call-center-solutions.info

How do You Close That Sale?

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:11:40 +0000

There are many critical questions that arise when considering how to close the most sales. When is the best time of day to sell? When do I ask questions? What questions should I ask? It’s important to know the answers to these questions and more if you want to be successful in the sales department. Let’s take a look at each of these concerns.
Is there really a best time of day to call? Studies have shown that indeed there is! InsideSales.com performed research that found that the best days to call are Wednesday and Thursday mornings and afternoons. If you can call at the right time, you can definitely increase contact rate and close rate. More important than calling at the right time, however is asking questions. It’s important not only to ask questions, but to ask the right questions at the right time.
Some reps are timid when it comes to asking questions. They think they are being too forthright or maybe even feel they are interrogating their prospect. Sometimes they fear rejection and are afraid to receive “no” for an answer. This fear can be overcome by simply not asking any questions. What is it, then, that the best sales reps do that makes them so successful? They ask questions early on!
The most effective sales relationship is one of complete trust. It is one where the buyer is interested in buying and there is open communication between them and the seller in regards to the capabilities of the product and the necessities of the purchaser. Those who are ready to buy are not afraid to tell the person selling what they expect. Those who are interested in selling are not afraid to tell the prospect what their product offers and what it’s capabilities are.
When you think of closing the sale, you must think of it as a process. You don’t get someone to the point of wanting to buy without asking searching questions. In order to be successful, you must pose numerous small commitment questions along the way. For example, you could say something to the effect of, “Our product helps you make five times as many calls per day. Don’t you want that kind of productivity?” This requires the prospect to consider the credibility and effectiveness of your product and make a decision.
Asking thoughtful, leading questions along the way will bring your prospect closer and closer to closing on the sale. The idea behind sales is to come to a mutual agreement. This agreement can’t be reached without thoughtful questioning by both parties.
To get to know your prospects better, you might consider implementing a hosted CRM. To contact them more quickly, the PowerDialer might be a useful tool. Whatever you do, make sure you use these tools to better understand the customer and really focus on asking and answering questions. If you can understand what the customer wants by asking the right questions, you’ll be on the right track in no time at all.

*Some thoughts adapted from an article by sales expert Jacques Werth

http://www.highprobsell.com/html/closing_sales_timing.html

Generation Y in the Workplace

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:40:18 +0000

As a young college graduate looking to find a job in an economy that is struggling with a recession, it is amazing to hear the lofty expectations from my peers about what employers should be offering for our services. Still employers are careful to commit too much into our young hands because in spite of our upside there are some glaring downsides in the Generation Y culture.
Generation Y is the technologically savvy generation having been born into a life of video games, cell phones, and social media. They utilize and adapt to these new technologies effectively and effortlessly. They routinely have used all aspects of Microsoft Office for papers, presentations, and spreadsheets. There is even the science to suggest that video games can improve visual-spatial ability which deals with the ability to perceive objects in space.
This use of technology and social media has created a very egalitarian and team oriented atmosphere. Where only a few years ago students competed to get the highest grade now students organize study groups on Facebook and create collaborative google docs for the whole class. Everyone is recognized for the ability to further the success of the class.
This tech knowledge comes with some high demands. In a recent article, college students have some rather lofty expectations concerning social media, company issued devices, and remote work. Social media was shown to be an important enough factor that 64% of graduates would ask about social media policy in a job interview, 56% said they would find a way to get around strict social media policies at work, and 33% said they would prefer to be able to use social media at work over a higher salary.
Generation Y also prefers to have companies give them company devices and those device should be allowed for both business and personal use. Graduates overwhelmingly (81%) feel that they should be able to choose the device that they are going to use. Lastly the majority feel that it is a right not a privilege to be able to work at home remotely instead of having to commute to work.
Instead of competing against the independent nature of the Generation Y, the tech, advertising, and marketing industries are adapting to gather the exceptional workers of Generation Y. By creating a culture of advancement, transparency, and flexibility, they are keeping what has been described as a non-committal generation. This can be done by implementing technology such as a hosted CRM to give them the personal feel they demand.
The debate continues on how much a company should adapt to gather successful workers or to maintain its current corporate culture but it is important to know the characteristics of Generation Y.

