BASICS OF SALES

When is the best time to decide on whether to call back on a customer? The time to decide whether or not to call back on a customer is immediately after your interview with that customer is completed.

The decision should be based on the value of your selling time and what you perceive that customer and account to be worth.

Ask yourself these questions:
A- Is the account worthy of another call back?
Is there something connected with this account that makes it worth your while? Do not forget that it may take several more calls in your particular situation and with your particular product to make the sale. Did you feel the prospect was giving you proper consideration? Did you get the impression he was interested? What was his reaction when you suggested another call?

B- If you do call back what is your strategy?
Do you have a goal? Do you have anything in your line to accomplish this goal concerning this customer? What ideas can you bring to bear to accomplish what you need to on your next call in this account.

C- When is the best time for a call back?
Your knowledge of the situation will determine when to call back and what you need to accomplish.

Deciding to call back a customer depends not only on the customers' worth but on how that worth affects your figures.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips

Please click the free preview @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how My DVD can change your life.

Being identified as a high pressure salesperson is detrimental to say the least. Purchasing agents, office managers and customers in general do not take kindly to the perception of pressure by salespeople. To think however, that pressure is not an essential part of selling, is a mistake. It does take a certain amount of pressure to make a person change his mind. It is not pressure that is the problem, it is the perception of pressure that the customer resents. As usual perception is reality. Some people can be pressured like you would not believe, while others take umbrage at the slightest inkling of pressure being applied.

Persistence is a form of selling pressure. Where would the majority of salespeople be without persistence? Any good salesperson has to be persistent and also apply pressure during the sales interview. Pressure must be applied with such a degree of skill so as to make the customer unaware that pressure is being applied. It is called Selling Technique.

Any attempt to close an order that has been skillfully presented has to be perceived as pressure free from the viewpoint of the prospect. If the order has not been earned even the slightest hint of pressure would seem like high pressure to the customer. Once again it is perception and the skill of the salesperson that comes into play when pressure is thought of.

Persistence and pressure are necessary in the sale. If the salesperson handles his technique well then the customer is unaware of that pressure ever being applied.

Some people object to any kind of sales pressure, others do not mind it as much. It is up to the salesperson to practice good selling technique to mask the pressure he applies.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips.

Please click the free preview @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how it can change your life.

Most companies like to clear purchases through their purchasing agent. The actual decision to buy may be made by another member of the organization, but it always pays to contact the purchasing agent first unless you know that to be detrimental.

One thought I always maintained in my selling career was the fact that most people in an account can not help you but they certainly can hurt you. This is particularly pertinent concerning the purchasing agent. There is a reason they are in the position they are in. Some are very strong and control not only your success in the account but where you can go in the account when and how. They are that powerful. Some purchasing people have complete control over the entire operation. Others are merely rubber stamps. It behooves you to make the correct determination and to do it as quickly as possible.

Even if the purchasing agent has little or no authority, passing over him and going directly to someone else can incur his wrath and and at the very least create potential problems. Even the person you go to over the purchasing person can become a problem if he feels protocol was abandoned, or perhaps he may be a friend of the purchasing person.

You can also make use of the telephone to contact the purchasing agent in advance and perhaps he will refer you directly to the key person and be of immense help. These things are all predicated on the makeup of the account which it is your responsibility to find out about.

Getting the purchasing agent on your side can help you get the important information you need concerning company policy and the way to channel your product for a successful introduction. He can also furnish you with good information on where how and who will use your product. Some people think of purchasing people as mere stop ins on the way to important people in the account. Before you make this decision you had better be sure. Some purchasing people are the beginning and end all in accounts.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips

Please click the free preview @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how My DVD can change your life.

Sometimes more than one person has a hand in decision making. It can be difficult finding the key person whose decision to buy counts the most.

Try determining the key prospect by thinking about the product you are selling. If it is very expensive the prime prospect making the decision will most likely be an individual located in the hierarchy of the company or someone in charge of operations or the like.

If it is a new gadget or or widget it will probably be tied to the opinion of an important worker or foreman that counts. Do not forget plant managers, heads of departments, (maintenance etc.) engineers, and of course purchasing agents. You have to determine which one influences the purchase most.

A- Determine who is the head of the department that will use it the most.
B- Is the company concerned with quality or, is price the main concern? (Never underestimate this and make sure it is not overlooked.)
C- How many departments will be using the product?
D- The people you are dealing with, do they just have a title, or do they carry real authority? Weigh this carefully.

This may be a bit difficult but worth it, try to get an organizational chart of the company if possible.

Success in many instances may need to be bolstered by other things outside the norm of selling. Always keep an open mind and think outside the box.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips

Please click the free preview @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how My DVD can change your life.

