Thinking to win big orders
100 sales workers, including today, you will be visiting clients. How will you stand it? In order to get more orders, make sales workers out of the mode of thinking, from the perspective of a businessman thinking, higher, wider and deeper engagement with your customer.
When customers stop buying the product, you should find a way to change this situation: trying to help them solve the problem. This is the software company Concord Communications deal with the situation when the measures adopted. According to the company’s executive vice president of worldwide sales to say Daniel, the company made the decision to temporarily stop selling, start from the perspective of business consultants to consider the issue.
Daniel is responsible for global sales is also responsible for direct sales and network marketing. He said: “90 years of the 20th century, selling is easy. But now the times have changed – our customers to reduce the budget, cash flow poor, the use of funds must undergo a rigorous argument, but also used to measure the effectiveness of utilization of funds . ”
Clearly, the old way of selling is no longer suitable for present difficult economic situation. So last fall, Concord by the 140-member sales team and senior management, marketing and support teams to participate in the company’s organization of intensive training, the content is how to change the way communication with customers. They have to learn how to identify customer’s business “pain”; how to build a direct sale of the senior management chain; how to jump out of Seller’s thinking, from the perspective of a businessman thinking and talking. This approach is not limited to sales. Concord from product brochures and information to have been re-designed to address key vertical market challenges and problems.
This initiative has been fruitful result. Concord has grown from British Telecom, Morgan Stanley, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the United States, where banks and other customers to get millions of dollars. Orders rose by 12% per transaction dollar selling price rose from 70,000 to 100,000. “Our business is bigger and better performance.” Daniel said.
To sum up, consulting sales, including the three events: find out the needs and requirements of customers; assessment of your product or service meets those needs; tell customers how you will help him solve the problem.
Concord’s case shows that the slow development of these methods to drive sales, the enterprise out of the shadow of economic recession. But the consulting-style selling methods and sales practices contrary to the traditional. Arizona training company Morningstar Ventures owner Andrea Chilcote said: “Many will be his salesman imaginary customers. Consultative sales staff must get rid of their prejudices, and empathy from an objective point of view to think about customer needs. ”
Consultation style is a customer-centric sales to strategic and solution oriented. Its concern is not price and product focus is the position of a customer business model on positive changes. Consultative sales do not follow the pattern of investment products and then sell it to meet the needs and development solutions based. Its ultimate goal is to establish and develop long-term relationship, not a transaction.
Understanding of their industry. Chicago research and consulting firm, vice president of customer relationship Doculabs Goeff Blanco likes to raise their own sales team a question: “100 sales staff, including visiting clients today, you will. How will you stand out?” He said, the answer is “tight posted customer industries. “- This is the consultant should keep promises to customers. “You must find out what damage the strength of the company, impede the development of the forces of the inviolability of what is. Then put your findings clearly to the customer. You have to let your service to bring real value to customers, must be clearly to tell customers how your solution will be effective. ”
Customer needs is not more products and services, but more creative ideas and solutions. So last year Doculabs development and implementation of a one-year plan: to sell the team from the traditional “customer service” training into a new “customer relationship manager.” The part of the training is to ask each salesperson on a specific vertical market, a thorough-depth study to Zhizao from insurance to financing, Suo Yi and customers in their business needs O’clock Tanlun they can Shifenshuxi He proficient customer 所属 industry.
“Management means the salesperson must understand the relationship between customers, clients customers, business processes and solutions. For example, if your client is a financial services company in the future, you need to know their broker / dealer channel how it works, why their Customers will choose their services, they used to manage customer demand and operating costs of the processes and technology is what. “Blanco said.
Industry and business customers have a deep understanding not only bring more and better services, but also promote more careful use of resources, shorter sales cycle.
And their togetherness. Empathy is the consultation a key element in the sales environment. In other words, you should question the customer as their own problems. Their challenge is your challenge, their goal is your goal. And their sharing weal and woe, more importantly, to help them out of misery. Even those who do not intend to buy your product or service should be cast to the eyes of love.
This is the Concord in helping their customers – Florida BankFirst Bank strategy used, because the bank realized that the company’s individual business and enterprise business does not integrate well, resulting in a loss of customers. If the business owner is an individual business, long-term clients, he wanted for his company to apply for a loan, but the enterprise business manager can not access the customer records. Customer service, therefore be a great negative impact.
Have, such as the European Central Bank and Bank of Montreal, Concord and other software customers are very familiar with the technical issues facing the banking industry. Concord’s sales team not only introduced to the customer’s senior management the benefits of their products, but also demonstrate to them how their enterprise software, the two pillars of the Bank – Personal Business Unit and the Ministry of the organic integration of enterprise business, how to solve the problem, how to promote the bank’s sales performance, how to help banks achieve their strategic objectives. The results, Concord achieve 6 figure sales.
Higher, wider and deeper. When your customers no longer buy your product, does not mean that you should give up, you should find new ways to deal with. “In the fall of the market, when the decision matrix provided from satisfied with the fundamental value of the transfer request, the purchasing ability can promote enterprise development.” Waterhouse said, “Many of the sales staff are still using low-level access methods. If they never discovered this, they will never get a strong sales force. ”
Sales representatives Concord finds itself caught in this situation. “Our IT department no longer has the purchasing power of customers,” Daniel said. “So our sales team to put feelers out into the company higher, wider, deeper corner.”
In other words, they must deal with the company’s executives, and companies dealing with people in different departments, it must be from the CFO to the factory managers, financial officers and other functions dealing with. So you traveled the entire company, you will know what this business is facing the challenge of how to respond to this challenge.
Ask questions – to answer. Merkin first clarify her clients want to get anything from the display, and then is how to achieve their goals. “My purpose is not just selling products. If the customer can benefit from our products and successfully reached the target, then I can get a lifelong friend.”
She explained in detail the entire process to the customer – from how exhibits for the company’s overall marketing and brand design, to color and design recommendations. She also advises clients to conduct other activities, such as public relations campaigns, to provide some advertising sales techniques. She also suggested that if the Trade Fair is not the best choice is not costly to plan such activities.
She remembers a customer needs 50 has special custom designed booth. Nonetheless, as she was careful investigation, she found that there are many defects in the design of our customers. “If I did not raise any objections, then I get the same commission. But I know that design is a failure. I am from their point of view, as they have made to improve the program. The result our customers know that I was in for them sake, then our company has established a high degree of loyalty, will always give us orders. “