Inside Sales Training for Gaining More and More Prospects

The reality is, the economy has not completely shut down. Businesses are still spending money. Your prospects will buy only when the pain of not having your solution outweighs the pain of having to write you a check to pay for it!

Dallas, TX - January 22, 2011 -- I have received countless “good news, bad news” calls and emails over the last several weeks from sales people and sales managers in the communications industry. They tell me the good news is “we’re not losing sales.” Unfortunately, the bad news is “we’re not winning any either.” Prospects aren’t running to their competitors; they are running from decisions. The economy has frozen decisions dead in their tracks.

The reality is, the economy has not completely shut down. Businesses are still spending money. They are just spending it more wisely, making as certain as possible their purchases are addressing only the most pressing business issues, the most significant pain. So if prospects aren’t buying from you, they are sending you a clear message.

It’s Our Own Fault

Don’t get me wrong; the economy is partially to blame for slowing sales. But we are also at fault. Unfortunately, most communications inside sales training(http://axiomsfd.com) professionals don’t know how to sell in a recession. It’s not like no other sector has been affected by economic changes. We’ve all felt the sting. But let’s face it folks, communications manufacturers and resellers have been hit as hard, if not harder, than any other (Nortel files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy). This sector has never faced a challenge this tough, and we’re beginning to see just how spoiled we all were.

The problem is, from the beginning, we have been selling the benefits of technology. It’s as if we have been a solution in search of a problem. “Do you think this technology would benefit your company, Mr. Customer?”, “Would it be of benefit if we could save your company money?”, “What if we had a feature that would allow you to ______? Do you think that would benefit your company?” “Wouldn’t it be nice, Mr. Customer, if you could…” We have been selling things that are “of benefit,” and as a result, for a lot of customers… “nice to have.”

Survival is the strongest instinct

So am I submitting to you that people are no longer interested in the benefits of our solutions? Precisely. You see, in uncertain economic times, people don’t buy “niceties”, they buy “necessities”. Survival is the strongest of instincts. A “nicety” becomes a “necessity” when not buying it threatens the company’s very existence. As a result, a prospect can look you in the eye and honestly tell you that everything you are selling could be of benefit to their company and still not buy! They will continue without making a decision until the economy improves and they are in the mood to buy things that are “nice to have”, or until their business conditions are negatively impacted to the point where they must have your solution. Use inside sales training to find out how

Two Lessons to be Learned:

* We have to think less about the benefits of our solutions and more about threats to our customer’s business operation. Do you know enough about your prospect’s business? As a business, what are they trying to accomplish? What are their business (not communications!) goals, plans, strengths, weaknesses and opportunities? What types of things could threaten their survival; keep them from meeting their goals, working their plans? Check your SFA or sales files. If you don’t see this information, there is no possible way to prove the value of your solution in today’s economy along with inside sales training(http://axiomsfd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=57).

* We need to think less about the benefits of our customers having our solutions and more about the negative impact of our customers NOT having them as well as inside sales training(http://axiomsfd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=69).

A Final Message

Today, people are only making pain-based decisions. Stop selling benefits. If someone doesn’t understand the customer’s business well enough to quantify the negative impact of not having a new solution, they are not going to buy from anyone, including you. So, in this economy, it all boils down to this:

Your Prospects Will Buy Only When The Pain Of Not Having Your Solution Outweighs The Pain Of Having To Write You A Check To Pay For It!

Contact :
AXIOM Sales Force Development
740 E. Campbell Road, Suite 900
Dallas, TX 75081
(800) 933-8503
support@kjprnews.com
http://www.axiomsfd.com

Today, people are only making pain-based decisions. Stop selling benefits. If someone doesn’t understand the customer’s business well enough to quantify the negative impact of not having a new solution, they are not going to buy from anyone, including you. So, in this economy, it all boils down to this:

AXIOM Sales Force Development
740 E. Campbell Road, Suite 900
Dallas, TX 75081
(800) 933-8503
support@kjprnews.com
http://www.axiomsfd.com

This release was published on openPR.