closing sales probing with the question

This is my 10th article of my series of 20 video about closing the sale and becoming an all star sales person.This article concludes our conversation regarding probing.� We've previously discussed open-ended, closed-ended questions, I'm wondering and today we're going to talk about the question mark question.� The question mark question is used to delve more deeply into a comment your prospect just made. You repeat the phrase that's important to you as a question.Repeat the phrase?� That was an example.� What you're doing is drawing attention to what you want to know just by using a questioning tone of voice.� This is best used when your prospect says something that relates to a probem, a need or your potential solution.Here's another example.� Let's say your prospect says "I don't need a financial adviser.� I do it all myself."� So you suspect there may be a problem or a need in him doing it all himself.� Your response is, "Do it all yourself?"� This encourages him to speak more about what he just said.� This allows you to ask another question like how much time does it take to do all the research and manage your financial affairs?� This in turn opens the door to getting some reasons for your prospect to listen some more.So you use question mark questions to draw attention to what you want to discuss.� These are potential problems, needs and solutions.� It's especially useful when you're talking to someone who has a tendency to ramble on.� This way, you'll focus his attention on what's important to you both.What you've just done is learn the fourth questioning technique to ask questions that will delve deeper into your prospect's mindset.� Use this principle professionally or personally and enjoy better conversations with everyone you know.

Original :: closing sales probing with the question

closing sales use your body language to

This is number six of our 20-article series on closing sales and becoming an All-Star Sales Person. This one continues with our visual approach to prospects.As you may recall, there are two facets to a visual approach to prospects: your appearance which we discussed last time; and your body language. Using body language in your approach to prospects means that your body and that of your prospect are always communicating. By being aware of our principle called Match and Guide, you can increase your level of rapport geometrically.The principle is very simple. Begin by matching the body language of your prospect or client. People tend to mirror people that they are comfortable with. So to gepeople more comfortable with you, start out matching or mirroring their body language.After you've matched your prospect for a while, the next part of this principle is guide his body language. You do that by making body movements that your prospect can be guided by. For example, you can simply touch your face or your hair or your shoulder. So first you follow him and then you lead. And when you see that your prospect is following you, it's time to sell.Here is a caveat. If your prospect is making a lot of big gestures and body movements, don't mirror those, but wait until he finishes and then when it's your turn to speak, you can make similar gestures and body movements.Match and Guide the body language of your prospects and clients. It's a major principle. Practice it first in low risk situations with your family and friends and become aware of how your rapport level just soars. It's a very powerful tool.I once taught an insurance agent client of mine to use it. At a lunch meeting he focused on matching and guiding his prospect. This was their first meeting. When lunch was over, they returned to the client's office and my friend received a premium check for $26,000 to cover the first year of the policy.What you've just done, you've learned how to maximize rapport with anyone you want and this is going to lead to increased sales a lot faster and easier. Use this principle professionally or personally and get along better with everyone you know.

Original :: closing sales use your body language to

improve sales by improving yourself

Hi, my name is (your name here) and I am a salesperson.Ever feel like you're confessing to a terrible character flaw when you say what it is you do for a living? Has anyone but me noticed that "sales" has become a dirty word?I still remember in the 80's when I worked as an executive recruiter. During sales cold phone calls, I was routinely hung up on. Obviously this is demoralizing to someone in sales. I got really sick of feeling badly and like I was bothering people by calling them. I realized my self esteem was part of the problem and I had limiting beliefs about myself and salespeople in general. This is how I found NLP. I decided to change myself instead of changing careers and it woked! I not only continued in sales but started my own recruiting firm and for 10 years happily sold my service to a national market.So how did NLP help me to change? First I worked on developing the self confidence that could stand up to those demoralizing phone calls. During this time I also worked on increasing my skill set to have better sales techniques. I used NLP to help me build rapport on the phone and close more effectively. But the main changes came from changing me. How I saw myself and my place in the world. I also used NLP and hypnosis to overcome a strong fear of public speaking so that I could make presentations more effectively. I then proceeded to change anything else that was holding me back and in the end also got rid of a fear of heights some general anxiety and some left over trauma from childhood.When I decided to leave the executive search industry to become a trainer, coach, speaker and hypnotherapist the transition was easy. I had already done all the ground work necessary to be successful in any field I might choose because I had increased my emotional intelligence or EQ as Daniel Goleman calls it. I had gotten rid of the things that hold most people back.In my private practice in Atlanta, Georgia I work with many salespeople who want to improve their sales. We always start by using NLP and hypnosis to remove negative conditioning, beliefs and behaviors. Then we boost confidence levels and condition in new positive habits and behaviors. One of the most common problems with low performing salespeople is that they don't like being in sales(or their perception of sales). By changing the way they see their career and themselves a salesperson can dramatically improve productivity and income. But even more important, they will feel good about themselves and excited to be in sales!

