Why offering traditional web-to-print can lose you customers – and what to do about it
Today’s buyers want the “Amazon” experience If I buy online, I expect to have a highly interactive transaction. I expect to have a two-way conversation. Buying online is no longer simply a convenient way to find a product and hand over my money. These days I want more from my suppliers. I want to know how my order is progressing. I require online invoicing. I expect despatch notification and delivery tracking. The old model of “pay and hope the goods turn up soon” is no longer enough. We all expect Amazon and other online retailers to offer this level of…
23 ways to get your sales message out to a prospect
Do you actually talk enough about what your company does? It’s important to get the message out about how you can help prospects and customers. Most sales people do not do this nearly enough. The situation is not helped by the fact that many sales people stick within their comfort zones. They continue to use their tried and tested methods, even when they are not getting the results they need from them. Typically sales people work with phone and e-mail, despite the fact that most prospects ignore these channels. The average prospect requires great communication before they even enter the…
67% of the buyer’s journey is now done digitally – 3 ways to deal with this
The statistics are compelling Research company Sirius Decisions have tracked the journey of today’s buyer. 67% of it is done online.The first course of action for the typical executive (and many others) is an online search. Let’s put this in the context of the activities of a traditional sales person. The average buyer will simply ignore your phone calls, e-mails and other personal approaches. They are just not interested in using these approaches to build a potential database of vendors and suppliers. When they are ready to start thinking about a purchasing decision they expect to be able to find…
How flossing your teeth makes a dramatic improvement to sales results
Have you ever tried to create a new habit? My dentist is a fierce woman! A while ago she told me I should floss more. I was too scared to say no! But agreeing to do something and actually achieving it are two completely different things… I really struggled to keep the habit of flossing. But I also knew that if I could change this from a new task to a habit I would hardly notice a daily floss. The improvement to my teeth would be very worthwhile. Best of all, my dentist would stop giving me a hard time!…
Come and meet me at The Print Show, Birmingham NEC, October 11-13
Be sure to meet me at The Print Show in October I’m looking forward to speaking at The Print Show every day. All the sessions are free and it would be great to meet you there. Here’s my speaking schedule: The Print Show at the Birmingham NEC, October 11-1
Three tactics you may not have considered that stop you giving way on price
When I was a buyer, printing companies gave me a pretty easy time As soon as I asked for a lower price I received one. Printers live in constant fear of losing out on price to the competition. They weren’t prepared to risk missing out on a job. They weren’t prepared to risk losing a customer. So they simply carried on reducing their prices. It was rare that a printer challenged me. They rarely asked why I needed a cheaper price or if I had actually received one from the competition. They conditioned me to carry on asking – after…
When did you last practice your print sales introduction?
Can you imagine winning an Olympic medal without practising? Would you take a driving test without preparing? Was about delivering an important speech or presentation without rehearsing? It doesn’t matter what you wish to succeeding: if you want to do something well it’s essential to work at it. It is vital for sales people to practice
How to create a valuable company difference
Everyone chooses a supplier for a reason I chose the garage I bought my car from because it had the widest range of available stock. I chose Apple as my IT provider because, as someone who is hopeless at the technical side of things, I’ve never had a problem setting up a device. I buy my chocolate from the supplier I consider offers the best flavours. Why do your customers choose you as a supplier? Having the right company difference is vital
How much time do sales people actually spend selling? 6 steps to make sales time more effective
Here’s a really scary sales fact According to one study (Go-Iko) the average sales person only spends 5% of their time on the phone. So what do sales people actually spend their time doing? Well, according to this study, 59% of their time is spent in non-sales activity. 25% of their time is spent on internal meetings and administration. 18% of their time is spent generating leads and researching prospects. 15% of their time is spent on service calls and training. Now it’s time for some more bad news
Why “closing the deal” doesn’t work
Sales people are always being told to close the deal There is no shortage of advice for sales people on this topic. Apparently, if you say the right sentence you can move straight into closing the deal. Here are some of the phrases that are recommended according to one blog article that I read recently: “Is there any reason, if we gave you the product at this price, that you wouldn’t do business with our company?” “So when should we get started on implementation?” “If we throw in [freebie], would that convince you to sign the contract today?” “Why don’t…
