Being in sales - Sales Coaching

“This is where it really gets going!” Dan states with excitement as he walks through his presentation. He’s seven slides and twenty-five minutes into his standard sales pitch. He asks his first question. Dialogue ensues. The prospect is engaged. A relationship is built. “If this is where things get going, why not start here?” I ask. Dan doesn’t know what to say. The idea is so simple that it catches him completely off guard.

Jennifer’s presentation never gets going. She spends the better part of an hour before she asks her first question. Unfortunately, it’s her last. Jennifer, like so many others, closes with ‘Q&A.’ Like so many others she gets few enquires.

Mike’s last slide reads, ‘Thank you!.’ It’s an appropriate close. He has just forced his audience to sit through a forty-five minute monologue. They deserve some gratitude!

Chris participates in a conference call with a sales rep from his company. A prospective client is on the other end of the phone. In the middle of the rep’s pitch the prospect interrupts by saying, “I’m sure ____ is a great company. What I want to know is, "What can you do for me?”

Sue leads a one hour, bi-weekly conference call with twenty sales reps from around the country. Sixty minutes filled with statements. Thirty-six hundred seconds of monologue. She wonders why (1) there is little participation during the calls and (2) the group is delivering minimal sales in the industry she is responsible for: the same market she needs to motivate the reps to get more involved in if she is going to receive a bonus this year.

During a sales presentation the prospect asks Raj, “What do you do?” Instead of describing what he does as a Sales Support Engineer Raj describes the benefits he brings to clients. This motivates the individual to ask, “How will you do that for us?” Raj doesn’t take the bait. Instead of telling the customer how he will do it Raj asks the customer how we would like it done. Read the results of Raj’s question here.

Look at your formal presentations. Think about your informal discussions with prospects, clients and your sales team. Examine your marketing material, to include your web site. Checkout your email communication. Now answer the following questions:

Who is it about?
Who should it be about?

If you do not come up with the same (correct) answer for both questions you are leaving money on the table, lots of it. How much? Through his Experience David learned a definable and repeatable process for keeping his focus where it should be. He learned the language that flows from this focus. He experienced how motivated prospects, clients and team members become as a result. He continues to enjoy the half a million pounds he takes off the table every year. Read David’s story here.

The good news is that your competition is focusing their presentations, account reviews and internal communication in the wrong direction as well. The great news is that through your Experience you can take full advantage of the opportunity this represents, i.e., you can take a lot more money off the table.