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You’ve
Got Five Minutes
(from www.sellingpower.com) In
order to use that credibility window to the greatest advantage,
salespeople need to do their homework, says Hodge. Especially
when dealing with high-level decision-makers, salespeople must
be prepared to connect the dots between the customers’
needs and their product or service’s value proposition.
Hodge
recommends using all sources available to a salesperson –
Hoovers Online, for example, as well as the company’s 10Ks
and 10Qs – to create a picture of what’s most important
to individual customers. Because salespeople are action-oriented,
they’re often too eager to get in the field and make things
happen. Salespeople skip the preparation stage at their own
peril, says Hodge. “You bust credibility when you don’t
do your research.” Use
your first minutes with a customer or prospect to ask questions
that can be answered elsewhere. Use your research to create
one or two second-level questions that demonstrate your understanding
of the company’s goals and business challenges, recommends
Hodge. Figure out how your value proposition of goods and services
– and you as a salesperson as well – can align with
the customer’s concerns. But forget about marketese or sales-speak. Salespeople talk too much about features and benefits instead of translating generic marketing messages into specific value for their customers. “Be very clear about your value proposition, not just qualitatively but quantitatively,” says Hodge. The more you can look at your product or service from your customers’ viewpoint, the better. “You have to bring something different in if you want to be treated as a partner and not just a vendor. Plain and simple, customers are looking for value – value through their eyes, not your eyes,” he says.
New
Research Uncovers Salesperson Role in Driving Executive Purchase
Decisions SCOTTSDALE,
AZ, November 13, 2002 -- New data from a nationwide survey of
executives released today by the Real Learning Company, shows
that the current economy is changing how executives make purchasing
decisions. In
today’s uncertain economy, executives’ number one
worry is improving customer satisfaction with 73% saying it
keeps them up at night. Closely following customer satisfaction
on the list of executive worries is operational excellence (70%)
—which today often means doing more with less—and
getting and keeping the right people (64%). The
survey, the first of its kind in almost ten years, shows that
salespeople who sell to executives must recognize the new factors
that shape business decisions. 82% of executives want salespeople
to understand their company’s business drivers. “Executives
are not looking for a canned pitch about product benefits and
they expect salespeople to speak directly to their business
needs and drivers,” cites Richard Hodge, president and
founder, The Real Learning Company. “They expect this even
in the first contact as well as with their assistants who handle
scheduling. In one or two sentences, the salesperson must give
them a reason to consider a different vendor.” 70% of executives say the only method that works for salespeople to obtain a first meeting is a referral from another person inside their company or a respected peer outside. Once
in the first meeting, 40% of executives will only give salespeople
five minutes to establish credibility and, within this limited
time, the salespeople must demonstrate an understanding of the
company and its needs. “Executives want salespeople to
get to the point. They don’t want to be asked about their
kids or their golf game. They want to know how a salesperson’s
product will help them overcome their business challenges,”
added Hodge. The
Real Learning Company compiled the data in a qualitative study
on “How
Executives Buy.” The data was collected in 30- to 60-minute
interviews with over thirty executives, at officer level or
above, who reflected a cross-section of industries and functional
areas. Participating executives responded to more than 25 questions
about how they make purchasing decisions, what they expect from
salespeople, and the role of sales managers. Click here for more information of the"How Executives Buy" study. About
The Real Learning Company Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, the privately held The Real Learning Company has helped more than 150 organizations, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, improve their people's effectiveness and achieve competitive advantage.
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