Golf Tip
|
|
Direct Selling in Todays Tough Markets
   
|
Debt Management More Ways To Save On Gas Consumption
The price of gas continues to climb, and with continued uncertainty in the Middle East, they will probably continue to do so. In California and elsewhere, .....
The price of gas continues to climb, and with continued uncertainty in the Middle East, they will probably continue to do so. In California and elsewhere, .....
Interviewer - Jan Howard
[Jan] Terry, I know that you have some very strong views on the
need for salespeople to modify their sales techniques to cope
with a changing market. How would you summarise this?
[Terry] OK Jan, first let me ask you one quick question and then
I'll give you an answer. Can you think of anything at all that
hasn't changed a lot in the last 10 years or so?
[J] No, I can't.
[T] Right! My first point is that selling has changed a lot as
well. And yet, many sellers seem to refuse to accept this. They
plod on with selling techniques that they were taught 5, 10 or
What Is Link Popularity?
Link Popularity
By F. Terrence Markle http://www.QuikSystems.com
Link popularity is simply the total number of web pages that
link to your web page. Link popularity is an extremely .....
even 20 years ago. They are so "off-beam" with what they areLink Popularity
By F. Terrence Markle http://www.QuikSystems.com
Link popularity is simply the total number of web pages that
link to your web page. Link popularity is an extremely .....
doing, that it's no wonder that their results have continued to
decline. Of course, many will justify this decline by reasoning
that there's more competition, the economy is in poor shape etc
Smokescreen excuses for sure - the problem lies very squarely
with the seller and his way of selling ie his methodology. He
must change to adapt to the changes in the market and the
changes in the buyers. He must realise that, for many direct
sales businesses, the market has changed dramatically in the
last few years, let alone the last 10 or 20! Mr Prospect is now
very well informed. He has "Watchdog" and "Salesmen from Hell"
type programmes on the TV. He has consumer reports from
magazines such as "Which?" and he has built up an armoury of
information provided by trade journals, the internet and his
friends and neighbours.
[J] Are you implying that it's changed for the worse?
[T] No, but I'm saying that Mr Prospect is a changed man. He
will eat salespeople alive given half a chance. Long gone are
the days of the tough sellers taking candy from a baby. Today's
buyers have teeth!
And it's these teeth which have scared many a salesperson and
nudged them into giving up and returning to a regular 9 to 5
without the stress they were getting in the sales arena. In
fact, around 60% of those who take on a direct sales position
will quit within 6 months!
[J] So, is direct selling today still a worthwhile career?
[T] That's a 100% YES. For sure it's a tough job and is not for
those who freak out when they hear the word "No". But, it's a
wonderful career with very high rewards for those who get their
act together.
[J] You've said that the buyers today are now much tougher and
much more informed - so what is it that stops the seller being
better informed and tougher?
[T] Nothing at all! But the problem is that many still expect to
carry on with the knowledge bank of 10 years ago, with old hat
techniques and a tendency to work with crossed fingers!
[J] What is it that gives salespeople the most problems?
[T] The part of the sales process that creates the most problems
is the "close" - the bit where the seller says "OK, let's get
this going Mr Buyer" and Mr Buyer tries to wriggle away from
making a decision! It's eyeball to eyeball psychological
warfare. The seller must get the order to earn his commission.
The buyer wants to be 200% sure he's doing the right thing.....
[J] But, surely closing has always been a problem area for most
sellers?
[T] That's true, but what I'm saying is that 10 years ago you
might have gotten away with sloppy technique, but today you just
cannot. In fact, most folk who've left the direct sales arena,
would invariably tell you that the actual job was fine, the
product was great, the company was marvellous but they just
couldn't get on with THE CLOSE! That horrible little monster
that consumes salespeople!
[J] Do salespeople actually admit this to you?
[T] Too right! If I've heard this tale once, I've heard it a
thousand times!
[J] Are you laying the blame at the foot of the seller?
