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Added for You - Improve Your Sales Closing Ratio
If I've heard it once, I've heard it a hundred times: less than ten days after their first postcard is mailed, the client calls me and says, "Rachel, it should have arrived a few days ago, but my phone hasn't rung yet. Are you SURE the postcard was mailed out?" First I reassure them that we mailed it. Then I remind them again that it usually takes several mailings before the phone starts ringing off the hook.Sometimes my clients believe me... and a few months later, they start seeing great results from their postcards. Sometimes my clients don't believe me... and they give up on postcards before ever really giving them a chance.You remember when Grandma told you that patience is a virtue? You might not have realized it then, but
>>> Unless you can find a compelling reason why they would switch to a "new" vendor, your odds of closing are going to be very low.
How well do their current vendors meet the "what's most important" to the prospect criteria?
After you've thoroughly discussed the vendors that they have current business relationships, you can easily ask about any other new vendors that they are considering. They'll likely open up to you on this now because you greased the conversation by getting them to talk about their current vendors first.
If they are reluctant to answer questions about other vendors, then tell them you are selective about who you give bids to. If you know whom else they are evaluating, then you will better know if you can help them and should bid on it.
>>> The lesso
Thousands of companies over the years have wasted money on printing leaflets and flyers, only to find that most of them end up being thrown away, or put in a kitchen drawer never to be seen again. Let’s be honest, we all have a drawer in the house somewhere that is full of old takeaway menus! However, the good news is that times are changing. Many businesses are waking up to the idea that magnetic advertising, in all its different guises, is the only way to go.When one considers that the average fridge door is opened approximately 30 times per day, it is then easy to see why fridge magnets are considered to be so effective. To illustrate this point consider that an order size of 1000 magnets would be seen approximately 30,000 times per
"I sell IT equipment to schools in the UK over the phone. I seem to always hold a massive prospect list that's constantly changing but I'm struggling to get my deals closed. The following is how 85% of my potential deals go:
First Contact:
- I find a prospective customer
- Find out what they have at the moment and what they want (where they want to be with I.T. in the future)
- I find out when they are looking to buy
- And ask who is involved in the decision making
Next Action:
- I put together a proposal and post/email/fax it to my contact
Second Contact:
- I call him/her to discuss the proposal with them, make sure it's what they wanted and make a few extra suggestions.
- I'll try and have a laugh with them to get some rapport going.
- I'll try & confirm a decision date again.
- Say something like - "is this something that we can go ahead with now?" it never is….
- "I'll call you in ? days to see if you have come to a decision"
Third Contact:
(before date I promised to follow-up on)
- "Just calling to make sure everything is OK and to see if you have gathered all the other quotes yet?"
- "how do we compare" - normal response is pretty good
- "is there anything I can do before you have your meeting tomorrow that would help you in making a decision?" - usual response is "No"
Fourth Contact:
(day of decision)
- Won't put me through
Fifth Contact:
(day after decision):
- Secretary says he's not there
Sixth Contact:
- Secretary speaks to him and then tells me he's selected a competitor.
"It's quite depressing really and I do put the effort in, I'm sure it's just down to my sales skills. What do you suggest?"
Use Precious Sales Time Wisely
Thanks for writing in Rob. Selling this way IS depressing. I suspect that you are losing your deals very early on. By this I mean that you are expending too much energy on deals that you'll never win.
The decision to send out a proposal should be an important one. Only well qualified prospects that you KNOW you have a high likelihood of winning, merit the effort of creating a proposal.
This is contrary to what many of us learn in sales, which is that is a "numbers game". Send out more proposals, and you'll get more sales the thinking goes.
The problem is unless you know with certainty that you are selling to your prospect's most important buying criteria, your proposals have a low chance of success. You can bet that the competitor who wins the deal, knows just what to put into his proposal before he sends it out.
Qualify Better And Close More Sales
You need to get very clear on what is most important to your prospect. You do this by asking the following questions when you first interview the prospect:
- Why are you planning to purchase this new computer network now? - What is most important to you in a new computer network? - Why is this important now?You also need to know who the likely competition is that is currently being favored (there is almost always someone with the inside track). One way to ascertain this is by inquiring about similar or related purchases made in the past. Find out which vendors they bought from and why they were awarded the contract.
Ask if any of their past vendors are bidding for this deal. Ask why wouldn't they buy from those vendor(s) bidding on this deal if they bought from them in the past.
Ask the following question about each past vendor bidding on the deal separately to determine who is being favored. Don't just ask "why don't you buy from one of those companies?" Instead ask "Why don't you buy from ABC company? They gave you good installation support last time which you said was very important to you".
By asking about preferences for their current/past vendors, you will find out if there is a real opportunity for you or if they just are gathering bids to document that they have performed a competitive evaluation.
>>> Unless you can find a compelling reason why they would switch to a "new" vendor, your odds of closing are going to be very low.
