‘Sales’ that controversial word that no one likes to be
associated with. Yet we all do it. Take the struggling artist promoting
themselves on social media. Think about the father who is trying to convince
his son to eat his greens. Neither would class themselves as salesmen. Yet
selling is exactly what they are doing.
Today we are all in sales and it’s nothing to
be ashamed of.
But not everyone sells the same. In fact, there
are a select few that are positioning themselves for major success in 2013 with
a fresh new approach. But before we define the methods to their success, let’s
first look at traditional thinking over the past 20 years.
Selling
Solutions
Anyone familiar with sales will be well versed
in the solution selling theory. To recap, it involves asking the customer or
prospect a series of probing questions to uncover their ‘pain’.
Once you have them wincing in agony you strike
like a cobra with a quick one-two combo of products and services that just
happen to provide the perfect solution to your customers problems.
This traditional way of selling worked for a
long time. And if you’re happy to continue posting mediocre sales figures and
taking home average commission then stick with it.
But to be a real success in sales today you
need to think differently. Selling solutions no longer cuts it with most.
Today the prospect already knows what their
problem is and has a team working to solve it. They don’t need, or appreciate,
you asking them how they are going about it.
So how can you stop yourself from fading into
obscurity?
Start
Making Problems and Selling Insights
Today the best sales people are one step ahead.
They don’t discover a problem: they create one.
Sound crazy? Well it takes an in-depth
knowledge of your market and a finger firmly placed on the pulse of your
industry, but it is the only way your going to smash the sales figures in 2013.
The modern successful salesperson will:
1) Focus
on Customers in a State of Flux
Targeting organisations that are rapidly
growing or in a state of transition means they won’t be on top of everything.
They’ll be more open to change and ways in which to achieve it.
Successful and established customers are more
likely to be hamstrung by red tape and in-house resources. You need to be
sniffing out companies that are quick to recognise opportunities and more
importantly; quick to act on them.
2) Target
Appropriate Individuals
It might sound counterintuitive but the
traditional thinking of receptive prospects being those who are keen to meet
and eager to agree - are not always going to win you a big deal.
Seek out the change agents, the personnel that
ask the tough questions. They might not always be the easiest to speak to but
they will be the ones with the power, and desire, to make things happen.
3) Tell
Don’t Ask
The successful salesman isn’t meeting his
customers needs, he is defining them.
Often you won’t have the time to find out the
customers problems and they either expect you to already know or don’t have the
faith to help you find out. Forget about it. Focus on what you can control, and that is what you and
your company provide.
4)
Insights and Advice > Solutions
And it all boils down to providing insights,
advice and knowledge as opposed to painfully signposted solutions. Prospects
know what you are doing when you start leading them down the garden path
towards the big shiny shed that houses all the answers.
Today you need to advise them from the start on
how other businesses have tackled their problems. How your past customers
overcame similar issues and how you know exactly how to help them.
In todays time precious world, salesmen don’t
have the luxury of ‘finding the need’ and prospects don’t have the time to
listen to a hundred pitches. Make this work in your favour by hitting them with
the problem straight off the bat and telling them how you can fix it.
Customers are savvy to your solutions approach.
Shock them with some honest advice that gives them no other option.
Just make sure you provide the appropiate training and framing to enjoy
the best year of your career. We will explore that further in the next post!
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