Asking the Budget Question
At some point in the sales process the question of budget must be addressed.
Ideally – it would be great if the prospect would volunteer their available budget, the price they are currently paying or even what other competitors have quoted…how often does this happen?
Furthermore, if this information is volunteered by the prospect, then how much store should a sales person have in the reliability of the information?
Maybe the prospect wishes to negotiate the best price, therefore offers an artificially low figure to force competitiveness? Perhaps the prospect is volunteering a budget figure he thinks he can persuade his boss to sign off on? Or worse – the prospect has guestimated what he thinks the budget should be and wants a top end product or service whilst only paying for a basic version.
The point is, who knows whether the information (if it is made available) is to be trusted or not.
Even so, as a sales person the budget information is vital.
Why? No-one wants to quote blindly, it’s a waste of time, expectations need to be managed, explanations need to be made, sharing and transparency are vital, ideally when the prospect and the sales person are still in the same room and not post event. At this stage the sales person still has control in the sales process and may have a much higher level of influence than if the discussion is remote.
So, we would ideally like the budget information – true or not.
How do we ask the budget question without offending the prospect?
Few things to remember:
- The sooner you raise the budget question in the conversation – the higher the risk you take that the prospect will feel that you are only interested in the order value.
- Even though the blunt question is ‘ What is your budget?’ asking this question at any time in the sales call can have a negative impact…therefore wording and structure are important
- If the prospect has not mentioned budget throughout the call, do not leave the meeting without having the budget conversation…better now than later having to do a lot of guess work
Tackling the Budget Question
This technique will allow the sales person to get to a figure that seems logical and well thought out to the prospect – and the prospect is in the position of agreeing or disagreeing with the quoted figure…whilst there is still time for the sales person to do something about it. So how do you do it…?
- Leave the budget discussion until the last element of the sales call
- Only introduce the subject of budget after you have discussed benefits, value and expected ROI (Return on Investment) of your product or service
- Explicitly and with total transparency talk the prospect through the ROI model, the payback, the period of payback, the areas of the product or service that will positively or negatively impact on the ROI
- Check that the prospect fully understands the ROI and is happy with it
- Take the prospect backwards through the process to get to a ball pack budget figure based on the agreed ROI
- Clearly state the value element of the product or service versus the current provision
- Get agreement – in principle – to the ROI and the ball park costing BEFORE leaving the meeting
Using these structured techniques you may never need to ask the budget question again – far simpler and less contentious this way.
Happy Selling!!
Carol Griffiths
Morton Kyle Limited
carol@mortonkyle.com
0779 002 1885
Is Solution Selling Enough?
I like Solution Selling – executed properly, with integrity and attention to detail it works better than any other method….for starting the sales process.
Yes, big caveat there.
Solution Selling provides a controlled framework for the start of the sales process…and finding out what the prospect needs and opposed to what they think they need, which is invaluable.
However it begs the question – where does the balance sit? Does the sales person then go on to present and sell the solutions that address the current needs as perceived by the prospect, or do they still sell the solution they originally intended to but frame it differently?
Maybe this is the point where the sales person reframes the customers experience in order to guarantee that the competition can not compete, delivering a higher level of customer delight that generates a loyal customer, a raving fan and a distinctive and effective buying experience.
Too many sales teams are using/abusing Solution Selling as a means to get from the start of the sales process to the end, but few are using it to distinguish themselves from the competition and to gain a competitive sales advantage…and the higher the value of the sale or the more complex a sales, then the need to be positively different is greatly accentuated.
If you are interested in finding out what life after Solution Selling looks like – please give me a call/email.
Happy Selling
Carol Griifths
Morton Kyle Limited
carol@mortonkyle.com
0779 002 1885
Measure or Fail – Filling the Sales Funnel
For today, tomorrow, next month, next quarter and beyond…the sales funnel is the start of the whole sales process.
Filling the sales funnel with good quality, highly qualified prospects on a regular basis, and pro-actively working the sales funnel should be a part of any sales persons activity…but rarely is this task given the priority it deserves.
