Sell more and sell better

I have been on the other side of the desk this week, having been sold to on a number of occasions via cold calling, cold outreach (Linked in) and my request for more information

 And there were some great performances and not so great ones

1.     Cold call 1

I received 3 voice mail calls from a "Steve" from xxxxx over past week I had no idea who he was or what he wanted, but I had had a quick look on Linked in and suspected they were a recruitment firm. I admire persistence so thought I would ring him back. Now clearly, HE had not done me the courtesy of reading MY linked in profile nor understood what I did for living. Apparently, he had got my name and number from his database and was cold calling me to discuss "opportunities that his clients had that I might be a good fit for" But he knew nothing absolutely nothing about me. So he wasted his time ringing me as I am not looking for a job and missed out on any networking opportunities of a quick chat as I was unimpressed by his approach and certainly wouldn’t recommend him!

2.     Cold call 2

Second cold call of the day was a sales guy selling exhibition space at the Business show – he had read my linked in profile even though he got my company name wrong.  He missed the trick that I might have been interested in a stand if it came with a speaking opportunity but sadly he could not offer me that so we parted on good terms but it was a good call

3.     Cold outreach (linked in)

My third sales experience was with someone who reached out to me to sell PR after I had been shortlisted for the business book awards.  She sent me a flyer with a price and what was included – didn’t target the email other than the shortlist but interested me enough to set up a meeting.  She had done her homework but didn’t really tailor the approach.  Also despite having send me a price for the work, when I asked her how much it would be she didn’t know as she would need to price up something specific.

4.     Response to my outreach

My fourth experience was with another PR agency who I had found after number 3 had got in contact and successfully identified I might have a need for book PR.  This was a 5 star meeting.  Person had done the research about me, made it very clear she was not selling because they had a clear offer, clear pricing (which she had told me about before).  And she engaged with me on a personal level, we had a great chat, I said wasn’t sure I could afford it and she offered me an introduction to someone who might be able to help with a speaking gig.  Will I buy from her?  Not sure because I am not sure if that is what I need right now but would I refer others to her now – absolutely!!

Also one other aside, I checked which books they had as case studies, found someone I knew, reached out and he recommended them highly!

5.     The "no sale"

My final sales experience was not an experience because I could not get beyond their marketing funnel!!  You know how sometimes you consume all the free content, read the book, attend the webinars but still don’t buy?  That is me with these people.  But I was really interested to know whether this would now be what I needed to take my business to the next stage.  So off I went to the website, clicked on the button and it went nowhere.  I tried some other buttons which offered me free scorecard, workshop etc etc but didn’t let me buy or talk to someone.  I cannot talk about the sales process because I couldn’t find one!!

So what does this mean for you if you are trying to sell ?

✔️ ensure your customer can be sold to - some potential customers may not want to go down your marketing funnel and just want to buy!!  So make sure that is possible.  Many buyers these days are happy to make significant purchases on line – enable that to happen!

✔️ know who you are selling to – do the research and understand how to open the conversation.  Understand their personality type, tailor not only your offer but your approach to fit their needs and interests

✔️ Gather information – learn about your customer in the initial call so that you can be clear how your offer might resonate with what they need.  You may not adapt the product or service but you might be able to help in other ways

✔️ Be patient – some people are not ready to buy – in the case of number 4, I might not be able to buy now but she offered me a potential connection to generate the revenue to pay her fees.  And in the case of number 5, I first met this company pre pandemic and now am now ready to buy….but not able to !

✔️ Follow up – even if someone doesn’t seem interested, it might be wrong time, wrong price etc so follow up, ask questions and keep the lead warm.  You never know in 4 years, they might come back to you and be ready to buy (so make sure that is possible!!)

Know your buyer, sell more and sell better” is the subtext for my book Buyer-ology and it had never been SO true

Need more info ?

Order a copy of my book Buyer-ology® or get in touch karen@buyerology.co.uk