How to sell in our on line sourcing mentality world

What to do when the prospect says “I want to think it over”?

 

You’ve done all your selling, you sense its time to close, you close and then something awful happens. The prospect says “I want to think it over”. 

Now what do you do?  How do you regain control and get to “Yes” and a PO ?

Don’t panic. There is a very powerful way to regain control and get the sale right then and there. 

 

The approach and dialog goes something like this:

· You say "I can understand that you want to think it over but what is it that you need to think about".

· immediately, after an ever so slight pause continue your sentence with "is it the roi in 3 years and then 30% a year savings above what you now spend showing up in the third year on v the current approach and the xx$ back in your treasury that it delivers?”

· Then immediately ask Ask "is that what you want to think about"? The prospect has not gotten in a word at this point and should not!

· That dual question sentence is Critical, at this juncture. If you stop at “what is it you need to think about” the answer will be surely be "everything" and you will lose control over the way the prospect evaluates your proposal and probably lose the sale as well.

 

· Now, SHUT IP!  

Pause after the second part of your question and wait for the answer. Wait for a reply even if its an eternity or seems like one because the prospect is thinking about what you just said and now evaluating its worth right then and there, not later on.

The prospect’s answer dictates your next move

· It may be "you are right, lets do it"   Close then and get the PO because your sale is made at that point.

· or, It may be "no, that’s not what i want to think over" and you then say "is it the ability to double production w/o doubling cost that you want to think about"? a second agreed to point about the benefits of adopting your proposal.  Wait again for an answer and do not talk first, let the prospect speak next no matter how long you have to wait .

· If you exhaust all of your value points in the process and still have not gotten to a Yes, then say “Since you have said that none of these points are what you need to revisit, then, what exactly do you need to think over?” That gets you to the hidden objection, the real objection and a chance to address it on the spot.

Starting to see the magic of this approach yet? 

· In a non threatening way, in a normal conversational tone, you have made the prospect refocus on the points that they valued and consider them on the spot instead of later.

· You have successfully taken the pressure off the prospect by acknowledging the need to "think about it". The atmosphere is now relaxed and much of the prospect’s decision making stress is gone.

· You essentially regain control over the decision making process with a summary close of the values and benefits your prospect agreed were important to their business or needs in a way that gets each carefully thought through by the prospect and reconsidered one point at a time

· No need to “think it over” anymore because the prospect just did exactly that.

It should position you for an on the spot close done that way. Try it next time you hear those dreaded words “I want to think it over”.

Regards, Neil Licht, CEO, HereWeAre  

http://www.wix.com/ndlicht/hereweare

callhereweare@verizon.net

Technorati Tags: sales,prospect,close,order,objection,to do,what to do

How to Acquire Paying Customers Via the Web using Target Market Social Media

How to Acquire Paying Customers Via the Web using Target Market Social Media - Here's a path that can work


Because the web is now the new and powerful “word of mouth” knowing how to leverage its many social media aspects to reach and influence the target audiences groups & discussions where your prospects “hang out” is critical for growing business.

Its also how, without any competition, you become the “go to guru” in the right target audiences, get called and acquire paying customers via the web.

I use the following with my clients to help them gain that all important "go to guru" strategic position with genuine prospects and the right target audiences:

While we all want to grow our businesses as painlessly as possible, there is some important homework to be done first in order to see the paths and avenues to take when trying to gain traction for a product, service, and build long term customers so sales can happen.

Look at these key issues in strategic positioning, messaging, understanding your target audiences and actual selling approaches that need to be addressed to get YOU sales:

• Where is my target audience? Who are they? Where do they "hang out" online?
• What do they care about?
• How do they source?
• Where do they go for industry updates and information and how do you get featured "there"?
• How do I think from the point of view of my target audiences so I can relate and connect?
• What do I specifically "say" that can instantly capture the targeted audiences, prospects so they want to talk
• How do I differentiate myself from the pack so i get called?
• How does my target audience evaluate issues and solutions?
• How can I define my key audiences and position to be of service to each audience so they want what I offer?
• How do I become a featured speaker at events and establish my position as a go to expert?

That reveals where target audiences are, where their "influencers" are and where you should be active via articles, social media, blogs, email, newsletters to create a "go to" national presence and reputation.


Next, using what you found, apply 2 key sales axioms as the road map for tapping into what you learned, using/leveraging each identified path and for messaging accordingly in each avenue you found that can create calls, buyers, get attention and position you as the go to source:

* Axiom #1: People do things for their reasons, not yours.

* Axiom #2: Imagine the prospect has a sign on his forehead that says “so what?”




These two principles guide the selling process, whether in letters, emails, your web page, blog or in person. If you remember these two axioms, your sales reach outs and what you say in them will come out as grabbers and connectors with issues and concerns that prospects interested buyers have, not as product pitches and then link/position what you "offer" as a way to solve those issues.


Understanding this thinking in target markets and constructing your reach outs based on the 2 sales axioms can get you the desired national presence and reach that you want plus the all important interested "real" prospect that you want.


Neil Licht, Managing Director, HereWeAre

callhereweare@verizon.net
http://www.wix.com/ndlicht/hereweare   (508)-481-8567

In the era of the web searching educated prospect How can you gain an edge and get the sale?

In this era of the educated prospect that the web facilitates via everyone’s ability to search online, The prospect’s awareness of product, services and competitive offerings is often there before you are. So, how do you, as a sales type, approach making a sale in this era of the educated prospect?
You know, its not a matter of “lack of skills”. Our skills are still there. Its just learning how to adapt them to the "web as the new word of mouth and search" realities of our potential customers.
Their reviews of your businesses and competitors can tell us a lot re how our target audience likes to shop and what’s important to our target audiences. We should Google to find reviews of us and our competitors and really learn from them. In our newsletters we send if we ask about the issues we find, ask what’s important and look for comments, we can surely come to see patterns of what’s important to our prospects. Then, we can use what we learn an now know to have a discussion with a prospect from a basis of understanding them and their needs, not guessing at it.
Its not just price that makes a sale, its perception by the prospect of the value a seller brings into the evaluation as an “expert”.
In our prospecting and selling approach, I think we have to accept that we are starting with a much better prepared "prospect" that has researched online and already has a good feel for what they want.
Asking what research they have done, what they found out as we begin the face to face sales process and hearing it will actually help us hone in on a prospects actual likes and wants. We will look exceeding great then compared to our competition, be perceived as genuinely trying to make a good match for our prospects and the trust that creates should lead to a lot more sales.
What we hear must be shared with "Marketing", our internet sales people and our product development people. They then have real world derived "needs" to focus on and appeal to if we do that for them and our reach outs, ads, messaging will work in a powerful targeted way to help us acquire paying customers.
Regards, Neil Licht, privacy internet investigator, Hereweare. callhereweare@verizon.net