else that we work with—our clients. Why is that?
“Well, you know, we really can’t talk about other people,” many say. But stop. We’re not talking about being unethical. I’m talking about singing from the mountaintops.
Don’t be afraid. Tell them how much you love your customers and how much they love you, and that they’re going to love working with you, as well.
Go ahead and sing that love from the mountaintops.
9-Get Clear on the Path to Making a Decision
Some people will tell you to step It up in advance. I don’t think it’s the appropriate thing to do. For example, “Okay, what’s your timeline here?” “Do you have the authority to make this decision?” That reminds me of how we used to do things in the ‘80s. And most buyers don’t respond to that.
But if I get to the end of the sales call, and they’re showing excitement, they’re giving me buying signals, I ask them, “So what does your path to making this decision look like? “You seem like you love this idea. Do you love it?” And if they say, “I love it,” then great. I’ll say, “So what’s your path to getting this approved?” and “What do you need from me?”
And then I’ll ask, “What do you think is going to be the biggest roadblock that you’re going to run across? What can I give you—video, can I reformat this slide deck for you, could I record the sales deck using a tool like Loom or Soapbox and give it to you to show your boss?”
A lot of sales trainers out there would say, “Never meet with anyone who’s not the decision maker.” Well, that’s easy to say if you’re not really responsible for selling anything.
I think we have to meet with people that are in the chain of command.
So remember to ask, “What do you need from me?” Get really clear on this with your clients and prospects.
10-Deal with It if Somebody’s Answer is “No”
If you’re going to close more sales deals, you’re going to need to rock through them. If a customer’s answer is no, I’m not going to beat them up about it.
A lot of times people will say, “Never give them the opportunity to say ‘no.’” Okay, that’s a copyright 1996.
You have to recognize that in today’s world we’re having to resell people all the time. So if you really make them angry because you jump back down their throat when you’re in full-press sales mode … if the answer is “no” or “not now,” your answer should be something like, “We’ll get together and we’ll work together at some point in the future.”
Some people will say, “Well, you never get a second chance to sell them.” I just don’t agree with that. I feel like we have to resell these people over and over again.
If the answer is “no,” that just means “not right now.” And actually, that’s alright.
Rock through those deals.
In closing, remember—I say it all the time—if sales was easy, everybody would be doing it. And they’re not. So we’re either crazy or we’ve found careers that will feed our families for a lifetime.
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Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
The dramatic impact that the novel coronavirus has had on the United States and the world is undeniable. There are many different ways to view what has happened, and I do not wish to be political—I trust that everyone can handle politics in their own way.
For our sales conversations, though, I believe that we need to start getting back to business—whatever that means for your particular company as it relates to sales and marketing.
In that vein, let’s talk about seven ideas to help us get back to business from where we now stand. These are realizations I’m finding to work well for me in my own sales life, and that I’m sharing with others as part of my larger sales training efforts.
Idea 1: The time to get back to sales conversations is now.
There are a lot of people out there talking on the internet and social media about selling during COVID-19—and it was tough. I must reiterate: The conversations out there were tough. And now, at the time of this writing, we’re almost two months into this and the conversations are largely OK now. Maybe one out of 50 folks I’m calling on has been personally impacted or has had something happen in their families, and they’re not ready to talk. I get that. I totally get that.
It’s for those folks, when I get them on the phone, I just apologize, sympathize, and say, “Hey, when you’re ready to talk, I’m here.”
But one of the things I hear sales reps doing right now in my sales training (marketers, too) is starting every conversation with, “Hey, Bob. How are you doing?” And that’s just wrong.
Now, if you’ve known the person for a considerable period of time, then you might consider them a colleague and you might start the conversation that way.
But if you’re calling on a new prospect, and you don’t know them from anybody else, I think asking them about their personal health is not the best way to start the conversation.
In addition, everybody is starting the conversation that way. And unfortunately, it leads to a pretty negative start to a sales call.
So what I like to do is put a little different spin on it. I might say, “Hi, Bob. I’ve got some news to share with you—some good news, as a matter of fact. Would you have time for a new idea?”
Or, “Hey, Bob. I see some light at the end of the proverbial business tunnel, and I’d love to chat with you a little about some new ideas. What do you think?”
I think that’s a very appropriate way to start a sales conversation. In fact, I think it’s so important that I want to caution you again, when you start the conversation, “Hey, Bob. How’re doing?” you might get somebody who says back to you, “How the (blank) do you think I’m doing?” And again, I’m not at all saying that you shouldn’t sympathize. What I’m saying is that everybody is starting the conversation with, “Hey, how are you going?” and a lot of the time it leads to a pretty negative conversation and gets things off to a fairly negative start.
In the end, though, how you kick off the first conversation is up to you and to your personal preferences. For me, it was a bit tough to get past the “Hey, how are you doing?” It really was, and so I get that.
