I actually had both the better product and the cheaper price, but still lost the sale when I was starting out.
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sales
I was not sure why I needed to know sales at the time to be a good manager, but I knew I would figure out why someday.
We have to have trust in relationships, the products we use in our daily lives, our organizations we work for, basically we have to put some trust in everything we come in contact with.
Is doing business with your organization that beneficial for the customer? If not, your product / service will be considered just another commodity with the only differentiator being price.
A cold call will take most people out of their comfort zone.
People tend to tell everyone they know about how great an experience was as well as how awful an organization is to deal with.
We have seen politicians, CEO’s, and sales professionals all brag about how they did something great and how they deserve all the credit. Unfortunately, anything worth doing takes a great deal of effort and typically takes support of others.
When thinking about 2020 on how it crushed many goals that we had, remember that making small adjustments and moving forward is what we truly need.
Before you get all bitter and throw whatever you are using to read this post out the window please take a breath. Yes, 2020 and a pandemic were a lot to handle and most of our goals and aspirations for 2020 went out the window.
The first thing that I ask them is what is the market bearing for a sales price for what they offer. Often, I am left with a blank stare saying our price.
They may challenge our assumptions, but to help us make sure we effectively thinking through the process.
If a slogan will not cure all of our needs for marketing and sales, then what do we do?
Trust is a commodity these days that is in high demand. People need to trust others that they are working on tasks that will help the organization move forward.
Since the creation of mail advertising, tv, and the internet there has been a great focus on marketing. Now that we as a society have evolved and become smarter, the old way of marketing features and benefits has had to evolve. Just buying the biggest ad in the yellow pages will not work these days.
Trust is a highly important question that has to be answered by us for the customer. If we don’t answer that question with our actions and words lining up, then the customer will move on down the road to our competitors that offer similar products / services.
Most of the time the sales person is thinking on the fly and often falters when pressed for more details.
Organizations should use the same process they use to sell their products and services correctly.
Far too many sales people take the signed order and ride off into the sunset never to be heard from again. It’s a huge opportunity that unfortunately most sales people miss out on!
If we jump straight into selling mode after we get the customer’s name, we are failing the customer. Ever wonder why when asked what brings you in to this store today the customer says something like this, “Just looking…”
What the customer does care about is how this product / service will meet “their needs”. That’s right! How does what we offer help the customer?