Maximizing Your Potential!

Of course, all of us want to bat 1000, so would any baseball player. The reality is that there are going to be times when even the best of us swings and misses one.

Here are some of ways this can occur:

1. Talk too much – Most salespeople have a tendency to talk too much. They forget that they have 2 ears and one mouth which is a 2/1 ratio. They get this reversed and talk twice as much as they listen. Develop your listening skills and see what happens.

2. Imposing your opinion on the prospect – this is one sure fire way to make your prospect wrong. Remember, everyone fights being ‘wrong.’ Listen to your prospect. Think about where he’s coming from. Let him know that you heard him and understand what he’s saying. You’d be amazed how powerful that can be and when you’ve done always those things, the chances are good that he will be willing to listen to you.

3. Denigrate the competition – When you put the competition down you are putting down the whole industry. It winds up hurting your position and may make you seem petty or weak. Just don’t go there.

4. Promise something you can’t deliver – I was reading a book by another trainer and he mentioned that when he was selling phone systems he would say that he could deliver it on time not matter how realistic the clients expectations where and he would up getting in a lot of trouble needlessly. Tell the truth. Your clients will be glad you did (and you will, too)!

5. Do not control the sales cycle – when you fail to have a plan and or have one but fail to follow it, you let yourself down and the prospect. They need clear cut guidance from you or they would do it themselves. Give them what they want. Be the professional. Take Charge!

6. Only be thinking of your commission – 90% of your communication is non-verbal. You could be saying all the right words but believe me, if ultimately, all you are really thinking about is the $ you’ll make on this sale, the prospect will hear this LOUD and CLEAR!

7. Do too much – talk too much, be overly effusive, push-push-push and you will have your prospect running the other way.

8. Wait – Just sit there hoping the client will get the idea that now is when you want them to buy is totally the wrong way to go.

9. Fail to be sincere – Let’s face it, per the above, that will be telegraphed right to the prospect, unconsciously.

10. Fail to be open and overt in your communication – I think it goes without saying, that this will NOT get you a happy, satisfied client.

Happy Closing!!!

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There was a survey done by the New York Sales Club a while back as to what a salesperson’s success rate was after each attempt to close. The results were pretty interesting:
1st Attempt to Close 8% said Yes
2nd Attempt 14% said Yes
3rd Attempt 18% said Yes
4th Attempt 27% said Yes
5th Attempt to Close 44% said Yes

Now, if you continued to carry this forward you would get up close to 80%.

But let’s face it you will probably never make it to 100% closing because there are many factors which are out of your control, such as, the person has just lost their job or any number of other unforeseen factors.

However, there is an interesting correlation here. Another survey was done that showed that 80% of salespeople gave up after the third attempt to close. The 20% who persisted beyond the third attempt got 80% of the sales.

So, what happens is that the salesperson seeks to interest the buyer and meets with a person who is trying to pretend that there is no sale. He’s got his attention on other things and is trying to ignore the sales person.

Then the sales person starts to really desire the sale. He’s desiring to get the sale done but the prospect is doing his or her best to inhibit the sale. They may say something like,

‘I’m just not sure if now is the right time.’ or ‘We have decided we need to think about it.’

They are trying to put on the breaks on this process.

The salesperson then tries to pressure the client, ‘This is the best time to purchase this product,’

And get’s pressure back from the prospect, saying, ‘We said NOW is not the right time!’

And right about the time the prospect starts to desire the product or service the salesperson starts to inhibit the sale saying something like, ‘You are probably right. This is not the best deal for you.’

Here the poor prospect is ready to buy and totally interested and the salesperson is ignoring the prospect. You think this seems to far fetched but it happens all the time.

Remember, 80% of sales people give up at 3 above, when both of them are at enforce (the sales person pressuring the prospect and the prospect insisting that he’s not interested.)

All the salesperson has to do is stay at interest and let the prospect move up the scale to meet him or her. This is super simple and super powerful!

Good luck!

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You’ve asked for the order and now, potentially, the fun begins.

FACT, 62% of salespeople fail to ask for the order!

If you get an objection from your prospect you need to know that it is a sign of disagreement. You need to revert this disagreement flow if you want to handle any kind of objection.

As you were talking with your prospect both of you were focused on the overall objective which was your client working with you to achieve a result, be it, a For Sale sign in their yard, a major ad campaign started or new signs for the front of their office.

When the prospect says, ‘I need to think about it,’ or some such objection. They are now focused on you in some way, and have taken their attention off the end result. You have to gently get them focused on that objective again.

