Put A System In Place To Win Business

Writen by Bette Daoust, Ph.D.

We all know that when you create excitement for the customer, the customer will recommend your product or service to others. As a salesperson, that excitement needs to come from you right from the initial meeting and needs to continue throughout the years. The excitement you create needs to be constantly passed down to the customer (this means keeping in touch on a regular basis and giving updates). If you think this is too much work, think again. I have a system that has worked for companies and will never fail to give you success. Does the system work every time? I wish it did, but if you use the system everyday, you will get the numbers working for you instead of against you.

Let me tell you about how the system works. It may take a little bit of time to set up but it will make your job a lot easier. You will need the cooperation of some of your customers (and their permission to use their names).

The following system should be used in order to work best.

1. Record 4 or 5 sales "pitches" on your products or services for dial in access. These pitches should be 3 to 5 minutes in length and should talk about the benefits of your product line. If you are doing direct sales, it would be a description of the opportunity. Set up a direct dial in number for each recording. This way you can dial directly to the information without going through a menu system.

2. Phone your prospect and briefly tell them you are working with a product that might be of interest to them. Do not do your pitch! If they are interested, do a three-way call and dial in the pitch - do not give the pitch yourself even though you may be perfectly capable of doing so. The third party method works much better.

3. After the call, ask them if they think this might work for them. If the answer is affirmative, ask them if they are near a computer and give them a specific URL for your product or service. Do not send them to a general website. You need to send them to a specific site geared toward a specific product. For example, if you are selling web services, send them to a web services page (Vervial.com) If they do not have the time to view the website right away, set a time to call back when they have had a chance to view the site. Of course it is preferable they view it right away but if not make that appointment.

4. When you call back or when they have viewed the information, ask them if they are interested in your product or service. If the answer is yes, tell them you want to set up another appointment to further talk about the sale (unless you can close them on the spot). Set the time and date for the next call.

5. Set up another person (third party) to join you on the call at the set time. This person may be a customer who will provide a live testimonial or it may be a product expert that knows how to use that product for the prospects industry. It does not matter either way, what does matter is that you have another person on the call to answer any questions. The call should not be too long try and make it no longer than 15 or 20 minutes at the most. At the end of the call, the prospect will either put the order in motion or state it is not for them. If they have gone through this whole process with you, your chances of making the sale are much greater. And do not forget to take the opportunity to ask for a referral!

This process, even though fairly simple will put you miles ahead in the sales game. The one thing you absolutely must do is call at least 10 prospects everyday to make this work for you.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. is a speaker, author (over 170 books, articles, and publications), and consultant. She has provided marketing, sales, business development and training expertise for companies such as Peet's Coffee & Tea, Varian Medical Systems, Accenture, Avaya, Cisco Systems to name a few. Dr. Daoust has also done extensive work with small businesses in developing their marketing, training, and operational plans. You may contact Dr. Daoust at http://BizMechanix.com. You may also view her latest publications at http://BlueprintBooks.com. Dr. Daoust also writes for the National Networker http://theNationalNetworker.com.