How well do their current vendors meet the "what's most important" to the prospect criteria?
After you've thoroughly discussed the vendors that they have current business relationships, you can easily ask about any other new vendors that they are considering. They'll likely open up to you on this now because you greased the conversation by getting them to talk about their current vendors first.
If they are reluctant to answer questions about other vendors, then tell them you are selective about who you give bids to. If you know whom else they are evaluating, then you will better know if you can help them and should bid on it.
>>> The lesson
Once you’ve secured your new teaching job abroad, you’ll probably have several months to get yourself organized before taking up the post. Here are the top ten things you need to take with you when you move overseas. Read this now as some of these can take time to prepare properly!1. Passport (valid for at least the length of your contract) You may think this is an obvious one considering we’re talking about relocating your whole life to another country. Tell me, do you know when your passport expires? Mine expires in 2015.Depending on where you’re living, a new passport may take up to 6 months to get. It’s not wise to rely on the ‘estimated turn around’ time on the form as in the past both the UK and the USA ha
Third Contact:
(before date I promised to follow-up on)
- "Just calling to make sure everything is OK and to see if you have gathered all the other quotes yet?"
- "how do we compare" - normal response is pretty good
- "is there anything I can do before you have your meeting tomorrow that would help you in making a decision?" - usual response is "No"
Fourth Contact:
(day of decision)
- Won't put me through
Fifth Contact:
(day after decision):
- Secretary says he's not there
Sixth Contact:
- Secretary speaks to him and then tells me he's selected a competitor.
"It's quite depressing really and I do put the effort in, I'm sure it's just down to my sales skills. What do you suggest?"
Use Precious Sales Time Wisely
Thanks for writing in Rob. Selling this way IS depressing. I suspect that you are losing your deals very early on. By this I mean that you are expending too much energy on deals that you'll never win.
The decision to send out a proposal should be an important one. Only well qualified prospects that you KNOW you have a high likelihood of winning, merit the effort of creating a proposal.
This is contrary to what many of us learn in sales, which is that is a "numbers game". Send out more proposals, and you'll get more sales the thinking goes.
The problem is unless you know with certainty that you are selling to your prospect's most important buying criteria, your proposals have a low chance of success. You can bet that the competitor who wins the deal, knows just what to put into his proposal before he sends it out.
Qualify Better And Close More Sales
You need to get very clear on what is most important to your prospect. You do this by asking the following questions when you first interview the prospect:
- Why are you planning to purchase this new computer network now? - What is most important to you in a new computer network? - Why is this important now?You also need to know who the likely competition is that is currently being favored (there is almost always someone with the inside track). One way to ascertain this is by inquiring about similar or related purchases made in the past. Find out which vendors they bought from and why they were awarded the contract.
Ask if any of their past vendors are bidding for this deal. Ask why wouldn't they buy from those vendor(s) bidding on this deal if they bought from them in the past.
Ask the following question about each past vendor bidding on the deal separately to determine who is being favored. Don't just ask "why don't you buy from one of those companies?" Instead ask "Why don't you buy from ABC company? They gave you good installation support last time which you said was very important to you".
By asking about preferences for their current/past vendors, you will find out if there is a real opportunity for you or if they just are gathering bids to document that they have performed a competitive evaluation.
>>> Unless you can find a compelling reason why they would switch to a "new" vendor, your odds of closing are going to be very low.
How well do their current vendors meet the "what's most important" to the prospect criteria?
After you've thoroughly discussed the vendors that they have current business relationships, you can easily ask about any other new vendors that they are considering. They'll likely open up to you on this now because you greased the conversation by getting them to talk about their current vendors first.
If they are reluctant to answer questions about other vendors, then tell them you are selective about who you give bids to. If you know whom else they are evaluating, then you will better know if you can help them and should bid on it.
>>> The lesso
No matter what type of organization you run whether it be a small business, team, non-profit, government agencies or religious group there comes a time that you must tap the greatest talent necessary to take your group to the next level.So, where do you find such talent? Well I suggest that it may not be as far away as you think and you may be surprised to find that the most common ways that management, coaches, clergy, entrepreneurs and leaders find talent is not necessarily the easiest way to yield the best results.For instance often head hunters are a good source of finding talent and they will present a candidate or two, but realize they are working for the sale and therefore, might make it look as if they have the best perso
Use Precious Sales Time Wisely
Thanks for writing in Rob. Selling this way IS depressing. I suspect that you are losing your deals very early on. By this I mean that you are expending too much energy on deals that you'll never win.
The decision to send out a proposal should be an important one. Only well qualified prospects that you KNOW you have a high likelihood of winning, merit the effort of creating a proposal.
This is contrary to what many of us learn in sales, which is that is a "numbers game". Send out more proposals, and you'll get more sales the thinking goes.
