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Behavior & Mindset
- Self-esteem: “Role success or failure is merely a measurement of how well you are doing in your acquired roles. But in no way do roles affect your value as a human being”
- The most effective sales training is reinforced over time and in person
- Use “pay time” (usually 9a-5p) productivity; complete administrative work during “no pay time”
- Always go for a “yes” or “no”; there is nothing worse than “I want to think it over”;
- Negative reverse selling: “Mr. Jones, based on what you have told me so far, my feeling is that you have absolutely no interest in what I am selling. So, before I leave, can I ask you one last question: Is it over?”
- Know your competition, specifically your and their key differentiators
- “Top sales performers spend 80 percent of their time servicing their clients and customers, and only 20 percent of their time prospecting”
- Speak softly. Nice and easy.
- ask the prospect to share how they expect to use and get value from your product (ex: “Could you tell me more specifically just how you see the fit?”)
- “Quite often, salespeople think they’re slacking in performance because they don’t set goals, or they don’t work their plan, or they don’t execute their techniques effectively in front of a prospect.”
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Bonding
- Prospects try to gather as much information as possible while giving little; do not allow prospects to treat you as an unpaid consultant; “sell today [and gather information] and educate tomorrow”
- “the best way to get in front of a prospect is via an introduction from an existing customer”
- Preempt expected stalls and objections
- “Don’t act superior. Don’t use buzzwords. Don’t appear to be Mr. or Ms. All-Together.”
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Up front contracts
- “make an agreement with the prospect about what’s going to occur during the sales process, and once the agreement is firm, the pressure is off because the sale is closed.”
- “set the agenda for [every] sales call”
- “If you decide to send literature to a prospect, don’t do it without an Up-Front Contract that explains what happens next.”
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Pain
- People buy emotionally
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Budget
- Focus on the cost to your prospects if they do nothing
- Don’t wait to deal with money until the end of your sales presentation. Get the issue on the table up front. “Do you have a budget set aside for this project?”
- Give the client the opportunity to apply the small investments toward the big-ticket price, and you’re likely to lock up the business.
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Decision
- Uncover the decision-making process in the prospect’s firm
- “One of the most important decisions you must make is when to disengage because you haven’t qualified the decision maker!”
- “who besides you will be involved in the decision-making process?”
- “Help your prospect organize his or her presentation to the decision makers.”
- “Let’s assume that you have five pains to solve during your presentation. You begin with the most troublesome pain first and explain how your product or system can alleviate the problem. You then say: “John, are you 100 percent comfortable that my service will solve the problem?”
- The Thermometer Technique Before you proceed with any more pain, however, use the Thermometer technique, which helps you measure the degree to which your prospect has been sold. Here’s how it works: “John, we’ve covered a lot of ground so far, and there’s still more to show you, but on a 0-to-10 scale, 0 meaning you have no interest in my service and 10 meaning you have already decided to buy my service, where are you?”
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Fulfillment
- Show your prospect that your product/service will eliminate their pain (rather than selling features & benefits)
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Post-sell
- the traditional salesperson underestimates Buyer’s Remorse
- “Instead of rushing to the office to process the order before the prospect changes his mind, give the person the chance to back out, while the two of you are talking, before you seal the deal.”