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5 Key Strategic Selling Lessons

February 19, 2013 Lead Generation, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy 0 Comments

Not many companies that I know can exist without making a sale and strategic selling is one of the most effective ways to make the sale. It’s important to have the fundamental skills behind how to make a sale, but it is equally important to know the business and the lessons to be learned in order to be an effective salesperson. Keep these elements in mind when maneuvering through the sale. Happy hunting.

Strategic Selling 101 – Set an Agenda
All too often, sales people walk into a meeting with a prospect and fail to get agreement on what the meeting is really about. This seems overly simple, but the fact is that you are there to sell them something and they are there to not let you unless everything is perfect. Set an agenda of why you are there and get them bought into the situation. Clearly define with them that you are there to understand about their business and the issues that they are having around what you sell. They are many great articles on agenda setting so we will stop there, but it gets prospects bought in.

Strategic Selling 101 – Identify What Their Problems Are
When selling a client on a product or service, you are identifying their problems and telling them how your product/service can solve that problem. Often, salespeople make the mistake of solely augmenting how great their product or service is. Instead, you need to ask your prospect open-ended questions to uncover their specific issues at hand. Identify their problems and the sale will be made for you.

Strategic Selling 101 – Actively Listen
One of the most important skills in sales is to have effective listening.  Active listening leads to empathy, which in turn enhances your ability to persuade your prospect.  If you are not listening to what your client has to say, you may be missing important information that could influence your selling points.

Strategic Selling 101 – Don’t Always Cut to the Chase
If you know your client, you can leave out the small talk and just get to the point. However, when you don’t know the client, it is important to have the small talk to get to know them and build a relationship. Building a relationship with a client is very important in developing trust that will be a favorable factor when trying to close a deal.

Strategic Selling 101- Nothing is Closed Until You Have the Money
There are times when you feel 99% certain that you will close the deal. Everything is looking good and the client says they are ready to work with you. Then all of a sudden, they go dark and you are left wondering what happened. This happens all too often and you make the mistake of starting a plan to campaign for them, thinking ahead with the assumption that you will have an added layer of cash flow. This could be extremely costly for your business, so wait until there is either a signed contract or money in the bank. Strategic selling made easy.

Five Key Sale Lesson Takeaways:S.J.Hemley Marketing

  1. Listen to what your clients has to say because it could change how you go about making the sale.
  2. Don’t jump to conclusions when you are only “certain” that you have closed the deal – make sure you have a signed contract or money deposited.
  3. Building relationships form trust between you and a client which, is key when closing a deal
  4. Identify the client’s problems then sell them on how your product/service can solve those problems.
  5. Be sure to set an agenda in order to gain agreement from the prospect

About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations.



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