To recap, if you’ve had a relationship with somebody for years, it’s natural that you’ll want to ask them how they’re doing.
But otherwise, my advice is to always start the conversation with a bit more positive phrasing—to kick off a more positive conversation.
Idea 2: Recognize that a lot of people are still working from home.
Here’s what’s really interesting about COVID-19 on a positive side, if there is a positive side. And that’s that everybody pretty much knows how to do a GoToMeeting or a Zoom meeting. They’re comfortable with it and that makes it a little bit easier to sell that way.
We taught my mom how to run a Zoom meeting the other night. So c’mon, if I can teach my mom how to run a Zoom meeting, if you do happen to run across somebody who really doesn’t know how and is not the most technologically savvy, you can teach them, too.
But since many people are still working from home, the odds of catching them in a non-distracting environment are good. There are always spouses and kids and pets, but there isn’t typically the normally distracting business environment. (And if you looked your customer or sales prospect up on LinkedIn, you might be prepared and already know they have six kids, or whatever the case may be, as they’re working from home.)
So to recap here, recognize that a lot of people are still working from home.
Idea 3: Respect that prospecting times have changed, marketing times have changed, and reception times have changed.
So first off, let’s talk about pre-COVID times. In pre-COVID times I’d be telling you to call folks at 11:15 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. I choose 11:15 because most people don’t book meetings before lunch, so there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to get through to them. And then 4:15 because most people don’t book meetings before going home, so your chances of getting through to them are pretty good.
Well, during COVID and post-COVID, 4 p.m. has become the new 5 o’clock. So for me that afternoon time block has definitely changed. It’s turned into more like a 3:15 prospecting block.
But what about the morning time block? I’m noticing that a lot of people are responding to emails earlier in the day. So what I’ve been doing is changing the 11:15 time block to more like a 10 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. time block—specifically for prospecting.
Here’s the takeaway on that. Look at your client list, monitor your CRM, and look to see when people are responding to your sales calls. Then, as always, friends, keep your emails, keep your marketing short.
Recognize that from a marketing standpoint it’s best to reach people not at random times, but at times that you’re going to get the very best open rate. And be aware that times have changed.
Idea 4: Work with people on their deadlines.
In a post-COVID world, there’s going to be urgency of deadlines as people get back to some semblance of normalcy.
So rather than asking needs, goals, and desires, what I’m really focusing in on are, “What are your deadlines?” Or, “As you get back to work, what are the deadlines being placed on you?” And I look at this from a technology perspective, from a marketing perspective, and from a sales perspective—and then I work backwards from those deadlines.
See, a lot of times in the sales world we sell forward, meaning that we work with folks and we try to push them into our sales funnel, rather than us working with their particular sales funnels or buying cycles.
So one of the things I’m doing and that I’m teaching in my sales training is how to really get intimate with sales contacts’ and prospects’ deadlines. My questions might go like this, “What are your deadlines? “What do you have coming up?” and “What’s going on for you?” And that way I back myself into success as a sales person. I use their own deadlines to potentially drive the conversation forward from my perspective.
Idea 5: You are more likely to do business with somebody post-COVID that you’ve already done business with in the past.
Why is that? That’s because there are two things in sales that really stop us. No 1., with new customers there’s that “stranger danger” effect, and stranger danger is real.
And no. 2, there are going to be valid health issues—safety concerns that your prospects and customers have.
Some of you in the past have been really big on getting face-to-face with your customers. And I’m going to say that over the next six months or so, getting face-to-face is probably going to be pretty unlikely.
The good news though, as I said before, is that people are getting very proficient with Zoom, GoToMeeting, Google Meet, and that kind of thing. So I think that video selling has become a new thing that is very important for all of us to embrace.
In addition, you truly are more likely to get a referral from a past customer. So, what’s your referral program? Personally, I like to refer business. I think it’s good for business. I think people appreciate it, but you have to ask yourself, “What am I really going to get in terms of a referral?” And then you have to consider whether or not you have a good referral program.
Idea 6: You must set time blocks and create a good rhythm.
Doing this can really help you get focused. When you’re setting these time blocks, ask yourself, “How has the time zone changed in a post-COVID world?” Think of that, and then realize that you need to get religious about those time zones, those time blocks.
Block them out. Pay attention to those time zones. And really live and die by them. Get consistent. Randomness is really not going to help you.
I share in my sales training that I also use lists in my CRM to keep me focused. Whether you tag customers in those lists, or whatever you do in your process, in those time zones I like to work a lot of lists in my sales efforts. And I think that’s vitally important for sales success.
Idea 7: Sales is a numbers game that you can use to your advantage.
I love relationships, but when push comes to shove math doesn’t lie. So make sure you understand how many sales calls you will need to make and how many emails will you need to send to get a meeting booked with somebody.
And then once you book that meeting, how many sales meetings does it take for you to actually get a closed deal? Use that math to reach sales success.
