| We are living in a fast paced world. Technology is | | | | that email with your mobile phone? |
| changing the way we lead our lives and do | | | | The Use of the Internet and Social Networking |
| business. Who had thought of Twitter or You | | | | As a sales professional of the 21st century you |
| Tube five years back? | | | | should be actively involved in networking with |
| Yahoo chat is almost passé. Face book and | | | | clients, customers, prospects, suppliers, and |
| Twitter are in. Prior to the 1990s pagers were | | | | anybody that can improve your sales. The best |
| used to send quick messages. Now SMS on the | | | | place to network in today’s world is the |
| mobile phones is the way to go. If talking on the | | | | Internet — the social net working sites |
| mobile phone is not enough you can have video | | | | such as Face book, My Space, and Twitter. There |
| conversations on a smart phone. There is no | | | | are hundreds of networking websites related to |
| need to fly thousands of miles to attend a | | | | specific activities or hobbies of its members. You |
| conference with business associates. | | | | should be in some of them depending on the |
| Cisco’s video conferencing has facilitated | | | | nature of your business and the likelihood of |
| real time conferencing right from your office with | | | | finding your customers there. |
| associates or clients in far flung places in the | | | | Briefing the Customer |
| country and abroad. | | | | While meeting the customer and briefing about |
| The basics still remain the same. We still want to | | | | the product a sales person has to be specific and |
| talk about a new car or a movie with a friend and | | | | short. This is an age of information glut. |
| business with associates. But the way we do it | | | | Newspapers, magazines, books, TV channels, the |
| has been transformed. | | | | Internet, mobile phones, office communications, |
| The question is how much have you changed in | | | | and advertisement hoardings they are all keen on |
| these changing times as a person and as a sales | | | | keeping us well informed. Your customer is being |
| professional? Do you use the latest sales | | | | bombarded with information from all corners. An |
| techniques to leverage your business? Just check | | | | excess of information about the product will not |
| out how current is your sales skills? Don’t | | | | register in the client’s mind. Be selective |
| despair if you are lagging behind. With a little | | | | and pass on the most pertinent info about the |
| effort you can catch up. | | | | product. If the person you are talking to is not |
| Are Your Cold Calls Hot Enough? | | | | technically very savvy do not over present |
| Do you check out a company’s website | | | | technological details. |
| before making cold calls? Do you check out a | | | | It is better to repeat selected info many times in |
| senior executive’s profile on the Internet | | | | the meeting or demo. |
| and social networking sites, if possible, before | | | | Stress on Customer Service |
| making the call? Do you try to access the direct | | | | A few decades ago all salesman had to do was |
| mobile phones of key persons in addition to the | | | | sell the product and calculate his commission |
| company landline phones? Do you send | | | | amount. There was no or very little thought |
| information about your product and company to | | | | about customer service. This is an era where |
| the key persons via email before or after making | | | | purchase decisions hang on the quality of |
| calls? How do you make sure that your emails do | | | | customer service that a vendor offers. When |
| not end up in their spam boxes? Do you wait | | | | other factors such as quality of the competing |
| hours for the office receptionist or telephone | | | | products, looks, and designs remain at the same |
| operator to put your call through to the senior | | | | level, customer service becomes the deciding |
| executive or do you call the concerned executive | | | | factor. Talk about your customer service to new |
| after trying once with the office operator? You | | | | clients and follow up with your customer service |
| can do so and save time. You can offer an | | | | department in case an existing customer has any |
| apology for calling directly making their | | | | complaints. Make sure that the customer gets |
| extremely busy office telephone your | | | | impeccable customer service. |
| excuse for doing so. | | | | Our sales skills must change along with the |
| How Do You Qualify Prospects? | | | | changing times and focus on the latest trends. |
| Ok, so you use Excel sheets to store your list of | | | | Dinosaurs became extinct for a reason — |
| prospects. Smart enough! But, is your data of | | | | for not evolving. If you are not following these |
| prospects stored on your laptop and can you | | | | latest sales techniques your sales skills run the risk |
| access them via your mobile phone just in case | | | | of getting extinct. To avoid that, your sales skills |
| the need arises? Or may be your sales assistant | | | | need to evolve now and stay in tune with the |
| has emailed a hot list of prospects, can you check | | | | times. |