Selling in a time of Covid-19

Is your business relying on others to sell your product or service?

The Problem:

The scary thing about this is all your hard work and creativity are relying on others (I include your Sales and Marketing team) to generate Sales.  

There are three critical requirements for any business to succeed:  

Market – Competency – Passion

This article will focus on Competency and in particular the competency of the people you expect to sell your product. In particular it’s that meeting when you get up close and personal with the prospect.  

Covid-19 has changed how businesses conduct meetings; the old models are broken.  

Sales meetings are now being done effectively on conference calls and sometimes even more effectively (no distractions). 

“The person who knows everything about the product is an expert; the person who tells everything is a bore”! 

My observation:

The people who create the product or concept are so excited and enamored with the result they assume that the people they work with will also be. Nothing could be further from the truth. Scary!! 

Reluctance to change:

The people appointed to sell your product have different priorities (other products, another country, different language, traditions etc.).  

They will promote and sell what they have always sold, unless you can convince them that the opportunity you provide is a game changer in some way.  They will also need reassurance that the backup, training and support you provide will help them win sales quickly, boosting their earnings and success. 

“A good rule with regard to product knowledge is “know lots – talk little”  

You can have all the CRM systems, sales pipeline processes and marketing material to support the team of people appointed to sell your product. However, unless they are confident in their story and can tell it with energy, enthusiasm and engagement, all previous efforts and expense will have come to naught. 

Final question:

What would it do for your business, if you could dramatically improve the outcome of these meetings?  

Note: Quotations above are from the ‘5 great rules of Selling’ by Percy H. Whiting, a book never far from my desk.

By Executive Coach Andrew Keogh of Aristo.ie