Selling 101

Sam Gordon

The simple answer that only an excellent salesman knows, the "magic" or "natural gift" that is ALWAYS overlooked: FIND OUT WHAT THE CUSTOMER WANTS & NEEDS !!!!! Then show them how YOUR product will solve their problem.That really is the "magic" answer. It's a darned shame everybody is so caught up in showing their product, taking about how valuable their product is, on & on & on...Just solve the customers needs...you'll be the salesman with the "natural gift" & "magic"...

john elliott

It's always reassuring to know that there is a simple answer. Thanks, Sam, I'm sure that has helped the guys here a lot. And to think that there was a simple answer there all the time.

John

__________________
Ed the Roofer said "John too, in his crass and blunt demeanor.............."

Bill Z

Sam's post is the most accurate statement about sales on CT.

Too many "salespeople" get caught up in their own world, they forget why the prospect agreed to meet them. The long-term pro salesman will focus on what the customer wants to accomplish and link his product and services to how the customer wants to feel when the job is done.

Add in two teaspoons of product knowledge, a tablespoon of integrity, and a dash of empathy...you've got yourself a sale.

john elliott

Like I said, it's all so simple, isn't it. Just follow the simple rules and the sales will follow.







Or perhaps it isn't quite so easy

__________________
Ed the Roofer said "John too, in his crass and blunt demeanor.............."

Bill Z

John,

You've posted twice with comments about this not being simple. You have more to say. What would you like to accomplish as a result of your posts?

Thanks,
Bill

lawndart

Excellent post that outlines the basics of making a sale.

john elliott

Well, I guess I would like to say that selling isn't the magically simple task that some people like to think it is. This whole "show the customer how your product meets his needs and he will buy from you" is basically a gross over-simplification of reality, and conveniently ignores most of the problems that arise in real-life situations.

For instance, lets us say the customer's needs and wants have been identified, and during the presentation the salesman's product has been shown to meet those needs and wants. There is still the unanswered question of price. What if those needs and wants have also been met by the competiton, and at a price that is lower?

That's just one example of how Sam's statement, whilst being true in itself, is so lacking in useful detail as to be basically useless

John

__________________
Ed the Roofer said "John too, in his crass and blunt demeanor.............."

Bill Z

John, I think you have a very good point, well written and concise. Sam's statement is accurate on the surface, but there's a deeper meaning that may be apparent to those of us who have been selling for multiple decades.

It may be like saying "just swing your golf club like Tiger, it's that simple". Johnny Miller knows what that means, but I have no clue about all the subtleties involved in Tiger's swing.

So, if the point is to answer the original poster's question about "what separates a good salesman from a bad one", what might be extracted from Sam's post is that good salesmen discover what their prospect really wants to accomplish and focus their efforts on that cause. Bad salesmen throw benefits against the wall, hoping something sticks so they can get their commission, brag about their closing ratio, or some other personal goal that doesn't really address the needs of the customer. Then in desperation, they offer some high-pressure technique to close the sale further ignoring the prospect's goals and setting up a cancellation.

Even deeper, the good salesman will not only discover the prospect's needs, but link himself, his product, and his company to the emotions the prospects wants to experience as a result of fulfilling of those goals. Again, way deeper than Sam's statement.

The useful part of Sam's generalization is that selling is simple if you are aiming at the right target... and oversimplified, that target is the customer's needs, not our own.

In this case, the goal is helping the OP, how can we do that through continued posting?

Ed the Roofer

The only thing about your recent post, is that the OP is from January, 2008. One year and 3 months ago.

But, the topic is always relevant, so carry on and refine the debate on the intricacies or the simpleness of the sales process.

Ed

__________________
Please Stay Tuned For A Very Important Message From Our Sponsor
http://www.rightwayroofingcompany.com/ www.rightwayroofingcompany.com
Roof Estimates, Roof Repairs, Roofers, Roof Leak Help, Elgin, Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, Algonquin, South Elgin, Huntley, Lake In The Hills, Illinois

john elliott

How about moving this discussion sideways a bit, and discussing whether or not any particular person should be selling at all.

Bill's example of Tiger Woods was an excellent one to what I am going to say, which is that some people have enormous natural talent for some activities, and although you can teach other people some of their techniques, some of us are never going to be very good at whatever the activity is (obviously in this case, selling).

I've often thought that if someone has set up in business, and needs to sell that business's product, and finds that, even having read the books, that they are just not very good at it, that he or she should consider carefully whether they should get someone else in to do the selling for them, or maybe even modify the business in some way so that the selling becomes very much less important. Maybe that person should even consider whether maybe a job as a senior employee in someone else's business might not suit better.

