During uncertain times, dump the “business as usual” tactics and try something new?
To win more sales, stop selling
When people feel like they’re being sold, they react negatively and put up barriers. Focus on helping your prospects achieve success their business, professional, and personal objectives – not making a sale. People love to buy. Get out of your own way and let them.
To speed up your sales cycle, slow down
The more quickly you push to a close, the more resistance you will encounter. Go one step at a time. When your prospects know you want to help them make the right decision, not a rash one, the process moves faster. Remember, they must first know you, then like you, then trust you. Only then will they buy from you. Examine your process for moving your prospects from just knowing you to trusting you.
To make decisions easier, offer fewer options
When you increase the complexity of the decision, you decrease the likelihood of winning the sale. To help your prospects move forward, give them less to choose from. Keep it simple – always. A good test for this is, can you communicate your value proposition so that a child can understand it? There is power in brevity. Be concise. The less complex your pitch, the less likely there will be a communication breakdown.
To be more natural, prepare like crazy
Ad-libbing is for amateurs. Spare me your brilliance in thinking that you don’t need a script because you don’t want to sound “canned” or robotic. You must know your script so well that you can internalize it and bring your essence to masterful articulation. Today’s customers suffer no fools. If you’re not ready with the right message, questions or presentation, you’ll stumble or be stilted in your meeting. When you do prepare, you can be your best self.
Imagine your favorite actor just winging it before they go in front of the camera. They would never work again in the industry. There is a reason they make so much money and seem so natural on the silver screen. They work off of a script and they internalize it.
To get bigger contracts, start smaller
When you pursue the “whole shebang,” decisions are more complex and costly, making it much tougher to get approval. Reduce the risk by starting small and proving your capabilities. Then, it’s easy to grow.
To speed up your learning curve, fail fast
It’s inevitable that you’ll make mistakes. So don’t wait till you’ve figured out the “perfect pitch” before moving forward. In sales, there is no failure – just lots of opportunities for experimentation, learning and growth. Prepare like crazy and re-calibrate, re-calibrate, re-calibrate.
To differentiate your offering, become the differentiator
Here’s the biggest reality in today’s market. Your products, services or solutions are secondary to your knowledge, expertise, and the difference you make for your customers. It’s you–not what’s on your business card–that needs to make the difference.
The question to ask is, would you pass the Yellow Page test? Let me explain…
Imagine two companies offering the same services, each with a full-page advertisement side by side in the phone book. Chances are, you could swap the name of the company in each ad and the ad would still apply. My bet is there is no differentiations listed in what they offer. Nothing clearly sets them apart. Be clear on what sets you and your services apart, then go out and shamelessly promote how you are different than your competition and how that benefits your clients.
In all your marketing messages make two things extremely clear by answering these questions:
- What’s the problem your ideal client typically has that they don’t want?
- What’s the desired outcome they want and don’t have?
Make your answer to 1 your headline and the answer to 2 your subhead line. Then you can list what uniquely qualifies you and your company to be the provider of choice.
Make it Up, Make it Fun, & Get it Done!