Let’s take a look at this from both sides of the fence. If you want to negotiate a discount and you’re a buyer then I’ll give you some phrases to use. Conversely if you’re a sales person I’m going to give you some phrases on how to counter buyers who are haggling and negotiating for a discount. So armed with phrases from both sides – may the best person win! Phrases to use when negotiating a lower price Phrases to use as a buyer… We all love a deal, right? But if you negotiate in the wrong way then a well-trained sales person will easily overcome them. Phrase 1 “How Much!” You respond to the ..read more

How do you get prospects to return your sales calls? Of course, it seems impossible to get a return call from leaving a voicemail message. However, sales people also have problems getting calls returned from warm calls, or referrals given by satisfied customers! How To Leave A Voicemail So, what is it that you have to do in a voicemail to get people to call you back? Or should you even LEAVE a message in the first place? Let’s take a close look. The Objective Of The Voicemail Just like any telephone sales call, you have to have a clear objective. When calling to set an appointment, you have t ..read more

We’re all looking for the silver bullet technique when it comes to increasing our sales but we can also learn a great deal from those salespeople who make the most mistakes! We’re often looking for “what to do.” Just as powerful is knowing “what not to do.” Here’s 18 sales mistakes that poor salespeople make. How many are you guilty of? Sales Mistakes To Avoid 1. Lack of sales preparation. It’s amazing how many salespeople simply wing it and don’t have the ability to state exactly what they are aiming for in the sales interaction. Imagine that the client says to you “In one minute, tell me wh ..read more

Order Taker? Trusted Advisor? Or Cheese Monster? How do your customers view you? From the customer’s point of view there are 4 types of relationships that they have with their suppliers. And if you can progress through each of the stages I’m about to describe below you can really make a huge difference to their business and your own profits. You’ve probably heard from the powers that be that you need to “add value” right? Well, this is what they mean by this. Please take a look at this list below and ask yourself at which stage you currently fit. If you sell a transactional product then it ma ..read more

More and more companies are electing to employ their own in-house telesales staff to set appointments for the field sales teams.  The question that arises though is how do you compensate this inside sales team? I can tell you that the most obvious answer is usually the worst one. How you structure the compensation of the telesales force is critical. Commission on the Sale The most obvious and seemingly logical answer is to pay the telesales person (TSP) a percentage of the order when the outside or field sales person (FSP) closes the sale. However, I strongly caution you about this. Whil ..read more

In its third edition of ‘the State of Sales’ report in 2020, SalesForce reported that “Sales reps have increased their time connecting virtually with customers at a rate 3x greater than connecting in person.” In addition, it states that “Sales reps can reach more customers with virtual selling or even reach customers in various geographical locations.” That, of course, was written before the virus shutdown, but it shows that virtual meetings with clients and prospects were exponentially on the increase before it became the only methodology that we could use to reach prospects. When the lockdo ..read more

When customers step through the door, they expect a certain level of customer service. Your customer will expect an experience that is free-flowing and completely hassle free and can set you apart from your competitors if you do it right. Each and every customer wants a unique experience where they feel like they are the only customer you have – they want it to be quick and painless but at a certain level of quality too. Click play for the video version of this blog Let’s take a closer look at what our customers expect from us as a product or service provider. 1. They expect you to know your ..read more

Are you using online sales meetings throughout your sales process? More and more companies are going down this route especially those that sell software, SAAS products and online services. Sometimes it can save you a ton of time if you can jump on a video conference call with screen sharing capability. Do it correctly and it can work wonders for you. Do it wrong and it can completely ruin the sale! Here are 5 mistakes to avoid at all costs! Connecting & Technology Issues! I absolutely hate it when at the start of an online meeting people can’t login to the session or they need t ..read more

You’re conducting an online sales presentation to a prospective new customer… Just how can you increase their engagement and keep them interested – and how can virtual meetings and virtual presentations achieve this? This really comes down to a number of key points. I will outline these below, but owing to the detail and complexity that each possess I will hone in on the main points only. The biggest reasons why demonstrating products and services fail is down to several important elements: – The Message – poorly thought out, not logical and too much information – The Deck / Presentation – po ..read more

We’ve always wanted to conduct more online sales meetings with our prospects but have probably been too scared to actually push through with it all. “You can’t beat face to face” said many a Sales Manager. And they’re probably right. But with the coronavirus pandemic we were all backed up against the wall with only one way out. Yes, you’ve guessed it, virtual online sales meetings. So what tools and technologies are available for the modern day sales person to help them conduct these virtual meetings? Virtual Meeting Solutions Currently the Unified Communications (UC) market is worth several b ..read more