Does Your Sales Force Have the WILL To Succeed?
Last month we mentioned the word “WILL” in the context of having the WILL to do the work. This means determining what you and your company do best and making the commitment to seeking out those companies that need what you do best and selling them. This might be simplistic but in our estimation too few business owners see their business in this context. The power of an individual’s WILL is an incredible force! When that force is combined with the commitment of management and the “buy in” of a sales force magic can happen. We have seen this magic happen ...
Email and Phone Calls Don’t End in a Handshake
Growing Your Business In Tough Times: Email and Phone Calls Don’t End in a Handshake Over the last few months we have been discussing the importance of focusing the market plan toward a predetermined group of “Target” prospects. We have also discussed having and exerting ones “Will” in the execution of the market plan to be sure that the plan does in fact happen. The title of this Salesletter, Emails and Phone Calls Don’t End in a Handshake, points out the importance of “the relationship” in the dynamics of the sales cycle. While this importance has been addressed in previous Salesletters we ...
Growing Your Business In Tough Times: It’s the Relationship!
December 30, 2012
Company Development
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Remember the Clinton campaign slogan “It’s the Economy Stupid”? Well if all the rules of selling have changed, and they have, maybe a good slogan for today’s sales people is “It’s the Relationship Stupid”. This may seem too simple. Many people look at analysis like this and say things like “it can’t be that simple”. Well, we think it is just that simple. Developing relationships in depth, with the key people in the decision making chain, we believe, is the single most important function of the successful, professional sales person. The simple part is stating the goal, “developing close relationships with all ...
Email and Phone Calls Don’t End in a Handshake (Continued)
December 30, 2012
Customer Relations
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Last month we discussed the importance of a relationship by pointing out that “Emails and Phone Calls Do Not End in a Handshake”. A friend of ours sent us an email and mentioned the above phrase and we shared it with you. These few words say volumes. Putting the philosophy of this phrase into practice can be a most difficult task. The process flies in the face of all the “NEW” market approaches. Implementation obviously requires a plan, management support, training, commitment, will, follow up and people to execute the plan. How does one start? It may seem simple and old fashion ...
If It’s All About the Relationship, How Do We Get them?
December 30, 2012
Customer Relations
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Doing your homework is the obvious first step. Be sure your target companies have the ability to derive value from your product/service offering and be sure you know the “FINANCIAL VALUE” your product/service offering actually brings to your targets. Be able to state the “FINANCIAL VALUE” of your product/service in terms of the target business. The “VALUE” should be expressed in the terms and vernacular of the target business and and in a manner that the person with which you are communicating will understand and be comfortable. Plan the attack by defining the target companies and the target people within these companies. ...
Growing Your Business In Tough Times: How Do We Become Valuable?
December 30, 2012
Company Development
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As pointed out last month, providing the best “Financial Value” for your customers and communicating this value, high in the “Food Chain” so it makes sense and has value is what will differentiate you from all the other “Sales” people in your market. Getting this done is much easier said than done. How do we do it? We do it by becoming valuable to our target customers and the “right” people, at the right level within these target companies. What does valuable mean? Optimally it means, when they (your customer and prospect) have a problem in your product or service area ...
Drafting the Strategic Plan: Part 2
Last month I discussed the first step in the Strategic Plan drafting process. The first step is a Strategic statement of what the company sells. I pointed out that this statement “must be stated in one to two sentences and be clearly stated and agreed to by all the key people whom will be charged with “implementation.”” Everyone knows “What they sell”, right? Well maybe not. I bet if you ask 10 different people in your company to clearly state what the company sells, you would get 10 different answers and I would bet that the answers would not be in ...
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