 |
|
 |
| |
| A Note from the Editor |
| |
| Friendly Grrrs from SalesDog |
| |
Car salesman have long known and exploited
the seductive power of the test drive. Few sales tactics
are as compelling as putting your prospect in the driver's
seat. But what do you do if you're selling software, advertising
or widgets? This week we bring you George Ludwig's expert
insights to help you physically involve your prospect
in your presentation no matter what you're selling.
Are you suffering from the Summertime Blues? "No
one's in." "Everyone's on vacation." What's
your excuse for not calling prospects? Wendy Weiss has
a list of them she calls the Summertime Blues. My favorite:
"No one is thinking about working." Check
out the complete list here.
Grab the selling advantage in an economic downturn.
Here's an eye-opening insight from Ron Karr, author of
The Titan Principle. "Vendor loyalty is not as
strong in a down economy. People need solutions. Give
them a reason to switch." Sounds like now's an
ideal time to re-approach those "I'm happy with my
current supplier" accounts. When I interviewed Ron
for Top Dog Sales Secrets he told me he's helped clients
like Hertz, HP and MetLife add over $500 million to their
bottom lines. To find out what he can do for you, click
here.
How do you keep people motivated in tough times?
Especially when your training budget's getting slashed?
I've got the answer right on my desk. You
can see it here. |
| |
| To your success, |
| |
 |
Tina LoSasso
Managing Editor, SalesDog.com |
|
|
 |
|
 |
| |
Get Physical:
Involve Your Prospect for a More Effective Presentation
By George Ludwig
We learn not simply by listening, but by doing. Involving your
prospect in your presentation makes sense, but how? George Ludwig
shows you some clever ways to get your prospect involved no matter
what you're selling.
"Lena, just press that green button to open the chamber door,"
was all I said. The group from Chicago stepped in closer and watched
with amazement as the door opened. Then I handed a new high-tech cassette
for dispensing sterilant to another prospect and said, "Woody,
just insert it here, and the machine will pull it in the rest of the
way." Again the group let out some 'oohs' and 'aahs' after Woody
had inserted the cassette. Next I said, "Diana, please put those
trays in the chamber." Diana slid two bright blue trays into
the deep chamber and commented, "This chamber holds much more
than I thought it could." The group nodded in agreement, and
I continued my sales presentation.
The presentation described above took place
in 1994 in the sterilization area at Long Beach Memorial Hospital,
in Long Beach, California. I was with a group of prospects from Chicago
who had flown out to see a brand new low-temperature sterilization
technology called Plasma Sterilization. That day, quite by accident,
I discovered a very powerful selling technique that led to many more
sales in the years that followed.
When we are demonstrating the capabilities of our products in a sales
presentation, the more physical involvement we can get by the prospects
during the process, the more we can lead them toward a feeling of
ownership. Tactile involvement used early and often during the entire
sales process engages more of our prospects' senses, which in turn
creates greater emotional involvement.
Emotional involvement can generate greater sales. Customer motion
leads straight to customer emotion and vice versa. Physical involvement
also helps us find out how receptive prospects are by watching their
non-verbal actions. Most prospects are not skilled actors, so when
we involve them physically, we can gauge where they are in terms of
moving from resistance toward acceptance of what we're offering.
Usually it is easier to get a prospect involved in a product sale
than in a service sale. But if you use your creativity, you will be
amazed at the ways in which you can involve a prospect. Below are
some ideas to consider.
Involvement in the presentation setup
• Ask for help with an easel, projector, or video machine
• Ask for something-a pencil, paper, Magic Marker
• Ask them to plug something in or move something
• Accept the offered coffee or soda
• Use the setup time for humor and small talk too
Involvement in the product demonstration
• Get them to run the demo
• Get them to push the buttons
• Get them to work the copier, drive the car, walk the property
• Get them to hold something
• Get them to help you assemble something
• Get them to actually use the product and experience the benefits
Even though we know how to do it, we are not going to impress the
prospect much with a whiz-bang demonstration. All we're going to do
is bore them if we don't get them physically involved. We must try
to get the prospect to lead the entire presentation if possible. The
more involved we get them, the more ownership they experience, and
the closer we move to an affirmative decision.
The group members all loaded the Plasma Sterilizer with wrapped surgical
instruments, and we left for lunch. We returned an hour later, and
the prospects were shocked to find the sterilization cycle completed.
The process they all had been using back in their Chicago hospitals
often required as long as 18 hours to deliver sterile instrumentation.
"Go ahead, open the door, unload her, and examine YOUR load,"
I said to the group.
Those eight sterilization professionals excitedly pushed the buttons,
opened the door, unwrapped the load, and then acted almost like kids
at Christmas operating a new toy. They had all moved a giant step
closer to purchasing the new technology. In fact, seven of the eight
prospects did eventually purchase Low-Temperature Plasma Sterilizers,
which represented more than a half million dollars in sales revenue.
What I learned that day is to always get more of the sales prospects'
senses involved. I learned you have to follow the title of the popular
song by Olivia Newton-John, "Let's Get Physical!" if you
want to generate more sales.
George Ludwig, President of GLU Consulting, specializes in helping
clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, and Northwestern
Mutual improve their sales performance. George's the bestselling author
of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and
is a widely recognized authority on sales success and peak performance
psychology. He can be reached for consulting, training, or speaking
at George@GeorgeLudwig.com
or by calling 1-888-999-4811. www.GeorgeLudwig.com
| |
 |
| |
| Praise for Top Dog Sales
Secrets |
| |
"One of these top dog secrets can earn you a fortune."
– Jeffrey Gitomer
"It's like reading the best ideas from 50 sales books
all in one book."
– Michelle Nichols, Savvy Selling International
"I HIGHLY recommend it for the inspiration AND the skills
that one will learn or ‘re-learn.' It is easy to read,
entertaining, and very broad in topic selection."
– Lori Richardson, Score More Sales
Order
your copy of the book today to learn an effective
strategy that will help you take back control of the sale. |
| |
|
| |
|
|
Trivia Question of the Week
Which is the shallowest ocean on earth?
Click here for the answer.
Sales Managers
Sign up your whole team
by clicking
here.
Not a Subscriber Yet?
If you’d like free sales advice, delivered to your inbox
every Monday morning – no strings attached – click
here to start your SalesDog.com subscription now!
Check out our Blog
For sales advice, news, recommendations and updates click
here. |
| |
| Buy
the Book |
| |
 |
| |
|
|
