Should You Trust Social Media Experts?

This (tongue-in-cheek) chart comes from Dave Armano. In his recent post he highlights 5 things to be wary of when dealing with anyone who claims to be a social media 'expert' - and who wants to charge you for their expertise.

As with most specialty or professional areas you need to be careful to choose someone (an 'expert') who has a relevant history - not someone who is just jumping on the bandwagon of the latest fad or trend.

SME's Using Technology to Cut Cost of Sales Visits

For any business that has staff travelling to personally visit customers it is time to review how you can capitalise on the use of modern technologies.

You don't want to lose the personal touch by going totally online. But then again you can benefit - and provide better service - by using some well-chosen technology tools such as online conferencing and Skype video calls.

This article from wall Street Journal Online has some great real-life small business examples:

"Then, once back in the office, the sales representatives would conduct follow-up
meetings – virtually. "We do a lot of teleconferencing," says Ms. Paradise.
"Through Skype and WebEx, we can solidify relationships and the education of
product."

The company has managed to reduce travel overhead by 20% compared to last year while boosting sales by 13%.

Read the whole report here.

When you are face to face with customers, whether in person or via video or telephone, make sure you are using effective sales strategies like the ones I teach at my sales training workshop.

The Easy Way to Win New Business

Dave was asking me for answers.

He was fed up with hitting the wall again and again.

It happens all too often - sales presentations that lead to nothing.

You put in all the time and effort to find your prospects. Talk over the phone. Prepare your material. Attend a personal meeting. Tell your prospect everything they might want to know.

Then you hear... "Thanks, we'll need to think about it.

"At that moment you know you have lost control - and probably the sale.

Has that happened to you?

Recently I was helping 'Dave' (my client) to fix exactly that same problem.

Dave and his colleague worked hard to make phone calls, identify the decision makers, and take time to meet them in person. But they couldn't progress further.

Why?

It shouldn't have been because of value. The system Dave was offering has been proven over a number of years. They have numerous large clients, some located internationally. And the system would save clients possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars per year - and Dave's price was a fraction of that value.

So what was their problem?

It was simple. They didn't have a strategy to make their sales conversations meaningful.

(1) They didn't ask the right questions that would enable them to remain in control of the process.

(2) They didn't ask the right questions to identify the value of what their system could do for their prospect. As a result they couldn't demonstrate why the client should buy.

(3) They spent too much time telling, and not enough time exploring the prospects situation.

(4) They were submitting proposals based on general estimates of how the client would benefit, because they didn't have specific details.

The answer to this dilemma is to thoroughly plan your sales conversations.

It doesn't matter if your sales conversations go for 10-minutes or 110-minutes, you need a proven strategy to get you over the finish line and win the business.

If you want to learn how to win more business - and avoid the same problems as Dave - download a complimentary copy of The Assassin Analogy (sales improvement guide). It contains plenty of tips and tools to get you on the right track.

If you want personal help to develop a winning sales conversation, make sure you register for a Selling With Confidence workshop. Here you'll learn practical real-world skills and actually develop your own specific sales conversation over two interactive days.

The answer is within your reach.

Dave and his colleague felt relieved. They had the solution. They knew they still had more to learn - and they could see exactly what they needed to do.

For more informative articles visit the online sales and marketing library.