Account Manager's

Hello  Readers,

             Greetings!!!
By this post i would like to discuss few things about Account Management,and the Role of Account Managers in a Company,Which the Revenue is mainly come from selling products and services..
  Note: one of my friends expressed bit confusion statement about Accounts Manager & Account Manager.....But Both are entirely different roles in nature, First one is closely related to Finance and Accounts, Second term relates to Revenue Generation and Customer Relations...

Let we go through Briefly about Account Manage(rs)ment.

An account manager (Sales) is a person in a business who is responsible for the management of the sales and relationship with particular customers. They are usually allocated particular customers especially key accounts that provide the most business..

 Responsibilites of an Account Manager:

The responsibilities of an account manager vary depending on the nature of the business. The account manager builds client relationship by acting as the interface between the Customer service teams and sales teams within a company. The goal is to maintain the company's existing relationship with a client or group of clients, so that they will continue using the company for business. The account manager also tries to identify potential new clients and business opportunities and to persuade new customers to place business with the company.

Account managers are responsible for working with clients to identify their needs and work out how the company can best meet those requirements, in order that the client does not decide to place business elsewhere. Normally an account manager looks after existing Customers (called "farming") and leaves the creation of new accounts to the Sales team (called "hunting").

Depending on the size of the company, account managers might manage a single account or they may have a variety of clients. An account manager might have responsibility for an account at national level or at global level. Global account managers and national account managers may work together in a hierarchical or matrix structure. The trend is to move responsibility for the major key accounts to the global level.Key Account Manager
Key account management includes sales but also includes planning and managing the full relationship between a business and its most important customers. An account manager who works in this role will engage in a variety of tasks including Project management coordination, Strategic planning, Relationship management, negotiation, leadership and innovative development of opportunities. keeping record of transaction of sale and purchase goods.

Sales profile consider as Key role for any organisation actively involving in making money from exchange of their goods for a value..and sales people are considered as Revenue Generators.

But Things in the competitive Business environment are drastically changed..Every organisation Striving to achieving Desired Growth to in line with the Management and owners(share holders) Expectations....

 To achieve the collective goals of an organisation..it should be aligned according to the operating business model..

My organisation always on the first line to adapt the changes to transform towards successfull business model..For ex: ASPIRE Programme is meant for Transformation..Like this many organisation taking intiatives with various Names..

 How Many of us Agree if i say "Employee first, customer next"..This statement has been applied successfully in HCL Technologies to attain high productivity from their employees, where the company is highly dependent on the services and product engineering(here Major CAPEX is in the form of intangible human intelligence)

                                           Thanks for Reading!!!!

Sales person TO Manager

It’s Monday morning and you’re now a manager! It happens all the time. The best salesperson in the company is suddenly promoted to manager role.

Being a great sales manager takes much more than being a great salesperson. It requires a different set of skills and focus. In fact, the behavior that got you there may now work against you as a manager. In the absence of strong leadership, the best salespeople will still thrive, but those who need help the most will be the ones who suffer. And that failure not only creates revenue problems, but even worse, retention problems.

Corporate Strategy

Many Employees feel it!!!

Don't Discount Ur product/Service

Hi,
 Greetings..
Today i have gone through an interesting article in a magazine,which reflects my experience in mirror.While reading this article you may not be understand the relevance of this article, But being employed with US$6 Billion,Group subsidary, i personally felt how importance it is.....

Emphasize the virtues of your product or service, rather than the price. It will keep your competitors at bay, and your customers close.

As Sales force/Business owners, we are often tempted to discount our product or service, thinking it will somehow win us customers and drive growth.  Customers are relentless about asking for discounts too, believing that getting something cheaper is better.  Whichever perspective you look at it from, discounting is not only dumb, it's dangerous. 

Here's why:

You'll cut corners. 

