Tag: contracts

Creative selling (8)

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Post-match analysis

Analyse in detail how you succeeded when you were successful, and what went wrong when you failed - learn from your successes and your failures.

Before calling a potential new customer - a prospect - or an existing supplier, we should have in our mind a sequence of logically progressive steps that lead to a conclusion that can only be a sale – a close.

We should, therefore, decide:

  • What do we already know about the buyer and his/her business?
  • What else do we need to find out?
  • How can we find this out?
  • What benefits are most likely to appeal?
  • What is the most effective way in which we can present these benefits?
  • What problems, snags, objections are likely to arise?
  • How can we deal with them?
  • What sales aids, literature, examples of our work, do we need?
  • What is the specific objective to be achieved on this call?

Our checklist for successful creative selling is:

  • Focus - we must focus the attention of the customer on what we want to talk about.
  • Involvement - we involve the customer by asking questions.
  • Need - we must identify the buying motives of customers.
  • Suitability - we must match the benefits of our products or service to the buying motives of the customer.
  • Objections - objections must be handled.
  • Action - remember to ASK FOR THE ORDER (we're bad at this bit).

Good luck.

 

Creative selling (7)

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Closing the deal

In sales jargon making the sale is called the close. And there are a number of ways you can close a sale. You have to judge which is suitable for each particular situation and each client (on the subject of jargon, someone who has not bought from you before is not yet called a customer or a client but a “prospect”).

Here are some types of close

  • Alternative close  - You give the buyer two alternatives: "Shall I deliver on Wednesday or Thursday?", "Would you like part of the order this week and part next or would it be more convenient to send it all at the same time?", "Would you like one or two?".
  • Summary close - Briefly summarise the major benefits, get agreement and start to write out or type up the order.
  • Comparison close - Compare a short list of disadvantages with a longer list of advantages and assume an order to be the logical outcome.
  • Assume order close - Ask a question, such as: "What time is best for delivery?" “When do you want it by?” “When do you need me to start?”
  • Last objection close - Get agreement that, if this one, final, objection can be overcome, an order will follow -  then overcome it.
  • Fear close - Show that some severe loss or inconvenience will result if the order is not placed. This can be used to close on a stall objection, such as "I won’t be able to do it at all if you leave it until next week".
  • Concession close - Offer to make a special concession in the case of this particular buyer.

Getting paid (2)

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Clarity is key

The scramble to snatch up scraps of work can sometimes cloud the details of exactly how much a job is worth and when we are going to get paid. This is almost always a mistake.

Negotiate and agree payment terms at the point of sale, not afterwards. Afterwards is too late. Either a genuine misunderstanding can come to light or someone might try to rip you off by offering less than initially agreed. If you have already done the work, it may be too late.

You don’t want to be in a situation where your client is saying: “I thought that was included in the price,” when you thought it would be for an extra fee.

Whatever deal you agree, make sure you put it in writing – an email – and that you keep a copy. Whatever your terms – and they may vary from job to job or from one client to another - make your terms of trade clear and unambiguous. Set out:

  • The details of the job, including any dates, quantities or other conditions you have accepted and what is excluded
  • Payment amount (s)
  • Limitations – any restrictions you have put on them using your work, such as copyright, ownership, repeat fees,
  • Date of expected invoicing
  • Credit terms (when you expect to get paid), including stating your intention to use the late payment legislation.

Once you have done the work or supplied the goods or service, get a confirmation that what you have supplied has been received and check that the customer is satisfied with the quality and number delivered. Errors or faults are often used as an excuse for delaying or reducing payment.

And get that invoice in sharpish.