Although you may get many chances to do this during the sales process, the best time to differentiate yourself is in the very beginning. Here are three powerful ways to help you eliminate your competition so they could ultimately respond with “You had me at hello!”

#1. Response Time
While it seems that everyone invests enormous amounts of time and money on increasing web presence and traffic; not as many invest equal resources on responding to those enquiries. Those emails and incoming phone calls are critical and the time it takes to respond is as important, if not more so, than how you respond.

Take any measures necessary to respond instantly to web enquires. By instantly, I do not mean a few days later or even the next day. I am also not referring to an automated response saying that you received their enquiry. You need to contact that prospect with a personal telephone call or email within minutes or as soon as physically possible. Establish alert systems, forwarding avenues; do whatever you have to do. Hire a dedicated person to respond or to distribute enquiries to the appropriate sales person if needed.

Now, I know some of you are probably thinking, “Now, wait a minute, Sean…that can cost a fortune and we do very well with incoming leads.” Do you honestly know exactly what your enquiry-to-lead conversation rate is? Do you know exactly how many calls came in to the front desk and how many become bona-fide leads? Do you have actual data or are you guessing?

When you get that enquiry, chances are yours is not the only site that prospect hit, nor the only request for more information they submitted online. People have become used to waiting days or even weeks to hear from a real live person with answers to their questions. Respond instantly and with customised information not generic sales-brochure type rhetoric.

#2. Give Something
Now, in that instant response, or if this is an outgoing call or contact, give the prospect something first before you begin asking for business. By this, I mean you need to offer the prospect information, ideas and advice that are useful to them, and do so without the thought of receiving anything in return. Educate the prospect during that first contact. Help them.

#3. Become a Consultant and Advisor
During that first contact, you need to raise yourself to the level of a consultant who is a leader in their industry. To accomplish this successfully, you need to ask THE question. THE question is one for which the prospect has not yet thought of. You need to ask a question that shows the prospect that you understand their situation and problems even more than they do. You need to ask that question that the prospect cannot answer.

It is that question to where the prospect’s only response is something like, “Uh…um. I never thought about that. What do you think?” When this happens, you have become the advisor!

If you do not currently have several such questions that make the prospect dig deep; that uncover areas of problems and pain that the prospect is unaware…then you need go back to the drawing board and figure out a list of questions that help to unearth their true hot buttons. However, you cannot TELL. You must ASK.

Respond instantaneously.
Offer some free information or advice.
Ask a question that solidifies you as an expert and you will eliminate competition before they can compete!

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
MTD Sales Training

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You have finally closed that big one!  You have been working on that sale for a long time and no one believed that you could close it, but you did.  However, now you look up and see your pipeline is empty.   You are short on leads, prospects, appointments, everything.   When your pipeline runs dry, it’s like being stranded on the beach and up to your ankles in troubled waters. 

Consistent Sales Activity and Work Ethic
Of course, if you constantly maintained an even work ethic and always completed the same amount of calls, contacts and other sales activities, you would never have the dry pipeline problem.  If you follow your Science of Selling, then you understand the importance of keeping your numbers steady, regardless of the results.   However, in case you missed that lesson, here is another way to keep an eye on your treasure trove.

Replace Everything That You Use
Simply replace every sales item that you use; put it back.  By sales items, I am referring to sales calls, contacts, appointments, sales, etc.  For instance, you pick up the telephone and call a cold lead from your database, and make contact with that lead.  Now you have one additional “contact with a decision maker (DM)” in your database.   However, you also have one less cold lead.  Replace that lead as soon as possible.

Once you set an appointment with that contact, you now have an additional “appointment set” in your funnel, but you also have one less DM for which you have not set an appointment.  When you meet with that DM and do a sales interaction and make a proposal, you now are left with one less “appointment”.  If you close the sale, then your number of “active proposals” just went down.  Just replace everything.

The Averages
Keep your averages in mind as well.  For instance, say you have a 25% closing average, in that it takes you four presentations to close one sale.  Then when you close one sale, you are now short four presentations.  Replace those immediately. 

