Slick sales patter or honest Joe?

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Slick sales patter or honest Joe?
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Barefoot Andrew
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Joined: 21 Mar 2007
Posts: 22780
Location: In the 17th century

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 12:55 pm Post subject: Slick sales patter or honest Joe?

Those of you who've been on small business courses will probably have received guidance in how to speak to customers and how to steer a conversation towards sale closure. You know the kind of thing - describing "benefits" rather than "features", specifically avoiding the use of closed questions etc.

So, are you good at this sort of patter? Has it brought sales results for you? Or have you had greater success with a down-to-earth, honest/normal/everyday person type approach?

A.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45715
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 12:58 pm Post subject:
Depends what you're after, if it's a one off situation then you need to be "inventive", if it's repeat business in my experience being straight is the best policy. (That's being straight as in honest, rather than not gay)

Penny Outskirts

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:00 pm Post subject:
Be honest above all else, find out what the customer's needs are. If what you have matches them tell them so, and then ask them to buy.

Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:02 pm Post subject:
IBM put me through all the sales course they could throw at us, and after spending 5 years using the patter (where necessary), I'm more than happy to be honest joe again.

jema
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:17 pm Post subject:
I can do honesty and enthusiasm quite well, it might not be the best sales approach when compared to sales patter done by someone comfortable doing sales patter, but I think if you are "honest joe" and hence don't like doing sales BS then you will probably suck badly if you do try the BS.

hedgewitch

Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Posts: 5834
Location: Daft wench GHQ

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:20 pm Post subject:

Dislike of supposedly slick sales patter was a significant part in starting up alone. I felt I knew my target market far better than my former employers and being 'sold' something by professional/conventional sales people was designed to get right up their nose and result in no order being placed. And I was right .

What I do, though, is prepare my own sales script. By this I mean focus on what I think it is that potential customers will want from me and highlight the key points. I have a tendency to ramble or even, at the other extreme, to blank. This helped me to 'sell' - but by that I mean get across my message about what I did and why they might be interested in it. I also created a sheet of different options to help me think on my feet if they were interested in something else I could do or not interested in what I thought they would be but willing to chat.

I note buzz words too - if I ramble on a bit and hit a word or phrase that excites them, I note this to use on other people/organisations in the same sector. It's a short hand for hooking their interest and saves us both time. E.g. - I was talking to someone about an idea of a book in an electronic format and they mentioned that they actually needed 're-usable learning objects' - the same thing, but RLOs have a budget and a high profile. So now I'm offering RLOs rather than e-books in that sector.

That said, I am considering other markets where I think a different approach might be needed. I am aware of my own limitations and would not necessarily tackle this myself. However, I wouldn't go with a 'slick' sales person - just someone who understand better than I do how a different sector works.

Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:31 pm Post subject:

jema wrote:

I can do honesty and enthusiasm quite well, it might not be the best sales approach when compared to sales patter done by someone comfortable doing sales patter, but I think if you are "honest joe" and hence don't like doing sales BS then you will probably suck badly if you do try the BS.

True, though if they've been through the IBM intensive sales courses as a graduate, you don't have much choice, you can't progress out of the Graduate programme unless you pass the courses. They're all intensive residential courses and you get tested both before and after on live sales calls and interviews.

I hated it, but never had a problem passing, but then I was told that I was like gold dust in IBM by one of the old Sales Managers watching in on an interview (and marking), because of my air of honesty and putting the customer at ease. Shame he had to mark me down for laughing at the Financial manager of this dummy company for suggesting IBM buy their old machines back off them

hedgewitch

Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Posts: 5834
Location: Daft wench GHQ

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:38 pm Post subject:
Fee, do you actually find you use any of the things you were taught now you work for yourself?

Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:41 pm Post subject:

hedgewitch wrote:

Fee, do you actually find you use any of the things you were taught now you work for yourself?

I'm not sure, I was just thinking about that. I don't think I do, but then perhaps it had become so second nature that I don't realise I do!

Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:50 pm Post subject:

There are some things I learnt right back in the first month of training that I think have definitely stuck, particularly negotiation skills, but I use these more in life than business...I'm a very handy haggler to have around if I'm in the mood

Yeah, there were quite a few really interesting pieces of training back then now I think about it, plus residential meant you got to stay in some swanky places, and spend any time free in the bar with other graddies

sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:51 pm Post subject:

Fee wrote:

hedgewitch wrote:

Fee, do you actually find you use any of the things you were taught now you work for yourself?

I'm not sure, I was just thinking about that. I don't think I do, but then perhaps it had become so second nature that I don't realise I do!

She sold us some magic beans when she came round for dinner and none of them have germinated yet.

Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:52 pm Post subject:
You're obviously not treating them correctly, I have some here that have germinated just fine, and I planted them the same week!

sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:55 pm Post subject:
You'll be telling me I need to upgrade my compost next.

hedgewitch

Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Posts: 5834
Location: Daft wench GHQ

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 1:56 pm Post subject:
Sean, magic beans can be trickier to deal with than you might think. Maybe I could help?

sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 07 2:00 pm Post subject:
Are you meant to catalogue them to encourage germination then?

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