Pain is the Fuel of Passion

How God uses our pain and challenges to create passion and possibility. Fieldbrook CA Community Church September 2008.fieldbrook92808

Parenting is Like Sales?

How Sales Parallels Parenting

  Everything we do from our communication style, our dress, to our understanding of the customers wants and needs can affect our success or failure in closing sales. The way you close a sale depends as much on the product/service you’re selling as it does the customer you’re dealing with. There are many reasons why sales don’t close … here are 7 of the most common mistakes.

1. Not asking questions. Too many times we pre-judge or jump to conclusions about what our customers want or need. By asking open-ended questions to determine such things as lifestyle, hobbies, spending limits and previous experiences we can get a true picture of what our customer really wants. By understanding the customer we can then focus on the right products and services to offer.

2. Not communicating in the communication ingredients important to the customer. If we communicate to everyone in our primary communication style then we will lose about 75% of our sales. In other words everyone is different and therefore everyone needs to be treated differently. For example, some people just want the facts and details about a product or service where others may be more comfortable if you tell stories or anecdotes. So, to persuade, motivate and influence others, communicate in the ingredients they find important.

3. Interrupting the prospect. Whenever you interrupt someone, sensitivity, commitment, closeness and rapport are lost. In addition, by interrupting we may miss what benefits the customer is really seeking

4. Not paying attention to the prospect. To develop the like and trust that are essential in developing any relationship we must give our full attention to the prospect. Taking calls, talking to other customers, looking bored or uninterested can detract or enhance from the relationship we develop with our potential customer.

5. Showing no empathy or sympathy. Empathy means putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. For example, if a potential customer wants to go on an adventure trip we offer, but has had bad experiences in the past, we must first understand those experiences before we can discuss why our trips are a best buy.

6. Not selling benefits .. only features. Understanding the difference between features and benefits is crucial to your success. Features are about you, your product and service. Benefits are the specific results your product or service offers to your client or prospect. When meeting with a prospect we need to address the buyer’s critical self-interest questions such as, “so what?”, “who cares?” or “what’s in it for me?” You see people don’t buy things, they buy results like happiness, making and saving money, saving time, comfort, safety, security, and easier ways to do things.

7. Pressuring Prospects. People don’t like to be pressured. They like to buy but they don’t like to be sold. By planning your presentation carefully and understanding the wants and needs of the potential customer, you’ll make more than your share of sales.

Special thanks to Arnold Sanow — www.arnoldsanow.com – speaker@arnoldsanow.com

Compelling Presentations

How To Make Your Sales Presentation Come Alive!

Arnold Sanow- www.arnoldsanow.com

Just knowing the features and benefits about our products and services does not guarantee sales. To sell our products and services we must be able to tell stories and create pictures in the minds of our customers to excite their imagination. A story can either be dull and uninteresting or it can come alive. To put imagination into your sales story and increase your closing opportunities answer the questions below.

Get out the list of your product and service’s persuasive features and benefits to your customers. If you don’t have a list make one. Next to each feature and benefit put the answers to the questions below. (a feature is the characteristic about your product or service and the benefit is the result)

1. What’s the most dramatic statement I can make about this feature and benefit?

2. What’s the most arresting visual presentation of this feature and benefit to set a customer thinking about it?

3. What’s the most searching question I can ask about this feature and benefit to set a customer thinking about it?

4. What are the most interesting success story or sales examples I can give to back up the claims I make for this feature and benefit?

5. Which are my best, most impressively written testimonials, the ones most likely to get attention either because of the person giving the testimonial or of what it says.

6. What is the most dramatic action I can perform to hold and impress my customer while dealing with this feature or benefit?

7. What is the most compelling logic I can find in relating this feature and benefit to others?

8. What is the most effective demonstration I can make of this feature and benefit?

9. What customer participation can I devise, in this feature and benefit so that my customer becomes part of the act?

10. What practical test can I suggest for proving the validity of my claim for this feature and benefit?

To further increase your opportunities and kick start some life into your business, ask yourself, your staff and your customers these questions about your product and services:

Can the products/services be put to other uses? Can it be adapted? What else is like this? What other ideas does this suggest? What could we copy? What could be modified?, Given a new twist? Changed in color, meaning, sound, motion, odor, form, shape? Any other changes possible? Can it be magnified? What can be added? More time? Greater Frequency? Stronger? Higher? Longer? Shorter? What can we substitute? What else instead? Other ingredients? Rearrange? Change the schedule? Reverse it? Combine it? Different Purposes?

Remember that you only get one chance to make a good impression. By putting some “zip” into your sales presentation you’ll close more sales and see your business skyrocket to the top!