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Lyon posted:Those of you doing B2B sales, what does your normal day look like? Is your role purely new business or do you also manage your existing accounts? If you're managing your existing accounts how often are you in touch with them? I work only in B2B, only established accounts. I'm a tobacco rep, and work with retailers (yay). For established business, I'm always looking for "gaps" in business, on top of the normal stuff (ie signage changes, price changes, holiday booking and things). For our business, we lead in every category, so finding incremental growth is difficult. Established business is much more about relationships and partnership for success. I meet with these accounts every month. I can't just make the sale and walk away, even if it bumps my numbers one month and hurts another. It's really about building a lasting infrastructure so that your clients can continue to grow, biased to you. In terms of keeping in touch, I'm making a sales call at their store once a month, about an hour a month. On top of that, I'm taking calls and putting out fires over the phone or email when I need to. If something comes up in the middle of my sales cycle that seems DEFCON 1 then I can make it happen, but I prefer to keep my call coverage done by geography so I can keep it as consistent as possible and minimize windshield time. For my wholesale accounts, I'm in touch with them almost daily. They love me and I love them, and it's beyond useful to have great relationships with them when I have retailers who get supplied by them. Makes ordering new product much less of a hassle, and you can pick up some interesting info on the side. My day usually has 6 or 7 sales calls. I put 30 minutes or so up-front of planning, looking at data, and jotting down some notes about what I want to sell in that day. Once I'm at the call, I take a second to review those notes, any follow-ups, and get my stuff together. Then it's assess, sell, and execute. Take down any follow-up notes and go on to the next one. You should always have something to follow up on. If you didn't, you forgot something.
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Jun 10, 2014 02:47
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Shbobdb posted:Honestly, I love it -- I don't know why I ever did anything else. Emotionally speaking, my worst days in sales are on par with my better-than-average days as a bench scientist. You just gotta put yourself out there (and have a massively underdeveloped territory, so customers are screaming for attention). Sales is a ton of fun, but I think you can let it drag you down if you aren't careful. It's easy to get into a funk if you let a bad call influence your next one. Especially at the end of a sales cycle, if you end up being cluttered with poo poo calls that you've postponed because you know they suck. But if you can keep an open and positive mind about things and try to find the little victories and opportunities in every call, it can be very rewarding.
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Jun 20, 2014 01:21
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Snatch Duster posted:I think all sales people have this feeling. No matter how great I am doing, there isn't a since of accomplishment I think. Landing large accounts/prestigious accounts, getting paid poo poo tons, or knowing you won over [rival company name here] feels great and all. But that void is still there it seems. The work to life balance is amazing though. I think it might be more for people in new account/cold calling kind of sales. I only do established account sales (I'm a tobacco rep) and I don't think it has the same feeling. Everyone knows who I am and remembers me when I walk in the door, for better or worse, and that's a cool feeling. There's absolutely times that it can be draining as hell to slog through, but seeing the change in the business towards my products, and seeing the real impacts of everything we do and the way it impacts my clients is a good feeling. Find value in the ways you can positively impact the client and evaluate success on that. In response to the Jim Camp negotiation thing, it's a pretty simple philosophy. Ask questions, don't make assumptions, and negotiate based on the principles of of the topic. I think a better, clearer philosophy for that kind of negotiation is in something like Getting to Yes. In my business, the first question to ask is "what are your goals with the category?" It could be "make more money," and it usually is, but you'll find people who are motivated by different things. Bob looks at Category X as a loss leader for his business, but Jim sees the same category as a competitive way to differentiate. You should know your product's features and benefits and how they fit into different client visions, and sell appropriately. If someone says no, come back quickly. They spend dead air building resistance.
