Are Your Prospects Listening to You?
Often, we just don't go where our prospects are hanging out
I'm a great believer that we can all do more to go out and find prospects in new places. We need to spread our sales net.
But going to where your prospects hang out is not enough. It doesn't matter how creative you are about getting in contact with new prospects. It doesn't matter how many new prospects you are finding. You still won't sell successfully unless you take one key factor into account.
Without the right sales message you are doomed
As a buyer, I ignored many printing companies because they were not giving me any reasons to engage with them. Many printing companies sound exactly the same as their competitors. Worse still, they are talking about themselves, not about their prospects.
Here are just a few of the things I frequently hear printing salespeople talking about:
- quality
- service
- printing presses
- company history
- efficiency
Let's be clear: all of these topics focus on you and your company. Modern buyers do not want to hear about these sorts of things.
If you want to engage today's customers you need to be in their world
Here are some of the things that you should be focusing on:
- the challenges that they face
- their goals (both company and personal)
- best practices in their marketplace
- success stories from their competitors
- how you can help them overcome the challenges and succeed in achieving their goals
These subjects all focus on the buyer and their world. They create a conversation that a prospect is interested in having.
Are you talking about yourself or are you in your prospect's world?
PS Find out more ideas on how to increase sales with today’s buyers: download my free e-book “Ten Common Print Selling Errors and What To Do About Them.” You’ll also receive my regular “Views from the print buyer” bulletin, full of ideas on how to sell print effectively.
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Many printing companies are frustrated how hard it is to engage buyers in today’s world. That’s where Matthew Parker can help. He is a gamekeeper turned poacher. Parker has bought print for more than 20 years and received over 1,400 print sales pitches. He now uses his buyer’s point of view to give practical advice to printers. He helps them engage with prospects and customers to create profitable relationships.
Download his free e-book, "Ten Common Print Selling Errors And What To Do About Them" and check out his recently launched book, "How To Succeed At Print Sales: Setting targets, planning the right activities and making sure goals are met."
