84. Why is it important for you to sell with focus?
Don't say: "This will increase sales."
Instead say: "If you sell 100 of these per week your profit will be over $12,000 per year".
Don't say: "This will lower your labor cost."
Instead say: "This will save you four hours per day in labor cost which will amount to over $7,000 per year in total savings."
Don’t use the shotgun approach. Don't try to describe everything you can do in one breath. You've got 3 seconds to get their attention, 30 seconds to tell them why it will benefit them.
Your focus should not be only on products or services. Your focus should be on results such as additional profits, bigger invoice or order sizes, additional customers, lower operating expenses, lower product cost, etc.
In some cases you might want to focus on the results first and the product second. The travel business is a good example. They always focus the results of travel, like the walk on the beach in mid January, or sitting on a lounge chair overlooking the tropical island. They don't tell you about the cramped six-hour plane ride and the 3 hours you have to spend standing in the airport security line.
Your prospect is indifferent. They are thinking about themselves, their problems, their goals, and are completely uninterested in you or your interruption in their day.
Your prospects are exposed to as many as three thousand advertising messages every day. In addition to being interrupted every eight minutes with some type of problem, phone call or employee, they are being called on by hundreds of sales people.
The first three seconds...
You have to say something or show the customer something that will peak their interest in such a way that will make them forget all the things that are currently occupying their mind. What can you do or say that will accomplish this important step in the sale; getting attention? Here are a few examples:
~ Product cost
~ Labor cost
~ Increasing customer base
~ Increasing order size
~ New ideas to help build business
~ Marketing and merchandising ideas
~ New products or services
~ Success stories
~ Their profit and loss statement
~ Solutions to their potential or current problems
~ All are good for getting attention.
What can you say that will swing the prospect's attitude so they will listen with interest what you have to say? You MUST have an opening line that breaks through that attitude and provokes the prospect to say...
"Wow, I'll listen to your story. This is relevant to me and my problems and the goals I am trying to reach! You really know ME and understand MY problems!"
Try focusing on something new. It doesn't necessarily have to be a new product, only new to them. In marketing the word "new" is used over and over again to attract attention. They are always telling about a "new ingredient" or how the product is "new and improved" or it is now in a "new size". Bringing something new to your customers week after week will show them that you are interested in their business by keeping them informed of all the things that are available.
The same is true when talking about percentages. The more you can tie it to a dollar amount the more receptive the customer will be. Don't say "This could lower your cost by one percent". Instead say "this could lower your cost by at least $10,000 per year, which is a full percentage point".
When buying products, customers don't generalize, they think in specifics. The next time you introduce a new product to your accounts, focus on the specifics.
Comments:
I clearly remember selling a customer a specific which changed how I sell. It was dinner rolls and mine were a little less by the case but a much higher quality product. The customer didn’t care about the quality he cared about the price. I broke it down by the roll and told him based on the volume of business he would save 25,000 dollars by the time he retired. It was a lot of rolls. Two cents a roll does not seem like a lot of money. On the other hand 25,000 is enough to grab your attention.
Dave Ferren
You start off with “we are the best” and then start the long process of explaining why with facts and specifics. Every company is convinced that they are “the best” and every new prospect does not think that. Along the way, perhaps you convince the prospect that you might be the best in one certain area to the point where they give you an opportunity to prove it by giving you some business. If you are successful and do what you professed to do you should eventually be able to gain most of their business because they will begin to think you really are “the best”.
Crocker Smith
This report is all about knowing your stuff basically. You can’t just make a general statement, you need to show the client in numbers and in a visual presentation exactly what we can do for them. By having something to show them, we appear to know our business and are willing to go thru the trouble of proving what we say. Know your client, do your research and be prepared.
Kimberly Burgess
Serious customers/prospects will feel you are wasting their time if you cannot focus on specifics. The importance of targeting the right market, and finding something new to share with the prospect each week, is a challenge. But if the fast food and soft drink industries can do it, so can we!
Paulette Clarke
When I am selling I tend to focus on the immediate close. I need to improve and really think about the big picture for the client. Using numbers really seems to work. “You will save $10,000 on your recruiting cost for the first 6 months next year”. The sales person’s focus needs to be whatever the client’s wants and needs are, and every single client is different. I agree with this article. If you aren’t able to focus on one goal most sales people will tend oversell the client.
Danah Parmley
Selling with focus, giving the customer the numbers, sounds more like the sales person is the professional, and they know what they are talking about. But you have to be sure that you are giving the customer relative information to their business. Don't just pick a number out of thin air, actually take the time before the meeting to let them know how much dollars this will save them. At the end of the day, the customer doesn't work in percentages, they work in the dollar figure. Giving a comment such as "this will decrease your labour costs" doesn't hold much weight with customers. I found this out first hand!
JoAnne Welch
This lesson takes me back to the lesson about knowing your client or potential client. Some clients are in desperate need of a payroll. Some are fine with their payroll and need quality people to work for them to reduce turn over and costly training. You have to treat each customer individually. I totally agree with your statements about being specific. I took a spreadsheet to a current client and asked for all their business instead of just a small fraction of it. I showed them where they could save more than $20,000 per year by just allowing our company to handle their account exclusively. I use to teach financial statement analysis. Most of the time my students would tell me that sales dropped or expenses rose. I already knew that by looking at the Income statement. I wanted to know WHY!!
Jeffery Mole
"One specific is worth a hundred generalities. When buying products, customers don't generalize, they think in specifics. The next time you introduce a new product to your accounts, focus on the specifics."