Tag: sales

Top 13 Sales Methodologies | Part 2

Posted on | by Sienna

sales methodologies

Here is Part 2 of our Top 13 Sales Methodologies used by successful sales teams today.

Continuing where we left off from Part 1 of our Top 13 Sales Methodologies

8. MEDDIC

The MEDDIC sales methodology is a qualification process for complex and enterprise sales.

The acronym stands for Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain, Champion. This methodology suggests, thst to get answers, you need to ask your prospect the six MEDDIC questions:

  1. Metrics: What’s the economic impact of the situation?
  2. Economic buyer: Who controls the appropriate budget?
  3. Decision criteria: What are the formal evaluation criteria the organization is using to pick a vendor?
  4. Decision process: How will the organization pick a vendor? What are the specific stages?
  5. Identify pain: What are the trigger events and financial consequences of the problem?
  6. Champion: Who is selling on your behalf?
4 Ways MEDDIC Can Help Shorten Your Sales Cycle and Increase Productivity - Salesloft

9. THE CHALLENGER SALE

The Challenger Sales model was developed in 2011 as a response to customers entering sales situations with more information than in previous years. Rather than trying to build relationships with prospects, this sales methodology encourages sales reps to take control of the sales process.

According to Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson, authors of The Challenger Sale: How To Take Control of the Customer Conversation, there are five primary types of salespeople, the:

  1. Hard Worker: consistently gives 110 percent, loves development, easily motivated.
  2. Relationship Builder: gets along with everyone and builds excellent customer relationships.
  3. Lone Wolf: extremely independent, likely to follow their gut before the rules.
  4. Problem Solver: always reliable and detail-oriented.
  5. Challenger: enjoys debate and pushes the customer out of their comfort zone.

Challengers succeed by understanding the customer’s business well enough to point out flaws. Then they create doubt – to be able to offer an alternative solution. It’s not a traditional tactic. But a good Challenger is typically successful at closing deals by using debate rather than persuasion.

Over 50% of top complex sellers either fit the Challenger profile or use the Challenger Sales method. Like any sales methodology, its success lies in understanding the current psychology of the consumer market. And also how customers are approaching their purchases.

Crucially, the Challenger Sales methodology is a transition from pitch-based selling to educational selling. Rather than pitching a specific product, a Challenger will respond to client needs. They will then analyse those needs. And finally present a solution the client may not have considered.

Challenger sale methodology is about challenging customer's belief | by Neel kamal | Medium

10. INBOUND SELLING

Inbound selling is a sales methodology that focuses on monitoring qualified leads through the buyer’s journey. That is, learning the buyer’s needs through targeted research, and meeting them with a personalised proposal at precisely the time they’re most primed for a salesperson’s input.

Additionally, inbound selling is a really effective sales approach for modern buyers. It is contrary to outbound sales, which involves a lot of cold-calling and impersonal sales pitches. Inbound marketing and sales is a customer-centric approach that focuses on:

  1. Effective prospecting
  2. Attracting leads by creating and sharing valuable content
  3. Framing the offer around the individual buyer’s needs

Fundamentally, inbound selling is about tailoring your messaging to attract and nurture the most qualified leads for your offer. Inbound salespeople know that it’s counterproductive to rush the buying decision, Instead, they monitor potential buyers’ activity (through social media or LinkedIn, for example).

They then go on to guide them through a buying process only when they indicate they’re ready for input. Timing in inbound selling is crucial. Brian Signorelli, a well-known sales specialist calls this “changing the way you sell to match how people buy.”

What is the Inbound Sales Methodology?

 

11. THE SANDLER SYSTEM

Sandler sales methodology has a lengthy past of more than 50 years. In this model, the typical sales process is extended to a certain extent. Sandler sales methodology advises salespeople to act as a consultant rather than a “typical salesperson”.

The focus is on convincing the prospect. A salesperson will focus more on the closing stage of the sales process, whereas the Sandler salesperson will concentrate most of their energy on the qualification process.

In the Sandler sales model, the seller and buyer both will be equally invested in the selling process. This methodology is divided into 7 steps which differ from a usual 5-step sales process.

