SALES

Listen well to deliver well - Ali Mert amert@uecomm.com.cu

Learn to be interested in a customer... not interesting...-  Ali Mert amert@uecomm.com.au

When fielding questions from a customer, paraphrase his objections, avoid showing resistance, and question him tactfully on those parts of his arguments that seem to be weak. - Amacom, "The Skills of Selling"

Selling things people want is easy. Find out what your prospect wants first. Then show them how your product is what they want. Or smile and leave if your product isn't what they want. There are others who want it. - Scott Reynolds

If you're only there to sell one thing, make a suggestion or assumption and let them tell you you're wrong. People have a need to feel smarter than you are. - Mark McCormack

Sprinkle your sales letters or presentations with references to your subject's first name. - Mell Holloway

Offer your customer a choice between two alternatives; don't force the customer into a "yes/no" decision on one alternative. - Mirek Springer

Summer sales calls should be scheduled in the middle of the week to avoid prospects who are taking long weekends. - Salesmakers Syndicated Services

Sales reps spend 32% of their time on waiting and travel, 24% on administration and meetings, 5% on service calls, and only 39% of their time selling. - McGraw-Hill Research

Make sales presentations one-to-one to the key decision maker. Try to restrict it to one person because this does not allow the dynamics of the interrelationships of the individuals to affect the presentation. - Mark McCormack

Always have the chief decision maker to invite his/her secretary to the sales pitch. This makes follow-up meetings and phone calls easier to schedule. - Ben Casnocha

Once you get the point in a sales pitch where you have asked for a commitment, don't speak again until the other person has replied in some fashion. - Mark McCormack

Smile. - Dale Carneige

Never offer a detailed concept. Always give the customer the chance to add or remove things. People like to be involved. - Volkan Demir

Never, ever, confuse effort with results - Mark T. Concannon (deceased)

Prototyping is valuable. Once you’ve prototyped your idea, you don’t have to persuade people to like it - they can judge it themselves. - Seth Godin

During the first sales call, the single most important thing you must do is qualify the prospect on price. If they balk at paying what your product or service costs, cut your losses, politely end the call, and do not come back.

Counter: single most important thing you must do is determine that they have a problem you can solve or a need you can meaningfully address. The amount they are willing to pay is a function of your ability to solve a critical business need. Also the cost of software or a SaaS offering can be de minimis. How you choose to price it is something else.

A customer that switches to you because of your price will switch away from you because of your price. - Rory Allen

It has been proven statistically that the businesses that differentiate themselves solely on the basis of price are not long for this world: witness businesses ranging from Woolworths to Caldors.

20% of your customers should complain about your price.  Less than 20% means you're probably leaving money on the table and more than 20% means you are too high for your market so either lower your price or raise your target market.  Susan Lannis, learned in small business management class. 

Ignore simplistic advice about manipulating customers.   Mahan Khalsa and Randy Illig state that both buyers and sellers must engage in a symbiotic relationship of mutual satisfaction.

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