“Give me someone of average ability with a burning desire and I will give you a winner in return; every time” Andrew Carnegie

In today’s challenging times highly productive and motivated sales staff are key to business survival. More and more managers are tasked with improving sales performance and training staff how to sell more. If you want to get more customers buying your products and services your sales team must be able to use productive selling techniques; sales closing skills; be confident in answering objections; even down to dealing with difficult customers.

We, at Total Success Training Ltd are always being asked if our Sales Training Courses and Telemarketing Seminars teach techniques ‘that really work’ in the real world’. The answer to that question is ‘YES’ because our trainers not only train sales techniques but have actually sold over the telephone in previous jobs. They are able to use their experience to train our delegates to understand the tools and techniques that will enable them to sell confidently and with flair.

We have over 20 years of sales training expertise and use our experiences to show the best and most practical ways to boost sales results and how to sell effectively.

This is a valuable foundation course that is highly structured, interactive and focuses on bringing out the best of our delegates in a supportive environment. Most people possess the ability to sell and negotiate and our trainers use their 20 years of selling and training experience to increase the confidence and competence of potential sales ‘superstars’.

Introduction to Selling, Telesales, Negotiation skills and Presentation Skills are some of the sales related courses trained by Total Success Training  throughout the UK.  If you require further information on our training courses please contact us.

Recognising resistance – taking control

 Objections are strange things. On one hand we think that we don’t like them – we may even be afraid of them. Their very name can make us feel that the customer has something against our product, our company or even worse, us personally.

On the other hand, the negotiation, presentation or sale which proceeds without a single objection is the success which gives us possibly the least feeling of achievement. Whilst we are obviously pleased that the customer has bought from us, there is often a feeling deep-down inside that we could have gotten more.

From the customer’s point of view, the objection may be one of a number of things:

A genuine lack of understanding – we might not have put our case as clearly as we could have.

1. A need for more information – we might not have told him/her enough to make a decision easily.
2. A genuine desire to defer making a decision – we might not have found out something about the specific reason which the customer feels is stopping her or him from saying yes now.
3. Customer has not been sold – we just have not done our job as effectively as we should have.
4. A closing signal – the customer might not be the type of person who says ‘Yes’ easily.  She or he wants to buy but needs some reassurance from us that they are making the right decision.

As you can see, some objections are made from a logical, strategic basis and some are emotional. Both will need to be addressed if we are to succeed but the emotional reaction will first need to be understood if we are to stand any chance of handling it.

The signs of resistance are many. Here are some of the most obvious:

The customer does not contribute to the conversation

• Answers to questions are short
• The customer does not agree with you
• You find it difficult to establish an area of dissatisfaction – everything in their garden is rosy
• The customer does not ask you questions
• You struggle to keep the conversation going

Sometimes, a customer will say “no” automatically without really considering their response. This is because it is easier to say no than it is to say yes. “No” is an emotional (and, at times, illogical) defensive gesture, it relieves the customer of the responsibility and pressure of saying yes. “Yes” is a response that carries responsibility, risk and threat. A buyer will be inclined to resist if there are strong emotional reactions to change.

 Exercise

 Imagine you are being asked to make a significant buying decision. Which of the following situations would match the emotions listed? Try to match them.

They are new to the company and want to impress

  It’s normal for customers to have concerns, they may have a good reason to hesitate and your response must reassure them that they are ‘doing the right thing’.

Being able to lead the customer is an essential part of any meaningful sales presentation but you can only lead someone when you have something to metaphorically ‘hold onto’ and lead them in the direction you wish them to go.

Taking control of the conversation

A number of strategies can be used depending on the situation and where you are with the customer.

Acknowledge the resistance

One of the traps an inexperience influencer falls into is reacting emotionally to what the customer has said:

“I think it’s too expensive.”

“No, it’s not. It’s great value”

Now, there’s nothing wrong with answering the objection but ‘what are you answering?’ Is the objection real or part of an overall, emotional response to change. If you challenge the objection you will win the argument AND lose the sale. The best influencers are able to handle resistance as if it were a natural progression to achieving their objective. They will acknowledge the objection and ask a question as if it was just the normal thing to do.

Firstly, the salesperson will empathise with customer (to show they understand how they feel) and then ask a question relevant to the objection raised. In this way they can redirect the emotional response of the customer onto something else.

“I think it’s too expensive.”

“I agree that cost is something that must be considered. Can I ask, what you are comparing this to?”

This approach allows the salesperson to judge whether the initial objection was real and it also gives them more information about the customer’s buying decisions.  An objection can be a need for more information.

Using the objection as a link to an open question.

“It’s good that you use alternative suppliers. Where do you buy your products at the moment?”

“Like you we have many customers who feel comfortable with ‘the devil they know’. What is it that your current suppliers are offering that makes you stay loyal to them?”

“I understand that completely. What types of product are you using at the moment?”

