Increase Sales With What You Got

We all know there’s a lot of hype and topic-of-the-week talk when it comes to sales. As a salesperson or a business, what’s trending this week, is something we hear often.
Who cares! You can use your run-of-the-mill routine or current business tactics, BUT with a few EXTRAS and additions that work FOR you to take your sales to the next level. These tips can be useful for anybody in business, and especially sales.

Something old, Something new: Ed Catmull, President of Disney’s successful Pixar animation studios, uses a tried and true formula. Blend something you know works with something a little bit out there, or not so obvious. This tactic can be successful simply because it blends something high risk with something low risk and if you blend it well, it’s magic.

Do what you know…already: It may sound safe, but using your personal skill set or business approach to shine is always best in making sales. If your absolute strong suit is your knowledge about your product, use what you got. We’ve all seen somebody trying to pretend to be something they’re not or selling something they’re not convinced about. Find your point of confidence and run with it.

Go big: Look at the giants for inspiration. You may not want to be Amazon or Nordstrom, but they have some of the most amazing reports of excellent service that it proves worth paying attention to what they’re doing to get those reviews. First, have a way for your clients to post comments or reviews. You can learn a lot just with this and it really takes advantage of the Internet way of doing business. Feedback, feedback, feedback! Being concerned about your clients’ satisfaction is good business in itself.

Happy Business To You…

The Communication/ Technology Barrier

There are several types of communication errors and ways in which communication gets tricky between business representatives and customers, especially those in the technology industry and those wishing to learn about, purchase, and/or train with that technology. Ever worked in a business office/company and there was either new technology to implement or something broke down for the IT Department to handle? It’s an interesting conversation when non-technical people are communicating with technical types. In the Telecom industry communication must be a priority with our customers. At NWMAP we handle everything from inquiries on products and services to sales to implementing and training. We must be able to explain technology in laymen’s terms, but also understand clients and how they communicate their needs.

Here’s how we’ve successfully handled the barrier that often arises in communicating technology:

  • We take a step by step approach. First understand the client and listen to what they are communicating.
  • Never offend the customer’s intelligence. Simple is better of course, but not overly simplistic.
  • Always acknowledge the customer’s points by repeating some of what they said or paraphrasing.
  • Find out how your customer prefers to communicate. Some people prefer email over phone or vice versa.
  • Make a straightforward plan together. We never add anything into the mix, like sales of products they won’t need or significantly benefit from.
  • Always be available for questions. When it comes to technology, nothing will get communicated if the tech people are not available.