So to close, it’s OK to sell in a post-COVID world. Of course, be sympathetic, but just realize that now is the time to sell. Get back to work. Stay ahead of the game. And I think we’re going to be successful in a post-COVID world.
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Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales keynote speaker
All sales reps at, one time or another, wake up and really don’t want to sell. Maybe it is just one day. Maybe it is all week. Whatever the case, you have been bucked off the horse and you know that you will be in a world of hurt if you do not get back on the horse and ride again. Trust me, this happens to all of us. As a sales coach, I will get on a call with a sales rep that is normally ON FIRE and they will say, “Ryan I just don’t feel like selling today.” I get it.
Lets explore six ways to re-ignite your passion for sales.
1. Change your environment. When times get tough I find a new spot to work. Whether it is a coffee shop or a pool, I change my scenery. I have gone to the lake and rented a pontoon boat. I have rented a hotel room with a balcony and a great view of the pool. I have even caught a cheap flight to Vegas. Change your scenery to re-inspire yourself.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST ON THIS TOPIC, Click here!!
2. Go back to your core training and use math to your advantage. You have heard at least 300 times that every “no” is one step closer to a “yes.” Right? For those of you that have read my book Selling Backwards you know that I work my “Big 50 prospect list” religiously. I work 50 clients every month to get 10 quality meetings. From those 10 meetings I present 8 great proposals. From those 8 proposals I close 4 or more deals. What is your prospecting plan? Figure it out and grind it out.
3. Try the non-sales approach. Go to a web site like Inc.com and find a great article that will be applicable to your prospect or client list. Maybe an article on motivating your team. Then, share that article with your clients or prospects. I truly feel that 40% of your sales communications should be non-sales related. You will be blown away at the number of times a non-sales email will generate business.
4. Seek out inspiration. Watch a Tony Robbins video on YouTube. Listen to my podcast. (Wink). Read an inspirational book or blog. Read Brendon Brouchard’s book The Motivation Manifesto. Get inspired. Seek out motivation. It probably will not seek you out.
5. Dress for success and rock it out! What? I’m not joking. Put on a suit or your best outfit and jam to your favorite and loudest music. I mean JAM IT OUT! Go all out. Put on the makeup. Wear the suit only reserved for interviews. Do your hair. Do it. Dress like you are meeting with the CEO. Then, turn up the volume. Fake it until you feel it.
6. Find some love. Call on clients that love you. When things are really crazy and I feel overwhelmed I will often call on clients that love me or I will call my Mom. Why? Mommy loves you no matter what.
We will all fall off the horse now and again. No big deal. Get up. Dust yourself off and get back in the saddle.
Need a sales coach or sales training? We are here to help. Reach out: Ryan@BrainSwellMedia.com . 803-634-3886
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
The month of February brings to the forefront a single day where love is the focus. Valentines Day. Yes, that one-day where we go all out for that one person we love dearly. I would suggest to you that if you wait until February 14 you have missed 11 other months to show your love. Because I am a sales coach and not a life coach, I need to quickly move over to the lovers in your business life? From a sales training perspective, what have you done recently to show your clients some love? If you don’t take care of your clients your competitors will! That I can promise you.
Experts tell us that it takes fives times the money and five times the energy to win a new client. So, what can we do to show our clients some love and keep them in a long-term relationship? Let’s have some fun on this topic, but also look at some serious ideas to boost your relationships with your clients.
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Here are 6 ways to show your clients some love this month and beyond.
- What about sending hand written love notes? The art of the hand written thank you note has neared extinction. Join me in reviving this age-old sales retention activity. Buy some nice thank you cards and grab a nice pen and get to work. I like to send along a $5 Starbucks card with my thank you notes too. Is your handwriting poor? Check out Bond.co (not dot com. Dot co) They will write your thank you notes for you for $7 each.
- Who doesn’t love to eat? Send some lovely small edible gifts. I use 1-800-flowers.com to send small tokens of appreciation like popcorn or cookies. A little secret is to buy the free all year shipping pass. This means all of your shipping is covered for the year at one flat rate. There are many non-floral gifts for under $20.
- How about sending non-sales emails of love? On a monthly basis I like to find a great motivational article or Youtube video to share with my clients. I find many on Inc.com under their motivation section. I write a simple email and send them the link. I do NOT mention sales at all. “Hi Bob. I came across this great article and thought I would share it with you. – insert link – . Have a great day. – Ryan” In my sales training workshops, we spend 45 minutes on this important topic. Why? Because this retention activity truly needs to be a part of your daily sales life.
- Introduce your clients to experts that will love them too. Set-up meetings for your clients with subject matter experts that you know will benefit their business. For example, find a cyber security expert or an SEO expert and work out a deal with these pros where the first consultation is free for your clients. Or, you pay for it.
