CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS
A successful sales representative who consistently sells an average of four (4) appointments per week does those things that other sales representatives do not do. Some examples are:
- cold calls: These calls are consistently made on a daily basis. Time is set aside each day to make an average of seventy-five (75) cold calls in his territory. A cold call is generally defined as a call made to a business in person that you are not currently doing business with. When you call into a company without an appointment and call on a business, it is considered a cold call.
- Telemarketing: This is another tool that will aid the successful sales representative in obtaining his goals. When properly utilized, telemarketing is used to supplement cold calls and will produce additional meetings/demonstrations, which in turn will increase his chances of success. It also allows the sales representative to cover more of his territory. He knows that his competition is certainly working his territory, so why shouldn’t he stay on top of what’s going on in his territory.
- Mailers: This is another tool that the successful sales representative uses to increase his chances of success. By (e)mailing 25 pieces a week, the results will be between 2 and 5 inquiries a month. These people are definitely interested in a product / service, or they wouldn’t have taken the time to respond.
- Another less known and certainly not used method of obtaining meetings / demonstrations is through a lead/referral program. Secretaries and Key operators have lots of friends and have lunch with each other. Don’t underestimate the influence these people might have with a decision maker. As a happy and satisfied user of your product, they will refer potential customers to you. Especially if you do something nice for them once in a while. Nothing elaborate, maybe just a new paper weight with her name engraved on it. (approximate cost $00) Wouldn’t it be worth $8.00 to you if someone gave you a lead that turned into a $500.00 commission! (One company advertised a free tote bag in return for the opportunity of demonstrating their product!! Needless to say, they gave away a lot of tote bags, but they also made a lot of sales!!)
A successful sales representative knows that goals must be set each day in order to accomplish intermediate and future goals. Goals can be anything that the sales representative want to obtain. He may want to establish all four (4) appointments / meetings a week. In order to do this, he knows he has to give 20 qualified conversations per week, which will yield one (4) sale per week.
To obtain the demonstrations means that the sales representative must have 25 cold call conversations per day.
In order to utilize these tools to the utmost efficiency the successful sales representative qualifies potential customers through systematic and thorough probing: Probing is done during the cold call and the demonstration. When making the call the sales representative should ask the following questions in order to properly analysis the customer’s needs and to qualify them for a demonstration.
What kind of product/service are you presently using? (make and model) What is your estimated volume per month?
These questions give you an indication to whether the customer falls within the market segment we are penetrating. Once you determine the need to replace their present system or place cloud product / service you can then proceed with specific applications they may have or desire. Ask questions that compliment the features on your product.
Example(s):
Business Value Proposition: Boost Your Conversion Rates to Get Most Out Of Your Marketing Activities
All of these types of questions will help prepare you for the meeting / demonstration. After probing you ask for the demonstration. If you have done your job right, then you will get the demonstration.
During the demonstration, you should present the features of your product and qualify the use of them in the customers mind. The benefits to the customer should always be directly in relationship to the features of your product. Stressing the benefits to the customer makes the features look more desirable.. A successful‘ sales representative will try to close the sale through all stages of the demonstration. Some of the typical closes are: (See examples above)
Trial close: Just as a customer may ask a question that is a buying question, the sales representative must ask questions that are closing questions. i. e. Will you need a custom cabinet with your new product / service?
Assume Close: This is my favorite! In order to use this close, the sales representative must earn the right to its use. After successful probing, qualifying, and demonstrating it is only natural that the customer intends to buy, So, why not assume that they are going to buy right from the beginning and close all through the demonstration! Using this closing technique requires not only the right type of questions but also the right actions. When you ask, Will you need a custom cabinet with your new product / service? you should be marking down their answer on the order blank.
We are all actors to one degree or another, and those of us that use the creative talent that God gave will reap the rewards. All stages of the selling cycle are important, but closing is the most important, because without it we do not have a sale and that means no COMMISSION!! Make these techniques second–nature to you and success is yours. Remember CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS!!!
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