Softer Side of Selling

Secrets of the Softer Side of Selling

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Understand The Buying Ecosystem

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Great salespeople know understanding the buying ecosystem of their customers is key to closing deals. They use their asking and listening skills to find out all the players on the prospect’s team and how their roles affect the buying decision. Then they craft the sales presentation to appeal to the problem in terms of how it affects each member of the buying ecosystem.

Understanding the buyer ecosystem is paramount to winning the order

Who Is In Your Buying Ecosystem?
Image from Pixabay

What Is The Buying Ecosystem?

The term comes from biology: an ecosystem is a community or group of living organisms that live in and interact with each other in a specific environment. Great salespeople know there are various interests in the solution to any problem. Each of those interests has a role in deciding whether to purchase your solution. So the buying ecosystem is composed of all those people who participate in deciding what to buy. In large corporate purchases the buying ecosystem has members from many departments. In family decision making the ecosystem is smaller but no less important….

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Sales Skill: Finding The Budget

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Great salespeople know finding the budget is a key piece to winning the order. Price is the monetary value we place on the product or service we sell. It is important to know what our customer is willing to pay for the solution to the problem they are trying to solve. Once you, great salesperson, understand the problem the customer has then get on about finding the budget.

Finding the budget is a key to sales success

Great Salespeople Have The Courage To Find The Budget
Image From Pixabay

Talking About Money

How do you feel about money? Great salespeople are well within their comfort zone discussing the budget with the customer. They understand the value of their solution to the customer’s problem. And they have the skill to lead the discussion. My mentor, Jim Wilson, would say to a prospect: “At some point we are going to need to talk about money. Why not do it now?” A more sophisticated approach is the one Neil Rackham describes as SPIN Selling. We all know it is better to understand the customer’s budget early in the sales process….

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Sales Skill: Dream Big Then Plan To Be Successful

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Great salespeople have a vision of their future. Call it a dream if you want. And they know how to make dreams come true. It’s not enough to dream. You must plan to realize your dreams. Muhammad Ali one of the greatest boxers of all time and a pretty good philosopher too put it this way: “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”

Great salespeople not only dream big but they diligently plan to achieve those dreams.

Dream Big – Plan To Succeed
Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

The Best Salespeople Plan

What Muhammad Ali meant is you must plan and do all the preparatory work before the first contact with a prospect to be successful. Preparing is the key to winning. Great salespeople plan the month, the week, the day and each sales call. In each salesperson’s sales funnel there are prospects at various stages of the buying process. Near the top are those who have just begun thinking about a purchase and at the bottom are the few who are now ready to buy. Great salespeople plan to be successful all along the sales funnel….

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Sales Skill: The Scientific Method In Sales

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Remember when you were in science class discussing scientific method? Did you ever think how it applies to sales? Consider what great salespeople do. They wonder whether or not a prospect will buy their product or service. Then set about finding the answer. So this is much like the scientist making an observation wondering about what they observed and setting about confirming the observation.

Great salespeople use the scientific method to win the sale

Salespeople Are Like Scientists Looking For Answers
Image by GraphicMama-team from Pixabay

What Is Scientific Method?

For some readers it may have been a while since you were in school. Remember scientific method is a process to explore observations and answer questions. Like most processes it has multiple steps. Begin with posing a question. Do a bit of research. Form a hypothesis. Test it. Evaluate the results. Was the hypothesis validated? If not revise the hypothesis and retest. During the process the scientist looks for bias in the assumptions and testing. Scientists are rigorous in testing the hypothesis. At the end of the test they draw a conclusion….

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Selling Skills: Your Personal Brand

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Great salespeople know they have a personal brand separate from the products and services they sell. They understand their brand is the basis for developing and growing relationships with their clients. Whether or not you intentionally create your brand you are one in the eyes of your customers. So as long as you will be branded, create one yourself.

You are your personal brand

Great Salespeople Have A Recognized Personal Brand
Image by John Hain from Pixabay

What Is A Personal Brand?

When you see a red soda can with white lettering most likely you will identify it as a product of a particular company. And you will assign certain attributes to the product. Seeing a three-point star in a circle on the front of an automobile you form an opinion about the vehicle and maybe the driver. Similarly others you meet see certain characteristics in you. Physical appearance, cadence and resonance of your voice, attitude, emotional strength, knowledge and other recognizable traits taken together create your personal brand….

