Concepts Overview
The basic concepts of selling have been documented for many years. But they were designed for short sales cycles. And in many cases, they are manipulative. They do not acknowledge that we are trying to create a long term relationship.
In some cases we are responding to needs that the customer already acknowledges. In others, we are trying to give the Thought Leadership and create or develop needs that the prospect does not yet acknowledge.
In some sales environments, the main task is to break into new markets and accounts. In others, it is to win the opportunities that exist. And in others, it is to develop the account to use the relationship and goodwill for further business.
Advance has re-examined all the skills. In each case, the traditional thinking leaves a little to be desired.
Click on a concept below to learn more:
The Big and Easy
Breaking In and Breaking Out
Keep in Touch
Give Them a Wallow
Press the Emotion Buttons
Qualification - Lose Quickly!
Tell Them a Story - Reference Stories
Rehearse your Friends
Death Valley Access
Negotiation - The Power Balance
Preferred Supplier Status
The Big and Easy
The amount of time for prospecting is limited. There are thousands of organisations, departments and people who might want to buy your services. So, it must make sense to prioritise the prospecting activity.
There are big sales and there are small sales. Generally, it takes just as long to win a big sale as it does to win a small one. So, it must make sense to look for the big ones before looking for the small ones. For the same effort and the same skill you get a better reward.
There are easy sales and there are hard one. What makes a sale easy? Existing users, good references, some uniqueness.
The key output from this activity is a "Hit List" of those whom you have not yet met but should. Without this list you have no one to mailshot; no one to phone; no one to invite to events.
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Breaking In and Breaking Out
Big deals are sold to big people. Big people have secretaries. To gain access to these people you have to deal with the secretaries.
Most salespeople find setting up such meetings difficult. Yet, there is an etiquette for how to set up meetings. For instance, senior people meet each other very easily. So, you have to behave as if you are one senior person setting up a meeting with another. The success rate can be increased dramatically by following the rules. You have to work fully with the PA rather than fighting.
A more difficult problem arises when you already have contacts in the account but at too low a level. It is one of the biggest problems in major sales. How can you move up through the hierarchy to meet the more senior people? And, in particular, how can you do it without upsetting your existing contacts.
Some salespeople are very good at climbing up the hierarchy and others are not. The good ones do not do it by magic. There are tactics and processes that can make it easy. If you are trapped at the wrong level it is because no one has ever explained the tactics.
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Keep in Touch
You cannot just go into an account, say a few magic words and expect to end up with a project, a large opportunity to work on.
Many big projects come about because a contract has come to an end. Contract renewals lead to opportunities.
The sensible salesperson spends time, long before the renewal date, building relationships. They identify the "Buying Windows" such as contract anniversaries and create a "Relationship Matrix". When the prospect does come out to tender, they are now dealing with a friend rather than some company they have never heard of.
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Give Them a Wallow
The primary responsibility of salespeople is to create or develop a need in the customer's brain.
In fact, there are no magic words that create these needs. Needs are developed by encouraging the prospect to "wallow" in his or her issues. The more they talk about it, they more they talk themselves into wanting to do something about it.
With major sales, we have to develop these needs across the whole organisation. So, it is key that we should gain a "Hunting Licence"
When we are responding to a tender document there is a strong temptation merely to respond to the criteria documented in the tender document. However, we must also uncover the underlying benefits being sought.
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Press the Emotion Buttons
People buy because they perceive that they will gain some benefit. Benefits come in two flavours. There are business benefits, save money, be more competitive. And then there are personal benefits, get promoted, be part of the early retirement programme. As a buying motivation, which is the more powerful?
The personal benefits are by far the stronger. Yet, they are the hidden agenda. They are never mentioned in the proposal. They are never mentioned if there are more than two people in the room. Traditional selling skills do not tell you how to uncover these needs. Surprisingly, they are not that hard to uncover.
If your prospect says, "I am worried about the timescales" traditional skills tell you to ask, "What is the effect of missing the timescales?" It would be better, however, to ask, "Why are you nervous?" In the first case, you will get the business answer. In the second you will get the personal ones.
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Qualification - Lose Quickly!
The biggest waste of time is the sale you lose. And big sales take a lot of time and resource, so bidding but losing is both a business and personal catastrophe.
Top salespeople have hit rates of 80% to 90%, not because they are better at selling but because they refuse to get involved with sales they cannot win. When they find an opportunity they don't rush in blindly. They take a cold, hard look and decide whether or not to bid.
They have strategies to escape from poor sales opportunities without upsetting either their management or the prospect. They identify potential showstoppers. They use these showstoppers to produce a plan to change the rules and win the business if possible. They plan to win, but if they know they are going to lose, they lose quickly.
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Tell Them a Story - Reference Stories
Once you have uncovered someone's needs, you have to give some evidence that you can fulfil them. With senior people they would like that evidence immediately, in this meeting, while you are still there. So what weapons do you have?
The best tool is a good Reference Story, a "for instance".
Some people are good story tellers others are not. With some people, their stories give credibility. They build an "Audit Trail" into the story.
There is also a formula for telling a good reference story. It goes, "Once upon a time something bad happened, then we came along and something good happened. And this was the result."
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Rehearse your Friends
With most big sales, you will not be in the room when the decision is being made. The decision will be made by a committee, task force or group. So, if you really want to beat your competition, what do you need to do?
Well, you had better have a strong friend in that group who is willing to fight your corner for you. Yet, the average buyer has had no sales training and will probably do a lousy job on your behalf.
How do you recruit an internal salesperson?
How can you identify the differentiators between you and your competitors?
How can you train them up to be articulate on your behalf?
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Death Valley Access
Death Valley is that awful stage of a sale after you have submitted before your proposal but before the decision is made. Before you submit the proposal, the doors are open, they are happy to talk
The moment they have your price and your product, the doors slam shut. The buyer switches from "Information Gathering" mode into "Decision Making" mode.
The recommender is going through a very nervous time. Getting it wrong can be a career decision. So, you need to be in there giving reassurance to the buyers. Yet, they do not want to see you.
There are many tactics that can give access. Some salespeople are very good at gaining Death Valley access and others are not. The good ones do not do it by magic. There are tactics and processes that can make it easy. For instance, judicious use of your own management can work wonders.
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Negotiation - The Power Balance
At the end of small sales, you suffer "objections". Your price is too high. You cannot meet the delivery dates. And you have objection handling techniques.
With larger sales, the prospect uses exactly the same words. Yet, objection handling technique will merely annoy the buyer. The buyer wants to negotiate the price or the delivery.
During this negotiation, you feel helpless. The buyer seems to have so much power.
But you can fight back!
If all the end users want what you are selling then the buyer has some problems putting pressure on you. If you have some uniqueness that they really need then the buyer has some problems putting pressure on you.
If the buyer is under some time pressure and you are not then the buyer has some problems putting pressure on you. If you have made your target for the year then the buyer has some problems putting pressure on you.
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Preferred Supplier Status
There is a bigger objective than winning a sale. That is to win the account - to get yourself into the position of being a Preferred Supplier.
Once you have this status, you don't have to sell to them because they want to buy from you.
Preferred Supplier Status does not come about by accident. There are key political commitments to be achieved such as joint planning activities. You also have to give a good service.
There are four planning activities in an Account Development Plan:
- The Vision
- The Care Plan
- The Sales Campaign Plans
- The Prospecting Plan
More often than not, the vision is Preferred Supplier Status.
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