Seven Keys When Handling Objections

Often when working with b2n sales people I get to observe the handling of objections. The best sales people are quite good in handling objections in a very positive matter – usually keeping the sales process moving in the right direction.

The less successful b2b sales people tend to display similar traits which create their less favorable results. Being able to observe these traits allows me the opportunity to help them improve their sales results by improving their handling of objections.

There appears to be seven key areas you must do correctly to advance a sales opportunity once an objection has been raised. Here is the list of the seven keys for handling objections successfully…

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Six REAL Reasons Buyers Don’t Buy

While it is very easy to use the classic reason for prospects not buying from you – the price was too high – I don’t Buy It. Sorry for the pun it was just too easy. ?

Yet, my choice is correct – that price is not the only reason. And, it is used as the verbal reasoning told to you, since most buyers do not want any confrontation or conflict due to the real reasons.

Here are the REAL Six Reasons They Don’t Buy from You…

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How Are You Getting Hot Leads?

Had a dialogue with a client this week about where their new leads are coming from that lead to new business. The client kept using the term “referrals” as their major driver for new business.

Now on the surface this sounds great and exciting news – referrals are driving all their new business opportunities. Then the dialogue went deeper and the news was not as great.

It appears they were not doing anything to create or control the flow of “referrals.” They just happened to show up from “word of mouth” situations. Is this a real strategy for leads?

This issues happens to most sales people and especially to professional services groups. And, it is similar to the “instant gravitation” found syndrome which is a short term fix. Making matters worst is the continued reliance on this “false” strategy.

The truth is their are two types of “lead generation techniques” which appear to both be labeled as “referrals.” Actually, only one of the techniques is actually a referral.

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5 Tips for Sales Meeting the CEO.

Often Sales People ask me about meetings with a CEO or President and if there are specific differences relative to these meetings. And, the answer is a huge – yes, this is a different level of sales meetings.

Yet, b2b sales people continue to meet with the top level executives and immediately fall into feature spouting machines. Whenever this happens, the opportunity has crashed and burned and the only person who is unaware is the yakking sales person.

Really people, do you believe the CEO cares about the details or features of your product or service? The CEO is only concerned with improving results. It is really that simple.

So here are a Five Tips for Meeting with a CEO or President in a selling environment…

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Top B2B Sales Book – Must Read

We are off to a new year so I trust you have first done the following…

  • Reviewed Your Results from the Previous Year
  • Thought about Your Key Accounts and Their Current Direction of Revenue
  • Identified and Related Your Key Targets to Your Ideal Customer Profile
  • Set Some Exciting and Challenging Goals for the New Year

If you have done the above list with some time and energy, then you are ready to execute on achieving those goals.

However, if you are continuing down the road of doing your sales process the same way you have done it in the past – well, you may be in trouble. The Buying Landscape has changed. Have you noticed some of things you have used successfully in the past are not working as well or even at all?

Welcome to the new world of b2b selling.

The Buyer feels more in control and is using their new found power (occurred since the Great Recession) to control our efforts as successful b2b sales people.

So if you are sincere about taking back control of your b2b sales success, you need to take a moment and read an exciting new b2b sales book. Personally, it has changed my success since I began following the recommendations found in the book.

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B2B Selling has Changed – Have You?

I don’t know if you have noticed a major change in selling, yet, I started to notice some major changes in the B2B Selling World during the past four years. And, yes, the Great Recession has a major role in the changing dynamic of our world of selling.

First, let’s look at some of the trends started during the past four to five years.

  • Consolidation of Industries and Niche Industries
  • Customers demand lower costs
  • Product Knowledge is known by our customers & prospects
  • Old techniques and tactics are basically useless
  • Real Decision Makers have disappeared from the Sales Process

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The Single Best Question to Ask in Selling

Recently I have seen an increase of the number of requests for “the single best question to ask a customer or prospect” when engaged in b2b selling.

Truthfully, I really do not believe there is one single question that covers everything as sales situations will vary in circumstances.

Yet, there is one question that I always have ready to use with any customer or prospect I’m calling on. Sometimes I refer to this question as the million dollar sales question since it has the ability to open the door of an objective conversation with the customer or prospect.

The question to use is…

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Are You Really Listening?

Been doing some observation work with several b2b sales people and have noticed one thing. Most of the sales people need to ramp up their ability to really listen to their customers.

Again the signs are there for us to learn. Our customers and clients actually want us to listen and comprehend and understand what they want and need. It is our job to deliver these results by listening aggressively.

The truth is most b2b sales people are trained or have behavioral styles which are very adept at presenting and talking. Sometimes they can even ask questions after being trained on the Questioning Model of B2B Selling.

However, the question remains – are they really listening to what is being said by the customer?

Often listening is the one skill sales people take for granted. Their expectations are limited to believing they are naturally good at listening. Therefore, there is very little time and effort applied to learning exactly how to actively listen.

How about some b2b sales tips regarding the reasons to learn the skill of listening?

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Neuroscience and the b2b sales process

When I began to learn about how the brain works due to the research being used in the neuroscience studies, I began to see the light. Which light is that? The light at the other end of the tunnel indicating a train is coming and I need to pay attention.

Now must b2b sales people are still following the same old sales “tracks” laid down in the last century. They continue to hang in there using these old methods since they did work for the b2b sales people in years past. And, in some industries the old tracks still work with some old school or commodity based buyers.

Yet, the more progressive companies – both sellers and buyers of progressive companies – no longer tolerate the practices of the old b2b sales tracks. They want something new and better for the real world of today.

Okay, what is different you are thinking? A good thought or question.

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7 Ways to Turn Off Your Buyer

Recently, I was reviewing what is working and not working on phone calls with customers or potential customers (my version of prospects – just sounds more positive to me.) And, there seemed to be seven statements that scream “I’m a Sale Person about to Try to Sell You Something!”

Now, I’m a b2b sales person with some serious wear and tear in the b2b sales world. And, I remember being taught to actually use these phrases by some pretty good sales trainers in a different time period for b2b sales.

However, times have changed. The “good ole boy” network is dying or dead. Customers have no time to lose or use for talking with sales people except for focused and purposeful dialogue about improvements. In fact, in many industries, due to the commodity pricing (and buying) – buyers are actually telling suppliers to stop sending b2b sales people to their offices. They prefer to buy using an electronic or internet connection for ordering – to lower their costs.

Times have changed. Therefore, it is your responsibility to lose the seven phrases that scream “old school sales person – beware!”. Because the buyer will disconnect from you either literally or figuratively – by not actually listening to anything else you say.

So here are the big seven you will want to lose from your prospecting calls…

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