Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching
Don't Assume You Can Close on the First Sales Call, Unless You're Selling... Girl Scout Cookies!
With the exception of Girl Scout Cookies, your sales effort should be a process. The goal of your initial contact should be to gain interest in your product or service, begin to understand if your prospect has a need that you can fulfill, and then move to the next step.
Don't assume when you reach your prospect for the first time that they're available to spend time with you. Avoid the "feature dump" of your product or service before you understand your prospect's needs.
With Girl Scout Cookies, the process truly appears to be a "single call close" (meaning you want them, or you don't want them). The only questions may be how many do I want, and how many Girl Scouts are in the area (so you can divide up your order)? There are some other products or services out there that can result in a "single call close" but these are few and far between.
The next step can be to schedule an appointment when the prospect has set aside time to meet or speak with you. From this point, it is possible to combine the steps of the sales process (data gathering/needs analysis, proposal/presentation and close) depending on your product or service.
Keep in mind that proceeding to the next step with your prospect is a "mini close" and you're on the right track.
My favorite Girl Scout Cookie: Thin Mints that are stored in the freezer (but they sure don't seem to last long).
Mike's Upcoming Sales Skills Workshops for July…
1. Sales Skills 301: Negotiating and Closing Skills
Date/Time: Friday, July 18, 2008 from 9:00am – 12:00pm
Location: 201 N. Central Ave., Ste 2700 - Phx
Investment: $59 (through July 14) or $69 (after July 14)
Register today at 602-418-4955 or mhl@prosalescoaching.com.
2. Creating Your Effective Networking Commercial!
After learning some tips to develop an effective 30-second networking commercial, we will work on your specific message. Your opening statement will create customer interest and assist you with developing networking relationships that are critical to your business development.
Date/Time: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 from 10:30am – 12:00pm
Location: Arizona Small Business Association at 4130 E. Van Buren St, Ste 150 - Phx
Investment: ASBA Members - $30 or Non-members - $40
Register today at 602-265-4563 or rsvp@asba.com.
Have a great sales week!
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