When questioning over 100 sales people, it seems the main reason for this was that they could see no direct relationship between effort and reward (which is a major issue as this is typically how sales people are wired), instead prospecting in order to fill the sales funnel was seen to be a little too ‘random’ and ‘hit and miss’.
Interestingly, these are the last two phrases that should be applied to filling the sales pipeline. It is a scientific process.
When the sales teams were challenged about their inability to discuss how their Sales Funnel worked, I realised that they saw this activity as equating to a long run with no end – so understandably interest, engagement and commitment to the activity is minimal.
It may be wiser to look at this activity as a series of small sprints – where there is a direct relationship between the number of people prospected and the number of qualified leads obtained, that are progressed through each stage in the sales funnel – where the conversions are known, tried and tested at each stage.
Giving tested numbers/conversion rates at each stage of the sales funnel allows the sales person to take control of a very simple, but necessary process.
The numbers will be different for every company, and probably even for different sales people within each company. It probably matters less what the conversion rates are, but more that they are simply being measured, Improvement comes later.
Happy Selling
Carol Griffiths
carol@mortonkyle.com
0779 002 1885
Creating Certainty in the Sales Forecast
Too many times I see sales teams that are confusing these two very specific sales tools.
Let’s be clear;
Sales Forecast – a document detailing the prospects that have stated their intention to buy a specific product or service for an agreed price at an agreed time.
A sales forecast should be able to forecast sales for at least 3 months in advance with some certainty, with the degree of certainty increasing as the time frame shortens.
Whilst a forecast should never be regarded as cash in the bank, it should be taken as a very strong indicator of what will happen in reality.
Sales Funnel – a sales process that feeds unqualified leads in to the wide mouth of the funnel, and through a very careful qualification process the leads are either carried through and converted into prospects for inclusion in the sales forecast or are rejected. Rejection may be for any number of reasons.
The Sales Funnel encapsulates a process that feeds into a document called the sales forecast.
Key Considerations
A Sales Forecast that is consistently inaccurate needs investigating immediately – is a key indicator of other issues that will be definitely costing your business money in lost business opportunities.
A Sales Forecast that appears without specifics – client name, price agreed, order date, quantity, delivery date, terms is not a sales forecast. A sales forecast should have a very high degree of certainty. If it doesn’t then this is a likely indicator that the sales process lacks that same degree of certainty.
A Sales Funnel should have a high degree of movement – prospects added and taken out on a very frequent basis (frequency will depend to a degree on the industry, product/service sold, order value etc).
The Sales Funnel is a proactive way of managing prospects – managers should be keen to look at the age of prospects in the funnel, last contact dates.
Sales Teams may benefit from having a universal understanding of what a Sales Funnel should do and what the criteria are for moving from one stage in the Sales Funnel to the next.
The danger is to have a very full Sales Funnel. This is extremely dangerous. Too large a Sales Funnel means that some great prospects will be ignored whilst poorer quality prospects may get attention they don’t deserve. The aim of the Sales Funnel is to bring focus to the sales process.
For more information about how you can get the most out of your Sales Funnel and deliver certainty and accuracy to your Sales Forecast call Carol Griffiths – Lead Consultant and Director at Morton Kyle Limited on 0779 002 1885, or email carol@mortonkyle.com
Happy Selling!
Sheffield Sales Training – Being Brilliant at the Sales Basics
This course is held monthly in Sheffield – please see our open course schedule on the tab above to see the next available dates.
Revenue generating activities can vary from data cleaning and lead generation to setting appointments, chasing proposals, reactivating lapsed customers, securing referrals and finding out what the competition are up to.
As part of a proactive sales process, no one activity is any more important than the other. They all need to be completed to a high level to maintain a stable revenue stream, build market share, protect and build the sales pipeline with qualified sales prospect.
Invariably sales people will be good at some of these activities, mediocre at others and the rest will be avoided at all costs!
Being Brilliant at the Sales Basics is a two day sales course specifically designed to look at the foundations of successful selling in any environment.
Attendees will learn how to build a solid sales pipeline by screening in and out, design effective call structures to engage senior decision makers and close profitable sales….increasing the return on their sales efforts every day.
