Bob Oros - Customers want to buy

August 20, 2011 by ginagray  
Filed under Bob Oros


"Customers aren't buying" is a common phrase heard at sales meetings.  The problem is, customers are buying, but they are buying from someone else.

You walk into a prospect and this is what you run into, see if they sound familiar:

 1.  What makes you any different?
 2.  I really don’t think much of your company.
 3.  We’ve been doing all right without you.
 4.  I’m tied up in a supplier contract.
 5.  You don’t carry the items I need.
 6.  I’m not interested in anything new.
 7.  See me in a couple of months.
 8.  I hear your company is having problems.
 9.  I am not talking to anyone right now.
10.  Your prices have always been too high.
11.  Business is down.
12.  I have to run that by the owner.
13.  I don’t care about anything but price.
14.  It would be too much work to change suppliers.
15.  I don't want to jeopardize my supplier relationship.
16.  If I changed suppliers why would I be any better off?
17.  I'm too busy to talk to you right now.
18.  I'm buying from a friend.

Even when a prospective customer gives you one of these reasons for not going forward they STILL want to buy from you.  Here's why they don't; you have not put any points on their scoreboard.  Every customer has a scoreboard with points justifying their reasons for buying from their current vendor.

Who is your biggest competitor in this account?  If they have been selling this customer for any length of time they have put dozens of points on the board.  They helped the customer out during a problem, they have built a personal relationship with them, they have brought new items to look at, they have given helpful information about their business, they have given them fair pricing, they have never taken advantage of their friendship, etc.

And in walks you.  Zero points. And you conclude that customers aren’t buying.

You can overcome all of the above 18 objections, but not with cleaver words or persuasive phrases.  You can overcome them by starting today to get some points on your side of the board.

If you compare sales to a sporting event, the winner is the one who knows the rules of the game and then plays better than their competition.  They learn, practice, work, put together irresistible offers and take action.   They also get the extra coaching and training to make the scoreboard light up with those exciting winning numbers.  They know how to make customers WANT to buy!

The Top 50 report (Top 50 Foodservice Distributors) was recently published and their "average" sales projection increase for this year is 10%.  Since there are no "new" customers in the market this growth has to come from a competitor.  To help YOU, a loyal subscriber of my newsletter, I have an "irresistible offer" that will show you how to get all the winning points you need to go out and play the game with the “breakthrough attitude” of a real professional.
 
www.BobOros.com/Three-irresistible-offers.pdf

 
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Bob Oros

Bob@BobOros.com
www.BobOros.com
800-480-5197

Bob Oros - A small part of the sale

August 3, 2011 by ginagray  
Filed under Bob Oros


 Bob Oros   A small part of the sale
This short article from the Washington Post was sent to me by a friend, John Boylan, VP Sales and Marketing for Berks Foods.

The story reminded me of one of the most important points to remember when selling your products and services.  Read on and I'm sure you will agree…

THE SITUATION

In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.  During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.  After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing.  He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar.  A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly.  The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time.  This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes:

The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.  About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over.  No one noticed and no one applauded.  There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world.  He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.  Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story.  Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
 
The lesson this so clearly demonstrates is the importance of setting the stage when you make a sale.  It points out the necessity of positioning your product in a way that even if it is a commodity, when surrounded by a stage of quality, service and a great company reputation, the value goes up, and so does the price.  It also points out that the product is a very small part of the total sales process.

This is what it means to sell the sizzle, not the steak.  In copywriting this is called "theater."  You make your point by surrounding it with a story.  I use "theater" in just about every email I send out, including this one.  And if you have read this far, you can see how well it works.

If you want to really make use of this unique selling strategy, follow this link and you will have enough stories to last your entire career.
 
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If you would like to subscribe…
If you would like an ebook at no charge…
Click on this link… www.BobOros.com 
 
Bob Oros
Bob@BobOros.com
www.BobOros.com
800-480-5197

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Oros - Why you can’t close

June 15, 2011 by ginagray  
Filed under Bob Oros


Question from a sales rep: 
 
"I had to sit through a sales training seminar where we each had to come up with ten closes. I could feel the tension in the room as we all tried to rehearse the prepared closes that everyone knows, including the customer, and few really use. It seemed like a waste of time!  What's your take on closing?"
If you've done your job, closing is the easiest part of the sale.

