How to sell, and not vparivat
There are two men. One asks:
- What's up?
- Well! I bought an elephant: children are delighted, his wife loves him, he waters the beds, drags the logs on the roof, cleans the well.
- Amazing! Listen, sell, eh?
- No, he's kind of like a family member.
- Oh please!
- Good.
In a month:
- Well, what about the elephant?
- Horror! I crushed all the beds, broke the roof, shat in the well! The whole house is on the ears, the children are terrified, the wife does not leave the room.
- Noo, my friend, with such a mood you can not sell an elephant!
After the elephant bully, the neighbor is unlikely to buy something from the neighbor. Bringing in is not a smart decision; in the long run, such a businessman will hardly succeed. Today we will talk about how to sell technically complex products and not lose customers in batches. Whoever wants - adopt ideas, implement, create your own principles. And, of course, share them. Hearing let him hear.
A source
They sell everything - because goods and services are initially created to be exchanged for a single equivalent (money) or other goods and services (rarely). However, there are many classifications of clients, among which it is worth starting with the main one.
')
So, let's discuss how a business sells to a business. This conversation is important, if only because the paradigm is changing intensively, and the market continues to undergo training, training and other activities on the old methods and techniques. Of course, the base is the same, but it is so overgrown with details that they have already decided who the base is.
The first and main reason for the paradigm shift - we played a cruel joke. And did it the internet. If the seller dominated the buyer in the process of negotiations, because he knew at least something about his product, and the buyer was absolutely nothing, now the dominance is over - the buyer knows a lot, though sometimes not that, not that, and more materials of your competitors (good, we all learned to disguise).
Only 37% of B2B buyers are satisfied with the website as a tool for researching their problem (the product they want to buy). According to information sources, vendor sites are leading with 83.4% and Google with 77% (search). Soc. media - 8.6%, 10.8% - blogs, 34% - third-party sites, 41.8% - reviews and reviews of other users Source
Add to this the fact that decision makers (decision makers) often do not understand the subject and they are alien to all these CRM, hardware, servers, VDS and monitoring systems. As a result, we get exactly the environment in which we have to work. By the way, for the seed, a few interesting questions that we in RegionSoft asked about our RegionSoft CRM (and just in case the answers):
Finally, we complete the image with a modern sales person. Alas, often these are people who have heard and seen enough of the trainings, imbued with self-development and in a cheerful voice report scripts that have been memorized or hung in front of them in the form of a program-algorithm or in the form of paper.
A source
An interesting observation: if you want to know how your salesman sounds, sit down with a man (wife, friend, someone else) who will call your company. You will hear a voice in the cell next to it. If the sound reminds you by intonation: “You called the bank, your call is very important for us ...”, and the salesman’s monologue is already coming, you need to change something urgently. They decide not to be polite to the tube, not the pressure and smile to the monitor, but professionalism.
So what should happen to one B in order to sell another B?
Salesman must be an expert in his business. So, your client has already read a lot of information on the Internet, collected feedback and finally contacted you. He is no longer interested in hearing that your “program is designed to keep track of customers and transactions,” “the cutting machine is designed to work with sheets of steel, aluminum, copper,” and “the server will store data about your most loaded projects.” Salesman should think like a consultant - he studies the client’s problems, understands his wishes, fears, risks and advises how to solve these very problems (with the help of your product). The pressure and the "pushing through" in the field of IT and technically complex products are hopelessly outdated. Moreover, your client is already at risk: he must choose a product, invest money in it, he expects return on implementation. Sales aggression will create additional discomfort.
How to form an examination? To educate First of all, the sales manager must interact with the product that he sells in order to get a sense of use and solve some problems using the product (as far as possible). He should know the technical properties and full functionality - and not having jagged according to the instructions / manual / video, but realistically understanding - only then can this be explained clearly and briefly to the client. Technicians who are able to conduct several seminars with demonstration and answers to questions will help in the training. By the way, in software, training is especially good with testers - they are no longer developers with professional vocabulary, but very professional users who know the product like the back of their fingers.
