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Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Kicking out the new recruit and keeping the commission
Many a good new trainee is sacked in the early days of his training if he stumbled across a big deal. The manager throws him out and keeps the commission. This is usually done through someone else encouraged to fire him. Or to find some petty reason such as late coming, or missing out some regulation whilst contacting a client.
Categorizing people by the type of alcohol they drink
Gentlemen drink whisky, brandy or red wine
Larger drinkers tend to be loutish
Men who ask for dry white wine tend to be gay
Women who drink Vodka are a lot of fun especially after six or eight of shots
People who drink cider have a jolly cheerful outlooks on life.
Men or Women who ask in a loud voice for champagne in a bar are not to be trusted.
Young men who ask for Dry Sherry in the pub are deviates of the first degree.
Larger drinkers tend to be loutish
Men who ask for dry white wine tend to be gay
Women who drink Vodka are a lot of fun especially after six or eight of shots
People who drink cider have a jolly cheerful outlooks on life.
Men or Women who ask in a loud voice for champagne in a bar are not to be trusted.
Young men who ask for Dry Sherry in the pub are deviates of the first degree.
Basic Concepts in recruiting and selecting SalesMen
Importance of correct recruitment and selection to the sales manager
Every Coompany's Present and future profits and prosperity, and not least your own figures as a salesman, are insperably bound up with the men and women the company employs and with those who are selected to work in your companies salesteam.
So no matter how skilled your company may be in training, developing and motivating your sales team, all the efforts and successes in these areas will depend upon the quality of the people that are selected to sell the companies products or servies.
Recruiting and selecting sales staff is thus one of the key tasks for every marketing and sales executive. It would be no exaggeration to say it is the most important work a manger does. It is also one of the most difficult. so you cannot afford to be an amateur.
The Selection decsions you make are important for two other reasons.
First - your company and in particular your sales force is a group of people who are working together to ensure that what they do individually and as a group adds up each year to the achievement of a number of objectives, e.g. planned sales targets, increasing the market share of a particular product or on the other hand ensuring that as a product declines, your share declines less steeply than your competitors; the development of customer relationships, confidence and respect for your company.
Secondly - From the salesman's point of view, the decision to join a company may be the most serious and far reaching one he has ever made. He is probably a husband, a father, a property owner, a person with fears, ambitions, needs and a whole set of attitudes conditioned from his own upbringing to life and to the kind of work he does. So a wrong decision about a job impinges upon his family and can be as disastrous for his wife and childrena s it is for your company.
Every Coompany's Present and future profits and prosperity, and not least your own figures as a salesman, are insperably bound up with the men and women the company employs and with those who are selected to work in your companies salesteam.
So no matter how skilled your company may be in training, developing and motivating your sales team, all the efforts and successes in these areas will depend upon the quality of the people that are selected to sell the companies products or servies.
Recruiting and selecting sales staff is thus one of the key tasks for every marketing and sales executive. It would be no exaggeration to say it is the most important work a manger does. It is also one of the most difficult. so you cannot afford to be an amateur.
The Selection decsions you make are important for two other reasons.
First - your company and in particular your sales force is a group of people who are working together to ensure that what they do individually and as a group adds up each year to the achievement of a number of objectives, e.g. planned sales targets, increasing the market share of a particular product or on the other hand ensuring that as a product declines, your share declines less steeply than your competitors; the development of customer relationships, confidence and respect for your company.
Secondly - From the salesman's point of view, the decision to join a company may be the most serious and far reaching one he has ever made. He is probably a husband, a father, a property owner, a person with fears, ambitions, needs and a whole set of attitudes conditioned from his own upbringing to life and to the kind of work he does. So a wrong decision about a job impinges upon his family and can be as disastrous for his wife and childrena s it is for your company.
What is 'Bid offer Spread'?
Basically only a percentage actually goes towards the product the portion taken by the salesman its the 'Bid offer Spread'
The Role of the Salesman becoming more professional
The factors of economic life and changes in the marketing environment do not lessen the importance of the sales force. On the contrary they mean that the sales force will have a more decisive influence on the success of the marketing plans as their work beocmes more specific. companies have recognised that customers create a business, but only by keeping them satisfied can a company prosper. If they don't others will. this means that every salesman must be recruited and selected, trianed, motivated and developed to perfomr as skillfully as they can their prime and vital task - the reason for their existence - to identify the needs of customers and satisfy them.
Customers are becoming more sophisticated in their tastes, more knowledgable about the products and services they buy or reject, and more critical and concious of those who supply them. The Salesman who sells them must be more professional.
Customers are becoming more sophisticated in their tastes, more knowledgable about the products and services they buy or reject, and more critical and concious of those who supply them. The Salesman who sells them must be more professional.
The Difference Between Salesman
A Professional Salesman, that is to say, a top-notch salesman, and I attended a meeting. Opening the program was a girls' trio, which sang well. It sang on and on. Presently we weren't listening to the girls, but we were talking between ourselves.