Original :: improve sales by improving yourself

easily get more business today with

Tips for ProspectingA lot of people make the mistake of thinking that prospecting is about making the sale or closing the deal. You will rarely "make the sale" on the first call... It's about getting the chance to make the sale. The ultimate purpose of a prospecting call is to set an appointment to make your "pitch". You should be focused on simply setting an appointment before you hang up the call.Find out as much as you possibly can about the individual you are prospecting in advance. This gives you the huge advantage of being able to talk about their needs when you call them.Always use a script on your prospecting calls(If you don't have a script, make one! Focus on making it questionased). This should be non-negotiable. Without a script, it's too easy to leave something out or get off track. Remember, after you practice and internalize the scripts this will become second nature to you.The 5 Critical Points of Prospecting:1) Selling is asking questions. Questions will help you find out everything you need to go for the sell. This is called question-based selling. When you ask questions, you come off more sincere, and it gives you the ability to find out more about your prospect.2) Prospecting is a numbers game. We have all heard that every no gets you closer to a yes. We have to understand that hearing NO is going to be a big part of our business. The more NO's you hear in a day the better you did, just keep on going for the YES! If you want more sales... you need to talk to more people.3) You should set a goal for yourself to keep you on track. An example of this would be: 10-12 contacts an hour for 2-4 hours every day. This alone will get you better results than you ever imagined.4) You can never lose a deal from too much follow-up. Remember, most sales will happen after several contacts. Don't leave money on the table with the lack of follow-up. Set a follow up schedule for yourself and try to automate as much of the process as possible.5) An objection is simply a question in the mind of the prospect that needs to be answered. So script out the answers to your 5 most common objections. Then you will be equipped to handle them as soon as they come up. Since objections never change, simply figure out the answers.The best place to start is on the PHONE. The sooner we learn our scripts and objection handlers the sooner we will be able to jump on the phone and get business. If you are persistent every day in making your minimum # of calls you can't help but to succeed.

Original :: easily get more business today with

doorway to a sale

Closing DoorsIn a nutshell, the purpose of a sales process is to lead a prospect from the point of contact, through qualification, through the presentation, addressing and removing any objections to the sales and finally closing the sale.When you first get a prospect on the phone or are doing a face to face presentation, there are many directions that the sales process can go; there are many "doors" that a prospect can walk through if you don't direct him properly, none of which lead to the place you want him to get to-you want him to go through the door that leads to him paying you for the service or product you are selling.A sales process should be designed to get a prospect to that onedoor that leads to a close. It should equally close all other doors through which he could go (leading him away from paying for the service or product).Some examples of doors through which a prospect can escape are "I need to talk with my partner", "I need to think about it", "It's too expensive", etc. These are obviously all just objections to paying for the service or product now.An objection can be a good thing if you handle it right. And by that I mean:That you fully understand the objection (clarify it as needed).
Isolate the objection so that there is no other hidden objection in addition to the one he brought up ("Is that the only thing stopping you from going forward today?")
Box him in to doing business now by closing that door ("if we handle that [objection] we can get started today, right?").
Handle or address the objection or concern.
Ask for the order-Close the sale.When a prospect brings up an objection, you need to use that objection to close every other door that the prospect could escape through and then handle the objection-then close the sale.Classic Example:You've just done your presentation and asked for the order.Prospect: I need to discuss it with my partner, so I'll call you tomorrow.Salesperson: That's great, but I thought you said you were the boss?Prospect: I am, but I my partner is my financial backer that I always consult with.Salesperson: Okay, I understand...let me ask you a question, if it were solely up to you, if you did not have a financial backer, would you move forward with this right now?Prospect: Yes.Salesperson: So, you're 100% on this, you definitely want to do it and are ready to start?Prospect: Yes.Salesperson: That's great, what do you think your backer is going to say? What's your gut feeling about his response?Prospect: Oh, he'll likely do it.Salesperson: Wonderful. But what if he says "no" or expresses some doubt, what are you going to do?Prospect: (Explains whatever he knows about your service or product and how he would address some objection) The prospect is now selling you on how he is going to sell his partner/backer.Salesperson: I can see that you are really interested in our service/product. I think it would be in your best interest if we get your partner on the phone together. I do these presentations all the time and I am an expert on our service/product; the last thing I'd want to happen to you is for your partner to ask you some question you don't know the answer to and then that would just delay getting started. Let's set up a conference call...You and your prospect now become a team consorting to handle the partner/backer if he objects.And that's what you want to do with any objection A) understand it, B) Clarify as needed, C) Isolate it D) Box it in and handle it and E) Close the sale. You can apply that formula to any objection.Jamie Sene