The psychology of the "close" has been talked about so much by sales experts it has frightened more sales people than it has helped. When a customer has made up their mind that they are going to buy they do the closing, they buy, you don't sell them except to make it easy for them to sign an order.

You started to close the moment you decided to call for the appointment. You are closing all the way through the process. 

As your presentation proceeds it should include steps which fit into the running story but which actually are used by you to anticipate objections. The time to answer most objections is before they are brought up, during the presentation.

Here is the TRUTH about closing…

If you don't build rapport  YOU WILL NEVER CLOSE

If you don't get them talking YOU WILL NEVER CLOSE

If you don't gain their trust YOU WILL NEVER CLOSE

If you don't make a great presentation YOU WILL NEVER CLOSE

If you don't overcome their objections YOU WILL NEVER CLOSE

If you don't make it easy for them to buy YOU WILL NEVER CLOSE

If you don't fit your product into their future YOU WILL NEVER CLOSE

If you don't follow up on your promises YOU WILL NEVER CLOSE

If you don't ask for the order in an easy going way YOU WILL NEVER CLOSE

How hard is to the simply say:  "Is there any reason we shouldn't go ahead with this?"

Trying too hard to close without providing the rest of the steps will turn customers off.

Your job with a customer is never done.  Closing is not simply done at the end of a sale,  it is an ongoing process, the deal with a customer is never completely "closed" but includes years of taking care of your customer.

However,  to close you do need to stop talking and write the order.  YOU are the biggest obstacle to closing.  You can't stop talking.

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If you would like to subscribe…
If you would like an ebook at no charge…
Click on this link…
www.BobOros.com
 
Bob Oros
Bob@BobOros.com
www.BobOros.com
800-480-5197

Bob Oros - Worry your way to success

May 1, 2011 by ginagray  
Filed under Bob Oros


If you can honestly say that you have nothing to worry about you are in trouble. 
 
If you can say "I've really got it made" you have a problem.  Not just a small problem, but a huge problem.  If you don't have anything to worry about and you are comfortable with what you are doing you are not growing.  You are going backwards.  You don't have any challenges.  You don't have any resistance and resistance is what makes you grow.  Resistance is what makes you better.  Resistance is why a sales person gets paid.  If there was no resistance sales people would not be necessary.

What are you worried about?  Here's the list.

Sunday night.  I call it the Sunday Night Syndrome.  You had two days off.  You got away from all the problems and frustrations for the whole weekend.  You should feel great.  But you don't.  You are worried that Monday morning your biggest account will tell you they "have gone in a different direction."  You are worried that the voice mail your sales manager left you on Friday afternoon "call me first thing Monday" is going to be a conversation about your lack of new business.  You are worried that Monday morning you might be out of a job due to cut-backs or downsizing. 

Sales.  You are worried that your sales objective might not be reached.  What is your sales manager going to say?  Is the company going to give me an ultimatum:  new business or you're history?  People are just not buying like they used to.  Competition is getting more and more cut-throat.  Price cutting is at an all time high.  Competitors are after my accounts with more aggressiveness than ever before.

Bills.  Sales people are optimistic by nature.  You have a tendency to think that things will work out.  As a result you normally bite off more than they can chew.  So you buy things based on your potential future earnings.  Then you have those doubts.  "Why did I buy that?  I should have saved the money instead of taking on the new payment."
 
Family.  A sales person has to eat what they kill.  You have to hunt down business where there is no business.  You have an impossible task of squeezing blood out of a rock and increasing the output by 10% next year.  Why do you do it?  Because you are worried that your family will not have what they need.  You will provide regardless of what you have to do.  You have the "Do or Die Attitude.  However, this doesn't mean that moments of doubt don't creep in.  This doesn't mean that you never feel the fears, doubts and uncertainties.  You think that you are the only one who lies to their spouse when they ask "what's wrong" and you answer with "nothing, just a little headache."

Comfort zone.  For normal people Sunday night might a good thing because they are rested and ready to go back to work on Monday.  Not so for sales people.  For sales people it's a time to remember that the most dangerous place you can be is in a "comfort zone!"  When a sales person hears themselves thinking "I'm just not comfortable selling that item or this program" it's time for the alarm to go off.  It's time to recognize that if you want "comfort" you are in the wrong profession.  If it's comfort you want, go get a job where you punch a time clock and collect a pay check.  But don't expect to feel content with yourself.  Don't expect to feel the sense of accomplishment that only a sales person feels when they hear the words "OK, let's go ahead with it."

