Everyone wants to earn more, but few are willing
to change behavior to do so. In fact, most aren’t. In
my work of over 19 years with the high sales achiever, I find
that most of them operate with a different set of rules about
selling and the pursuit of new business. These new rules help
govern their behavior and actions in the sales cycle. I have
over 25 rules that I’ve documented, but here are the
top five for you to consider:
1. Define what you want to attract.
High sales achievers are very specific about what they want
to attract, both in terms of financial outcomes and business
relationships. The Universe has an interesting way of delivering
to you exactly what you order, so be specific on your order
when you place it. The Universe doesn’t respond well
to, “I just want to make more money.”
2. Bring up what scares you.
Most sales executive fears are an illusion. The worst thing
we can do with fear is to ignore it. That feeling of fear is
trying to tell you something and what it’s telling you
is, to act on it. If you’re in a sales process and you
feel some fear about bringing up a difficult subject, then
that’s exactly what you should discuss. Reveal what you
feel.
3. Never Coerce.
It’s been my privilege to work with some extremely high
achievers in the profession of business-to-business sales.
One thing I find about them is that they are ‘detached
to outcomes.’ They spend no time “convincing,
persuading, and defending.” And they spend little time
trying to coerce prospects into their way of thinking. When
you, a marketing and sales professional, begin to encroach
on your prospect’s freedom, you become the pain and they’ll
get rid of you. Tell people upfront “it’s alright
if you decide this is not a fit at this time, let me know and
I’ll be gone.” But do that upfront. That way you’re
not 18 months into the process when you hear ‘no.’
4. Think “Process.”
The greatest businesses in the world have the greatest processes
in the world. So why should a sales professional be any different?
Of all the processes that the high sales achiever has, the
most important one is the sales process. A great sales process
is one where you can, in a step-by-step fashion, lead people
from beginning to end with the constant understanding that
some people will qualify “out of the process” and
you can move on. Not only should you have a process, but you
should also follow it and be indignant about the prospect’s
adherence to it. Great sales processes are better for the prospect
because it helps them identify their problem quicker and create
a better solution. If you feel your sales process is only in
your best interest, then you’ve got the wrong process.
5. Think ‘Leverage.’
One way to leverage your strengths is to hire other people
and train them to do the things you don’t want to do.
But as sales professionals--even as high achieving sellers
-- you might not have the latitude to go hire staff. But what
you can leverage is “current relationships.” High
achievers never make cold calls. Why would they? The reason:
they have learned the power of referral marketing. They find
a way to use their current client/network relationships to
bring them new, ideal clients.
This is not as simple as “give me ten people you know,
so that I can go make a sales call to them.” It is a
thoughtful, strategic way to generate enough goodwill with
your clients that they demand to introduce you to their friends
and associates. A great referral program doesn’t work
if you’re not thinking “leverage.”
Article
Source: http://www.articlecube.com
During his 19+ years of experience as a coach for hundreds
of B2B sales teams, Bill Caskey learned that most sales organizations
perform poorly in expressing their value to prospects resulting
in severe underachievement by the sales force, long selling
cycles, constant battles and margin pressures.
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