Sales Skill: Listening for Key Words and Taper Questions to UncoverProblems

ARTICLE: – By Eric Slife

Any sales manager or sales trainer will tell you one of the most effectiveskills top sales professionals possess is the ability to obtain accurateand valuable information from their clients and prospects. Being able to extract quality information results in the following:

- Fewer objections

- A better closing percentage

- More referrals

- Fewer headaches after the sale

- Etc.

To effectively determine what your prospect or client needs, you need to learn two critical fact finding skills:

1. Listening for specific key words, and

2. Tapering you questions.

First, start by asking your prospect a non-threatening open-endedquestion. Why? You haven’t established enough trust or rapport to askpersonal questions. Asking a possibly threatening question right away willprobably result in a less than truthful answer from your prospect.

Once your prospect starts talking, start writing down your prospect’s keywords on your notepad. What are the key words? Look at the following 3 sentences:

1. Our copier is always broken. Do you have something more reliable?

2. Our computers are slow. We need something faster.

3. Our website is always down. I need better service.

In the first example, write down “always broken” and “more reliable.” Insentence number two, write down “slow” and “something faster.” Finally,the key words in sentence three are “always down” and “better service.”Before you move on, ask, “Is their anything else?” and write down thosekey words.

Next, start with your first key words and start to taper your questions. As you do this, keep listening for additional key words. For example:

Salesperson: “What do you mean by your copier is always broken?”

Prospect: “It continues to feed 2 pages at a time, and the quality is poor.” (Note: “poor quality” another key phrase that needs to beexplained, so write it down.)

Salesperson: “Are you doing a specific job that is causing it to feed 2 ata time?”

Prospect: “When we make our manuals, we use heavier paper that our currentvendor says is difficult on the feeder, and they can’t fix it.”

Salesperson: “Tell more about the heavier paper you are running, and theother jobs you do.”

Prospect: “Well we do…”

Salesperson: “When your feeder pulls in 2 pages, what happens to yourbusiness?”

Prospect: “We can’t do anything until they come and fix it.”

Salesperson: “How long does that take?”

Prospect: “3 days.”

Salesperson: “How much does this cost you?”

Prospect: “It costs us $500 to have an outside printer make our manuals.”

At this point, I may ask them more about the manuals or more about their outside costs. The point is, by tapering down the key words “always broken,” you have narrowed down specifically what they mean by always broken. In addition, you have uncovered the consequences and costs of being “always broken.”

In addition, tapering your questions has revealed potential problems with their current vendor, and given you more insight into the exact nature of how they use their product or service. All of this additional information is the result of listening for key words and continuing to narrow down your questioning until you have been given specific information.

To make your questioning even more effective, help your prospect quantify their problem. For example:

- Do they have to outsource their project?

- What about lost revenue?

- Finally, how much has the downtime cost them in lost labor?

Salesperson: When you present your proposal state: Mr. or Miss Customer you mentioned you are experiencing the following problems… Are there any other problems?

Customer: No that’s it.

Salesperson: You also stated it is costing you so many dollars. Is this correct?

Customer: That’s correct.

Salesperson: I want to show you how we can help you solve these problems by the following…

By tapering keywords you, you have uncovered how much their problems are costing their company. In addition, you have helped them justify the expense for your solution. Finally, your prospect will trust your proposal more, because you better understand their situation compared to yourcompetition.

About the Author: Eric Slife is the President of Slife Sales Training, Inc. and founder ofwww.salestrainingcamp.com. Sign up for our free sales newsletters and getover $240 in sales training products and services for absolutely freehttp://www.salestrainingcamp.com/overture_salestraining.htm!

Contact Information:

Eric Slife

Slife Sales Training, Inc.4320

West Eaglerock PlaceWenatchee, WA 98801

eric@salestrainingcamp.com

www.salestrainingcamp.com

Sales Skills: Why Silence Is Crucial to Sales Success

Remembering these eight simple words will help bring all your sales efforts to a successful end.
April 04, 2005
By Tom Hopkins


In the selling profession, closing is the winning score, the bottom line, the name of the game, the point of it all. If you can't close, you're like a football team that can't sustain a drive long enough to score. It does you no good to play your whole game in your own territory and never get across the other team's goal line.

Many salespeople are afraid to close. They're afraid of asking for the order. They're so fearful, you'd think they were having to personally reach into someone's pocket for their money. To have any kind of success in sales, you have to get over that fear of closing because this is where the money is.

True professionals are closing most of the time. They're constantly trying test closes--questions you ask to determine if they're ready to close--and they can kick into their final closing sequence anytime they smell success. One test close you can use is this, "John, how are you feeling about all of this so far?" If John likes it, move on to your close. If he expresses concern--also known as an objection--you'll have to address it before attempting another close. With the test close, you haven't lost anything by trying to close too soon. (If you close too soon, your prospects will often reject you and getting back on track toward the sale can be awkward.)

Besides not asking for the sale, too many salespeople get so wrapped up in their selling sequence that if the prospect decides to invest before they're through, they won't let them have it. Some people get sold quickly, and if you keep talking instead of getting the final agreement, you might just "un-sell" them. More talk triggers more objections. When the prospect is ready, you must stop talking and start filling out your paperwork.

