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

USE COMPLAINTS AS A SPRING BOARD – Best sales and Marketing Ideas #77

101 Best sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 77: USE COMPLAINTS AS A SPRING – BOARD Even the best-run companies get some complaints. It may be to do with the product, the service that goes with it, or such matters as delivery or technical support. The first way in which to see complaints is as a … Read more

BRAG, BUT DO SO CONVINCINGLY – Best Sales and Marketing Ideas #76

101 Best Sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 76: BRAG, BUT DO SO CONVINCINGLY Customers want to know that you are competent, knowledgeable, and generally “know your stuff.” Only then do they feel able to deal with you with confidence. You need to tell them, but out- and-out bragging can not only sound unsuitable-“He’s just a … Read more

TAKE A LONG-TERM VIEW – Best sales and marketing Ideas #75

101 Best sales and marketing Ideas IDEA 75: TAKE A LONG-TERM VIEW It is an old maxim of the world of selling that the job is not to make a sale, but to make a customer. The implication is that the business you can obtain over the longer term is more important than clinching a … Read more

PUT VALUE ON INFORMATION ABOUT THE CUSTOMER – Best Sales and marketing Ideas #74

101 Best Sales and marketing Ideas IDEA 74: PUT VALUE ON INFORMATION ABOUT THE CUSTOMER The importance of asking questions and listening to the answers has already been stressed. So too has the need to tailor, and be seen to be tailoring, the case you make to an individual customer. One simple mechanism you do … Read more

MOTIVATION AS A CATALYST – Best Sales and Marketing Ideas #73

101 Best Sales and Marketing Ideas IDEA 73: MOTIVATION AS A CATALYST It is again the nature of the sales job that it can be repetitive. One call follows another, and many may involve saying essentially the same thing to each customer. I have already recommended tailoring the sales message, but the point remains. Because … Read more