April 2006 Sales Success Newsletter

In this month’s issue . . .
 
Once again I found myself scraping by to get the newseltter out by then end of the month. We've been working on a lot of exciting new things here that I'll be telling you about in the months to come and before I know it the month is over.

This month we'll finish the two-part series about why people buy and from whom they buy . If you latch on to these concepts and apply them to your selling you'll not only see a real difference in your sales, but more importantly in the ongoing relationships you have with your customers.

We also have a very good article by Greg Beverly about the benefits of focusing your attention on the customer and not yourselft that really drives home the importance of being customer-centered as opposed to sales-centered.

Our last article is an outstanding piece by Patrick Porter PhD. He explains one of the key elements in persuasion - The Law of Expectancy - and how effects our attitutes and behaviors with our interactions with prospects and customers..

We welcome your questions, comments, and success stories - just e-mail us at info@kosa-consulting.com.
 
Here’s to your sales success!

Kent Howell

Understanding Why Prospects Buy and Whom They Buy From (Part 2)
By Kent Howell

In Part one we looked at "why" portion of the equation of why prospects buy, and why do they choose to buy from whom they buy. This month we're going to focus on the "who" part of equation.

Remember that we said that people buy for their reasons, not yours; and the best way for you to understand what their reasons are is to ask pertinent, effective, questions in a skillful way. You also need to be able to articulate the real, bottom-line benefits of your product or service so that they can see how it addresses their particular concerns.

Not surprisingly, the reasons that people buy from the salespeople that they do buy from is closely related to their reasons for buying. As much as many salespeople try to convince themselves of it, price is NOT usually the deciding factor. I'm not saying that price isn't an important element of the buying decision but in many, many cases the product or service a prospect purchased was not the one with the lowest price.

There's an old adage that most everyone has heard - " people buy from people". In the February newsletter I talked about building rapport with your prospects. If you remember, the essence of building rapport was based on talking with the prospect about himself, not about you.

To get people to open up to you, you have to express a genuine interest in them and their situation. This not only builds rapport but trust as well.

Here's the key takeaway: PEOPLE ONLY BUY FROM SOMEONE THEY TRUST.

So how do you build trust? By talking with the prospect about himself and his situation. And what's the best way to do that - pay attention now - to ask questions that specifically addresses the prospect's situation, business, or industry.

When you’re meeting with a prospect, especially for the first time, very little of that time should be spent talking about you, your company, or your product or service. The overwhelming amount of time should be spent talking about the prospect, his company, their and the issues he's facing. This is done almost exclusively through good questions. This is also how, you find out what you might be able to do to help him solve any problems he may have.

This is not the time to be talking about everything to offer and how and why they should buy from you. If you haven't asked questions to understand what their issues are how you possibly know possible fit for your products or services with his needs?

Now let me be very clear about something. The type of questioning I'm talking about is very conversational, just like it would be with anyone you were meeting for the first time. I'm also NOT talking about manipulative questions or questions designed to elicit a desired answer. The flow of the questions follows from the answers, so do not try to work your way down a set list, just let the conversation go where it does, you can always come back to other questions you need to ask. Lastly, please make sure that you ask the questions is a way that doesn't have you come off soundling like a prosecuting attorney interrogating a witness.

The people that most of us consider to be the best conversationalists are not the ones with the best sense of humor or the ones who talk the most, but the ones who take a sincere interest in us and ask us about ourselves. Think about that and I'm sure you'll find that to be true in your own life as well.

So let's tie this all together.

People buy from people (not companies) - people that they like and trust. That trust is built by your genuine interest in them and helping them with their needs. And that like and trust comes from knowing and understanding them: and that knowledge comes from good questions.

The bottom line from this two-part series is that questions are the most important skill to both understanding your why your prospects buy and for building the trust that makes them want to buy specifically from you.

If you put your focus on the customer's needs and completely forget about your quota, your commission, and everything else that's centered on you and turn your energy back to your customer you'll be more successful.

There's an old adage that says if you help more people get what they want out of life you'll get more of what you want. I think that holds especially true when you’re in professional sales.

