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Nationally-recognized
experts in professional presentation messaging, design,
and critical delivery skills coaching
Mark of Distinction Quarterly Newsletter
- September 2009
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Consultative
Selling Much talked about. Too seldom
practiced...
"We want our sales
people to call higher, but they simply lack the
confidence!"
"We talk a lot in
our company about consultative selling, but very
few can really pull it off."
 If
you've made statements like these, then you're like many
sales organizations today. Your goal is to have your
teams call at more senior/executive levels and interact
in a more consultative selling role but the reality is,
too many of your sales people simply can't. They
default to their own limited understanding of the
customer's needs or skip the discovery process
altogether and bring in a canned, one-size-fits-all
presentation.
The result? Your sales cycle just got longer
and your company has learned little about the process of
needs discovery and how to shape and deliver a relevant
& powerful presentation response to specific issues.
This quarter's newsletter will provide some fresh
insight and offer a valuable resource. Read
on. |
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1st
See the world through the eyes of
the senior executive (and lose the
PowerPoint)
 If
your going to call higher today, it starts with a
recalibration of what you think may be important to your
prospect. The stuff that keeps a mid-level manager in
charge of a facility, marketing function or business
process awake at night is generally NOT the same thing
the executive team is concerned with. Mid-level managers
might be motivated by a project's ROI, workplace
enhancement or tool integration. The C-Suite most
often looks to higher-level goals like driving cost out
of an entire business process, enhancing productivity
for the next 12 months and creating greater
investor return.
If you do get an opportunity to meet with an
executive and pitch a pre-canned solution, it just
might be the last executive meeting you have. You
relate to their world best by uncovering the things
(related to your offering) that cause them sleepless
nights and then craft a targeted, relevant response.
There's an inherent risk in selling high. If
you fail to bring a crisp, succinct response, you will
greatly impair your ability to sell the same message to
their direct reports again. You get one shot. Make
it good.
Executive/senior-level selling
tips... Leverage your
executive team. Ask them to facilitate an
introduction to senior prospects, either directly
or through their personal network. Shortened sales
cycles are created by relational leverage. And
get to know their administrative gatekeeper. They
can open doors or keep you at arms
length.
Schedule a brief needs discovery
interview with the executive to uncover key issues
around your product or service solution. (Leave the
PowerPoint behind) Even if you think you
understand their organization, a canned
presentation at this critical moment is
unforgivable and puts you in the same camp as novice
sales pros. This is the time for good questions and
great listening skills.
Return with a well-focused,
succinct, needs-directed presentation with
attention to executive-level pain resolution and a
clear differentiation messages. It's not good enough to
be a good company these days - you need to
articulate what makes you different to
create barriers to entry for your competitors. If
you're weak here, it will only drive the executive to
find another company to address the issues you so well
articulated! |
2nd You only deliver under pressure what you
plan & practice.
Wishful thinking is NEVER a sales strategy.
Expecting sales teams to sell differently without
practicing those behaviors is unrealistic and when
poorly done, can jeopardize your ability to penetrate
the account in the future. Get the executive call
right the first time. If you have local resources to
help you plan, execute and deliver in this area,
great. If you don't, Distinction now offers a
powerful professional development experience for sales
professionals to give them greater confidence in the
executive selling setting.
Distinction has recently launched a new training
workshop offering geared towards the sales professional.
It takes the senior executive selling scenario we just
explored and provides a highly practical skill
development workshop with role-play practice to
build the skills your team desperately need for
executive selling. Here's what's covered in this
powerful 2-day workshop for up to 16 people in your
sales organization.
New from Distinction
Communication...
High
Impact Consultative
Selling - Executive Needs
Discovery to the High Stakes Presentation
Relevant *
Powerful *
Cost-effective
Practice
interviewing executive prospects for critical needs
discovery
Speak your
customer's language - adapting your style to win
influence with key decision makers
Enhance critical sales presentation
skills for the high stakes environment
Take needs
discovery & go head-to-head with others to
execute/deliver a powerful presentation response
If you'd like more information on how Distinction
can help your sales teams become much more effective in
their consultative selling efforts, check out our
website for more information. There are no second
chances when you call on senior-level prospects.
We can help your sales teams practice the skills they
will need to fully leverage these high stakes
opportunities.
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| Distinction
News |
Upcoming events...
* September 22, 2009
*
Featured podcast:
Featured blog:
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A
note from Jim...
 Investors
& sales managers have
something in
common...
If you find yourself looking at the
recent encouraging news about the global economy
with a healthy amount of skepticism, that's pretty
understandable. But as the bottom appears to be
past us, there are two types of investors and
business managers:
1) Those who have hunkered down in their
foxholes, waiting for it to be safe to come out
again and will likely miss the inevitable
rebound.
2) And those who are already
preparing to take advantage of the
opportunities that are emerging
today. Retooling personal selling skills
now will be critical to your Q4/Q1
performance.
Where is your sales organization
today?
Jim
Distinction
Communication,
Inc.
503.554.1203 | | | |
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