Sales & Marketing Authority, Bestselling Author & Business Motivational Speaker

Last week I talked about face-to-face sales techniques. The elevator pitch is a perfect example of how you can benefit from powerful face-to-face sales techniques no matter what industry you’re in.

While the elevator pitch isn’t actually used in elevators (although it could be), the name alludes to the fact that it should ideally take about the same amount of time as a typical elevator ride.

The basic idea of the elevator pitch is to give potential customers an idea of what your business does, why it does it better than your competitors, and how you can translate your past successes into future benefits for them.

Keep it Updated

It’s essential to keep your elevator pitch updated as your business changes, and as your role within your business changes. You wouldn’t air the same commercials year in and year out, would you? Neither should you use the same sales pitch to clients from year to year.

Related to this is the importance of tailoring your speech to different groups of customers. While one subset of customers may care more about the potential cost savings afforded by your product or service, another group may be much more concerned with effectiveness, quick delivery, or any other aspect of your business. Stress the parts of your business that are most likely to appeal to the customer you are currently pitching to.

Nail the Delivery

Like with any kind of face-to-face sales, the key to your elevator pitch is in the delivery. You only really have one chance to delivery your pitch perfectly, which means that you have to understand your customer and understand what they are looking for.

Even more importantly, you have to make your pitch relevant and exciting. Open with an appeal to emotion, with a surprising statistic, or with anything that will catch your potential client’s attention and get him engaged. Once you’ve done this, you  can move into statistics, or the nuts and bolts of what benefits they stand to gain by using your product or service.

Above all, be confident. If you aren’t 110% sure of your product, then nobody else will be either.

Keep your elevator pitch relevant and updated, and when you get a chance to use, make sure that your delivery is perfect. In this way, you can make sure that when you get a chance to speak with a potential customer, you can bring them in every time.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

The root word of ‘decision’ comes from the Latin, meaning ‘to cut off from’. When we make a decision, we effectively cut off from any other alternative.

No wonder it can be scary!

For a prospect, making a decision to buy means that they run the risk of a competitor coming by soon after with a better, neater proposal that is a better fit to the prospect’s situation. Still, how do we ensure that we can convince the prospect they are making a good decision, even if they are feeling indecisive?

Here are some ideas:

Set deadlines. One of our clients only makes decisions if we set a deadline. We recognised early on that they were a very reactive organisation, with little planning going on. We came up with extra services, upgrades, more coaching…but only if they made the decision by a certain date. And it works. Just the fact that you offer something that expires soon may well drive prospects to making a decision.

Make it easy for your prospect to buy by putting an easy system in place. This takes the drama out of making a decision, and helps the prospect define a successful decision earlier and easier.All they have to do is sign the order and everything else is taken care of for them. They can get on with what they normally do in the day. They can be indecisive for the rest of the day…but just now they have to make one little decision that is right for them and their company.

Make the risks of the decision as low as possible. Give guarantees, warranties, money-back offers, anything that gives them a feeling of security. I ordered four shirts from a mail order company. They offer a three-month returns policy. It’s a risk-free offer. Not the cheapest shirts, but ones I can feel safe in trying out and returning if I want to.

Give the prospect a long lead-time to make the decision. If they normally choose stock in the summer, start talking to them in the winter, so they can build up their trust in you as a supplier. When the time comes to decide, it should be a no-brainer.

Determine what their buying process is. If the decision-maker can order up to a certain amount on their own,maybe you can convince them to increase their order, which would mean getting other people involved to help them make the decision.

Create such an offer that it’s much more sensible for them to say yes than no. Build the uniqueness of your company in their eyes so that they see the offer you are making, and the back-up you are giving, as too good to refuse.

Be aware of what the buyer may get from your competition. You can then go through what the needs of her organisation are and compare your solution with what they would get if they went somewhere else. It makes it easier for them to make the decision, because you’ve done all the homework for them.

By identifying what would make the buying decision easier, safer, quicker, neater, or cheaper for the prospect, you remove all the barriers to them making a decision, and make it easier to see the best decision for them and their company.

Happy Selling

Sean

Sean McPheat
Marketing Consultant | Sales Expert | Motivational Speaker

Now that we understand exactly what consultative selling really is, I’d like to offer a few tips to make the process a bit easier on you as a salesperson.

Start by asking tons of questions during your presentation, but don’t ask questions that only require a “yes” or “no” answer. Ask questions that will result in answers that give you enough information to determine your prospective client’s actual needs.

Occasionally you’ll find that the answer to your question proves that the client doesn’t really need your product, but even more valuable is the knowledge you’ll gain as to whether or not your product actually serves your prospect’s needs. If not, be honest and upfront. Your prospect will appreciate that you aren’t trying to sell him something he really doesn’t need and may be willing to give you referals to others who really do need what you have to offer.

You’ll want to make sure that you are confident in and enthusiastic about your product as well. Being confident means showing you understand your product inside and out but does not mean you should act arrogantly. Your enthusiasm will make your prospect feel as though you care about him instead of as if he’s just another name on the potential prospect list.

Last but not least, build relationships with your potential clients. Just because one product doesn’t work for one particular client doesn’t mean that something you’ll have in the future won’t. Show your appreciation for your prospect’s time and, when the time comes, you may just have the opportunity to make another (more appropriate) pitch.

Some people feel that consultative selling isn’t ethical because even though you ask questions to determine your client’s needs you are still doing so with the intention of making a sale. I disagree with this thought process. An honest salesperson won’t make a sale if the product is unnecessary (why build a bad relationship?) and will never cross the line between ethical and unethical.

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

I’d like to spend some time talking to you about the process of consultative selling, but I believe that we must first define exactly what consultative selling is. To most new salespersons, selling is selling is selling – but this simpy isn’t the case.

In a traditional sales environment you, as the salesperson, have a product you need to sell. When you approach a potential client you are prepared to share all of the benefits of the product itself and convince your client as to why he should make a purchase. Your job is to manipulate the customer into believing he wants your product even if he actually has no need for it.

During the traditional sales process the salesperson maintains control of the conversation from start to finish. He asks questions and then makes assumptions as to what the client needs. At the end of the conversation he may attempt to determine whether or not he’s done a good job convincing the client that he wants the product.

The consultative selling process is much different. Consultative sales is not nearly as manipulative as traditional sales, if it can be called that at all. A salesperson engaged in a consultative sales process takes the time to learn about the client and his needs. He asks tons of questions and allows the client ample time to answer them as opposed to trying to corner the client with his own line of thought.

The goal of the consultative sales person is to determine what needs the client has and to then present ways to address those needs. I reiterate – the focus here is on need whereas the traditional sales person depends on a client wanting something. These are two very different concepts.

Now that we’ve defined both types of sales we’ve laid the groundwork for future discussions. Until then, think about your sales methods and let me know – do you engage in traditional or consultative sales?

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker