To Increase Revenue Stop Selling

I came across this article on SG Partners today which in turn was re-published from an article by Mike Myatt on Forbes Today and thought is was perfect to share...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/05/01/to-increase-revenue-stop-selling/,

To Increase Revenue Stop Selling

Creating or expanding business relationships is not about selling – it’s about establishing trust, rapport, and value creation without selling. Call me crazy, but I don’t want to talk to someone who wants to manage my account, develop my business, or engineer my sale. I want to communicate with someone who desires to fulfill my needs or solve my problems. Any organization that still has “sales” titles on their org charts and business cards is living in another time and place, while attempting to do business in a world that’s already passed them by.

Engage me, communicate with me, add value to my business, solve my problems, create opportunity for me, educate me, inform me, but don’t try and sell me – it won’t work. An attempt to sell me insults my intelligence and wastes my time. Think about it; do you like to be sold? News flash – nobody does. Now ask yourself this question, do you like to be helped? Most reasonable people do. The difference between the two positions while subtle, are very meaningful and powerful.

The traditional practice of sales as a business discipline has become at best ineffective, and in many cases flat out obsolete. You see, good business practices are not static. Stale methodologies and disciplines simply die a slow and very painful death, and it is my contention the overwhelming majority of sales processes I see in today’s marketplace are just that – stale.

The problem with many sales organizations is they still operate with the same principles and techniques they were using in the 60′s, 70’s and 80’s. While the technology supporting sales process have clearly evolved, the traditional sales strategies proffered by sales gurus 20 or 30 years ago have not kept pace with market needs. They are not nearly as effective as they once were, and as I’ve alluded to, in most cases they are obsolete.

Trust me when I tell you that your existing and potential clients have heard it all before. They can see the worn-out, old school closes coming a mile away. They can sniff antiquated selling strategies, and will immediately tune out on presentations not deemed relevant. If your sales force is still FAB-selling, spin-selling, soft-selling or using any number of outdated, one size fits all selling methodologies, your sales are suffering whether you realize it or not. If you want to create revenue, increase customer satisfaction, and drive brand equity, stop selling and start adding value.

Lest you think I’ve lost my mind, I want to be clear that I’m not advocating taking your eye off the revenue creation ball. Rather what I’m recommending will help you generate more revenue, with greater velocity by simply doing the right thing in putting your customer’s needs first.

I hear a lot of noise about the tough economy, and revenue being down for many companies. I hear complaint upon complaint that companies just don’t have money to spend, and that nobody is buying. If you’re experiencing this type of reaction from your customer, it’s not because they don’t have money to spend, it’s because you’re selling and not adding value. It’s because you’re talking and not listening. It’s because you don’t get it…

It’s not about you, your company, your products or your services. It’s about meeting customer needs and adding value. When you start paying more attention to your customer needs than your revenue needs, you’ll find you no longer have a revenue problem to complain about.

So, my first suggestion is you change nomenclature. Clients are people not fish. Don’t “lure” or “hook” them – engage them, listen to them and serve them. Eliminate the words “suspects” and “prospects” from your vocabulary and replace them with potential clients. Think about it – do you establish trust by profiling and targeting prospects, or by attempting to understand the needs of a potential client? This is much more than a semantical argument – it’s a philosophical shift in thinking, and a practical shift in acting. Stop selling and start serving.

The truth is most corporations have a hierarchy of sales that comes with a very established and entrenched pecking order. The enterprise sales folks and key accounts reps sit atop the food chain, followed by inside sales reps, and at the bottom of the ladder you’ll find the customer service reps. The hunters are revered and the farmers are tolerated. Regardless of the titles being used, this entire concept of sales is so antiquated it’s laughable. Frankly, most people I know would rather talk to a knowledgeable customer service person over a sales rep any day of the week. The reason for this should be obvious – the perception is a customer service professional is providing information and helping them meet their needs. A sales person is trying to sell them something.

