3 Strategies to Win With a Buyer Every Time

Most sales teams invest a lot of time thinking about winning with their customers, yet go into each meeting totally unprepared. Then they’re surprised when things don’t work out.

Strategy expert and sales trainer Duncan Cawdell has seen it a million times and knows through experience that to come away with the outcome you want you need to put more in at the start. His background as a buyer and a supplier has given him a unique insight into both sides of the process.

His advice is to be strategic, take time and follow a few simple steps.

Here are his 3 sure fire strategies for turning each meeting into a win.

“ We’ve all winged it once or twice in our lives and we might even have got away with it. My advice is don’t do it. The number one way to get what you want out of a meeting is to plan for it.”

1. Have a plan.

Back in the day in order to get a national account manager’s role most candidates would have spent time on the road with regional accounts or smaller players, learning their craft and gaining experience in countless meetings. Now with a lot of field sales outsourced, recruitment is focused on graduates who move straight into national roles and their experience of meeting face to face is much reduced. That doesn’t hold true on the other side of the fence – many buyers sit though more sales presentations in a week than most NAMs conduct in a year, so it’s important to get it right first time. Learning on the job could cost everyone dear so focus hard on clear, effective and rigorous planning.

2. It’s not all about you.

If you were taking someone new out for dinner you wouldn’t order their food, tell them what to drink and then launch into a half hour monologue about yourself (I hope!) Likewise when you are in the meeting it is really important to talk about your customer not yourself. With the right preparation you will already know all about the people and the dynamics of the organisation you are selling to. By getting into the mind of the customer and thinking about what is and isn’t working for them and how their business operates then you can start to show them how you can solve their problems and meet their needs. Be clever and get their attention with your creative approach.

3. Get permission to sell

If they like what you’re saying then they will want to know more and when they give you that green light you have their permission to sell. This is the magic moment when you can close the deal – when everyone is on the same side. No need for tense negotiations with each side playing the part of adversaries, instead you are working in partnership and getting things done.

So plan, play to your strengths and turn things to your own advantage in meetings that are a win not just for you but for both sides.

Duncan Cawdell has put his extensive experience of the industry behind his company Pure Blue Ocean which offers coaching for sales success to both sales teams and individuals looking to increase their skills. So if you would like to know more do call +44 7788426914 or Email:duncan@pureblueocean.com

 

Should you do something outlandish to get your dream job?

Competition for the best jobs is fierce and in an increasingly tight jobs market it is getting harder to stand out from the crowd.

Having a great CV and knowing a few recruiters used to give you the edge and in more recent years an up to date LinkedIn profile would get you noticed over someone with the same skills and experience but even that is starting to lose its novelty. Now you may have to up your game again. At FMCG Central we have seen potential candidates using imaginative ways to help them stand out like Video CVs and a colleague recently reported receiving a picture of a woman holding a 3 foot fish which she claims to have caught herself. Smart? Well it certainly caught his attention!

Is this a good idea? Where does it all end? In short is it ever a wise plan to do something outlandish to land your dream job?

We asked a range of recruitment and HR experts what they think….

Neil Morrison is an HR professional at change-effect.com he reckons if it is legal then why not – life is all about taking chances but it has to feel authentic to the individual and not just a scheme to get the job. Most people can see through a scam so it’s best to stay true to you. So nothing ventured nothing gained, according to Neil – while it’s high stakes the potential rewards are high too.

Doug Shaw who writes the http://www.stopdoingdumbthingstocustomers.com blog is quite an unorthodox guy himself and often sets his hugely influential and funny marketing advice to music. Google him and you’re bound to find a You Tube video of him singing with his guitar. That is the kind of person he is though and his advice is that you need to stay true to yourself. Unorthodox yes but unethical no – says Doug – so stay authentic and stay within the law!

Steve Ward from @CloudNineReccruitment is at the leading edge of social media recruitment and  reckons that you do need to do something suitably creative to stand out from the crowd but he is wary of what unorthodox might mean to some people – so again keep it authentic and within the law.

Lastly Ken Edwards, an experienced FMCG Management Consultant from the Sphere Organisation says it’s important to remember how hard it is to get noticed out there. So his advice is to make sure that you pay attention to detail and tailor each and every communication to what the business is looking for. Do your research and work hard to send non standardised communications if you want to make your mark.

We agree that you should always have all the basics in place first and that you know what an employer is looking for before you start getting creative – that means;

• A sharply written up to date CV with career achievements and no spelling mistakes.
• An up to date LinkedIn profile with a picture and career details.
• LinkedIn recommendations from trusted sources.
• Also start to endorse people on LinkedIn and see who then endorses you
• Try joining some LinkedIn groups like our group which has over 850 members The FMCG Central Network (UK)

In Summary; you may not want to be outlandish but if you want to be noticed and get that great next job you need to stand out from the crowd.

Good luck!

www.fmcgcentral.co.uk