For all you people who are "comfortable and have nothing to worry about" you can thank a sales person.  Because if wasn't for them you wouldn't have anything to be "comfortable" with.  Somewhere out there is a sales person.  They are out there making something happen so you can be "comfortable" and have nothing to worry about!  Somewhere out there is a sales person who is willing to lay it on the line and "worry their way to success" so you can enjoy the benefits of their accomplishments.

There are two kinds of worry. 

The first is the kind that overwhelms people.  They turn to drugs, alcohol, divorce, or they just get downright mean and blame somebody else.

The second kind of worry is the kind that sales people use to motivate themselves to action.  That's you. 
 
You take responsible for your decision to be in the noble profession that not only keeps your company going, but keeps the entire economy going.  Without sales people there would be no economy in the first place.  No one said it was going to be easy.  No one told you how something as simple as calling on new customers could create so much fear and apprehension.  But you don't buckle.  You don't quit just because a few folks said no.  You face the fear.  You face the worry. You keep going.
 
And if part of the price is to be worried with the Sunday Night Syndrome, you pay it. 
 
Are you "uncomfortable" with your knowledge about how to make a real success as a distributor sales rep?  Are you "worried" about your future?  Don't wait for your company to give you the tools and training.  They are worried about how they are going to cut 15% off of their budget when there is no where to cut. 
 
Click on this link… Let more than 500 sales professionals help you succeed…
 
 www.BobOros.com/FSI.htm

 

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If you would like sales training information…
If you would like to subscribe…
If you would like an ebook at no charge…
Click on this link… www.BobOros.com
 

 

Bob Oros
Bob@BobOros.com
www.BobOros.com
800-480-5197

Bob Oros - More confident cold calls

April 25, 2011 by ginagray  
Filed under Bob Oros


 Bob Oros   More confident cold callsWhy do most prospects sense that cold calls are self-serving to the person calling.  Because they usually are!  After all, when someone makes a cold call it is because they want something. Otherwise why would they be calling!

For cold calling to be done in a non-intrusive way, you must shift the perception away from "I want something from you," into "I am here to be helpful."When your cold calls don't feel intrusive, people naturally are more open to talking with you.

To be perceived as helpful, you must actually be helpful.  If you are sincere in your desire to help the customer the resistence will fade and the call will be much more successful.

Here's how to start being helpful:
 
Make it about them.  W
e've been taught that selling is to talk and present. However, this self-focus feels intrusive to the customer and shuts down the possibility of a real conversation.  Instead, step directly into their situation.  Your job is to ask questions and listen. Simple questions that will get the conversation going.  They are sometimes referred to as Grant's tomb questions: "Who's burried in Grant's tomb?"
 
Don't be overly enthusiastic. There is a big difference between sincere enthusiasm and artificial enthusiasm.  People feel pushed along by artificial enthusiasm. It triggers rejection because it feels intrusive to be pushed by someone they don't know. Artificial enthusiasm assumes that your product or service is a great fit for them.  You can't possibly know much about their needs without a meaningful conversation.  Invite them to talk about some of their difficulties.  Allow them to guide the conversation.

Focus on one problem.  Don't go into a sales pitch. Make what you say about them, not about you or your company. Keep in mind that what you have to offer is irrelevant at this moment.  The key is to identify a problem.  Address one specific problem that you know most of your prospects experience.

Your goal of a cold call is to find out what the next step is.  Let's say the initial call turns into a positive and friendly conversation.  Your prospect feels you might have something of value.  Both of you feel there may be a reason for another meeting. Rather than focusing on making a sale at this point, you can say, "Well, where do you think we should go from here?" This question reassures potential customer that you're not using the conversation to fulfill your own hidden agenda.  You are giving them space and time to come to their own conclusions. You're helping them create the direction they want to go, and you will follow.

It is always a personal challenge to walk into a strangers business and try to make a friend.  However, that is what selling is all about. And the more you know about selling, the more you know about your customer's business and the more you know about your products, the more confidence you will have. 

If you are a distributor sales rep and would like to have your confidence skyrocket, click on this link:  www.BobOros.com/FSI.htm
  
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