Get your pipeline full and then replace what you use.

Happy Selling

Sean

Sean McPheat
Bestselling Author, Sales Authority & Speaker On Modern Day Selling Methods 

MTD Sales Training

Have you downloaded my latest report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”? Over 10,000 sales pros have.

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Let us use a hypothetical sales person whose sales process looks like this:

• Suspect                     Indefinite
• Lead                         Indefinite
• Prospect                      1 day
• Working                     5 days
• Contact                      10 days
• Appointment             10 days
• Interaction                2 days
• Proposal                    1 days
• Negotiating               0 days
• Order                         1 days
• Installation                1 days
• Sold                            0 days

Total 12 Stages           Maximum time: 31 days

For this sales person, once he has a prospect, he should be actively working the account immediately.  He should make contact with the decision maker (DM) within five days after receiving the account, and he has ten days to set an appointment.  That sales interaction should take place within ten days and then the prospect should have a proposal two days later. 

In this sample sales process, there is no negotiating or waiting time for a decision, as the sales person should get a decision during that closing interaction.  If the prospect accepts the offer, the order should be in the system the next day, the installation complete the day after, and payment received on or before installation.

CRM Software and Your Sales Process
Once you have established a solid sales process, you need to configure and customise your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software program to reflect and accurately record your activity.  Every account in your database should have a “stage” assigned and your system should be able to give you reports of how many accounts are at what stages and how long they have been there. 

The Science of the Sales Process
With this sales process in place, we look and see that our sales person is having some problems.  Though he is working hard, and has a closing average that is actually a little higher than most sales people in the firm, he is consistently under sales quota.  What is wrong?

We investigate using the CRM software’s calculations and find that the sales person’s sales process is far off of the optimum plan:   

• Suspect                       0 days
• Lead                          0 days
• Prospect                      0 days
• Working                      22 days
• Contact                       2 days
• Appointment              15 days
• Interaction                  8 days
• Proposal                     4 days
• Negotiating                 0 days
• Order                         1 days
• Installation                 1 days
• Sold                          0 days

You can see some major problems right away.  First, the sales person does indeed work hard, as it appears the moment he gets an account; he immediately goes to work on it.  However, when it should take him 5 days to make contact with the DM, it takes our sales person an average of 22 days, as some accounts remain in the “contact” position indefinitely!  Once he reaches the DM, he sets the appointment almost instantly, often in one cold call. 

What do you think is one of the sales person’s problems? 

Uncover the Problem and Fix It
We can plainly see that our sales person is great at setting the appointment once he reaches the DM, but he has a real problem getting through gatekeeper screens.  You may think that this would be obvious, yet it usually is not.  When you are working with dozens or hundreds of leads, and making tons of cold calls, as long has you are having some success, it is very difficult to see the facts. 

We can also see that the sales person usually sets the appointment too far out.  In addition, after the sales interaction, the prospect should receive a proposal the next day.  However, it takes our rep over a week to deliver a proposal.  Why is this? 

Establish a solid sales process and use it to sharpen your selling activities at every stage.  As you can see, our hypothetical sales person could actually have a high closing average.  That is, he may close most of the proposals he finally delivers.  However, until he addresses the problems in his process, he will never be successful. 

Finally
Lastly, in establishing your sales process, set closing averages at each stage, as well.  For instance, what percentage of DMs contacted, should result in an appointment?  How many appointments should result in a proposal? 

Let us assume your optimum process says that 80% of all sales interactions should result in a delivered proposal.  However, you see that your average is only 50%.  You instantly know that you have a problem and you know exactly where and what it is, and now you can fix it.

Establish a solid sales process and take the guesswork out of selling.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
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 you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

#1 – Continue to Sell
What happens to your enthusiasm for your product or service once you close the sale?  Usually when the customer has signed the order, received the goods and paid the bill, the sales person discontinues the “selling.” 

At first glance this appears to make sense, because the customer has bought the product; the client has agreed to the service and therefore there is no more selling required.  The sales person feels no need to continue to try to convince the customer, because the customer is “sold.” 

