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T h e C h i e f S a l e s O f f i c e r |
EMERGENCY EDITION
Gas Prices Are At An All-Time High |
Sales Professionals!
Now we know what it's like. We are on the receiving end of a major price increase. Are you finding yourself thinking and acting like a customer? Are you shopping around for the lowest gas prices in town?
This is a great time to teach your sales team and your customers about managing price increases. Since the first reaction for many of us was to start shopping for lower-priced alternatives, let's see how the higher-priced options might want to sell to us!
For those of you who are facing price increases in your industry, this will be especially helpful.
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 How exact is your quantification?
Can you qualify and quantify your value to overcome price increases?
About two miles from my home there is a brand-name gas station whose gas price is usually about TEN CENTS HIGHER than a discount station I use. The discount station is a couple of exits down the freeway.
Question: Should I buy the lower-priced gas?
This is the same question your customers, my clients - everyone - begins asking as prices rise. How do we manage it?
Setting aside any other variables, let's just use the actual sales price of the gasoline. We will not consider the level of service, the cleanliness of the two facilities or the freshness of the doughnuts. This is what our customers do: they ignore some - or all - of our value-added differences and concentrate on price.
When value-added differentiations stop working, when relationships are not sufficient and when the feature-benefit approach no longer works, use QUANTIFICATION.
Make it as simple, as easy as possible for your customers to use their own numbers and prove to themselves that you have the lowest total cost, not the best price.
A Simple, Easy, Fun Example
There is a tool for you to use in educating your salespeople on this point. They can, in turn, use it to educate their customers. It is simple, easy and fun. It is a calculator that "runs the numbers" for you or for your customer. You simply input some data, like the price of gas at the two sources, and the tool does the calculations for you.
There are FOUR VERSIONS of the tool available for you:
- Flash version - for embedding it in your emails
- HTML version - for computers that block flash
- PowerPoint version - for use in the front of the room
- PDF version - for inserting in your proposals
Here are the links, have fun!
FLASH HTML PDF POWERPOINT
Share this with a customer to stimulate conversation and pass this along to a friend.
Now, how else may I and the resources of my firm be of help to you in increasing your sales? |
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| Would You Like Tools Like This? |
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| More and more of our clients are using tools like this to quantify their value to their customers. As you can see, the tools we develop are delivered in a variety of formats. Just contact us and we will give you the details. (Contact information is at the bottom of this newsletter or simply click on "Reply" in your browser.)
Some of the tools we have built for our clients include:
- TCO Calculator - Total Cost of Ownership tool that causes the customer to take into account many of the variables they might have otherwise overlooked. These variables may include categories such as inventory costs, cost of multiple vendors, longevity, reliability, etc.
- IRR Calculator - Internal Rate of Return tool that shows the customer their internal savings based on our client's specific variables.
- Discount Calculator - shows the real impact on profitability from discounting. Used primarily by sales teams.
- Probability of Sale Calculator - yes, it can be computed! This versatile tool will also help quantify the prioritization of accounts, products, activities. Has been used to pick a restaurant for dinner!
- Value Calculator - a tool that quantifies your value over the low-priced competitor while also keeping the salesperson on track.
I included examples of how these tools are used in my new book,The NANOSECOND Salesperson. There you and your salespeople will see examples of how effective these tools can be in accelerating the sales process, eliminating the price objection and reducing cost of sales (COS). Make better sales calls faster and more profitably. |
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It's Here! |
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Chuck's Newest Book:
 The Nanosecond Salesperson
For us, a minute is just too long!
There are thirteen lessons, a Leaders Guide and Sales Handouts you can download for free when you have the book. Use them for in-house sales training.
CLICK ON THE BOOK TO ORDER
Here is an easy-to-read, allegorical book that will give all of your salespeople, sales leaders and other members of your executive staff an update on sales. It will introduce them to:
It will also reinforce some of the basics of sales, like the importance of pre-call planning.
Order yours now
For the Special Edition versions (your logo on the cover, your foreword in the book) go to the book's web site:
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Help Is Available!
Give me a day with your sales team and I will help them kick the habit of discounting.
Give me two days with your people and they will begin reversing the damage done from their previous use of discounting. Give me more time and we may revolutionize selling in your industry.
If I'm not the right trainer for your team I will help you find the right one. Need help now? I have limited availability some months and may not be able to help you so I will lead you to someone else who can. Like a different approach? Let me help you find the right person for your situation.
Whatever you do, seek out the help your organization needs
and do it now.
1.800 MR. REAVES (800.677.3283)
Or email me by clicking on the link
at the bottom of this edition
Or just click on the Reply button on your browser
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Vistage/TEC Chairs: Consider passing this along to your Members who are having trouble maintaining their price points. Healthier Member companies make for healthier Members!
Teach Others!
Chuck Reaves
21 Associates |
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