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99 Can't Miss Sales Tips From The Pros (Part 3)

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36. Never take a customer's business for granted. Dandridge learned this important lesson from a customer. After calling on a customer for several years, he finally got the business. That customer told him, “If you work as hard to keep my business as you did to get my business, then you will always have my business.”

37. Learn from difficult customers. You can learn more from your most difficult customer than you can ever learn from your most loyal customer. If you listen to them, they may tell you what is missing from your business and maybe what you can do about it. Their feedback can be the most honest gauge of your success.

38. Never argue with a customer. You may win a battle, but you could lose the war. Even if you win the argument, you may lose the business for good.

39. Listen between the lines. Is there an underlying message to your customer's complaint? Does he feel cheated, ignored or underappreciated?

40. Appeal to your customers' sense of fair play. Let the customer know that you trust him or her enough to do what's fair and right. Ask, “What would you have me do to make this right?”

41. Let your customer save face. When customers are definitely wrong, try to give them an out so they won't look bad in front of their co-workers or boss.

42. Always focus on what you can do to rectify a situation, not what you cannot do. Telling a customer, “That's against customer policy” won't get you anywhere.

John McCarthy wrote a monthly sales column in Electrical Wholesaling for several decades. Over the years he explored virtually every sales topic imaginable, but several topics stand out: the basic elements of persuasion, using questions as a sales tool, dealing with price objections and understanding a customer's basic psyche. A complete review of all the sales tips he wrote about for Electrical Wholesaling is beyond the scope of this article, but the magazine's editors have gathered a few of his classic tips here. To read some of his articles, type “John McCarthy” in the search engine at www.ewweb.com.

43. Don't underestimate the power of artful questioning. When used intelligently, questions can help a distributor salesperson succeed in any selling situation. Questions can be effective sales tools. Here's how.

44. Questions can change the subject and focus attention on the topic that you want to discuss.

45. Questions can obtain information in the form of facts and opinions.

46. Questions force the reluctant customer to talk.

47. Questions can stop, or at least slow down, the over-talkative customer.

48. Questions provide you with an opportunity to collect your thoughts.

49. If a customer presents you with unsubstantiated charges, questions can demand proof.

50. By asking a customer's views or opinions, questions can flatter the customer.

51. Questions identify the key influence or decision maker in a group.

52. Questions serve as a subtle probe for the customer's reactions.

53. Questions can cut through smoke-screen objections and flush out the customer's real objection.

54. When dealing with price objections, make sure the customer is aware of the full range of values your company offers. Emphasize those values of special interest to the current prospect. When justifying a price, focus on the benefits of buying that product from your company. The key features and benefits include product quality, cost savings, and the delivery and technical expertise that your company offers along with products.

55. Never apologize for your price. An apology will tell the customer that you think the price is too high. Your goal is to justify the price by reviewing the product's features and benefits and the service package your company offers.

56. Put your price into perspective. You must draw comparisons with the prospect's other expenses so he or she isn't fixated on the price. One strategy is to give examples of the savings in energy or maintenance that the product might produce for the customer.

57. Address the prospect's business goals. Show how your company's products and services can help customers meet what they are trying to achieve for their companies. If you do this effectively, then price becomes secondary to the prospect's more critical business needs.

In “Elements of Persuasion,” John McCarthy explored sales strategies that help salespeople negotiate with customers, close deals and understand what makes them tick. Here are several of them.

58. Plan the timing of your call. Think carefully about the best time to make a sales call. A contractor who spends all day in the field may find it easier to meet with you for a quick coffee and bagel before his job starts. Make note of a customer's regular deadlines or production schedules and work around them.

59. Identify the customer's primary psychic need. Find out what motivates customers. Do they want to be rich, powerful and famous? Or are they more concerned with having life easier or feeling secure? If you can help them satisfy their primary psychic need, you can establish a solid working relationship.

60. Seek agreement early in a negotiation. Find a mutual point of agreement and use it as a base upon which to build during the negotiation.

61. Isolate areas of disagreement. Don't let a few problem areas pollute the climate of a negotiating session. Put them aside and move onto areas where it will be easier to come to an agreement. Once you establish some momentum, return to those areas of disagreement.

62. Clarify the customer's stand by restating it. This will help you stay on the same page. Be sure to listen closely to his or her reaction because it may provide some additional clues.

63. Concede minor points; let the customer be partly right. It's always a good idea to obtain minor agreements to produce a good climate. The customer will perceive this as progress.

