The Blatant Truth Weblog

Never before has this old cliché made more sense.  In these trying times it seems that the folks that hang back and don’t stay “out there” are setting themselves up for trouble when the economy rebounds.

For sure this isn’t the right time to stop doing any form of marketing, to decrease selling initiatives and refrain from going to events, trade shows, networking and other activities in which you grow visibility and presence.

And surely this isn’t the time to accept the status quo and just simply hide “until things gets better”.

Rather, if you snooze during this time, you lose.

• Lose customers to your competitors that are actively promoting and prospecting for new business.
• Lose visibility amongst your contacts and connections, leaving room for other folks to become the recipients of introductions and leads.
• Lose your confidence and edge so that when things pick up you’re running a slower mile than the folks that never broke their stride.

Sure you may have to readjust and reduce some of the dollars that were supposed to be allocated to “non-discretionary” activities. But, that doesn’t mean that ALL such efforts have to be eliminated.

So, wake up.

Don’t hit that snooze button.

Recalibrate, reinvent, reinvigorate and realign what you have to do to keep moving forward.

Just don’t snooze.

Sending this post at a remote work station. Cannot get into WordPress from my office. As soon as the glitch is fixed, I will post some info.

In the meantime, anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?

We’ve all had those sales presentations where everything went right. You captivated the audience with your words, and they nodded in agreement. You left the room feeling like a rock star, confident that you’d soon have a sale. Then, the romance quickly ended when you tried to close the deal. They fell off your grid, wouldn’t take your calls, and basically disappeared without even an explanation. Hmmmm!  And, you thought they loved you?

Yes, it sounds more like a one-night stand than a sales presentation, but too often seemingly productive sales presentations end up going nowhere fast. Why? Well, there are four primary reasons why your once captive audience is not really into you anymore. Here they are:

Oops! You Romanced the Wrong People

Often times, the people who seem like they are sure bets during a sales presentation are just those who don’t have any buying authority. It’s easy to get positive response from individuals who aren’t authorizing the checks, but you’re spinning your wheels by focusing on them. Do your homework ahead of your meeting and make sure that the decision-makers will be listening to what you have to say.

You Didn’t Probe For Information BEFORE the Pitch

You’ve memorized the features and benefits of what you’re selling and can probably even recite them in your sleep. But, no one is sold by a running monologue. To captivate them enough to get them to buy, you better be finding out how you can help them. Without this information, you have no ability to offer them an improvement of their current situation. This translates into them having no reason to return your call.

You Didn’t Present Enough Value

You could have the flashiest, most innovative product or service on the market, but if you can’t communicate its value to your prospect, they’re not going to buy it. Sure, they’ll ooh and aah over the fantastic things that you’re showing them, but if you’re not explaining why they need to have it, you might as well pack up and go home.

You Didn’t Ask Enough Questions

Besides determining their specific needs, you still need to find out much more before you have the sale. Do they have the budget for what you’re selling? What’s their timeline? How does the purchasing process work? How best to follow up? What else can you do to help them?

Like going on a first date, you need to play it smart if you’ll continue on towards a relationship. Find the right people, ask them the right questions, and you’ll go a long way to preventing being jilted again.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your sales engines! The current economic situation may be bleak but improving your core sales skills and competencies will help you to accelerate ahead of the pack and come out ahead at the finish line.

Sure, you’re probably noticing everyone around you putting the brakes on their sales efforts in an effort to protect their status quo. Go ahead and let them. However, who says you can’t buck this negative trend and use these tough times to your own advantage? Follow these tips and put yourself in gear to speed past the competition.

Create a Winning Value Proposition

In tough times, you better have a very clear understanding of what makes you different and better. And, you’ll need to be able to communicate it effectively too. Does your value proposition need refining? Start by writing what your offerings provide in terms of tangible business results. Make them distinctive, measurable, defendable, and undeniably sustainable.

Design an Integrated Sales and Marketing Campaign

Putting all of your eggs in one basket doesn’t work in the hen house, and it isn’t a smart business strategy either! You don’t need to spend a fortune on a campaign when money is tight, but you do need a way to effectively reach out to your market from a variety of mediums. Shop around for new marketing opportunities and don’t be afraid to bargain.

Pick Your Prospects Carefully

Now is the time to target your suspects carefully before you initiate converting them into prospects. Develop your profile of who is qualified for your products or services and keep your sales funnel full of only those who meet these qualifications.

Be Persistent and Patient

Buyers are understandably slower to purchase and more diligent about making decisions these days. Keeping that in mind, you may have to provide that extra amount of effort to help them make the decision to buy from you. There are still plenty of opportunities to get new business. But, if you want to sell to more than just the easy to convert “low hanging fruit”, you will have to utilize “real” selling skills to turn them into customers.

Enjoy the Process

Reaching higher levels of sales competency shouldn’t be drudgery. While it can be challenging, it should be enjoyable. Taking pride in your accomplishments and knowing that you have overcome adversity to find greater success is always worth the effort!

How Dumb is That?

To not return phone calls and emails in a timely manner, or, to not return them at all! If you’re away or unable to be responsive then make certain you have an “away” message on your email and/or phone.

To not make every effort to exceed your client’s expectations.

To not make certain that your clients know about ALL of your products and services. (Are you leaving business on the table?)

To not stay on the grid and get ROI from all of your marketing and lead generation efforts.

To stop listening and learning from your clients. Have their needs changed; are there any additional opportunities for you to leverage?