Archive for the ‘Sales’ Category
Hire the attitude, train the skill!
Alex Cheatle
How can we help you?
In a reversal of business models which are all too common, Ten UK sets out to help customers: what a novel idea!!
The following video describes the need to recruit and train staff who understand the real value and expectation behind asking:
What do you want in the context of … ?
Alex Cheatle describes what they do and how they do it.
Read the article on Real Business here.
By John Lewis
Growth of eBooks
Expansion or replacement of the traditional book?
My guess is that most people still value the convenience and sheer pleasure of holding and reading a traditional paper book. It is difficult to think of a more pleasurable activity than browsing the shelves of a book-store or library. But the eBook also is carving out a valuable niche, it appears.
Thus it was a delight to come across a ‘store’ devoted to eBooks. Based in Paris, that virtual store is called Mobipocket. New to me but, perhaps, not to many others (I can sometimes be a little behind the new technology drag-curve!)
Nevertheless, a veritable labyrinth of virtual book shelves with prices often well below print prices. Here’s the WikiPedia background.
By Paul Handover (who has no commercial interest in promoting Mobipocket, not even a cent is earnt if you click through.)
Starting a business
Looks like a nice series from USA Today newspaper.
Just happened to be staying in a hotel last week that offered free copies of USA Today. Too mean to buy my own copies!
Anyway, that Monday was the start of a small business entrepreneur’s series running for 6 weeks.
Don’t worry if you missed the paper version, all available online. Week One is here, Week Two here. Bookmark it if you want to follow all 6 weeks – seems well thought out and mostly relevant to both sides of the Pond.
By Paul Handover
Good old-fashioned service values
What a delight to come across people who care.
This is a personal story with a wider message. That great after-sales service matters and in these difficult times will make the difference between surviving and even growing, or failing.
I drive a 2005 5.7 litre Jeep. It was bought (second-hand) when I arrived in the US about a year ago, en route to 
Mexico.
Just recently the automatic transmission failed. There was no choice but to commit it to the local Mexican Jeep dealership for repair. This is a sophisticated transmission system and I was seriously worried that it was going to be a nightmare.
I didn’t account for the help from AASTRO in Tucson, where the Jeep had been serviced a couple of times.
Selling Change – Concluding Part.
Understanding the process of change – key learning points.
- Good, really good, knowledge of your products and services is essential.
- People don’t buy anything unless they are dissatisfied with their present circumstances.
- Selling change means getting the client to recognise that change brings real benefits.
- Only good, client-focused questioning will uncover real needs.
- Only excellent listening skills will allow you to hear what those needs are.
- Don’t worry about the type of questions – just question, question, question. Oh, and listen!
- Understanding the potential customer’s business and where their needs are is fundamental.
Needs questioning is a sales concept.
Selling change – Part Four
Understanding the process of change – bringing it all together.
Yesterday, we promoted the importance of questioning. Because it is only through answering questions that we see new perspectives. In a sales situation, the skill of the salesperson is to have great in-depth knowledge about their products and services, the many ways in which existing customers use your solutions and likely areas of ‘pain’ that your prospective customer may recognise.
That requires a good understanding of the industry/s that your customers work within. Because without that, you can’t ask the focused questions that will quickly get you an insight into the prospect’s situation. The other bonus coming from knowing the prospect’s industry is that the sales approach will enable your prospect to feel as though you are there to help him.
Selling change – Part Three
Understanding the process of change – Discovering the needs
In yesterday’s Part Two, we raised the important question of how we change our views. Of course, in selling the ‘we’ is the person you are selling to. But to see into their view of the world, it obviously helps to think about ourselves for a while.
The psychology of change is beyond the skill set of this author and is one of many areas left to the psychology professionals. However, here is a very basic notion that works for the salesperson.
The role of questions is to elicit answers. (You see, I did say it was basic!.)
But straight away, one particular widely-held idea is going to be destroyed.
Read more of this essay on change
Selling change – Part Two
Understanding the process of change – Upsetting the Homeostasis
In yesterday’s Post on this topic we left the reader with a ‘flow chart’ of the process of change within a business and, slightly tongue-in-cheek, how that compared with change at a personal level.
What is the role of the salesperson in facilitating this process?
Well, firstly the salesperson should have established that the potential client ought to have a need for the solution. (That, at least, ups the odds of an effective use of sales time.) Whether that is from knowledge about the company or its business, a referral from somewhere else, or a solid sales reference from another customer, i.e. another of the salesperson’s customers is a good example of using the solution.
Selling change – Part One
Understanding the process of change is vital in selling.
When a potential customer is considering a solution on offer from the sales person, it is almost inconceivable not to think that your contact is going through a change process. In business-to-business selling most new solutions require the acceptance of change.
With that in mind, it would be wise to consider the change process. Now the challenge is that the author may have a few decades experience as a salesman but zilch experience or qualifications as a psychologist. Thus this Post looks at a salesman’s understanding of what appears to take place.
Selling – finding customers, Part 1.
Prospecting with pin-point accuracy.
One of the classic ways of catching business students out is with the following:
Question: If I am conducting a direct mail campaign, what would represent an excellent response?
Typically, students will answer, “2%”, “3%”, etc. In fact any form of percentage response would miss an important point.
Correct answer: An excellent response, nay magical response, would be if only those that had the money and motivation to buy responded.
Impossible? Yes!
Paul Handover