Original :: doorway to a sale

information versus interrogation the

Every effective sales training course teaches sales professionals to ask their prospects open-ended questions. These are the questions that start with who, what, why, when and how.Open-ended questions are universally taught because they:? Solicit great information
? Get the person talking
? Allow you and your prospect to find out if there is an opportunity
? Can show your expertise, IF you ask the right questionsAll that sounds great, doesn't it? Most of the time, open-ended questions really ARE effective, but not 100% of the time. When used incorrectly, they can make a needs analysis seem more like an interrogation - they can be leading, forced, narrow, product-focused and irrelevantSales pros can come off like militants drilling a suspect to get to the information they want so they can pitch their product. And this is definitely not the way to make a sale.There is a way to demonstrate professionalism by using the 3 'I's with open-ended questions:1. Intent
2. Intelligence
3. InterestIntent. We have seen sales pros launch right into a list of questions that might seem irrelevant to the prospect, and the prospect thinks, "What does this have to do with anything?" It's essential to explain the intent of the line of questions so the prospect can put it in perspective and answer thoughtfully.Sharing intent can sound like this: "We're meeting to talk about your human resource needs. What we have learned is that understanding how HR fits into the overall company's goals and objectives helps us give you a more accurate picture of how we can help as valuable resource for you. The first questions we'll cover are focused on the broader picture and then we'll get more specific into your training needs." Once the intent is shared, we go into the list of questions with better understanding from the prospect.Intelligence. Your questions reveal a LOT about you. Here's how to raise your 'perceived' intelligence level:? Explain the intent of your line of questioning and ask questions that broaden the dialogue to a bigger, more strategic discussion.
? Focus on the solution or value desired versus just the product.
? LISTEN once you have asked a question. When you ask intelligent questions, the person may need to think before responding, and this is usually a good thing. How long? According to research, they might need 15-25 seconds to think and respond. That's a long time to wait, but it can pay off.Interest. Your questions should be interesting to the person. How? Make them relevant to the situation and person. When it's about THEM, it's interesting TO them. Every aspect of the sales process should be focused on what's in it for THEM - and this includes your questions!Open-ended questions can make your needs analysis productive if you use the 3 'I's to guide your line of questioning. And with a little forethought and preparation, you will be seen as informative and not an interrogator.

Original :: information versus interrogation the

my professional selling skills what are

There have been many sales coaching seminars based on this question. These seminars tell you that needs are customer specific, industry specific, situation specific. I have heard that needs change over time, or change based on the economy. Professional Selling Skills require that you uncover and fill needs, the would be difficult if they were changing all the time.I was once taught that customer needs are dependent on the product or service you are selling, Baloney! The true customer needs have always been what they are now. It has to be that way, or no one would sell anything to anyone. Think about it, if needs were not consistent you would have to reinvent the selling process for everyroduct and for every industry and for every market! No, needs are needs and the true customer needs will never change.Needs will be expressed in many different ways, and you must learn how to identify these nuances, this is one of the basics in closing sales techniques. Learning this is quite easy once you know the three true customer needs. Let us review some of the things that customers tell us they need:Our organization needs to save money, we need to cut costs, we are under a deadline, I need to get this done under budget, I need to see a significant improvement, we need to get in production now, I need increased output, I need decreased waste, time I said time is the important thing, etc.The truth is customers do not need any of these things. They only need these things to get what they really want. I mean how many people really care, in their soul, about deadlines, processes or corporate anything? Again, if they did then customer needs would be changing all the time. Needs would be a function industry and what changes the industry has experienced. Economics would be constantly changing needs, mood would change needs, weather would change needs, and the alignment of planets would change needs. No one would do business with anyone. No, your customer's needs have never changed and never will. Your customer just does not know that these stated needs are really linked to true needs deep within. When you use professional selling skills, you will tie everything together.There are only three true needs:To get paid - you will fill this one most of the time. It can take many formsTo get a date - unless your are Match.com or eHarmony you do not have to worry about this oneTo stay alive- unless you are selling weight loss, exercise or pharmaceuticals do not worry about this oneI will say it again; you do not have to worry about number three. The second need might come into play, seldom does.So why is everyone's need the same, "to be paid?" Well, being paid takes many forms. People accept many forms of legal tender, because most forms of payment lead to the one everyone wants: money, moola, scrila, dough.Think about it. If a customer gets a promotion, more money, if a customer gets recognition, might mean more money, if a customer saves money, more money, if a customer keeps their job, money. When you connect the purchase of what you are selling to saving money, getting recognition, getting a promotion, or just making their life easier, then you have closed a sale. What a customer really needs is to be paid!

