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The Final PR Word

P R
For Sales Professionals, everywhere…..
This is the last of four blogs in the series on PR words. How did the last blog about the buyer’s PRocess impact what you know about where your client/customer is in their decision making…and what you are able to complete and achieve with them today? Our final P R word is….

PRoduct(s)
  • Based on what we have learned about their problem, what matters most to them, and where they are in their process, what are the best product solutions for them?
  • H…

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The Third PR Word


This is the third of a series of four blogs. What did you get from the last blog learning about the PRiorities that your client/customer is trying to satisfy? Our next P R word is….

PRocess
  • Where are they in their decision-making process….and how are you going to find out?
  • Are they expecting or able to decide today…or will another meeting be necessary to complete this process?
  • What do they already know or are using as a measure of comparison? 
  • How will you ‘forward the sale’ and move …

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The Second PR Word


This is the second in a series of four blogs about P R words. What did you gain from the last blog to learn more about the PRoblem that your client/customer is facing? Let’s keep looking at our next P R word….

PRiority
  • What matters MOST to them NOW? 
  • What are the key and essential elements of the problem they are trying to solve or the vision they are trying to realize?
  • What are the motivating aspects of this process and decision that is driving them now? 

This part of the sales i…

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Calling After Delivery

In home furnishings retail showrooms, we have done a poor job with this area; it is an industry shortcoming!

We even have a name for this action: a can of worms that shouldn’t be opened. Seriously. We treat it as something to be avoided at all costs.

And yet, I assert that we could raise our revenues by 10-15% with this action ALONE. And to do that, we need to align our expectations with what is likely to happen and upgrade our skill of managing it when it does.

What does that mean?
Ex…

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Guardrails #2

To continue with the guardrail conversation… setting boundaries.
A boundary that helps guide the conversation is the ability to say “No.”

Say NO when the client/customer asks for things that cannot be done – either within the current budget or timeframe.
Say NO when the client/customer asks for additions without adding to what they are paying for it. 
Say NO when the client/customer asks you to ‘take it out of your commission’.
Say NO when the client/customer asks you to do something that you know is…

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Guardrails #1

In the very simplest of terms, as a sales professional, our job is to make it easy for our customers/clients to say yes… and to buy from us. 
To do that, we need to truly be responsible for the entire sales interaction and how it goes, and where it ends up.
Guardrails help that. 

By guardrails, I mean guiding the conversation so that it doesn’t veer off course and stays in the lane for the intended outcome. Guardrails include asking questions that will direct the discussion and get the answer…

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GRATEFUL SOLUTIONS

Consider the skill it takes to collaborate with a client/customer to find a solution that they can say ‘yes’ to. That skill takes practice to develop and a belief that the practice will enhance the interaction and the outcome. And that the practice of collaboration and problem-solving will lead to more effective outcomes.

If you are achieving that, it is because you chose to try something different… and were willing to be uncomfortable with the process (and yet trust it!) so that you could produc…

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GRATEFUL QUESTIONING

How can we bring gratitude to questioning? When do we need it the most?

Let’s look at where questions start. Are they coming from a place of interest and helpfulness?

Are the questions originating from compassion and a desire to understand?

Are the questions courageous (tough to ask but we know we must) and considerate (asked in a
way that is respectful and kind)?

When a sales interaction is successful (in that it produced a sale or an appointment), take a moment to present and to be gratef…

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Practice – the rewards

I need to bring the topic back around to selling.

Ah, the practice of selling. It is a practice. There are so many elements: the practice of setting goals, the practice of connecting with strangers, the practice of asking discovery questions, the practice of presenting solutions to customer priorities, the practice of handling objections, the practice of asking for a commitment, the practice of being silent and still, the practice of follow up and outreach, the practice of organizing your bus…

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Asking for the Commitment…are you asking enough?

Here’s a question…when you KNOW that the solution you presented is spot on, and the customer agrees…and yet they have a question or a concern – which you overcome, do you then ask for the sale?
And if they hesitate or say: ‘I want to think about it,’ do you manage it and ask for the sale again?
And if the sale is not forthcoming, do you ask for and get an appointment – to ask for the sale again?

Okay, this might seem like waaaayyyyy too much for you. You may call it too aggressive. Too inse…

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