Salesman must be an analyst and intelligence officer. As soon as a lead arrives, it is necessary to gather as much information about it as possible (on the website, social networks, telephone number, decision maker, reference books). Thus, you will create a portrait of the buyer and you will be able to talk to him from the standpoint of his interests and needs.
But do not think that searching for information is a great pastime. If you walk around the site or Facebook for too long, and all the basic information is found, you just steal time from yourself. In order to sell, it is important to know the scope of the company, the whole range, information about decision makers. If possible, it is worth exploring the financial history in order not to fly into the receivables. But looking at a photo from a corporate party is already a waste of time, and do not lie to yourself that you are setting the parameters of the corporate spirit.
Several lines of advertising. The base of clients and transactions are best kept in the CRM system, it makes working great. For example, our RegionSoft CRM desktop, without constant payments (pay once for licenses and the implementation project), can integrate with telephony and 1C, do business processes, build reports, work with a cash register, a warehouse, has several planners. And most importantly, suitable for businesses of any scale (there are several editions). Write, call , tell and give a presentation for free, you don’t even have to move away from the computer.
Salesman must become an employee of the client at the time of sale. Previously, the sales model was a confrontation (bargaining): the buyer doubts, the salesman presses, convinces and squeezes. The collaboration model is now working: the sales manager takes the side of the buyer and solves the problem with him. Accordingly, the sales manager should discuss the problem, and not chatter about "the ideal solution for monitoring computer networks of a holding with a branch structure." It is worth thinking about the company's product at a later stage of the sale, introducing mentions by dose - when the manager has a clear understanding of the client’s goals, the results he wants and the risks he is concerned with.
Salesman should not seek to sell here and now. Sale of a technically complex product - a sale with a rather long cycle: lead → call → presentation → offer → negotiate → negotiate details → payment → close a deal. There may also be revision, drafting of technical specifications, the search for components, solutions for the order, etc. This means that trying to close a deal with the first call is meaningless (but if it was possible, it is also not bad!). A successful B2B salesperson takes a long-term perspective, ties the stage to the stage, rather than seeking to get rid of it.
Aerobatics - work with the client after purchase. The fact is that, having bought a CRM, a server or even a machine, the client can stay on the “old faithful horse” and not use the product - and this means that he is not yet your client, he is a buyer who cannot benefit, and therefore , recommend you. Of course, the bill has been paid - and this is the end of it, but this is an extensive thinking that will come around comes around in the future. Be sure to collect feedback and remind the customer about yourself with newsletters, rare contacts or service.
Segment the market. B2B as well as B2C, is perfectly segmented - you can divide companies by activity, size, number of employees, popularity, etc. Different companies have different goals, needs and different degrees of readiness to buy your product. By the way, if you think that selling a large company is easier, you are mistaken - small and medium-sized ones, and even more so new companies are more flexible and are inclined to take risks and invest in development.
Do not hesitate to communicate with the linear staff. Coaches throughout Russia are taught to bypass the secretary and go to the decision maker (both during cold calls and during the processing of warm leads). This is primarily difficult. But it happens that you manage to get out, for example, to a senior manager, purchaser, engineer, system administrator. And this is a win:
However, try to quickly go through this stage and move on to communication with decision makers, because it is he who has a number of critical characteristics:
Automate your work - in the arsenal of a modern salesperson, there must be convenient tools: telephony, chat rooms and CRM. CRM-system helps to manage the client base, minimizes the problems of routine processes, is responsible for planning and KPI. Do not avoid the software - use it to the fullest.
Respect time: yours and client. This is especially true for salespeople from generation Y, who were taught to entangle the client with speeches and engage in conversation. That's right, but in some cases this may alienate a potential buyer. Speak on business, do not go into philosophical questions, flattery, discussion of business in general, laws of being, etc. No politics, religion, psychology and taste!
Be active. If you are not active and are procrastinating, you are wasting your firm’s money without doing your job. The structure of the sales manager's earnings is such that it depends on his ambitions and activity. You work primarily for yourself.
