hello /biz/ Anyone of you in sales? TIps in sales for cold leads?

>>1615232
Bump for interest. My sales skills are weak.

http://tipfortheweek.blogspot.com/2009/11/book-summary-zig-ziglar-secrets-of.html

>>1615232
I do write questions I'll answer when I get up if thread still alive

>>1615246
Great addition!

>>1615232

Sales for 3 years. Here's the rules:

1) No book or person has the magic secrets, you learn sales by selling. And failing. And selling. Rinse repeat until you get it.

2) Different things work for different people. There are outgoing sales people and more reserved sales people. Both can make money. You have to find find what works for you.

3) Honesty works. Brutal honesty is powerful, liberating, and customers usually love it. Just hold back that 1% of information that you know will hurt the deal.

4) Just keep trying shit. Styles, methods, strategies. Until you discover how to sell properly.

5) Sales breed sales, failures breed failures. When you get a sale, launch into another sale, launch to the moon if you can.

6) Play a little hard to get. Make the customer work to get you a little bit. How you do that is to tell them you're busy, can't meet them right away, etc... This is a time honored sales tradition, that works like a charm. You'll never make more money, then when you are in high demand and have to put customers off. They eat it up like crack cocaine.

God speed Spiderman.

>>1615232
Try to understand the person you're selling to.

If you're calling them on the phone, don't launch into a scripted pitch. Ask them questions about what they're doing and what they're having problems with. Try to ask in the terms they would use.

Not to use the cliche pen example, but if you were selling the pen, start by asking if they even need a pen. If they do, ask if they prefer red, blue, black ink, if they'd need additional colors, what they don't like about their current pen, why they're considering a new one. Figure out what they want and need, and then explain how your pen fits their needs. If it doesn't, don't try to bullshit them, just thank them for their time.

Replace "pen" with whatever product or service you're selling. You should ask as many questions as possible, and once you fully understand what they need or want, explain how your product fits their needs, and explain the next steps. Then, ask them if they'd like to move forward with whatever the next step is. Whether it's setting up a future meeting with a demo or signing a contract or paying cash right there, you have to ask for it.

>>1615232
go to the archives of /biz/ and search for "Foxbro".

Among things I learned from him, are the right use of words
Share
>Let me share with you a secret about this system
>Can I share something with you; this one costs less but has all the same features
Deserve
>Don't you deserve a this
>Your family deserves the comfort of the bigger cabin
>You work hard, you deserve this

Other words: "benefit", "opportunity", "entitled"/"entitlement"

Here are some dotpoints from my notes (yeah so autismo I take notes)
-Use assumptive language, don't ask for their permission to close the deal.
-when a customer says "I don't know" it's bullshit. Either they're too meek to say "no" or you just need to keep educating them why completing this deal is in their benefit
-Make them think the product/service costs more than it really does, then surprise them "actually it's $300 less". Now they think they're getting a bargain (this is pure Cialdini)

The most important thing is to talk to them like a human being though, like they're just some guy in a bar. Get a sense of their life story, and why are they even looking at these products. Sales and Marketing are about "solving problems" by talking to them you're finding what they're problems are so you can offer solutions - not prying open their wallet.

A book I read called "Same Side Selling" which seems to be very similar to "The Challenger" advocates this non-predatory approach, and I can see why, especially in long-term b2b relationships: you add value for you customer.

>>1615698
taking notes actually enforces the information in your brain. power of repetition.

when selling b2b, how much time do u invest in getting to know potential clients? Are you looking for the holes you can fill with your product? or are u building a relations first.

I mean, you could get a potential client interested by doing a survey in a niche without making a sale at first contact

mind my fucked up sentences, ima eurofag

>>1615997
I've never sold b2b, so bare that in mind.
You're first priority is to understand the company: risks, growth factors, hierarchy (very important to understand if the person you're dealing with has the authority to approve the purchase).

>Are you looking for the holes you can fill with your product? or are u building a relations first.
No you're not looking for "holes". Actually the most successful salesman according to "The Challenger" aren't the ones who fill holes, but the ones who find risks and opportunities even the company wasn't aware of. Always remember the Theodore Levitt quote "people don't want quarter inch drill bits, they want quarter inch holes" in other words just because you customer says they're looking for product A, you may know that they would be better served by product B because when they expand it will cost them less in costs. And that comes from having an understanding of their business model and their strategy.

I think the "building relationships" is part of all this information gathering, I wouldn't get the reps to fill in surveys, firstly because that puts them into conventional thinking, I would informally interview them, have long conversations about the company, where they think the company is going, where it's costs are greatest, and why they are looking for this particular type of service or product.

One thing to remember is your honesty in the situation, in saying "Product A is not the right solution for your company and here's why..." can get you way more business, because if all the other suppliers are pushing product A they won't have an answer when the customer comes back and asks "Why did you force Product A on us?". If you offer a solution like B, C... or a combination those other suppliers may be blindsided.
At least that's what The Challenger says.

Im also looking at solutions the customer doesn't really see at first hand, but can be usefull for them.

honesty is very important, but sometimes its hard to find the balance between listening to their demands and selling my product.