"want to know the difference between a professional and an amateur?" my freind asked.
"yes."
"A professional knows when to stop. Take these girls. They sang past a reasonable limit, so now they bore us. a salesman who talks past the same limit gets yawns, not orders."
"You mean a salesman should stop calling on a prospect as soon as he decideds he can't sell him?"
"Not that. I mean in an interview, if a salesman suspects he is boring his prospect, he should terminate the interview, and go back later."
I said I saw the point.
"want to know the difference between a professional and an amateur?" my freind asked.
"yes."
"A professional knows when to stop. Take these girls. They sang past a reasonable limit, so now they bore us. a salesman who talks past the same limit gets yawns, not orders."
"You mean a salesman should stop calling on a prospect as soon as he decideds he can't sell him?"
"Not that. I mean in an interview, if a salesman suspects he is boring his prospect, he should terminate the interview, and go back later."
I said I saw the point.
Know Your Product Better
It doesn't make any difference if you sell from behind a retail counter or on the road; it makes no difference what you sell. You will make more sales if you Know your product better. It isn't enough to have superficial Knowledge of size, material, cost, and the like. Know something about it nobody else knows.
Take an Example Mr Smith sells Ketchup. Smith's Ketchup cost more. The Resturant Keepers on Whom Mr Smith calls upon, price minded buyers, couldn't see the idea of paying a premium on every bottle of Ketchup.
Smith was whipped until he discovered that actually his ketchup cost less, becuase it was thicker and did not run, while a cheap, thin product did. Just a little product Knowledge saved him.
Take an Example Mr Smith sells Ketchup. Smith's Ketchup cost more. The Resturant Keepers on Whom Mr Smith calls upon, price minded buyers, couldn't see the idea of paying a premium on every bottle of Ketchup.
Smith was whipped until he discovered that actually his ketchup cost less, becuase it was thicker and did not run, while a cheap, thin product did. Just a little product Knowledge saved him.
Five Selling Essentials
Have you ever thought that there are five essentials to every sales presentation? Here they are:
1. It must get attention, becuase, no attention, no sale.
2. It must show the customer an advantage. He won't buy unless it does.
3. The presentation must next prove itself. since the prospect is doubtful, and knows the ways of the world, he demands that you come up with the facts, specifications, and gurantees it must prove.
4. Then comes persuassion. It must make the customer grasp the advantages, but he won't do this unless the final point is pressed.
That is:
5. A bid for action.
1. It must get attention, becuase, no attention, no sale.
2. It must show the customer an advantage. He won't buy unless it does.
3. The presentation must next prove itself. since the prospect is doubtful, and knows the ways of the world, he demands that you come up with the facts, specifications, and gurantees it must prove.
4. Then comes persuassion. It must make the customer grasp the advantages, but he won't do this unless the final point is pressed.
That is:
5. A bid for action.
Main rule for Handling Objections
Perhaps as much as any other Salesman, one who has to sell a very expensive management service to people who think they do not need it.
So as you can imagine all sorts of objections are raised, all sorts of resistance is thrown at such a salesman.
Reduce the method of handling objections to one main rule.
No matter what the objection is, how trivial or how serious, A Salesman should follow this rule before he even attempts to answer it.
And many times, in fact about nine in ten, answering the objection isn't neccessary!
This Rule is...
When you are making a sales presentation and are outlining the uses and the benefits of your product, if the customer stops you and brings up an argument, my suggestion is that you 'Pass it up! Too many salesmen seem to be in too big a hurry to answer questions and overcome any particular sales resistance.
Maybe if Salesman if they weren't in such a hurry to answer the questions they would find that the question would never be asked again.
"In other words, too many salesman forget tht they are in there to give a coherent sales story and instead seem to think that they are in there to answer objections."
Of course, there are times when the objection must be answered. That is the second time the customer brings it up.
but the First time, regardless of the objection, follow the Rule: "pass it up!" Maybe it will die down of tis own accord and you will never need to handle it at all.
So as you can imagine all sorts of objections are raised, all sorts of resistance is thrown at such a salesman.
Reduce the method of handling objections to one main rule.
No matter what the objection is, how trivial or how serious, A Salesman should follow this rule before he even attempts to answer it.
And many times, in fact about nine in ten, answering the objection isn't neccessary!
This Rule is...
When you are making a sales presentation and are outlining the uses and the benefits of your product, if the customer stops you and brings up an argument, my suggestion is that you 'Pass it up! Too many salesmen seem to be in too big a hurry to answer questions and overcome any particular sales resistance.
Maybe if Salesman if they weren't in such a hurry to answer the questions they would find that the question would never be asked again.
"In other words, too many salesman forget tht they are in there to give a coherent sales story and instead seem to think that they are in there to answer objections."
Of course, there are times when the objection must be answered. That is the second time the customer brings it up.
but the First time, regardless of the objection, follow the Rule: "pass it up!" Maybe it will die down of tis own accord and you will never need to handle it at all.
Monday, 7 July 2008
Sunday, 6 July 2008
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