A Sales Compass – A Blog by B2B Sales Connections

It is wrong to believe that every company can and will buy from you.  For example, it is unlikely sell restaurant equipment to retail clothing stores.  You could try, but chances are you would just be wasting your time.  In the same way that sports fans see mostly beer commercials and Saturday morning cartoon viewers see mostly toy ads, you must target your prospecting efforts.  Take the time to review and track your past sales to clearly define your target types of companies.  Once you know your targets, spend your time where you are most likely to find them!

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

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Do you carry a portfolio binder with you when you are on sales calls?  Make sure you add copies of reference letters, customer lists, and other testimonials.  That way you are always prepared to show them and build your credibility whenever the need or opportunity arises.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns,B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

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What do your customers have in common?  How many employees do they have?  What industries do they operate in?  How often do they use your product?  What related products do they also use in addition to your product?

When you start to track your past successes, you can identify commonalities that help you define who is most likely to buy from you in the future.    In doing so, you clearly define your target market,  ensuring you will spend most of your time talking to prospects that are most likely to buy.

For an automated sales tool that tracks your sales and clearly defines your targets, check out the Target Market Definition Tool at www.b2bsalesconnections.com/automated_tools.php.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

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The ultimate goal of any business is to make a profit.  Four years of business school and over 22 years of work experience have taught me that.  Absolutely everything a company buys affects its bottom line.  Even a pencil that lasts longer or is less expensive than the previous one purchased helps a company to make more profit.  Help you customers get to where they want to go by showing them how to your product helps them make more profit! 

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

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If you belong to a networking group where everyone introduces themselves to the whole group before you start face to face interaction, then I would like to give you a quick idea.  Always have a pen and paper ready when people are introducing themselves. When you hear from someone you want to meet write down their name and their company so you can introduce yourself once the mixing & mingling starts.

If you don’t get a chance to talk to them at the event you can look up the company and call the person directly. Often a personal call a day or two later will net better results than a few minutes of talking at a busy networking event.

If you would like more information on how to create your own unique value proposition for networking and business development I would be happy to send you a copy of  Creating Your Unique Value Proposition.  Just send an email request to rjweese@b2bsalesconnections.com  and I will send you a free copy

AIM HGHER!

Robert J. Weese  – www.b2bsalesconnections.com

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Do you track all of your prospecting contacts in contact management program?  Make sure you enter every call, regardless if they are a prospect or not.  Not only it is important for you to know where to go when, but it is also important to know where not to go.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

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If you sell a simple or transactional product where the customer can make the buying decision very quickly, don’t write the price on a brochure when the prospect asks for a quotation.  Write the price on an order form instead.  Not only will this give the prospect the information he has requested, but it will save a lot of time because the sale will close much more quickly.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

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Regardless of how expensive or complicated your product is, a written proposal should not be longer than 6 pages.  Too much information can actually slow or halt the sale, not move it forward.  Your prospect only needs just enough of the right information to make a logical buying decision.  Did you need of want detailed blueprints of framing, plumbing and electrical wiring before you bought your house?  Neither does your prospect!

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

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It is dangerous to believe that every company in your target market can buy from you at any time. For example, it is unlikely that you would lease a new car today when your current lease still has two years left. Know how often your prospects buy your products. This is not the same as how often they use your products, but rather how often they renegotiate the contracts for their use. You use you car every day, but you only buy a new one every few years. Knowing where your targets are in their buying cycle ensures not only you being in the right place, but being there at the right time!

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, www.twitter.com/SusanEnns, or www.youtube.com/user/SusanEnns

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Successful sales representatives know that proposal templates are a huge time saver when creating quotations.  All that should be needed to customize a proposal for a particular prospect is to change the customer information and the financial considerations.  Many studies show that sales people only spend about 25% of their time selling.  If you have a $1 million quota, your time is worth $2,000 per hour.  Use it wisely!

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/SusanEnns, or www.twitter.com/susanenns

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