A colleague of mine recommended an outstanding book about questions. It's titled "The Seven Powers of Questions" by Dorothy Leeds. I would suggest that your read it if you want to understand more about the area of questions and questioning skills

Shift Your Focus for Sales Success
By Greg Beverly

Rather than focusing on closing sales, focus on helping people to buy. Being governed by fear of rejection can make the task seem insurmountable, or an unattainable plateau. Many sales people take rejection far too personally. Being valued is important to self image, and self esteem and rejection can cause you to question that value. Unfortunately, in most cases the focus is on your personal fear of rejection rather than helping people make a good buying decision. The focus must be transferred and primarily centered around helping prospects to buy, and to make good buying decisions. Prospective clients are not concerned about how we feel, it’s how they feel; it’s not about us, it’s not about me, it’s about them! Shift your focus and you will immediately shift the fear of rejection.

If all of your attention is on yourself, and what’s in it for you, you will rarely get a sale. Very few people out there want to be sold. You don’t want to be sold. I don’t want to be sold. With that in mind, instead of selling, give your prospects a reason to buy.

Go in with greater confidence, and concern, shift concern from yourself and your company to the prospect. Shift your focus and change your thoughts. Provide options and choices that fit your prospects wants and needs. Focus on helping others…your prospect in particular. Go into each meeting with a genuine desire to help your prospect improve their life. Even if you are selling to businesses, the end result is all about making their life better through increased business success.

Sincerity, is a very important factor in helping any prospect to buy. As I mentioned earlier, go into each meeting with the attitude that whatever you do, you will leave your prospect better off than when you came in.

You are the most important part of the sales process, you are the most important factor that can build trust, build rapport, and build relationships. Be real, be authentic and present what you have to offer in a very sincere manner. Integrity is the key. “I know exactly how you feel, because I felt the same way.”

Follow these steps in your calls and watch your sales results soar!

Greg Beverly is a sales coach dedicated to helping create abundance for all who seek it. Find out how YOU can become a sales champion and live the life of your dreams by visiting www.salessuccess.yougethelp.com today.

Using the Law of Expectancy
By Ptrick Porter PhD

Studies in persuasion technology show that what you expect tends to be realized. I call this the Law of Expectation, which is also one of the tenants of sales.

As a sales professional, your expectations influence reality. I recently came across a movie called, "What the Bleep Do We Know?" It explains how our thoughts and intentions shape our reality. If you haven’t seen the movie, I urge you to do so. (You can go to http://www.whatthebleep.com/ to learn more.)

The movie explains that human behavior is directly related to how others expect us to perform. As an example, there was once a study in which first grade students were told that blue-eyed kids are smarter than brown-eyed kids. The blue-eyed children subsequently scored better on tests than their brown-eyed peers.

After several months they decided to bring the children together and tell them that what they'd told them before was wrong. This time, they said that all children are born with blue eyes and the more we learn the more our eyes turn brown, so brown-eyed children are smarter. Just as predicted, the blue-eyed children started to have trouble with their studies and the brown-eyed children improved.

So what might happen if you truly believe you're a great salesperson? What if you were to see, hear and experience every prospect as a great candidate? How do you do this? One way is to make a great first impression; it’s the moment where the Law of Expectation has the greatest impact on your performance. You communicate your expectations by your word choices, voice inflection and body language. When you expect your prospects to buy, all your actions will lead them in the right direction.

Before each sales meeting, try asking yourself, "How do I expect this sales process to go?" If your other-than-conscious mind feeds back a negative response, mentally rehearse the end result you want in full color with sound and feeling. You may want to imagine the prospect signing an order form or handing you a check. Now picture yourself smiling and shaking hands with your new customer. Know that you’ve just done a great service. When you spend time rehearsing success, you’ll be comfortable with it when it happens.

Dr. Patrick Porter is an entrepreneur, award-winning author, and motivational speaker. His electrifying keynote speeches and seminars deliver the real life, nuts ‘n bolts concepts he used to take his business venture to astounding heights. http://www.patrickkporter.com.