Selling Training - The New Rules?

It's time to throw out the old prospecting ruleis appropriate and throughout.
book. Gone are the days of arm twisting andAlso note the stage you are in the sales cycle - is
sales 'techniques' so we are told by onethe prospect an organisation you have good
commentator.access to? If not then you are in selling mode to
The main thrust of his argument is that in thebe able to anticipate their needs from public
web 2.0 world sales people have greater accessdomain data/your own sources and to then
to much more information to be leveraged, whichcommunicate that to the individuals who have the
I absolutely agree with. It then discusses 5 keybusiness 'pain'. If the client has moved to the
points, which at a headline level I agree all salestender stage then most of the explicit needs are
professionals need to do at appropriate times.on the table...
They range from Know Your Buyers NeedsAll the points are made from the perspective of
before they do, Never Rely on a Single Point ofthe more knowledge you gather the more certain
Contact, Sell Beyond Your Product, Surprise themyou are to make the sale. Hence no need for
before they surprise You and Be Selective (in the'techniques'. Wish life was so simple. People buy
prospects you choose).people then they products or services. So no
The points above are valid but it's important tomatter how much knowledge you have without
put them in context. Match the preparation andkey personal/sales skills you won't win in a
effort to the size of the opportunity you arecompetitive environment. Knowledge + skill +
pursuing together with the client's desire to formeffort = success. Not just knowledge. Who wrote
a relationship with any supplier. Then if you decidethe article? A well known data provider!
the prize justifies it ensure that your preparation