- Online educational love-fests. Or, you can call them “webinars” if you want. Lol. Educational webinars are a great way to show your clients some love. Arrange for an expert to talk on a webinar about topics that are important to the industry or community that you serve. You might event tap some of the subject matter experts from #4 above for these webinars. The topics you choose are important to draw a crowd. You might even consider using a survey to determine the topics that are important to your clients. This is an invitation only type of online event. Those invited can ask questions as well. Don’t worry about large numbers of attendees. Keep it intimate and action oriented. Do not over think this retention activity. I use GotoWebinar for this type of activity. GTW is cost effective and I have never one time experienced a technical issue with the system.
- How about a sexy phone message from the boss? Ok, that might be a stretch. Arrange to have your boss or a member of top brass simply call the client. Even if you get a voicemail the impact is awesome. Clients love to hear that the boss cares about them enough to call them. If you make this a monthly activity, the time commitment is fairly minimal yet the impact is monumental. Keep in mind, you will get voice mail 90% of the time.
If you will wait for the holidays to show your love. By the time you wait for the Christmas holiday to say I love you, your competitor has asked them for a date 11 times. The odds of success are in their favor. Show your clients some love today! Make these activities a part of your sales training program and your annual client retention program.
Loving your clients and having an active retention plan in place is mission critical to your long-term success in the sales business. Those that master the retention game survive a VERY long time in the sales game. Don’t wait. Start showing some love today!
XO Ryan
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Ryan Dohrn is an internationally certified sales coach and sales trainer with a focus on seven multi-national industries. Ryan is also a top sales conference speaker and sales meeting speaker.
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
The key to your success in the world of sales is increasing the number of meetings you are granted by prospective clients. Developing an effective prospecting process can be the difference between life and death in your sales career. For me, the goal of prospecting is simply getting to a meeting. Period. The goal of prospecting is not to sell anything. I am just hoping to meet with a client via phone or in person for 20 minutes. If you are selling during the prospecting phase you will greatly reduce your success. Over the course of 25 years in the sales and marketing business I have seen many prospecting plans from many unique angles. I have identified five factors in the prospecting process that will increase your chances of being granted a meeting with a prospective client – I call this my T.A.R.G.E.T. prospecting tool. I use this tool every day in both writing my prospecting emails and leaving voicemails for my prospects. I will break it down into six pieces for you; each piece builds on the previous.
Listen on iTunes as well, click here.
The T in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for “time”. A person’s time is highly valuable to them, each and every day. The main reason that more prospects do not grant you access to present to them is the simple fact that many other sales people have wasted their time. It is imperative that you focus on NOT wasting their time in your prospecting emails and voicemails. You want to articulate that you realize other sales people may have wasted their time. But, in doing so, be careful not to sound like all the other sellers that also emailed them that day. An often over-used phrase in prospecting emails is “I know that your time is valuable.” Or, “I want to be respectful of your time.” These two phrases are common and un-authentic. Instead, I want you to consider phrases like, “I promise not to waste your time.” Or, “ I’m sure other sales people in the past have wasted your time.”
The A in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for “authentic”. Showing that you are authentic is critical in breaking the ice with someone you do not know. People that are authentic are not afraid to admit their faults. People that are authentic are more focused on others then themselves. People that are authentic truly want to help you. I would ask you to consider phrases in your prospecting emails and voicemails like, “I truly feel that this idea will benefit you.” Or, “I have seen firsthand how this has benefited my other clients.” Or, “I have three clients like you that are seeing solid success working with us.” Or, “I fully recognize the fact that you do not know me.” Your authenticity is also further driven by your focus on all the points in the T.A.R.G.E.T. system I am proposing to you.
The R in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for “relevant”. There is nothing worse that receiving an irrelevant, generic sales email from someone you do not know. I am amazed that companies still continue to use this approach as a prospecting tool. It does not work unless you email thousands and thousands of prospects, and even then it is hit and miss. Instead, I want to prove quickly that I am relevant to my prospect by pointing out something from their website, company Facebook® page or their profile on LinkedIn®. I recognize that this might come across as creepy if it is not handled properly. For example, “before reaching out to you, I was doing some research on your website and saw that you have recently moved into the aviation industry.” Or, “while researching your company, I saw on your LinkedIN profile that we both worked for ABC Company many years back.” Or, “in preparing to contact you, I saw on your company’s Facebook page that you’re promoting the XYZ product right now.“ Generic does not work. Relevant always wins.
The G in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for “go”. This premise is simple: I want my email to be focused. We want them to move forward, and we need to ask them to do so. I am not suggesting that you be pushy or arrogant, I am suggesting that you consider phrases like, “I truly feel that I can help you with ______. Can we chat for 20 minutes or less via phone Tuesday at 9am, 11am or 3pm EST?” It is important to understand that each component of the T.A.R.G.E.T. prospecting system is important.
