9826084669
YOUR PRICE IS RIGHT – SELL IT

YOUR PRICE IS RIGHT – SELL IT

by | Apr 30, 2019 | Aarambh, Prachand, Sales, Uncategorized

Price Objections is a real thing, but stop making price an excuse for declining sales, instead, learn how t use it in your favor.  

Let me explain…

You ask any sales person on this planet the reason why the sale could not be closed and the majority would tell you that their product was priced high.

This is absolutely wrong and nothing could be further from the truth.

Price is never the buyer’s biggest concern. If he is convinced that the product is the right one and is confident and assured that it has advantages in excess of the cost difference, the price is almost never the issue.

If the salesperson is able to correctly sell features and benefits of the product to the buyer, so much so, that the buyer is head over heels in love with the product and now has full confidence that the product will get him the solution to his problems, he’ll buy it at almost any price. Expensive products being purchased on EMIs today is one of the best examples. Customers do not stop sales. It is salespeople who stop sales from happening as they carry this myth in their heads that their products are priced high.

When the buyer says, “Your Price is High”, what he’s really saying is, “You’ve not identified my needs, have not sold your benefits, and I see no reason why I should pay so much for the product.”

The price of a product always has to be in relation to the value of the benefit the product gives to the customer. 

You know more about your product and its price than your customer. A tough-minded sales person who is dedicated and disciplined, and who has determination, will never apologize for his price because he knows that his Price is Right.

There are four methods of encountering the price objection:

  1. (+) PLUS : Keep adding benefits of your products and giving them to your customer.
  2. (-) MINUS : Subtract what other products are not giving.
  3. (x) MULTIPLY : All intangible benefits of satisfaction, reliability, quality, company, image, etc.
  4. (/) DIVIDE : Break your price into smaller units of long term costs.

Hey, you have just discovered that your Price is Right…what are you waiting for??? Go, Sell It!

Follows

Birthday Wishes – A Sales Tool not many know how to use

Birthday Wishes – A Sales Tool not many know how to use

by | Apr 16, 2019 | Aarambh, Prachand, Sales, Uncategorized

Sales tool to create customer engagement

Birthday Wishes: The Best Sales Tool to create Customer Engagement and an Opportunity to make another sale

Hey Friends!

It’s my Birthday today (April 16th no I am not telling you the year, please, no I am not a girl but why should girls have all the privilege 🙂 ), and as you know I am a salesperson by heart and profession. So I decided to mix them to write this blog.

There are many ways and strategies on how to make your clients feel special and wishing them on their birthday is one of them. Not only that, but you can also use it as a Sales Tool. Being wished a happy birthday to a person is one of the sweetest and one of the most important sounds in any language. Most of us enjoy receiving birthday wishes. The satisfaction extends from relatives and friends, even to wishes from business connections. It’s therefore, an opportunity, for a salesperson to take advantage of.

Studies reveal that 99% of all birthday greeting text messages are read, on an average of three minutes after you have sent it. It is personal, it’s relevant and you reach a receptive buyer. What more do you require to create customer engagement in the shortest possible time? These birthday wishes are remembered for a long long time. So doesn’t it make sense to use this powerful tool to create an opportunity to make another sale?

This is one day when you call them and do NOT sell anything. Yes, not pitches, not even the subtle ones on this day. This call or message is just telling them that they are remembered and special to you.

There are a variety of different approaches that you can use to wish your client a happy birthday- you can wish him personally over the telephone, send an email, use Facebook Messenger, send an SMS message or a What sap message. But whichever you choose, be genuine and warm.

Here are a few Birthday wishes I send to my clients (feel free to use them as it is, or edit them as per your requirements):

  • I wish you floods of great business opportunities and successes commencing from this special day of yours. I hope you have a very happy birthday!
  • Your friends at [company name] wish you a year of personal growth, happiness and accomplishment in every sphere of your life. Have an absolutely wonderful birthday celebration!
  • Happy birthday, (Name of Client)! It is my wish that you will have years upon years of extraordinary achievements both in your business and personal lives.

 

This is one day of the year when every person wants to feel special. Delight your customers by wishing them on their birthday and associate this positive feeling with your brand and even you as a salesperson who cares.

Do not forget to tell me how your clients felt and how your relationship improved after this approach, and also its impact on your business.

 

Follows

SALES ESTIMATES- WHAT DOES THE MANAGEMENT BELIEVE?

SALES ESTIMATES- WHAT DOES THE MANAGEMENT BELIEVE?

by | Apr 9, 2019 | Prachand, Sales, Uncategorized

SALES ESTIMATES- WHAT DOES THE MANAGEMENT BELIEVE?

Reasons why the sales estimate is important.

 

Facts are facts. Data is data. But when it comes to Sales Estimates, it is not always the case, unfortunately. It all depends on where you are standing.

