AUDIO: How to turn the sales tide in your favor

QUINCY, MASS.
July 20, 2010 9:30pm

Making sales is tough as the country and small business remain mired in the deepest recession since the 1930s. But sales people can turn the tide in their favor by following a few strategies to reinforce current customer relationships and garner the attention of new prospects, says John Graham, president of Graham Communications, a Quincy, Mass., marketing services and sales consulting firm.

“There are a number of items that contribute to turning the tide and if they’re ignored, they contribute to being swamped,” says Mr. Graham.

One problem that’s a creature of the times is the need to provide would-be customers information instantly. “Certain things like Apple’s new iPad certainly contribute to the possibility of delivering instantly real time information,” he says. “And that’s what impresses people.”

(John Graham amplifies on his ideas to help sales people make sales and how managers can rethink their roles in today’s CVBT Audio Interview. Please click on the play arrow below to listen now. You can download the audio file by clicking on the link at the end of the story.)

Mr. Graham offers additional suggestions, in his words and digested from a longer submission:

• Salespeople must be competent business consultants. While “there will always be a need for salespeople,” those who only want “get the order and get going” are fast disappearing.

• Keep your promises. Who wants to do business with someone who ignores deadlines, who jokes about being late to meetings and then bows out early? For some reason, it’s easy to forget that appointments are promises. Meeting times are promises. Due dates are promises. Proper preparation is a promise. Deadlines are promises.

• Develop your own networking group. With all the networking opportunities that exist via the Internet and with face-to-face, why spend the time doing it yourself?

• Stay away from “entrapment marketing.” While it’s nothing new, the Internet has elevated “entrapment marketing” to new dizzy heights. It might also be called “marketing for suckers.” It starts with a lure, usually a free “report” or an article with an intriguing title that captures a viewer’s interest. Then, when someone clicks on it, up pops a page with the first few paragraphs of the article. Getting to the rest of it takes another click -- and filling out a form with your contact information.

• Make it easy for customers to find you. This may sound so obvious it’s silly. Yet, compare the amount of time and money companies spend on trying to find customers with their pitifully limited investments in having customers find them.

Today’s customers want to be in charge of making purchases; they don’t want someone chasing them. The task, then, is staying in front of customers, whether it’s on the Internet, through advertising, articles or using the social media so that when they get ready to buy, you’re there. The “hottest” lead of all is when the customer contacts you.