Questions answered by the Ziglar team of sales experts...
Q: For around eight months I have been [prospecting and making presentations], I still have yet to make a successful sale. Is it a cultural difference or just my lack of closing skills that leads me to failed sales? Please help me. Signed, A. Espiritu from the Philippines
A: I really don't know if it's a cultural situation or not... So, let's focus on the selling process. There are four filters that every sale must pass through to be a successful sale. You must answer "yes" to all these questions for a sale to take place...
1. The product: Is your product meeting the needs of potential customers? Is it a product that gives VALUE to your prospects?
2. The prospect: Is your prospect a qualified prospect? Does he/she have a need? Is he/she aware of the need and have a sense of urgency to act upon this need?
3. The process: Is your process focused on the prospect??? Oftentimes, we spend more time telling about ourselves than we do learning about the other person.
4. The person: Are you doing an effective job in the selling cycle????
If you answered "no" to any of these, you have found your problem. I suggest that you ask he person you sold why he purchased from you... Also, ask people who don't buy from you why they didn't buy from you... You will learn a lot from the answers to those questions.
Now, go sell somebody something!
Q: I am going to make the jump to entry level sales soon and I wanted to know what is a good way to start a conversation with someone you're trying to sell something to? Sincerely,
Jim S. from Illinois
A: We teach a process called the "POGO Profile." The benefit of this process is to ease into a conversation with a process by asking a series of questions about the Person, the Organization, the Goals, and the Obstacles to those goals. You set up the conversation by saying, "Thanks for meeting with me. As I mentioned on the phone, the purpose of
my visit is to find out a little about you, your organization, and some of the goals you've established.
A: I really don't know if it's a cultural situation or not... So, let's focus on the selling process. There are four filters that every sale must pass through to be a successful sale. You must answer "yes" to all these questions for a sale to take place...
1. The product: Is your product meeting the needs of potential customers? Is it a product that gives VALUE to your prospects?
2. The prospect: Is your prospect a qualified prospect? Does he/she have a need? Is he/she aware of the need and have a sense of urgency to act upon this need?
3. The process: Is your process focused on the prospect??? Oftentimes, we spend more time telling about ourselves than we do learning about the other person.
4. The person: Are you doing an effective job in the selling cycle????
If you answered "no" to any of these, you have found your problem. I suggest that you ask he person you sold why he purchased from you... Also, ask people who don't buy from you why they didn't buy from you... You will learn a lot from the answers to those questions.
Now, go sell somebody something!
Q: I am going to make the jump to entry level sales soon and I wanted to know what is a good way to start a conversation with someone you're trying to sell something to? Sincerely,
Jim S. from Illinois
A: We teach a process called the "POGO Profile." The benefit of this process is to ease into a conversation with a process by asking a series of questions about the Person, the Organization, the Goals, and the Obstacles to those goals. You set up the conversation by saying, "Thanks for meeting with me. As I mentioned on the phone, the purpose of
my visit is to find out a little about you, your organization, and some of the goals you've established.
That way we can determine if there are any mutual benefits for our companies. This will take about 10 minutes. Is that fair?"
Jim, you should create some questions around the Person, Organization, Goals, and Obstacles. These should be open-ended questions which encourage the prospect to give
you open information. Following are some sample questions for each category.
Person:
What is your position here?
How long have you been with the organization?
Organization:
What does your department do?
How large is your department?
Goals:
What goals have you established for the quarter/year?
What steps are in place to accomplish these?
Obstacles:
What hurdles do you see standing in your way?
The purposes of these questions are to: profile the prospect by getting to know him/her better; give structure to the sales conversation; and begin uncovering the need stage of the sales process.
You have to revise this method to fit your needs and the sales environment.
Now, Go Sell Somebody Something!
