As a business coach and mentor I am privileged to spend a lot of time with brilliant entrepreneurial men and women. I am invited into their business lives for advice on a variety of business related challenges. Among my clients are gifted professionals – innovators and academics who find the sales process to be the most difficult and complex aspect of their business. We know that the life blood of a business is pumped by an agile competitive sales know how. It is this ‘know how’ that I strive to bring to my clients.
Alongside providing the coaching and mentoring services, I am constantly searching for integrity based web and reading materials. For this month’s blog my choice of web is Sandler and my choice of reading is The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and how to apply them. The author of this book is David Mattson, CEO of Sandler. The book can be purchased on Amazon. The sales principles in this book reinforce my own core sales beliefs which you can access here on The Business Accelerant.
Early in his sales career, David Sandler, the business founder, observed that some salespeople work hard and struggle for every deal, while others consistently and almost effortlessly uncover new opportunities and close sales. Why is it, he wondered, that two salespeople selling the same product in the same market can have such different results? He wondered were great salespeople born with a special gift–perhaps the right personality? Were they better educated? Did they have more experience? Were they just lucky to find themselves in the right places at the right times with the right people? No, he concluded that they simply understood human relationships. I can bear witness to that conclusion because it was through a customer centered focus built on honesty of product, respect for the customer, efficiency and sincerity in dealings that built the customer trust that enabled me to excel in my career as a top sales consultant. Yes, of course, I had an excellent product but we know that every sale needs a spark of the remarkable so that it can be remembered and that spark is about how your customer felt when the deal was done.
The Goal of every sale must be to solve a problem for a customer. This is called customer transformation. What will the customer’s life look like after the sale? What are they going to enjoy afterwards that they do not enjoy now. This is where the passion of sales language helps create the image of transformation for the customers. Let me give you an example – a friend had been struggling for years to heat a big old house to enormous cost and poor heating effect. Researching all the pros and cons of various heating options was confusing matters even more as various contradictory experiences were exchanged. Then came the eureka moment- the moment of decision came when the sales assistant in yet another heating provider store said, “That stove will change your life. It will be a life changing experience, the whole atmosphere of your house will be changed forever.” The deal was done and closed. The vision of a home changing from a freezing barracks to a place of cosy warmth was the transformation my friend desired. This sale was achieved through the skill and passion of language doing justice to an honest product. Next month we will give time to discuss problem solving with your customer by helping them deal with obstacles. Very often after committing to a significant cost a customer can become aware of obstacles and how you handle this stage of the process is what will either credit or discredit your professionalism. They have given their money and now the supports necessary come into play. Looking forward to your responses and to being in touch in January.
I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful peaceful Christmas. Use the festive season to relax and reflect and together we will do wonderful things in 2014!
Recent Comments