| |
Sales Prospecting - How to Stand Out From Competitors in a Commodity Market
By Alan Rigg
I have received a number of requests for advice from salespeople and sales managers that sell "commodity" products and services. When I refer to commodities, I don't just mean pork bellies or frozen concentrated orange juice. A commodity is any product or service where the target prospect is likely to be thinking:
"I get contacted by (X) salespeople a day that sell (whatever they perceive your product or service to be). Why should I spend any of my time with YOU?"
How can salespeople prospect successfully if their target prospects see them as just one of many possible (and nearly identical) sources for a product or service?
The key challenge when prospecting in a crowded field is finding some way to capture enough of a prospect's attention to convince them to meet with you. This all-important first meeting is the starting point for building a relationship, which in turn is a crucial element of success in "commodity" sales. Here are four strategies that will help you win more of these elusive first meetings:
1. Write and Distribute Special Reports
What special report could you write that would be useful to your target prospects? Conduct the necessary research, write the report, make sure your name is highlighted on the cover page, and get the report into your prospect's hands.
What is the value of a special report that you have authored? Think about it -- How many of your competitors have AUTHORED a special report? Do you think authoring a special report might create the impression of significant or unusual expertise? Do you think it might increase your credibility with your target prospects?
2. Deliver Business Interest Seminars
Seminars are another great way to build credibility and initiate relationships. To be effective, they need to address subjects (ideally, problems or frustrations that your company solves) that your target prospects really care about. You and your company can offer these seminars on your own or in partnership with suppliers or other (non-competing) companies that wish to pursue the same target prospects.
3. Build Relationships With Other Salespeople Who Sell to Your Target Prospects
What other products and services do your target prospects buy? Which companies provide those products and services? Who are the salespeople for those companies?
Look to establish mutually beneficial relationships with salespeople from non-competing companies where you can REFER prospects to each other. Your success rate for booking appointments from referrals should be much higher than your success rate with cold calls.
4. Learn From Successful Salespeople in Your Company Who Have "Cracked the Code"
You don't have to re-invent the wheel. Invite the successful salespeople in your company to lunch or dinner. Use your time together to pick their brains by asking them the following questions:
* How did they achieve success?
* What are their favorite prospecting techniques?
* If they are at a stage where they are focusing solely on servicing existing accounts, how did they originally initiate their relationships with these accounts?
After the meeting, think about what they said and decide which of the suggested prospecting approaches might fit well with your own talents and interests.
Conclusion
The key challenge when prospecting for "commodity" product or service sales opportunities is capturing enough of your prospect's attention to convince them to meet with you. Use these four strategies to win more of those elusive first meetings!
About the Author
Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: Why Most Salespeople Don't Perform and What to Do About It. His company, 80/20 Sales Performance, helps business owners, executives, and managers DOUBLE sales by implementing The Right Formula(tm) for building top-performing sales teams. For more information and more FREE sales and sales management tips, visit http://www.8020salesperformance.com.
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/18767.html
| If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/18767.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
| Some other articles by Alan Rigg | Sales Recruiting - How to Hire More Top Sales Performers - Part 2
Another key reason why companies suffer from 80/20 performance is their processes for hiring, training and managing salespeople rely almost entirely upon ...
Sales Recruiting - How to Hire More Top Sales Performers - Part 1
Business executives and sales managers frequently complain about "80/20" performance on their sales teams, where approximately 80 percent of sales are produced by approximately 20 percent of salespeople. Why do salespeople perform so ...
Sales Process - Maximize Sales by Minimizing "Windshield Time"
During the late 1980's I was a field sales representative for a computer distributor, selling computer systems and peripherals in and around Los Angeles, California. The traffic was horrendous, and the time ...
Sales Leads - Three Things Every Website Should Do
When I started my company in 2002, I knew I needed to have a website. Why? To provide credibility! How can a company be ...
Strategic Selling - How to Sell Strategically
If you want to maximize your sales performance, take a STRATEGIC approach to selling. After all, wouldn't you agree that "the 80/20 rule" applies to customers, where approximately 20 percent of customers produce ...
Sales Territory Management - How to Prioritize Your Activities to Produce Maximum Results
How you prioritize your sales territory management activities depends upon whether you are managing a territory that has existing customers, or whether you are building your customer base from scratch.
If ...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
