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Sales Chat, Stories, Shared Ideas. This is Your Page - Go For It!
John Susko
Trade show attire Posted 5:07 PM on 06/04/08 - Reply to this postWhat is appropriate dress for a software trade show? My colleagues think "business casual" is okay, i.e. light blue company logo shirt (button down collar) and tan pants (yikes) !!! I totally disagree, and think our attire should be one level above that of attendees - meaning we wear a dark suit, white shirt, and tie.
John Caldwell
One notch above Posted 3:34 AM on 06/10/08 - Reply to this postFrom experience (nearly 30 years in the consumer electronics industry), dressinng one notch above what the attendees are wearing is always best. Not two or three nothes above them. Example: if the attendee/customer is wearing kakai's and sport shirts, you can add a sport coat and a button down shirt. If the attendees are wearing slacks and sport coats, you wear a suit and a tie. Good selling! John Caldwell StJohn Group, Inc.
Doug Miller - Charlotte
How to dress for seminars Posted 9:25 AM on 06/10/08 - Reply to this postJohn I recently exhibited at a technology conference in Myrtle Beach. Our display didn't arrive so we had to get creative. We hung our compamy flip flops and beach balls on the back drop. I then purchased a boogie board to enhance the motif. Then we thought that since it's a beach thing and we are a company that provides solutions for controllong where an employee can "surf" the net, we wore company ball caps, company shirts, shorts and flip flops. It was a hit and received 3 times the leads we received last year.
Pauline
What to wear Posted 12:11 AM on 06/14/08 - Reply to this postI suggest you dress in the manner of a person from whom you would purchase your goods or services. So if you're selling expensive items, wear a good suit, no one wants to buy an expensive car from a guy in a track suit!
Chris
The Complex Sale Posted 11:32 AM on 06/03/08 - Reply to this postI am an entrepreneur and I own a small interactive firm. We've created some Absolutely UNIQUE offerings that I know C levels will be very interested in. The average sale is more than $100K. The trouble is... I'm not a great sales guy. We have the clout, with work done for Dell, MGM, Ford, etc... I'm hoping to find a sales partner that would be the perfect compliment to my efforts. Any suggestions? My contact info: chris@vanthomas.tv
Isabel
Closing the sale? Posted 10:06 AM on 06/03/08 - Reply to this postEveryone needs advertising design so I should have no problem opening up the phone book, closing my eyes and picking someone to call. What I do now is when I call, I tell myself I am searching for the sales climate of the business I am calling. I start the call off with, "I saw your ad in the phone book." That is a great opener so far. Then I ask them how they go about getting business. Some companies are really on the ball, some companies get mad at me for asking, and some companies are open to my suggestions. Believe it or not, carrying the prospect from suggestions to closing is what I'm having a lot of problems with. The problem is its a blank page in my brain. I don't know why I am nervous about it, but I am. I'm telling them how much it will cost to do the work and asking them to buy the service. I stutter and sputter. Help invited.
Cindy
Closing the Sale (for Isabel) Posted 2:43 PM on 06/06/08 - Reply to this postAfter you call & mention the ad, ask prospect how long they've been in business-that you've heard great things about them from people in the neighborhood -- an opener for prospect to talk about himself/herself. After prospect's done talking and talking, ask "by the way, do you have an ad designer in-house?" Let's say the answer is no, but they do advertise. Say, "I'd like to stop in and pick up a couple samples of what you need designed, and provide you with my designs, and a competitive bid. Would that be ok? What time should I stop in?" Until your own business starts rolling in, you'll do a little pro-bono work.