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Jul 24, 2014 02:02
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canyoneer posted:No way. I love getting headhunters on LinkedIn saying things like "average salesperson makes 250k" and whatever else, but never saying how many people last past the first six months, year, etc. If people suck in commission-based sales, they quit, since they aren't making money and still probably have to put food on the table. There's no easy job that makes you lots of money. If it was easy, everyone would do it and you wouldn't get paid as much. Good salespeople make it look easy because they are good at it, and it sounds easy to everyone else because it's been boiled down to so many different 4-5 step systems (I prefer DARFing it) that people forget that it can actually be really hard. I work in an industry where the average client spends more on my product than anything else they carry, and it's hard to get people to pay attention to me all the time. I can't imagine how hard it is to do cold/warm calling and chasing leads all day, but that must be tough. It can also be hard emotionally. People in this thread have already noted that sales has the tendency to be soul-sucking, and it's hard to have people deny you every day, hour after hour, even if you do live for that one sale. Sales is hard. It isn't learned in a book or in an AMA. It's learned by work experience with professionals/mentors/managers/etc. providing feedback, and figuring out what works. Books are great. Try a method, adapt a method, create what works for you, and build your personal sales story.
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Aug 27, 2014 00:35
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Philosopher King posted:I've worked in retail banking sales for about 4 years now and I've been through all the ups and mostly downs bullshit of it. How does one transition into a real sales job that doesn't blow rear end? Check your LinkedIn messages, usually there's one or two headhunters trying to get a hold of you in there. Use your network, have informational interviews to get your foot in the door, all that good stuff they teach in the college how-to-get-a-job business school course. Also if you don't want to cold call but still want to sell your soul to the devil, there's always TSM positions available around the nation with AGDC. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Sep 6, 2014 01:50
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Level 3 storm warnings here in the midwest, so I haven't been out today making sales calls. Been working on a bunch of data analysis work to better understand my business. 7 hours into the process, it's amazing what I haven't noticed or figured out in my previous 8 months with these clients (I do only continuing business development). Friendly reminder that the more you know about your clients and prospects, the better off you are! yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Feb 2, 2015 23:18
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Leaving the CPG world in June for an consulting/research sales position! Same base salary, but a commission! I work in tobacco now, where there is literally no commission. Money is good here, but I'd like to have earnings potential and motivation to do my job. And get the gently caress out of northwest ohio. e: to clarify, if I hit expected quota, I'll be essentially making a 19k raise. If I sold 0, I'd break even. I don't plan on selling 0. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan lazercunt fucked around with this message at 02:33 on Mar 11, 2015 |
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Mar 11, 2015 02:31
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Waroduce posted:Hows tobacco? I have no soul and would not mind selling or negotiating for big tobacco/oil/pharma This is sales, you don't need to know poo poo about anything. Tobacco is fun, if you want an easy sales job. You could get by reasonably well on 6 hours a day. If you don't work for a big 3 firm (soon to be big 2) life probably sucks though because no one gives a poo poo about your discount brand of whatever. Tobacco sales, especially at retail, is execution-based rather than sales-based. You aren't just selling and forgetting, you execute your platform and promotions and do it all, including your merchandising. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Mar 12, 2015 19:45
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Mister Blueberry posted:I just landed a job in sales in a printing company that specializes in industrial printing, ie pharmaceutical and cigarette packaging, promotional boxing etc. I've been working as a graphic designer for the last 5 years, and they mostly took me for my experience in offset printing as well as my language skills in the countries they are trying to develop. SPIN Selling is always the answer. You'll find it reinforcing things you probably knew/expected, and it helps build confidence yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Mar 30, 2015 13:15
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piercedbronson posted:I just took a job as a 'sales assistant' at my local BMW dealer and I'm struggling badly with confidence. You should try writing yourself a script, maybe getting your salesman to roleplay with you on it. I know everyone shits on having a script and also hates doing roleplays at training and whatever, but it works. I don't know a salesperson in my industry who doesn't write some sort of script or at least a plan of their selling conversation. I use a little blue book, and use checkboxes for the topics I need to cover. Yours could literally be:
Sure, you'll sound robotic about it at first, but I think I'd prefer a script to a bad call. Your salesperson might have notes about the customer from the selling process, like what they were interested in, their needs, etc. "I know storage space was important to you, how are you feeling in the X1?" Most likely they'll have no issues and the car is fine because poo poo, they just bought a new BMW and whatever. Worst/best case scenario is that there is an opportunity, and you were the guy to address it, and the dealership fixed it. Maybe they didn't have enough space, and you suggested they come in for a BMW-official roof rack?