Even if we try to look past it and keep our eyes on the far-off prize of increasing sales, the reality of discounts is that they require you to take a loss.  If you discount your product, something has to get cut.  Perhaps you will change the way your product is crafted, and use lower quality materials to make the discount work.  Perhaps you will have to reduce the level of service you provide, or the speed with which you deliver orders, all in the name of the discount.  While this strategy may result in a quick burst of sales, it will also burn your customers.  A customer who receives a sub-par product may be happy with the discount—until she opens the box and has buyer's remorse.  And when she does, you can rest assured, she will let other potential buyers know that you sold a product that did not meet her needs.  Rarely will she mention that the product was discounted, but instead only that it was not what she thought she was getting.  That discount has now cost you not only money, but reputation as well.

You'll invite competitors to attack.

Discounting is generally a sign of distress—and one that is easily readable by your competitors. When businesses are having trouble converting prospects to customers, they look to discounts to win business. When cash flow is in jeopardy and a company needs to balance books quickly, discounts are often used to create an emergency influx of funds.  As word gets out that you are discounting—and it will—any good competitor will come on strong by lowering prices in kind, further undercutting your chances of growing your business or stabilizing revenues.

You'll reveal a lack of confidence in your product.

Price is the weakest of all attributes to use when trying to sell your products, because any company can meet or beat your pricing either temporarily or long-term.  If you lead your sales with a discount or promotional offer, it sends a signal to your customer that your product has no better attribute to distinguish it from competing products. You may actually have the best product on the market, but by offering it at a discount, you are not only discounting it, but also devaluing it.  Discounts proclaim, in a silent but deadly manner, that what you are selling is worse than, or at best equivalent to, the product of your competitor—and customers are smart enough to know it. Relationships are built on the confidence your customers feel in your products, and the assurance they get from buying what they know to be quality. Discounts wipe out these two brand essentials and leave your business in a very risky position in both customers' minds and the marketplace.

So the next time you are ready to head in the direction of discounting, consider your choice carefully.  You surely have a better reason to convince customers to choose your product.  Focus on articulating the why of your product instead of the how much.  It will keep your competitors at bay, and inspire your customers to stay close

I always Belive in One Saying "Build Value for Your offering, The Value will play remainign part"

                             Happy Selling,Build Value

Manager(boss)

This post talks about core beliefs of Extraordinary Bosses, I read this interesting article in an online magazine, Really must read post.Continue reading....
The best managers have a fundamentally different understanding of workplace, company, and team dynamics. See what they get right.

I learned that the "best of the best" tend to share the following eight core beliefs.

 1)Business is an ecosystem, not a battlefield.

Average bosses see business as a conflict between companies, departments and groups. They build huge armies of "troops" to order about, demonize competitors as "enemies," and treat customers as "territory" to be conquered.

Extraordinary bosses see business as a symbiosis where the most diverse firm is most likely to survive and thrive. They naturally create teams that adapt easily to new markets and can quickly form partnerships with other companies, customers ... and even competitors.

2. A company is a community, not a machine.

Average bosses consider their company to be a machine with employees as cogs. They create rigid structures with rigid rules and then try to maintain control by "pulling levers" and "steering the ship."

Extraordinary bosses see their company as a collection of individual hopes and dreams, all connected to a higher purpose. They inspire employees to dedicate themselves to the success of their peers and therefore to the community–and company–at large.

3. Management is service, not control.

Average bosses want employees to do exactly what they're told. They're hyper-aware of anything that smacks of insubordination and create environments where individual initiative is squelched by the "wait and see what the boss says" mentality.

Extraordinary bosses set a general direction and then commit themselves to obtaining the resources that their employees need to get the job done. They push decision making downward, allowing teams form their own rules and intervening only in emergencies.

4. My employees are my peers, not my children.

Average bosses see employees as inferior, immature beings who simply can't be trusted if not overseen by a patriarchal management. Employees take their cues from this attitude, expend energy on looking busy and covering their behinds.

