For those in B2B Sales...
Discussion
What is the best advice you would give, or training/books that you have read that would help to make their first sales job (albeit with some self-employed b2b experience)?
Really thinking along the lines of initial impact, cold calling but in a way that sets you aside from the sleazier side of sales and can lead into productive business conversations more often than not...and also anything on pipeline management or guidance of the sales process.
Role is selling Enterprise Software and Professional Services.
Thanks in advance!
Really thinking along the lines of initial impact, cold calling but in a way that sets you aside from the sleazier side of sales and can lead into productive business conversations more often than not...and also anything on pipeline management or guidance of the sales process.
Role is selling Enterprise Software and Professional Services.
Thanks in advance!
Although not a sales manual type book my life and principles of success by Ross Perrot is not a bad place to start. This is the man who hit his annual sals target by the middle of January! Also if you are looking for a sales process type thing search google for SPIN selling. Should be available from Amazon or similar.
Best advice I ever got was listen to the customer understand his business. Don't sell but provide solutions . Ask yourself why would a customer put his business at risk to swap to you. Understand your product inside out , top to bottom and inside out then show why. / how it relates and what it can do for the customer
Good luck
Best advice I ever got was listen to the customer understand his business. Don't sell but provide solutions . Ask yourself why would a customer put his business at risk to swap to you. Understand your product inside out , top to bottom and inside out then show why. / how it relates and what it can do for the customer
Good luck
Thanks Sogra i'll check Ross' book out. SPIN selling is something i've had exposure to, so nice that it's still termed as relevant now.
I think my biggest test will be 'cold' calling to set appointments - although i guess that's where the preparation and having the confidence to go and entice (without pitching) enough to get some of their time is key. Do you have any tips on that front?
I think my biggest test will be 'cold' calling to set appointments - although i guess that's where the preparation and having the confidence to go and entice (without pitching) enough to get some of their time is key. Do you have any tips on that front?
Flibby said:
I think my biggest test will be 'cold' calling to set appointments - although i guess that's where the preparation and having the confidence to go and entice (without pitching) enough to get some of their time is key. Do you have any tips on that front?
I've done a lot of cold calling appointment making. It's one of the toughest elements of a sales job.Do your research. Know who you need to speak to and remember that you are selling 20 minutes or however long it is of time, not your product. I used to keep it very simple, give a brief summary of what it's about and close. Alternate closes, such as is Wed or Thurs best work well, or if you want to be more vague, next week or the week after? If there's an objection, deal with it and CLOSE again. Don't leave gaps, other than after you've closed (then make sure you do leave one). Remember, the more time your prospect has to think the more ways of getting out of the call he will think of. I used to close 4 or 5 times before some would relent.
Always, always, always call back when you are told to call back. Always.
It would be fair to say I have less of my career ahead of me than I have already done, I have worked for some of the biggest names in the business and still work for a global player. In all that time I have seen two types of people those that don't like cold calling and those that lie.
Often with new sales people we give them existing accounts to look after because there safe. But they have little potential to show growth and maximum potential to make mistakes. We should all do cold calls it keeps you on your toes and also it's like a surgeon in that know body sees your mistakes.
Try to find out as much about the business as you can didn't have smart phones in my day but it's a great tool. I was armed with a yellow pages and a Thomsons direct?
Don't assume treat everybody you talk to as a possible decision maker or influencer. Once knew a guy because he ignored the guy sweeping up get thrown out, he didn't realise that the guy was the owner.
Harder these days with elf and safety etc but try to talk to drivers / workshop people and you will often find out who their current supplier is and who in the business is the guy who makes the decisions
Look around see what products are on the floor etc also what the guy is interested in is often on his office wall. Pictures of family, football team, Motorsport etc you will change your politics, football associations, hobbies etc a 100 times a day, that sort of thing will give you common ground.
Always try and come away with something. Eg information, contact details etc Even if it's only the opportunity to come back
again
Make a note of the call and record everything it will help you so much in the future
Ignore the no sales people signs "I am not here to sell you anything I just wanted to find out about your business so I can make an appointment" one day there will be a salesman selling £5 notes for 4 quid everybody should see reps
Drive and energy don't get dragged down when you get knocked back. Even now when I go out with reps I always ask them to take me to difficult calls or calls that have gone poor for them ( what goes on in a call stays in the car I won't feed it back to their boss other than identifying training needs in a positive way)
Do what you say you will and if you can't tell the customer. Don't tell lies or denigrate the competitor or their products. What's the advantages of yours
I have seen reps get all the way to a customer and then lose their bottle. Like I said nobody likes cold calls but they are so rewarding when you win them and the growth can be massive and make it that much easier to hit your numbers. A good sales person is only as good as their last week, month, year. Hit the numbers and you will be good. Demolish the numbers and you will earn a good living
Often with new sales people we give them existing accounts to look after because there safe. But they have little potential to show growth and maximum potential to make mistakes. We should all do cold calls it keeps you on your toes and also it's like a surgeon in that know body sees your mistakes.
