NO PROBLEM – Best Sales and Marketing Ideas #92

101 Best Sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 92: NO PROBLEM As I write this I am arranging a training course for a large multinational IT company, to be held in its office in Singapore. (I work there regularly). With participants assembling from five countries, and an HR manager who keeps tinkering with the agenda, there … Read more

BIG STRATEGIES – Best sales and Marketing Ideas #91

101 Best sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 91: BIG STRATEGIES Not only are some customers different from others (it has already been stressed here that customer need individual treatment), some are also larger than others, in terms of either business received from them or potential. A big customer is sometimes satisfying and gratefully simply labelled … Read more

A TELLING SONG – Best Sales and Marketing Ideas #90

101 Best Sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 90: A TELLING SONG The idea here is important, but the example that brought it to mind is not strictly a sales one. First, some brief background: I have recently written a travel book (First Class – At Last!, Marshall Cavendish), which focuses on a journey from Singapore … Read more

THE POWER OF DESCRIPTION – Best Sales and Marketing Ideas #89

101 Best Sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 89: THE POWER OF DESCRIPTION Everyone in selling must know the concept of features and benefits, and that, to use and an old phrase; you sell the sizzle and not the sausages. People buy something because of what it does for them, or means to them; that is, … Read more

BE PREPARED – Best Sales and Marketing ideas #88

101 Best Sales and Marketing ideas IDEA 88: BE PREPARED Every text about selling stresses the need for preparation, and the danger of trying to wing it. Yet there are occasion when many sales people do just that. They think they have everything in mind, and that no further thought is necessary. This area is … Read more

ON YOUR FEET – Best sales and Marketing Ideas #87

101 Best sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 87: ON YOUR FEET Not all selling takes place in a one-to-one meeting. It can take place in many situations: in farmyard (always keep Wellington boots in your car boot if you’re likely to end up in this environment), in a noisy factory, or across the dinner table. … Read more

LONG TERM CONTACT – Best Sales and marketing Ideas #86

101 Best Sales and marketing Ideas IDEA 86: LONG-TERM CONTACT Sometimes it is the case that business does not materialize quickly. We would always like an order now, but the customer will be guided by their timing needs, and it may not be possible to avoid delay. Equally, even a customer who orders and is … Read more

LET COMPETITION HELP – Best Sales and marketing Ideas #85

101 Best Sales and marketing Ideas IDEA 85: LET COMPETITION HELP Most (all?) markets are competitive these days, and it is normal in many businesses for every purchase to be made by buyers in some way weighing up an offering against the competition. There is no way of selling that negates this entirely, although a powerful … Read more

NOT JUST LOGICAL – Best sales and marketing Ideas #84

101 Best sales and marketing Ideas IDEA 84: NOT JUST LOGICAL People need a reason to buy. Especially with technical or complex products, and certainly in areas of industrial and business-to-business purchasing, buyers make logical decisions. They weigh up the evidence and see how something stacks up. They compare one supplier with another. But it … Read more

USE THAT SALES MEETING – Best sales and Marketing Ideas #83

101 Best sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 83: USE THAT SALES MEETING As a consultant I find that asking staff about sales meetings gives me a good idea of the likely quality of a company’s sales team. If the response is dismissive (“What wastes of time why don’t they just let us get on and … Read more

A STRONG BRAND – Best Sales and Marketing Ideas #82

101 Best Sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 82: A STRONG BRAND In areas where the brand and brand image is a powerful factor, it is important to actually use that in selling. A strong and positive brand image is an expensive thing to create and maintain, and many well-known brand names have been many years … Read more

MAKE AN EXHIBITION OF YOURSELF – Best Sales and marketing Ideas #81

101 Best Sales and marketing Ideas IDEA 81: MAKE AN EXHIBITION OF Y0URSELF In some circumstances, like at an exhibition, sales people need to be prepared to take a positive and appropriate initiative. Nobody should ever say “Can I help you?” (To which most say, instinctively, “No thank you”). Nor should you launch into along technical … Read more

LOG OBJECTIONS – Best sales and Marketing Ideas #80

101 Best sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 80: LOG OBJECTIONS Objections are ubiquitous in selling. We know we will get some, and we know too, from experience, that they should be regarded as a sign of interest. (No one is going to be bothered to query something they have dismissed out of hand). We also … Read more

FOCUS ON USERS – Best sales and Marketing Ideas #79

101 Best sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 79: FOCUS ON USERS For most successful products there are lots of good things to say about them. They have all the latest technology and design, and are well proven in use. You may well say that not only is this case with your products, you are well … Read more

AGREE THE IMPOSSIBLE – Best Sales and marketing Ideas #78

101 Best Sales and marketing Ideas IDEA 78: AGREE THE IMPOSSIBLE Price is always sensitive issues in selling. Buyers want value for money, they want a bargain, and they may want to negotiate. They might unashamedly challenge the price you quote in order to try to obtain a better one. Indeed they may well genuinely … Read more