LinkedIn-A business development tool

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:05:58 +0000

Just this morning, I had the opportunity to be apart of the LinkedIn webinar hosted by Brynne Tillman, President of Linked User Group. She provided us with invaluable instruction regarding how LinkedIn can be more than a simple business social networking website. She explained how LinkedIn reflects you and your company, enhances a company’s exposure on Google and other search engines, and how it can greatly enhance traditional marketing techniques. Brynne identified a number of methods to positively market both yourself and the company you represent.

The webinar included the following five methods: include a professional photo of yourself, make it clear what you do in the “specialties” section, the “summary” section should incorporate some of the data that would be found on the first paragraph of your company website, be sure to include at least three genuine recommendations from clients, and be sure to make your contact information visible. LinkedIn also enables you to enhance traffic onto your business website. Not only do you receive traffic from your LinkedIn profile, but you can engage in SEO and promote traffic from Google and other search engines. This can be accomplished by incorporating keywords into your LinkedIn profile. She indicated a number of areas where you can optimize the SEO, including: the current and past experience sections of your profile. This was especially useful in marketing the innovative products and services we provide to a number of hosted CRM.

Brynne effectively demonstrated how LinkedIn can be an effective and innovative form of marketing. She discussed two forms of B2B communication that can facilitate growth. She discussed the importance of group postings and introductions. Posting to specified groups enhances B2B marketing and enables you to promote your company to a large number of individuals and businesses in strategic fields. By posting relevant material to specific groups on LinkedIn, you can identify and promote unique characteristics regarding your product and/or service. Introductions are also another fantastic method of B2B marketing. By using warm markets or common acquaintances on LinkedIn, you can reach out to individuals and companies you otherwise would not have been able to.

I just want to give a shout our to Brynne for her effective webinar and thank her for taking the time. Both myself and others from Insidesales.com feel privileged to have learned so much in regards to LinkedIn and this innovative B2B marketing tool. We know that LinkedIn will be an important part of our B2B marketing and will enable many to experience the incredible products and services Insidesales.com has to offer.

Lead Nurturing Aids, But Doesn’t Replace Effective Prospecting

admin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:25:19 +0000

Current sales industry research by Marketing Sherpa in the last 24 months brought to light that 3 out of 4 sales leads are going to buy in the next 18 to 24 months.

Simply put, the commonly heard complaints about the lack of potential in their sales leads are at least a little bit misguided. A portion of the leads aren’t going to convert immediately, or even during the rep’s desired timetable. But even if it’s not going to take place tomorrow, serious prospects really are looking for solutions.

This fact shows that it can be just as vital to engage in long-term lead nurturing, even if progress towards being a valid prospect is likely to be slow—and a dialer can be a important element of a long-term lead generation program.

However, mangement teams need to be careful that a lead nurturing program doesn’t become a crutch, or a fallback for initial contacting, qualifying, and lead generation activities.. Suddenly “Lead nurturing” becomes an excuse for not performing vital prospecting activities like immediate response and consistent follow-up.

This can be an absolute disaster for future sales performance, because as the Sales 2.0 Network has said, a failed opportunity is usually caused by two core problems—your company wasn’t even a good fit to begin with and you never really had a chance, or you hands-down got outsmarted by someone else.

A long-term lead management system is potentially valuable, but immediate response techniques are just as vital, because they help prevent both scenarios. Immediate response means reps have a much higher probability of making contact. Appointments increase, needs analysis happens more frequently, and it happens in less time. Furthermore, fast lead response creates a good first impression. You give yourself a better opportunity to know immediately whether you’re you actually have a realistic shot of closing the deal, as well as give yourself an environment of trust in the immediate moment, and into the future.