Do not give up. Clients may be rude, unfriendly, they may refuse, lie, etc. To get out of despair, you need time - 10-20 minutes. Do not let yourself get upset and waste this time - just make the next call or hold a meeting. So you will be focused all day and easier to survive resentment. Similarly, after successful and productive conversations, do not reward yourself for half an hour of aimless reading a VK tape or office chatter.
Do not leave those who have said no. If the client refuses to communicate or refuses to buy, try to return to him later - it is likely that his situation will change and he will be more inclined to negotiate.
Do not throw those who bought. The customer who bought is your friend. Which will return to you if you call on good conditions and with pleasant surprises. Even if you have nothing to offer, congratulate you on the holiday, on your professional holiday (everyone is damn proud of them, this is their involvement!), Tell us about the news. If you have no reason to talk with a client, your business is dead.
Do not lie to the client - never and about anything. The most common false stories of sales managers: deadlines (which will not work out), functionality that is not (maybe you will not need), competitors (which are bad), prices (and in the course of the contract we throw VAT and 10% for exclusivity, and then we say that discounts are no longer valid). A lie will surely float out and strike a blow to the reputation: a dissatisfied customer is not too lazy to spread information.
Master the terminology. And there are two aspects.
Do not get out. If you do not know something about the product, attract colleagues, promise to clarify the information and call back, do not write and do not lie.
But at the same time understand the approximate logic of the work that you sell. If it is a machine, then speed, power, weight, power settings, dimensions, cost of maintenance, etc. And, for example, in the case of software - what is the cloud, how it is arranged and the client-server architecture for the desktop. This does not mean that you get involved in a professional conversation - such knowledge will help you leave a professional replica and switch the client to a technical specialist. The biggest mistake is to immediately hint that the engineer or the technician, if that, is near. Call transfer should be made solely under the sauce providing the opportunity to get exclusive advice from a steep specialist. The client is always right, but never devalue yourself or your colleagues: be it a sysadmin, a programmer or a secretary.
But all these tips mean absolutely nothing, if there is no main thing - faith in the product. Do not believe in your software / hardware / machine / service - leave the company, it's just not yours. You can sell what you don’t believe in and what you don’t like, but you cannot be successful.
Pictures taken from the site for car dealers .
If you love IT and you are interested in getting a job at RegonSoft, we will be happy to consider your candidacy, regardless of the availability of vacancies.
We are interested in specialists in the development of IT-solutions and technical support with a wide stack of technologies, as well as experienced sales people. Call +7 (499) 709-81-41 (Moscow), +7 (831) 233-13-03 (N.Novgorod) or send a resume to personal@regionsoft.ru mail
- What's up?
- Well! I bought an elephant: children are delighted, his wife loves him, he waters the beds, drags the logs on the roof, cleans the well.
- Amazing! Listen, sell, eh?
- No, he's kind of like a family member.
- Oh please!
- Good.
In a month:
- Well, what about the elephant?
- Horror! I crushed all the beds, broke the roof, shat in the well! The whole house is on the ears, the children are terrified, the wife does not leave the room.
- Noo, my friend, with such a mood you can not sell an elephant!
After the elephant bully, the neighbor is unlikely to buy something from the neighbor. Bringing in is not a smart decision; in the long run, such a businessman will hardly succeed. Today we will talk about how to sell technically complex products and not lose customers in batches. Whoever wants - adopt ideas, implement, create your own principles. And, of course, share them. Hearing let him hear.
A source
Who to sell?
They sell everything - because goods and services are initially created to be exchanged for a single equivalent (money) or other goods and services (rarely). However, there are many classifications of clients, among which it is worth starting with the main one.
')
- B2C - customers-individuals. You sell to a mass of private clients, most often on the basis of a public offer contract. A very diverse direction of sales, both in terms of methods, and in terms of the parties' reactions to the transaction. Let's not talk about this type of sales.
- B2G - you sell to a state or state-owned company, often through a tender. For many companies, this is the most difficult and stressful sale. We will not talk about them today, because within the B2G relationship there are different rules for commercial promotion and sales.
