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The 5 biggest ways to slow down a quick sale

Some salespeople make quick sales all the time.  They can get to decision makers quickly.  They convince those decision makers there is no reason to delay making major purchases.  They even convince that person to override all objectives and just get the product installed.

I have been recruiting since 1992.  There is a pattern that is obvious with the top 5% of salespeople.  They sell fast, and their sales stick.  No cancellations.

In the last few years the modus operandi of these elite salespeople has become obvious.  More importantly, the way the other 95% of salespeople manage to ruin the sales process has become crystal clear.

  1. The sale is glacially slow if you try to sell to people who don’t care.  That bottom 95% of salespeople would rather give their presentation to a kindergarten class than spend their time finding a CEO who is desperate.  They are so focused on using their PowerPoint presentation that they don’t pay attention to the apathy and inability to buy of their audience.
  2. Speaking of slowing things down, the memorized, covers all, nothing left unsaid presentation is a killer.  95% of salespeople play it safe and always give the whole presentation.  Unfortunately even an intensely needy customer only has a 5 minute concentration span.  45 minutes into the presentation the buyer has solved 5 vexing problems unrelated to your product and is hoping the salesperson will leave so he can do something useful.
  3. The 95% are trained seals who can bark out answers to objections but can’t close a sale.  Since they relied on their beautiful PowerPoint presentation, they left the keys to the sale locked in the buyers mind.  All that is left to do is to try and pressure the buyer into saying yes. They use every memorized objection handling technique ever invented.  Sadly if the buyer does say yes, the sale may still be cancelled because the real problems are still locked in the buyer’s mind.
  4. Presentations and objection handling often combine to show the buyer how he will lose control by agreeing to the sale.  A manager, director, or CEO is paid to be in control.  The 95% salespeople make the buyer feel more out of control.  That is the problem with pressure from the outside.  It makes the buyer grab tighter and tighter to their current situation.  Top salespeople give the buyer more and more control as they progress through the sales process.
  5. Letting the tension out of the buyer’s situation kills the sale.  Giving the buyer control doesn’t mean letting him off the hook.  The 95% notice the buyer getting upset and do anything to soothe his nerves.  They offer solutions, minimize problems, and say the buyer’s problem is everywhere.  What a great way to kill the sale.  If  everyone has the same problem, then there are probably a lot of people with the solution.  The salesperson has just convinced the buyer that it is time to shop around, not time to buy.  That is the best way of all to delay the sale. 

Yes, the 95% all seem to make the same mistakes.  Even worse, most of their bosses train them that way.  Many salespeople are fired for doing the things that could cut their sales cycle in half.  Of course all 5 problems are related.  So if you want to speed up your sales process, you need to work on all 5 problems at once.  It will work.  It always does.

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At www.dilts.us/sales/faster-sales.html  you can take a survey that will clarify the problems that are slowing down your sales process.

Since 1992 Bryan Dilts has been helping companies make changes that stick.  He can be reached at bryan@dilts.us .

Webinar replays available

Go to www.dilts.us/seminars/ to get replays of the recent webinars:

  • Get Salespeople To Kick Their Own…
  • Using the ChangeGrid
  • A Coward’s Networking Secrets

Next month’s webinars are listed at www.dilts.us

18 Signs that 360 Evals are sinking your department

Susan Scott says that anonymous 360 degree evaluations are signs of cowardice.  Do they bring out useful information or are they destructive? 

Here’s a link to a sample chapter from Susan’s book, “Fierce Leadership”:

Susan Scott, “Fierce Leadership”

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I am doing 3 webinars this Tuesday:

1.  Get Salespeople To Kick Their Own….
2.  Using the ChangeGrid
3. A Coward’s Networking Secrets

Saving your employee was a total loss

When is it too late?  This link sounds like sour grapes, but it isn’t.  When should you let top performers go?  When do you just admit you stunk as a manager and should have promoted them or given them a raise a lot earlier?

Most people who accept a counteroffer are back to searching and interviewing in 6 months.  Some wait a full year.  95% are gone in 18 months.  So why don’t you do what’s right early in the game?

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I am doing 3 webinars this Tuesday:

1.  Get Salespeople To Kick Their Own….
2.  Using the ChangeGrid
3. A Coward’s Networking Secrets

Organizational Culture Effectiveness – Crippling Behavior Which Humiliates Organizations

Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz with the Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tin man own their own weaknesses. At first glance, the Scarecrow’s search for a brain, the Tin Man’s hope for a heart, and the cowardly Lion desperately craving courage. All are great metaphors which depict the plight of most honest humans.

The simple message is their own ownership to “fix their weaknesses.” Isn’t that what personal accountability is all about? Its not some lofty theory floating in the jet stream. The yellow brick road, and the wicked witch…the tin man, the lion and the scarecrow scampered down the yellow brick road as part of their own personal accountability.

Personal accountability is one of the most common gaps we see in organizations. Healthy cultures doesn’t blame, defer, accuse and whine. If you feel like a victim, and you may have been horribly harmed…in the end, you’re best served when you embrace personal accountability as your best friend. That doesn’t mean you haven’t been harmed by brutal viciously arrogant people or that you are at all responsible for the brutality. Nope!

If you’ve had your job or career snatched away by blood thirsty weasels,…It may ONLY mean that the good people aren’t good enough and the bad people are more evil than you thought.

Find the personal pain which stops you…which can be as easy as finding blood gushing from an open sore (job loss)…or as difficult as finding the raging pancreatic cancer cells which are silently gliding through the organization (feeling stuck in a dismissive, ugly culture which slowly sucks the energy from your soul).

Every single human on the planet has the choice of personally accountability. If you want the unrelenting power and sheer pleasure of joy,…personal accountability may astonish you with an inner source of strength.

If you’d like more information about Organizational Culture download your free guide Organizational Culture

Jodi and Mike specialize in business succession with a focus on organizational culture. http://lighthouse-leadership.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Krutza

Non-competes, what really happens

This is a great summary of what happens in the typical hard fought non-compete case.  But look closely.  This really says it could arbitrarily have swung either way.

I found a useful list of the top 100 medical/healthcare companies

This is a list of the top 20 medical companies in 5 different specialties.  It gives their size, specialty, and a link to find out more. 

This list is a great starting point to make sure you haven’t missed an obvious market.  I downloaded a copy so I can use it.

Go to http://www.findmedicalsalesjobs.com/?ref=s1ZlUM1ZPwBRC8HP .

Yes, this is one of my competitors.  The list is free.  She deserves the attention this brings her.

Enjoy.

How to raise entrepreneurs

Great short video on how to raise entrepreneurs.  Click here.

repeat of 4 secrets to getting a MUCH better job

How to get a great job is a secret only 5% of the people I talk to understand.  Nose to the grindstone, being the best, and sacrificing for the team DO NOT WORK without 4 other things.For 17 years I have watched top performers get great jobs and get very bad jobs.  I’ve also seen mediocre and poor performers get great jobs (the poor performers were quickly fired).  

Yes, there are secrets.  Yes it takes……I’ll tell you in the webinar.

See you then.

 
Title:   4 Secrets to getting a MUCH better job
 
Date:   Tuesday, April 20, 2010
 
Time:   2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
Last Tuesday I did a seminar and it didn’t get successfully recorded.  So I am going to do it again.  I will put the recording up online when I am done.  That will be at www.howtoreallygetagreatjob.com/seminars/ .To register for the live seminar Tuesday at 2 PM go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/474220114 
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Hiring sales wizards – webinar links

You can link to to HIRE Sales Wizards at www.dilts.us/seminars/

The associated ChangeGrid mentioned in the seminar can be reached at this link.