Ten MORE Top Sales Skills

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  1

  Vozkaya

  07/03/08 | Report as spam

  Ten MORE Top sales skills

  a couple of suggestions:
  1. Understanding sales is a process
  2. Not jumping steps in the cycle (e.g. if you need access to a key player, refuse to give a cost estimate until you have been granted the access).
  3. Ensure price is the last thing you negotiate, once all other items are lined up.
  4. Agree a mutual Sequence of Events - ie. get the prospect to commit to actions to ensure engagement

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  2

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  07/03/08 | Report as spam

  All good...

  ..Thanks!

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  3

  Aimee333

  07/03/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Ten MORE Top Sales Skills

  NEVER LIE! If you can't deliver on time or on budget-don't lie!
  
  Exceed your customer's expectations!
  
  Willingness to keep selling through slow times!
  
  polished phone skills!
  
  Know how to listen! mucho importante!

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  Kleheard

  07/03/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Ten MORE Top Sales Skills

  Amen...The marks of a sincere professional!

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  5

  brandbuddies@...

  07/04/08 | Report as spam

  Wow!

  3. Ensure price is the last thing you negotiate, once all other items are lined up.
  
  Is your advice to inexperienced sellers that, they should spend potentially massive amounts of their own time, money and effort in designing a deal without actually knowing how to structure the deal due to lack of knowledge with regards to the price the prospect can/ will pay??
  
  Is this something you learned on the back of a lolly pop stick? Of course you may be involved in direct sales which requires the old mushroom sales approach- keep them in the dark....
  
  When professional buyers and sellers meet, budget is a part of an upfront discussion- service is the goal and discovery is the outcome...

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  07/04/08 | Report as spam

  Right...

  ...I didn't read that one carefully.
  
  Leaving price negotiations to the end is a good way to increase your cost of sales. You have to prequalify prospects as early as possible in the sales cycle.

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  7

  Vozkaya

  07/07/08 | Report as spam

  Price as last thing

  Dear Sender,
  I know this one surprised many a reader.
  
  Budget is key qualifier at the first step of the sales cycle. No time should be wasted until the opportunity is qualified (is there a budget? how much? who signs? what is need? who is the competition etc etc).
  
  What I meant is that once all the steps are completed (incl. budget check), then you can negotiate pricing. Meaning, you have already submitted quotation and proposal as well as reviewed them with your prospect. There will practically always be negotiations by buyer to lower costs, this should be done once you know they have you as Column A (i.e. you are their choice and price is the last remaining issue on the table).
  I hope this clarifies. I guess i am so used to following this methodology, I omitted to clarify what happens before.
  Best wishes

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  07/08/08 | Report as spam

  Cultural Issue?

  I'm thinking that this might be a cultural issue.
  
  In the U.S. it is extremely unusual for there to be any haggling about price at the end of a sales cycle. In fact, it's considered insulting to ask for a discount at the end of the cycle, and giving a discount is usually read by the buyer as an admission that the seller was trying to steal from the buyer by not giving the best price from the start.
  
  Most sales experts believe that B2B sales should be fixed price from the start and that the price should be revealed relatively early in the sales cycle and, once revealed, held firm, unless other terms substantially change the deal. So a price negotiation would not normally take place at the end.
  
  I have a feeling that in cultures where bargaining and haggling are more common, the person who doesn't ask for a price concession at the end of the sales cycle might be perceived as naive, and the person who didn't have a little bit more to give on the price at the end would be considered imprudent.
  
  Have I guessed right?

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  9

  gagandeep.kalra

  07/07/08 | Report as spam

  Re:

  can you elaborate this one.

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  Vozkaya

  07/07/08 | Report as spam

  Price as last thing to negotiate

  Dear sender,
  This is not what I meant. Looks like you jumped to hasty conclusions, without trying to validate why I made this statement...
  So, back to sales 101 then for you.
  Rule 1: You should never qualify an opportunity unless you know actual budget or if there IS a budget. This is actually in step 1 of the process.
  Rule 2: (this is what I meant) You should not leave money on the table during the sales cycle by negotiating final pricing too early. Many clients try to get you to negotiate early so that they squeeze even more in the last round. Once you know there is alignment, you can then come to best offer.

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  11

  gagandeep.kalra

  07/07/08 | Report as spam

  Re:

  Hi brandbuddies: in addition to your note, i guess more important will be to understand what the product offered is worth, because in most cases the customer does'nt understant the true value of the product and might want to pay less. that is where a salesman is required, if one starts selling at what ever price the customer is willing to pay then we will be just executing trasactions nothing else

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  ndlicht1

  07/05/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Ten MORE Top Sales Skills

  Skill #11. Recognizing when a sale is not going to happen.
  
  Sales folks, this is really important. How many times have you decided that a prospect needed your stuff despite their refusal to bite.
  
  Move on. The effort spent in contining to get the sale is much better spent with a real prospect. Make the sanity check a part of every sales process- a continuing and very honest assesment of why a sale is possible, for what reasons, what indications you get from a prospect about your value proposition, what if any questions you get and decide if its a real prospect.
  
  You may see the need or think there is a need but if the prospect doesn't see it or value what you bring to their operation, move on.
  
  Neil Licht
  answers@ucanpreventbadhires.com

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  thines515

  07/07/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Ten MORE Top Sales Skills

  You're missing the point. All of these "skills" are what I would call table stakes; it's like saying in order to be a good CPA, you need to be able to be good with a calculator. Sales has changed and the need now to possess these skills has to be a given. The differentiating skills you need today is the ability to help create value (through your products and services) for your client, his or her organization and their customers. This requires business accumen, and genuine understanding of your customers business and real expertise (not just features and functions) on what it is your selling. If you can't do that, you will working for table scraps and never be seen as a strategic partner by your client. Ram Charan recently published a new book in this topic, "What the Customer Wants You to Know"