- B2B - clients-companies. In this case, you sell to another business that will use your product for its activities. Most often an individual contract. We will talk about these sales today.
So, let's discuss how a business sells to a business. This conversation is important, if only because the paradigm is changing intensively, and the market continues to undergo training, training and other activities on the old methods and techniques. Of course, the base is the same, but it is so overgrown with details that they have already decided who the base is.
And what, something has changed since the 90s?
The first and main reason for the paradigm shift - we played a cruel joke. And did it the internet. If the seller dominated the buyer in the process of negotiations, because he knew at least something about his product, and the buyer was absolutely nothing, now the dominance is over - the buyer knows a lot, though sometimes not that, not that, and more materials of your competitors (good, we all learned to disguise).
- There are literally materials on any subject on the Internet, which the companies themselves give to their customers. This is a huge amount of information that is available in seconds.
Only 37% of B2B buyers are satisfied with the website as a tool for researching their problem (the product they want to buy). According to information sources, vendor sites are leading with 83.4% and Google with 77% (search). Soc. media - 8.6%, 10.8% - blogs, 34% - third-party sites, 41.8% - reviews and reviews of other users Source
- If something is not clear, customers turn to social networks with a request to tell about their use experience - accordingly, you get your first reputational risks, because the attitude of a company to your brand can be subjective.
- The probability of buying (and even circulation!) Decreases at a high rate - most often you are not alone on the market (it feels very strongly in CRM, ECM, ERP, ITSM), and the more competitors a potential buyer finds, the less chance they will buy from you. This is not because the product is weak or salespeople are bad, but because probability theory works.
Add to this the fact that decision makers (decision makers) often do not understand the subject and they are alien to all these CRM, hardware, servers, VDS and monitoring systems. As a result, we get exactly the environment in which we have to work. By the way, for the seed, a few interesting questions that we in RegionSoft asked about our RegionSoft CRM (and just in case the answers):
- And this is a notebook, right? (No, RegionSoft CRM , like almost any large CRM, is not a notebook, not a notebook, and not Excel - it is an independent software with internal logic, designed to conduct the operational work of the business.)
- And the data is then erased? (If the user deliberately does not erase, nothing is erased - all data is stored as records in database tables. Approximately for the same reason, an incorrectly configured filter or manager's report does not damage the system data. But backups will not damage.)
- And she will interfere with work? (No, it will help to work, automates the routine, reduces the influence of the human factor, accumulates the client base and analytics.)
- Will the boss see us all on the screen? (Nah.)
Finally, we complete the image with a modern sales person. Alas, often these are people who have heard and seen enough of the trainings, imbued with self-development and in a cheerful voice report scripts that have been memorized or hung in front of them in the form of a program-algorithm or in the form of paper.
A source
An interesting observation: if you want to know how your salesman sounds, sit down with a man (wife, friend, someone else) who will call your company. You will hear a voice in the cell next to it. If the sound reminds you by intonation: “You called the bank, your call is very important for us ...”, and the salesman’s monologue is already coming, you need to change something urgently. They decide not to be polite to the tube, not the pressure and smile to the monitor, but professionalism.
How to sell to sell?
So what should happen to one B in order to sell another B?
Salesman should change
Salesman must be an expert in his business. So, your client has already read a lot of information on the Internet, collected feedback and finally contacted you. He is no longer interested in hearing that your “program is designed to keep track of customers and transactions,” “the cutting machine is designed to work with sheets of steel, aluminum, copper,” and “the server will store data about your most loaded projects.” Salesman should think like a consultant - he studies the client’s problems, understands his wishes, fears, risks and advises how to solve these very problems (with the help of your product). The pressure and the "pushing through" in the field of IT and technically complex products are hopelessly outdated. Moreover, your client is already at risk: he must choose a product, invest money in it, he expects return on implementation. Sales aggression will create additional discomfort.
