PD Strategies Blog

This is a good time to talk about this subject as we are doing our annual goals review. The questions is, “How do we generate sales?” Transactional sales might be going to Walmart or buying online from Amazon. There is a set of requirements for those organizations. These organizations differentiate themselves on price, being in stock and quick delivery. Does your organization differentiate on these areas? Probably not. You create value a different way and the way sales are made are most likely is creating value through trust through relationship building. You don’t have a commodity do you so really people are buying YOU. Here are 7 ideas that will open your current sales thinking and help you become more effective in your selling activities: 1. Don’t use a sales pitch but instead start a conversation. When you call someone, avoid making a mini-presentation about yourself, your company, and what you...

Nothing is more important to a relationship than mutual trust. People do business with people they live and trust. The same is true with team member. They give the power to the leader they like and trust. A goal of a salesperson is to complete a transaction. But a goal for a person who wants to be a trusted advisor is to create a loyal customer relationship based on credibility, trust, and respect. Dan Pink, in his book, “To Sell is Human,” contends that everyone is in sales whether we have the title or not. He repackages it as “the art of moving people.” Everyone practices this art from salespeople to consultants and teachers. The old formula of sales no longer works. Those who remember sales from years ago remember ABC which means Always Be Closing. This tactic no longer works in today’s information rich environment. In the past, using gimmicks...

I am not going to talk about sales here but how to move or influence people. According to Dan Pink we are all in sales. I strongly recommend reading Dan Pink’s book, TO SELL IS HUMAN THE SURPRISING TRUTH ABOUT MOVING OTHERS. I have the audio version in my car. Yes, we are all in sales no matter what our job title; be it teacher, manager, or parent because our communication needs to be a dialogue that influences others. Here are 7 ideas that will open your current sales thinking and help you become more effective in influencing: 1. Don’t use a “pitch” but instead start a conversation. When you call someone, avoid making a mini-presentation about yourself, your company, and what you have to offer. Start with an opening conversational phrase that focuses on a specific problem that your product or service solves 2. Your central goal is always to...

Sometimes we can all use a friendly reminder that sales today is more about developing relationships rather than closing sales. Here are 7 ideas that will open up your current sales thinking and help you become more effective in your selling activities: 1. Don’t use a sales pitch but instead start a conversation. When you call someone, avoid making a mini-presentation about yourself, your company, and what you have to offer. Start with an opening conversational phrase that focuses on a specific problem that your product or service solves 2. Your central goal is always to discover whether you and your potential client are a good fit. Let go of trying to “close the sale” or “get the appointment.” If you simply focus your conversation on problems that you can help potential clients solve, and if you don’t jump the gun by trying to move the sales process forward, you will...

A key core competency in management and in sales is Relationship Management. Being able to influence people is a skill that needs to be developed. Those who are successful influencers are able to move people to action by showing them what is in it for them. All consultants (internal or external) and all managers will have great success if they learn this. Trust is vitally important, and this is built on credibility and respect. In this information age anyone can look something up. No one holds a knowledge monopoly anymore. Dan Pink, in his book, “To Sell is Human,” talks about how we are all in sales so to speak. He calls this the art of moving people and it applies to everyone from consultants to teachers. The old formula of sales no longer works. Those who remember sales from years ago remember ABC which means Always Be Closing. This is...

People don’t like to be sold but they sure like to buy. The school of sales that says, “Always be closing,” is closed! This is not today’s sales. And here is another fact. We are all in sales no matter what our job because we seek, at some time or another, to influence others. We need to build relationships first. If you want to be a trusted assistant buyer, you need to be a problem solver. Here are some ways to become that problem solver. 1. Don’t use a sales pitch but instead start a conversation. When you call someone, avoid making a mini-presentation about yourself, your company, and what you have to offer. Start with an opening conversational phrase that focuses on a specific problem that your product or service solves 2. Your central goal is always to discover whether you and your potential client are a good fit. Let...