  • Estimated sales are the basis for many an organization’s plans for everything else. But sales estimates come from the sales force and if those sales estimates are going to be used as the rod to beat the backs of the salespeople at the end of the year, they will keep them as low as they reasonably can.
  • On the other hand, if those selfsame sales estimates are going to be the basis for the allocation of new resources or the reorganization of the sales division, there will be some who will push them as high as they reasonably can.
  • Measured against last year the sales may look good. Measured against a competitor they can look awful. Choosing the basis for comparison is crucial. Percentages always raise a crucial question ‘percentages of what?’ Too often the answer depends on what the author of the number wants to prove.
  • Sales estimates for financial planning should, arguably, be pessimistic (‘if the worst happens’) but for facilities, planning should be optimistic (‘if we could sell this much…’).

This blog is dedicated to all the Sales Directors and CEOs who are engaging with my content by reading my blogs and also those with whom I have had a pleasure to work within the last 30 Years of my career, I am sure, they would like to ponder upon these insights while setting sales estimates for the coming financial year.

I would also like to know your unique mix of deriving Sales Estimates. Do share them with all here in the comments section or if you would like to keep it private drop me a mail at [email protected]

Follows

Handling Objections – Part 2

Handling Objections – Part 2

by | Mar 26, 2019 | Aarambh, Prachand, Sales, Uncategorized

The dynamics of sales are ever evolving but the objections remain the same. With changing times and funny vocabulary, they may sound different, but they are not. Now that we understand how objections are a part of the Sales Process, and love them or hate them they are not going anywhere, so let’s learn how to handle them.

Let us now dive into uncovering some common sales objections and how to handle them. 

1. “I don’t have time to talk.”

Suggestion: “Sure, I understand. So, before we schedule another time to talk, could you give me some information about your objectives and requirements?”

2.“I’m not interested.”

Suggestion: “I’m responding to your initial interest from our website. Could you please help me to understand what drove you to download some information?” OR

“Let’s say that we had a product that just fits your needs. What would be the process for consideration?”

3. “I don’t have any need at this time.”

Suggestion: “You must have a great current solution in place. What is it and how is it working for you? What’s one thing that could make it better?”

4. “We’re just looking.”

Suggestion: “Great! What prompted your interest? Tell me something about it. Could you also tell me about your business and types of projects you are currently working on?”

5. “We are already using your competitor products.”

Suggestion: “I’d like the opportunity to earn the right to some share of your business. What are some of the things that would enhance your current situation?”

6. “Send me some information.”

Suggestion: “Glad to. Mind if I ask a couple of questions to zero in on your needs and what to send?”

7. “Your price is high.”

Suggestion: “What are you comparing us to? I want to be sure you are comparing apple to apple. Can you please also help me understand why you feel we are priced high?”

8. “We don’t have the budget.”

Suggestion: “How does your budget process work?”

Some Retailer Objections:

  • Overstocked
  • Your product does not move/not in demand
  • Let the demand come first
  • Past service bad
  • Pending claims
  • Terms & conditions do not suit
  • No space
  • Already carrying too many brands
  • Credibility gap:
    • company
    • distributor
    • salesperson

All the objections you will ever receive will come from five major categories: need, relationship, authority, product/service, and price. Once you are able to identify these categories and learn specific rebuttals, you will be more confident when you hear them. Be ready to listen to what the customer is really telling you by way of objections, and respond effectively and immediately.

I would love to know about the objections you face and how you deal with them, and which one of these tricks are you going to use when you encounter your next sales objection.

In the next blog we will dive into something  even more interesting and impactful that will further change the course of how you sell. 

 

Follows

Handling Objections – Part 1

Handling Objections – Part 1

by | Mar 19, 2019 | Aarambh, Prachand, Sales

Your prospect is not returning your calls? Does he seem to be in a hurry to attend an important meeting every time you get him on the phone? He is requesting information comparing your product/service to the competition?

Be alarmed….your sale may be in danger. These may be unspoken objections that need to be handled efficiently and effectively.

It is true, an objection usually presents a problem for you. However, objections are part of the everyday life of a salesperson and can be very useful since they express your customer’s true feelings about your product. He or she is actually providing you with useful, albeit negative information to change your customer’s attitude from objection to acceptance. When a customer voices an objection to your product or service, you must HANDLE IT IMMEDIATELY.

What are Objections?

  • Objections are a necessary part of the selling process
  • They are like the hurdles in a hurdle race
  • Guideposts to the progress of a sale
  • They are an opportunity- successful handling often leads to close
  • They give important feedback whether positive or negative and add to the knowledge
  • May take the form of
    • Questions
    • Statements
    • Comments
    • Criticism
    • Remarks and even
    • Compliments

Attitude towards Objections:  

  •  Objections are not a personal attack
  • Signify interest-require convincing, even reassurance
  • Provide an opportunity to learn from the feedback
  • Welcome objections and adopt a positive approach towards them
  • Lower the barriers. Do not attack to prompt the customer to raise barriers further
  • Disagree agreeably. Create a relaxed, warm, friendly atmosphere

Types of Objections & Handling Objections

Customer objections usually fall under the following categories:

1. Misunderstanding about your product due to lack of information

  • When you answer this type of objection, you must provide the information necessary to clear up the misunderstanding. Sometimes this information will be in the form of a benefit. Be prepared to offer proof as the customer may be skeptical about the benefit.
  • Rephrase the objection in question form. It helps to clarify the objection and also shows the customer that you’re listening carefully and are concerned about his feelings about your product.
  • Answer it directly to clear up the misunderstanding. By doing this you’ll actually be providing a benefit

2. Perceived Drawbacks of your product; drawbacks that exist in your customer’s mind and could result from:

  • Your product failing to provide a benefit the customer considers important
  • Your customer simply not liking something about your product

To encounter such an objection you may

  • Rephrase the objection in question form
  • Minimize the objection by stressing the relevant benefits of your product. These benefits can be the old ones already accepted during the sales call or new ones you’ll need to provide by further probing and supporting or a combination of old and new.

