Often when we’re talking about about sales, we seem to be saying the salesperson is in charge of when deals move forward and ultimately when they close. But that is not reality.
When you’re selling you are a steward of a buying process. You can influence when a sale happens, but you cannot overcome the inherent dynamics of how that customer wants to buy.
[Read more…]
I got some unsettling feedback a few weeks ago. I was told I was a “Brainiac”. I want to help you avoid the same fate.
At first, I thought it was a compliment. It sounded rather flattering. OK I think I would like to be know as that. But then the next part of the feedback came. “And the client said he had no idea what you were talking about.” Uh oh!
[Read more…]
I am continuing to report on findings from my new sales project. The project has already thrown up a few reminders I see time-and-time-again in the sales world.
To remind you of the story so far. I am taking over a sales territory from a salesperson that has recently left the client’s company. I am looking for some quick wins in this situation as this will help keep the project going. I have been looking through the “old dusty files” to see if the previous salesperson left any qualified opportunities that could be quickly closed.
[Read more…]
Prospecting is hard. There’s no need to make it even harder.
I’ve run dozens of experiments over the years on how to get through the door and start working with a new account. In every experiment, I’ve found that the number one factor that influences a successful outcome has been a human relationship.
The smartest piece of content has never beaten a warm introduction from another person. In my own experiments, I’ve found a referral of any kind (not necessarily from a client) to be 3.25 times more effective than a cold approach (based on time spent–it’s even more effective in terms of conversion rates.)
[Read more…]
In my last post I was ranting about how I hate proposals.
My preferred solution to this is not developing proposals at all. I highly recommend not spending your time generating beautiful documents for every person that says, “send me a proposal”. It’s a surefire way to eliminate your prospecting time and have a sick pipeline.
However, if you have situations where you have to generate a proposal, or a part of a proposal, consider the remaining two options from The 4-Hour Workweek: Delegate and Automate.
[Read more…]
In general, I think “proposals suck!”
I was reminded of my (bad) attitude to proposals again a few weeks ago when I was co-opted into developing one. This one was of the typical kind that I have seen over three decades of working in B2B services companies. The kind that takes a salesperson, plus other members of the team, days to develop. The kind that takes a salesperson away from selling for a couple of days and turns them into some kind of Word (or PowerPoint) jockey, trying to find the perfect paragraph spacing or font.
My experience of this proposal development process (at several companies) has been one of colleagues obsessing over producing the perfect document where our business’s credentials shine so brightly and our layout and formatting are so perfect that the prospect will just sign on the dotted line as soon as they’ve read it…and yet, somehow, consistently, they don’t!
[Read more…]