The New & Improved - "Know Your Customer"!

I asked 10 C-level executives in my network - "How many vendors that meet with you know and understand your company?" - 7 out of 10 indicated that they felt the seller/vendor did little or no research prior to the first meeting! Wow!
Here are 5 items to consider - before you sit with a prospect;

1. With the infinite amount of information available in the public domain - you should at least understand the company business (high-level), recent news, revenues, public challenges, recent wins/losses. This can be obtained by many search engines, Hoovers, Google, Yahoo, etc..
2. Check social and business networking sites to find out as much info you can on the person you are meeting with. I met with a senior executive from a major financial services firm and uncovered that this person was a well-know musician in the 70's. What a great bit of info to start off the conversation and a relationship.
3. Degree's of separation - chances are you know someone who knows your prospect - ask your network for known connections to your prospect. I suspect that many of you reading this - don't do this!
4. Talk w/ other vendors that do business with your prospect. How did the sales process go? Get a preliminary read on what business drivers/pain they are having - and be prepared with a conceptual solution.
5. Last, but not least, send a preliminary letter with a series of well thought out questions that will help you be prepared, control the discussion and provide a preview of discussion topics to your prospect.

Good luck & happy selling,

Ed

Emphathetic Selling!

Have you ever felt during the sales process that the salesperson was selfish? Check your wallet!
I have worked alongside some sales associates that it was clear they were only in it for themselves. "Oh boy...I am going to make a big fat commission on this one", "How do I get this guy to budge and buy from me", "Gotta close this deal - my kids college payment is due"...
I firmly believe that 99% of the prospects out there see right through this veil of fake interest.
I think for the most part these folks give selling a bad name.
Try being selfless in the sales process - although this is hard for the ego of the typical salesperson. Forget about yourself for a moment and try walking in the shoes of your prospect. What personal and business challenges are they having right now? What pressure is he/she under? Can you help? As soon as you get into an "empathetic mindset" - something interesting happens. The sales process evolves into a collaborative, relationship environment that, most definitely, increases the probability of doing business together. The proverbial 'win/win' is the final result.

Who do you know - Part ll

Swimming upstream to gain acceptance is tougher than swimming downstream with the current behind you! Have you tried to gain access to the senior executive that will make the ultimate decision to purchase your goods or services? If not - your dead in the water!
Access to power is key in ratcheting up your probability in closing the deal. Why is it that most salespeople are intimidated by the "C" level executive. Most likely - fear of rejection - get over it! If you cannot - consider another job! Chances are you can find a common ground in which to use as a springboard for your first discussion. She's a sailor, a black-belt, an avid collector of antiques, has a family, vacation spots - you name it - there is almost a guarantee that you have something in common. Find out what charities this "C" level executive is passionate about and attend some of the functions. Even consider - if you feel strong about it- joining the charity.
I did once - and it paid tremendous dividends. Not only did we engage for millions of dollars in service - I gained a friend along the way.
Now that you have that elusive appointment - now what? Is the sweat beading up on your brow as you contemplate that first meeting? Will he/she reject me? What will I open with and say?
- See next post....
Good Selling,
Ed

Who do you know?

While taking over a small sales group for a marketing communications firm - I inherited a forecast and pipeline that was grossly overstated to say the least. After doing a deep dive into all the deals that were identified - I quickly recognized that this sales team had become creative writers not effective sales persons. At the conclusion of the exercise - I proceeded to the white board in front of the conference room and scribbled the words "Who do you know?".
This became a quick and effective way to identify what deals were real and had any probability to close.
I received answers like "procurement", "purchasing manager", "departmental supervisor" but no titles that were clear and had the authority to make purchase decisions. If you are not at a higher level in the company you are trying to sell to - then the probability of closing that business is diminished greatly. If you have not identified the decision makers you are not going to close the deal.
How do you get there? We will cover this in a future posting.
Kind regards,
Ed