ARTICLE TEXT:
THE
POINT OF SALE
What's the point.
At present, many sales
calls are consistently resulting in rejections, obfuscation,
disinterest and, yes, in some cases rudeness.
Each is perhaps understandable
when the prospective purchaser(s) and client(s) is or are
up to his, her or their elbows with alligators.
Call resistance is
a typical but not a natural or desirable consequence. Which
raises a fundamental question:-
What's
the point?
Those responsible for
sales often rationalise a reluctance to call on and canvas
existing prospective and past clients with the contention
that there is little point in doing so, because “nobody's
buying”.
Conversely, “time-stretched”
prospective purchasers have their own take on the question.
They rightly see little or no advantage, benefit or
point in a call from a sales representative who simply presents
themselves once again. What's the point?
The key issue in business
today, with the consequences and real or perceived fallout
from the Global Financial Crisis, is not how to develop a
sale, nor to extend the sale or even to close the sale.
No, the richest rewards will be enjoyed by those who enhance
their skills on how to open the sale.
ESTABLISH A SALIENT
All good strategies
recognise, respect and provide a well conceived, documented
and implemented means to establish a salient in the market
place and in the mind of consumers and clients. In
the military parallel that equates to establishing a beach
head, from which all developments, growth and control emanate.
Sadly, too many good
endeavours in the current marketplace falter because of continuing
use of obsolete advertising, promotional literature, packaging,
sales call routines, buying packages, products and services.
Those can be and are often considered to be boring.
Times have changed.
So too have client needs, perceptions, expectations,
preferences and buying criteria. Most challenging is
the realisation and reality that many competitors and substitutes
have also changed their sales strategies, products, services
and support initiatives. The point is that all businesses,
products, services and people need a new, fresh aspect.
Relevance is an overriding imperative.
Therefore, mortgage
brokers need to and indeed have an alternative sales opener
of offering funds from 30 different sources. Likewise,
financial planners should and can offer more than the highest
dividend rates. General insurance brokers too, need
to reinvent new opening lines away from insurance risks to
a more appealing point of difference. Real estate agents
have at their disposal a compelling proposition to vendors
which outweighs any attraction of accepting a lower price.
GIVE'M A
REASON
Existing and prospective
clients need a reason to pause, to contemplate and to conclude
a purchase.
Tim Treadgold is a
well respected and well read business journalist. Each
day he is the recipient of countless news briefs and media
releases. Most are summarily discarded. In his
disarming manner, Tim explains that many of the missives are
interesting. However, interesting is not good enough.
Tim's challenge cuts
to the chase. “What's the angle”. For a story
or a proposition to offer value to a publication, editor or
journalist, it needs to be unique, captivating and compelling.
The same principles
apply to industrial sales. Success will not necessarily
gravitate to those who are industrious or more industrious.
Winning business on price competitiveness and tendering
is increasingly marginal, with margins being wafer thin.
Therefore, seek out, establish and introduce creative sales
openers.
A LITTLE HOMEWORK
Dating back to the
ancient Chinese leaders, through the annals of military, national
and commerce history one edit has persisted:-
“Know
thy Enemy”
In contemporary business,
clients are not deemed to be the enemy….but the principle
still applies.
Customers and clients
don't necessarily want more, they simply want to get more.
The distinction is subtle, but significant.
In short, the product or service on offer needs to be an accelerator
or leveraging factor in the prospective purchaser enjoying
more satisfaction, more protection, more profit margin or
more presence in selected target audiences.
Intuitively, a fundamental
element in a strategically advantaged sales opener extend
beyond qualifying, extending or closing the sale. A
strong focus on outcomes, rather than processes, is now essential
for closure.
Marketers refer to
a well reasoned philosophy:
“The
objective of Marketing is to make selling superfluous”
Customers respond to,
welcome, endorse and get enthusiastic about a great sales
opener. The result is that they buy, rather than being
sold.
OVERCOME OBJECTIONS
A great sales opener
rarely ever encounters objections, which tend to be conditioned
responses to stale, standard and repetitive representations.
There is little to object to when the focus is
on the positive, the upside and the consequences and benefits
of a prudent investment. That's a superb opening line!
So considerable rewards
will be enjoyed by those who concentrate on the front end
(of the sales process – the opening) and then immediately
orient the prospective customer and clients to the outcomes.
I hope this made the
point.
