Five Selling Strategies to Implement NOW to Put More Money in Your Pocket in a Soft Economy.

By Scott Metcalfe, MarketingProfits4.0

Lately it seems that many business owners, entrepreneurs and salespeople are losing focus and getting themselves sidetracked by all the doom and gloom rubbish that spews out of the media day-in and day-out.

Well guess what? You can’t control the economy any more than I can.  What you can control however is how you behave in this “soft economy”.  Here are 5 simple to implement strategies that will save you time and put more money in your pocket if you actually begin using them.  Note: This will require you to stop or at least temporarily suspend your “Chicken Little” routine.

5 Selling Strategies to Implement NOW to Put More Money in Your Pocket

1. Maximize your most precious resource, TIME, by no longer accepting TIO’s.

What’s a TIO? A “Think It Over”— I sometimes refer to these as “slow no’s” because the end result is a “no” all the same it’s just that the process takes awhile; consuming your time, emotional energy and resources.  Your goal as a salesperson should be to get a decision as quickly as possible. A yes is great, a no is fine but a TIO should be avoided at all cost!

2. Recognize step 3 of the Prospect’s System and understand how to neutralize it. 

Almost every prospect you engage with whether consciously or unconsciously will use some form of this 4 step system to combat your selling system.

          The Prospects’ System

          Step 1: Mislead salesperson about their interest. 

          Step 2: Gather information and the salespersons expertise for free.

          Step 3: Act positive but commit to nothing.

          Step 4: Hide.

Four simple steps that decimate all but the most potent selling systems.  Step 3 is where those TIO’s and “slow no’s” I warned you about manifest themselves.  They sound something like this “George, this proposal is excellent.  I don’t see any reason, all things being equal, why we wouldn’t start implementing these solutions very soon.”  Sounds very positive, right?  But has the buyer really committed to anything?  More likely than not, George is being politely ushered out the door and out of this prospect’s life!  Notice how the prospect did this without raising a single objection?  Brilliant, eh? What George needs to do is “strip line” to get the prospect to show his true intent.  By saying something such as “Ms. Prospect, I feel as though I’m missing something.  Can you help me understand why you believe my solution fits so well into your situation?”

This technique will result in either the prospect showing her true colors or, confirming that she really does intend to move forward with George’s solution.  Either way, a decision is firmed up, and a TIO is avoided.

3.  Take control of the selling situation by using an up-front contract. 

A good up-front contract has at a minimum these four components.

          1. Shows appreciation for the prospect’s time

          2. Ensures that both parties understand the agenda of the meeting

          3. Defines the roles both parties will play during the meeting.

          4. Clearly defines the meeting outcomes and that a decision will be made.

·         What a “no” looks like

·         What a “yes” looks like.

What does an up-front contract accomplish in less than a minute?  It removes any surprises and sets clear expectations. The up-front contract lets the prospect no it’s OK to say no, thus making the prospect less defensive (and therefore less likely to mislead you about their interest).  On a psychological level an up-front contract establishes an adult-to-adult conversation, a level playing field for you to conduct your meeting.

4.  Connect emotionally with your prospects by understanding their pain. 

What do I mean by “pain”?  Pain is not needs and wants, it’s not features and benefits, pain is deeper than this.  Pain has 3 components:

          1. The surface problem

          2. The reasons why the problem exists

          3. The personal impact the problem is having on the prospect.

Most salespeople are great at uncovering surface pain, but fail to question more deeply and therefore fail to connect emotionally.  No emotional connection? Good luck... and I hope you have the lowest price!

5. Attitude is everything. Beware of negative beliefs and take action to vanquish them.

Especially in dark and turbulent times you must protect your attitude and belief systems from the daily onslaught of negative reinforcement.  If you sense you are beginning to succumb to the negativity, try this technique for restoring optimism to your belief system as defined in Marting Seligman’s tremendously powerful book “Learned Optimism”:

          1. Clearly define the adversity you are facing

          2. Next, outline your beliefs surrounding this adversity.

          3. Describe the consequences your beliefs are having on you

          4. Now, vigorously dispute the negative thoughts you’re having. What

             other explanations exist for the adversity?  Remember, even though

             they are your beliefs, it doesn’t mean that they are correct or can't be              changed

          5. Once disputed, describe how you now feel and what actions you are

    going to do differently.

This time tested model works well and when practiced consistently can restore your attitude and optimism quickly and effectively.

There you have it, Five Selling Strategies to Implement NOW to Put More Money in Your Pocket in a Soft Economy.  Now go out there and sell something!