Overcome Overcoming Objections: "I don't believe in ____________ (fill in the blank)."

So, what can you do when your prospect tells you s/he doesn't believe in what you sell? I don't believe in advertising. I don't believe in training.

Well... if you've done a good job fact finding, you'll know what their hot buttons are, and instead of talking about what you do, you'll talk about how you can help them overcome their challenges as it relates to their hot buttons.

Here's another track: Quantify your results.
If you help save time, what would their investment (instead of their cost) represent? If you can save an hour a week per person, and they have 20 employees, that's 20 hours a week. That can translate into half of a full time employee's salary plus benefits.

If you help increase sales, how much more can an average salesperson earn after going through your training? How many salespeople do they have? What's your investment? Now calculate the return on investment. Will they reap two, three, ten, twenty, fifty times their initial investment with you?

Show prospects how working with you translates into dollars for them, and working with you becomes the obvious choice.


Welcome to Stress-Free Selling^TM,
Jenaé Rubin
Jenae@SalesPowerhouse.com
www.SalesPowerhouse.com

Overcome Overcoming Objections: Create Great Relationships... Effectively

So many salespeople approach the sale from the standpoint of believing "I have to create a good relationship." The irony is good relationships are the result of everything done right! Your prospects see through your schmoozing. Most salespeople do it. They go into an office, see a trophy or picture and talk about that. This obviously obsequious tactic is fake. Your prospects see right through this manipulative attempt to create a relationship, and in many times it backfires. It puts their guard up even more.

Instead of shooting the breeze when you meet a new prospect in the hopes you will create a connection, ask questions that show you really care about their business. When you talk to prospects about the things they themselves are concerned about, you create a solid connection. Yes, people do business with people they like. Here's the critical question: Who are they apt to like more: someone trying to be their friend or someone trying to help them achieve their goals in a friendly manner?

So make sure to focus on the key questions that will help you help them. This will help you create great relationships... effectively... and quickly.

Welcome to Stress-Free Selling^TM,
Jenaé Rubin
Jenae@SalesPowerhouse.com
www.SalesPowerhouse.com

Overcome Overcoming Objections: "What Are You Selling?" as Opening Objection

You hear "What are you selling" up front when your prospect thinks you sound like a sales person. They put their guard up so fast, your head is spinning! What follows this fake objection is the tried and true, “I’m not interested” to which you probably have no response. If you do answer this question by telling them what you sell, you lose anyway. So don’t do it!

The simple answer starts off sounding corny, but it works... if you mean it! Simply respond, “I am not selling anything at this point. I'm calling to investigate if there is a possibility I can help you overcome your biggest challenges (name it). If not, I have nothing to sell you. I’m not looking to take your money. In fact, I won’t accept your money if I don’t think I can help you meet your goals. Is now a good time to talk about this more?”

If they grant you an opportunity to talk, take it or schedule an appointment to ask your Fact Finding questions.

If not, be comfortable walking away from a sale… even if you can’t really afford it. You will make more sales and more easily than ever before when clients sense you care about them first and not your wallet.. When you insist in pursuing a bad sale, you end up begging, not selling!

Overcome Overcoming Objections: What Happens When You Negotiate Price?

If price is the fifth or sixth reason why people choose to buy a product, then why is it the #1 obstacle many salespeople have? This is simple: when there is nothing else to compare you to, price is the only criteria. When sales is approached from the product perspective (here's why you should buy my product/service), you are addressing your needs, not theirs; so price becomes the key basis on which to make a decision since you're missing the mark.

But what happens when you negotiate on price?

1. People who buy on price leave on price - This means you keep customers for short periods of time and there is no sell-through or returns.

2. When price is the overriding issue, you are always fighting for the sale - Sales made by "fighting" for them, are unstable, short-term gains. In fact, if you make sales this way, you probably feel you're losing customers as fast as you're making them... and it's because price is the major determining factor.

