Why can’t Jim Sell? (Or Sally for that matter) Are your sales becoming more difficult? Read on….

It really comes down to just a few factors, to quote Dr. Phil, “we can not change what we do not acknowledge”.

1. The company does not have the ability to buy

2. The product or service has no apparent , or great enough value to the company

3. The salesperson or company has not become a trusted advisor

If #1 is true, acknowledge it, record the prospect for nurturing, and move on.

If # 2 is true, this will open the door to many related questions. However this question can be directly related to #3. If our salesperson is truly a trusted advisor, due diligence will be performed that clearly states if a product or service provides value to an organization. The value of a product or service is a synergy between product/service and company. Let’s first examine that synergy. A product or service must be, above all, in the buying company’s best interest, not in the selling company’s interest. This paradigm aligns principles that provide a true win-win scenario.

So how does an organization create and nurture that environment? In an effort to keep things simple, and provide value here, take note at the principles that are inherent in this process. Here are two:

Provide excellence in all you do.

Every product, every service, every call, every letter, every brochure is a statement of who you are as a company, as sales unit, as a person. Keep in mind excellence is a journey not a point of arrival. It begins with attitude; and its vehicle is constant education. Some education may have to do with efficiencies; some may have to do with more effective techniques. Both are required. “Excellence honors and inspires people.”

To become a trusted advisor, you must be trustworthy.

The sales role must be to help the client succeed. If you do, you both win. It is no longer sufficient just to get them to buy. If you cannot reduce their costs; increase revenues or margins; leverage their cost of capital, increase productivity, augment strategy, and/or increase critical performance, you cannot earn their business over time.

…Trust, is also earned

How? Give me an example, please!

An example would be writing a customer centric proposal, as in providing ROI analysis or value to cost ratio. Another specific example would be a process or tool providing and tracking customer relationships and interactions in a central place that would provide easy access to information to those who need it. In the latter example the company can start to fulfill its obligation to itself, its employees and shareholders. How, because this creates efficiency, that allows for a decision making process both on a management level and a sales level. The ability to make decisions is greatly enhanced because it becomes an informed decision, a decision that can be made quickly because information is now “real time”. This provides a clear path to customer service and if properly implemented and utilized, sends a message to the client that they are important!

..Look for Self Image, how to position yourself as a Real Professional, and…, What is the worlds oldest profession?… in our next newsletter