The Role of A Strategic Sales Person

Quote:

Originally Posted by salespro

I believe the point I originally brought up was grossly misunderstood.

If you read my first post again it states the salesperson needs to be INTERESTED IN THE PROSPECT.

This concept is 180 degress from "interesting the prospect" in your goods or services and has been a huge asset in my sales career.

All the best,
salespro

I still don't understand.

I read, "... isn't the job of a salesperson to create an environment such that the prospect can make a purchase?"

And, I wondered how you can create that kind of an environment for an "interested" prospect who is not ready and willing to buy - now?

I also wonder why you would bother - unless you don't have any better prospects - to spend your time and resources on than that.

Please explain in more detail; I want to learn.

Peace and joy,
Jacques

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacquesWerth

I still don't understand.

I read, "... isn't the job of a salesperson to create an environment such that the prospect can make a purchase?"

Jacques, I don't think prospects are black and white in their readiness to "buy now."

There is a sizable "gray area" of prospect readiness to purchase a particular product or service, and in my opinion, if salespeople ignore this large prospect group, they will not maximize their sales opportunities.

The salespeople I work with who sell to consumers (in-home sales, showroom sales, financial products, etc.) would love to have a big bunch of people at hand who are just ready to buy so they can just be order-takers. But that just is not reality if you sell furniture or RVs or suits or bond funds or home improvements, in my opinion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacquesWerth

And, I wondered how you can create that kind of an environment for an "interested" prospect who is not ready and willing to buy - now?

I would work on increasing prospect engagement to create trust, and nurturing rich dialogue with the prospect.

The best to you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip Anderson

Jacques, I don't think prospects are black and white in their readiness to "buy now."

There is a sizable "gray area" of prospect readiness to purchase a particular product or service, and in my opinion, if salespeople ignore this large prospect group, they will not maximize their sales opportunities.

The salespeople I work with who sell to consumers (in-home sales, showroom sales, financial products, etc.) would love to have a big bunch of people at hand who are just ready to buy so they can just be order-takers. But that just is not reality if you sell furniture or RVs or suits or bond funds or home improvements, in my opinion.

I would work on increasing prospect engagement to create trust, and nurturing rich dialogue with the prospect.
The best to you!

Just as there may be "gray areas" with regard to a prospect's readiness to buy, there are also gray areas within the definition of a "sales opportunity."

That seems to change this discussion into a prospecting question. If you are in a business where you have to wait for prospects to walk into your showroom, and not many show up, and assuming prospecting won't work, then what you are saying is correct.

However, when I owned a car agency, we immediately disqualified most of the first time visitors to our showroom who were merely interested. 35% of them came back to buy a car because we did not attempt to sell them when they were not ready to buy.

Over 30% of our prospects and 52% of our customers resulted from telephone prospecting. They came in because they wanted to buy a car. In addition, That left a small percentage who bought a car the first time they visited.

Regarding bond funds, we have trained thousands of Financial Services pros. They do not waste time with prospects who are merely "interested." They know how to get appointments with those who are ready, willing and able to buy.

We have not trained anyone who sells RVs or suits, so I can't comment on that.

The Role of A Strategic Sales Person

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