How to Make More Sales in 2016

Would you like to make more sales? This week on Platinum Rules for Success, sales training expert and keynote speaker, Patricia Fripp pulls upon her considerable experience to address some of the sales presentation techniques that she shares with her clients and audiences around the world. Find out what she’s discovered to be the most common mistakes among sales professionals, why they occur and how to correct them.

How to Make More Sales in 2016

by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

In your business, how long does it take you to go from an inquiry to a serious sales presentation with the buyer or executive team? Weeks? Months? When the time comes are you prepared? Do you know exactly what you are going to say to customize your presentation to what is of specific interest to them? Or is your presentation the same no matter who the clients is?
Based on over twenty years of sales presentation skills training, I am horrified that thousands of sales professionals are not adequately prepared. They make the same drastic mistakes. You might be amazed that often throughout their sales careers they do not realize, or are not trained, to stop making dumb mistakes.
Is it their fault, or the companies they work for? Companies in all industries spent months training sales professionals on product knowledge, the history of their company, the reasons their product and services are superior. The big mistake many companies make is to not train their professionals how best to ask the right questions and then communicate their message from the point of view of the prospect.
As one executive told me, “We only hire seasoned sales professionals with at least 5-10 years’ experience selling technology related products. We naturally assumed they could tell our company story. We had a meeting where they had to present to our executives. We were horrified at how terrible they were.” Over the years I have heard different versions of the same problem.
So what is the drastic mistake these knowledgeable sales professionals make? Before they hire me they all follow the same formula.
This is who I am
This is who are company is
This is what we do
This is why we are the best
This is who does business with us
We would like your business.
Remember, if you sound the same as everyone else you have no advantage.
You might not want to think your prospect is sitting there during your sales presentation thinking, “Who cares? Why do they sound like everyone else? What difference will this make to our company?” Many of them are.
You have read the research that tells us today’s buyers are more educated about what they are looking for. If you have an appointment they have most likely researched your company. Often they know more about your company and products than your newer associates.
Selling isn’t about you or your products; it’s about how your prospects will benefit from them. To be persuasive, you need to appeal to the other person’s rational self-interest. People make decisions for their reasons, not yours. Here’s a quick reminder list to help them make those decisions in your favor.

• Forget your company history or industry jargon, which might be the biggest “who cares” of all. A bored mind gets distracted and cuts your meeting short. Use phrases such as, “Based on 15 years of helping clients of your size and complexity, I have discovered…” or “With the last five clients in your industry, I have found…” or “In our 20 year history, our leadership has always…..” Work that information into your presentation without belaboring the point and focusing on their challenges, priorities, or interests.
• In the beginning of the relationship remember, the key to connection is conversation, and the secret of conversation is to ask questions. The quality of the information you receive depends on the quality of your questions.
• Take notes on what they say. When appropriate, feedback their words in your conversation and then in your proposal. Our prospects never disagree with themselves! When you are discovering if they have a need, or how big the opportunity is, how much it is costing them without your product or service let them do most of the talking.
• In your initial conversations, even if you know your discovery questions backwards and forwards, write them down. If you are part of a team, collaborate with your team mates and add to your list, since it’s easier to be creative with a couple of minds working on the challenge. There is no true quality without consistency. Your company and clients are best served when everyone on your team from novice to most senior sales associate follow the same questioning and presentation structure.
• Clarify how your prospects can benefit from your product or service. Based on their answers to your questions, structure your presentation around:

Congratulations on your success
Thank you for the opportunity to present our solution
You told us you are most interested in…
Here is how we can help you accomplish your goals
Hundreds of our satisfied clients will tell you…
Based on what you have heard what questions can I answer?
Our next logical step is to….
In the initial discussions, keep your sales questioning conversational—it’s not an interrogation. During the formal presentation, answer the prospect’s concerns in a way that brings in your past experience with other clients like them.Make sure you use more of a “You” more than “I” or “We” balance. Remember, they are more interested in themselves than you.
Don’t forget to ask for the business.

◊◊◊

FREE WEBINAR: How to Sell the Way People Want to Buy

with Patricia Fripp and Dr. Tony Alessandra
Tuesday, April 12th at 10am (PST)

Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE has been teaching executives and engineers to speak more effectively since 1990. She is a Hall of Fame award-winning speaker, sales presentation skills trainer, and in-demand executive speech coach. Meetings and Conventions magazine named her “One of the 10 most electrifying speakers in North America.” Kiplinger’s Personal Finance wrote, “Patricia Fripp’s speaking skills training is one of the best ways to invest in you.” Through FrippVT her highly interactive virtual training platform she offers a shortcut to sales success for highly technical sales teams. Patricia is trusted by clients such as Microsoft, ADP, Visa, Genentech, Wounded Warrior Project, and the American Payroll Association. Contact Patricia Fripp: [email protected]
]]>