Play It Safe -- Trial Close

Trial Closing is an "If ... then" question, not a closed-ended question like closing on the sale. For example:
* Trial Close: "If we can do for you all the things we discussed, then would you advertise with us?"
* Closing on the sale: "Will you sign the contract?"

A Trial Close is a safe way of testing to see if you would get a "yes" response if you were to hard close on the sale. You can use trial closing in several situations, especially when you're not 100% sure of the answer to your Trial Close question.

Trial Closes are important because:
1. It gives you insight as to where the customer stands in the sales process.
2. It allows you to uncover remaining objections.
3. It's a safe way to gauge if the customer is going to buy.
4. You gain a better understanding of the role the contact has in the decision-making process.

How To Recognize When To Trial Close
Trail Close when:
1. You're comfortable that you've received enough acceptance from all the people in the decision-making process and from delivering multiple Value Propositions to address more than one Value Opportunity. If you don't have acceptance in both those areas, you won't get the maximum sale you deserve or you won't get the sales at all when the proposal hits the real decision maker.
2. There's nothing left to discuss with the contact.
3. You're receiving Buying Cues.

The Erie Sales Club is a joint effort of three leading local businesses: Jameson Publishing, Marsha Marsh Real Estate Services, and VertMarkets.

Erie Sales Club Announces Workshop Topics

Based on feedback from the local sales community, the Erie Sales Club has landed on 4 topics that will be discussed at our free quarterly workshops this year.

Feb. 10: Networking – how to develop referral sources and how to use referrals. This was the most requested subject Erie Sales Club members wanted to hear discussed. This will be a roundtable discussion featuring Christie Mahany (Marsh Real Estate), Derek Van Slyke (Jameson Publishing Sales Coach), and Jay Fritzke (Employee Insights).

May 11: Generating New Leads. Presented by Derek Van Slyke.

Aug. 10: Voicemail: Avoiding The Black Holes. Presented by Christie Mahany.

Nov 9 : Prospecting & Overcoming The Fear Of Cold Calling. Presented by Jay Fritzke.

The workshops will be held from 6:00-7:30 PM at the Knowledge Center in Knowledge Park (near the Penn State-Behrend campus). For directions to Knowledge Park, click here.

The workshops will include:
• A brief presentation, followed by a Q&A session
• Breaking into small groups to discuss sales challenges
• Attendees take the stage for a 30-second commercial about their company
• Networking with other local sales professionals
• Free refreshments
Advanced registration is not required.

If you'd like more information or have questions, please send an email to Newsletter@ErieSalesClub.com. Hope to see you at our workshops!

The Erie Sales Club is a joint effort of three leading local businesses: Jameson Publishing, Marsha Marsh Real Estate Services, and VertMarkets.

Buying Cues: A Rep's Best Friend

Buying cues are statements or attitudes that indicate the customer may be ready to buy. They can be subtle or overt depending on the person's personality type and level of acceptance. Buying cues indicate that enough overall value has been accepted and your prospect is ready to buy. If you fail to recognize these cues, you may not advance to closing the sale.

How To Recognize Buying Cues
Here are 6 buying cues that should prompt you to close on the sale:
1. General verbal signals such as a friendlier tone of voice and asking questions that your prospect is mentally involved. "How would that work? How much is that?"
2. Repeating a question that has been answered fully already or asking the same question twice in rapid succession. "Rates -- what did you say about rates?"
3. Asking a question that indicates they picture themselves working with you, such as your process. "If I wanted to upgrade in a few months, would I call you or a service person?"
4. Asking for a sample of your services. "Do you offer a trial program? Can I take it for a test drive?"
5. Asking for your professional guidance or opinion. "How should we set that up? Is that the best program?"
6. Asking a question about starting or timing. "When does the sale end? How soon could it be delivered?"

2 Responses To Buying Cues
When you recognize the buying cue, it's up to you to decide how to respond.
1. You could follow the buying cue by trial closing or closing on the sale.
2. You could ignore the buying cue and continue to probe. You might choose this option if a buying cue is presented earlier in your conversation.

Erie Sales Club To Host Free Sales Workshops

The Erie Sales Club has announced that it will host four free sales workshops in 2011. The workshops will be held Feb. 10, May 11, Aug. 10, and Nov. 9 from 6:00-7:30 PM at the Knowledge Center in Knowledge Park (near the Penn State-Behrend campus).

“We launched the Erie Sales Club in 2010 and had some really good sales-focused conversations at our meetings,” said Jim Roddy, Co-Founder of the Erie Sales Club and President of Jameson Publishing. “So we decided to expand the discussions in 2011 and host workshops that would be open to any sales rep or sales manager in the local area.”

The workshops will include:
• A brief presentation from a local expert offering sales and sales management tips, followed by a Q&A session
• Breaking into small groups to discuss sales challenges
• Attendees take the stage for a 30-second commercial about their company
• Networking with other local sales professionals
• Free refreshments
Advanced registration is not required.

In addition to these Sales Workshops, the Erie Sales Club offers other free resources:
• Website: The Erie Sales Club website offers regular advice on Sales and Sales Management.
• e-Newsletter: The Erie Sales Club produces a monthly newsletter filled with exclusive Sales Tips. To subscribe to the newsletter, send an email to Newsletter@ErieSalesClub.com.

The Erie Sales Club is a joint effort of three leading local businesses: Jameson Publishing, Marsha Marsh Real Estate Services, and VertMarkets.

How To Respond To Objections

If you're a successful sales rep and you don't ever get any objections, you can skip this article. And then give me a call -- I want to know your secret! The reality is that we all get objections, and the first crucial step in responding to objections is to isolate the objection. Validate that there is only one objection standing in the way of the prospect buying from you. Here's the 1-2-3 plan:
1. Restate the objection.
2. Eliminate the objection -- take the objection away as if pretending it was solved.
3. Close on that objection.
Example: "So you're saying that you don't have budget now, correct? If you did have your budget now, would you purchase our product/service?"

If the isolated objection is the only one, then probe to fully understand and provide a Value Proposition if appropriate. If the isolated objection isn't the only one, probe to understand each objection and then handle each objection individually.

When you go back to probing (asking questions) to isolate and overcome objections, realize that oftentimes there are multiple objections, but only handle one at a time:
1. Understand that objection with more probing.
2. Deliver value to overcome that objection.
3. Close and get feedback. Closing will identify if there are additional objections.
4. Repeat the process until all objections have been identified, understood, and overcome.

Overcoming Objections
The best way to overcome an objection is to shout at the prospect as loudly as you can, flailing your arms in all directions. That's not true -- just wanted to see if you were paying attention.

Your success will be based on your ability to fully understand the objection and address Value Opportunities (VOs) with your value.
* Can be a new VO that we missed. We go back to define and deliver value.
* Can be a VO that we did not fully understand. We didn't ask enough questions or we worked to our own agenda. Maybe the contact is not a decision maker and cannot/did not have enough knowledge to answer your questions to properly define.
* Could be something related to their process that we do not understand, such as DM loop or budget. Sometimes it's a matter of waiting for the objection to clear itself (e.g. budget timing, new DM coming in).
* Could be an objection where a VO is identified but we cannot deliver value and can't overcome the objection. If you can't overcome it, it's usually because they won't disclose what the real objection is, they don't have money to spend, your contact isn't the decision maker, or you can't deliver the products/services that address their VOs.

The Erie Sales Club is a joint effort of three leading local businesses: Jameson Publishing, Marsha Marsh Real Estate Services, and VertMarkets.