Extraordinary bosses treat every employee as if he or she were the most important person in the firm. Excellence is expected everywhere, from the loading dock to the boardroom. As a result, employees at all levels take charge of their own destinies.

5. Motivation comes from vision, not from fear.

Average bosses see fear--of getting fired, of ridicule, of loss of privilege--as a crucial way to motivate people.  As a result, employees and managers alike become paralyzed and unable to make risky decisions.

Extraordinary bosses inspire people to see a better future and how they'll be a part of it.  As a result, employees work harder because they believe in the organization's goals, truly enjoy what they're doing and (of course) know they'll share in the rewards.

6. Change equals growth, not pain.

Average bosses see change as both complicated and threatening, something to be endured only when a firm is in desperate shape. They subconsciously torpedo change ... until it's too late.

Extraordinary bosses see change as an inevitable part of life. While they don't value change for its own sake, they know that success is only possible if employees and organization embrace new ideas and new ways of doing business.

7. Technology offers empowerment, not automation.

Average bosses adhere to the old IT-centric view that technology is primarily a way to strengthen management control and increase predictability. They install centralized computer systems that dehumanize and antagonize employees.

Extraordinary bosses see technology as a way to free human beings to be creative and to build better relationships. They adapt their back-office systems to the tools, like smartphones and tablets, that people actually want to use.

8. Work should be fun, not mere toil.

Average bosses buy into the notion that work is, at best, a necessary evil. They fully expect employees to resent having to work, and therefore tend to subconsciously define themselves as oppressors and their employees as victims. Everyone then behaves accordingly.

Extraordinary bosses see work as something that should be inherently enjoyable–and believe therefore that the most important job of manager is, as far as possible, to put people in jobs that can and will make them truly happy.

As we all know Boss is a key person in Management matrix which leads an employee towards job satisfaction or viceversa, Being working as a US$6 billion Group subsidary, i always say one thing "Love Your Company, Like you Boss"

Increase your Sales--Easy ways

Hi, Readers,
    Here are some vital ways, which will enable your organisation to increase sales..
Make these easy steps to your sales process to create a huge increase in sales revenue.

Want to sell more? Here are 12 simple actions that you can take today that will increase both revenue and profit.

1. Reduce the number of opportunities you pursue. The more opportunities you've got, the more likely you are to make a sale, right? Wrong! If you can't give each prospect the attention they deserve, you'll lose sales you otherwise might make.

2. Increase the percentage of time you spend selling. Get somebody else to handle your paperwork, expense reports, or whatever busywork is involved with making a sale. Use the extra time to get in front of customers.

3. Stop buying technology because it's cool. Smartphones, tablets, and PCs can be important tools--but learning and supporting them can drain your productivity. Only purchase devices and programs that actually help you sell.

4. Think about your solution as a verb. Suppose your company makes glue. If you're selling "glue" (a noun), you'll talk about product features. If you're selling "gluing" (a verb), you'll talk what your offering does for your customer's business.

5. Treat selling as a service to the customer. Stop thinking that selling means "convincing" the customer, "overcoming" objections, and "winning" the business. Instead, view yourself as the customer's ally in solving a problem.

6. Terminate weak engagements--politely but immediately. The moment you find out that a customer really doesn't need what you're offering, point them in the right direction, then politely withdraw from the opportunity.

7. Don't confuse telling with selling. Rather than talking to the customer about what your product can do, ask intelligent questions so that the two of you can discover whether the customer really needs you to help solve a problem or achieve a goal.

8. Hone your lead generation effort. Based upon your own experience, observe who's just interested and who's actually buying. Hone your lead generation efforts to find more of the ones who are actually spending money on your offering.

9. Don't focus on the gatekeepers. Make sure that you're talking to the realdecision-makers, and not just the influencers and sideliners. When you meet a decision-maker, stay in regular communication throughout the sales cycle.

10. Stay on top of your opportunities. Don't lose track of what's changing inside the account. Build a short sales plan that documents the process and the players, so you don't spin your wheels trying to remember who needs what and when.

