Professional Selling Skills Training: Reaching C-Level People

A recent question was posed of "The Sales Hunter":

"I call almost exclusively on C-level people. Getting their attention, response and return calls is really an issue. Any thoughts on the virtue of e-mail vs snail mail vs telelphone?"

The best way to reach C-level people is to use every technique: voice mail, e-mail, regular mail, fax, etc. It is very important that you not allow yourself to become dependent on any single method since what you might think is the best means may not be one they pay any attention to. Email, for instance, might be the easiest, but with the level of spam filters in place, it's amazing what doesn't go through. Keep in mind that one of the main reasons to communicate with c-level people through multiple methods is to allow the gatekeeper to get used to seeing you. This is another reason not to be sending a ton of sales materials to them no matter how good you think they are. The key is to send the c-level person information they will find helpful in their job. I like to send industry articles, information regarding changes in government regulations, and other things they will find beneficial. By sending this type of information, they will begin to think of you in a different light.

Professional Selling Skills Training: Sales Prospecting Perils

Closing a sale with a prospect does not mean it's time to cut your margin. As we get close to the end of the year, there are a large number of sales people scrambling to make their numbers and it's tempting to start cutting margins. Don't do it, no matter how desperate you are. It's amazing how as soon as you cut your margin once, you'll come back and do it again, and again, and again. I know I've said this before, but it's an issue worth repeating. To avoid cutting your margin, first, sell to the customer's needs and benefits and, second, sell while you have time on your side. We don't have the space here to elaborate on this but I'll make sure I add more to this in the weeks ahead.

Sales Training Tip: Why Tips Don’t Work

Last week, a salesperson contacted me to say that their sales were not growing despite having read a number of sales tips that they believed really fit their sales needs. After spending a couple of minutes talking to the person, I helped them realize that they had been merely thinking about the sales training tips, not really putting them into use. Unfortunately, I’ve heard this issue many times before. Often salespeople like what they hear and know what they need to do, but, in the end, fail to do anything about it. It's imperative that you don’t just read or think about something. Get out there and do it! (Gee, isn’t that what a certain shoe company says to do?)

Sales Training Tip #151: Low "Trial" Closes

When you’re about to "trial" close a customer, be careful not to mention anything that may come across as an amount or quantity less than what you want the buyer ultimately to buy.