People do not like to be sold but they sure love to buy. Today people may even be saying that they want to buy but not top of mind now. There is please going on in minds of individuals and companies. In these turbulent times it might be I am not even sure what to do next. But people do need to buy and we still do need sales. We need sales more than ever but we no longer need or want the old time sales where the salesperson has more information than the customer and uses that information disparity to persuade (or force) the customer to commit. Now we must be more skilled in the sales profession because we are an assistant buyer assisting a highly educated customer find a solution.     Helping provide a solution requires attunement. We will be more attuned if we ask important questions and listen carefully...

If you have been reading or following successful business owners, they will tell you to never stop marketing. Have you slowed down your marketing because of the current crisis? Maybe you have had so much business recently that you just took care of business but stopped feeding your pipeline. If you are still feeding your pipeline do not stop. If you have not, then it is time to get back to basics. Networking is a great way to build your business. But just like your other business processes, you need to have a networking process. You should have goals and measured outcomes. And here are a few examples of goal categories:      Identify suspects (those who might become prospects with further qualification)     Develop strategic alliances (sell things that compliment your product or service)     Develop referral sources     Develop and maintain relationships      Interactively prospect     Impact sales results You can achieve greater results in...

Many business advisors and sales consultants talk about how they want to be a trusted advisor to their client. Becoming a trusted advisor is a process that is built on credibility, trust and respect. Now more than ever we must put being a trusted advisor first. Dan Pink has written a particularly good book on the topic titled, “To Sell is Human”. In my opinion this goes to the heart of being a trusted advisor. Those who remember sales from years ago remember ABC which means Always Be Closing. This is a tactic that no longer works in today’s information rich environment. Using gimmicks to get sales in the past occurred because the buyer did not know what the seller knew. A person coming into a used car sales showroom never knew if the car was a “cream puff” or a “lemon.” Today we buy things from the Internet. In fact,...

No one likes to be sold. The recipient or the buyer who has been sold has the feeling that someone just did something to him or her. Many times, people who feel as if they have been sold have buyer’s remorse. On the other hand, people sure do love to buy. Moreover, surveys have should that people’s perception of salespeople range from necessary to swarmy. Just about all of us are in sales in some form and we certainly don’t want to be seen that way. So, let’s move from the sales side and help our client buy. In effect, be the assistant buyer. What is your perception of your doctor when you have a problem or a pain? If you are going because of stress, anxiety, or pain you are looking for the doctor to diagnose and solve your pain. What is different here? If you visit your doctor because...

The goal of a salesperson is to complete a transaction. The goal of a trusted advisor is to create a loyal customer relationship based on credibility, trust and respect. In reality both of these individuals is a salesperson but they approach the buying and selling process in remarkably different ways. Dan Pink, in his book, “To Sell is Human,” contends that everyone is in sales whether we have the title or not. He repackages it as “the art of moving people.” Everyone practices this art from salespeople to consultants and teachers. The old formula of sales no longer works. Those who remember sales from years ago remember ABC which means Always Be Closing. This tactic no longer works in today’s information rich environment. In the past, using gimmicks to close was successful because the seller had more information than the buyer which gave the seller the upper hand. Today we buy...

How do you see sales? Sometimes we think of the skillful of hard driving individual who “closes” a client. This is not today’s sales. And here is another fact. We are all in sales no matter what our job because we seek, at some time or another, to influence others. We need to build relationships firsts. Here are 7 ideas that will open your current sales thinking and help you become more effective in your selling activities: 1. Don’t use a sales pitch but instead start a conversation. When you call someone, avoid making a mini-presentation about yourself, your company, and what you have to offer. Start with an opening conversational phrase that focuses on a specific problem that your product or service solves 2. Your central goal is always to discover whether you and your potential client are a good fit. Let go of trying to “close the sale” or...

It is no accident that two core competencies of human resource professionals, for example, include consultation and relationship management. And this is no different for other professionals whether internal company consultants or external sales consultants. Trust is vitally important, and this is built on credibility and respect. With this new understanding, internal and external consultants can help in the decision-making process using information all parties have readily available, thanks to the Internet. They days where one side (usually the seller) had all the information is over. Dan Pink, in his book, “To Sell is Human,” talks about how we are all in sales so to speak. He calls this the art of moving people and it applies to everyone from consultants to teachers. The old formula of sales no longer works. Those who remember sales from years ago remember ABC which means Always Be Closing. This is a tactic no longer...