  1. Bonding and Rapport
  2. Up-front Contracts
  3. Pain
  4. Budget
  5. Decision
  6. Fulfillment
  7. Post-Sell
Is the Sandler Sales Methodology for You? | Lucidchart Blog | Mind mapping tools, Sales techniques, Sales training

12. TARGET ACCOUNT SELLING

Pareto’s Principle says that 80% of your sales can be attributed to 20% of your customers. Similarly, 80% of your revenue can be attributed to 20% of your effort (or time).

Therefore, if you’re taking a scattergun approach to selling and just trying to get as many customers as possible through your door, you’re wasting a lot of time. As well as energy and effort on small accounts that aren’t going to ramp your sales. With target account selling – you focus efforts on potential clients who are most likely to convert into high-revenue accounts.

Your most productive customers are your most complex. They may have longer sales cycles, but when they make a purchase it’s far larger. Instead of making a sale for $10,000, the sale will make you $100,000.

Selling to this type of customer takes more planning. You must know who you are targeting. And then, develop close relationships with them. You must be patient. Treat them as a partner rather than a commodity.

Target account selling methodology can only be successful with a concerted effort that brings marketing, sales, and customer outcomes into alignment.

You’ll need to research accounts. But also, put in place targeted marketing campaigns and communicate regularly and often with your clients. Plus also offer great after-sales support.

What is TAS? Building a Qualified Target Account Selling List

 

13. HEARTS & MINDS™

For more than two decades the KONA Group has been helping organisations solve the People and Performance issues of Leaders, Sales Managers, and Sales People, that are limiting their business outcomes and growth. 

The Hearts & Minds™ Sales Process is a Sales Methodology that has been developed by the KONA Group to ensure your organisation’s Sales People and Sales Managers become your most strategic advantage, developing leverage above and beyond your competition. 

To distinguish your offering to the market, your Sales People, and Managers, must seek to influence your customer’s business and wherever possible become Strategic Partners, which focusses on bringing wide-ranging benefits to both businesses.  

Your service/ product range will not necessarily be ‘the end’, despite an excellent service/product offering. In many cases your services/products will become a means to an end, forming a part of a much more significant relationship. 

To achieve this goal your Sales People will need to truly understand:

  • The ambitions of your Strategic Partners
  • The issues they face in the pursuit of those ambitions
  • Their strengths and their weaknesses
  • And within all of this, the opportunities you have for adding significant value that they will considered to be a genuine part of their own business.

Ultimately this will require all Sales People and Sales Managers to ‘Win the Hearts AND Minds’ of your existing and potential partners.  

Hearts and Minds Sales Methodology Outline

Gather the team and we will take care of the rest.

Call us at KONA on 1300 611 288 for a conversation, or email info@kona.com.au anytime.

Contact Us
LAURETTE WITH HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY ON IT FOR KONA GROUP SALES TRAINING SALES HEALTH CHECK

 

4 Ways to Make 2022 Your Sales Strategy G.O.A.T.

Posted on | by Sienna
Make Your 2022 Sales Kickoff the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time)

For many post the pandemic, the thought of actively selling makes their hair stand on end. The dreaded sales task, or worse, networking events, leaves the body shuddering. But pandemic or not, products and services still need to be sold. So, what are the steps to make that apprehensive sales strategy more enjoyable? And also more rewarding. That is, to ensure you get the desired outcome.

Garret Norris, CEO of the KONA Group and Sales Executive Coach, teaches businesses and sales teams how to confidently sell their products and services. Here he shares with you his top tips and 4 Must Haves in Your 2022 Sales Strategy.

Get your team onto these tips (and if you’re one of the wise ones, get them on a Sales Intensive Workshop), and learn how to calm the networking nerves. That is, learn to prospect confidently to ensure your pipeline is full all year. Have a read and get busy living the dream.

4 Must Haves in Your 2022 Sales Strategy

1. EMBED A HYBRID SALES MODEL

The good part of the past two years sent sales teams into survival mode. The attitude was typically to move our offline operations all entirely online. That is even just for the short term. And we would then all see how it pans out. However, as we know, fortune favours the brave. And for those of us who jumped into the deep end and invested in remote working options, ultimately reaped the benefits as the pandemic drew on, and on, and on.

“According to HubSpot’s 2021 Sales Enablement Report, 64% who transitioned to remote selling met or exceeded their revenue targets.”

Hybrid Sales Strategy

Now we are at the time where many are playing catch up. To stay ahead in 2022, it is now time to shape our policies and processes around a hybrid working model.