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Mar 31, 2015 03:53
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Krono99 posted:Jesus, how the hell do I get one of you at my job? I'm one of the top salesman at one of the top dealerships in the US for GMC but company policy states I'm not allowed to have an assistant, even if I pay their salary 100% out of my pocket. You'd probably be less productive with one than you think. Now you have to completely manage an assistant, train them, delegate to them, and all that. You still need to find 20-40 hours of work for the assistant, with the understanding that the quality of work won't be the same as when you do it. I've seen it with CPG sales forces that have merchandisers along with their sales reps. I handle all of my own merchandising, and while it can be a hell of a time sink, I get it done exactly the way I want it, the way it should be done, and improves my relationship with the retailer by making me more invested in their business. I've seen merchandisers and third party installers mess things up all the time. They aren't as smart or well-trained, and the same goes for assistants, generally. If they were that smart, or good at what they did, or whatever else, they'd be salespeople, not assistants. That being said, it isn't always the case. You'll get incredible admins/assistants/support staff/etc. from time to time, because people are content in those positions. People can be happy where they are for work-life balance reasons, or geographic reasons, or whatever else, and that's great. But you can be annoyed by incompetence too. e: Bronson, so what are you looking to improve, exactly? Back on topic from having-assistant chat. You should go to your salesperson with a plan on how to improve, and have some specific areas where you can get training and feedback. Maybe you can listen to the call recordings after the fact and look for opportunities to improve? yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan lazercunt fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Apr 13, 2015 |
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Apr 13, 2015 22:17
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Pierced Bronson posted:That's not much of an issue anymore, actually. We struck a balance where I get to send a follow-up email, and then the salesman will do the actual "call"-back. I send the emails from the salesman's account so it shows up as being written by him, which is a little sketchy to me, but unlike the alternative it doesn't make me suffer a debilitating neurosis. Your job sounds legit terrible and you should probably  out of there while you still have a job description that isn't literally just picking up lunch. Delivery drivers even expense their mileage. At least deduct it, current IRS rate is $0.565/mile as far as I remember. As for your response to the test drive comment, you have the right answer. That's probably exactly what happened. However, sometimes sales is about shutting up and letting customers talk. I would probably just sort have agreed with them and let them keep driving or talking, and made a note that mileage was mentioned, so it's probably important to the customer. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Apr 14, 2015 01:05
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Alfalfa posted:Looking at applications for sales jobs, a lot of them ask if you have completed any formal sales training? A lot of companies will ask if you learned a certain model, like SPIN or Selling to VITO or whatever. They really do mean your HQ-based stuff, assuming you didn't just get thrown to the wolves. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Apr 14, 2015 03:40
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Lyon posted:SPIN is really good but I need to formalize it more like the book(s) suggest and write down some common questions for each stage for my industry. I've worked to internalize it a bit but find I don't use SPIN as much as I should. I think the methodology would work exceptionally well if I used it more (and more effectively). Is this for lean six sigma work? I saw the word champion, so I ran with it. I think for all of us that do large-account sales, and duration sales, consultative is everything. I'm with you on the not using SPIN enough. I certainly know it, and I can look at my selling conversations and how they fit or didn't, but I definitely don't use it enough during planning. Pierced Bronson quit your job seriously that's terrible yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Apr 15, 2015 04:17
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Has he looked into DM retail roles? While it isn't sales, it's more of a step in the right direction if he can't make it in. C-store DMs usually account for a couple million in sales revenue, and come in a variety of different titles. Pay still isn't the best, as the DMs I work with make about 40k in salary, but also bonuses. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Apr 17, 2015 21:38
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devoir posted:It was a start of financial year internal event. An absolutely mindblowing way to start a new position, and a really good opportunity to build relationships with the remote members of the team (of which I'm one). I do love kickoff meetings, biannual meetings, and the like. Since (in my current position, not the one) I'm field sales, I don't see people beyond my immediate team very often. So there's always lots of alcohol and catching up to do. Congrats to Bronson as well. It feels good to be at the end of the monthly sales cycle without much work to do, just get some great merchandising done, a little bit more selling, and go back to the alma mater for some alcohol yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Apr 22, 2015 03:32