The E in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for “ethical”. Have you ever received an email with a great subject line, and then opened the email to discover that you were tricked? If you are anything like me, this makes you mad. I have never, ever applauded a sales person for tricking me. The subject line is often the ethical barometer by which you are judged – it sets the tone for your chances of getting your email opened or replied to. I recently wrote a blog called 10 Great Sales Subject Lines. Check it out at this link: https://salestrainingworld.com/sales-training/10-sales-email-subject-lines-to-get-an-open-read-and-reply/ Some of my favorite subject lines include the date that you want to meet the prospect and the name of your prospect’s competitor.
The final T in T.A.R.G.E.T. stands for tick-tock. Meaning, tick-tock like a clock. When is the best time to send a prospecting email? What time of day should you send an email to get a reply? 10am and 2pm are the most common times for meetings in corporate America so these would be two times to avoid. Your email will just not get the attention required to receive a quality reply, if any reply at all. What times of day are predictable for fewer meetings? 11:15am and 4:15pm. Why? Not many meetings are booked at 11:15 because they will potentially interfere with lunch. Not many meetings are booked at 4:15 because they will potentially interfere with happy hour. I have seen a dramatic increase in email opens and replies during these two times of day. Maybe you sell to an industry working on a different schedule, like restaurants or contractors? You will need to alter your email prospecting send times to coincide with times that your potential clients will be most attentive.
Let’s bring this T.A.R.G.E.T. blog to a final point: increasing the number of meetings that you are granted by prospective clients is the key to your success in the world of sales. Period. Without the meeting, you do not have a chance to present anything. Developing an effective prospecting process can be the difference between life and death in your sales career, and email is one step of that process.
Remember, if sales was easy everyone would be doing it.
Ryan
About this blogger:
Ryan Dohrn is an award winning sales coach and offers sales training to thousands of sales executives each year. He is also an international motivational speaker and the author of the best selling sales book, Selling Backwards. Ryan is the President and founder of Brain Swell Media, a boutique sales training and sales coaching firm with a detailed focus on sales training and coaching for media and
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
Today’s consumers demand relevance, but what is relevance exactly?
While Oxford English Dictionary has its definition of “relevance,” what you can take away from that definition is that relevance is a state of “connection” and “appropriate.”
You might ask yourself how relevance plays a role in driving better sales and what it takes for your business to be more relevant.
No, you do not have to stalk your prospects on Facebook. Instead, you can be relevant by training your sales staff to recognize the needs of your client and develop a customized experience based on those needs.
How Relevance Is Finding Its Way into Corporate Sales Training
If you have taken a corporate sales skills training course recently, you might have noticed that there was a common theme: Know your audience.
As a sales professional, you must prove to the prospective customer that you have done your homework, and you are presenting a solution that benefits them in copious ways. While this sounds easy, many businesses have failed at relevance.
4 Ways to Succeed at Boosting Relevancy
Relevancy does not have to be some daunting task, but it also is not something you quickly throw together and toss into the next email campaign. When you are creating your sales courses for staff members, deploy these four techniques to ensure they understand what you mean by “relevance.”
1. Stop Harassing People with Generic Emails
Generic emails to prospects are not only turn-offs, but they border the line of offensive.
Take a recent email I received. A major company in the social media industry sent me a 700-word email. The subject line was catchy and read “Free Food?” Therefore, my interest was piqued, and I opened it.
Sadly, after the subject line, I was left disappointed. The email itself was generic, boring, and talked more about the company. There were no benefits for myself, no personalization, and the email was irrelevant.
I deleted the email disappointed in myself for giving into the subject line. After all, my opening of that email has now sent a message to that company to keep sending them. Luckily, we have “unsubscribe” for that reason.
While the “unsubscribe” option saved me from more generic harassment, for that company, they just lost an opportunity. You do not want to send generic emails that turn people away or worse, force them to unsubscribe from your list.
2. Use the 3 Elements of Relevancy
Relevancy is easier when you have the three proper elements present. These elements are offered up at corporate sales training seminars because they teach you how to draw in your prospect.
What are the three elements?
- Subject Line Specificity: Your subject line presents a solution to a particular problem. For the B2B sector, perhaps you want to help a company save on office supply costs, so start with “Revolutionary Products that Reduce Your Office Supply Costs.”
- Keep the Body Relevant: First, personalize your email. Mention the recipient’s name and avoid the generic “Hello Friend.” Then, keep your body relevant, short, and sweet. Show the prospect you have done your homework, and briefly, explain what solution you offer to their particular problem.
- Include Samples: People will not nip at something that they cannot see. To pique interest, include a link to a promo video or entice them with an introductory discount so that they have a reason to follow through.
3. Do Your Homework
Research your prospect thoroughly.
With today’s technology at your fingertips, you have plenty of ways to research the industry or company you are hoping to work with. For example, you can use tools like Google Alerts for industry news. Research prospects on LinkedIn to see what groups and interests they have.
