Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
If your sales efforts aren’t leading to your desired clients, here are a couple of questions:
— How many times have you been burdened by so-called prospective customers who waste your time without buying?
— How many times has a business or government agency asked for information on projects but used your ideas without paying you?
Ouch. That’s a waste of time and other resources.
Candidly, there are four plausible reasons why people don’t buy from you:
1. You haven’t done a good enough job selling your company.
2. You’re dealing with habitual tire-kickers.
3. You’re trying to sell to customers who are too price-conscious and are not value-minded.
4. You’re dealing with parasites or thieves who will try to replicate your ideas without paying you.
The latter is infuriating, but don’t get angry. It’s usually a waste of time and energy, and often creates negative PR images.
So remember to assess your role and processes, and make the necessary improvements.
How to save on sales opportunity costs:
1. Review your branding and marketing. A strong marketing program will prevent such problems by pre-selling your products and services, and will minimize the footwork required to close sales.
Use cost-effective marketing tools for growth.
Use due diligence to get top results from from your marketing plan.
2. Distribute informative sales collateral and upgrade your Web site – pique the visitors’ interest — without divulging too much information.
3. Improve your customer service and sales processes. Make sure that you and members of your team are using the techniques.
Basically, this means remembering when and how to use the following:
— empathy
— incisively qualifying and researching your prospects
— asking the right questions
— listening
— providing strong value propositions
— showing an attitude of enthusiasm coupled with gratitude
— preventing buyers’ remorse
— providing added value whenever possible
Always be prepared to engage customers with a great elevator pitch.
4. Become a better student of human nature. Remember the basic law in economics 101 – know when to cut your losses. On the other hand, understand when it’s important to persevere and not give up prematurely for higher sales.
5. Maintain your mental acuity and balance when dealing with prospects. Don’t be desperate to make a sale to a prestigious-looking customer or company.
Don’t allow them to use you or your intellectual property. Take every precaution for best practices in negotiations.
As a prospect deliberates, keep moving and prospecting. Don’t spend your profits before the customer buys, and remember the adage: “A sale ain’t a sale until the money is in the cash register.”
6. Be loyal to customers who are good to you. This will make you feel better and you’ll enhance your odds for repeat business, which will also cut your sales opportunity costs.
Remember the essence of productive selling and you’ll save on sales opportunity costs. It’s all about wisdom in creating a happy buying environment and developing relationships.
From the Coach’s Corner, if you’re a small company, here are the 11 sales strategies to outsell your big competitors.
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.”
-Dale Carnegie
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