Tag Archives: free sales skill training techniques

Non-verbals in the sales call (or job interview)

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Note: I’ve brought this post over from my older blog site, SellingFace-to-Face.com, as I am in the process of migrating the relevant posts from that old site to this.

An article in the archives of the website of Britain’s New Scientist magazine is  very relevant to our main topic here, which of course is Selling face to face.  The article:  “Come-to-work eyes: Secrets of interview success,” by Michael Bond.  After all, walking in to meet with a sales prospect isn’t so very different from walking in to a job interview.

The link is below so you can read the whole article, but here are a couple of things that particularly struck me.

  • First impressions count.  The article cites one study that “found that untrained observers who watched a video of the first 20 to 30 seconds of a job interview were astonishingly accurate at predicting whether the applicant would be offered the job. That doesn’t mean the observers were especially good at picking good candidates. It means the interviewers, despite being fully trained, still go with their initial gut instinct.”
  • Start with the handshake. But here I disagree, at least now, during flu season.  Be sensitive to signals.  (Of course, if you’re a member of a secret society— Freemasons, Yalie Skull-and-Bones— then play by those rules!
  • If you do shake hands, be sure your hands are warm.  Strange advice, but makes sense.  Read the article for why and how.

Read “Come-to-work eyes: Secrets of interview success” at New Scientist website

Buying signals in the face-to-face meeting

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In a previous post, we addressed buying signals in general.  Now we look more specifically at the kind of buying signals you might encounter once you’re actually face-to-face with the Prospect.

There will be times when the Prospect’s cues are so strong and positive that there is no break between your presentation and the Prospect’s agreement: it’s as if there is one continuous flow to the communication. In those happy cases, you don’t really need to ask for the order, as the Prospect’s words or actions make it clear that all that remains is to work out the details.

The actual cues that signal interest will depend to a large extent on the individual’s unique mannerisms, so you’ll need to be alert and flexible. To get started, attune to basic areas such as those following.

■ Non-Verbal Signals. If the Prospect is sitting forward on his chair, nodding his head, muttering words like, “Great! Exactly what we need! Yes, I see how it fits in,” then you have strongly positive buying signals. That is probably the point at which you should stop trying to persuade the Prospect, and instead move on to wrap it up by closing for some kind of buying action.

■ Questions and comments. It’s usually a positive signal when the Prospect begins asking about practical matters, such as, “How soon can you deliver? or “Is it available in (a certain color or size or other similar detail)?” Questions of this sort imply that the Prospect has basically made the decision to buy, and now has moved on to settle the details.

■ Certain kinds of objections can be buying signals. If a Prospect asks detailed questions about your product, or about how it differs from your competition, you probably have a signal of interest. After all, busy people don’t get into the details unless they see a good reason for them to do so. The fact that the Prospect is interested enough to explore this kind of practical issue signals that the Prospect is at least testing the What-if of buying. The trend is positive, so be ready to move with that trend.

■ Interest in haggling over details. The sale is probably yours if the Prospect initiates tentative negotiating probes over matters that would be relevant only if the sale is going through. (The sale is yours, that is, provided you can negotiate mutually-agreeable terms.)

For instance, a Prospect might say, “You’re talking about too long a lead time before you can install. The delay is costing me money.” But analyze what she is saying beneath the words, which probably is, “I’m ready to buy, provided you can speed up delivery.”

Incidentally, these buying signals by the Prospect may not be consciously sent, so it’s important to look through the actual words and gestures to find what is really meant or implied.

The Prospect may not have actually decided to buy — at least not on a conscious level — but the interest in delivery times betrays what’s really going on in his mind. If you’re attuned to that, you can adapt appropriately.

Continue reading → Buying signals in the face-to-face meeting

Demonstrations skills training (Part 2)

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Demonstrations skills training: this is Part 2 of a two-part segment on demonstration skills training.

Demonstration skills training: why, when, how

To read Part 1 of this Demonstration skills training module, see above on this blog.

4: Conduct the body of the demonstration.

The objectives you negotiated earlier with the prospect (as part of the “Gentleperson’s Agreement”) will normally serve as topic headings in structuring your coverage. Resist the temptation to take the prospect on a guided tour of every aspect and capability of your product.

Instead, organize your coverage so that you show how each of the agreed-upon objectives can be accomplished.

As you finish your coverage of each objective, pause and ask the Decision Maker and others on the team to confirm that they understand the points you have made. Make sure they understand how this aspect of your product fills the specified need.

If their understanding does not seem to be clear, or if they hesitate or disagree, pause to find their root concerns and deal with them before moving on to the next objective.

Be direct in comparing your proposed method and their present system (if one is in place): Continue reading → Demonstrations skills training (Part 2)

Cold calling: when you CAN use it as a way to make the sale (and HOW to do it)

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Good sales can flow from cold calls. While cold-calling should NOT be your primary way of approaching new prospects, there will be times when it is appropriate as a selling tool.

For example, if you have open time between scheduled calls, consider using it to “smoke-stack” for other leads. (The term arose when sales people would drive around looking for factory smoke-stacks to guide them to industrial prospects. Now most smoke-stacking is done by scanning the list of tenants at the elevators of office towers and entrances to commercial parks.) Continue reading → Cold calling: when you CAN use it as a way to make the sale (and HOW to do it)

Sales closing tip: Why it pays to complete the order blank BEFORE you meet with the prospect

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Sales closing tip: It’s a good investment of time and effort to complete the order form BEFORE you go into the meeting with the prospect.

Granted, it takes a little time, and you may waste some order blanks, but the benefits make it worth the while.

For one thing, you don’t have to stop the sales momentum in the call to collect basic data on things such as address, billing address and the like.

Even more importantly, by completing the order form before you go into the call, you project to the Prospect your confidence that the sale will, naturally, happen. Expectations are infectious, and a large part of selling is projecting positive expectations.

How do you get the information you need to complete the order blank that early, before the sale is set?

You probably already got most of that as you set up the call on this prospect: company name, individual’s name and title, and so forth.

For the rest? Ask the secretary or other gate-keeper while you’re on-site waiting for the meeting. If they ask why you’re asking, simply say, “I need it for my records. Paperwork! You know how it is, I’m sure.”

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The content in this and  other posts on this site has been adapted from my books, which you will find in the sidebar, along with how to order as both ebooks and pbooks. Hope you find them helpful.