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Current IRS rate on mileage is like 56 cents a mile. You'd want to know what kind of mileage you are going to be expensing in your personal vehicle, in terms of not-gas expenses, like your depreciation and regular maintenance. I love the PM work with clients, seeing something all the way to the moment it ships in a box is really cool. But some people prefer churn-and-burn sales and thats fine too. To each his own. But international travel is cool in its own right and also means miles when you take your vacation. 90k is a lot of money compared to 45, and so is 60k salary. Money-chat, I was very anti-giving-salary to my new job (start next month!) but then again, I'm switching from all-salary to 70/30 salary-commission split, so I eventually caved. I'm still getting 8k more at quota, and the benefits are equal. And I won't have state or city income taxes. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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May 6, 2015 01:22
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Just found out that I'll be working two weeks less than I thought at my current position! I'm leaving the 21nd rather than June 4th like originally planned, so I have time to sit on my rear end for a few weeks before I move to Florida. Switching industries, and from field sales to inside sales, and essentially everything else. Can't wait not to sell cigarettes at gas stations in the hood. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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May 6, 2015 19:47
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Duckman2008 posted:So I currently have a full time sales job, just curious if I am missing anything better: Maybe the corporate side of wireless sales? Large account stuff. One of my coworkers used to do the government contracting and sales at Verizon, he was a top performer and was well into six figures. There's no reason that if you are in the top 2% you should only be making 70k. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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May 13, 2015 20:26
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Kraftwerk posted:What's the best way to talk about possible weaknesses in a sales type interview? You obviously don't want to degrade yourself but you can't give a non-answer either... Be honest. You have an opportunity to improve. Let's say you have been described as "long-winded" at times. You have an opportunity to to improve your selling conversations by being more concise in your selling. You are improving your clarity you are writing down your talking points as check boxes and roleplaying with your current manager before important calls. Show me someone who doesn't have a weakness, and I'll show you a liar. Be honest about your opportunities and let them know you are taking steps to improve. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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May 14, 2015 04:09
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sbaldrick posted:I"m sure kosher donuts taste great like many kosher things. I've never understood the anti-Merry Christmas thing. I get that people aren't Christian, and I'm Jewish as well, but at the end of the day it isn't about the Christmas thing, it's just someone being polite and nice. It's like when people say "have a blessed day," it's weird and I wouldn't do it, but the intent is good and they are being nice. I worked with a lot of Muslim and Hindu people, and I don't celebrate Christmas, but we were telling each other Merry Christmas during the December sales cycle because it's about being nice and all. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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May 25, 2015 16:57
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PerpetualSelf posted:My companies sales personell suck but everyone they hire on sucks more what do? quit yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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May 27, 2015 01:31
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New job, and 2 months of training to work through . I'm not sure anyone trains as much as what I'm doing now. This should be fun, though at least next week is product week.
yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Jun 16, 2015 11:50
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Kraftwerk posted:What's the best way to qualify leads? Zoominfo and hoovers? Anything that can push out an excel spreadsheet I think. I kind of do more qualification on initial discovery than during prospecting, but it sounds like you are just building out the lead list and making sure you aren't encroaching on someone else's territory yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Jul 26, 2015 16:50
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Kraftwerk posted:That makes me feel a lot better. My co-workers seem to be pretty supportive too. Is it just me or do other sales people seem to have some kind of weird industry camaraderie amongst themselves? When I'm out at events and meeting ppl the fellow sales people always wanna trade stories or help out the young ones. Yes, because we all do the same thing. I sell B2B into c-suites, and if I can't prospect into the office I need to, I'll call into sales. More effective than it should be, really. That being said, I'm only calling into companies sub-250m, so your mileage may vary with large and enterprise. e: Also, Lelerox, if you are looking for a more account-management type sales position, and willing to relocate, send a PM or shoot me an email at naflipwich AT gmail DOT com to talk further. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan lazercunt fucked around with this message at 14:27 on Aug 15, 2015 |
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Aug 15, 2015 14:23
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Kraftwerk posted:I think where I'm most frustrated is I am well aware of many situations (especially with my old employer) where my company will literally save them money if they go with us. But not one of my contacts is willing to engage me in a dialogue about it. Everyone just sends you to voicemail and ignores you e-mails. It's extremely frustrating especially since I am the ONLY sales guy for my area. It's my responsibility to get my company a brand new book of business from scratch. You KNOW you have what your prospects need, you KNOW the business case makes sense, but no matter what you say they just don't want to talk about it with you. I usually get a lot of fake appointments booked and they flake out on me when I follow up. Have you thought about the way you frame those introductions? The way I'd sell the airbus call, if I was calling into my prospect, Don: "Don, I was researching your organization and read with great interest that Airbus touches up 60% of its parts due to shipment issues, and I'm reaching out for more direction. I work with companies like yours every day to improve packaging. Who in your engineering leadership team is the best person to speak to about our solutions?" I wouldn't give him my name, I wouldn't introduce myself, or give him a chance to speak. Prospecting is a drive-by shooting. Get in, get a referral, and get out. In many cases, they'll self-refer, and you'll get your meeting set. If they refer elsewhere, you call the person up and namedrop your referral. When it comes to the actual meeting, make sure you get their vision of a solution. Build up the problem as they see it, then figure out what their solution is, and sell them your product as it fits that idea. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Aug 16, 2015 23:34