Just putting these thoughts out there for others to consider.

John

__________________
Ed the Roofer said "John too, in his crass and blunt demeanor.............."

Ed the Roofer

Tiger Woods has changed the menchanics in the way that he drives a ball at least 3 times in majot fashion since he hit the scene.

He is not above learning a new method, and neither should any contractor.

Ed

__________________
Please Stay Tuned For A Very Important Message From Our Sponsor
http://www.rightwayroofingcompany.com/ www.rightwayroofingcompany.com
Roof Estimates, Roof Repairs, Roofers, Roof Leak Help, Elgin, Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, Algonquin, South Elgin, Huntley, Lake In The Hills, Illinois

SeamlessGutters

Great points everyone. I pretty much agree with it completly.

My favorite line when I come up to the house is, "Show me what you want done". And I just shut up and listen. THey will go on and on about where they want gutters, where they need them, what color they want and i just sit there writing it down, and make minor suggestions along the way. People are willing to pay slightly more if they feel more comfortable and secure with your services. Example, if you have a website-makes you look more profesional, show up on time (or at least update them on to when your going to be there) If you have pictures of last jobs, examples of your product, references.

1. Learn the Problem
2. Solve the problem
3. Price the Solution
4. Ask for the sale


If they say the are going to think about I perpose doing this....

Say the bid is only good for a month. I have found that this creats irgency. Just say your costs are changing so much you can only keep that price for a short time.

Also, sometimes I offer a discount for cash when I am dealing with homeowners. This makes them feel like they are getting a deal....and as we all know...Everybody wins on that one.

When I am punching up the bid I usually make some small talk about weather or ask them what they do for a living. People think what they do is the most fantastic and interesting thing in the world and will usually tell you about it.

Also---Stress quality on materials and craftmenship---this way if they get a lower price you still have a chance.

Ryan

RidgeWalker

You've received a lot of great advice from undoubtedly experienced people here and you can learn a lot from it if you apply it, however...

If you were sitting across the table from me here's exactly what I'd say to you for advice.

You can read many books about how to sell but they won't do you any good unless you take action. Many salesmen read the books and the moment they enter the field forget everything they learned anyways so I don't take to much stock in books about sales.

I will tell you how I became successful in sales, and that was going out every single day and treating it like a real job instead of working a couple of hours after being told no so many times and calling the day to an end. My excuse was always, oh well tomorrow is another day. I'd knock on doors with the commitment to not stop until I made at least one sale, how many times I came out with my only sale for that day and it was pitch black? To many times to mention! A blind squirrel always finds at least 1 acorn per day.

If you do not like what I am telling you then you most assuredly do not have what it takes to make it in sales, no matter how many books you read. BUT!!!
If what I just told you does not bother you in the least bit then something GREAT will happen to you.

All the stuttering, all the I don't know the answer to that question, all the times you get the door slammed in your face, all the times your told no after no after no.........
Begins to work in your favor!!! Here's what I mean by saying that.

For example;
Lets say that in order for you to get to at least a 35-40% close ratio you need to pitch at least 200 home owners. This means you are learning on the way what is and is not working for you based on your personality type, and style of talking with people.

So the BIG question is this.

Are you going to take 1 year to pitch 200 home owners? Or are you going to take 2 months instead.

So in my opinion what separates a good salesmen from a bad one as the biggest factor is work ethic.

I've seen sales men who could sell ice to an Eskimo but would not work enough to pay the bills, and I've seen guys who hardly knew anything about what they were selling but worked hard and made more then enough to live.

__________________
Restore My Home Construction
Atlanta Roofing Repair
My SN Profile

Publisher1

There are many paradoxes in sales. The best sales are usually the easiest, but you don't usually come by these without the hard work of doing the stuff that doesn't work so well.
Yet we can be intelligent or dumb about the process. Readers here who (in good times) 'rely' on referral and repeat business now need to go out and find work but many of them are uncomfortable with the hard-rock selling taught by sales training gurus.
We get the best results when we turn the conventions off (while still doing the hard work that needs to be done). So we give, rather than sell. I encourage my sales reps to connect and contribute to the communities where buyers hang out. The reciprocity principal takes over, and people feel comfortable giving us business.
PCplumber, for example, clearly 'gets it' by designing his canvassing model to provide real free services without worrying about any immediate orders or business.
You certainly don't need to be the stereotypical pushy, obnoxious, and insensitive salesperson to succeed in sales. Set the stage with some personal marketing and build on our own interests, talents and strengths and you will be far more successful than if you follow someone else's scripts. But you won't succeed without some hard and genuine effort.

modterry

I tried to find the url you gave and the page comes up error.Could you please repost I tried a couple of variations with no success.