11. Outflank your competition. Find out who the other guys are calling on, and how they're approaching the account. Figure out who they're talking to, what they're saying, and defensively position your offering to counter their approach.

12. Increase your average Rupee value. It takes just about as much effort to cut a 1,000 deal as it does to cut a 10,000 deal. The more revenue you book on each opportunity, the more money you'll make overall.

                                                "Happy selling"

Sales Versus Marketing

Hello Readers,
 Greetings!!
                     I have come up with interesting post this time, the persons who have been into sales and marketing domains might experienced this issue, which i am going to share. Being working as a sales professional for a $6 billion group, i dare to share this after observing the things in all aspects, some part of the content taken from a business magazine. Continue Reading.

 Here are the nine most common complaints Sales has about Marketing, along with my advice to resolve the problem.

1. Marketing Acts Superior

Many marketers have business degrees, so they think they're better than sales reps who don't. However, business degrees are of limited use in sales situations–because very few business schools offer courses in sales, let alone majors or degrees.

Since what's taught in b-school is (frankly) a mix of accounting and biz-blab, the superior air of the MBA'd is neither appropriate nor helpful.

The Fix: Make certain that every marketer you hire has at least six months of experience selling something.

2. Marketing Doesn't Believe in Sales

Marketers are often taught in b-school that good marketing makes a sales force unnecessary. As Peter Drucker put it: "The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous" and "the right motto for business management should increasingly be 'from selling to marketing.'"

However, unless a product is a plug-and-play commodity, your only differentiator is how you sell it.

The Fix: Make it clear in the charter of the marketing team that they are there to support the sales team, not to replace it.

3. Marketing Thinks Selling Is Easy

Marketers think that they can create so much demand that selling consists of taking orders. However, many "demand creation" activities don't create all that much demand–especially in B2B, where customers generally ignore ads, brochures, and such.

And, of course, anyone who's ever sold knows exactly how difficult it can be.

The Fix: Have the marketers make sales calls–or field inside sales calls–so they can see how hard it is.

4. Marketing Avoids Being Measured

Marketers generally get paid when they produce leads, brochures, white papers, and so forth–even if none of that activity results in a single sale. They successfully get themselves measured on the deliverables, rather than whether the deliverables have a measurable financial impact.

The Fix: Compensate marketers on the ability of the current sales team to generate revenue and profit from the sales leads that marketing produces.

5. Marketing Claims to be 'Driving Sales'

Ugh. I've heard this phrase dozens of time from marketers who are trying to take credit for sales, even when they had absolutely no impact on making those sales take place. It's a perfect example of the "law of inverse relevancy," which is "the more you don't plan on doing something, the more you must talk about it."

The Fix: Make Marketing subservient to Sales on the organization chart.

6. Marketing Pretends It's Strategic

Give me a break. Brand is a reflection of product and service. If those are good, the brand is good; if not, the brand is bad. Yeah, branding activities help–but the idea that marketers are "brand managers" who should be directing all activities throughout the company is, frankly, ridiculous.

The Fix: Reward marketers for behavior that directly results in a measurable increase in revenue and profit.

7. Marketing Wastes Money

Needless to say, Sales is perfectly capable of wasting money (big time). However, there's also no question that marketers often expend cash on fancy brochures, advertisements, and trade show junkets that have little or no business value. And, let's face it, the more that's spent on marketing boondoggles, the less money there is for commissions.

The Fix: Give the sales team veto power over all pricey marketing activities.

8. Marketing Pretends It's Engineering

Once again, give me a break. While marketers often attempt to set a firm's technical direction, most of the time, the marketers have never even spoken to a customer–and have no idea what's technically feasible.

The Fix: Let your engineers do the engineering. That's what you pay them for.

9. Marketing Argues About Lead Quality

Marketing frequently provides Sales with lists of unqualified or underqualified leads, and then accuses Sales of being clueless because it can't close the deals.

