A Quick Answer To ‘Tell Me About Your Company?’
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A lot of salespeople are proud about their company and the products and services they sell. This gives them confidence when it comes to discussing options with their prospects, because they feel happy to share their knowledge and information about everything they know.
But when a prospect asks about your company, it can be tempting to launch into a whole history lesson about where your company comes from, its history, the products it produces, etc, etc.
Instead, you need to identify the real reason why the prospect is asking the question in the first place. Why do they need to know about your company? What specifically do they want to know? How will it benefit them from knowing about your company?
This type of question is known as a ‘universal qualifier’. What that means is the question is very generic and often far too general for you to know precisely what the prospect is seeking from you. Think first about why the customer wants to know about you. Is it that they want more confidence before they make a decision? Is the history of your company important as they want to check whether you are a ‘overnight success’ or have the stability to support them in the future? Do they want to know how many people work there, so they can see if they will have the back-up if things go wrong?
The truth is, you don’t know why they are asking the question, so one or two clarifying questions might be good to raise at this point.
You could say something like, “Of course I’ll tell you about us….may I ask what specifically you would like to know and why?”
What this does is narrow down the subject matter, so you both can see exactly where you need to start detailing the information you are going to share.
Find out the key reasons for the prospect wanting to know about you and your company. Then determine the points you should make to get the points across in a positive way.
The discussions could go something like this:
Prospect: “OK, tell me about your company”.
You: “Yes, of course…may I ask specifically what you would like to know?”
Prospect: “Well, the company we want to work with needs to be able to support our European operations, so you need to have experience and contacts that will help us in that area”.
You: “I see…so if I could prove to you that our coverage of the European markets will help your business objectives, that would give you more confidence, yes?”
Prospect: “Yes, we need that back-up and support. If you can give me confidence in that area, then I’d like to take this further.”
You can see here that, if the salesperson had not asked that clarifying question, they may have gone headlong into describing areas that the prospect has no concern about, like history or number of products they sell or their service coverage.
Be aware of these ‘generalisation’ questions. You will need to be more specific in the discussions, so you can get to the real point the prospect is seeking.
Happy Selling!
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training
(Image by J S Creationzs at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have. Click on the image below to find out why your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…
Posted in Sales Meetings | Tagged engage with prospects, listening skills, meeting prospects | Leave a comment
Is Your Sales Presentation Matching The Buyer’s Needs? – Video Blog
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When it comes to product demonstrations, many sales people fall into the trap of carrying out a a one size fits all presentation with a prepared monologue of what makes there product the best on the market.
What can you do to put a demonstration together to make a real difference? Watch this short video on making your sales presentation match your buyers needs.
Happy Selling!
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training
Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have. Click on the image below to find out why your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…
Posted in Sales Presentations | Tagged presentation skills, Sales Tips, selling techniques | Leave a comment
The 5-Step Consultative Sales Process That Has Stood The Test Of Time – Video Blog
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The art of selling has changed dramatically over the last 30 years, and the way that sales people and business owners now prospect and sell to the customers has moved on significantly from the one-way sales monologue and cold calling techniques that used to reign.
Over the last several decades, the sales industry has become focused on the consultative selling approach – and this is still as important today as it has been over the last 30 years. Your buyers still need you to provide that consultation of their wants and needs when you go into a sales meeting with them, so we as sales people must understand how vital the consultative selling process is to our continued success with our clients and customers. Watch the short video below to find out more about the 5 step consultative sales process that has stood the test of time.
Happy Selling!
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training
Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have. Click on the image below to find out why your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…
Posted in Consultative Selling | Tagged consultative sales process, Consultative Selling | Leave a comment
Improving Your Brand Essence In Sales
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Branding is a key component in determining your success in sales and marketing. You may not think that, as a salesperson, your input to how your brand is perceived or recognised should be a priority; isn’t the experience the customer has with your product and service more important than the reputation of the brand?
Well, in a way, yes, but when you consider what the brand says about your product and service, whether the client continues to purchase from you could be manifestly affected by the way the brand essence is depicted.
So, what is brand essence? It’s the feeling clients and prospects have when they have any contact with your name. In a sense, essence overpowers everything else a prospect may have about you. Your products may be the right things for your customer. But if the brand essence stinks, they won’t touch you with a bargepole.
BrandStoke’s ‘8 criteria for brand essence’ has some interesting ideas to contemplate when considering the message you wish to portray. Here are some examples:
- Focus: This is what you want the customer to focus on when they think of you. What do you want to be known for? How do you want people to think when they hear your name?
- Feeling: What components of your brand do you want to evoke the true feeling within the mind of the consumer? How do you want the emotional connection to be built?
- Individuality: What do you want the message to be to each person who you wish to be connected to your brand? What personality do you wish to be associated with?
- Consistency: Dependability is a brand attribute, so what would you like to be connected to in the customer’s mind? Delivery of the brand message is highlighted every time there is a contact point, so make sure the consistency is tangible.
- Credibility: Every experience the customer has with your brand identifies what you stand for. Engagement and credibility go together, so be aware of what the key messages are that you are trying to convey.
- Longevity: Is the essence of your brand designed to last or is it seen as a temporary, fashionable name? Longevity builds trust, which must be a key component in driving the name forward.
- Personal: There needs to be a personal connection that each consumer or user can have with the brand. Although brand essence is built up over time by others’ experiences, the way individuals feel will be echoed through social media and affect everyone else.
- Portable: Emotion is transferred across social media, so be aware of what is being highlighted by how transferable the image of the brand is. Your profile can and will be affected across variables like social media as well as other forms of brand transference
Everything you do will have an impact on the way the brand essence is built in people’s minds. Driving customer engagement through effective branding can have a profound effect on the way you as a salesperson of your products will be viewed.
Happy Selling!
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training
(Image by Naypong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have. Click on the image below to find out why your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…
Posted in Lead Generation | Tagged brand essense, branding, personal brand awareness | Leave a comment
Understanding Different Buyer Types – Infographic
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As a sales person, you cannot simply use the same sales techniques to sell to every prospects because not all prospects are the same. Each buyer will have a different way of thinking, a different way of understanding and a different decision making process – so “one style suits all” is certainly not the best approach for sales people to take.
The infographic below explains each of the 4 main buyer types that every sales person is likely to come across during their sales interactions, and this infographic also shows you how you should approach and sell to each of these main buyers in order to help you close the deal.
Click here to download a full size version of the infographic above
Happy selling!
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training
(Image by MTD Sales Training – please give attribution to MTD Sales Training if republished)
Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have. Click on the image below to find out why your very existence as a sales person is in doubt…
Posted in Infographics | Tagged Buyer Types, selling to different buyer types | Leave a comment
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