The reality is that customers are persuaded when they are part of the process and not part of the audience.
Sales success today demands a radical shift from the "peddler" mentality of merely demonstrating products and expanding on their features. It requires treating the customer as a participant. More often than not, a flashy sales presentation alone alienates rather than persuades.
The best salespeople regard the sales call as a two-way conversation - not a one-sided pitch. They have developed active listening skills. Average salespeople score fairly well in their ability to provide customers with facts and figures, but top performers dramatically outscore the rest when it comes to gathering information.
In addition, how a salesperson collects information still distinguishes exceptional achievers from the rest of the pack. Top performers ask better questions and, as a result, gain much better information. Essentially, they aim to engage customers in the buying process with questions that require thoughtful answers and stimulate curiosity. These questions reveal the customer's underlying needs.
A Fresh Approach to Selling
Many organizations have developed without objective analysis of their purpose and structure. The buying power in many industries is no longer evenly distributed - in a large number of markets; a few big firms control the majority of purchases.
The development of new marketing techniques has meant that some tasks traditionally performed by the sales team can be more effectively handled by other methods.
The prime objective of all sales staff is to gain business. From an organizational point of view, however, how they all achieve their goals must be defined in order to identify what kind and the quality of skills that are required.
Customer focus is at the heart of successful selling in this new era.
Today's News: Over at Saleseopedia today, Clayton Shold is in conversation with Art Sob.., Art Sobc.., Art Sobczak ..... that is such a difficult name to pronounce, but I hear he is a nice guy.
"The Price Question" - "The "price question" a.k.a. "price objection" can come up anytime and has always been an issue, but perhaps more so during the current challenging economy. Are you aware salespeople can actually create this objection unwittingly? Art shares practical advice on how to avoid the price question, avoid negotiating on price and what you can do to effectively move away from the price questions should it come up." Just click on the banner below to listen in.
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