| The Big Win |
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Where Have YOU Been? Celebrating? We all know what an exciting few weeks it's been. First, we celebrated the Olympics, where thousands of talented, competitive athletes gathered to put forth their best. Wow! What a gift for the rest of us to observe. Then, after that, the Democrats celebrated their position in Denver. They were competitive in their messaging. Just last week, the Republicans celebrated by strutting their stuff in St. Paul (again, more competition for votes in November). And now for THE most important of all celebrations. (Drum roll on your desk, please...) Just this week, we celebrated the 12th anniversary of SalesPEAK's launch. When I founded this company, 12 years ago, I had been working full time-plus-hours running a software company's sales force. We were experiencing record sales and competing with the "big boys". There was no "transition" into running my company because I worked too many hours for my employer. I resigned on a Friday and opened SalesPEAK's doors on a Monday with a huge grin, lots of optimism, and not one client! Some said that it couldn't be done That there were too many companies doing "the same thing". These naysayers trying to discourage me were not to be believed. Why? Because since 1996 we have been competing AND winning! Clients such as ING, Panasonic, MERCK, Pearson, Mercedes, Coca-Cola, and dozens of others use SalesPEAK and benefit financially from our approach. You may be wondering why you should care about this brief SalesPEAK history. It's because those who succeed KNOW about competition. Those of us in sales have to possess the desire to win. How skilled are you at knocking out the competition before they've had a chance to show up for the "close-party"? Here are two examples that happened to me in the last 24 hours. I have two new prospects. Each of these future clients are shopping around for the best sales consulting package. Of course they'll look at background, tenure in the business, client lists, oh yeah, and price. Do I want to win these new clients? You bet. Am I worried that we won't? Of course not. The reason being, I've already knocked out the competition fairly effortlessly by setting up to win the business. Without going into too much detail on how I handled this, I'm going to provide you with 5 key steps to help YOU compete in a competitive market (and they are ALL competitive!) Here goes... 1. Don't talk. Listen. The better listener you are, the more your client will be convinced you know what he/she is really saying. Any salesperson (i.e. your competition) can talk. 2. Paraphrase. What did the client just tell you as your lips were sealed shut? Repeat what it appears the problems and challenges are by identifying where you think the real issues are and bouncing them back to the client. Ask for agreement to make sure that you did, indeed, get it. 3. Offer ONE key free piece of advice. This has to be short and to the point. By offering just this one nugget of wisdom, you are sharing your vast knowledge, without getting wrapped around it. Make sure the client knows that this is a gem (remember...SHORT!!) 4. Drive the client to the close by simply asking for the agreement to move forward. The client knows it's a closing question, but is OK with that. He/she has been eating out of your hand and is ready to move forward, too. 5. Firm it all up by tying up the call with a bow. In other words, tell him/her what to expect and when. This is an exchange designed in the process for achieving 90% of the final close. Now it's just a question of a signature on the dotted line. So if you are wondering how to compete, just remember what's been going on during these weeks of celebrations. You'll be celebrating too, once you close some new deals. Right? Follow my steps above and if you need more, go to: www.salespeak.com and download our videos or audio programs. Keep me posted! (c)Renee Walkup, All Rights Reserved, www.salespeak.com 678 587-9911 |
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