And guess what? It is not just remote leaders or salespeople who are benefitting from moving towards remote operations. The “LinkedIn State of Sales Report 2021 revealed 50% of buyers believed remote working had made the purchasing process easier too”.

Book Your Team’s Tailored 2022 Sales Strategy Workshops

2. PERSONILSATION!

Personalisation in sales pretty much means the act of tailoring your pitch so it acutely addresses the pain points, needs, and challenges of your client. That is, all while making them feel appreciated.

In other words, personalisation in sales means getting rid of generic one-liners and messages. Instead, replace them with ones that provide a more customised customer experience.

Talking Business: Predictive analytics to improve personalisation and boost sales

Among many Personalisation Techniques in his Sales Intensive Workshops, Garret suggests for higher levels of conversion, embedding some of these tips:

  • WHAT’S IN A NAME: Include your customers’ names in the subject line.
  • SPECIAL EVENTS: Send them a note on their birthday. (Keep in mind this means knowing how to create a customer profile, so you know when their birthday is. As well as those other important points you gained from your quality questioning skills!)
  • RECALL A CHAT: How did your daughter go at the championships? Did Billy get his braces?
3. KNOW YOUR WHY

According to Garret, the key to knocking the sales nerves out of your system is by having a really solid value proposition and knowing it off by heart. He adds, your reason for selling – your Why Statement – should be at the core of your sales strategy. To help craft your team’s Why Statement, Garret suggests asking yourself three questions.

  1. Why do we do what we do?
  2. What are the problems that I’m going to solve for them?
  3. How am I going to solve their problem?

Your value position is not an elevator pitch about your product or service. Rather it is the problems it solves for them. Now once you have crafted your Why Statement, make sure you know it back to front. As well as the answers to all the possible questions that could come out of it.

In Garret’s Workshops and Coaching sessions, he role-plays with his clients to go through the various scenarios and questions that a potential client might ask. He says that after doing this, clients are much more confident in pitching their product or service. As well as very keen to strike up a conversation at a networking event. They often replay these conversations as a team and share answers and insights

4. GET TECHY

It does indeed circle back to our work-from-home setup. Consider, just how much time have we spent in front of screens during the last two years? So it stands to reason that buyers too have now developed a preference for digital.

Sales Technology Landscape: Blueprint

Now, from a buyer’s perspective, that may mean relying more on live chat options. Or perhaps platforms where questions can be posed and answered on demand. But it also speaks to wider technology sales trends in 2022. Such as automation’s growing role. Or giving your salespeople more tools to drive efficiency and productivity. Keep up with the apps, software, and databases that make the selling and buying process a lot smoother for both you and your customers.

To Book Your Team’s Tailored 2022 Sales Strategy Workshops

Stay ahead of your competition by ensuring your team is sales savvy and ready for 2022. Gather the team and we will take care of the rest – learning and laughs included.

Call us at KONA on 1300 611 288 for a conversation, or email info@kona.com.au anytime.

LAURETTE WITH HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY ON IT FOR KONA GROUP SALES TRAINING SALES HEALTH CHECK

 

Contact Us

Why the Best Salespeople get Lucky

Posted on | by Sienna
Have a Lucky Day!

Garret Norris | KONA Group CEO

All through my sales career and even today people have commented on how “lucky” I am… My response has been and will continue to be, “It’s hard work being this lucky”.

When I had large teams of salespeople, throwing “luck” in as a conversation sometimes helped but they also knew how unreliable it is. I have seen luck occasionally give lift to morale, but attributing success or failure to random outside factors drains salespeople’s willingness to try new strategies and they sometimes use it as an excuse (“Oh I was just unlucky with that deal“).

Consequently, I urge sales managers to de-emphasise luck, instead stressing the importance of stable, measurable, and controllable factors such as motivation and activity = results.

Activity leads to results.

To find out more contact the KONA Group 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au

But if you choose to ignore “luck” altogether, you stand to fall behind competitors who have learned how to manage it.

Manage it? Yes: In my experience, luck should be viewed as a controllable determinant of salespeople’s achievement. Success derives not from effort alone but from a combination of effort, thus, creating “luck”. An understanding of luck’s synergistic role in success can improve performance and increase young salespeople’s confidence in the face of uncertainty and failure.

I have conducted many exploratory interviews with salespeople, including successful sales professionals and new salespeople, and research involving over 250 salespeople who sold many different products and services. The salespeople all had territories and targets and used a customer-relationship-management system.