What the marketers fail to realize that a lead is only good if it's possible (or even easy) for the sales team to close. Otherwise, it's a waste of time.

The Fix: Reassign (or fire) marketers who can't provide leads that the sales team can close.

     " Looking forward for successful association between Marketing & Sales teams" 

How To Close a SALE successfully

Hi Readers,
                   As you are aware of sales closing techniques with your own experiences being a sales professional.By this post i would like to share some effective closing techniques of sale activity which will enable you to close deals successfully. Hope this will useful for your selling activity..continue reading.

 A deal usually has several parts: the hatching of the idea by one party, then its conceptual embrace by the other side, and finally – the closing. The first two phases of a transaction or Sales cycle  are much easier than the last in most cases.

Sealing a deal – because of the prospect that it might fall apart before you get to that point – can put a lump in the throat of any small business owner.

Yet, there are ways to make yourself a better “closer” even if you’re not the natural schmoozing type and arent up on the latest sales techniques - you don’t even have to have ice water running through your veins.

Ideas for closing sales deals:

Get beyond “yes”: Time is your enemy. Once you’ve gotten your target to agree in principle that you’re going to make this deal, move them as quickly as possible toward getting it into writing. That’s because into the narrow opening between “yes” and signing on the dotted line can creep things common sales problems like second thoughts, competition or unforeseen events. So if you get a verbal expression of interest, then move resolutely toward a verbal commitment, then as quickly as possible to a written agreement that hopefully closes out the sales cycle.

Create a sense of urgency: Sometimes the person on the other end of the deal will be happy to close it – when they can get around to it. Timing may be much more important to you. So if necessary, you want to create a sense of urgency to get their commitment, and that may require some final concessions to refocus their attention. This may involve offering a 2% greater discount, net-30 terms instead of net-10 requirements, or offering a two-year service agreement instead of one-year coverage. You’ll know what it takes.

Use the threat of competition: Unfortunately, in order to get the other side to close, sometimes an entrepreneur will have to get them to understand that if they don’t do the deal with you, you’ll do the deal with someone else. Sometimes this involves bluffing, sometimes enhancing the appeal of what you’re offering. But if you can convince the target of your deal making that you’re doing something that’s going to become powerful, everybody wants a piece of that.

Generate “late-breaking news”: Throughout the relationship-building and negotiating process and beyond, be funneling helpful new information to the other party. This might be a press release about a new product, a copy of a story about your business that you’ve managed to land in the local newspaper, the result of a new independent test of your service, or that one last testimonial from an existing customer that you’re keeping in your back pocket.

                         Be prepared to not close:.Dear friends,never give up your confidence, even sale is not closed successfully. Being personally experiencing the sales i always tell a truth to upcoming sales professional ''The race is not over, because i have not won yet'' . This is most important saying i got from my company CEO through mail.The reality is that most deals don’t close, if you measure by the number of potential relationships and transactions that your company pursues. Something happens. There isn’t a fit. The timing isn’t right. You must disdain losing any deal and fight hard to land every last one. But you also need to be sober about the percentages – so you can raise them.

Customers--Types

Customer is considered as ''King'', in Business field.. The success rate of any kind of business would largely depends of their customers. So by this post i would like to share some valuable information about customer types.

The 5 Types of Customers

Increase Your Loyal Customers to Increase Your Sales

n the retail industry, it seems as though we are constantly faced with the issue of trying to find new customers. Most of us are obsessed with making sure our advertising, displays, and pricing all “scream out” to attract new customers. This focus on pursuing new customers is certainly prudent and necessary, but, at the same time, it can wind up hurting us. Therefore, our focus really should be on the 20 percent of our clients who currently are our best customers.

