As a business owner, you need to clearly understand and ensure that all charged with converting your hard to generate sales leads into valuable customers for your business, clearly understand and apply a set of sequential steps which, if followed religiously, will generate far more sales and make each member of your sales team more productive.
These 7 steps address standard buyer behaviour, and it is important that each step be used and that the next step is not tackled until the potential customer is clearly ready to move up to the next step.
The first step is to establish if there is actually a real need for whatever you are offering. If you can’t get the customer to agree that they have a real need for what you are offering, don’t waste any further time trying to sell them. Simply get their details and agreement to be added to your mailing list, and move on to another prospect.
The second step is to get them to acknowledge the effect that meeting their need will have on them personally. As you have already established the potential customer has a need for your offering, you must determine what it will mean for them personally if this need is able to be satisfied by your offering.
The third step is to instil a fear of the situation continuing to worsen over time. In this step you simply up the ante on the last step, and reinforce how it will continue to affect them personally, if they don’t immediately meet the need they have identified for your offering, and then get them to agree that this will be the case.
The fourth step is to help the potential customer realise that they have a compelling need for change. Having laid the ground work in the previous two steps, this step should be easy for any accomplished salesperson. Simply put, the potential customer needs to be led to the point where they acknowledge that it makes no sense to continue to put up with their current situation.
The fifth step is to lead the potential customer to the point where there is now a clear demand for an improvement in their situation. At this step, the potential customer needs to be helped to paint a picture in their mind, of how their situation will look when they implement the change that your offering will bring to their world.
The sixth step is to give them hope for a better future by suggesting that there are a range of solutions for the burden that they presently carry. This is where you outline the possibilities they might embrace in order to get relief from the pressing need they now have to improve their worsening situation and also determine the level of investment they are willing to make to resolve their situation.
The seventh and final step is to show them how you can deliver the solution for your customer now that you know they have a genuine need for your offering, are ready to take action to satisfy the need, and have indicated how much they are willing to spend to get the relief from the burden they have been carrying. Then you can confidently and quickly close the sale, and move on to the next potential customer.
Are you clear on the importance of each of these 7 steps and why they must be sequential and why you should not move off any step until the potential customer has clearly indicated that they are at the position where you can move them on without losing them?
In your business, are these 7 steps rigorously practiced with all new leads that come into your business?
How much more revenue could your business be generating if these 7 steps were competently practiced on every occasion by well drilled sales staff?
About Me
- Daniel Watson
- Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Born in the mid 1950's and raised in a very small country town situated in Northern Victoria. Resident of Melbourne since 1980 and happy to stay living in one of the world's most liveable cities. You can view my professional profile at http://www.linkedin/in/danielwatson
Showing posts with label revenue generation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label revenue generation. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Core Skills required for Revenue Generation
As a business owner, and whether you like it or not, you are in the business of selling.
It is therefore important, that you have a clear and complete understanding of the core competencies required of any person responsible for revenue generation in your business, including yourself.
It goes without saying that understanding alone is not enough, you also need to ensure your own and your employee's skills, are developed to the level necessary for sales success, and then you need to diligently apply those skills, and sure others are applying them as diligently as yourself.
The key skills required in any sales role are; presentation skills, influencing skills, negotiation skills, communication skills, problem solving skills, marketing skills, personal management skills and critically in this day and age, information technology skills.
If your sales are not at the level where they need to be, a good solution is to firstly put in place structured plans for yourself and key employees to become more competent in every one of these skills, with a priority being placed on the skill sets that are most lacking, in those engaged in selling for your business.
These skills alone will not necessarily guarantee success in revenue generation, as a clear understanding of the key attributes that the individuals concerned also need to possess, and their ability to persistently apply these attributes, is the second part of the solution.
These key attributes include; the need and the will to succeed, ability to think and act quickly, ability to focus on goals, a strong belief in the products and services offered, high energy levels, high self esteem, the ability to act independently, an optimistic outlook on life, the ability to see the bigger picture, a willingness to accept responsibility for personal outcomes, and an ability to empathise with others.
As you can see, a revenue generating role is not for the untrained or marginally competent; selling is actually a profession, and a professional approach is needed by anyone who has a responsibility for revenue generation.
You must also remember that a poorly trained and far from competent salesperson, can do more damage to your business in a short time, than almost any other role not performed to its optimal level, in your business.
Unless you develop your own and your employees sales skills to an optimum level, revenue generation will always be harder for your business than it needs to be, and in tough times your cash flow may be severely challenged.
How do you and your key employees measure up in terms of sales skills and personal attributes that support effective revenue generation?
Do all relevant personnel have personal development plans specifically tailored to improve the level of revenue generation in your business?
Have you led by example in demonstrating your own commitment to upgrading your selling skills?
Have you allowed adequate funds in your budget to support the development of all of the necessary skills in your employees?
Do you ensure that you select the right people with the necessary attributes to succeeed in sales, to participate in your sales training programs, and eventually in revenue generating activities for your business?
If you answer all of these questions truthfully, and reflect on what the answers mean for your future revenue, it may pave the way for you to make the changes you possibly need to make, to give your business a good shot in the arm.
It is therefore important, that you have a clear and complete understanding of the core competencies required of any person responsible for revenue generation in your business, including yourself.
It goes without saying that understanding alone is not enough, you also need to ensure your own and your employee's skills, are developed to the level necessary for sales success, and then you need to diligently apply those skills, and sure others are applying them as diligently as yourself.
The key skills required in any sales role are; presentation skills, influencing skills, negotiation skills, communication skills, problem solving skills, marketing skills, personal management skills and critically in this day and age, information technology skills.
If your sales are not at the level where they need to be, a good solution is to firstly put in place structured plans for yourself and key employees to become more competent in every one of these skills, with a priority being placed on the skill sets that are most lacking, in those engaged in selling for your business.
These skills alone will not necessarily guarantee success in revenue generation, as a clear understanding of the key attributes that the individuals concerned also need to possess, and their ability to persistently apply these attributes, is the second part of the solution.
These key attributes include; the need and the will to succeed, ability to think and act quickly, ability to focus on goals, a strong belief in the products and services offered, high energy levels, high self esteem, the ability to act independently, an optimistic outlook on life, the ability to see the bigger picture, a willingness to accept responsibility for personal outcomes, and an ability to empathise with others.
As you can see, a revenue generating role is not for the untrained or marginally competent; selling is actually a profession, and a professional approach is needed by anyone who has a responsibility for revenue generation.
You must also remember that a poorly trained and far from competent salesperson, can do more damage to your business in a short time, than almost any other role not performed to its optimal level, in your business.
Unless you develop your own and your employees sales skills to an optimum level, revenue generation will always be harder for your business than it needs to be, and in tough times your cash flow may be severely challenged.
How do you and your key employees measure up in terms of sales skills and personal attributes that support effective revenue generation?
Do all relevant personnel have personal development plans specifically tailored to improve the level of revenue generation in your business?
Have you led by example in demonstrating your own commitment to upgrading your selling skills?
Have you allowed adequate funds in your budget to support the development of all of the necessary skills in your employees?
Do you ensure that you select the right people with the necessary attributes to succeeed in sales, to participate in your sales training programs, and eventually in revenue generating activities for your business?
If you answer all of these questions truthfully, and reflect on what the answers mean for your future revenue, it may pave the way for you to make the changes you possibly need to make, to give your business a good shot in the arm.
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