64. Control the negotiation by breaking down disagreements into manageable pieces. Narrow the areas where the customer's opinion and yours diverge, and always remind the customer how many areas you agree upon. Then focus on the points of contention.

65. Avoid “red flag” words, people and/or subjects. Never use racial slurs or swear words on sales calls. Choose your subjects of conversation carefully. It's way too easy to offend a customer and even harder to repair the damage.

66. Be sure of your facts. Don't ever bluff. If you don't know the answer to a customer's question, say so. Offer to get the information they are looking for as soon as possible.

67. When you are wrong on a point, admit it without equivocation. In the give-and-take of any negotiation, you don't score any points if you don't admit it when you are wrong. Admit your error and move on.

68. Don't demand immediate agreement. Give the customer time to think. Leave the high-pressure sales tactics to used-car salespeople. Give the customer some air when they have to make a decision.

69. Restate and modify your position to reflect your concessions. While negotiating with customers, make sure they know when you have made a concession.

70. Never interrupt a customer. This is basic interpersonal communications, but it's doubly important in a sales situation. Customers hate it when salespeople don't let them finish a sentence. It's a sign of disrespect, too.

71. Make a good idea your customer's idea. Don't insist on getting credit for a good idea. Give it to the customer.

72. Don't forget to politely but firmly ask for the order. It sounds too darn simple, but more than one salesperson has walked out of a customer's office without attempting to get a commitment for a purchase.

73. Quit while you are ahead. When you do get an order, express thanks and leave. Don't overstay your welcome by trying to oversell.

Jarret Golwitzer, sales manager of RB Sales Corp., an independent rep based in Marion, Iowa, says certain sales basics work no matter what the product, company or situation. He calls them “Blocking and Tackling 101.”

74. Know the competition's strengths and weaknesses. Use all the resources at your disposal to keep updated on what's happening in the marketplace. The market grapevine, competitors' Web sites, trade publications and local newspapers will be helpful.

75. Know the product's strengths and weaknesses. Sell a product's benefits hard, but never knowingly misrepresent its weaknesses. Says Golwitzer, “A great salesperson would not risk the long-term reputation of himself or his company to make the short-term big sales with a misapplied product or service.”

76. Know the sales climate that may affect a customer's decision. Golwitzer says salespeople must always know whether the customer has a strong relationship or commitment with another company's salesperson; whether or not the product is part of a package that the customer buys and therefore cannot be separated; and if the customer has the reason to switch product lines due to shipping or quality issues.

77. Think through product launches. For an independent rep, Golwitzer says a good launch with materials, products and a marketing plan make it an easy choice for the customer. He says NEMRA's recently-issued guidelines for product launches and marketing programs can help salespeople maximize product launches. “If we are prepared, then it makes it tougher for the customer to decide to answer ‘no’ to our proposal,” he says. “Make sure customers know your plans to drive sales in the market place.”

Jim Newton always said he was a student of the sales game. He gave himself the title of “trainee” when he founded his sales training company, Sales Tech Corp., Holyoke, Mass. Newton worked for many years as a salesperson and manager for his family's business, Oakes Electrical Supply, Holyoke. He conducted dozens of sales training seminars for distributors, reps and manufacturers and developed the Electrical Products Education Course (EPEC) for the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED), St. Louis. Happily retired, he spends much of his time these days with the John M. Newton Museum of Electrical History, which will showcase the early history of the electrical wholesaling industry, and the important role his family's 121-year-old company played in it.

78. Never forget “WIFM.” WIFM stands for “What's in it for me?” Everyone has their own WIFM. Says Newton, “Whether the guy is the purchasing agent, treasurer or chief electrical engineer, he still wants to do better. You have to figure out how to present what your company is offering in ways that makes them think, ‘This would be good for me.’”

79. Focus on integrated product knowledge. Salespeople must understand how a product integrates with all of the other products the customer uses in a particular system. “The great thing about the electrical business is that there are not many products that operate in isolation,” says Newton. “They are all intertwined.”

80. Uncover the customer's basic needs. Is the customer looking for a promotion, raise or pat on the back? Or are they just punching a clock? Once salespeople understand customers' motivational influences, they can develop their sales strategies accordingly.

Jim Lucy
16 Feb 2007

Do you have the 100th Sales Tip? Did we forget any surefire sales strategies? Electrical Wholesaling is offering a $100 American Express check for the best 100th sales tip that's submitted. Send it by e-mail to Jim Lucy, Electrical Wholesaling's chief editor, at jlucy@prismb2b.com. We will publish that sales tip in a future issue. www.ewweb.com