Monthly Archives

May 2023

May 21
0

Are you just an order taker?

By | sales training | No Comments

Here’s a quick and easy question. The answer might show you how good you and your team are at sales:

Is your closing rate too high?

In other words, can you proudly boast that you win every job (or nearly every job)?

Well, if you do, there’s a good chance that you’re more of an order taker than a salesperson.

In sales, your job is to make a difference. Your job is to win those deals that wouldn’t walk through the door by themselves.

If you’re closing everything then that’s probably…. wait for it…. because you are not charging enough, OR the orders come in by themselves, in which case, what is the point of paying you a salary????

Any fool can sell something too cheaply …. the real test is whether you can sell on value.

I’ve got one client who has engaged me to LOWER their closing rates.!

Why? Because their team was bringing in too many deals with poor margins… that is a threat to the entire company.

They wanted profitability, not vanity metrics.

So have a think… in your business, are you taking the easy route and just taking orders, or are you really selling?

If you think this applies to you, let’s chat. Click here to schedule in a chat:https://calendly.com/jefere/half-an-hour-with-janet

May 12
0

Modern-Day Buyers can be tricky!

By | sales training | No Comments

It used to be the case that you could just make a phone call to a buyer, tell them about your new ‘thing’ and get an appointment. OK, I make that sound like it would work every time – it didn’t – but it worked enough times to make it worth doing.

Well not now! Everything is much tougher!

Whether you deal with a procurement professionals or the general public, they have one big thing in common – they will have done their research already and are probably quite well informed!

Think about your life – if your washing machine fails or you need a new phone, pretty much the first thing you will do is to start Googling the options. We all do it!

This has implications for the way buyers will engage with you.

If they have done their research already, they are more likely to approach potential providers themselves. The huge message here is that you simply MUST be discoverable – otherwise, well, how will they discover you? So you (or your marketing department) had better be ensuring that your main channels of promotion are working hard to tell the world about you.

But this new way of buying also has an implication when you are with customers or are talking with them.

THEY know they have done their research.

YOU know they have done their research.

THEY know you know they have done their research.

So don’t let it be the Elephant in the Room! 🐘🐘🐘🐘

Be honest and up front – ask your prospects what research they have done and if there is anything they would like you to clarify. This demonstrates that you are not afraid of their having done research already, rather you acknowledge it and want to be an additional and valuable resource.

Remember, you know what they are thinking because you do it yourself! So take advantage of that to help them make a buying decision.