The number one mistake sales people make is… they make it too hard to become a customer.

Think of all the sales opportunities that started out strong only to have the prospect decide to stay with their current supplier. The #1 reason they stayed with their current supplier is: it was not worth the effort of becoming your customer.

One of the keys to turning prospects into customers understanding the level of emotion a decision maker has and matching the effort of becoming your customer to this level of emotion.

When you get to decision makers after they experience a Trigger Event they have a certain amount of emotion related to solving the problem. As long as the level of effort required to become your customer is less than the level of emotion they have they are likely to become your customer.

BUT when decision maker’s perceive it to be too much effort to become your customer they typically stay with their current solution/supplier – aka the Status Quo.

Here is a personal example… I am a customer of ActiveConversion.com a Sales 2.0 service that lets you know who visits your site and how often they visit and I recently became aware of their autoresponder offering, for those who fill in a form on my web site. An autoresponder allows me to set up a number of emails that go out a specified number of days, weeks, or months after a form has been completed.

The reason I want an autoresponder system, beyond the traditional reason of drip/nurture marketing, is that I want to know when a prospect’s/customer’s email address starts to bounce. This signals the Trigger Event of a change in decision makers and typically means three opportunities:

1. The person who left where did they go?
2. Who took their place?
3. The person who took their place where did they come from?

After doing some initial investigation I learned that I needed an account with VerticalResponse.com in order for my autoresponder emails to go out.

Because I am currently satisfied with my current email marketing solution, if Vertical Response had only sold a monthly subscription plan, based upon how many people are on my mailing list, I would have stayed with the Status Quo – no auto responders. BUT Vertical Response has a pay as you go plan that I could take advantage of.  For as little as $15 I could buy 1,000 autoresponder emails that can be used any time and keep my current email marketing solution.

Because the level of effort of becoming a customer was less than the amount of emotion I had about solving the problem I spent $15 and bought the 1,000 autoresponder email, package.

Now Vertical Response has me as a customer and I am learning how to use their systems. When I experience a Trigger Event and become dissatisfied with my current email marketing solution who do you think I am most likely to buy from. You guessed it Vertical Response.

Too often sales people are so focused on getting the big sale that they miss the opportunity to make a smaller initial sale with those who recently experienced a Trigger Event and then harness the future Trigger Events that create larger follow-on opportunities in the same account.

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “What can you do to match the effort it takes to become your customer to the level of emotion the prospect has?”

Win $1,500 worth of Trigger Event services by getting the most votes for your answer.

Answers are voted on by clicking on the button that appears at the end of each answer and voting ends on Monday June 29^th.

Answers/Comments need to be approved – to avoid spam – which typically takes just a few minutes. Contact me by phone (+1.403.874.2998), Skype me (Craig.Elias), or this contact form, if you don’t see your comment approved within a few minutes of posting it.

Stumble!, Digg, Tweet, and email your friends so you get the most votes, because the voting system I use does not allow you to vote for your own answers.

Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig

The number two mistake sales people make is that, even when they get in front of highly motivated decision makers at EXACTLY the right time, they lose the sale because they fail to understand the decision maker placed them in the red zone of the credibility curve – below.

When prospects believe the risk of being your customer is greater that the your credibility you end up in the red zone, above your current place on the prospect’s credibility curve, which is highly likely to result in no sale!

Only when prospects believe your credibility to be greater than the risk of being your customer are you in the green zone, below your place in the prospects’ credibility curve, and therefore more likely to make the sale.

In order to win business you need to shift yourself as far as you can into the green zone of the credibility curve. This meas you need to, on your first call or visit with the decision maker, find ways to:

• Lower a prospect’s perception of the risk of becoming your customer and
• Increase their perception of your credibility

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “What can you do to increase your likelihood of closing the same by reducing a buyer’s perception of risk and increase their perception of your credibility?”

Win $1,500 worth of Trigger Event services to help you close more sales by shifting your place in a prospect’s credibility curve by getting the most votes for your answer.

