Mark Jewell's Blog: Selling Energy, page 136

Weekly Recap, July 19, 2020

Here are our favorite sales-enhancing tips from this week's Selling Energy Blogs...

Habits of the Best Remote Workers

Some of us have found ourselves returning to our offices and workplaces (or will in the near future) following the shelter-in-place ordinances caused by COVID-19 fears.  Many of us will be shouldering our duties remotely from now on. This kind of work is no longer transitional, but a new way of handling our day-to-day lives.

Reasons to Get Prospects Interested in You

In yesterday’s blog, we discussed some of the yardsticks that key decision-makers use to measure their success. In that blog, we used the hypothetical example of an HVAC sales professional selling “smart valves.” Using the same scenario (and some fun alliteration), let’s discuss some reasons that a prospect might become interested in installing smart valves in their building.

Customize Your Value Proposition

Approaching your prospect with a strong value proposition is vital to your sales success. While many salespeople simply reuse the value proposition they’ve developed for each product or service (regardless of their prospect’s situation or role in the company), a sales professional customizes his or her value proposition based upon the person with whom he or she is speaking. Why is this an essential part of the sales process? Because each prospect measures his or her own success using a different yardstick. You need to come to the table with a value proposition that makes the most sense when viewed through each of their lenses.

Filling Your Pipeline

Throughout my new Selling in a Recession series, one of the phrases you’ll hear me repeat is “overfill your pipeline.”  What does that mean?  In short, it means that you need to be fully aware of your sales process, study it carefully and make sure that even after you vigorously prune your existing pipeline and remove expected transactions that will either fall by the wayside or be delayed, you’ll still have enough genuine prospects to attain your sales goals this year.

Ways to Follow-up with Prospects Without Being Annoying

Recently I was asked about my favorite ways to follow-up with customers.  Considering how many touches it takes to make a sale, it’s both a delicate and rigorous process.  Statistics suggest it takes eight touches to get an initial meeting and an additional ten to close the deal.  So, 18 touches in all.  Now let me ask you, would you assume that means making 18 phone calls in a row, asking the same things over and over?

Cracking the Sales Management Code

In keeping with our Selling in a Recession series, this week’s book recommendation is a treasure trove of strategies for sales management.  Even if the word “manager” doesn’t appear in your job title, those skills still apply to you, since working remotely requires managing yourself and keeping track of your progress. 

Weekly Recap, July 12, 2020

Here are our favorite sales-enhancing tips from this week's Selling Energy Blogs...

How to Spend Your Nights in Quarantine

Productivity is something most of us keep in mind during the day, but what about at night?  Without maintaining our mental health and taking stock of what we’ve done, it is still easy to become overwhelmed and lose track of the progress we’re making.

Bringing Sensitivity to Sales During the COVID-19 Crisis

Being human and genuinely empathetic is key in today's economy.  Our careers are being disrupted by all sorts of supply chain interruptions, cashflow shortages and unemployment.  But that’s not all.  Everyone else is also adapting to these changes and effects.  That includes your prospects and customers.  That should be top of mind in all of your communication: hosting a conference call, writing an email or text, or even just leaving a voicemail.