“I’m the same when it comes to change. Always err on the side of caution. Where do you find most of your business comes from at the moment?”

“That’s really interesting. How did you come to that decision?”

 “I’d be the same as you in this situation. It’s new and different from what you currently use. When you said it wouldn’t work in the same way, how do you mean?”

 “No you’re right to be cautious. It wouldn’t be right to decide without considering all the options. Tell me, is ……..your only concern?”

“Cost is an important factor, especially these days. When you say it’s too expensive, what other products are you comparing it to?”

“It’s vital that you make a considered decision with this. I’d do exactly the same but how far are we away from agreeing on this?”

“I don’t blame you for wanting to weight up your options. I’d do exactly the same but how far are we away from moving to the next step?”

“I think it’s important for my customer to take the considered view when making a decision of this scale. Cost is a key factor but cost aside for the moment, how good a proposal is this to you?”

Sales Courses – Introduction to Selling – Course Dates

Who will benefit from the course?

This course is designed to give new salespeople the confidence to appoint, present to and close potential customers. Delegate numbers are limited to no more than six to allow an environment where the maximum learning can be achieved. We use a combination of learning methods but place emphasis on role-play reinforcement of real life situations based on products and services relevant to the delegate’s organisation.

Introduction to Selling Course Agenda

• Introductions and objectives
• The psychology and principles of selling
• How to create positive first impressions
• Building trust and rapport with your customers
• Using questions to uncover customer needs
• Listening skills
• Understanding features and selling benefits
• Identifying buying signals
• Understanding and handling objections with ease
• Closing the sale
• Appointment making
• Final paperwork and action planning

Our training is carried out in a risk free environment which encourages delegates to practice the skills needed for successful appraisals. We use a number of training methods including role-play, video, audio, workshops and group exercises to enhance the learning process.

Why choose Total Success for your training?

• our lead trainers have over 18 years experience in training
• a maximum of 8 delegates means more time spent on individual needs
• we guarantee to run the course and will never cancel at the last moment
• free subscription to our monthly training newsletter

All open courses are trained in Central London at the St Giles Hotel.

Each delegate receives a comprehensive training workbook that doubles as an open course manual. Courses run from 9.30-5.30 with lunch and refreshments provided.

In-Company Courses

Total Success have developed a series of in-house training modules. These are designed so that an organisation can pick the training which is more applicable to its own needs and budget. Please call us to discuss your specific requirements

Total Success Training Packs

Why use a total success training pack

If you are looking to run your own training course but lack the materials and the time to develop a fully functional training seminar we produce a range of training materials and packs which will suit your requirements exactly. All of our packs and been written by our own training experts and we can guarantee that the training pack will satisfy your course requirements. Each pack will contain a full set of PowerPoint training slides, trainer’s notes, a course manual, and a full set of handouts and activities.

We have been running our courses since 1995 and have trained 1000’s of people via open courses and in-company seminars. We guarantee that the course you buy is the one we train. All courses are trainer and trainee friendly so you’ll be up and running quickly (depending on your training experience).

We know how difficult it is to choose amongst the many training materials available on line, that’s why we have 3 packages that will suit you needs. With our gold, silver and bronze packages you can choose the training format that’s right for you and your budget. Call us 0044 (0)208 269 1177 to discuss your requirements or email us info@totalsuccess.co.uk

• Click anywhere on this line to find out more about our Sales and Telesales Training Materials and packs

Related information

Total Success book’s and publications

The Book. If you really don’t have the time to attend one of our fantastic training courses and seminars, don’t worry. You can still enhance your knowledge and skills by purchasing training information from our website. Our lead trainer, Warren Wint has written a book entitled ‘Successful Time Management’ which is packed with tips and techniques to help you manage your time more effectively and more efficiently. You can purchase the book by clicking on the link below and downloading it to your own computer

• Successful Time Management by Warren Wint – Crimson Publishing 2009

Bite-sized Training Guides. We had also produced a range of bite-sized training guides on various subjects relating to all our training topics. These short guides are written to give enough information on the topics that interest you. We include topics such as managing e-mail, setting goals and prioritising, the art and skill of effective delegation, and managing busy workloads and deadlines. These are designed for you to work through your topics in approximately 30 to 40 min, and not only give you valuable information but also include exercises and activities to enable you to learn at your own pace and on the go. These are very competitively priced at 99p each because we want you to not only gain valuable information but also to keep coming back and purchasing more to enable you to become a fabulous manager of time. Click the links below and download our training guides as PDF documents so you will be able to start achieving your goals today!

• Click on this line to go to our Sales and Teleselling Bite-Sized Training Guides

Podcasts

We produce a range of podcasts and audio downloads that you can download to hear how we conduct our training courses. These are available in live audio if you click on the links below and it’s almost like being on one of our courses. They allow you to hear how we carry out some of the topics in our training courses. If you like them and want to hear more please go to our Podcast pages on the website

Listen to our Time Management Podcasts