Answers are voted on by clicking on the button that appears at the end of each answer and voting ends on Monday April 13^th.

Answers/Comments need to be approved – to avoid spam – which typically takes just a few minutes. Contact me by phone (+1.403.874.2998), Skype me (Craig.Elias), or this contact form, if you don’t see your comment approved within a few minutes of posting it.

Stumble!, Digg, Tweet, and email your friends so you get the most votes, because the voting system I use does not allow you to vote for your own answers.
Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig

The number three mistake sales people make is they ask for, and get, the wrong referrals – referrals to those who are still in the buying mode of Status Quo – when prospects perceive that the product or service from their current supplier meets or exceeds their needs and are unlikely to become your customer.

What you want are referrals to highly motivated decision makers who recently experienced a Trigger Event and are in the Window of Dissatisfaction.

Next time ask for a Trigger Event Referral – a referral to a highly motivated decision maker that is 10 times more likely to become your customer.

E.g. Instead of asking a current customer for a referral to someone they think might have interest in your products/services, ask those ‘in the know’ for a referral to someone they know recently experienced one of the Trigger Events that create highly motivated buyers for what you sell.

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “What are the Trigger Events you should focus on when asking for Trigger Event Referrals AND who is most likely to be your best source of referrals because they are very often ‘in the know’ when these Trigger Events happen?

Win $1,500 worth of Trigger Event services to help you identify the best Trigger Event Referrals to ask for and who are the best people to ask, by getting the most votes for your answer.

Answers are voted on by clicking on the button that appears at the end of each answer and voting ends on Monday March 2^nd.

Answers/Comments need to be approved – to avoid spam – which typically takes just a few minutes. Call me (+1.403.874.2998) or Skype me (Craig.Elias) if you don’t see your comment approved within a few minutes of posting it.

Stumble!, Digg, Tweet, and email your friends so you get the most votes, because the voting system I use does not allow you to vote for your own answers.

Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig

P.S. Identify the best Trigger Events for what you sell by registering for the FREE Trigger Event Webinar being sponsored by Dow Jones the providers of SalesWorks and G2. Registrants have the chance to win $3,000 in prizes and are eligible for a free trial of Dow Jones’ SalesWorks.

P.P.S. A recording of this Trigger Event webinar will be made provided to all who register.

The number four mistake sales people make is believing that sales are won based upon on logic – like return on investment (ROI) calculations – not emotion.

The first seller a decision maker contacts, after they experience a Trigger Event that makes them a highly motivated buyer, is five times more likely to win the business than ANY of the follow-on people who get contacted AND this decision of who they call first is based upon emotion.

One way to get called first when a buyer experiences a Trigger Event and increase your close ratio as much as 5X is to become the buyer’s Emotional Favourite aka ‘go to’ person.

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “What can you do to become a decision maker’s Emotional Favourite aka ‘go to’ person so you get called first, when they experience a Trigger Event?”

Win $1,500 worth of my time to help you become the Emotional Favourite in your target accounts by getting the most votes for your answer. Answers are voted on by clicking on the button that appears at the end of each answer and voting ends on Monday February 2^nd.

Comments/Answers need to be approved – to avoid spam – which typically takes just a few minutes. Call me (+1.403.874.2998) or Skype me (Craig.Elias) if you don’t see your comment approved within a few minutes of posting it.

Stumble!, Digg, Tweet, and email your friends so you get the most votes, because the voting system I use does not allow you to vote for your own answers.

Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig

P.S. Stay informed of updates by subscribing to this blog, subscribing just to comments for each individual question when you submit your own comment. or if you are only voting you can use the subscribe feature at the bottom of this post to be notified when another great answer has been added.

The #5 mistake I see sales people and entrepreneurs make is either not analyzing their sales or doing a ‘Lost Sales Analysis’ INSTEAD OF conducting a ‘Won Sales Analysis’.