Through this process I found that experienced salespeople can tell many tales of luck, and they tend to say that an important factor in their jobs is provoked luck: unexpected events that come about because their strategic behaviour has maximised the opportunities.

An example of provoked luck is one of my team who first lost a key account, then won it back because he called them every three months, emailed them relevant information and made sure that he remained their “strategic adviser” (see below KONA’s Six Levels of a Sales Professional).

Then, as “luck” would have it, he had an opportunity to help an executive of the client with industry advice, and the client put in a good word for him (this salesperson was always getting himself into lucky circumstances!!!).

The six stages of a sales professional.

To find out more contact the KONA Group 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au

My research findings involving salespeople has allowed me to estimate the importance of luck-related events in selling.

For example, following our sales training, a particularly renowned company’s sales team of 70 people sold more than $1.32M in services in one quarter – and they attributed more than two-thirds of the revenue to luck.

In fact, of more than $430,000 raised in selling, about 60% came from what they call “luck circumstances,” with the rest deriving from standard sales processes. From 76% to 88% of the “luck” circumstances were incidences of “provoked luck”. LUCKY, THEY HAD THE TRAINING!!!!

My research findings involving salespeople has allowed me to estimate the importance of luck-related events in selling.

To find out more contact the KONA Group 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au

The numbers would no doubt vary somewhat in other contexts, but I’m confident that provoked luck – that is, activity – is part of sales success in many if not all segments (but my question is, if no activity happened would they have been so lucky?).

So how do you manage this hugely important sales input?

The key is – belief.

I found that the greater a salesperson’s belief that success is a combination of luck and effort and that good luck will come, the greater a person’s sales activities, such as making phone calls, meeting prospects, qualifying prospects, and gathering intelligence about prospects and competitors.

The greater the sales activities, the greater the opportunities for luck and the greater the person’s provoked luck. The greater the provoked luck, the higher the performance.

Quantity, Direction, Quality.

To find out more contact the KONA Group 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au

Belief in the power of luck seems to boost self-assurance, thereby helping experienced sales professionals remain optimistic in the face of setbacks and assisting inexperienced salespeople in overcoming uncertainty and fear of failure.

These factors are critical in helping salespeople maintain motivation and job satisfaction. They also matter a lot in reducing turnover, especially for new salespeople.

Not only does a belief in luck boost sales behaviours, but it works the other way around too: sales behaviours can set the stage for improved luck.

Here are a few such behaviours that your sales team can be trained in:

  • Building a strong pipeline: Salespeople should be trained to search for knowledge about customers, prospects, competitors, and the overall market. The more field intelligence a salesperson has, the smarter (or “luckier”) they become.
  • Manage the Key Accounts: Being able to communicate effectively is one of the most important life skills to learn. Communication is defined as transferring information to produce greater understanding. The quality of our communication can only be measured by the response we receive from the other person, do not blame the other person if they don’t understand you!
  •  Managers should be setting high goals: I’m not talking about targets. I’m talking about number of calls, numbers of meeting and real measurable activities, such as trying to surpass one’s past performance. Salespeople should be encouraged to adopt such goals, because they drive forward-looking behaviours. Ambitious goals make salespeople more creative and strategic.
  • Negotiate to sell more value:  Poor sales negotiating may be costing you as much as 50% of your net profit. Economic uncertainty has taught customers to push hard on price and terms, and even relatively receptive buyers use aggressive negotiation techniques. For sellers, the impact on average price can be as much as 5%, which in turn can represent up to 50% of net profits.

To learn how to MAKE YOUR SALES TEAM “LUCKY” contact KONA: 1300 611 288 for a confidential conversation, or Email us at info@kona.com.au today.

Contact Us

TRAINING DOESN’T WORK

Posted on | by Sienna

An astonishing 85% of sales training falls short of delivering on its ROI. Additionally, approximately 80% of new skills are lost within one week of training if they are not used, and about 87% of skills are lost within a month of training if they are not used regularly.  Sales is the lifeblood of a company. Therefore, without steady sales, companies fail. Yet, some sales teams receive little, if any, training. Others receive inadequate one-hour seminars and are told they have just completed sales training. Is it any wonder why sales training doesn’t work?  The best salespeople in the world are akin to Olympic-level athletes. However, companies treat them as if they can simply hit the ground running and sell, sell, sell without any training at all. Consider how many hours go into training for the Olympics. Ultimately, an Olympic gymnast trains for years before hitting the mat with her teammates. So, we should do no less for our sales leaders! There are many reasons why sales training doesn’t work. The right sales training techniques, however, can help your sales team train for their own unique “Sales Olympics.” 

