Have you noticed that some sales people abandon an otherwise promising prospect at the slightest hint of rejection. Others doggedly continue to pursue the sale long after it has become a hopeless case.
Why is this? Well, in my view it is all due to emotion. On one hand the fear of rejection causes some sales people to back off when rejection becomes even the remotest possibility. In fact they may be mistaking what is actually healthy curiosity on behalf of the prospect for something a little more negative. On the other hand some sales people feel reluctant, having invested considerable time and effort into a sale, to see that commitment go to waste.
So my tip is this; when deciding where to invest your valuable sales time and effort, think long, hard and dispassionately about it. Then throw yourself wholeheartedly into the sale!
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Tiny Cogs
Putting together a tender response is a perfect example of when to use a project plan. A deadline has to be met. A number of people are involved. One activity depends on another. It can all go horribly wrong.
As the project manager it would be reasonable for you to expect that others, responsible for smaller elements, would make sure that they complete their tasks on time. After all, their task is not particularly demanding. On the contrary, quite often they de-prioritise their task, and it completely passes them by.
So, my tips are twofold. If you are the project manager always build in prompts to remind people of their commitments. If you are a contributor to the project be aware of the bigger picture and prioritise your task in accordance with the importance of the project as a whole. However insignificant it may seem to you it may be a tiny, but crucial, cog in the machine.
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
As the project manager it would be reasonable for you to expect that others, responsible for smaller elements, would make sure that they complete their tasks on time. After all, their task is not particularly demanding. On the contrary, quite often they de-prioritise their task, and it completely passes them by.
So, my tips are twofold. If you are the project manager always build in prompts to remind people of their commitments. If you are a contributor to the project be aware of the bigger picture and prioritise your task in accordance with the importance of the project as a whole. However insignificant it may seem to you it may be a tiny, but crucial, cog in the machine.
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Nil Desperandum
There are many things that can put a buyer off. None more so, perhaps, than a desperate sales person. Desperation is not only, in itself, off-putting, but also begs a whole load of questions. Why is the sales person desperate? What is wrong with the product or service that makes the sales person so anxious to close? What does he or she know that you don’t?
Relaxed sales people, who are confident in what they are selling, tend to be more successful. Success breeds success. The rub is, of course, that without a track record of success it is difficult to exude it. There are many ploys and tactics for achieving this, none of them easy or foolproof, but one thing is certain – whatever the method the sales person must believe it.
So my tip is this; if you, or someone who works for you, needs to exude confidence in a sales situation find a way that you, or that person, can absolutely believe in.
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
Relaxed sales people, who are confident in what they are selling, tend to be more successful. Success breeds success. The rub is, of course, that without a track record of success it is difficult to exude it. There are many ploys and tactics for achieving this, none of them easy or foolproof, but one thing is certain – whatever the method the sales person must believe it.
So my tip is this; if you, or someone who works for you, needs to exude confidence in a sales situation find a way that you, or that person, can absolutely believe in.
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
Monday, 24 October 2011
Squeeze it in sometime?
So ... an invitation to tender arrives. It needs to be completed within, say, four weeks. You are very busy at the moment, but should be able to find some time to look at it towards the end of next week – and hopefully do most of the work required. Next week arrives and some other stuff has cropped up. However the following week you should be able to find some time ... and so it goes on.
No! Wrong approach! Doomed to fail!!
We all know this, but sometimes it is very difficult to avoid falling into the trap. Much as you resent having to completely reschedule your workload at the drop of a hat, it is the only way to do it.
My tip is this; if you are going to submit a tender it will have to be completed, and completed well, within the next three and a half weeks. You have to work your schedule around it and all those other important and urgent tasks you have to do – not the other way round. If you don’t take this approach it will all be left to the last minute ... and we all know the potential consequences of that!
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
No! Wrong approach! Doomed to fail!!
We all know this, but sometimes it is very difficult to avoid falling into the trap. Much as you resent having to completely reschedule your workload at the drop of a hat, it is the only way to do it.