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Kraftwerk posted:Wow that's amazing! I could totally pull that off. And your move to personalize the solution according to their vision is really clever, I like that. What you probably want is the ValueSelling Framework, which aligns pretty well with SPIN Selling. The issue with SPIN is that it lends to selling on a Discovery call, where you really should just be building their vision of problem and solution. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Aug 18, 2015 01:17
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IT research services, specifically with smaller vendors of technology. Also a lot to digital marketing firms these days.
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Aug 30, 2015 12:54
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Angry Lobster posted:I just started a new job in a small company, biomass/forestry industry. Sales is one of my main responsibilities. My previous job experience was in international logistics and as an insurance lawyer (gently caress my life). Pick up the phone and call the people who have power to make purchasing decisions about your products, and waste no time on anyone else. Create some more opportunities and network, but what would you ask the association? For a list of their constituents? yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Sep 20, 2015 20:55
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I'm east coast, but I work in the IT industry and can say that one of my coworkers used to manage a hood-rear end MattressFirm in Atlanta and he kills it here. Sales isn't really about the product, unless you do like medical devices where you are there during the surgery teaching the surgeon how to cut a guy's knee open. e: hope everyone had a good quarter-close! I didn't have any business to transact, but my teammates all had some early paperwork to bring in. Fun time until 8:30pm yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Oct 1, 2015 11:58
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Kraftwerk posted:Yeah I agree. I'm gonna try and keep up a positive attitude. I was training myself a little more on spin selling and came to realize I wasn't doing enough to get my customers to talk about their issues and minimize their objections. Also choosing the right customer is important too. There's a lot of low volume targets that probably have a spend that isn't worth the effort and resources of selling to them in the first place. I find in some cases a customer comes to me asking for a solution and I haven't asked enough questions as to why they want it, what their problems are and how my product benefits them. Instead we go straight to drawing up a quote and of course a vague requirement for change versus a high cost doesn't get you anywhere. You should certainly tier out your prospects. I tier all mine by relevancy and org size, into tier 1, 2, and 3. Sales should be all about finding out their needs. At the end of the day, there should never be a true conversation about price. The price isn't too high, they just don't see the value of what you are selling. SPIN selling is a great way to organize how you go through your discovery with a prospect, since it works your way to the pain that drives someone to buy a solution. The Need-payoff questions are always kind of weird until I get an idea of what they need, but when you find some sort of pain or problem they need to solve, you can sit on it until its exhausted. Once you exhaust the pain, you can just ask, "so what would solve this?" and, if you are on the phone with them, they'll probably answer something related to you. No one takes your call because they are lonely. They have a solution in mind, tailor your solution. It's so much easier to sell something they want versus something you think they need. e: in regards to you selling SAP, its not that simple either. I have a client that's an SAP implementation company, specifically in artwork, labeling, and fashion management (in Europe). It's hard as hell. I sell a product with literally no parallel, and you still have to compete with the status quo. There is always a substitute to you. Find it and compete with it. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan lazercunt fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Oct 8, 2015 |
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Oct 8, 2015 01:37
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I work strictly inside sales  Please, give me 90k over the phone yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Oct 10, 2015 13:46
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50 business days left in the year. My company swaps prospecting territories each year, so i'm loving gutting my pipeline right now. There will literally only be hot garbage left when i'm through with it
yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Oct 17, 2015 12:36
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Lyon posted:Finally starting to build a bit of pipeline and get some deals rolling in, closed two deals this week. I will need a couple of big ones to land to hit my quota this year though. Just an SA with General Terms, total of 3 pages, 1 page is signatures. Larger clients may use some sort of Master Agreement, which I usually push to get signed earlier in the sales cycle. I have a client that cuts POs. It's almost 2016 and you are a tech company, don't use POs.