3. You always have to negotiate price... and sometimes lower them the second time - Considering this philosophical approach does not pan out, it's strange that a common belief is "I'll give a deal to 'test' my product (service), and then sell at full price when they see how wonderful it is. People who hold this view find themselves not only always negotiating price with the same customers but sometimes having to reduce price even more. Think about this... how do your prospects know they got the best price from you in the first place? They don't! So they keep asking for discounts and you keep lowering your prices to keep the business. Sometimes a sales is not better than no sale.

So what do you do to eliminate this delimma?

Fortunately, the answer is simple: focus on them. Ask tons of questions and show how you help achieve their goals and overcome their obstacles. When this is your path, sales will become easier, be larger and last longer.

Welcome to stress-free selling^TM,

Jenae Rubin

Overcome Overcoming Objections: Getting In When You're Not Getting In

If prospects are indifferent to you, you have to be different to get their attention. Melissa was having trouble Getting In to a roofing company, so she bought an inexpensive shingle at a local home store. On the back of it she wrote, “I’ve been trying to contact you to show you how we can blow the roof off your sales like we’ve done for other roofers. Call me to see if we can do the same for you.”

Is it corny? Yes! (And I’m not usually in favor of corny.) What’s important is that she got his attention. When she called next, her prospect had a smile on his face and took her call. She Got In! And that’s the point. There are lots more cool ideas in Step 6… and even more on my 70-minute Non-Traditional Stress-Free Selling (formerly Pearl Marketing) CD on my website, www.SalesPowerhouse.com.

Here's to stress-free sales,Jenae Rubin
Jenae@SalesPowerhouse.com
www.SalesPowerhouse.com

This is an excerpt from Jenae's upcoming book, Stress-Free SellingTM: Make Objections Disappear

Overcome Overcoming Objections: How to Address Competitors

We don't want to say derogatory things about anyone, including competitors. Yet, the temptation is great when we know we’re so much better and our prospects are thinking about choosing them! So… how do we handle this predicament? What wise, appropriate and successful way to handle this?

Before I answer this, let’s look at the alternative
If you approach this by talking about what your competitors are not or what they don’t have, you are spending time talking about your competitors! Now you've got your customers and prospects thinking about them and not you. Ouch. You want air time focused on you and them not them.

The easy solution
The good news is, it's easy. Simply say, "What companies like about me is. . ." This six word preface is 100% positive, focused exclusively on you and your good points, and directs the conversation where you want it to go. Now you can say anything you want, and you’re taking them where you want them to go. Now, you are in charge of the conversation, and you have them focused on you and your good points.

This gem will help you avoid pitfalls and speed the sales process.

Here's to stress-free sales,

Jenae Rubin
Jenae@SalesPowerhouse.com
www.SalesPowerhouse.com

Overcome Overcoming Objections: Heart Trumps Wallet

"While money is the oxygen of a business, it's not it's purpose.*" People will not do business with you to give you money. They will give you money because of what you can do for them. Many forget this simple fact.

Not only does doing things we know is wrong cause us stress and illness, it causes us sales!

• If we don't believe in every cell of our being that what we are selling is completely right for our customers and prospects, they will pick up on this... and not buy from us.
  
• If we take money from a customer and do not deliver, we reduce (or kill) the chances of their doing business with us again.

It's hard enough to get business in the first place, why lose it because we're scared.

Trust yourself and your product well enough that you prefer to walk away from sales that are wrong for your business before forcing or begging for business.

The easiest way to get there is to develop your sales skills and product. When both are strong, you will sell success and be successful.

Here's to stress-free sales,

Jenae Rubin

Jenae@SalesPowerhouse.com
www.SalesPowerhouse.com
954-290-9896

Overcome Overcoming Objections: Why Is Sales Stressful?

Sales is stressful when we approach prospects with the intention of making a sale and the fear of not making a sale. Prospects accept appointments reluctantly (that’s why we have so much difficulty getting them on the phone in the first place) and are armed with a litany of excuses (you call them objections) to get rid of you.

