What Every Technology Salesperson Should Know
Why close fast?
Oct 18th
The contract is signed.
There is an excitement about the close. All your hard work is about to pay off. The decision maker is convinced that your solution is the best. Everyone who counts is on board. The moment has arrived. Then all of sudden everything changes. New players, purchasing agents who understand neither the business strategy nor your value proposition, enter the picture. Your gatekeeper has an attack of “value amnesia” and completely forgets why your solution is the best choice. The losing competitor plays dirty tricks in desperation, like cutting their price by 70%. Before you lose control, learn how close the deal. Fast.
The customer commits to a successful implementation.
Closing negotiations are a precarious time. New people who don’t understand the issues or value of the solution become involved in the decision. Mistakes are easily made. Carefully thought out plans can be sacrificed in pursuit of the best deal. It is time for you to champion the success of the project. Learn how careful planning and skillful negotiations can help your customer succeed, in spite of themselves.
You increase the profitability of the deal.
During a complex negotiation you will have many opportunities to significantly “sweeten the pot.” If you have a thorough knowledge of your customer’s needs and the business model of your offer, you will be able to negotiate with flexibility and style. Learn how to plan your negotiation so you end up with a profitable deal.
You negotiate with confidence.
Most sales people lack confidence when it is time to sit down at the negotiating table. This is because negotiating tactics are counterintuitive to good sales behavior. In this chapter you will learn techniques for negotiating effectively and closing fast, so you can overcome your fears.
The Sell Results blog is already one month old! Over the past month, we have introduced to you the nine secrets of sales superstars. But introductions are not enough, so starting tomorrow we will start a more comprehensive look at what information you need and how you need to use it to supercharge your sales success.
Each month we will focus on a strategic process essential to selling technology including how to:
• Harness Market Energy
• Build Value
• Sell Solutions
• Compete Strategically.
• Prospect for Energy
• Qualify Potential
• Discover Solutions
• Propose Value
• Close Fast
So tune in tomorrow to lean how to Harness Market Energy!
Are you an expert in closing deals?
Oct 15th
Do your sales people have to discount to close deals?
The most likely negotiating tactic your customer will try is to ask you to discount your price. During the close they will often develop their “value amnesia” they have forgotten why they selected you after an exhaustive search. Don’t give in to this negotiating ploy. The second you give in on price during negotiations you negate the value you have built during the sales process.
Can your salespeople ‘think on their feet’ when negotiating?
Negotiating is counterintuitive to selling. Most salespeople aren’t effective negotiators because they’re too willing to do whatever it takes to make the sale. Your unconscious, natural reaction in negotiations is often the opposite of the best negotiating behavior. Learning how to negotiate effectively can vastly increase the odds of a success for both your and your customer.
Is account profitability eroding?
Repeat business is much more profitable than new business. Customers only become repeat customers when they are satisfied and they trust you. Learn how to negotiate for success to ensure customer satisfaction and repeat business.
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then read tomorrow’s blog and learn about how you can personally benefit from closing fast. Or better yet, click here for an overview of how to close your deals fast.
Want to get a jump on things? Check out Sell Results: What Every Technology Salesperson Needs to Know
Sales Superstar Secret #9: Create momentum and negotiate success.
Oct 14th
Exceptional salespeople are great closers. Most sales people aren’t effective negotiators because they are too willing to do whatever it takes to make the sale. They are so attuned to serving the customer that they let professional negotiators walk all over them. Sales superstars realize that negotiating is a game that they must win for their customer to succeed. So they play hard and fast. And they win.
Closing a deal is all about power. Sales superstars know how to use power – their own, their coach’s, their decision maker’s – to negotiate a win-win relationship. They don’t discount their price. They don’t let the customer cut corners in a way that will jeopardize the successful implementation of the solution. They know when to escalate issues to get them resolved. And they know when to walk away from an unprofitable deal.
Exceptional sales people take the initiative to plan and lead the negotiating process. Their intimate knowledge of the customer’s needs and how the technology works, enables them to scale the solution on the fly. They know what they can give up and what they can’t. And they have a back-up plan. The exceptional sales person’s deals are always successfully implemented. The customer is always satisfied, so they become loyal, repeat customers.
Would a better understanding of how to close fast supercharge your sales success? Find out tomorrow by answering a few simple questions…
Want to get a jump on things? Check out Sell Results: What Every Technology Salesperson Needs to Know
Sales Superstar Secret #8: Take control of the account.
Oct 12th
Are you losing more deals than you are winning?
The proposal organizes the competitive battle. It clearly positions your unique value proposition, which implies that competitive weakness of the competition. Your proposal defines how you want the customer to make their decision. A good proposal helps you win more deals.
Sales superstars use the proposal process to increase their control over the customer’s buying process. Average sales people write proposals too early in the sales process. The customer asks for a proposal and they deliver one. This gives the customer license to negotiate additional services for the same price, let competitors drive the evaluation and the power to say no.
