Closing Isn’t Closing Afterall
In this week’s episode, a listener asks a question about ‘closing.’ Bill and Bryan realize that the whole ‘closing’ mentality is part of old thinking.
And they give you some alternative ways to think about that final step in the old sales process.
Also mentioned in the podcast:
- How To Sell A Premium Product In A Commodity Market – 12 Tips To Command Higher Prices and Fees [WEBINAR]
- Become a fan of the Advanced Selling Podcast Linkedin group!
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3 Tips On Selling A Premium Product in a Commodity Market
This Friday (5/4/12), we are presenting a webinar How To Sell A Premium Product In A Commodity Market.
We picked this topic because it is an ongoing area of concern for sales people – how to sell a premium product into a market that sees price as the main driver.
While the webinar will get into detail about a new sales model that will help go along way toward changing your attitude about how to do it, for this post, we thought you’d like to hear three tips that you’ll hear more about on the webinar.
1. Position Your Self Properly.
Interesting thing about positioning is that it’s not just about what you say – it’s about how you say it. Sales people spend so much time concerned with the what and ignore the how.
And that’s wrong.
Regardless of your word choice (you’ll have to decide that), the essence of your message should be centered around ‘the types of problems that you solve.’ That’s right – no enthusiastic sales pitches about how great you are – or how smart your team is. None of that.
Frame your ‘premium value’ around the pains and problems that prospects face. Some of those problems they know they have. Some they’re oblivious to. But either way, begin the conversation there.
Be a problem solver not a product seller. There is a trap waiting for you. The prospect sets it and you fall right into it. It happens when the prospect shows interest and you default to “the pitch.”
Instead, when your prospect shows interest in the types of problems you solve, refrain from pitching the product and spend more time diagnosing what that problem means to him. This one thing can do more to change your position (in the prospect’s mind) and help them see that your premium fee is worth it. 
Three Tips for a Modern Presentation
Last week a client asked us into his office to review his presentation on a massive project he was bidding on.
He told me upfront that he didn’t do a lot of these presentations so he was a little bit rusty.
As we watched him go through the presentation, I could tell that there were some presentation principles that he’d missed. No fault of his. He just wasn’t skilled in this area.
So I wanted to give you a recap of three tips that he used that tremendously improved his presentation to his prospects.
Tip 1: Pictures speak louder than words
Always, always, always have a visual diagram or illustration of the value that you bring. Perhaps it’s a circle divided into five components or a pentagram that is divided up into easy segments but you need to have a visual representation of the process you take people through or the value you bring.
Tip 2: Always start with a story
People love stories. You’re presentations will be remembered a lot longer and will be a lot more compelling if you can weave personal stories of tragedy and triumph into the presentation. Perhaps you can start with the standard “story of woe”. That’s the story of a prospect who was struggling and came to you for a solution. You can tell your audience what they went through, what some of the problems were and the process you used to help them alleviate the pain. Make it real and make it compelling.
Tip 3: Make sure you’re answering the real question
Throughout your presentation you will have questions from the audience. A mistake we see salespeople make is they answer the question that’s posed instead of getting to the real question before you submit an answer.
A good way to test this is if you answer a question and nobody says anything, chances are you’ve not answered the right question. A good way to clarify the question is, “To help me answer the question better, I would like to understand a little bit more about it and about why you asked it.”
This wasn’t an exhaustive list of all the points we recommended he changed but I thought these were three of the most important that can help you make a more modern, compelling and convincing presentation to your prospects.
What Do Tennis, Fish Fries and Funerals ALL Have in Common?
In this episode, Bill and Bryan discuss sales networking methods. They give you 5 tips that will change how you think and act when in networking mode.
The essence of this episode is that prospects are everywhere if you would just get out!!
**Next Week: Mailbag issue where we address the word “closing” and how it should or shouldn’t be part of your language.
Also mentioned in this podcast:
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Are You The Marketer You Think You Are?
In this episode, Bill and Bryan are both back from vacation and discuss an interview Bill did with John Jantsch. John has been doing marketing consulting for a long time and discusses how the sales and marketing games have changed in that time.
We’ve had John on the show before but he’s always a fountain of knowledge when it comes to thinking differently about business success. John is also author of the book The Referral Engine.
If you’d like to hear the entire interview with Bill and John, click here to listen.
Also mentioned in the podcast:
- How To Sell A Premium Product In A Commodity Market – 12 Tips To Command Higher Prices and Fees Teleseminar
- Duct Tape Marketing Blog
- Referral Engine by John Jantsch
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What To Do When The Customer Takes Advantage of You
In this week’s episode, Bill answers a letter from a listener who has a prospect trying to take advantage of the value he brings. This prospect is asking for a lot of unpaid consulting, then bidding it out to other vendors.
But, even though this scenario is common, there are many other circumstances where your customer and you should have a heart-to-heart talk. Bill addresses how that conversation may sound.
Also mentioned in the podcast:
- The Evolution of a Salesperson INFOGRAPHIC
- Want to be better at communicating your expertise, but haven’t been trained properly? Click here to get on the waiting list to receive 3 free tutorial videos.
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Three Trainers Discuss What You Should Be Talking To Your Customers About
Jill Konrath is our guest today on the podcast. Jill brings a tremendous amount of expertise in sales and marketing. More importantly, she sees where the two functions intersect.
Brooke Green and Bill Caskey comment on some of Jill’s ideas in this podcast. You can download Jill’s Free Prospecting Kit from her website (click here). Bryan is gone, but he will be back in two weeks.
*The video below is the uncut interview with Jill and Bill.
Also mentioned in this podcast:
- The Evolution of a Salesperson INFOGRAPHIC (click here)
- Have a question for Bill or Bryan? Send them an email at Listener@AdvancedSellingPodcast.com
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