September 2009 Entries
As a follow-up to the Sales Probe posting last week in this space, today’s entry discusses “effective questioning” during a sales call. This includes not only the questions to ask the customer, but also the art of knowing how to ask them. If you don’t know what questions to ask, your time with the customer will be wasted. Likewise, if you know the right question to ask, but ask in a way that’s irritating or confusing, you won’t get useful information, and risk upsetting the delicate balance of your business relationship.
In that mode, BNET published some hints regarding effective questioning:
Rule #1: Never meet...
I don’t usually post again so soon (I just posted last night!) but was driven to do so by Keith Ferrazzi’s excellent blog today “10 Ways to Become Indispensable at Work”. No matter if you work for yourself, or for a large company, these concepts can be applied to making yourself valuable to your business (and personal) stakeholders. I cannot (and don’t even want to try) to improve on it. Here it is, reprinted in its entirety:
Forget your job title. The way to become indispensable at work is to add value beyond your job description. Starting today, you’ve got to figure out what exceptional...
My post this morning was inspired by comments in Chris Brogan’s latest blogging newsletter. (It’s interesting, Chris has a very successful website and blog, yet has also begun to send out a personal newsletter, explaining that he can handle more personal, introspective subjects there. Sort of retro in this day of twitter, IM, and blogging. But read on…)
Like Chris, I have noticed that my personal reading and writing styles have changed rather dramatically over the years. This evolutionary process has rapidly shifted in the past few years as blogging, social networking, and corporate downsizing have increased. According to surveys, we’re reading more text...
It’s often thought that the best salespeople are “talkers.” Sure, good communication skills are important in sales, but listening and persuasive questioning skills will outweigh “good talking” every time.
When you want to persuade another person to undertake a specific action, several methods may be used, all of them based on effective and strategic statements and questions, structured around feedback you have received from a customer. Let’s take a look at each type of approach.
The Direct Statement
Why not just be direct and TELL them what they should do? Most salespeople are sensitive to being branded as “pushy” so this solution is not the...
As I work with clients on training and sales productivity initiatives, many need advice on how to implement these changes. Too many feel that a flurry of emails and procedural rules and announcements are the proper process. We advise them to get personally involved, leveraging their position and support for the effort. Without a doubt, however, they must also involve their group’s “opinion leaders” and influencers in the process as well, assuring they are on-board with the new initiative. Change is interactive, and must be managed by including all its “moving parts.” Without addressing this element, it’s likely doomed to fail.
A recent Fast Company...
I attended a WFF Regional Connect on Thursday evening here in ATL, and picked up some great tips on networking. Ironically, earlier in the day, I happened to also see a feed from Keith Ferrazzi on follow-up…an important part of the networking process. Properly implemented and managed, it can convey a true interest in the individual, as opposed out reaching out for commercial reasons only.
Here is a mash-up of both content-rich events…
If you want to stand out from the crowd, FOLLOW-UP. Put simply, few are adept at this simple step. Develop your brand with focused (and smart) follow-up techniques. Fixing your name (and story)...
Nick Morgan recently posted an insightful blog entry entitled Ten Steps to Improve your Presentations. Reprinted here (enhanced by my own experiential insight) as follows:
1. Lose the Power Point. PowerPoint slides force the audience to look at 2 or 3 points at once: you, your slides, and perhaps a materials handout. That’s too distracting. If its possible, don’t use PowerPoint at all during your presentation. However, we all know that often a PPT is expected of you…just keep it as background, with a bare minimum of information. Promise everyone a digital copy if they give you their card, and if resource handouts are required, don’t...