Here is something I find interesting. If you use Google to search for the term sales analysis – by using quotes around the words “sales analysis” when you search – and you’ll find around 750,000 pages on “sales analysis”. If you believe that when you lose the business you don’t want to lose the lesson and you use Google to search for the term “lost sales analysis” you will find around 1,000 pages on “lost sales analysis”.

But even when you conduct a lost sales analysis you still have to use conjecture to figure out how to win more sales. The top sales performers on the other hand conduct a won sales analysis so they know exactly what made them win, so they can go out and replicate their biggest wins.

Here is what I find truly amazing, if you use Google to search for the term “won sales analysis” you’ll find, on last check, around 250 pages that talk about how to capture more customers by analyzing the business that you have already won AND if you subtract the number of pages that reference the won sales analysis described on this this site you’ll be left with only three pages.

Of all the pages on the Internet that talk about “sales analysis”, only 0.15% talk about how to grow your sales by analyzing the sales you lose and less than .00002% talk about how to win more business by analyzing the sales that you have already won.

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “What question provides the greatest insights into how you can win more sales?”

Win $1,500 worth of my time to help you conduct a series of Won Sales Analysis and analyze the results by getting the most votes for your answer. Answers are voted on by clicking on the button that appears at the end of each answer. Comments/Answers need to be approved – to avoid spam – which typically takes just a few minutes.

Stumble!, Digg, Tweet, and email your friends so you get the most votes, because the voting system I use does not allow you to vote for your own answers.

Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig

P.S. If you want to replicate your biggest wins and identify the ‘Trigger Events’ that lead up to them you can download the Won Sales Analysis form and the instructions on how to use it here.

The #6 mistake I see sales people and entrepreneurs make is selling to those who have a pain, or what I call a circumstance, INSTEAD OF focusing on those who recently experienced a Trigger Event, which makes solving that pain a high priority.

For example: Trying to convince the CEO of a small to mid-sized company to use your IT support services instead of having an employee – notice I said having an employee. Having what may be perceived to be an expensive employee is a pain/circumstance. Instead of focusing on the pain/circumstance look for the Trigger Events that make solving it a higher priority. One Trigger Event to focus on is when IT employees leave and companies look for a replacement. Now the CEO of a small to mid-sized company is 10 times more likely to consider an IT services company instead of hiring an employee – notice I said hiring an employee.

One way to learn of companies looking to hire an IT support person is to be notified by Indeed.com, when a IT support job is posted on any the popular job web sites.

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “What unique methods or services do you use to find out when a Trigger Event has happened?”

Win $1,500 worth Trigger Event services by getting the most votes for your answer. Answers are voted on by clicking on the button that appears at the end of each answer. Comments/Answers need to be approved – to avoid spam – which typically takes just a few minutes.

You can’t vote on your own answers so Stumble!, Digg, Tweet, and email your friends so you get the most votes.

Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig

P.S. You can stay up to date with the contest by subscribing to this blog, subscribing just to comments for each individual question when you submit your own comment. or if you are only voting you can use the subscribe feature at the bottom of this post to be notified when another great answer has been posted.

The #7 mistake I see sales people and entrepreneurs make is selling to buyers after they have already started the process of Searching For Alternatives – when you already have several competitors, and the typical close ratio is 15% – INSTEAD OF selling to decision makers when they are in the Window of Dissatisfaction, you have no competition, and the typical close ratio is between 60% and 90%.

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “How do you know when a decision maker is in the Window of Dissatisfaction?”

The comment with the most votes two weeks from now wins $1,500 worth of Trigger Event training, coaching, or advice.

Comments are voted on by clicking on the “I like it” button that appears at the end of each comment. .

You can’t vote on your own answers so Stumble!, Digg, Tweet, and email your friends so you get the most votes.

Have an eventful week!

Craig

P.S. You can stay up to date with the contest by subscribing to this blog, subscribing just to comments for each individual question when you submit your own comment. or if you are only voting you can use the subscribe feature at the bottom of this post to be notified when another great answer has been posted.