This course is a must for anyone who wants to improve their sales performance over a very short time. With increased motivation and confidence, attendees will be able to proactively take responsibility for their sales pipeline, sales forecast and sales figures.
We look at how to;
- Qualify prospects – meaning the pipeline is filled with quality, qualified prospects
- Removing hurdles to get to the decision maker – make more sales presentations per day
- Secure the decision makers interest – make every pitch a winner
- Maximise the cross sell and up sell opportunities in every call – increasing average order value on every call
- Arrange appointments where there is a high level of interest in purchasing – no more wasted visits
- Powerfully present the sales proposition in exactly the way the buyer wants to hear it – minimising the sales cycle and the time taken to close
- Remove objections – using the prospects objections to increase their reasons to buy
- Maximise profit from any sale – it’s about doing more with less – greater return on your sales efforts
- Delay closing until the buyer will say yes – most sales fail because the sales person pitches too early and with the wrong proposition
- Use these same principles to reactivate lapsed customer – re-engaging lost customers is one of the quickest and easiest ways to build a solid sales pipeline
- Effectively sell against the competition – building your market share whilst diminishing the competition has to be a sales strategy in this economic climate where survival alone is not enough
- Influence and persuade at all stages of the communication – sell even when you’re not selling
- Build a loyal relationship based on trust, transparency and honesty – build and maintain the status of trusted adviser
- Get referrals from every call – even where you don’t make a sale
This is a high impact course designed for people at all stages in their sales career; as valuable for the new starter as for the seasoned sales practitioner wanting a refresher, equally suitable for product and service sales.
We will spend part of the course looking at the generic foundations of good sales practice, the remainder of this time will cover how these can be applied to selling in your particular industry and sector.
Lots of motivation and confidence building challenges, combined with many real life examples and worked case studies, with opportunities to practise new techniques and ongoing feedback, the course will deliver all the mental software required to succeed in any sales situation.
On completion of the course attendees will have everything they need to start selling, closing and building profitable sales pipelines.
Each attendee will also receive a psychometric test to give them an insight into the type of sale person they are, and their own strengths and weaknesses (usually £75). We also include a one to one follow up (2 hrs) to cement their knowledge in the workplace.
Lunch and workbooks will be provided
The course is restricted to 8 attendees per session to maximise impact and learning opportunities.
Fees:
£695 per attendee plus VAT
Send two people and get a 30% reduction on the 3rd place.
Terms and Conditions apply.
Contact Carol on 0779 002 1885 to book, or email carol@mortonkyle.com
Aspiring Millionaires Wanted
Anyone in sales can be a millionaire…… oh wait, that’s a lie.
Anyone in any job can be a millionaire…yes, that’s right.
What’s the limiting factor? Time!!
If time was not an issue – infinite wealth would be available to everyone. OK, some people may need to work longer/harder than others, but the goal would still be attainable with infinite time.
And this is never truer than in a sales environment. Time is the killer.
How a sales person spends their time is often the key difference between the performing sales person and the non-performer.
Helping the sales team to identify what activities have a direct and positive result on successful sales outcomes is one of the first tasks I undertake with any sales team, likewise identifying those tasks that are necessary but have a negative relationship with successful sales outputs is an equally valid exercise – especially if the sales team are working autonomously.
Some of the most crucial activities in a successful sales team, time sensitive activities that support business growth and improved sales performance:
Specifically for new business development
What to do:
- Decide, without compromise, what an ideal client/customer looks like, and what characteristics they will have.
- Decide what you can do for them and why you are better than any other provider out there.
- Continually feed the sales pipeline with highly qualified sales prospects THAT COMPLY WITH THE IDEAL CLIENT MODEL
- Ask for referrals from all your contacts – existing customers, prospective customers, past customers, employees, suppliers, partners, associates, family members
- Use customer facing time, not just to sell, but to learn about your prospects and their views on the market, your competitors, their issues and concerns
- Actively screen prospects into your sales funnel AND screen prospects out if they no longer fit the criteria of an ideal client
- Use high levels of sales qualification at ALL stages of the sales process
- Scheduled period of cold calling
- Segment any cold calling activity into grade A, grade B and grade C prospects – so you are feeding your short, mid and long term sales forecast
- Where possible – when presenting a quote, do it face to face. If you must do it by telephone, then follow up within 24 hrs.