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Nobody Buys What You Are Selling!

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You are probably thinking: “Crawford, you have really lost it now. This quarantine is getting to you. Of course they are buying what I’m selling. I got the sales to prove it.” Really? It’s true nobody buys what you are selling. Your customers buy because they are convinced your product or service will solve a problem they have. Great salespeople know that to make a sale they first have to identify the problem the prospect has. And they make the sale because they can put the buyer’s mind at ease by solving the problem. The product or service is a means to an end for the buyer, not the end itself.

Nobody buys a product or service. They make a purchase to solve a problem

Find A Problem – Make A Sale

First Find The Pain

All great salespeople have a selling system. The one I use challenges me to find the pain early. Yes, pain. All purchases are made emotionally even though it may feel like a rational approach to the buyer. Salespeople must discover the buyer’s problem and the impact of the problem. Once they understand the buyer’s need for change, great salespeople offer a solution to the problem. Depending on the severity of the problem price may be the least of the buyer’s concerns….

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Sales Skills: Growing Your Sales

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Great salespeople are always looking for ways to increase their customer base. Right now during this pandemic, you might be scrambling to deal with the effect on your current customers. And think you are too busy fighting fires to look for new customers. But then why would this time be any different? More intense maybe but great salespeople are always looking to find new customers. So slow down, take a breath and think about ways to grow your sales.

Look at the four ways to increase your sales

Grow Your Sales In These Four Areas

Where Do New Customers Come From?

Check out the graphic on this post. Growing your sales can only come from four sources. 1. Selling more of an existing product to an existing customer. This might be a challenge during this time of economic uncertainty when your customer might be struggling when demand for their product is falling. Or maybe one of your competitors is faltering in serving their customers and you can move in. …

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Sales Skills: The Pivot

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Great salespeople are always tuned in to when to use the pivot. Over the course of a long sales cycle pursuit things can change. And even in short sales cycle or one-call-close salespeople watch for changes in the buyer. How does the great salesperson know when to pivot? By asking good questions and actively listening.

Road Maestro used the pivot to start a side hussle

Great Salespeople Are Creative With The Pivot

What Is The Pivot?

So there you are great salesperson, moving through your sales process. During a sales call to move the prospect toward the close, you hear an answer you didn’t expect. That’s when you go back to earlier steps in the sales process. That’s the pivot. When you discover the need to move the sales process in a different direction….

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Focus On The Buyer’s Problem Or Need

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So there you are great salesperson. You have a collection of products and services to sell. All presented in living color on a well-designed website and in a beautiful printed catalog. Off you go to meet with the buyer proud of what you have to offer. But more importantly armed with the tools to understand the buyer’s problem or need.

When seller's ask about buyer's needs or problems and listen well, they are prepared to win the order

Great Salespeople Focus On The Buyer’s Problem Or Need
Image from Pixabay

Buyers Don’t Care What You Are Selling

Don’t believe this statement? Think about your own experience. Here’s one from my past. I needed a new lawn mower. I went to the local dealer and was met with the most enthusiastic salesperson. He wanted me to try the new 48” mower with power drive. I had a small yard I could cut in 20 minutes with a small electric mower. So since the salesperson didn’t take the time to understand my problem or need, I moved on to the next dealer….

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Great Salespeople Understand What They Control

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This is a challenging time for “road warrior” salespeople who like to be in control. The Corona virus pandemic has caused uncertainty in the economy. Businesses are trying to survive stay-at-home orders. Customers we had traditionally met with in person are now working from home. But yet great salespeople understand how to cope and even thrive. They know what they control and what they don’t.

Sail boat in full sail showing how the captain can control the sail but not the wind

Sailors Can’t Control The Wind But They Can Trim The Sails
Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

How’s Your Attitude?

If ever there was a time in my life to be down, now is that time. Everything I have known and practiced in face-to-face selling has suddenly changed. I should be “bummed”. But I’m not. I have been working on what I can control. Attitude is one characteristic that sets great salespeople apart. They believe they are winners. No matter the barrier, great salespeople find some way to overcome it….

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