How do they do That?
Desire: Build their desire for your product by showing them its features and letting them sample or test-drive it. Action: Encourage the prospect to act. There is a plethora of closing techniques that range from hard sell to soft sell and everything in-between. Compare it to its competitors. This is your closing. Ask for the order. If they object, address their objections. Use testimonials from happy customers. Conviction: Increase their desire for your product by statistically proving the worth of your product. There are then many variations of closing techniques that can help get the business.
Now that’s dedication to keeping the lines of communication open! You would have your cell phone in your coat pocket for those people you want to hear from and/or be able to contact regardless of where you are or what you’re doing. You would have your beeper on your belt for those people you want to hear from but not acknowledge. You would have your PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), BlackBerry or other smartphone in your shirt pocket to look up (while driving your rental car) the address of your next appointment. You would carry your laptop in your black leather executive backpack to use in airports to document the meetings you’re at, the sales you made, surf the net, check your e-mail, play Free-Cell, update your contact management software, and complete your expense report.
That in itself should help you understand the value of building a relationship with your customers and turning them into both repeat buyers and spokespeople for your company. Relationship selling is all about building a friendship or relationship with your prospects and listening to their needs. Once you’ve built that relationship, shown you care, and earned their trust, you are on the road to making them a customer. Word of mouth referrals are still one of the best ways to make new sales. Knowing their needs and finding out their secret fears (for example, your client may confide to you, “If I can’t make this project work within budget, my boss will probably replace me!”) can help you find solutions for them that are exactly on-target with their needs and build an even stronger relationship.
You have your sales team screened, hired, and trained on the features and benefits of your product and now it’s time to put their “feet on the street!” But what about their sales approach? Did you think through the possible sales techniques and make an informed choice about what would work most effectively for your product and market? If not, your team may not be off to the fast break you hope for.