[T] Not really. Many times it's not his fault. He may have been
trained by his well-meaning sales manager who was trained by his
sales manager who was trained by his sales manager, and so
on.... You could be talking of technique and methodology that's
30 years old here! And the poor seller is sent out in the tough
markets of today and told "Go for it!"
[J] Understood!
[T] Just to reinforce my thoughts on change, just think about
this.....Years ago the Pony Express took 18 days to get a
message from east coast to west. If our email takes 18 seconds
today, we're calling tech support to find out what's wrong!
Times have changed dramatically in all areas and selling is no
exception.
[J] Is there one particular method or technique that you find is
still in common use in many businesses, which should not be used
in today's marketplace.
[T] There are lots, but there is one particular methodology
which I hear about all too frequently and is worth "putting it
to bed" right now. It's a very tired old idea which you may have
heard of or some may even be working...heaven forbid!
It goes like this: The sales process is split into three main
areas: Warm up, presentation of the product, then close.
In other words, the seller "warms up" the buyer with a little
friendly chat about the weather, golf, holidays etc. He then
moves on to demonstrate his product, showing the features and
benefits and why the buyer should choose this product over any
other one in the marketplace.
The buyer then moves on to the "tough bit" (the close) and
normally the conversation goes from being pleasant and open to
one with both parties twitching and getting more tense by the
minute.
[J] I hate to admit this Terry, but I've seen this method taught
recently at a seminar I attended!
[T] I know it still goes on and in a way I'm glad you've seen
this. It's old hand-me-down stuff. But, without question, in
this day and age, this form of selling is nonsense. Let's put
these tired old ideas to bed quickly by asking you to think back
to your schooldays.....
[J] Just a few years ago!
[T] Me too! At breakfast, your Mum gave you your bowl of cereal
and sprinkled a spoonful of wheatgerm flakes on top. You didn't
notice the wheatgerm and you never questioned your Mum as to why
she added these flakes. Just think, if Mum had let you finish
your cereal and then popped a spoonful of dry flakes in your
mouth! You'd have coughed, choked and spluttered and Mum would
not have been the most favourite person on the block!
So it is with professional closing. If you separate the
"closing" part, the buyer will choke. Make it a little more
palatable for him. Just a little closing sprinkled throughout
the presentation and he'll not even notice!
[J] Wow, that's a powerful analogy - I like that!
[T] Conversational, matter-of-fact closing throughout the
meeting is a technique that's invisible to the buyer. It's
methodology for today's markets.
[J] So, that's how the top salesmen do it?
[T] It is, but I bet if you asked a top salesman how he closes
business, he'd scratch his head and probably be unable to give
you a precise answer. I guarantee though, that his methodology
was so rock solid that there was probably no need to "close the
sale". It was a "done deal" part way through.
[J] So, the message for the salesperson is "get updated" then?
[T] What I'd say is this, Jan, if you don't know how to sprinkle
the wheatgerm on your cereal, or you don't automatically
integrate your closing, then you must be on "happy pills" to
keep smiling after all those rejections!
[J] If they weren't before, they may be now! Well, Terry, It's
been a real eye-opener speaking to you. Thanks for your time.
[T] Just a thought to finish our discussion, Jan. For your next
appointment........... Why not use a "which would you prefer"
question early on in the meeting?
Like, "Nice to see you, Mr Jones. May I ask...would you like
your wheatgerm sprinkled so you'll hardly notice it, or would
you prefer me to give it to you at the end, all in one mouthful,
so that you cough and choke for ten minutes?"
Only a joke. Honest!
About the author:
Terry Edwards, author of "How to Sell in Today's Tough Markets"
and Principal of Direct Selling Masterclass - the leading
"hands-on"direct sales training Company, based UK but working
worldwide. ~~~~ Selling it like it is ~~~~
http://www.directsellingmasterclass.com
http://www.close-that-sale.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~