Try to find out as much about the business as you can didn't have smart phones in my day but it's a great tool. I was armed with a yellow pages and a Thomsons direct?
Don't assume treat everybody you talk to as a possible decision maker or influencer. Once knew a guy because he ignored the guy sweeping up get thrown out, he didn't realise that the guy was the owner.
Harder these days with elf and safety etc but try to talk to drivers / workshop people and you will often find out who their current supplier is and who in the business is the guy who makes the decisions
Look around see what products are on the floor etc also what the guy is interested in is often on his office wall. Pictures of family, football team, Motorsport etc you will change your politics, football associations, hobbies etc a 100 times a day, that sort of thing will give you common ground.
Always try and come away with something. Eg information, contact details etc Even if it's only the opportunity to come back
again
Make a note of the call and record everything it will help you so much in the future
Ignore the no sales people signs "I am not here to sell you anything I just wanted to find out about your business so I can make an appointment" one day there will be a salesman selling £5 notes for 4 quid everybody should see reps
Drive and energy don't get dragged down when you get knocked back. Even now when I go out with reps I always ask them to take me to difficult calls or calls that have gone poor for them ( what goes on in a call stays in the car I won't feed it back to their boss other than identifying training needs in a positive way)
Do what you say you will and if you can't tell the customer. Don't tell lies or denigrate the competitor or their products. What's the advantages of yours
I have seen reps get all the way to a customer and then lose their bottle. Like I said nobody likes cold calls but they are so rewarding when you win them and the growth can be massive and make it that much easier to hit your numbers. A good sales person is only as good as their last week, month, year. Hit the numbers and you will be good. Demolish the numbers and you will earn a good living
Edited by Sogra on Wednesday 26th March 17:36
Edited by Sogra on Wednesday 26th March 17:37
Sogra said:
It would be fair to say I have less of my career ahead of me than I have already done, I have worked for some of the biggest names in the business and still work for a global player. In all that time I have seen two types of people those that don't like cold calling and those that lie.
Often with new sales people we give them existing accounts to look after because there safe. But they have little potential to show growth and maximum potential to make mistakes. We should all do cold calls it keeps you on your toes and also it's like a surgeon in that know body sees your mistakes.
Try to find out as much about the business as you can didn't have smart phones in my day but it's a great tool. I was armed with a yellow pages and a Thomsons direct?
Don't assume treat everybody you talk to as a possible decision maker or influencer. Once knew a guy because he ignored the guy sweeping up get thrown out, he didn't realise that the guy was the owner.
Harder these days with elf and safety etc but try to talk to drivers / workshop people and you will often find out who their current supplier is and who in the business is the guy who makes the decisions
Look around see what products are on the floor etc also what the guy is interested in is often on his office wall. Pictures of family, football team, Motorsport etc you will change your politics, football associations, hobbies etc a 100 times a day, that sort of thing will give you common ground.
Always try and come away with something. Eg information, contact details etc Even if it's only the opportunity to come back
again
Make a note of the call and record everything it will help you so much in the future
Ignore the no sales people signs "I am not here to sell you anything I just wanted to find out about your business so I can make an appointment" one day there will be a salesman selling £5 notes for 4 quid everybody should see reps
Drive and energy don't get dragged down when you get knocked back. Even now when I go out with reps I always ask them to take me to difficult calls or calls that have gone poor for them ( what goes on in a call stays in the car I won't feed it back to their boss other than identifying training needs in a positive way)
Do what you say you will and if you can't tell the customer. Don't tell lies or denigrate the competitor or their products. What's the advantages of yours
I have seen reps get all the way to a customer and then lose their bottle. Like I said nobody likes cold calls but they are so rewarding when you win them and the growth can be massive and make it that much easier to hit your numbers. A good sales person is only as good as their last week, month, year. Hit the numbers and you will be good. Demolish the numbers and you will earn a good living
Thanks for the really interesting and valuable feedback. Often with new sales people we give them existing accounts to look after because there safe. But they have little potential to show growth and maximum potential to make mistakes. We should all do cold calls it keeps you on your toes and also it's like a surgeon in that know body sees your mistakes.
Try to find out as much about the business as you can didn't have smart phones in my day but it's a great tool. I was armed with a yellow pages and a Thomsons direct?
Don't assume treat everybody you talk to as a possible decision maker or influencer. Once knew a guy because he ignored the guy sweeping up get thrown out, he didn't realise that the guy was the owner.
Harder these days with elf and safety etc but try to talk to drivers / workshop people and you will often find out who their current supplier is and who in the business is the guy who makes the decisions
Look around see what products are on the floor etc also what the guy is interested in is often on his office wall. Pictures of family, football team, Motorsport etc you will change your politics, football associations, hobbies etc a 100 times a day, that sort of thing will give you common ground.