- Read the industry press of the market you are involved in – maintain an awareness of the sales movers and shakers and keep up to speed with changing trends
- Network – build you network with high quality contacts; this could also include your competition. Do this by attending good quality networking, industry specific events – exhibitions, industry events, supplier events…anywhere where your target market will be gathering… where possible get a list of the attendees before you show up
- Pro-actively manage your contacts
- Use flexible pricing models
What not to do:
- Don’t treat all quote opportunities as the same
- Chase after business that doesn’t fit the profile of an ideal client
- Do paperwork in prime selling time
- Waste client contact time on any activity that doesn’t bring benefit to the client or their business
- Drive in key selling time
- Negotiate using email – get on the phone or get in your car to see the client
- Assume the profit you earn on any contract is static – profitability has to be managed on an ongoing basis and whilst you may be delivering excellent customer service – have an awareness of what it’s doing to the margin.
Happy Selling!!
Carol Griffiths
Morton Kyle Limited
carol@mortonkyle.com
0779 002 1885
High Impact Sales Training – Sheffield 8/9th Nov
Being Brilliant at the Sales Basics – Sales and Business Development Skills – Sheffield -8th/9th November
Revenue generating activities can vary from data cleaning and lead generation to setting appointments, chasing proposals, reactivating lapsed customers, securing referrals and finding out what the competition are up to.
As part of a proactive sales process, no one activity is any more important than the other. They all need to be completed to a high level to maintain a stable revenue stream, build market share, protect and build the sales pipeline with qualified sales prospect.
Invariably sales people will be good at some of these activities, mediocre at others and the rest will be avoided at all costs!
Being Brilliant at the Sales Basics is a two day sales course specifically designed to look at the foundations of successful selling in any environment.
Attendees will learn how to build a solid sales pipeline by screening in and out, design effective call structures to engage senior decision makers and close profitable sales….increasing the return on their sales efforts every day.
This course is a must for anyone who wants to improve their sales performance over a very short time. With increased motivation and confidence, attendees will be able to proactively take responsibility for their sales pipeline, sales forecast and sales figures.
We look at how to;
- Qualify prospects – meaning the pipeline is filled with quality, qualified prospects
- Removing hurdles to get to the decision maker – make more sales presentations per day
- Secure the decision makers interest – make every pitch a winner
- Maximise the cross sell and up sell opportunities in every call – increasing average order value on every call
- Arrange appointments where there is a high level of interest in purchasing – no more wasted visits
- Powerfully present the sales proposition in exactly the way the buyer wants to hear it – minimising the sales cycle and the time taken to close
- Remove objections – using the prospects objections to increase their reasons to buy
- Maximise profit from any sale – it’s about doing more with less – greater return on your sales efforts
- Delay closing until the buyer will say yes – most sales fail because the sales person pitches too early and with the wrong proposition
- Use these same principles to reactivate lapsed customer – re-engaging lost customers is one of the quickest and easiest ways to build a solid sales pipeline
- Effectively sell against the competition – building your market share whilst diminishing the competition has to be a sales strategy in this economic climate where survival alone is not enough
- Influence and persuade at all stages of the communication – sell even when you’re not selling
- Build a loyal relationship based on trust, transparency and honesty – build and maintain the status of trusted adviser
- Get referrals from every call – even where you don’t make a sale
This is a high impact course designed for people at all stages in their sales career; as valuable for the new starter as for the seasoned sales practitioner wanting a refresher, equally suitable for product and service sales.
We will spend part of the course looking at the generic foundations of good sales practice, the remainder of this time will cover how these can be applied to selling in your particular industry and sector.
Lots of motivation and confidence building challenges, combined with many real life examples and worked case studies, with opportunities to practise new techniques and ongoing feedback, the course will deliver all the mental software required to succeed in any sales situation.
On completion of the course attendees will have everything they need to start selling, closing and building profitable sales pipelines.