Sales Training Not Working? Here are Five Reasons Why Your Training Fails

A typical sales training scenario is a one-day, half-day or even shorter training session. That involves, an expert, consultant or high-producing salesperson to be invited into a company to speak to their sales team. The expert may hand out books or binders, encourage team members to participate in team-building exercises and listen to plenty of motivational speeches.  After a day of receiving exhaustive knowledge on communications, persuasion, prospecting and follow-up, the sales team is told they have successfully completed training. They return to their regular work the following day, and soon the old habits return.

There are many reasons why some sales training sessions fail and others succeed.  
Here are five common reasons why sales training often fails. 
1. Activities are not tailored to adults.  Considering the typical sales training model, it is unsurprising that companies fail to achieve their training ROI. KONA Group CEO Garret Norris, an expert in adult education, identified several key factors for best practices for adult learning. Adults need training that speaks to their learning needs, not training modelled after typical university classroom practices.

KONA Group CEO Garret Norris on Why Training Does Not Work

Adults engaged in learning activities need to: 
  • Know why they are participating in an activity.
  • Feel invested in the outcome — “What’s in this for me?”
  • Learn through doing. Newly learned activities must be practised to become second-nature. 
  • Solve problems. Solving problems helps place a new activity into an adult’s long-term memory.
  • Learn in a social setting. Adults, even more than children, prefer to learn while among peers.
  • Tap into their life experience. That is, so they forge connections between what they have just learned and real-life scenarios and situations they remember.
  • Integrate new knowledge with existing information. They like to see a connection between what they have just learned with things they have previously learned.

Assuming adults who attend a one-day seminar will become exceptional salespeople the following day is an unreasonable expectation. Sales training issues aren’t problems with salespeople — they are problems with the model used to train adult learners, whose needs remain unmet by lecture-style workshops. 
2. Not enough time allowed for results.
Another factor often overlooked in why sales training doesn’t work is leadership. Companies may invest in sales training, but if the company’s leadership team doesn’t support the time required to learn new skills, sales training may fail.  Companies often seek immediate ROI for investing in sales training, but as we have seen, this is an unrealistic expectation. Failing to give the participants enough time to learn, practice and perfect new skills is like asking an out-of-shape adult to run a 10K next week — you can ask, but the person is likely to fail (never mind get hurt!).  To truly enact a culture of continuous learning in your organisation, you must “put your money where your mouth is” and pay more than lip service to sales training. Corporate leaders must be willing to allow salespeople to attend training. They must be patient while new skills are learned. Systems must be set up to monitor, measure and report on sales results, with the data used not to punish low performance, but instead to coach and train for improvement.
3. Lack of leadership buy-in and participation.
Can you imagine a NRL team coach who never attends practice? Or the captain of the AFL team telling his players he’s too busy practising his surfing to attend team practice? The same thing happens with many sales managers: they assign personnel to training without attending training themselves.  When sales managers fail to attend training, it leads to a big disconnect between “Do as I say” and “Do as I do.” They give mixed messages about the importance of training. Perhaps more importantly, they cannot model the appropriate behaviours because they haven’t learned alongside their staff what’s important. 

Managers must be willing to commit the time and effort to sales training alongside their team members. Actively participating in sales training not only encourages team members but demonstrates support for the key concepts being taught. Whether it’s participating in classroom activities alongside trainees or role playing along with them, when the manager participates, training is more effective. 
4. Start With the End in Sight: Set Goals 
The first step to creating an ideal sales training model is to begin with the end goal in mind. Establish key goals, metrics and measurements first, before creating your training. 

Identify what you would like the sales team to learn, know and do after the training is completed. The goals for product knowledge sales training may be quite different from the goals for sales skills training. Identifying which skills to focus on first, and the desired outcomes, will have the most impact.  Additionally, practising in a safe, supportive training environment takes much of the risk out of trying new activities. A supportive and encouraging coach ensures people know when they have demonstrated a new skill successfully.