How to form an examination? To educate First of all, the sales manager must interact with the product that he sells in order to get a sense of use and solve some problems using the product (as far as possible). He should know the technical properties and full functionality - and not having jagged according to the instructions / manual / video, but realistically understanding - only then can this be explained clearly and briefly to the client. Technicians who are able to conduct several seminars with demonstration and answers to questions will help in the training. By the way, in software, training is especially good with testers - they are no longer developers with professional vocabulary, but very professional users who know the product like the back of their fingers.
Salesman must be an analyst and intelligence officer. As soon as a lead arrives, it is necessary to gather as much information about it as possible (on the website, social networks, telephone number, decision maker, reference books). Thus, you will create a portrait of the buyer and you will be able to talk to him from the standpoint of his interests and needs.
But do not think that searching for information is a great pastime. If you walk around the site or Facebook for too long, and all the basic information is found, you just steal time from yourself. In order to sell, it is important to know the scope of the company, the whole range, information about decision makers. If possible, it is worth exploring the financial history in order not to fly into the receivables. But looking at a photo from a corporate party is already a waste of time, and do not lie to yourself that you are setting the parameters of the corporate spirit.
Several lines of advertising. The base of clients and transactions are best kept in the CRM system, it makes working great. For example, our RegionSoft CRM desktop, without constant payments (pay once for licenses and the implementation project), can integrate with telephony and 1C, do business processes, build reports, work with a cash register, a warehouse, has several planners. And most importantly, suitable for businesses of any scale (there are several editions). Write, call , tell and give a presentation for free, you don’t even have to move away from the computer.
Salesman must become an employee of the client at the time of sale. Previously, the sales model was a confrontation (bargaining): the buyer doubts, the salesman presses, convinces and squeezes. The collaboration model is now working: the sales manager takes the side of the buyer and solves the problem with him. Accordingly, the sales manager should discuss the problem, and not chatter about "the ideal solution for monitoring computer networks of a holding with a branch structure." It is worth thinking about the company's product at a later stage of the sale, introducing mentions by dose - when the manager has a clear understanding of the client’s goals, the results he wants and the risks he is concerned with.
Salesman should not seek to sell here and now. Sale of a technically complex product - a sale with a rather long cycle: lead → call → presentation → offer → negotiate → negotiate details → payment → close a deal. There may also be revision, drafting of technical specifications, the search for components, solutions for the order, etc. This means that trying to close a deal with the first call is meaningless (but if it was possible, it is also not bad!). A successful B2B salesperson takes a long-term perspective, ties the stage to the stage, rather than seeking to get rid of it.
Aerobatics - work with the client after purchase. The fact is that, having bought a CRM, a server or even a machine, the client can stay on the “old faithful horse” and not use the product - and this means that he is not yet your client, he is a buyer who cannot benefit, and therefore , recommend you. Of course, the bill has been paid - and this is the end of it, but this is an extensive thinking that will come around comes around in the future. Be sure to collect feedback and remind the customer about yourself with newsletters, rare contacts or service.
Now a few short rules for successful sales.
Segment the market. B2B as well as B2C, is perfectly segmented - you can divide companies by activity, size, number of employees, popularity, etc. Different companies have different goals, needs and different degrees of readiness to buy your product. By the way, if you think that selling a large company is easier, you are mistaken - small and medium-sized ones, and even more so new companies are more flexible and are inclined to take risks and invest in development.
Do not hesitate to communicate with the linear staff. Coaches throughout Russia are taught to bypass the secretary and go to the decision maker (both during cold calls and during the processing of warm leads). This is primarily difficult. But it happens that you manage to get out, for example, to a senior manager, purchaser, engineer, system administrator. And this is a win:
- you speak with a professional who will be an end user and knows what he wants from your product;
- you speak from the lobby - he will go to the manager with your words in his head and translate your arguments.
However, try to quickly go through this stage and move on to communication with decision makers, because it is he who has a number of critical characteristics:
- has money or knows that they simply do not have to buy;
- has the authority to make a purchase decision;
- has a real motivated or planned need for your product.
Automate your work - in the arsenal of a modern salesperson, there must be convenient tools: telephony, chat rooms and CRM. CRM-system helps to manage the client base, minimizes the problems of routine processes, is responsible for planning and KPI. Do not avoid the software - use it to the fullest.