Each attendee will also receive a psychometric test to give them an insight into the type of sale person they are, and their own strengths and weaknesses (usually £75). We also include a one to one follow up (2 hrs) to cement their knowledge in the workplace.
Lunch and workbooks will be provided
The course is restricted to 8 attendees per session to maximise impact and learning opportunities.
Fees:
£695 per attendee plus VAT
Send two people and get a 30% reduction on the 3rd place.
Terms and Conditions apply.
Building Winning Sales Strategies – Dynamic Pricing
Sales is not just about making the sale…it’s about making the margin.
The airlines have this down to perfection, rarely do passengers pay the same rate for the same seat, the rates will fluctuate based on many factors, some that are obvious and some that are not so.
Which begs the question, why don’t more industries use dynamic pricing to ensure maximum profitability?
In many instances, the price of goods and services are calculated using any number of standard methods….the downside being that these prices are typically fixed.
Any movement in the fixed price is more often a reduction in order to secure business as opposed to an increase in price to maximise returns in circumstances where there is an additional revenue to be made due to particular prevalent trading conditions.
Therefore it transpires that the fixed price set by the company as the price of sales is often the highest price, or the aspirational price, rarely the realised price.
In any market, in any trading conditions, flexible pricing is a key part of profitability.
Flexible pricing relies on you having a very good idea about supply and demand.
Most typically, the crudest model is lower price means highest volume sold versus at the other end of the spectrum, higher price means lowest volume sold – not always true.
There can be few things more commoditised than an airline seat, yet using careful forecasting and supply and demand projections, with real time management information, the airlines are able to maximise revenues using dynamic pricing across on a standard offering.
The question asked by many of my clients is: how do I know I have the pricing right?
Before we work together their way of working has been essentially to look at what the competitors are charging and float their prices at about the same…does it work?
Yes it does.
Does it maximise profits?
No
Is there another way…YES
But why change? Why incur the risk? Why rock the boat?
For one simple reason…it’s counter productive not to.
A company that’s not growing today is not a company that is standing still, it’s drifting backwards.
Also: selling the same or similar product/service at the same price as your competitors is not a strategy, it’s a default position.
Increasing profit, managing cash flow are the indicators of a strong business.
Talk to us about how we can help you maximise your revenues and profits using a flexible pricing model to out sell your competition and attract high value customers.
Carol Groffiths
Morton Kyle Limited
carol@mortonkyle.com
0779 002 1885
Recruit on Skills and Fire on Attitude?
Ring any bells?
Keeping things simple is a firmly held believe of mine… the more simple an action is the easier it will be to do, the more people will buy into it, typically taking less time and with less mistakes, easier to form a habit and less checking needed….see it’s simple.
So when I’m called into organisations that are suffering with low staff retention, my first two questions are:
On what basis are you recruiting your staff, what criteria?
On what basis are you firing your staff, what criteria?
I always hope that their responses will be the same to both questions, as this means at least we have consistency and that perhaps it’s the testing model that needs to change….no such luck.
What typically transpires is that organisations are recruiting using a competency based framework, or recruiting someone with an active address book, years of industry experience – all valid and understandable reasons to engage a new member of staff.
However, the same organisations are finding themselves usually in a position of making the termination decision based on attitude.
I am a strong advocate of complementing some of the competency based recruitment methods with a more proactive recruitment process.
Whilst the BBC Apprentice program makes me cringe, I do like the interview episode where each candidate is seen by the associates of Sir Alan. A multi-interview with many contributors, with different agendas and tasks can take time, effort and some degree of co-ordination…however the cost of getting sales recruitment wrong is well documented, and the benefits of having a working a stable sales team are proven.
Small price to pay to halt the revolving door on the sales office.
Carol Griffiths – Director and Principal Consultant
Morton Kyle Limited
0779 002 1885
carol@mortonkyle.com
Funding Available for Strategic Business Growth – South Yorkshire
Matched funding is available for organisations in Yorkshire and Humberside that are looking for sustainable and profitable strategic growth.
The funding is available to help you formulate and action a working plan to help you achieve your goals.
Please contact us for further details, carol@mortonkyle.com or 0779 002 1885
