October 3rd, 2009
The First Rule of Selling
Tron Jordheim c 2003
You Can’t Sell Anybody Anything
So that is like saying the first rule of football is …you can’t hang on to the ball; or the first rule of baseball is …you can’t score by swinging the bat. Maybe those are true, too. But I do know that you cannot sell anybody anything. You can, however, help people talk themselves into buying just about anything. Your job as a sales person is to help people talk themselves into good reasons to buy your offering. Your job as a sales manager is to help your sales people develop good qualifying questions that will help your prospects think through the purchase. Your job as the product developer is to create something people can see value in.
Then you can set about not-selling. Not-selling is a way to sell according to the first rule of selling. You do not tell people why they should buy; you ask people how they would use your offering. You don’t show people why the offering is good for them; you ask people to show you how it might be good for them. You don’t talk about the features and benefits; you ask about the benefits people find in the features. When the person has finished talking himself or herself into buying you ask for the order and finish the purchase.
Tags: business speaker, sales training
Posted in Management, marketing, sales | Comments Off
September 24th, 2009
So you are a General Manager in your business. Do you understand this to mean that you manage generalities, or do you understand it to mean that you are a General? Which ever you believe, that is how you will act. So will you spend your time managing the day to day details and the wildfires that pop up? There is nothing wrong with that and someone has to manage this part of the business. If you are good at it and find it fulfilling, I encourage you to continue with what you are doing.
If you are a General, commanding a division or responsible for an entire operation, then you require a different approach. I don’t know much about how Generals operate today, but I do know something about how Generals have operated historically. Here is a tried and tested routine you can use.
1. Sit on the hill and observe. Look at the field of contention. Watch your troops. Watch the opposing troops. Observe the environment and the conditions. Then meditate on the objectives. Wait and watch. Listen.
2. Rally the officers. Bring the managers and the leaders together. Discuss the objectives. Discuss the opportunties and challenges. Evaluate the risks. Be realistic about your capabilities.
3. Give your orders. Send the officers out to implement your orders.
4. Go back to the hill and sit a while. How is it going? What is working or not working? Who is doing well and who isn’t? How were your orders effective or ineffective?
5. Go down into the fray. Help a few units make an objective. Offer encouragement to a few officers. Adjust a few orders. Learn all you can.
6. Go back up to the hill and sit a while. How is it going? What is working or not working? Who is doing well and who isn’t? How were your orders effective or ineffective?
7. Rally the officers. Review and adjust strategy and tactics. Give a new set of orders.
8. Go to lunch.
9. Go walk the dog, play with the kids and snuggle your spouse.
10. Take a walk and then get some rest.
Repeat.
Tags: business speaker
Posted in marketing | Comments Off
September 23rd, 2009
I am not sure what other choices you have right now. If your business is not booming in this unsure economy, then you need to do something about it. I realize it is very tempting to cut back as far as you can and dig a hole to hide in while the economy has a chance to turn around. But that eliminates all your abilities to react to opportunities, to develop new business models and to take business from your most frightened competitors. Wouldn’t it be better to just go out and sell like your business depended on it and create some increased revenue?
Tags: business speaker
Posted in Management | Comments Off