The problem is unless you know with certainty that you are selling to your prospect's most important buying criteria, your proposals have a low chance of success. You can bet that the competitor who wins the deal, knows just what to put into his proposal before he sends it out.
Qualify Better And Close More Sales
You need to get very clear on what is most important to your prospect. You do this by asking the following questions when you first interview the prospect:
- Why are you planning to purchase this new computer network now? - What is most important to you in a new computer network? - Why is this important now?You also need to know who the likely competition is that is currently being favored (there is almost always someone with the inside track). One way to ascertain this is by inquiring about similar or related purchases made in the past. Find out which vendors they bought from and why they were awarded the contract.
Ask if any of their past vendors are bidding for this deal. Ask why wouldn't they buy from those vendor(s) bidding on this deal if they bought from them in the past.
Ask the following question about each past vendor bidding on the deal separately to determine who is being favored. Don't just ask "why don't you buy from one of those companies?" Instead ask "Why don't you buy from ABC company? They gave you good installation support last time which you said was very important to you".
By asking about preferences for their current/past vendors, you will find out if there is a real opportunity for you or if they just are gathering bids to document that they have performed a competitive evaluation.
>>> Unless you can find a compelling reason why they would switch to a "new" vendor, your odds of closing are going to be very low.
How well do their current vendors meet the "what's most important" to the prospect criteria?
After you've thoroughly discussed the vendors that they have current business relationships, you can easily ask about any other new vendors that they are considering. They'll likely open up to you on this now because you greased the conversation by getting them to talk about their current vendors first.
If they are reluctant to answer questions about other vendors, then tell them you are selective about who you give bids to. If you know whom else they are evaluating, then you will better know if you can help them and should bid on it.
>>> The lesso
One of my heroes in life is Bill Levine, the founder of PIP Printing. It was almost 40 years ago that he found himself at the front of the line in an industry. That industry has changed significantly since he opened his first instant printing operation. It began with an idea that joined technology together which eliminated several steps in the printing process. At that time, the printing plate making process required 8 time consuming steps that took days to accomplish. The newly developed Itek plate making unit was a self contained system which had the ability to create printing plates in about a minute.Although this new invention was shown at tradeshows around the country in 1966, only a handful of individuals saw the vision of an indu
You also need to know who the likely competition is that is currently being favored (there is almost always someone with the inside track). One way to ascertain this is by inquiring about similar or related purchases made in the past. Find out which vendors they bought from and why they were awarded the contract.
Ask if any of their past vendors are bidding for this deal. Ask why wouldn't they buy from those vendor(s) bidding on this deal if they bought from them in the past.
Ask the following question about each past vendor bidding on the deal separately to determine who is being favored. Don't just ask "why don't you buy from one of those companies?" Instead ask "Why don't you buy from ABC company? They gave you good installation support last time which you said was very important to you".
By asking about preferences for their current/past vendors, you will find out if there is a real opportunity for you or if they just are gathering bids to document that they have performed a competitive evaluation.
>>> Unless you can find a compelling reason why they would switch to a "new" vendor, your odds of closing are going to be very low.
How well do their current vendors meet the "what's most important" to the prospect criteria?
After you've thoroughly discussed the vendors that they have current business relationships, you can easily ask about any other new vendors that they are considering. They'll likely open up to you on this now because you greased the conversation by getting them to talk about their current vendors first.
If they are reluctant to answer questions about other vendors, then tell them you are selective about who you give bids to. If you know whom else they are evaluating, then you will better know if you can help them and should bid on it.
>>> The lesso
In order to run a profitable business in the competitive world today, it is very essential for a business to have instant access to clients, information and potential future liasons. The dependibility on computers has increased to a point that any transaction without the invlovement of the technology is unimaginable.Computers have opened up new vistas that have made it possible for many small amd medium scale industries and regional applications to go global. The amount of business that can be generated is not comprehendable and the prospects are not countable.However, with the application of the technology also comes the dedicated services that are a part of the interal complexities of the system and much needed to ensure that t
>>> Unless you can find a compelling reason why they would switch to a "new" vendor, your odds of closing are going to be very low.
How well do their current vendors meet the "what's most important" to the prospect criteria?
After you've thoroughly discussed the vendors that they have current business relationships, you can easily ask about any other new vendors that they are considering. They'll likely open up to you on this now because you greased the conversation by getting them to talk about their current vendors first.
If they are reluctant to answer questions about other vendors, then tell them you are selective about who you give bids to. If you know whom else they are evaluating, then you will better know if you can help them and should bid on it.
>>> The lesson here is don't do a proposal unless you can PROVE that you offer an advantage in meeting their key criteria. Being me-too is not enough because it is likely that there are already vendors they do business with that they prefer and know better than you.
By rigorously qualifying your prospects, your closing ratio and total sales will increase significantly. You'll be happier also because not only will your bank acount be fatter, but you'll be working with people who want to work with you.
© 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved.
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