                                                                                                                                                                              However, this instant drop in your enthusiasm for your product or service can have a detrimental “buyer’s remorse” effect on your customers.  From the client’s perspective, at first you were so excited about what you sell that you could barely contain yourself.  You relished the opportunity just to speak to them about your wonderful products.  You went out of your way to help, consult and be of service.  Then, once you got the money, it all stopped and you disappeared. 

If you are genuinely excited about what you sell, then that excitement should remain with you after the sale.  You have to continue to SELL your products or services to the customer almost as if the customer did not buy.  I am not talking about selling additional or different items.  I mean continue to sell what you already sold!  As you continue to sell, it strengthens the buying decision in the mind of the customer and raises your level of professionalism.  The customer sees that you actually believe in what you said.  The customer’s trust in you grows and this is when the customer will begin to “open up” and inform you of their other needs.

#2 – Make Yourself Available
Let your customers know that you are available often and for anything.  Make an occasional telephone call or send a letter or email that tells the customer that you are always there to assist.  Create three to five ways to inform your customers that you are available.  These contacts can be days or months apart.  However, let the customer that they can call you. 

#3 – Become a Liaison for Everything
One of the most effective ways to maintain effective account management and follow up is to become a liaison for your customer to other services and needs.  Become someone that the customer can call for ANYTHING that they may need, even though it may not relate directly to what you do.  Become a resource for your customers.  Let your customers know that they can call you for other things.  You then can refer your customers to other customers.  Network!

Continue to sell. 
Make yourself available.
Become a liaison for everything…and you will build stronger customer loyalty.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
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 you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

 Above photo, “Businessmen Shaking Hands,” by MyTudut

With a total allotted time line set for the entire sales cycle, the next step is to figure out each stage in the sales process.  You want to determine each stage of the sale and the optimum period for each stage.  Consider the entire sales cycle, and then break it down into individual stages. 

Sample Sales Stages
Below are some sample sales stages and time frames.  These are generic examples of possible sales stages and periods.  Depending on your situation, many of these examples may apply, or only a few.   This is just to give you a better idea of how to structure your sales stages and times.  Here are 12 sample sales stages from which you can determine which apply to your particular selling parameters.  

Sample Sales Stages and Times 

Stage                            Time

1. Suspect                   Indefinite
I’m not particularly fond of this term, however sales people who have worked with an organized sales process before will be familiar with it.  I am referring to a piece of unqualified data.  It could be the name of a business or consumer, but it is not yet a qualified prospect or even a bona fide lead.  Note: The reason the first three stages have a time frame of indefinite is because it could be information stored in your database that no one has yet seen. 

2. Lead                      Indefinite
Now you have some basic information and know that the contact could possibly be a prospect.  Often, your sales information will begin with “leads.”

3. Prospect                 Indefinite
Now you have identified the contact as a viable prospect who meets your targeting, technical and demographic qualifications.  

4. Working                  5 days
Now a sales person (or you) has attempted to contact the decision maker (DM) in this account. You determined that under optimum conditions, the sales person should make contact with the DM within five days after receiving the account.

5. Contact                    5 days
The sales rep has made contact with the DM, and should set an appointment within 5 days.

6. Appointment          10 days
The sales person has set an appointment, and should consummate that meeting within ten days.

7. Discovery Interaction 10 days
Rep met with DM and conducted the discovery meeting.  You want the closing interaction to take place no longer than ten days later.

8. Proposal/Closing Interaction  7 days
Sales person made the proposal and asked for the order. 

9. Negotiating            5 days
Now negotiating or waiting for a decision

10. Order                    7 days
The DM has placed an order

11. Shipped                 2 days
The order has shipped

12. Sold                       3 days
Product delivered and payment received

As you can see, these are very generic stages, but you get the idea.  Also, there are many other stages you may need to use such as:

Opt-in
Literature Sent
Literature Received
Follow Up Call
Not Interested
No Sale           (There is a big difference between Not interested and No Sale)
Disqualified
Order Shipped
In Financing

You may also consider additional stages after the sale, such as:

Customer
Reorder Customer
Phase II
Expansion Customer
Client
Partner

Design the stages of your sales process.

