The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

It’s been said that “price objections melt in the presence of a bright idea.” And there is some truth to that axiom. But selling ideas is hardly a novel approach these days. In fact, your competitors attempt to do that every day.

The best B2B salespeople use a sales strategy that includes personal positioning. Here’s how you can get into this game and attract new business prospects:

When you think of what characteristics make a successful company, marketing campaign or team there are certain traits and factors that help to sort out the best and worst, the winners from the losers. This is true with inbound marketing and lead generation programs as well. 

During a recent workshop, I played the part of the prospect as one seller after another approached me with their list of needs analysis questions. And almost without exception, the sellers' priority seemed to be getting through the list of questions they and their team had prepared, rather than harvesting the information I was hoping to offer.

Package selling is not necessarily for product peddlers only. You CAN sell a package without losing focus on the customer and her unique needs.

There are people who like to win, people who hope to win, people who want to win, and people who try to win. And then there are the people who absolutely, positively, without a doubt HAVE to win.

So, you have an appointment with a new prospect. That’s good. Is it clear to the prospect what you’ll be talking about, or did you sort of leave a few important details out just to get your foot in the door?  After all, once they spend a little time with you, they’ll be charmed with you, right?

Your friend calls and ask you to meet him on Saturday night. Do you say yes? Maybe he just needs you to drive again, but maybe he has tickets to the sold out concert. Even with a trusted friend, you would want to know why his offer is better than what you already have planned.

When you come up with a proposal for a client or prospect, where do you believe the “value added” is? Do you think it’s in the price-per-product cost? Do you think it is found in free services that come with the proposal? Or, do you believe most of the value added lies in your ability to uncover the prospect’s critical needs, and the bright ideas you’ve brought to the table to solve those specific needs? 

Additionally, might some of that value be in the assistance you’ll provide to implement that solution without a hitch? Or, could it be that you are knowledgeable about their industry, and have spotted trends for them in the past?  Could it be the expertise you drew upon to come up with a creative and specific solution to their most pressing need? 

One of the greatest and most well known benefits of blogging (aka Content Marketing) is the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) effects that you gain by publishing blog posts and premium content on a regular basis.

However, if you are not utilizing certain best practices and guides for authoring effective content your efforts will not be optimized, and it will take longer and more effort to achieve your desired results.

Some people desire complete collaboration and group decisions and they seek lots of guidance in their daily work to make sure they are on-track.  

Many times when salespeople fail to make a sale on a new prospect, they walk away not knowing exactly what went wrong. The answer generally lies in a hurdle they were not able to clear or a sign-off that caused the sale to fail.

Here's a provocative thought; you may be getting objections just as often by asking for too little as you do by asking for too much!