In retail, this idea of focusing on the best current customers should be seen as an on-going opportunity. To better understand the rationale behind this theory and to face the challenge of building customer loyalty, we need to break down shoppers into five main types:

• Loyal Customers: They represent no more than 20 percent of our customer base, but make up more than 50 percent of our sales.
• Discount Customers: They shop our stores frequently, but make their decisions based on the size of our markdowns.
• Impulse Customers: They do not have buying a particular item at the top of their “To Do” list, but come into the store on a whim. They will purchase what seems good at the time.
• Need-Based Customers: They have a specific intention to buy a particular type of item.
• Wandering Customers: They have no specific need or desire in mind when they come into the store. Rather, they want a sense of experience and/or community.

If we are serious about growing our business, we need to focus our effort on the loyal customers, and merchandise our store to leverage the impulse shoppers. The other three types of customers do represent a segment of our business, but they can also cause us to misdirect our resources if we put too much emphasis on them.

Let me further explain the five types of customers and elaborate on what we should be doing with them.

Loyal Customers

Naturally, we need to be communicating with these customers on a regular basis by telephone, mail, email, etc. These people are the ones who can and should influence our buying and merchandising decisions. Nothing will make a Loyal Customer feel better than soliciting their input and showing them how much you value it. In my mind, you can never do enough for them. Many times, the more you do for them, the more they will recommend you to others.

Discount Customers

This category helps ensure your inventory is turning over and, as a result, it is a key contributor to cash flow. This same group, however, can often wind up costing you money because they are more inclined to return product.

Impulse Customers

Clearly, this is the segment of our clientele that we all like to serve. There is nothing more exciting than assisting an Impulse shopper and having them respond favorably to our recommendations. We want to target our displays towards this group because they will provide us with a significant amount of customer insight and knowledge.

Need-Based Customers

People in this category are driven by a specific need. When they enter the store, they will look to see if they can have that need filled quickly. If not, they will leave right away. They buy for a variety of reasons such as a specific occasion, a specific need, or an absolute price point. As difficult as it can be to satisfy these people, they can also become Loyal Customers if they are well taken care of. Salespeople may not find them to be a lot of fun to serve, but, in the end, they can often represent your greatest source of long-term growth.

It is important to remember that Need-Based Customers can easily be lost to Internet sales or a different retailer. To overcome this threat, positive personal interaction is required, usually from one of your top salespeople. If they are treated to a level of service not available from the Web or another retail location, there is a very strong chance of making them Loyal Customers. For this reason, Need-Based Customers offer the greatest long-term potential, surpassing even the Impulse segment.

Wandering Customers

For many stores, this is the largest segment in terms of traffic, while, at the same time, they make up the smallest percentage of sales. There is not a whole lot you can do about this group because the number of Wanderers you have is driven more by your store location than anything else.

Keep in mind, however, that although they may not represent a large percentage of your immediate sales, they are a real voice for you in the community. Many Wanderers shop merely for the interaction and experience it provides them. Shopping is no different to them than it is for another person to go to the gym on a regular basis. Since they are merely looking for interaction, they are also very likely to communicate to others the experience they had in the store. Therefore, although Wandering Customers cannot be ignored, the time spent with them needs to be minimized.

Retail is an art, backed up by science. The science is the information we have from financials to research data (the "backroom stuff"). The art is in how we operate on the floor: our merchandising, our people, and, ultimately, our customers. For all of us, the competitive pressure has never been greater and it is only going to become more difficult. To be successful, it will require patience and understanding in knowing our customers and the behavior patterns that drive their decision-making process.

Using this understanding to help turn Discount, Impulse, Need-Based, and even Wandering Customers into Loyal ones will help grow our business. At the same time, ensuring that our Loyal Customers have a positive experience each time they enter our store will only serve to increase our bottom-line profits.