Three things occur when an objection is voiced:
1. The prospect attempts to stop you from communicating
2. He/She is trying to take over control of the process
3. They disagree.
Remember, a disagreement stops the sale. Agreement MUST be restored FIRST!

Here are the five basic objection handling steps. Honestly, if you just learned these five steps and became a master of them you would not really need anything else but we do have some other tips for a few other objections.

1. Acknowledge the prospect
2. Accentuate what they told you, making them right
3. Observe in silence
4. Restore agreement using their emotional reason for moving forward in the first place
5. Direct them to the close

There is a very simple acronym I use for remembering these steps: ACCORD

Accord is French for, ‘to come together’ it also has to do with being in harmony. Both things you want to accomplish in order to move forward in the process.

Notice, that by acknowledging and making the person right you are continuing to communicate, so the person does not accomplish his first objective of stopping you.

The most powerful step is Number 3. Observe in Silence! This is where you take back control of the sales cycle. Many of my clients want to know exactly how long one should observe the other person before moving on. This is a judgment call on your part. You want to do it for at least one or two seconds. You want the client to realize you are not fighting with him, you have not lost your composure or risen to the ‘bait!’

I usually take those few seconds to compose in my mind exactly what I am going to say in Step 4 which has a lot of conviction and emotion in it.

Be sure not to start Step #4  with ‘But’ or ‘However’ as this has a tendency to negate the other person and make him/her wrong. This is a sure fire way to shoot yourself in the foot.

Once you have gotten your client focused on the overall objective again, you close.

Let me give you an example of this. The client says, “We need to think about listing our home.” Here is how I would proceed:

“I can totally understand the need to consider your decision. It is a big one,”

(silence)

“When we were talking earlier, you mentioned that you have a home in Grass Valley that you are ready to move to. You won’t have to mow the lawn and it’s a ranch style so you won’t have to walk up the stairs anymore. I want to do what I can to get you there sooner, rather than later. You deserve that! Let’s get the paperwork started so I can get you there before the summer heat builds up!”

Notice how I did all five steps above. I did not handle exactly what he might have needed to think about. If this objection comes up again. I will do that. For now, I am content to let this be my 2nd opportunity to close!

There are some rules about handling an objection, which you need to know!

1. You must make sure than the objection is Real or if it is an excuse to escape the close, which is the case approximately 80% of the time. Only as an objection comes up again and again do you handle it. The first time, Don’t! Use the 5 basic objection handling steps to overcome his/her lack of confidence or conviction in now being the right time or you being the right person for the job.

2. An objection is a great opportunity to close. Many sales people look on objections as a bane to their existence. Great sales people look at them as an opportunity. Embrace the challenge!

3. Only when an objection comes up again and again do you handle it. The first time don’t!
Your logical, factual arguments will never handle an objection based on opinions. You need to use emotional arguments to handle these as the opinion is embraced by the emotional side of your client.

5. Always answer a question by directing your prospect toward  a using situation, e.g. say ‘when you are in the house,’ rather than, ‘if you are in the house.’

Here’s to many awesome closes this week!

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1. The power of Images: use your prospects imagination, which will have him reacting emotionally. Show pictures and graphs rather then facts and figures. Remember, 1 images is worth a 1000 words.
2. The power of stories: tell a TRUE story to support your answer to an objection. This will help the prospect ’see’ better what could happen…
3. The power of reference letters: your happy customers will sell you much better than you can. Use success stories and testimonials which address as specifically as possible what the client is concerned about!
4. The power of demonstrations:more than 75%of your prospects decide to buy (or not) during a demo of your product or service. 1 good demo = 10,000 words!

5 key elements in doing a demo:
Remember this acronym…. D.E.M.O’.S.
1. Let the prospect D iscover
2. Push E motions
3. Keep it M otivating
4. O rient the demo towards a close
5. Be S pecific and S imple

You must be sure to control your prospect from beginning to end.

CONTROL = INCOME

As soon as you lose control of the sales cycle, the prospect controls you. The fact of the matter is you have never closed a deal where the prospect was controlling the sales cycle.

The GOLDEN RULE OF SELLING: Know Why

You do not lose your morale from failing to sell. You lost it because you don’t know WHY you did not close the prospect. As soon as you feel you are losing control of the sales cycle you must stop while the prospect is still interested and find out what is going on. If you wait too long, and the prospect loses interest, it will be next to impossible to get the prospect willing to tell you exactly what is going on.

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