Josh
try this Posted 2:33 PM on 05/31/08 - Reply to this postI always ask a series of personal questions to new prospects to get to know them better, all which have nothing to do with sales. They are part of our mission to make our clients our best friends. They are questions like: What is a hobby of yours outside of work? How long have you been at your job? What is your biggest pet peeve about your industry. I own my own entertainment booking company, and once i used these, my sales grew to over $500,000 a year. Try it, it works. Clients appreciate you trying to get to know them better, and i have not met a lot of my clients in person, ever. Notice, i do not sell anything or try to in the questions. Over time, i offer more advice they find valuable and they eventually come to the conclusion we are the experts, their friends, and become our long term clients and our competitors don't matter anymore.
Break the ice
Joseph Posted 4:10 AM on 06/05/08 - Reply to this postHow do you go about that? I mean, lets say I'm a new client and give you a call... I'm asking this because if I call someone I don't want to automatically start asking them personal questions. How do you break the ice... I don't have a problem doing any of this is person but I'm in the process of improving my phone talk.
JUSTIN B.
tough sales Posted 10:41 PM on 05/30/08 - Reply to this postI have just entered magazine advertising sales. 99% of my clients are spread across the country, therefore I will never have the opportunity to meet them face to face. Therefore cold-calling and email are my two vehicles to make contact. How do i create a good relationship with someone I am likely to never to meet face to face and subsequently make a sale?
Joffrey Lion (Belgium)
not so tough Posted 11:21 AM on 06/02/08 - Reply to this postI believe it is not necessary to see someone face to face to have a good professional relationship and to close deals. You can do business on the phone … as long as you bring something valuable to the person you are calling. Since the person you are calling does not see you, pay more attention to the way you are saying things. The phone is a superb communication tool to do business and maintain relationships. You don’t lose precious time traveling all the way. I realize this more and more. PS: don’t use emails to create, maintain a relationship … it is a total waste of time. I wish you all the best with your new sales career.
Chris
Cold Calling = Satan Posted 6:30 PM on 05/29/08 - Reply to this postI absolutely hate cold calling. Some weeks I have make contacts and other weeks are just poor. I know cold calling is a sales MUST. But I am looking for an easier way to make cold calling fun. I have tried to make cold calling a part of my personality, but every script or "professional" that I follow fails on me, it always ends up on "I am not interested" and the phone rudely is hung up. I do my research about the industry and what they do, but it all seems like a waste after. So I need help and advice how to get that appointment. By the way my sales are so low, my company open up a new position for me to work part-time just because they see so much potential in me to become the next Superstar. Should I open up with an introduction such as "Hey Mr. Prospect, my name is Chris I am with xyz radio, I customize advertising programs for businesses like yourself. I wanted to see if we could get together and see if your business and I could work together in the future." or should I open with a question. "Hey Mr. Prospect. I’m just calling to see if your company is open to new ideas of generating leads for your business. I have developed some exciting ideas for local businesses like yours that may be able to increase your sales volume.”
Shad M
Stop doing business that way! Posted 12:32 PM on 05/30/08 - Reply to this postYou should do neither. If you can't find a way to make a connection BEFORE the call, then you lose. What do I mean? You need to find people who know the people you want to meet with. OR, you need to figure out a way to get them to know YOU. Email, blogs, internet, newsletters, ezines, all of these are tools the 21st century salesperson needs to understand and use regularly to be a success. The days of cold calling on the phone are rapidly becoming (and have already become) useless. You are but one in a million who always say it, cold calling sucks. Why? Because nobody (yourself included) like to be interrupted in their day with someone they don't know selling something they weren't thinking about to begin with. It doesn't mean that don't need your product, just that it probably isn't on their mind right then (or they would have called you). My advice, read Jeffrey's Little Red Books, study them, and then re-read them. Then use his Little Black Book of Connections to start doing business a new way, and a more profitable one. I started a leads group based on the "Black Book" with like minded professionals. The "quota" to stay in the group is one lunch introduction with a prospect per quarter. Just last week I took one of the members to lunch with a client of mine because I thought they could do business. We sat down and I introduced them, we talked personal stuff for a bit, and then I gave my member a little segue and they talked about how he could help my client. How much better is that than a cold call?
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