Next up, Part III – Putting It All Together
Posting September 23, 2011

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
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 you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

Professional selling is a business and a science and to be successful you must work efficiently.  A properly designed sales process will help you identify obstacles and problems within your sales system.  When sales are slow, it is not always due to poor closing rates.  A properly designed sales process will allow you to identify the obstacles that clog your sales funnel and cost you time and money.  If you design and follow a comprehensive sales process, you will move prospects systematically from “contact” to “sold” with efficiency.    

Over the next few posts, I will help you design your own sales process that you can customise to fit your exact selling situation and cycle. 

Step I: The Total Sales Cycle Time 
The first step in designing your sales process is to determine the optimum desired amount of time your sales cycle should take from beginning to end.  In other words, if everything went perfect, from start to finish, how long should the sale take?  How long should it be from the time you first acquired the lead or contact information, to the time you close the sale and receive the payment?  

Short or Long
It does not matter if you work on a one-call close or a multifaceted, inter-departmental, sales cycle that takes several months.  In either case, determine the optimum, best-case scenario.  In addition, you need to include everything that completes the sale in this time line.  If there is financing involved, then the sale is not complete until the funds are in place.  Include all of the logistics; delivery, set up, installation, etc. 

Figure out what is the length of time the sale should take from beginning to end.  

Lastly, this length of time has to be a realistic figure.  Do not use a figure that represents dreams and wishes.  Use real life examples and case studies to make this determination.   Once you have a set length of time the optimum sales process should take, then you have something to compare all sales to, as they move through the process. 

Next, Part II – The Sales Stages
Posting September 21, 2011

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
The UK’s #1 Authority On Modern Day Selling
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 you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

You must be able to do more than track sales and phone calls.  You have to manage relationships.  True CRM entails much more than simple contact management.  It involves programs, software, training and process management.  However, the key ingredient will be a sophisticated software program.  While there are tons of standalone as well as online options to choose from, here are five key areas of functionality you want to look for when choosing such an application. 

Note that while most programs offer the below listed functions and capability, you will find some will be more user friendly to you, while others may not be as transparent.  Therefore, while it is a personal choice, look for the program that you feel you are most comfortable with in the following areas. 

1. Type of Contact – Be certain the program is able to track, record and report on the exact “type” of contact you make.  You need to be able to see at a glance, if you contacted the prospect by telephone, email, in person, in the post, etc.   

2. Sales Process Management – You must be able to set up and customize the program to reflect your exact sales process and every stage of the sale.  You have to be able to see what accounts are at what stage in the sales cycle and how long they have been there.   

3.  Probability Analysis – You want the ability to input closing averages and probabilities.  You may have three proposals in the pipeline in which you feel the probability of closing the sales are near 100%.  While with two other proposals, you feel the possibility of closing the sales are weak.  You want a system that can calculate these probabilities and give you an outlook of the true pipeline. 

4. Task Management – You must have a way for the system to tell you what you need to accomplish every day.  Your “task manager” should set the course of your work schedule. 

5. Extensive Reports – You want to get reports, detailed analysis and comparative analysis on everything.  Pipeline and sales funnel analysis, call rates, click through rates, closing percentages, call to contact rates, email to return rates, call to appointment rates and more.

While professional selling may be an art, it is primarily a science.  Understand the science first, and then elevate it to an art form.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
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 you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

Without a regular review of how things are going, especially with your bigger customers, you have little knowledge of how the account is behaving, or whether they might be being courted by your competition.

The review and research doesn’t have to be formal, but it should cover at least a few of the following topics:

• What’s been going well and not so well in the previous three months?
• Can we improve what we are doing in any way?
• What should our priorities be with you over the next three months?
• Do you have any new programmes or products planned over the next three months?
• What challenges are your customers facing that we could help you with?
• If tenders are coming up shortly, how can we be sure to be top of the list?
• Which areas can we develop more proactivity with you?