To GET YOUR TEAM INVOLVED IN ACTIVE LEARNING AND ENGAGED IN THE ART OF SALES contact 

KONA 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au for a confidential conversation today.

HOW TO RESET YOUR BUSINESS AND PEOPLE POST-COVID

Posted on | by Sienna
We cannot ignore the fact that COVID-19 has had a serious impact on the Australian economy. This has resulted in many business leaders enduring sleepless nights and scratching their heads over the current and future impact of this pandemic on their business. But it is important to remember that the situation is entirely out of our control – everyone’s in the same boat. What is in your control however, as a Leader, is:
  • How your business recovers
  • What actions you take
  • How you get your team back on target
  • What outlook you hold
  • What strategic plans you have in place
  • What you are going to do to increase momentum

HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF HITTING THE RESET BUTTON ON YOUR BUSINESS?

For many of us, we may have issues about “coming back to the office”, or getting back on target, or concerns about our people being out of the physical hunt for results for too long, or simply – achieving ROI. Soon the pace of pre-COVID days will return, do you have actions in place for when we all can come together again? Have you considered:
  • How you are going to build a culture of performance?
  • How you will instil a mindset of positive thinking?
  • How to get results from your team?
  • How to re-frame your team’s conversations around the future?
  • How to React, Restore, Reset your business and people?

To find out more contact the KONA Group 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au

Have you considered a positive movement of encouragement and support for your team on their return – recognition of coming together when we can come together? But how? How, as a forward-thinking Leader, do I encourage and support the return of my staff? The strongest way to support your staff and show them self-worth with a definite ROI, is through instilling a positive mindset – that is the gift that keeps on giving. At the KONA Group we know the value and the power of Motivational Speaking. We can assist you in any capacity to harness positive thinking, spread its powers and skyrocket productivity as a direct result. All our exceptional Motivational Speakers have great stories behind them, their teachings come from walking the pavement of life, the words come from experiences not textbooks. Come on a journey with one of our team. Here is a snippet of one of our Senior team and the founder of the KONA Group. 10 years ago this week the 60-year-old inspiration climbed into the boxing ring with ex-Heavyweight Boxing Champion of Australia John Hopoate all in the name of raising funds for very worthy Breast Cancer patients. Glenn also ran across the Sahara Dessert for the same cause, AND – completed the Hawaiian Ironman in KONA. Oh, and did we mention earlier this year he became the world’s oldest CAGE FIGHTER?! His physical stamina is nothing compared to his mental strength – Glenn has built an outstanding reputation as a Personal Mentor, helping individuals of all ages to achieve goals they never thought possible. He is a specialist Business, Health and Sport Mentor.

To find out more contact the KONA Group 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au

And there are many more like Glenn for you to meet: kona.com.au/meet-the-team/ Everyone has a story and every story can be transformed to lead to positive outcomes. Hit the reset button on your business, engage one of our modern Motivational Speakers and bring out the best in your team and business. We did. To learn how to RESET YOUR BUSINESS or book in your team’s MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER, contact KONA: 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au for a confidential conversation today.

SIX TIPS FOR SMASHING A VIRTUAL SALES MEETINGS

Posted on | by Sienna

PROSPECTING IN A PANDEMIC

man at laptop in background, foreground image mask and keys in a table
A third of the Australian economy is generated from New South Wales, so what happens when that state goes into lockdown? Add to that Victoria in lockdown, and that is a sizeable portion of the nation’s economy taking a hard hit. We are once again in a situation where we need to be creative about how we are going to function and keep producing results. Virtual Sales Meetings are indeed back and look to be settling in quite comfortably for at least a month. So, do we stop selling and wait or do we power through and get busy smashing Sales remotely?
Imagine if at the start of 2020 you were told you can double the number of leads you see a day? Virtual sales meetings looks to be settling in quite comfortably as the preferred procedure moving forward. And used correctly this new modus operandi can work wonders for you, enabling you to see up to 10 times more prospects during a day than if you had to commute.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WIN OR LOSE
Acquiring and retaining strong professional sales relationships remotely is not as daunting as it seems in this new – online only world we are living in. As a Leader, is your sales team virtually afloat and motivated or really sinking? Are you as a manager making the right leadership decisions during this time of change?

MS Teams ZOOM meetings sales training with Brickworks

The simple truth is effective virtual communication skills could be the difference between winning and losing a sales deal. Just like in-person meetings, there are protocols to a sales meeting to bring about results. DOES YOUR TEAM KNOW HOW TO SELL EFFECTIVELY VIRTUALLY?

