Sales and Marketing Are Different

Sales

Sales is about face to face personal contact with new and existing customers to present the buying proposition. 

Sales implements strategies for overcoming resistance to your product or service and provides feedback to marketing and operations. Critical functions are networking and building long term relationships. Sales is primarily about closing the deal and completing the paperwork. The personal attributes of a sales professional are quite different to that of a marketing professional. Successful sales people must be great with human relationships, have strong personalities, high levels of emotion and drive and be highly motivated and able to handle getting a "no". Sales people need to be mentally tough.

Marketing

Marketing is responsible for defining the target market preparing and analysing statistics to define potential and is responsible qualifying prospects. 

While marketing concentrates on who to call on sales concentrates on executing the call. Marketing also looks at customer touch points and develops strategies to improve the customer experience. Marketing is about arming sales reps with the collateral, web presence and promotional programs needed to make a compelling case for doing business with you.

Marketing is about by researching and reviewing customer wants and needs, along with analysing sales successes and failures in order to reshape product/service offering to meet customer demands. Marketing assists in developing meaningful loyalty programs, reviewing customer experiences and crafting entirely new product and service offerings.

A typical marketer will be able to sit and do analysis for long periods of time and be able to test sales activity and  suggestions against statistical evidence to assess risks and/or opportunities. Personally traits of marketing professionals differ dramatically from that of sales professionals. 

references: http://blog.straightnorth.com/difference-sales-marketing/

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Sales: The Number One Top Tip

Prospective buyers are unlikely to come straight out and tell you what they want from your product or service. If we are going to sell, or help a prospect with their buying decision, we need use an effective 'technique' to uncover their real reasons for buying.

There is only one way to effectively find out what is going on in our prospects head… ASK QUESTIONS!

As I have said before… "Good questioning technique is the most important (and powerful), competence that salespeople can develop. FACT: People are usually SKEPTICAL ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE TOLD however, they generally BELIEVE WHAT THEY SAY. "

So…. If salespeople ask the right questions they increase their chances of uncovering the prospect's real desires or wants. The additional benefit is they usually end a with the prospect believing that they are credible and that the salesperson's product information or ‘sales’ claims are truthful.

Remember before you start asking a prospect questions you should ask for permission to do so. A good basic start is, "In order to help you find what is best for you do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions". It's all about good communication and human relation skills.

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ANOTHER SALES QUESTIONING TIP…

TIP 4: Try to only ask questions that will get yes responses!!!!!

For example If you were in the training business and you asked a prospective participant of a training course, ‘have you filled out the nomination form I sent you yet’ (and they were not intending to come), you will evoke a NO response. Then if you follow with, ‘is the reason you’re not coming because you think the price is too expensive” you will most likely get another NO as few people will admit they cannot afford something. Then you might ask ‘if we offer a special discount’... NO, ‘will you change your mind if... NO’ and on it goes.

A more positive line of questioning would be...’Do you see improved effectiveness of your company as a key management responsibility’? The person you are talking to would have to be a very ‘hard nosed’ individual to say anything but YES (or a total idiot). Then perhaps, ‘do you, like most of us have a desire to get improved work results’… YES. ‘Are you as is the case with most successful managers often hampered by a lot to do and limited time’… YES. ’Do you think that a four hour time saving per week would benefit to you in your business’? Obviously… YES. Then…’if I could show you how this course can save you four hours a week or one day a fortnight, would you be interested in talking to me’? Once again you have a better chance for a YES and so it goes. If you start with a YES, you have more chance you have of finishing with a YES.


PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE IS VERY IMPORTANT...
PRODUCT OF THE PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE IS CRUCIAL

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OKAY RICHARD LAST POST YOU SAID ASK QUESTIONS… HOW DO I DO THAT!

TIP 1: Asking permission to ask questions will work 99% of the time.
A good start is to say… ‘In order to save you time and to ensure I fully understand your requirements, do you mind if I ask you a few questions’?

TIP 2: As a sales contact cannot be an interrogation, some polite a relationship building questions based on what you know about the prospect and his or her company are a wise start. How are you? How many people on your staff? How was your weekend? How long have you worked for XYZ? How’s your…whatever is appropriate….

TIP 3: Effective salespeople do their best (through research) to know what to ask to ensure that their questions will get the answers they want.
Example - Don’t ask about the last dealing the prospect had with your company without checking on the success or difficulties that have gone before.


OPEN QUESTIONS GET LONG EXPLANATIONS & CLOSED Q’s GET ONE WORD ANSWERS…

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THEY DON’T WANT TO BUY, SO THEY TELL A WHITE LIE!

Often prospective buyers will give false reasons for buying (or not buying) and if sales staff cannot get to a prospects real buying motive they may miss the sale. For example to justify the purchase of say a Mercedes Benz buyers may say, “the only reason I buy a ‘Merc’ is to keep the family safe”, however if this were true why not a 4 wheel drive or a Volvo, both of which are cheaper and arguably safer. If truth was always part of the buying process many Mercedes buyers would, I suggest own up to the desire for status.

As people by nature will not come straight out and tell salespeople what they want from a product or service, salespeople need to develop a technique to uncover the truth. Perhaps they could carry a gun or bottle of truth serum however this could hamper the sale at the closing stage. What can salespeople do to find out what the potential customer (or prospect) really wants? There is only one way... ASK QUESTIONS!

Good questioning technique is important (and powerful), as people are usually SKEPTICAL ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE TOLD but generally BELIEVE WHAT THEY SAY. So if salespeople ask the right questions they increase their chances of uncovering the prospects real desires or wants plus have the prospect believe that they are credible and that the salespersons product information or ‘sales’ claims are truthful.

DO YOUR SALES STAFF KNOW HOW TO ASK A CUSTOMER QUESTIONS TO MAKE A SALE OR DO THEY JUST PITCH PITCH PITCH?

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PEOPLE BUY WHAT THEY WANT, NOT WHAT THEY NEED!

A notably successful ad from the past shows a hung over man who takes an ‘Alka-Seltzer’ and walks away looking refreshed and invigorated. For salespeople the question should be what did the man buy. An ALKA-Seltzer many will reply. Those with a little better understanding may realize he bought the product of the product, relief from discomfort. This product of the product or PRINCIPLE BUYING MOTIVE is often referred to as the buying NEED. There is however a more powerful buying motive, even deeper than the need, that is the all-important... SECRET BUYING MOTIVE. This ‘secret’ is what the customer REALLY wants. The man in the ALKA-Seltzer needed relief but wanted to be able to feel good and get on with what he wanted to do or achieve.

Many will still argue that people only buy what they need… a question, how many TV’s do you have in your house… or how many pairs of shoes do you own? If shoes were invented for foot protection and we can only wear one pair at a time why do we all have so many pairs? Because we WANT... cool feet, fashionable feet, sporty feet, smart feet, corporate feet, golfing feet, formal feet, outfit coordinated feet, or in other words we are really buying social acceptance. In the case of TV’s, we may need to occupy the children or get away from the ‘what we watch argument’ with our spouse and still many will still say… I need a second TV, however, what they really want is the ability to take control of what they watch.

When salespeople understand that customer’s inner wants are far more powerful motivators than their perceived needs its…

“YES SIR, PRESS HARD, THE THIRD COPY”S YOURS”

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