Exceptional salespeople never deliver a proposal until they completely understand the customer’s needs and the scope of the solution. They understand how submitting a proposal changes the dynamics of the sale and use it to their advantage. They break the proposal process down into a series of events designed to win strategic, functional approvals and build sales momentum. During the proposal phase of the sales momentum, the sale intensifies – buyers focus on what could go wrong; competitors fight dirty, politics run rampart. The sales superstar knows how to take control of this emotionally charged environment and lead the customer through the closing process, so they win the deal.
Would a better understanding of how to write effective proposals supercharge your sales success? Read tomorrow’s blog and learn about how you can personally benefit from proposing value. Or better yet, click here for an overview of how use the proposal to take control of the account.
Want to get a jump on things? Check out Sell Results: What Every Technology Salesperson Needs to Know
Why discover solutions?
Oct 11th
Speed up the sales cycle
During Discovery you apply market and competitive energy to creating urgency and sales momentum. Learn how to uncover political agendas and cross-functional issues and use them to climb higher in the decision-making hierarchy.
Build broad-based commitment to your solution.
Discovery is the stage of the sales cycle where you can build trust and rapport through consultative selling. The more you educate the customer during this phase the more they will value your opinion. As you solve their problems, your credibility will increase. Learn how to apply your value building strategies to build the customer’s commitment to your solution.
Build trust and rapport through collaborative problem solving.
The discovery step of the sales cycle mirrors the customer’s information gathering. From the buyer’s perspective they are looking for new ways to implement their business strategy, so they are open to learning. When you educate the customer on how their business strategy translates into technology needs and issues, you are helping them solve their problems, so they come to trust you and value your opinion.
Build advantage by setting competitive traps.
Discovery is the phase of the sales cycle where you have the most freedom to compete. You can set competitive traps that build the customer’s need for the differentiators that make your solution unique. By learning how to build your competitive advantage during the discovery process, you greatly increase your chances of winning the deal.
Eliminate competitors by building commitment to your unique benefits.
The proposal structures the competitive battle. Learn how to write a proposal so it defines how you want the customer to make their decision. A good proposal clearly positions the unique advantages of your value proposition, and by comparison, implies the competitive weaknesses of other alternatives.
Tomorrow, we will discuss Sales Superstar Secret #8: How to take control of the account
Want to get a jump on things? Check out Sell Results: What Every Technology Salesperson Needs to Know
Are you an expert in discovering value and building winning solutions?
Oct 8th
Are your customer satisfaction stats eroding?
The discovery process helps you engage the customer in the solutions building process. Involving the buying team in visualizing and creating the solution encourages ownership of the solution and increases their commitment its success.
Is your repeat business healthy?
The discovery process creates trust. Trust is essential in any relationship. A customer won’t buy an intangible from you unless they trust you. The more problems you solve, the more trust you create and the more likely it is that the customer will want to buy from you again in the future.
Are you suffering an increase in competitive losses?
In most deals the competitive battle is usually won or lost during the discovery phase of the sales cycle. The reason you win is because you have convinced your customer that their most significant needs can only be satisfied by your solution. Learn how to use the Discovery phase to stack the deck in your favor.
Is your cost of sales too high?
The discovery phase is the most time and cost intensive part of the sales cycle. Make sure that investment pays off by increasing your chances of winning the deal. The discovery process is where competitive battles are fought and the customer’s confidence is built. You need to use your best, most perceptive people to conduct your discovery interviews.
Are too many sales bogged down in evaluations?
The speed of the discovery process is determined by how quickly the customer can learn. Although the customer may think that the purpose of their evaluation process is to choose the best alternative, it is not. The purpose of the evaluation is to learn enough about their needs, issues and ways to enable their strategy that they are confident enough to make a decision.
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then read tomorrow’s blog and learn about how you can personally benefit from discovering value. Or better yet, click here for an overview of how to discover value-rich solutions for your customers.
Want to get a jump on things? Check out Sell Results: What Every Technology Salesperson Needs to Know
Sales Superstar Secret #7: Discover value to sell solutions.
Oct 7th
Once the exceptional sales person has committed his team to developing an opportunity, he dedicates his resources to selling the entire solution. This means a much more rigorous discovery process than the average sale. He will galvanize both his and the customer’s team into a collaborative search for the best solution. He engages the customer in the solutions building process to such an extent that by the end the customer will come to believe that it is the only viable option. They uncover issues and solve problems. They escalate issues to upper management. By doing so they increase their control over the buying process they need to negotiate a fair price, ensure a successful implementation, and close the deal.
Discovery is conducted through a series of conversations. During these conversations the exceptional salesperson asks compelling questions that build the customer’s perception of value. Each question has a purpose – to build the customer’s awareness, to solve problems, to raise pain, to set a competitive trap, etc. The exceptional sales person knows how to build questioning scripts that increase the customer’s sense of urgency and commitment. He knows the right questions to ask.
Would a better understanding of how to discover value and build solutions supercharge your sales success? Find out tomorrow by answering a few simple questions…
Want to get a jump on things? Check out Sell Results: What Every Technology Salesperson Needs to Know