Here is both the why – and the how – of effective virtual sales to skyrocket sales results remotely.

 
1. PREPARE FOR THE VIRTUAL SALES MEETING FIRST
  • Make an Appointment: make sure you email an invite to all the participants to accept it – include a link to the web-conference into the invite and make sure you point out that it is a video meeting, so it is no surprise for the client.
  • Inform your prospect about your agenda, the questions you are bringing to the table and the goal you are both pursuing.
  • Provide your prospect with leeway to decide on the time that is convenient for them.
2. CONTROL THE MEETING
  • Encourage everyone to identify themselves before each contribution, “This is Fred from…”
  • As host, repeat questions that are asked of you before answering. Some participants may not have heard the question.
  • Remind participants before and during the meeting to keep their microphones on mute when they are not speaking.
  • If you are bringing in additional material via screen sharing, such as PowerPoint presentations or product demos to make the conversation even more productive, send the documents to participants in advance.

3. MASTER THE ART OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Do your remote salespeople know how to listen to yield results?  Listening is key to selling. There, the secret is out. Active listening requires both ears and eyes. Ever watched a show on mute (no subtitles)? You get the idea of what is going on yes, but you miss key facts. Selling without listening is akin to watching tv with the volume down to zero.
Reading Non-verbal Behaviour
Most interpersonal communication (> 55%) is non-verbal. It may be a revealing facial expression, a particular style of body language, or the subtle yet telling flicker of an eye – these non-verbal communications are key to understanding the person in front of you and how to, in turn, effectively communicate with them. If more than half of what we communicate is non-verbal then more than half of what we are trying to say/sell is being missed if we cannot master our non-verbal styles.

4. ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Just because you are not in a person-to-person scenario does not mean you can be lax in your line of questioning. In fact, it is even more vital in video conferencing to ask the right questions in order to engage and hold attention in a remote set up.

The difference between you and your competitor lies in the questions you ask clients.

Do you and your salespeople possess Advanced Questioning skills?

Or does your competition question better than you?

5. OBJECTION HANDLING ONLINE
Humans are humans, their environment will change much faster than their mindset and behaviour, therefore being objectionable is a trait even the strongest virus won’t diminish. But to protect your sales armour against the inevitable objections that come in sales, even remotely – preparation is key. Do you know how to handle an objection on the spot during a video conference? Can your team handle the heat on their own when selling remotely?

6. BE EXCITING!
Video conferencing is the prime platform to show off your presentation skills. Everyone is video conferencing now, so you need to stand out – add some spark to your next sales meeting.

How will you build rapport?

How will you break the ice?

What presentation skills does your team have?

These remote SALES SKILLS are just the tip of the learning pyramid and make up part of your bespoke  REAL | Remote Education Active Learning Program* developed around your sales team and delivered remotely by the KONA Group. *The recent changes in work from home situations globally has seen access to our REAL Learning Program skyrocket, so we will continue to fill the learning spots on a first in first scheduled basis. Call 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au to secure a spot.

CONTACT US: 1300 611 288

or

email info@kona.com.au

Brand Positioning: Selecting a Point of Difference (Infographic)

Posted on | by Sienna
Some marketers only focus on searching more leads and creating different strategic advertisements in order to increase their sales. While these activities are indeed critical, both would be pointless if your target market does not see any point of difference between your brand and your competitors.Brand Positioning Selecting a Point of Difference

Should Business Owners Get a Degree in Sales? (Infographic)

Posted on | by Sienna
One common question that many aspiring entrepreneurs ask is if they should have a degree in sales in order to run a successful business. The truth is there is no definitive answer for that since it really depends on what stage of your career as an entrepreneur you are at. If you are just starting out in your business, and you are still quite young to have enough time to balance school and business, then a degree in sales can help you equip with the different methodologies which one cannot just immediately pick-up and implement through the day-to-day operations of the business. However, having a degree in sales is not a requirement and does not guarantee that you will be able to run a successful business. Many business owners still fail in their venture despite having multiple degrees in sales, management, and marketing. On the other hand, many notable entrepreneurs that never even earned a college degree have been able to establish successful global brands – just look at Bill Gates and Richard Branson. Should Business Owners Get a Degree in Sales? ( Infographic)