Always try and come away with something. Eg information, contact details etc Even if it's only the opportunity to come back
again
Make a note of the call and record everything it will help you so much in the future
Ignore the no sales people signs "I am not here to sell you anything I just wanted to find out about your business so I can make an appointment" one day there will be a salesman selling £5 notes for 4 quid everybody should see reps
Drive and energy don't get dragged down when you get knocked back. Even now when I go out with reps I always ask them to take me to difficult calls or calls that have gone poor for them ( what goes on in a call stays in the car I won't feed it back to their boss other than identifying training needs in a positive way)
Do what you say you will and if you can't tell the customer. Don't tell lies or denigrate the competitor or their products. What's the advantages of yours
I have seen reps get all the way to a customer and then lose their bottle. Like I said nobody likes cold calls but they are so rewarding when you win them and the growth can be massive and make it that much easier to hit your numbers. A good sales person is only as good as their last week, month, year. Hit the numbers and you will be good. Demolish the numbers and you will earn a good living
I've got a legal background which i think should help with the more consultative side of selling, and not being phased speaking with senior individuals - being on the receiving end of a District Judge in a bad moods helps you to meet on your toes!
I have been reading around (perhaps too much) on the 'door opening' strategies and what is best at the moment. I have read in some places how an e-mail then chased up with a call is best, or vice versa. And also some people say that you need to avoid calls all together, however i can't see that a decision maker is going to be put out by a message/call which is very relevant to them, and gives them enough of an enticing motivation to meet up with the sales guy.
A useful book is Strategic Selling. It has some very good principles and whilst some parts are heavy going it'll definitely help to you compartmentalise and control distinct areas of the selling process and therefore give you a lot of confidence.
The Challenger Sale is quite good too, as it's a different angle on the traditional approach; certainly worth reading if you find sales intimidating.
There are gazillions of useful coaching books on improving your own communication, understanding, empathy and outward integrity which will result in being a better sales person, but they're more for personal improvement with sales as a side-benefit.
The Challenger Sale is quite good too, as it's a different angle on the traditional approach; certainly worth reading if you find sales intimidating.
There are gazillions of useful coaching books on improving your own communication, understanding, empathy and outward integrity which will result in being a better sales person, but they're more for personal improvement with sales as a side-benefit.
A good book I think the author was Art Sobczak and is called something like eliminating the fear and failure in cold calling
Not politically correct these days but a cold call is like getting a date you both know what s going on but she still likes to be seduced
How many different ways would you try to seduce a woman or would you give up at the first no?
A dim memory tells me that it takes 7 customer touches (phone, visits etc) before they know you are serious about winning their business, most people give up after 3!
Not politically correct these days but a cold call is like getting a date you both know what s going on but she still likes to be seduced
How many different ways would you try to seduce a woman or would you give up at the first no?
A dim memory tells me that it takes 7 customer touches (phone, visits etc) before they know you are serious about winning their business, most people give up after 3!
A good book I think the author was Art Sobczak and is called something like eliminating the fear and failure in cold calling
Not politically correct these days but a cold call is like getting a date you both know what s going on but she still likes to be seduced
How many different ways would you try to seduce a woman or would you give up at the first no?
A dim memory tells me that it takes 7 customer touches (phone, visits etc) before they know you are serious about winning their business, most people give up after 3!
Not politically correct these days but a cold call is like getting a date you both know what s going on but she still likes to be seduced
How many different ways would you try to seduce a woman or would you give up at the first no?
A dim memory tells me that it takes 7 customer touches (phone, visits etc) before they know you are serious about winning their business, most people give up after 3!
Check this out: http://www.sunzu.com/articles/spin-questions-there...
I'd assume that Enterprise you'll be targeting the rungs 2 down from C level and trying to work your way up from there rather than going in top down, also assuming your company will be training you on ways to develop a conversation rather than 'Wanna buy some of this'
I'd assume that Enterprise you'll be targeting the rungs 2 down from C level and trying to work your way up from there rather than going in top down, also assuming your company will be training you on ways to develop a conversation rather than 'Wanna buy some of this'
Sogra said:
Best advice I ever got was listen to the customer understand his business. Don't sell but provide solutions .
Very much this.I'm in B2B sales, and wouldn't class myself as the best "sales"men. I do very well however. Once I can get in front of a customer, if there is a need for something, I can show them what we can provide, and how it fits for them. Very much a consultant sort of thing rather than trying to sell them something.
I've been on tons of sales courses where they teach you all these techniques and bits like that. Personally, it's all rubbish. I'm sure if I took more of it on board, I could sell ice to eskimos, but to me, they either want it or they don't. Just be honest, do what you say you will do, and often with bigger companies and your dealing with a buyer, they've got hundreds of people contacting them. Just get on with them and make a friendship and it's lots easier. Same with a directer/owner. As the saying goes. People buy from people.
The hardest part of the job for me is cold calling. For me, I very much get to the point. No messing about.
Can I speak to x, it's Phil from y.
7 times out of 10 I get put through.
Hi x, my names Phil from y. I don't believe we are doing any business currently with one another, and just wanted to touch base to see if I could help in regards to your z.
Usually, it goes down quite well. Given them no sales pitch or anything, quite a cheeky call, but works for me.
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