Happy selling, and increase your Customer Base

Sales Defined and Explained

Dear Readers,
                By this post, i am trying to discuss one of the key process in Marketing system...Nothing but "SALES". As you are aware Sales department in every organisation considered to be the "Revenue Generator'' for the Entire business..I don't want to look into the issue about the differences between Marketing and sales in this post. Because this post is purely relates to the ''Sales''.
       Sales people in every organisation represents the Brand of their company, as you know they are considered as Front line Employees.
A standard book definition defines ''sale'' as below
''A sale is the act of Selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation''..Now we will focus more deeply about this key function which will led organisation into greater heights and vice versa.
Sales process(Sales pipeline):
There is a general, overall process that successful sales people follow, although there are different perspectives on that process, including names for the various steps along the way. The next major section in this topic includes more detailed guidelines, tips and tools for each stage of one perspective on the sales process, or sales pipeline as some people refer to it.


You will find some useful content from wikepedia about sales process, so i don't want to   write it once again here.


CLIENTS:


These are the main people who will actually buy our offerings, from many surveys after there are 8 types of clients are identified..those are discussed below, it is purely the sales person choice to drop your client in the below catageory.

''The easiest way to sell someone is not figuring out what they want but how they want it.  Whether a customer or a boss, learn to distinguish the 8 different types of clients and start closing immediately''.

In the tumultuous art of salesmanship, there are hundreds of books, lectures, and self-actualization techniques occupying this vast realm. Many claim the “secret to success” lies bundled in this book versus the other contender boasting cliché allegories; fundamentals hidden beneath numerous pontificating chapters and exercises.

Speaking from an extensive background of 10 years in the “front-lines” for international companies and production events, I have purchased my fair share of these guides, ever so much in wide-eyed excitement for the golden goose, the panacea to all objections and glorious accolades from clients and the boss. However, there are few new approaches that can promise or guarantee. It is the basics: attitude, passion, drive, and knowledge.

I gather this reference list from years of experiences, numerous workshops, and colleague bantering improving upon the lengthy process of developing new clients and maintaining loyalty for increased sales goals. The current economic climate requires savvy awareness, increased determination, and perseverance.

Here is a list of eight types of clients/customers and advice in handling these personality types to adapt your pitch, thus increasing sales, office accolades, and getting your time to the top of the board. Please keep the context of information relative to your individual situation.

The Strong Need for Domination

Upon first interaction, either from new prospect or from a new lead, their trait is apparent: they are abrasive and defiant. The discussion is monopolized leaving small amount of time to inform or to overcome objections. Information is rapid from their impatience, tends to reaffirm their need of urgency, and interrupts when one introduces alternative perspectives. This situation can be frustrating; however, because of their desire to be dominant, you can use this to your advantage.

Solution: Prepare your meetings/conversations with extra information supporting a point allowing you to stay in control. By asking more open-ended questions you will keep the person talking and providing you with more information to the problem you need to solve.

Avoid the confrontation: this will ultimately, if not indefinitely, end in no gain and lost potential. Depending on the context, an ally within the company, such as partner, secretary, or other team member, may be ways to have your alternative perspectives reach this person on their own terms.

The Strong Need for Security

They are predominately silent, saying little to help you find the correct direction to their problem. Their attention may drift, leading to defensive responses. The reluctance to make decisions stems from their dislike in taking risks. Maintaining the status quo is their shield creating an uphill battle from the start. But, once reached within their terms, this type tends to be loyal and reliable: a worthy reward for any salesperson.

Solution: Make a consistent effort with frequent progress checks evaluating their temperament. If the need is not there immediately, the follow-ups prove to be a gradual reassurance from taking a risk.

Once an opportunity presents itself, provide a good, reliable track record from the product or service. Do not over-talk, listen patiently; you do not want to interrupt. A small amount of silence may allow the person to contemplate, allowing a perfect time for you to provide an ample amount of testimonials from current clients.

The Strong Need for Popularity

An overall enjoyable type from their desire to be liked. They are friendly, tend to agree quickly with your points, and avoid disagreeing with your data, leading you down a path of a “slam-dunk.” But, the distraction of their personality may lead away from ever making the decision to move forward. In some cases, they may keep you as a back-up only wasting your time since there is a perception they will close the deal.