Original :: my professional selling skills what are

7 selling tips for powerful sales copy

You have this fantastic product right. It has fabulous features, delivers a ton of value and it's priced right. So why haven't you seen the sales you thought you might? Odds are you simply doing what most advertisers do and that's sell features instead of selling benefits. The next time you're putting sales copy together or organizing an advertising piece, keep these 7 selling tips in mind.1. Promote one product at a timeEven if you have other hot selling products never try to save on advertising by promoting more than one product at a time. The idea is to make it easy for the consumer to say yes to a sale. Don't offer alternatives that can detract from the product you want to promote. Kep upsell material out of view until the consumer has committed to buy.2. Benefits sellThe old saying "sell the sizzle not the bacon" still holds true. Lead with benefits that answer the question "what's in it for me". If you're selling a diet product, the feature is losing weight but the benefit might be something like "Fastest way to fit into that sexy black party dress". Let the buyer visualize the benefit.3. Speak in their languageDirect marketing is all about carrying on a conversation one on one. Know your audience and speak their language. Use "you" and "yours" and keep it personal. If you're targeting women then you want your ad to have a feminine voice and of course if target is men then it should be masculine.4. Get specific with claimsJust making general claims that include words like fast, best, extraordinary, amazing and so on do not grab the attention or provide any credibility to the reader. Rather than claim fast weight loss get specific with "You can lose up to 12 pounds in just two weeks". Now you've explained just what "fast" means.5. Play to the emotional sideThis is very similar to stressing benefits but it's worth mentioning. People usually make an emotional decision to buy and then seek out reasons to justify their emotional decision. Paint a mental picture of the benefit and make that emotional connection as fast as you can. Then follow up with the facts that allows them to validate their decision.6. Everybody else loves itWe are social animals and the pack is very important to us. If we are on the edge of buying something and then see that lots of other people have bought it and love it then they have just made up our mind. Real endorsements are very important. Amazon.com considers the buyer reviews to be the number one driver of sales even over price.7. Match the product with the marketThis is not so much about writing copy as it is getting the copy in front of the right crowd. Make sure your investment in advertising is hitting the right eyeballs. If you're doing a weight loss for women email campaign, and the list you rented is mostly guys interested in sports, you aren't going to be very successful. Know what your advertising dollar is buying you.Follow these selling tips religiously and get ready to sell a ton. Just remember you're selling to one person at a time and write your copy like you were having a conversation with a friend.