The telephone has some distinct drawbacks that can kill a sale before it ever gets started.

You guessed it. This one is very evident. It is easier for people to say no over the phone than it is in person. So your phone approach must be well planned and well executed to get the results you need. People are more subtle when you deal with them in person and definitely more polite. There is no person on the other end of the phone; just a sound, so the thought of human empathy never enters into the equation on the telephone to some people.

One way to overcome the no is to play out as many scenarios as possible. Keep practicing, keep role playing. Another positive is to get as much telephone experience as possible. It may not be what a salesperson wants to hear but phone experience is a great help.

You can refer to many of my blogs pertaining to the use of the telephone by simply scrolling down my blog list.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips
Please click the free preview @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how My DVD can change your life.

As a salesperson; when you supply your customers and prospects with useful ideas and suggestions you build goodwill and confidence for yourself with those customers and add to your stature. When you add good service to the equation you are on your way to larger orders.

Prospects are receptive to new ideas especially from people who understand their business. Nothing interests a prospect as keenly as new ideas or old ideas dressed in new clothing. Whenever possible try to leave a sensible idea with your customer. It shows your customers that you take an interest in their business and the welfare of their company. The idea must be a valid one and not just one that is thrown around to gain attention.

Predicate your ideas on:
How to help your customer make extra money from their sales.
How to sell extra units.
How to make more money through operating more efficiently.

It can only turn out to be advantageous to you when you help your customers discover or originate a new idea that can be useful to them. When you help develop new ideas for your customers' business it will certainly develop new business for you.

There is a fashionable saying in vogue today “think outside the box”. Providing your customers with legitimate ideas is a good way to benefit them and add to your stature, and gain you business.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
Sales blogs offering sales tips
www.basicsofsales.com

Please click the free preview @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how My DVD can improve you selling career.

How do you go about introducing a new product? What are the most salient points to cover? How do you present it so you cover all the key points in the briefest possible time while maintaining the customers' interest? Sounds like a lot to do and truly it is. Let me give you some starting points:

A- At the beginning pay close attention to the person picked to present the product to you. Take notes. Ask questions. Make sure you understand it as well as you are able to.
Next read all the literature connected with it and particularly the product fact sheets when they become available. Be familiar with all advertising approaches your company will take connected with it. Read all the handouts, brochures, and distribution materials your customers' may receive.

B- Handle the product yourself. See if it does all it is supposed to do and rate for yourself how it does it. This will come in handy later when you make your presentations. You will know what to concentrate on and what to be wary of. Know how to handle it so you appear well versed and smooth. Become one with the product.

C- Create your presentation from the feel you get from handling the product and the literature concerning it. Always gear your presentation to how it will satisfy customer needs and overcome your competition. It is also a good idea to prepare a competitive presentation from your competitions' point of view aimed at your product.

D- Find out if the product replaces or compliments something the customer is using now.

E- Keep an ongoing file to reflect any changes to the product or literature.

1- Pay attention when the product is presented.
2- Handle and become familiar with it. You judge it's worth.
3- Read everything the company puts out about it in terms of how it works, what it does, and how it is presented and how it affects the customer.
4- Envision how the customer will use it.
5- Keep records of any changes concerning the product and literature.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips
Please click the free @ www.basicsofsales.com and see how My DVD can change your life

Knowing as much as you can about your customer before you even set foot in his office is one of the most advantageous things you can do to insure your success with that customer.

What are some of the things you should know and do to put this into practice?
A- First perform a mental inventory of the company and find out what exactly the company does and, where it fits into the marketplace and your territory in particular.

B- Find out if the company is a national concern or a local one.

C- How many employees does it have and is it a growing concern?

D- If you can also find out the credit line of the company it will also prove valuable. This will be a big factor in determining what you may want to sell the organization.

D- Ascertain what in your line can be beneficial to them.

E- By doing some judicious probing you should be able to find out if the company is hiring, laying off or running extra shifts. No need to mention how beneficial this would be, but it is often overlooked by salespeople.

F- Perhaps the organization is readying new construction. This is good to know to rate the customer in future calling patterns.

G- Be aware of all their literature so you can garner as much information as possible and garner a measure of how the company views itself.

Gathering this information beforehand can be of untold value to you. Knowledge about the company you are calling on will give you a higher standing in the customer's eyes. Customers like knowing that the people calling on them understand their business and what they are trying to accomplish. In general find out as much as you can. It can not hurt and, it definitely can help.Information is power.

Thank you
Joe D'Ambra
www.basicsofsales.com
Sales blogs offering sales tips

Please click the free preview on www.basicsofsales.com and view My DVD.