In 2005 Seth Godin, a marketing guru and author of several classic marketing books, posted his list of facts that every good marketer should know. But his list doesn't only apply to the marketing side of business: several of his tips are just as relevant (if not more so) for salespeople.
1. Your best customers are worth far more than your average customers.
The 80/20 is so often quoted in business because it's surprisingly accurate. All salespeople soon come to realize that there are a few customers in their territory who quietly buy over and over without any fuss. Those customers will end up making the company (and the salesperson) far more money over time than the general pool of customers. So keeping those customers happy should be a priority! Send thank-you cards, birthday cards, special gifts, and anything else you can think of to recognize and appreciate your best customers.
2. Wallet share is more profitable and more effective a measure than market share.
Most companies offer more than one product or service. If your company falls into this group, then you can judge your success by looking at how many products each of your customers owns. If you sell computer hardware, for example, you can calculate what percentage of your customers have bought just one piece of hardware from your company, such as a sound card, and are getting all the rest of their equipment from another supplier. Customers who only own one of your company's offerings are a warning sign that they are probably not thrilled with you (otherwise they would have come back for seconds). But they're also a golden opportunity. You can reach out to those customers and find out what's holding them back... and then sell them everything else that your company makes.
3. Low price is a great way to sell a commodity. That’s not marketing,though.
Unless you really are selling a commodity, price shouldn't be your primary sales tool. Instead, focus on offering the best VALUE in your industry, which is completely different and a lot more lucrative. Value is all about providing the best return for the money your customers spend. So if your product is clearly superior to a competitors', it's a better value even if it costs a bit more. Offering the best value is a good deal for you, because you can charge more, but it's also a better deal for your customers.
4. You can’t fool all the people, not even most of the time.
Once a company acquires a bad reputation, the stain will linger forever. Thanks to the Internet, bad reviews and customer horror stories can circle the globe in an amazingly short time and reach every potential customer you will ever have. On a smaller scale, this is also true for individual salespeople. So behaving with integrity is not only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do.
5. People don’t buy what they need. They buy what they want.
This concept is one that every salespeople should understand. Sales is all about emotion (wants) rather than logic (needs). Selling to a prospect's emotions will be infinitely more effective than trying to reason him into buying. That's why benefits are far more powerful in a sales pitch than features. Wants fall into two general categories: wanting to have something, and wanting to keep from losing something. Pick one type or the other and base your sales pitch around that concept, and you'll do well.
6. B2B marketing is just marketing to consumers who have a company to pay for it.
Salespeople tend to treat B2B sales and B2C sales as very different things, but they come down to the same set of requirements. People are people whether they're buying something for personal use or they're buying it for their jobs. B2B tends to be more complex because you're likely to have to deal with more than one person, and often there's a set purchasing system in place that you'll need to follow. But within that framework, the sales process is the same.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
1. Your best customers are worth far more than your average customers.
The 80/20 is so often quoted in business because it's surprisingly accurate. All salespeople soon come to realize that there are a few customers in their territory who quietly buy over and over without any fuss. Those customers will end up making the company (and the salesperson) far more money over time than the general pool of customers. So keeping those customers happy should be a priority! Send thank-you cards, birthday cards, special gifts, and anything else you can think of to recognize and appreciate your best customers.
2. Wallet share is more profitable and more effective a measure than market share.
Most companies offer more than one product or service. If your company falls into this group, then you can judge your success by looking at how many products each of your customers owns. If you sell computer hardware, for example, you can calculate what percentage of your customers have bought just one piece of hardware from your company, such as a sound card, and are getting all the rest of their equipment from another supplier. Customers who only own one of your company's offerings are a warning sign that they are probably not thrilled with you (otherwise they would have come back for seconds). But they're also a golden opportunity. You can reach out to those customers and find out what's holding them back... and then sell them everything else that your company makes.
3. Low price is a great way to sell a commodity. That’s not marketing,though.
Unless you really are selling a commodity, price shouldn't be your primary sales tool. Instead, focus on offering the best VALUE in your industry, which is completely different and a lot more lucrative. Value is all about providing the best return for the money your customers spend. So if your product is clearly superior to a competitors', it's a better value even if it costs a bit more. Offering the best value is a good deal for you, because you can charge more, but it's also a better deal for your customers.
4. You can’t fool all the people, not even most of the time.
Once a company acquires a bad reputation, the stain will linger forever. Thanks to the Internet, bad reviews and customer horror stories can circle the globe in an amazingly short time and reach every potential customer you will ever have. On a smaller scale, this is also true for individual salespeople. So behaving with integrity is not only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do.
5. People don’t buy what they need. They buy what they want.
This concept is one that every salespeople should understand. Sales is all about emotion (wants) rather than logic (needs). Selling to a prospect's emotions will be infinitely more effective than trying to reason him into buying. That's why benefits are far more powerful in a sales pitch than features. Wants fall into two general categories: wanting to have something, and wanting to keep from losing something. Pick one type or the other and base your sales pitch around that concept, and you'll do well.
6. B2B marketing is just marketing to consumers who have a company to pay for it.
Salespeople tend to treat B2B sales and B2C sales as very different things, but they come down to the same set of requirements. People are people whether they're buying something for personal use or they're buying it for their jobs. B2B tends to be more complex because you're likely to have to deal with more than one person, and often there's a set purchasing system in place that you'll need to follow. But within that framework, the sales process is the same.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
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