We visit our doctor solve a problem. That problem has something to do with our health. Let’s say we have a pain in our knee. Our doctor does a thorough examination. She asks us questions such as, where does it hurt? How long has it hurt? She may then suggest some of the causes of such pain such as a torn tendon. Then she asks if you have experienced unusual activity that might be related to our knee pain. She is helping us discover the root cause of our pain so that we will understand the need for surgery, if necessary.   If we are in sales, if we manage a team, or if we teach wouldn’t the doctor’s approach create the best results? According to Dan Pink in his book “To Sell is Human” we have gone from a world of Caveat Emptor (buyer beware) to one of Caveat Venditor...

People have a perception of a salesperson as a pushy person trying to convince someone to buy something he or she does not need. If you have been a buyer you know the stress involved in going into a car showroom to buy your next car. With these images in mind it is no wonder that people are reluctant to become salespeople. Now what is your perception of your doctor when you have a problem or a pain? If you are going because of stress, anxiety, or pain you are looking for the doctor to relieve your pain and solve your problem. This is the exact opposite image that you might feel about sales? Is it the profession or is it something else? It is something else and here is why. If you visit your doctor because you have a pain in your back the doctor does a complete examination and...

People do not like to be sold but they sure like to buy. Most if not all of us are in some form of sales but to be successful we need to more to the buyer side of the table and assist them in buying. So here are seven ideas to help you open a conversation and assist your clients in buying: 1. Don’t use a sales pitch but instead start a conversation. When you call someone, avoid making a mini-presentation about yourself, your company, and what you have to offer. Start with an opening conversational phrase that focuses on a specific problem that your product or service solves 2. Your central goal is always to discover whether you and your potential client are a good fit. Let go of trying to “close the sale” or “get the appointment.” If you simply focus your conversation on problems that you can help...

If you don’t have a clear message people will not understand you. When asking entrepreneurs about one of the biggest business challenges a large majority with answer Marketing. According to the American Marketing Association, “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large”. That is a complex statement. I would simply define as being top of mind when your prospect is ready to buy. Do you know your target market?   It is important to define the parameters of your ideal prospects because it will help you to focus on those areas and people with whom you have the highest probability of success! This may be counter intuitive but in defining your market less is more. The best way to do this is to identify your competitive advantage and determine who is most likely...

The easiest way to lose trust with your customer is by making promises you cannot keep. No one wants to intentionally lie but frankly many people in sales are not completely truthful with their clients. Why? The biggest excuse I hear is that they are afraid to be negative with their client. They think that if they don’t tell the client what they think the client wants to hear then that client or prospect will go somewhere else. That might be true in some cases but wouldn’t you rather be the salesperson who exceeds your customers’ expectations rather the one that disappoints the customer? A skilled salesperson knows how to manage the customer’s expectations and then over deliver on those expectations. No one likes to say no. You want to say yes to everything so that you customer will decide to go with you and your product or service. You really...

Many salespeople start the sales process by asking a closing question? For example, did you ever look at a car and have the salesperson approach you with this question: “What would it take to have you drive home in this new car today?” The salesperson wants you to say yes. However, an experienced salesperson will tell you that you shouldn’t ask a closing question until you are sure that the answer will be “Yes!” This means that you first need to determine your prospect’s wants and needs. I have found in my coaching process that most people having trouble with sales do not take the time to ask questions of their prospects before asking for the sale. You won’t make the sale if you move too quickly just as you would not drive to a destination ignoring all traffic lights. Think of the sales buying selling process as a series of...

People do not like to be sold but they sure love to buy. There is a lot of truth in that statement.   Today we have many opportunities to self-select or products and services by researching everything we want to know about a potential purchase. All we have to do is Google it. With all of that why do we need sales? We need sales more than ever but we no longer need or want the old time sales where the salesperson has more information than the customer and uses that information disparity to persuade (or force) the customer to commit. Now we must be more skilled in the sales profession because we are an assistant buyer assisting a highly educated customer find a solution.     Helping provide a solution requires attunement. We will be more attuned if we ask important questions and listen carefully for the answer then ask more questions...