Business and Economic Consultant
Sales
Accelerating a Sales Cycle With Value Propositions
0
Sales Cycle
Value propositions can dramatically accelerate sales cycles, as highly successful sales people have proven. However, most sales people aren’t sure how to utilize them, and they stumble over how and when to appropriately include them in a sales cycle.
There are three key misconceptions that tend to stop sales people in their tracks when it comes to value propositions. Here they are, along with a few facts that can help sales people view value propositions with renewed enthusiasm.
• Misconception #1: Numbers are scary. The reality? Value propositions based on numbers can help sales people generate highly focused conversations with buyers – and that’s a lot less scary than ambiguity. Quantifiable information, whether based on industry benchmark information or specific data on a prospect’s company, helps to establish credibility. And numbers are a lot easier to find than most sales people think (read on for some tips on this one).
• Misconception #2: Information is too private. If a company is serious about making an investment, the folks buying the product or service expect to share information about their company so they can justify the purchase. Willingness and ability to ask for this information at the appropriate stage of the sales cycle for use in a value proposition helps garner respect and credibility. (more…)
How to Sell Anything Using Emotional Triggers
0Have you ever wondered how shopping network channels can sell just about anything, no matter what the item is? I’m about to give you their secret! It’s called emotional triggers. They use these triggers, and there is an endless list of them, to cause people to feel like they “have to” buy whatever is being sold.
Let’s give this a try on an off the wall, made-up product. I just asked my eight year old daughter to come up with a crazy, silly product that someone might buy. The first thing that came to her head was “tree worms,” so let’s try that. (I know, sounds really silly!) She describes them as “kinda like gummy worms, but they have caramel inside, like sap from a tree!”
Okay. So first let’s list some of the emotional triggers that we can use. (more…)
The Six Things You Need to Know For Marketing To Women
07 months ago
Marketing to Women
Today’s women have emerged as the primary consumers in the U.S. today, making over 85 percent of all consumer purchase decisions, and controlling nearly $7 trillion in consumer and business spending. Yet many marketers continue to recognize this group as a niche market, rather than who they really are: the primary drivers and influencers of most purchase decisions.
The following tips are designed to help marketers and brands build lasting relationships with these key consumers:
1. Don’t engage in one-way dialogue. Many brand campaigns aimed at engaging women fail because they’re delivering one-way messages by talking “at” women, instead of “with” women. Marketers who successfully engage women will do so because they provide information that is both useful and interesting, and that provides the ability for women to engage not only with the brand, but also with each other.
2. Remember that pink is not a marketing strategy. Today’s women are not looking for a watered-down version of a male offering that has been feminized with clicked colors. Instead, they’re looking for solid information, ease of use, stellar customer service, and brands that are looking to build real relationships with them based on their interests, personal identities and problems that they need to solve.
Instead of relying on outdated assumptions and stereotypes, marketers must do the hard work to be relevant to women consumers – taking the time to learn what motivates them to order to present their brands in a meaningful way. A woman’s b.s. meter is always on – she knows when she’s being addressed in an authentic way…and when she’s not. (more…)
Why Buyers Don’t Buy
0Do you sit and wait for your buyer’s to close? They need your solution. They like you. They are OK with the price. What’s going on?
Here are the ‘Dirty Little Secrets’ of why buyers don’t buy, taken from my book of the same name (more…)
Why Your Company Needs a CRM Program
08 months ago
Perhaps you’re now wondering whether or not you need a CRM program after reading my article “What is a CRM?”. The reality is, any business that has more than a few salespeople, or plans to, is going to need a Customer Relationship Management system. So let’s look at the main problems that occur when your business does not have a CRM, and how it offers a solution.
Difficulty Keeping Track of Leads and Customer Management
CRMs are designed to help an organization or business track its leads. If these businesses are not using a CRM, and they have a hundred or more leads, there’s a very good chance that they will drop the ball trying to address all the opportunities. There’s a great chance that conversation with those leads will not occur due to the volume and the confusion that can set in if you are not organized. (more…)