Solution: Adapt your presentation to closed-ended questions in order to keep the prospect from talking off track. Find out more of their current situation: if you discover they have no real problem, they may just be talking. If they are a part of the decision process, use them as supporters for your proposal. Nothing would be better than to have an ally inside the meeting room when closing the deal.

The Strong Need for Self-Realization

This is a category that I find to be slow and long in the sales process. They are pragmatic and flexible in their time for you. Primarily solution-minded, they are self-assured by their experiences but not arrogant. Candid and open at times, they believe in risks only if the return is worth it. Demanding in differing opinions for constructive advice and solutions to hypothetical situations, they like to test a salesperson’s beliefs in the product or service.

Solution – Utilize the available time in narrowing their experiences to the solutions and the results. Since pragmatic by nature, objective data is necessary in accomplishing the sale.

Vague statistics and over-promising may be the demise to this potential prospect. Because they are candid with their own experiences, encourage questions relating to the pitch, either from an angle of what the pitch is not clarifying or from the perspective of what is leading them from their current supplier.

The Strong, Silent Type

Different from the security-driven type, they force the salesperson to do all the work. The entire “dog-and-pony show” does not sit well; they are neck deep in their own duties than to be concerned either with a proposal or information toward a solution. Uncooperative in answering questions, even closed-ended, they are a challenge to the salesperson and the salesperson’s assertions.

Solution: The significant key is being completely prepared not to waste the customer’s time. Understanding they would rather be doing something else, keep your pitch as short as possible without losing any of the important points to their needs.

Since they tend to ask or to answer little questions, be clear-minded to your objective. A good direction can be to draw the customer into a dialogue of conversation from their experiences relating to the product. Time is critical to them so if the product or service can save time or workload, use this.

The “I Can Get It Cheaper Somewhere Else” Type

This is self explanatory: always insisting they know somewhere else it is cheaper or they have a current supplier that provides a discount.

Solution: Early in my experiences, I usually shuffled this type deeper in my pipeline, but I began to understand that I already knew exactly how to proceed: let the product and objective data speak for itself.

Get information before you start into your product or pitch, especially the price they believe, or can get it at. This is a classic “pay for what you get.” The more information they can provide can lead you to research on the competitor. Display the true value they are getting with their current supplier versus the benefits from your prospective item.

Their current supplier might be cheaper, but calculate how much they lose if their orders are incorrect, late, or have no customer support, for example.

The I’m Everyone’s Friend, Salesman Type

Similar to the popular type in constantly drawing you off track with their sheer humor and off-beat casualness, you fail and fall into their trap. Their main difference is the clever way they get you to drop your defenses into providing lower pricing or additional service than you would originally have offered to a prospective client. Consider it ironic: you were sold when you were supposed to sell. And you lose out on your incentive for the sale.

Solution: Stick to business. The casual banter is always welcome; however, keep in mind what you are trying to do and what they are trying to do. Because of their nature, the innate ability to barter price with promises of future orders, insist on talking about the products and keeping the person involved by asking your own questions without getting off track.

Remember, business is a two-way transaction.

The Real Tough Buyer

The true competition for all salespeople. They make you work for their business, period. They are knowledgeable, discuss intelligently point for point your competition, and breakdown your product with a pros-and-cons formula.

Solution: Their drive for a hard bargain can cut into your pricing range but they are fair and logical in your efforts.

Being honest with the bargain and the follow-through is huge to them. Your personal attention is critical to their decision-making process. Never over-promise. The more you know about your product to combat his information on your competitor’s, the better you will close.

Always remember, salesmanship is an art. There is only so much that can be taught. The resilient attitude, the unflinching confidence, and the intuition to your prospect’s needs are the fundamentals and should never be forgotten. Take a moment to think about some of your current clients or prospects and decide if they do personify these traits.

So My Dear Friends,

"

 The next time you call could be your next close."