It’s time for companies to realize that consumers have become very savvy and very demanding. Today’s consumer (B2B or B2C) does their homework, is well informed, and buys…they are not sold.

If customer centricity is a buzzword as opposed to the foundation of your corporate culture then you have some work to do. The reality is until I know that you care more about meeting my needs than yours, you’ll remain on the outside looking in. By the way, in order to understand my needs you have to actually know something about me…

Since the large majority of all buying decisions either begin or conclude on the Internet, you better be visible online. In addition to the basics of search engine optimization and traditional search engine marketing, I would strongly suggest getting involved in social networking. Just by having a presence on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube and other social networking platforms, you not only open-up a new communications channel to your existing clients, but you also make yourself readily available to those looking to find what you have to offer.

Teach your sales force to become true professionals focused on helping their customers for all the right reasons vs. closing the big deal for personal benefit. To do otherwise will lead to missing substantial opportunities without even being aware of it.

The most important factor in creating revenue and building brand equity is the client/customer/end-user. If you don’t engineer everything around the client, your client relationships will vanish before your very eyes. Don’t be just another vendor, become a trusted advisor and advocate.

Want to know how to do this - check out SG Partners Super Sales Clinic workshop in June

Ten important factors to Sales

Thanks to the original post (http://www.gradconnection.com.au/forums/thread/marketing-and-sales/top-10-sales-techniques/?page=last) of these 10 important parts of sales

Sales techniques are used in majority of sectors such as marketing right to Finance and IT, selling everything from software, a service or a product. After you are training to bring you up to speed about what you''re selling, you need start bringing in the business. These top ten tips sales techniques gives an overview of the type of skills you need to use to gain new business and build and maintain client relationships.

1) Prepare
Before you make your first initial contact with the potential client, make sure you research their business thoroughly, understand their industry and take a look at what their competitors are doing. Also, do a little web research on the person you''re going to be talking to.

2) People skills
Some people find meeting new people easy as it comes naturally to them, but others find it difficult. Remember you''re face and personality of your company. There are many courses that can help develop your people skills and cover many aspects such as questioning and listening skills, giving and receiving criticism and praise and using assertive behaviour.

3) First impressions really count
If you are having your first meeting, first impressions are really important. Majority of people make their first impression in 15 seconds of meeting you. To feel confident, you need to look confident. Make sure you look you clean, tidy and are dressed appropriately. Do not wear jeans to your first meeting; even if they are a casual company, the first meeting is always about looking and appearing smart.

4) Starting a client relationship
Once you''ve made the first contact, you need to build on the relationship. It is important to listen and understand their business needs. Once you''ve built that relationship, shown you understand, and earned their trust, you are on the right track to making them a regular customer.

5) Relationship Building
To build on the relationship it is important to maintain regular contact with the client. If you don''t then they will either go to your competitor or lose trust in you. Make sure they know that they can contact you on your email, work number and mobile.

6) Listening to your client
Your client might mention a problem that they are currently experiencing at work. If you can solve this problem, don''t be afraid to give them your professional advice, even if they don''t ask for your help. You have to be confident in finding solutions to their work.

7) Sell the benefits
Sell the benefits of your product or service. Remember that your product or service is benefiting their business needs. You are helping them gain a flexible work schedule to make their work life a little easier on them.

8) Don''t rush the sale
Never let your customer feel like they are being rushed into a sale. This is important especially if you''re still building the relationship. If you can make them feel that they are in control of the relationship, you won''t risk losing the client to a competitor.

9) Remember a promise is a promise
If you promise to do something, perhaps a favor relating back to your services/product, make sure you follow through. If there is a deadline, make sure it reaches your client at least a day before. If you''re forced to extend the deadline, contact the client straight away and let them know.

10) You''re the expert
Never forget that you''re the expert in your field, make sure the client knows that they can turn to you for advice. You understand the industry and have the knowledge to provide expert advice and share good practice.

For more information on how to combine Lean Six Sigma with Sales please contact me at roland.weber@chaseperformance.com or visit our website: www.chaseperformance.com