Selling-solutions? What are you really selling? How would you answer this question? I always ask this question during my sales training programs for my corporate clients. Here's a sample of the responses I typically get: "I sell dental supplies." "I sell laboratory supplies." "I sell (insert the name of your service)." "I sell medical supplies." "I sell lumber, doors, and windows." I think you get the picture. Look, if you're in sales you're probably selling a product or a service. And that's understood! The best way to start selling more products is to start selling-solutions. If you think Starbucks is selling coffee you are mistaken. If you think Home Depot is only selling products for the home you are mistaken. You should be selling-solutions. Solutions to customer problems. Recently, Starbucks has been expanding rapidly and added sandwiches which changed the aroma of their fabulous coffee and slowed down their overall service. And because of their rapid growth they couldn't keep up with staff sales training. The results are in - they just reported their first decrease in customer visits last year. They forgot what they were selling - the upscale coffee experience. Now they are scrambling to win back the customers they lost. Good luck in this down economy. Home Depot cut back on its in-store experts and service in general which has opened the doors for Lowe's and their explosive growth. They cut back service which means they stopped selling solutions. C. Britt Beemer, a retail analyst, says "if you're going to keep customers happy, they have to have a great experience and have it consistently." The picture gets worse when he adds, "I've never seen so many retailers in my life that know less about their customers than they do today." This is just not about retailers. How well do you know your customers? How well do you know your customer's customers? You'd better know your customers pretty well if you want to grow your business during 2008. How do salespeople get better at what they do? My best guess is through sales training - every year. Stupid is as stupid does. Do you really know what that means? I did some research on the Internet and came across this - It means that "An intelligent person who does stupid things is still stupid. You are what you do." If you're selling, it could apply to you too. Here's an example. When the economy is tight and sales are soft - many sales executives cut back or eliminate sales training. Stupid is as stupid does. I can't make this stuff up, here's an e-mail I received yesterday and to protect the sender I won't name names. "I would absolutely love to attend your Tampa Boot Camp - scheduled for May 7-8. However, both my sales manager and the owner of the company do not believe attending seminars, etc." Let's rally our lumberjacks to chop more wood next year and remember we don't have the time and the money to sharpen their axes! This might be a classic example of stupid is as stupid does. I'll bet this company is really focused on selling-solutions - yeah right! There are only a handful of reasons why you should consider signing up for my Sales Training Boot Camp. They include: 1. You'll walk away with 25 - 75 sales tips and techniques you can use to grow your business. 2. You'll learn the 12 best questions to ask customers to help you uncover customer problems and allow you to sell solutions to solve these problems. 3. You'll learn how to differentiate yourself from your biggest competitor's. Please don't think your personality and fingerprints make you different enough to make a difference. 4. You'll learn how to prepare sales proposals that scream value. No more defending your price, you'll learn how to explain the value of your solutions in your proposals. 5. You'll learn how to simply and easily close a sale. You'll eliminate the "Closing butterflies" when you ask for the business "My way!" 6. You'll also learn how to avoid sounding pathetic during a sales call. I'll teach you how not to sound like your competitors - which of course makes you sound pathetic. I hope you realize it's possible to have 10 years of sales experience and it could mean you have one year repeated 10 times. Yikes! Tough times require tough decisions. You don't have to take my sales training, but for Pete's sake get some sales training to help you outsell, outsmart, and two out-earn all of your competitors. Effective sales training will expand your mind and increase your self-confidence. And it's the easiest way to start selling more today and everyday. "Stupid is as stupid does!" "An intelligent person who does stupid things is still stupid. You are what you do." What are you going to do? Train with me and I'll show you how to sell what you should be selling - solutions! Jim - sign me up right now for your Sales Training Boot Camp, I'm ready to learn how to start selling-solutions so I can start selling more today and everyday! Cut and paste this
link into your browser. Selling-solutions is easy once you learn how to do it properly!
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