A Roadmap to Sales Success

---BREAKING NEWS--- MAINTEC TECHNOLOGIES, INC. SELECTS SALES PARTNERS TO RUN SALES and MARKETING EFFORTS!! See: http://www.salespartnersinc.com for details “Tales from Sales Street” – real-life examples of successful selling situations.
Vol. 2 No. 2 August, 2004 – “The Listener”	To unsubscribe, see the bottom of this email.
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“Listen. Do you want to know a secret?” - - The Beatles Feel free to pass this along if it can help others. “… What a refreshing, upbeat way to re-energize the Customer Service spirit!” - - Shannon Benfield, Area Customer Service Manager, Ferrellgas regarding Sales Partners' daylong effort at Ferrellgas' Annual Customer Service Reps' Meeting		For help with sales issues: see "Ask your Sales Partner". Submit your questions to info@salestraininginc.com. All Questions will be answered via e-mail. Ask your Sales Partner: Scott asks: “What do you say if you don’t know your customers or their needs?” SP: *“When in doubt, ask the customer!”* - - Joyce’s Law #18 Also see: http://www.salestraininginc.com/understand-customers-needs.htm

About the “Roadmap …”

Each issue of the “Roadmap to Sales Success” will contain items of interest to the business (especially the sales) community.

Following is the schedule for this volume, “Tales from Sales Street” – real-life examples of successful selling situations:

No. 1	-	“Working for Peanuts?”
No. 2	-	“The Listener”
No. 3	-	“Customer Service as a Differentiator”
No. 4	-	“Having fun while Prospecting”
No. 5	-	“Networking Works”

This Month’s Sales Tips …

“The job is to ask questions – it always was – and to ask them as inexorably as I can.” - - Arthur Miller

Upcoming Events involving Sales Partners:

09/07/2004	-	Wake Tech – Cary , “Sales for People Who Don’t Like to Sell”
09/13 – 11/05/2004 (Mondays)	-	Wake Tech – Cary , “Achieving Sales Success in Small and Medium-Size Businesses”
10/14/2004	-	Triangle Technical Recruiters Association, “Sales for People Who Don’t Like to Sell”

Please see:
http://www.salespartnersinc.com for details

The Listener - - Vol. 2 No. 2 - - August, 2004

“Listening is a skill that most people feel comes naturally and therefore it is rarely taught. In reality, listening well is a skill that must be learned and that can be quite difficult.” - - The Hun School of Princeton (N.J.)

Sometimes, salespeople (and others) have “happy ears.”

We hear what we want to hear, and our responses sometimes reflect a misunderstanding.

If we don’t let the customers have their say, we may miss important sales clues.

“A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something.” - - Wilson Mizner

Importance of Listening:

If a salesperson wants to:

understand the customers’ real issues
demonstrate genuine empathy to them
position himself/herself to present the “right” benefits

then one sure way to do that is by “active listening.”

Active listening is not for show, nor should it be insincere. It is the best way for salespeople to get to the root cause of the customers’ “pain.”

Real life example of the successful use of listening:

Joe was looking to provide his offerings to a previously-intractable prospect. He knew that he was up against a very tough customer, but Joe was known for his persistence.

After having ascertained that this client did, indeed, have need for Joe’s offerings, he attempted a trial close” to see what the obstacles/objections/concerns might be - experienced sales people wait and hope for these!

(The famous sales trainer and motivator, Zig Ziglar, calls objections, “A salesman's best friend.”
Why? Because if you get past them, the next logical step is closing the sale!)

Sure enough, the prospect raised his concern:

Joe, if I buy your offerings, it’s really going to cost me.

(At this point, salespeople not adept at listening skills might have jumped in with their response to a PRICE objection.)

Since Joe was fresh from sales training class, he answered, “Cost you, John? What do you mean, ‘cost you’?”

John replied, “It may cost me some prestige here, Joe. It might hurt my image.

My company is very well known for its NIH (not invented here) philosophy. As you know, Joe, we provide just about everything for ourselves – hardware, software, products, services, etc.

If I were to go to an outside firm for offerings like yours, Joe, it could really make me look bad.

Joe thought about this for a moment, then he responded:

“John, let me make sure that I understand you. Would you consider my offerings if you thought there was a possibility that they would make you look better or smarter?”

Yes, I suppose I would”, John replied.

Joe: “John, does your VP hold weekly/periodic meetings with you and the other managers here?”

John: “Why, yes.”

Joe: “And are you and all of the other managers always on time or under budget with your projects?”

John: “Not always, Joe.”

Joe: “Some of the benefits of my offerings are that they can save clients time and money. What would it do to your image, John, if at the next VP meeting, you were able to report that your projects are ahead of schedule and/or under budget – because you were using my offerings?”

John wasted no time in his response, “Let’s work up the agreement now, Joe.”

TRUE STORY.

Listening is based upon 3 things:

Asking the client about his/her issue
Understanding the issues – may require asking some more
Confirming your understanding – may also require asking some more

(Zig Ziglar: “Selling is simple. It’s not easy, but it is simple.”)

Once these 3 things are fully satisfied, you may proceed with (successfully) closing the sale.

Next issue:

Be on the lookout for next issue of “Roadmap …” where the true story will be: “Customer Service as a Differentiator.”
Until then, Good Selling!!


Helpful Hints this month: Like to have a website that actually does something to help your business? Please see: http://www.webdesignstudio.com/ Thinking of profitably buying or selling a business? Talk with the folks at: http://www.ga-assoc.com And, of course, to improve your sales situation, please see: SALES PARTNERS, INC. ^SM http://www.salespartnersinc.com/		SALES PARTNERS, INC. ^SM Sales Coaching, Training and Consulting to help companies and individuals: * Grow Revenue * Improve Sales Productivity * Enhance Customer Relationships Submit your question/comments to: info@salestraininginc.com Subscribe to the “Roadmap …”