How can you improve your closing skills.
Just remember the eight most important words in the art of closing a sale: Whenever you ask a closing question, shut up!

The important words here are "shut up." Ask your closing question, then keep quiet! It sounds simple, doesn't it? Believe me, it isn't. That pause between the asking and answering can seem like an eternity.

The first time I tried to ask a closing question and then keep quiet, I was prepared for the prospect's reaction. I expected them to keep silent. What I wasn't prepared for was the intensity of my own reaction: The silence felt like wet sand being piled on my chest. My insides were churning. I had to bite the inside of my lip, and I was acutely aware of every nerve ending in my body. Finally, the prospects did decide they would invest--and I never again dreaded that awful silence after asking a closing question. Learn from my example, and don't utter a peep after you ask for the sale!

Why is it so important to keep quiet?
Say your prospect hesitates for a few moments, wondering when they should take delivery. You become uncomfortable and assume they're questioning the investment so you blurt out that you'll give them another 20 percent off the total investment, when that wasn't even the issue.

The average salesperson can't wait more than ten seconds after asking a closing question. If Mrs. Jones hasn't answered by then, they'll say something like, "Well, we can talk about that later," and go on talking, unaware that they've just destroyed the closing situation. And it's probably not just the one close that's been destroyed. Mrs. Jones can certainly keep quiet for a few moments--almost all undecided buyers can. If you're true sale champion material, you can sit there quietly all afternoon if you have to. It takes concentration, but the silence rarely lasts more than 30 to 40 seconds in reality.

Having the skill, courage and concentration to sit still and be silent for at least half a minute is the single, most vital skill there is in selling. Practice this until you get a feel for how long 30 seconds is, and then it won't be so nerve-wracking when big money is riding on how calm and quiet you remain in a real closing situation.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/ext/article/0,4621,320646,00.html

Marketing: What Not to Do When Designing Marketing Pieces Yourself

Hallo All future entrepreneurs!!

Here are some marketing tactics which I have come across. Do you have any other new idea to share with us? Do you have any experience/comments to discuss? `o´

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Avoid these 10 design disasters when you're creating your own materials. March 07, 2005 By John Williams

Have you ever noticed how many articles there are on creating your own marketing materials? These articles concentrate on things you "should do," offering such sage advice as "Know your audience," "Say it with pictures" or "Write clearly and distinctly." Now I'm not saying any of that is bad advice. But you should also know what not to do. That's what this article is about. Or more specifically, it's about what most do-it-yourselfers are tempted to do--but shouldn't.
Nothing screams "Design Novice" like the following 10 mistakes:

1. Don't enlarge your logo so it's the main focus of the page.
Yes, your logo features the name of your company. But it's not the main point. People are interested in what you're selling, not who you are. In fact, the smaller your logo, the more established your company will appear. If you don't believe me, check out ads by pros like Nike or Hewlett-Packard.

2. Don't place your logo in the text of your piece.
Of course it's fine to use the name of your company in the text of any of your marketing materials, but inserting your actual logo into a headline or body copy is design suicide.

3. Don't use every font at your disposal.
Choose one or two fonts for all your materials to build brand equity. Your font choices should be consistent with your image and your industry. For example, a conservative industry = a conservative font.

4. Don't use color indiscriminately. More color doesn't necessarily make something more appealing. Often it just makes it loud and off-putting. When someone screams at you, do you want to listen or run away? Most, if not all, your text should be the same color, preferably black for readability. For a unique look, try duotone photographs or print in two colors.

5. Don't be redundant. Don't repeat the name of your industry or product in your company name and your tagline and your headline. I once had a client request that the word "pharmaceutical" appear in his logo, his tagline and in the headline of his marketing brochure. This was totally unnecessary and even harmful. Potential customers know your industry. Restating it implies you don't.

6. Don't choose low-quality or low-resolution photography. A photo may look great in an album, but unless it features balanced lighting and good composition, it's not print-worthy. Photos need to be at least 300 dpi. And yes, people can tell the difference.

7. Don't fill up every inch of white space on the page. White space, or negative space, brings focus to what's important and gives the eye a rest. You may have a lot to say, but cramming it all in creates chaos and minimizes impact. Your piece will end up visually overwhelming. Think less, not more.

8. Don't focus on the details of your product or service; instead, focus on how it benefits your audience. Unless your product is extremely technical, make your offering relevant to your audience by emphasizing its benefits, not its features. Otherwise it's like going to a party and talking about yourself all night. That's not exactly the best way to win friends or gain customers.

9. Don't do exactly what your competitors are doing. When you're positioning your product, it's good to know your competition. But don't copy them. Find out what your customers want and are attracted to. Stand out without sticking out.

10. Don't change design styles with every marketing piece you create. Strive for a consistent look and feel, keeping the same fonts and logo placement. If you use photos in one ad, don't use illustrations in another. If you place your logo in the middle of one brochure, don't place in at the top-right corner in another. You get the gist.

Finally, do be clear, clean, compelling and consistent. You'll end up looking--and selling--like a pro.

John Williams is president and founder of LogoYes.com, the world’s first do-it-yourself logo design website. In his 25 years in advertising, he has created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous awards for his design work.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/ext/article/0,4621,320242,00.html