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Nov 6, 2015 02:29
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Kraftwerk posted:Isnt a PO what a company gives you to confirm the deal? Why wouldn't you use it? Im still new in sales so I don't know what else there is. I'm selling a service to tech companies, no physical product, so that might have something to do with it. But a signed contract from someone is all legal needs to take them to court  We also play a little faster and looser than other companies our size. My largest client is a 240k yearly, and they always print it, scan it, send it back. No PO. e: In a sales cycle, I generally ask "Is legal or procurement involved? Who else is involved in this decision? Can anyone else veto this?" after I price-qualify. I generally get a variation of "oh it has to go through legal" or "our lawyer has to look at it" and that's about it. But, the answers you get for the other two are wildly different. Is there anyone else involved in this decision we need to bring in for our next conversation? No, just me. Can anyone else veto this? Yeah, my board. Thanks, mr ceo. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan lazercunt fucked around with this message at 02:09 on Nov 7, 2015 |
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Nov 7, 2015 02:05
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lord1234 posted:I've always wanted to move from Engineering to a more Sales Engineering or customer facing role. What books can you guys recommend? I have already picked up Spin Selling and Solution Selling. ValueSelling for sure. Essentially uses the SPIN framework when getting through Problem and Solution on your VisionMatch, and using a Value Prompter is a great way to stay organized. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Nov 9, 2015 01:10
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30 selling days left in the year, friends! Two new things I'm doing to try and revitalize some pipeline: 1. Reaching out to all the deals I've lost throughout the year, letting them know that I'll be leaving my business development role as of Jan 1, and that I really want to bring them on as a client and manage their account moving forward, rather than have someone else of questionable quality bring them on. Most of my TLs are the "not the right time" kind of losses, so this might get me back on one or two calendars. 2. Start closing right at the front of the proposal. I price check during discovery, but I'm going to start closing people right at the front of proposals. "This is how we are going to address your challenges. If I show you that we can, can you sign today?" Not that they'll say yes, but I want the objections out right up front. That way, I can address objections throughout the proposal, rather than at the end. Doing it on Tuesday with a tier 2 prospect, will post a trip report for this guy. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Nov 15, 2015 17:06
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Kraftwerk posted:What about pre-empting objections with SPIN selling? I'm not sure what objections he'll have, and I want to know what they might be before I show him anything. He probably/definitely isn't signing authority for this budget amount, but if he tells me they are willing to pay 150k for a solution like this, I'll charge them 120k, not 75k. If bandwidth is an issue, I'll show him how he's only using an hour a week to get the information he needs. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Nov 17, 2015 11:29
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Kraftwerk posted:Alright I've confirmed that I'm being set up to fail in this market. I'm getting no support or training and my location is severely short staffed so any orders I close are not being processed in time and I'm losin my accounts. Be sure to gut the territory first and quote everyone right at your list price instead of whatever your normal markup is for your book of business. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Dec 22, 2015 00:30
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Lyon posted:Our fiscal year doesn't end until March 31st but one of my bigger deals that was hanging out there assumed we were calendar year and asked for some discounts to get the deal inked before 12/31. My manager was more than happy to oblige to get it locked in and it is still quarter end so I'm sure this helped him too. Going to be a nice to pay off all my Christmas spending easily this year since I should see the commission in January now. Honestly I can tell which of my clients know my calendar is my fiscal, and I'm always honest about it. We are a publicly traded company, we have targets to hit, and earnings to report. That being said, I'll be working with my current clients to move their business into the first half of the year for my own sanity, as my business is essentially all Jan 1 now. yospos cru: Wit_sponge, relative_q, roguestar, Model M, Sir_Donkeypunch, tom collins, three, rufo, camh, homeless snail, sex offendin link, pik_d, graph, scaevolus, schultzi, mrbucket, the evan
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Dec 26, 2015 18:17
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