Take the client out for lunch or dinner when you ask these questions. Take your business research seriously. Make sure your companies are aware of the research you’re doing. It shows you care, keeps the lines of communication open and makes sure you are firmly kept in the client’s mind. And that can only be good for business!

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
The UK’s #1 Authority On Modern Day Selling
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 you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

The global downturn has hit many salespeople really hard. Yet, there are those who have thrived and prospered during this downturn and kept many of their customers loyal and built good long-term relationships with them. What’s the secret?

There isn’t one! What you need to do is concentrate on how you can increase the costs of them switching to other suppliers and also reduce the chances of having to fight price wars to keep your current customer base.

Here are some ideas:

• See how your customers use your products or services: Could you link in with how they buy, use and finish with the product, so it doesn’t become a commodity, but an actually benefit to them in the long run?

• Increase the value of your own time and commitments to them: Are you and your company aligned to the important things that your customer requires? Do you know what they value most in their relationship with you? What’s important to them? Make sure you are performing in areas that will enhance your relationship with the customer.

• Your customer’s expectations may have changed during the downturn: Are you still serving them to the level that they expect? Talk with the buyers to discuss what extras you can provide to help them hit their business objectives.

• Get closer to your customer to look for new ways of dealing with current business concerns: A genuine business partnership is built on trust and support. You can build extra value in your customer’s eyes by supporting their business in innovative ways. You need to keep up the differentiation between you and your competition, so that, even if your customer is approached by someone else, the value you offer far outweighs anything they could get elsewhere.

On our sales courses, many people ask for advice on prospecting for new business, getting new clients and getting through to new buyers. Few, if any, ask for suggestions on keeping current customers loyal. It would be good for you to assess your current customers and not get complacent about the quality of service you offer them.

Spend as much time as you can nurturing the relationships with your current customer base. It’s easier than having to prospect for new business because you’ve lost old ones. Keep a close eye on what their main concerns are and you’ll keep your long-term customers happy. And that can only be good for business!

Happy selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
The UK’s #1 Authority On Modern Day Selling
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 you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…

But his gripe was concerning the fact that he has to spend so much time looking for new business that he seldom has enough time to develop business with his current accounts. He is worried that he’s missing opportunities to develop loyalty with his existing client base.

There’s no doubt that the fastest way to generate revenue is to grow existing accounts.  But most companies seem to spend a lot of time looking for new business, hence leaving poor  account management programmes in place for existing customers.  Often, these programmes are more focused on customer satisfaction than actually getting more business from clients.

I told this account manager that he should be spending more time developing strategies that grow existing revenues with current clients.  They’re the ones who know you and your services best. So, you should be creating real reasons why your existing clients should be interested in doing more business with you, so that their business improves.

Here are some thought-starters.

Make an analysis of which clients buy which products and services from you. Are there some gaps that you should be pursuing? Do you sell products that some clients buy and not others? Is there a market for those other products with existing clients? Do they buy some products or services from other suppliers? There may be opportunities you are missing.

Build loyalty by creating offers only available to current clients. This serves as a kind of loyalty bond, and encourages the client to think of you when they need more products, rather than trying the competition.

Invite them to customer focus groups. An incentive to attend one of these groups could be to help you develop your future products and services, while in return getting better payment terms or closer account management.

Consider building symbiotic buying relationships with the client. This will encourage them to partner with you and will get you deeper into the buying process that they are using when they choose a supplier

Create value through partnering. How many of your customers sell at trade shows and exhibitions? Offer to work with them in setting up the exhibition.Make them look good in their customers’ eyes. Determine how you can increase their expertise in their field. They will start asking you for your advice and listen to your recommendations.

Develop on-line business by using them as a case-study of success in your newsletters. When your client sees their company used in a successful way, they see the relationship with you deepening and you become even closer partners

These approaches will convince your current clients that they made the right decision partnering with you, and you will see customer loyalty increase.

So, spend more time on building loyalty with existing customers as well as looking for new prospects. You know it makes sense!

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
The UK’s #1 Authority On Modern Day Selling
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 you’re very existence as a sales person is in doubt…