Respect time: yours and client. This is especially true for salespeople from generation Y, who were taught to entangle the client with speeches and engage in conversation. That's right, but in some cases this may alienate a potential buyer. Speak on business, do not go into philosophical questions, flattery, discussion of business in general, laws of being, etc. No politics, religion, psychology and taste!
Be active. If you are not active and are procrastinating, you are wasting your firm’s money without doing your job. The structure of the sales manager's earnings is such that it depends on his ambitions and activity. You work primarily for yourself.
Do not give up. Clients may be rude, unfriendly, they may refuse, lie, etc. To get out of despair, you need time - 10-20 minutes. Do not let yourself get upset and waste this time - just make the next call or hold a meeting. So you will be focused all day and easier to survive resentment. Similarly, after successful and productive conversations, do not reward yourself for half an hour of aimless reading a VK tape or office chatter.
Do not leave those who have said no. If the client refuses to communicate or refuses to buy, try to return to him later - it is likely that his situation will change and he will be more inclined to negotiate.
Do not throw those who bought. The customer who bought is your friend. Which will return to you if you call on good conditions and with pleasant surprises. Even if you have nothing to offer, congratulate you on the holiday, on your professional holiday (everyone is damn proud of them, this is their involvement!), Tell us about the news. If you have no reason to talk with a client, your business is dead.
Do not lie to the client - never and about anything. The most common false stories of sales managers: deadlines (which will not work out), functionality that is not (maybe you will not need), competitors (which are bad), prices (and in the course of the contract we throw VAT and 10% for exclusivity, and then we say that discounts are no longer valid). A lie will surely float out and strike a blow to the reputation: a dissatisfied customer is not too lazy to spread information.
Master the terminology. And there are two aspects.
- First, adequate. If you sell a narrow-industry product (machine tools, equipment, professional software), then you will have to communicate with engineers and decision makers, who have long and many speakers of professional language. For them, the honing machine is the maximum grinding and lapping cutting machine or, on the brink, “grinding hrenovina.” But not in any way “a machine tool for sleeves” or “a device for polishing holes” - with such a vocabulary you will cause wild laughter and become a legend. But do not sell.
- The second aspect is inadequate and is often found in the field of corporate software: the client does not understand the topic, but always read forums or Habr and will come up with questions like “Does the CRM provide for network monitoring and control and licensing control system SAM?” In this question There is nothing criminal, just CRM should not support it all, and the client does not know at all what he needs. But you must understand all the words of the question and answer it in human language.
Do not get out. If you do not know something about the product, attract colleagues, promise to clarify the information and call back, do not write and do not lie.
But at the same time understand the approximate logic of the work that you sell. If it is a machine, then speed, power, weight, power settings, dimensions, cost of maintenance, etc. And, for example, in the case of software - what is the cloud, how it is arranged and the client-server architecture for the desktop. This does not mean that you get involved in a professional conversation - such knowledge will help you leave a professional replica and switch the client to a technical specialist. The biggest mistake is to immediately hint that the engineer or the technician, if that, is near. Call transfer should be made solely under the sauce providing the opportunity to get exclusive advice from a steep specialist. The client is always right, but never devalue yourself or your colleagues: be it a sysadmin, a programmer or a secretary.
But all these tips mean absolutely nothing, if there is no main thing - faith in the product. Do not believe in your software / hardware / machine / service - leave the company, it's just not yours. You can sell what you don’t believe in and what you don’t like, but you cannot be successful.
Pictures taken from the site for car dealers .
If you love IT and you are interested in getting a job at RegonSoft, we will be happy to consider your candidacy, regardless of the availability of vacancies.
We are interested in specialists in the development of IT-solutions and technical support with a wide stack of technologies, as well as experienced sales people. Call +7 (499) 709-81-41 (Moscow), +7 (831) 233-13-03 (N.Novgorod) or send a resume to personal@regionsoft.ru mail
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/321970/
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