My tip is this; if you are going to submit a tender it will have to be completed, and completed well, within the next three and a half weeks. You have to work your schedule around it and all those other important and urgent tasks you have to do – not the other way round. If you don’t take this approach it will all be left to the last minute ... and we all know the potential consequences of that!
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
Monday, 3 October 2011
Don't Go Hanging Around Tube Stations
If you want to sell your product or service you need to have some understanding of how people buy it.
If you are an umbrella salesman and you put your stall up outside a busy tube station on a rainy day the chances are you will sell some umbrellas. If you are a training consultant selling to senior corporate executives you will need to be a little more considered than that. There are a whole load of questions to be asked about things like how you identify your target clients and how you get into a selling situation with them. By which I mean a situation in which they are prepared to seriously consider your proposition. Because getting senior corporate executives to seriously consider sales propositions isn’t easy.
So, my tip is, if you have a strategic sale to make don’t go hanging around tube stations!
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
If you are an umbrella salesman and you put your stall up outside a busy tube station on a rainy day the chances are you will sell some umbrellas. If you are a training consultant selling to senior corporate executives you will need to be a little more considered than that. There are a whole load of questions to be asked about things like how you identify your target clients and how you get into a selling situation with them. By which I mean a situation in which they are prepared to seriously consider your proposition. Because getting senior corporate executives to seriously consider sales propositions isn’t easy.
So, my tip is, if you have a strategic sale to make don’t go hanging around tube stations!
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
Friday, 23 September 2011
Some you win ... some you lose!
The outcome of a tender is binary. You win ... or you lose. So is the outcome of any part of the tender process. You get through, or you don’t get through. There are no degrees of success. A marketing campaign, for example, could be fairly successful, relatively successful or not very successful. A tender can only succeed or fail.
So, there can be no half measures with a tender. If you don’t give it your best shot all the effort you do put in may be wasted.
My tip therefore is this. Decide whether you want wholeheartedly to go for a tender or not. If you do want to go for it, do it properly. Plan it well in advance and allocate the time and resources it merits. Then, when the outcome is decided, win or lose, you will know that you have done your best.
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
So, there can be no half measures with a tender. If you don’t give it your best shot all the effort you do put in may be wasted.
My tip therefore is this. Decide whether you want wholeheartedly to go for a tender or not. If you do want to go for it, do it properly. Plan it well in advance and allocate the time and resources it merits. Then, when the outcome is decided, win or lose, you will know that you have done your best.
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
Monday, 18 July 2011
Spot the Difference
If you are selling a product or service at a premium price you must demonstrate value. All good sales people know that. How then do you sell that value?
You might take the approach that your price is, say, £110, for which you provide a premium product, whereas your competitor may be asking £100 for an inferior product. You might then find yourself explaining everything about your product that makes it worth £110. Many of these features will be the same as with your competitor’s product.
However, if you focus on the difference, i.e. just £10, you can then concentrate on those things about your product that are different. If you can show that this adds up to more than £10 in value then you are a long way towards making the sale.
My tip therefore is simply this; spotlight the difference and the extra benefit the customer gets, and show that this is more than the difference in price. This applies however the benefits are delivered; extra features, less waste or perhaps, simply, assurance of performance!
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
You might take the approach that your price is, say, £110, for which you provide a premium product, whereas your competitor may be asking £100 for an inferior product. You might then find yourself explaining everything about your product that makes it worth £110. Many of these features will be the same as with your competitor’s product.
However, if you focus on the difference, i.e. just £10, you can then concentrate on those things about your product that are different. If you can show that this adds up to more than £10 in value then you are a long way towards making the sale.
My tip therefore is simply this; spotlight the difference and the extra benefit the customer gets, and show that this is more than the difference in price. This applies however the benefits are delivered; extra features, less waste or perhaps, simply, assurance of performance!
http://www.momentumconsultinguk.com
http://www.tender-services.com
http://www.robparkerassociates.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/robjparker
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