Have you ever tried to fill a leaky bucket? Pouring water into the bucket while water leaks out from the bottom is a fruitless process and a waste of time. The net result is a partially-filled bucket!
Kurt Sima, on April 23, 2018
Have you ever tried to fill a leaky bucket? Pouring water into the bucket while water leaks out from the bottom is a fruitless process and a waste of time. The net result is a partially-filled bucket!
The Center for Sales Strategy, on April 12, 2018
Congratulations. You've conducted a needs analysis and discovered a need for a prospect (their desired business result) for a prospect. But, is that good enough? How many needs did you uncover? Surely a serious conversation with a prospect about current challenges, unrealized opportunities, hassles, and trends, would uncover multiple desired business results.
Matt Sunshine, on February 13, 2018
As a successful salesperson, you’ve probably spent years perfecting your strategy. But picture this: You’re going on three discovery calls a day, and suddenly there’s no follow-up, no next step, and no sale.
Matt Sunshine, on January 23, 2018
If you really want to develop new business with prospects—or even existing clients—try changing your conversation from WHY they should be buying your product to HOW they should use your products and all your other resources to meet their specific needs. (Of course, you have to know what those are, so plan and execute an engaging conversation to discover those needs.) Prospects don’t really want to talk about your product anyway—it’s boring to them.
Kurt Sima, on September 7, 2017
The best B2B salespeople follow a sales strategy that includes the use of a needs analysis meeting with new business prospects or existing customers. Do you?
Without a needs analysis the sales process breaks down transforming salespeople into peddlers—pitching, hoping and praying… pitching, hoping and praying… pitching hoping and praying!
A better approach involves a conversation with customers and new business prospects to uncover business problems or opportunities.
Jim Hopes, on August 29, 2017
Like buried treasure, salespeople have been looking for a short list of magic needs analysis questions forever. So where is that list, and what are the questions on it? Not sure where the list is, but here is an insight into which questions can really get the prospect talking and revealing the trouble or growth opportunities that you might be able to address: Ask questions early on that are relevant to their unique situation today. You can build these questions easily with just a little research. For example…
John Henley, on July 10, 2017
On my final approach into the Atlanta airport recently, I noticed how interesting the view was from 10,000 feet. The planes moving about, the cars arriving, the Porsche Experience Center, and all the surrounding hotels (the new Renaissance Atlanta Gateway is pretty cool by the way). So much to observe.
This made me think about how the 10,000-ft. view is often more interesting and illuminating than the proverbial 30,000-ft. view. This is true when looking at a sales organization as well. The 30,000-ft. view that you tend to take with something like a SWOT analysis or other strategic exercises is good, but the 10,000-ft. view might be more appropriate.
Jim Hopes, on May 25, 2017
Will that “moment of truth” be looming in the next meeting with your prospect – the meeting where you look him or her in the eye and ask for the order? Or, will the next meeting be the one where you confirm the details to implement your plan... because, the prospect already knows most of what is in your proposal (they helped you build it), the price range, and most of what it’s going to take to buy your solution? I hope it’s the latter.
Jim Hopes, on March 23, 2017
Do you really know how you are valued by your customers? Are you seen as a source of expertise, connections, and solutions? Or, are you seen more as someone who simply provides access to your products? It’s an important distinction.
Brian Hasenbauer, on March 14, 2017
The job of a salesperson is one of the oldest job titles in modern business. It’s also a position that’s constantly changing due to technological innovations such as the Internet and e-commerce. While most changes happen slowly, such as the move away from printed catalogs to e-commerce, it’s only in retrospect that you notice the signs that were missed along the way.
The most recent threat to a salesperson’s job is automation and the bypassing of salespeople entirely to purchase directly from a company. This trend started some time ago when companies started to put their products online and discontinued sending salespeople door to door or mailing catalogs each year. I can still remember the excitement that my brother and I had the day the Sears and J.C. Penney catalogs were delivered in the mail. We would bookmark pages, circle what we wanted with markers, and talk about it for hours. Things sure have changed, and one of the companies that’s at the leading edge of the innovations is Amazon.