4. Always Be Authentic with Your Approach
Authenticity means you are genuine.
Being authentic is not a sales strategy either. According to Melanie Lane from HubSpot, everyone knows when you are authentic and when you are trying to force your message.
Consumers do not want you to tell them. Instead, the less you sell, the more open they are to buy. So, if you offer up advice for money-saving tips, stick with the information and do not make it an opportunity to pitch your product. The sale comes naturally when the authenticity reigns.
What Have We Learned About Relevancy and Corporate Sales Training?
If you want to build a team of selling superstars, create in-house corporate sales training courses that implement these four steps.
Furthermore, hire a sales coach to help with your corporate sales training. At Brain Swell, we help you unlock the skills you need, connect you with top-tier coaches, and take your business to the next level.
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training
Fall is not known for being the best time for sales.
In fact, because the holidays and the New Year come one after another, most salespeople expect their numbers to dwindle down to nil as December ends.
This time of year, we could all use a little boost – some motivation to keep our momentum going through the slow season.
Just because it’s Fall doesn’t mean you have to cop out!
As such, here are 7 ways to keep going, keep selling, and enjoy more success as a fresh year moves in.
If you need extra inspiration, we have a podcast that covers this topic right here. Listen in and read up for some timely advice.
7 Corporate Sales Training Tips to Keep You Soaring
1. Use This Time to Prime Your 2018 Sales
Most people don’t make buying decisions on the spot, or instantaneously. Instead, buying decisions often happen weeks or months before the buyer takes action.
With the new fiscal year approaching, many companies will not have an approved budget until after we hang up the 2018 calendar.
This is why it’s important to keep selling at this slow time – and sell hard.
In essence, you’re priming your buyers for a sale that will close a few weeks or months into the future. When the budget is ready, they will be, too.
2. Build New Client Relationships
The holiday season is the perfect time to build new client relationships. There are tons of themed events and parties where networking is easy. People are feeling more generous and giving, too.
Take advantage and set up “meet and greet” or “lunch and learn” meetings where you can build up those essential connections.
3. Keep Prospecting Steadily
Since so many other salespeople think of Fall as a “dead zone” for sales, you have a golden opportunity to get ahead.
Instead of sitting back and expecting dormancy, make those phone calls and send those emails. No matter the season, prospecting is something you should do daily.
4. Get Excited Again
Your feelings about the product you’re selling will affect your sales. It’s as simple as that. If you’re not excited, you’ll have a harder time getting clients excited, too. Combat this by reigniting your fire.
Think back to what excited you about the product when you first started selling it. Tap into that. If it helps, listen to upbeat music on your drive to work, put up positive reminders, or change your desktop to something that motivates you.
5. Do Some CRM Housekeeping
Out-of-date sales tools and data are no help to anybody. It’s important to clean house every once in awhile to keep the ship running smoothly. Make sure your data is updated, your accounts are in order, and you aren’t hanging on to dead accounts.
6. Focus on Your Professional Development
If you still have some downtime, invest in your professional development.
Here are a few ideas:
- Read a great sales book and learn something new. There are lots of lists online to pull from, like this one from Inc.
- Scour the internet and find inspiring sales or management videos. Look for ones that cover your weak points so you can learn and grow.
- Consider hiring a sales coach or enrolling in corporate sales training to truly hone your skills and make the most of them.
7. Create a Client “Wish List” for 2018
Who would you love to add to your client accounts in 2018? Create a list and make goals to nab these clients. Research them, then create a sales marketing plan to reach them.
It’s great to keep setting goals and reassessing old ones. Measure your progress, celebrate your victories, and remember to keep working hard to reach your targets.
Autumn Doesn’t Have to Be Slow for Sales
Forget the myth that the Fall season is a slow time of year for sales. Instead, bust through it and create your own forward motion.
The holiday madness and the drearier weather can contribute to lags, but you don’t have to let these perceived roadblocks win.
All you need is an attitude shift and some determination to steamroll through a slow Fall.
If you could use some extra pushes, teaching, or motivation for your sales gig, reach out to my team for help. We can inspire you to do great things with corporate sales training and coaching.
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
Would you like to know how to attract more businesses to your products or services?
It is actually a lot simpler than you may think. You don’t have to hypnotize or manipulate them into buying. All you need to do is just give them what they want.
With the right corporate sales training, you will be increasing your sales in no time, while maintaining a good business-to-business relationship.
The key to soaring corporate sales is an understanding of the human behavior.
Fundamentally, all human beings have the same mental triggers that usually drive their actions. To fully understand and influence your potential clients, you need to know what those mental triggers are and how you can effectively utilize them in your corporate sales message.
Corporate Sales Training: 4 Things Corporate Clients Don’t Like
Here are four typical psychological behaviors that may block you from closing an otherwise successful corporate sales deal.
