Author Archive
October 27th, 2011
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This may sound like heresy but as a salesman your greatest aspiration should be to stop selling.
I’ll let you re-read that again and catch your breath before I move on.
The best brands out there do not sell you – you seek them out. You want to buy from them even with minimal visible effort on their part to convince you of that. Contrast the number of commercials you see on TV for Hondas, Chevys, and Toyotas versus the number of ads you see for Rolls Royce or Maybach. Those are all great cars that will get you to where you need to go functionally but you want the form and style of the latter ones. That’s an extreme example but let’s break down why it works.
Ultimately it comes down to one thing: Rolls Royce (and their analogs across other verticals) know themselves.
They know what they are, what makes them desirable, and what their buyers want. They know that they are the top of their food chain because they perform at a level above and beyond functional. They are flawless in style and performance. For an average user the differences aren’t something that you can really tell, but you know you want them. They go above and beyond to demonstrate, often by literally holding their buyers hands and showing, the most detailed of features so that there is no mistake of what you’re getting.
As a salesman if you know yourself, you’ll be able to identify what makes you so desirable to your buyers, and in time turn them into your sales force. It takes a commitment to excellence that is difficult to hold yourself to, but all great rewards come with a great cost.
October 24th, 2011
In working with a number of small businesses and solo entrepreneurs I’ve noticed there’s a struggle on deciding when to bring in a professional salesman versus doing it yourself. The common theme I’ve heard from my friends and clients is that they don’t “feel like” a salesperson. They don’t feel like they can do the sales game.
In most of these cases, these are people whose greatest sales asset is themselves – they are selling their expertise, their talents, and their skills. In these cases you don’t need a professional salesperson, in fact it will probably hurt you more than help. If you are selling yourself, no one is going to do a better job of that than you.
If you love what you do, or what you are selling in a way that is self actualizing, then that same truth will ring here as well. Most of you don’t need to hire a salesperson, you need to put in the work yourself and unlock your inner salesman.
October 7th, 2011
I was asked a great question by a salesperson I was consulting with recently:
Chris, how do you deliver an estimate when you know that it is going to be significantly higher than what they expect or can afford?
This is an experience that I’m sure a number of solo-entrepreneurs and salesmen have encountered. The real question here is why are you afraid of your quote? Are you not sure that you have built enough value into your pitch to justify the budget you’re proposing? Follow along for three easy steps to not being afraid of your pitch:
- Build Value – Give solid reasons why the quality of what you do is worth what you cost.
- Build Value – Give solid reasons for why you cost what you do and why you’ll give them more than they expect
- Build Value – Give them a taste of what they’re in for once they sign up. Get them hooked on the service and attention to detail you provide.
Never give a quote until you’ve put in the time to do those things. And once you do put in the time and effort to build that value up, a quote with a big number on it is just that – a number. If you believe that you’re worth it – and build the value up the same way -if they can’t afford you it wasn’t going to be a great client for you anyway. But you may have salvaged an opportunity for them to either unearth new budget or refer you out to someone else who can afford the excellent work you do.
What would you do to overcome a proposal you’re afraid to send?
