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| How to become a better seller. |
How to become a better seller.
Author: Lukas M. Stechnij
For some time, a seller of a company that produces feedstuff and concentrates came to me. I wanted to purchase products from him, but he did not know anything about them. He was not prepared at all. When I asked him about the products, he only looked through his leaflets and read for me data from them. In a while, he started to persuade me that a particular product was the best on the market anyway, and the other companies sold only crap. Rule no 1: Before having a meeting with a client, do your homework, always be well-prepared. The majority of sellers are not prepared to have a meeting with a client at all. Planning a meeting is particulary important when you are going to have the first meeting with a client. It is all about making the first impression positive; it will stay in the client's mind for a long time. Prior to a meeting, a seller should:
- Specify the meeting's objective
- Prepare questions that will allow to specify the client's needs
- Predict the client's doubts and restrictions
- Prepare to be ready to eliminate the restrictions and dispel doubts
- Determine variants of the meeting's ending
Another situation that irritates me is when a seller drops in earlier, without making an arrangement with me. That is the least of our worries when I am not busy at that moment. But anyway, I do not want to talk to him because I have not made myself ready to have a conversation with him. I have not, for instance, found out how many minerals have left, how long milk replacer will last, how many straws of seamen in a container are etc. Rule no 2: Do not make spontaneous visits. A person who is very busywill never talk to you. On farms, urgent situations of strategic importance occur. I will not drop everything to talk to a seller. I perceive an unexpected visit as a sign of bad manners and a reflection of the lack of a planning skill.
As I have written above, one of the sellers that came to me concentrated on attacking competition. He tended to say something like: "they cheat, they do not put into the bags what the leaflet says". Rule no 3: Never attack your competition. By attacking competitors, the seller offended me. He rather did not realise that. Criticising his competitors was a if he told me that I was stupid since I considered his competitors products. He sunk a lot in my estimation. A good seller forgets about competition, concentrates on the client and his needs.
I never call a seller just to meet with him. My time is too valuable to have chit-chats. I arrange a meeting only if I have a problem that needs to be solved. Rule no 4: Do not miss the signal of client's willingness to make a purchase. The fact itself that I agree to have a meeting with you, my dear seller, means that I have a problem and I am willing to talk to you, negotiate and make a purchase. Other signals of the willingness to make a purchase are as follows: smiling, agreeing to tests, nodding, asking technical questions, arranging the next meeting. Once you have noticed signals of my willingness to make a purchase - ask questions and aspire to selling products.
Just like we require sellers to be professionals, our animals have similar requirements towards us.
What makes I take a dislike to a seller ? He comes to me, takes silage to be tested, however sends results in a month. What for ? I am not longer interested in them, now I have many other things on my mind to think about. Another situation: a seller promises to send an offer tomorrow morning and in fact he sends it two days later. What for ? I have made a decision so far. Since the offer have not been sent on time, I have bought the product from a different seller. Rule no 5: Treat your client professionally. Clients are not interested in you. They do not give a monkey's about you failing to send an offer because you did not have access to the Internet. I am not interested that your car has broken down and you will not come to the meeting. I do not care that your company has a problem with delivering a product until Monday. I want to have it on monday, in compliance with your contract. A client is exclusively interested in himself and his problem. He met with you and made a transaction because he believed you would help him. Do not cheat you client. Establishing good relations takes a long time, one unpleasant note may spoil everything. Be a professional, we require sellers to be professionals. We want to be professionals as well, that is why we avoid having relations with amateurs.
We wish all the sellers to become SALES SHAMANS.
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Posted by Lukasz_Stechnij
on 13/10/2010
406 Reads ·
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