It is this dichotomy of goals (you want to make a sale and they want to protect themselves) that creates stress. Imagine if you both wanted to meet. Imagine if neither felt the other was going to try to force anything on him. Imagine you both feel the only acceptable outcome is the satisfaction of client’s goals. You just began the journey to stress-free sales.


This is an excerpt from Jenae's upcoming book, Stress-Free Selling^TM: Make Objections Disappear


Here's to stress-free sales,
Jenae
Jenae@SalesPowerhouse.com
http://www.salespowerhouse.com
954-290-9896

Overcome Overcoming Objections: Increasing Prices

Did your rates go up this year? Are you concerned about how your customers are going to take it? Are you having a hard time passing along the increase? Follow three simple steps and you will make telling your customers easy:

1. Be comfortable and positive
2. Address their hot buttons, and
3. Include values when you give price.

Confidence Rules
If you are scared about how your customers and prospects will react, they'll sense your fear and react exactly the way you don't want them to. The solution to this is easy! Be comfortable with your prices. If you're not, talk to whomever you need to talk to in your company to get comfortable. You will be at best marginally successful when you don't completely believe that what you selling is fantastic for your customers.

Stay Focused on Them!
If your prices were 20% lower, you would still only do business with those who see your value. It's not your price that determines if people will do business with you. Price is only an issue when they see nothing else to compare. Stay focused on how you can help them achieve their major goals and overcome their biggest challenges.

The Secret Weapon
When you do announce the price, say these words immediately following the number, "and that includes. . . " Now remind them. . .

1. What benefits you have that your competitors don't,
2. What value addeds they are getting, or
3. What major hot button you help them with

Follow this simple formula, and 2007 will be a great year.

Here's to successful, stress-free sales^TM,

Jenaé Rubin
Jenae@SalesPowerhouse.com
954-290-9896

Overcome Overcoming Objections

Is "Stress-Free Selling" an Oxymoron?

This is an excerpt from Jenae's new book, Stress-Free Selling^TM) - The 7 Steps to Successful Sales, which is being written as you read this.

There's nothing moronic about it! What's moronic is that we make sales hard. At the end of a one day program, JD, the Director for a $38 billion division of a financial company said to me, "Jenae, Stress-Free Selling is easy." To which I replied, "Imagine if it were difficult! Sales is hard enough. . . It's a shame we make it hard!!!"

Some people think their problem is, "The market's really tough right now" or "My competitors are cutting their prices so much, we can't match them" or "You don't understand my industry, Jenae. Price is the only thing that matters." I've heard this from people in every industry in every size. Everyone thinks the problems are outside themselves.

In 1980 when I joined International Publishing Company of America, the airline industry was being deregulated. Inflation was at an all time high (18% interest), and everyone was crying wolf. But, fresh out of college, with no sales experience or training, I blew the doors off sales to the highest level the company had ever seen. How can that be?
There are several reasons. The first of which is to believe. If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. My first business lesson was that I could succeed when I wanted to. . . and fail when I wanted to. I didn't want to fail. What about you?

When you believe, in every cell of your being, that what you are selling is absolutely perfect for the people you are trying to do business with, they will believe. When you have doubts about the value of your product, the price of your product, or anything else, prospects are going to sense you doubt and buy your doubt rather than your product. People buy because you believe not because they believe. So believe in every cell of your being in what you are selling. If you don't figure out how to, or find something else to sell.

The reality is you can sell without discounting, to more people, more easily and more often. . . regardless what's happening in the market. Of course you can help yourself. The way I learned to sell was by listening to sales cassettes, reading books and going to seminars. Then I implemented what I learned!

You wouldn't build a house on a shaky foundation, but many sales calls are made without preparation and ground work. Sure your house may stand for a little while, but if the base is not well set, it's sure to fall, and you'll have difficulty living in it for a long time. Well, it's the same with sales. Before we approach someone, we need to create a good foundation.

Here's to Stress-Free Selling,

Jenae Rubin
Jenae@SalesPowerhouse.com
954-290-9896