1. Corporate Clients Don’t Like Change
Have you ever tried keeping a New Year’s resolution? Maybe lose a few pounds?
If you have, then you definitely know how hard it is to change a particular behavior. Despite your good intention and dedication to fixing unhealthy habits, many people still continue to eat junk food, drink excessively, and fail to exercise.
As a corporate salesperson, you must understand that one of your key roles in corporate sales is asking businesses to change from buying nothing to something, or from buying from a competitor to you.
So how do you go about it?
The best way to inflict positive change to your potential clients is by sharing your success stories. Businesses will feel more confident and more secure with your products and services once they discover how it has helped many other similar businesses before them.
2. Corporate Clients Don’t Like Doing Business with Strangers
From your childhood, you probably remember the phrase “stranger danger”. Well, guess what? It’s back! And it’s here to tremendously affect your corporate sales.
Nobody is willing to buy from a person they barely know or heard of. A corporate sale is no exception.
When selling a product or service to another company, you need to inject information that is more relevant and helpful to the company. Let the company see how much of an asset your product or service can be to them.
To this end, before making any prospective corporate sales call, ensure that you have thoroughly gone through the company’s website, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles as well as the general internet to gather all the information necessary to beat the “stranger danger” mindset.
3. Corporate Clients Don’t Like Making Hard Decisions
Of course, we’ve all sat for multiple-choice exams. How does it feel when you get to a question and you’re stuck between answer A and B? Frustrating, right?
So how do you expect your prospective clients to buy products or services from you if you put them in a similar position?
When selling, it is imperative that you make it easy for businesses to buy from you. Make it very clear how your products and services will solve their problem, make them more money and/or save them time.
Don’t put your customers into a situation where they have to think hard about striking a deal with you. In fact, don’t let them think at all. Present yourself to them in such a way that they’ll see you as a caped crusader who has come to their rescue.
4. Corporate Clients Don’t Like to Buy What They Don’t Understand
By nature, people are averse to risk. If they don’t understand what you are selling to them, they’ll definitely not buy from you.
86% of people are estimated to be visual learners. So the best way to make clients understand what you are selling is by using visuals. When a client asks a question try to answer it in a more visualized manner. This means that you should use graphs, videos, and previous success stories, basically anything that they can relate to at a personal level.
And that is how they will start buying from you.
Good Corporate Sales Training Gets You More Sales
In order to make it huge in corporate sales, you need to have a sales process and stick to it. Carefully analyze the human behavior and create a repeatable process that can help you learn and grow to replicate with each and every client you come across. That’s the only way you’ll achieve your corporate sales success.
About Ryan Dohrn
Ryan Dohrn is a corporate sales coach and offers corporate sales training to thousands of corporate sales executives each year. He is also an international motivational speaker and the author of the best-selling sales book, Selling Backwards. Ryan is the President and founder of Brain Swell Media, a boutique corporate sales training and sales coaching firm with a detailed focus on sales training and sales coaching for companies in 17 unique industry sectors from media to tech to aviation. He is also the owner and Publisher of SalesTrainingWorld.com an online portal for sales training success.
Contact information: Ryan R. DohrnPresident/Founder, Brain Swell Media LLCPublisher, SalesTrainingWorld.comRyan@BrainSwellMedia.com
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
Many sales trainers talk about the “good ole days” before email. When the phone was your weapon of choice. Many even suggest that email has ruined the sales process. I could NOT disagree more. In my sales training workshops I teach that email is an amazing piece of technology. If used in the right way it can truly help the sales professional win and grow business.
Before we get into the best sales subject lines for email success, please allow me to offer three pieces of email sales advice.
1. Email does not replace the phone. The phone is an amazing tool when trying to build a relationship with a prospect from a distance.
2. All to often you ignore the phone and only focus on email. Sales superstars know how to balance phone, email and face time to maximize the total sales process.
3. Email lacks tone and emotion. Of course you can YELL and 😉 , but, your voice is a powerful sales tool. During my sales training workshops I teach a pattern of voice mail and email prospecting that gets results! Do not give up on the phone when these sales email subject lines get you results.
Here are my top 10, email subject lines that have been getting me results in the last 30 days or less. I will also provided email examples and advice on each as well.
1. Subject line: (Name of a mutual connection) recommended I get in touch.
Body of email: “Hi Donnie. Ryan Dohrn recommends that you and I touch base about _______. He and I mutually felt that this idea could benefit you. Could I have 20 minutes via phone to discuss this week? I promise just 20 minutes. I take pride in not wasting peoples time.”
Advice: There is clearly no better way to connect with a new sales prospect than through a referral. Agree? Also, notice that I assure the prospect that I will not waste their time. Many sales people before you have wasted a prospects time. You want to take pride in not being one of those “vampires of time.”
