Selling Tips for Salespeople - How to Win Sales by Being Positively Predictable

by Michael Schell⁽⁷⁾
Thought Leader Publications & Training

This article is about creating a positive predictable experience for your prospects and customers. Your expertise as a salesperson is not based on your product/industry knowledge alone. Decision-makers also factor in your behavior as you interact with them throughout the sales process. Your goal is to behave in a positively predictable manner, meaning you always:

Honor your promises in a measurable way by assigning a due date to any request
Send a meeting agenda via email in advance of a meeting
Are on time for appointments
Conduct all necessary research before a sales meeting
Send an email after a meeting to summarize key points and action items
Edit written correspondence for brevity and clarity
Leave voice mails that are direct and to the point
Make it clear you place the customer's interests ahead of your own

I'm sure you can think of a few items to add to the list, but you get the idea. The salespeople who create a positively predictable experience for decision-makers earn both sales and referrals by taking the risk out of the buy-sell equation. Since decision-makers are overloaded with choices when looking for suppliers, recommendations become increasingly important. Think about the last time you Googled a potential local supplier and there were dozens of choices. Wouldn't you feel your risk would be lowered if you could use the same company a respected friend or colleague used? But if your colleague refers you to a salesperson and you have a dismal experience with them, it makes your colleague look bad. You sure wouldn't be thanking them for the great tip and you might come to doubt their good judgment. By being positively consistent in your sales behavior, you increase the odds of earning referrals because you can be recommended with confidence. That's the power of predictability in sales. Isn't it great to get a call from someone who says they got your name from one of your customers? It's the ultimate business compliment and the best way to grow your business. And you can take that one to the bank.

Michael Schell, President of Thought Leader Publications, is a speaker, sales trainer & 5-time author. (Winning Sales Advice, Buyer-Approved Selling, etc).

His books are based on interviews with decision makers from companies like DuPont, Oracle & ADP. Who best to tell us how to sell than the very people we sell to?

If you want to out-communicate & out-sell the competition, visit http://www.tlp1.com for a free report: 3 Winning Sales Approaches.

Article submitted Friday, March 04, 2011 & read 126 times.

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