Original :: 7 selling tips for powerful sales copy

how to overcome the i need to think

One of the oldest and most used smokescreens in the book is the, "I need to think about it" objection. So many sales reps struggle with this one because they think the prospect isn't saying no, and so they don't know how to respond to it.Unfortunately, what many of you have found out is that your prospect actually is saying no - they're just saying it in a way that makes it difficult for you to handle it. Well that will end for you today. By using the scripts below, you'll see if you're prospect really does need to think about it, or if he/she is blowing you off. Believe me, you want to know now so you can save yourself weeks of chasing and begging a deal that will never close.The followig scripts were taken from my Brand New Book of Phone Scripts due out in about 6 weeks. These are seven out of ten in the book (there are 20+ NEW scripts on how to handle the money objection alone! You'll want to pick up a copy as soon as it's released, so stand by...)In the meantime, enjoy these and send me an email and let me know how they work for you!!Response #1: "_________, whenever I tell someone I need to think about it, I usually mean one of three things: 1 - I'm not going to be a deal for whatever reason and I just want to get them off the phone, 2 - I kind of like the idea but I'm going to have to find the money or talk to my partner, or something else is holding me back, and 3 - I really like the idea and I just have to move something around before I say yes.Be honest with me; which one of those things is it for you right now?"Response #2: "__________, I may have given you too much information on the warranty (or pick another part of your product or service here), is that what you need to think about?" (Now use your mute button and let them tell you what they are going to really think about)Response #3: "You know _________, if this isn't for you, I'd rather have a no right now - believe me, you won't hurt my feelings. Is that where you're leaning right now? (It is always better to get this objection out of them early.)Response #4: "__________, let's face it - you've already been thinking about this for a long time. You know you have to make a change or nothing else will change with (your operating system, your results, etc.). Thinking about it more won't fix things for you - only making a decision will. You like this; you've already told me it would work for you. So let's do this - go ahead and put me/this solution to work for you now and if you change your mind later you will still get the benefit that you've acknowledged you need. Here's what we need to do to get you started..."Response #5: "__________, the only thing more costly than making a bad decision is not making one at all. If you don't change things then things won't get better for you. Now, you've already admitted that this has the best chance to make a positive impact in your production, right?Then do what my other clients do and put me and my company to work for you. Once you see the positive results we both know are possible here, you'll be back to expand our coverage for you. And that's going to be a win/win for us both, isn't it?Then here's what we need to do..."Response #6: "___________, since we both agree this has a great chance to work for you, let me do this. While we're on the phone right now, I'm going to email you three customer testimonials - companies just like yours who were hesitant as well - and when you read about how successful they were with us, I'll put together an introductory offer that you won't be able to pass up. Once you see for yourself how this works, then we can talk about further involvement, is that fair?"Response #7: "__________, what I'm hearing from you is essentially a no - and that's alright. As a sales rep, I hear that all the time and it doesn't bother me. It just means I haven't yet explained the value proposition right. Tell me, what would it take to convince you that this would be a good idea to move forward with - and please be honest with me."Copyright (c) 2010 Mr. Inside Sales

Original :: how to overcome the i need to think

sales assessment test to reach the peak

To become a successful professional in the field of sales you need to three basic skills at your hand. These are very important for the enhancement of your potentialities and skills. You need to have three core factors at your hand to proceed through the path of success. These skills can really help you in achieving Sales Competency. You can really help yourself through such skills and potentialities and can go further than the other persons. You can really achieve the success at the peak in the field of your profession. Just by acquiring a certain things Sales Skill Training is essential to gain. You need to know such things in a very proper manner just to go further in your career whileacquiring certain skills to flourish in the field of sales. It is very important to focus on small steps leading you to the success. You can never set huge eccentric sales goals can be very harmful at the very beginning. This is the initial stag of your sales Competency. According to many sales tycoons this is the first and very initial way of achieving success and avoiding needless negative internal dialog. You should consider these facts for the sake of your own benefit in the professional field.Employers in this field really take a very good care for such as your specifications through Sales Assessments just for a better achievement. As an employer you should know the exact way to construct a bunch of cold calls for getting result in positive. This is not the perfect process of having proper and perfect result for your business or sales. You can get several rude responses that can hamper your confidence and that will be an act of foolishness. Even you can have several people who will not answer or not even ready to give an appointment as well. Sales Skill Test makes you learn that it is better to go to the single person rather than trying your hand to so many people at one single moment. Your effort to communicate with so many people at the single moment can never give any justice to your potentiality. This method will definitely harm your career and business as well. It is better to go for one single person just for the matter of perfection. You can never take any chance at the very beginning of your career. It is recommended to make yourself proper rather spreading your hands at so many places.Your convincing power is the most important skill in the filed of sales. You need to make people know about your products. You need to convince them that your products are the best and they will be glad and completely satisfied if they use them for their own benefits. It is very important to interact over telephone. You need to make a perfect appointment through telephonic conversation with any customer. You need to play the process in the most perfect and suitable method. If you can make a perfect appointment with one single person then that will be a very realistic approach from your end at the very beginning. If you increase your skill in this field you can move to the further step and that is nothing but just an evaluation or just a commitment to daily progress. It is very important to make comparison between your growths at a regular interval. You need to draw the graph of your career from the beginning to you failure to the augmentation of you success you should identify and recognize everything. These are the marks of an appropriate sales person.

Original :: sales assessment test to reach the peak