2. Subject line: I was just wondering…
Body of email: “Hi Rachel. I was wondering if you would be open to a 20 minute phone call about (insert sales topic here)? I promise to respect your time. 20 minutes is all that I need.”
Advice: This sales subject line is often used as a follow-up or can also be used as a way to offer a meeting invitation. For example,
3. Subject line: May 29th?
Body of email: “Hi Ron. I will be in Clinton, IA on May 29th for a meeting. Could I get on your calendar for 20 minutes in the morning? I promise just 20 minutes. I take pride in not wasting peoples time.”
Advice: I often use this subject line to request a meeting date or to offer a follow-up date for a meeting.
4. Subject line: 3 reasons…
Body of email: “Hi John. I truly feel there are three reasons why we should work together.
1. Your mission. I understand your company and appreciate your mission.
2. Your support needs. I have a quality reputation for offering best in class customer service.
3. Your budget. We are the only company offering your payment options. “
Advice: This subject line is most often used after you have tried several times to connect with a prospect via email. The idea is to list three reasons why the prospect should reengage with you via email.
5. Subject line: Did something happen?
After a proposal or a meeting this subject line will often play with a prospects emotions and get you a response. I might even say in the email “Hi Terry, Was there something that happened after our meeting that I can help you resolve? You sounded very positive about setting up a follow-up call. I am not a high-pressure type of guy. I truly want to help you with ________. ”
6. Subject line: New idea for you.
Body of email: “Hi Bob, I would love to share with you a new budget friendly idea that is really working for other companies like yours. 20 minutes is all that I need. I promise just 20 minutes. I take pride in not wasting peoples time.”
Advice: I like to use this subject line right out of the gate when trying to set a meeting with a new prospect. Of course you need a new idea to share. Or, you can share a thought that will give your prospect a slight competitive advantage.
7. Subject line: (Name of a competitor) is marketing very well? Or, just the company name of a prospects competition.
Body of email: “I see that John Doe is really marketing a lot these days. I have an idea to really give them a run for their money.” Or, “Hi Rex, I see that John Doe just launched the new ABC Model. I have a unique idea to share with you that could give them a run for their money.” Or, “Hi John, your competitor John Doe just bought into our system. I truly feel you need to take a look at this as well.”
Advice: This subject line is most often used by my media sales coaching clients. But, it applies to other sales sectors as well. This sales subject line will ruffle a few feathers. So, be careful. I never EVER share client information with other clients. I am simply using this subject line to prompt a reply based on friendly competition. Again, you want to be ethical with what you share using this approach.
8. Subject line: Wrong person?
Body of email: “Hi Michael, I hate to be that sales guy that keeps emailing the wrong person. Any chance you could point me in the right direction of the person that handles _________ ?”
Advice: Often used as a last ditch effort, this subject line allows the client to provide you information that you can use to move them off your prospect list. Be real and often you will get a reply. This truly only works if the sales prospecting pattern you use is aggressive. If you only email once a month, forget about it.
9. Subject line: 20 Minutes?
Body of email: “Hi Nicole. I saw on your web site that you just launched the A350 Model. I have an idea to help you promote that to our client list of 36,0000. 20 minutes is all I need to share with you an idea. I promise to not waste your time and keep you on the phone for 45 minutes. I pride myself in not being that type of sales person.” Or, “Hi Nicole. I saw on your web site that you just won the contract for Jayco. Congrats. I have an idea to help you with the staffing issues related to that contract. 20 minutes is all I need to share with you an idea. I promise to not waste your time and keep you on the phone for 45 minutes.”
Advice: This subject line can be tricky if you do not also include a promise. You will need to tweak the above based on what problem you hope to solve. Or, what your idea can do to save her time, money or effort.
10. Subject line: I will respect your answer.
Body of email: “I would very much enjoy working together, but if you have decided to not move forward I will be very respectful of your decision. Any update on your project decision status is appreciated.”
Advice: Not used enough. It is often taboo to allow a client to say no. To encourage them to say no is also taboo. But, what I have found is that when the client feels like they can tell you no they will at least reply.
Final thoughts: There are certain sales training programs that teach you “sales tricks”. Those zinger lines of narrative that force a client to a “yes decision”. In the day and time when there were not many options for products and services those “sales tricks” worked well. Today, most buyers will not tolerate the high-pressure sales tactics of the past. I find that my systematic approach to sales relies on three things… working the right client on the right pattern with the right message. Relevance is key.
How can I help you and your team? Each year I train hundreds of sales professionals. My methods are fun, ethical and based on the simple fact that I sell every day to feed my family. My ideas are fresh, relevant, tactical and you can use them right away.
Media clients please visit: http://360adsales.com
Get out there and sell something!
Ryan Dohrn
Ryan@BrainSwellMedia.com
Tagscorporate sales training, sales coach, sales coaching, sales keynote speaker, sales training, sales training program