3. Non-verbalised Objections (difficult to handle)

  • Absolute silence
    • Break the silence-probe, ask questions
  • Postures/Gestures
    • Watch out for signals- Body language

4.  Verbalised (easier to handle)

To get rid of the salesperson

  • Hidden objections
  • Statements, comments, remarks, even compliments
  • Foreclosing
    • I know the product
    • No need to detail
    • I know the company
    • Already using the product
    • Very busy
    • Just leave the brochure/catalog, etc.

The feedback is that the customer is either not interested in you or your company or low credibility. So make the interview interesting, sustain interest and raise the desired level.

Seek information

  • Misunderstanding:
    • False perception
    • Competitors
    • Wrong information
    • Other sources

Accept it as your fault and help the customers correct themselves by seeking their agreement on facts and provide evidence.

  • A genuine drawback with the product:

Admit it (No product is perfect)- outweigh it with benefits

  • More information:

usually questions and easiest to handle by providing desired information.

 

I will rest this blog here and let the reality of objection and objection handling sync in. In my next blog, we will uncover some common sales objections and how to handle them. See you here next Tuesday 🙂

Follows

Reason Why People Don’t Like Being Sold To

Reason Why People Don’t Like Being Sold To

by | Mar 12, 2019 | Aarambh, Prachand, Sales, Uncategorized

It’s sad that standards of sales professionals and their ethics have generally been lowered so much across industries. I have personally seen just a decade ago, companies not allowing their sales professionals to make sales calls without undergoing a structured induction and training program. With competition increasing leaps and bounds and in a race of sales against production, I observe sales people being hired and thrown in the market without even basic sales training. There is an assumption that if the sales person is a fresher, ‘he would learn by himself in the field’ and if he is experienced, ‘he would know it all’.
There’s chaos all around when these untrained sales people go out by themselves and communicate with prospects. The intent is just to go out and ‘SELL’ so that they hit their monthly/annual targets. The basic characteristics of true sales professional thus seem to be missing:

  • Competence
  • Communication
  • Customer-First Attitude
  • Reliability and Responsibility
  • Appearance
  • Poise

This results in prospects rejecting them as they do not like being ‘sold to’. Here are reasons why people don’t like being sold to:

1. There’s a lot of selling all around

With competition increasing each minute, the prospects have sales people trying to connect to them at the same speed. They have sales people visiting their offices, cold calls over telephone, emails, voice mails, social media invites, and the list is endless. When all of this adds up and is continuous, it becomes annoying. The prospect becomes uncomfortable and all the more confused. This plays a major role on how the prospect feels, when you try to approach him for making the sale.

2. Sales persons can be annoying

As discussed in the opening, majority of sales persons these days can be annoying. While prospecting or making a sales presentation, the sales person tends to be talking about his/her company and its products or services. It becomes all the more annoying to a prospect when the discussion becomes sales person centric and the intent of identifying customer needs and offering a solution seems to be missing.

The situation worsens when the sales person does not qualify a prospect and keeps on persisting for the sale of the wrong product to a wrong person.

3. The sales person may appear to be pushy

For a successful sales transaction to take place, both the seller and the buyer must have their needs satisfied. The need of the sales person is to close the sale and get the order whereas the buyer wants the right product at the right price that solves his problem.

When the prospect feels that the sales person is just interested in closing the sale without any intent of solving his problems, the sales person appears to be pushy and no one likes a product being shoved down his throat.

4. Salesperson does not seem trustworthy

However good a product may be, and whatever efforts might have been put in by the salesperson to push the sale, unless the prospect has been put to ease by asking good and relevant questions to uncover his needs, the prospect won’t buy. The sales person does not seem trustworthy to a prospect till the time all of the above has been done, all objections have been attended to and the product has been supported with enough proof. The sales person must build rapport and trust to make the sale happen.

5. Sales person seems to be partial

All prospects need to be treated equally, with dignity and respect. All prospects big or small are important and deserve respect.

When a prospect feels that he is not being provided the same price and treatment as they would to other customers, he may feel offended. He feels that the sales person is taking advantage of him and he is just being sold and would not buy.

Once the sales person starts communicating more as a business person than a sales person, with an approach that is more about “all about you” than “all about me”, building a foundation of trust, separating good and bad prospects by qualifying them and considering prospect’s interest also in mind when making a sale, he surely would turn the table.

Remember, people love and enjoy buying but they hate being sold to.

 

Follows