Luke Brown Marketing Blog

Archive for September, 2009

Pushy sales reps are cheesy. Professional sales reps are classy.

Sales reps who ‘pitch’ aren’t listening. Consultive sales reps listen closely.

No matter what kind of sales rep you are, sometimes all the professionalism in the world can’t close the sale. When you want the sale and you know the prospect will benefit, you’ll both lose if a sale isn’t made. Here are a few last ditch closes to help you make the sale. All closes assume you have made your complete presentation and several closes.

Telephone Sales

For products less than $500.00, the business card close is an absolute winner. Be strong, assert yourself and say:

“Okay, Joe, let’s do this. We’re going to ship out the (ABC product) today and on the outside of the box where where the packing slip enclosure is, I’m going to include 5 of my business cards with your name and company written on the back. Now when you get the (ABC product) and love it like everybody else, you simply give one of those business cards with your name printed on the back to your friends or business associates. When they place an order, we ask for the referral name on the back of the card. Every time they mention your name, you get a $50.00 credit on your next order. And if you need more cards for more friends and $50.00 referrals, just ask. There’s no limit to the referrals you can earn! Now, you’re still at 1234 Main St…

DO NOT pause at any point unless indicated. When you pause, you’re history. You can play around with this a little to make it work for your product, prospects and price. I used this close for over 10 years, ALWAYS put the cards in the packing slip envelope and NOT ONCE did somebody call in as a ‘referral’. When the cost of a sale is 5 business cards, that’s a hell of a return on investment.

Any Sale, Anywhere

The Silence Close is simply my all-time favorite. Read it all the way through, then make sure to read the notes, numbered in parenthesis.

If you’ve made several closes only to be quickly rejected each time, pay attention and watch for any stretch of silence longer than 3 seconds when you make a close. Then pounce on it like a lion.

“You’ve been silent for a bit, Mary. You know, my mom (1) taught me a lot about people. You probably learned a lot from your mom, too, right? (2) The one thing my mom always used to say was(3), “Silence… (3) implies… (3) consent.” (3) Since you were silent for some time, you obviously want the (product or service).”    Then take out the order form and start writing!

(1) Far more people are on better terms with their mother than their father. Use mother to improve your odds.

(2) The use of the tie-down (right?, huh?, didn’t you?, etc.) forces a yes, instead of coaxing the yes from the prospect. Get the prospect to agree.

(3) You must master the pregnant pause here for maximum effect. If you rush through it, it won’t work.

I Want to Think it Over

Is there any sales rep who hasn’t heard this classic stall? This one is easy. It helps you pinpoint the prospects real objection or determine the call is pointless and you can move on.

When a prospect says, “I want to think it over” simple look them in the eye, smile sincerely, and tell them:

“That’s great! There’s nothing wrong with wanting to think it over. And the best time to think it over is right here and right now, while I’m here to answer any of your questions or concerns. What’s the first thing you wanted to think over?”

Man, I’m telling you, buyers have used this stall since time began and almost nobody knows how to respond. When you respond, they are shocked! They know you’re a professional and are ready to sell! You can just about cash your commission check right then and there!

Luke Brown was the #1 sales rep for 5 different companies before founding his first sales company. He has trained over 1,200 sales reps and speaks about sales training to many Fortune 1000 corporations.

One of the surest ways to increase website conversions is by optimizing website forms. Whether website visitors purchase through a shopping cart, download white papers, or submit an email address, each of these actions requires a customer to fill out a form. Here are 18 little known tips for optimizing website forms.

Minimize the number of fields: Conversion rates decrease with each additional form field added. For a white paper or newsletter sign up, a first name and email address are all that is necessary. For e-commerce sites, company information should be optional, not mandatory.

Clear the clear button: A ‘Clear’ button next to a submit button makes it easy for people to accidentally delete what they’ve entered. Once annoyed by this unnecessary feature, submission rates decrease by over 30%.

Clearly define required fields: Label all required fields with an asterisk, bold lettering or similar label. Submission rates are highest when people don’t have to return to complete a form. Describe the form field next to the field, instead of using text within the field. Text within the field can save space, but if a customer forgets what the field is for it can be confusing.

Use persuasive Call to Action buttons: The word “Submit” is weak and unoriginal. Use words which are specific and action oriented on form buttons. For a newsletter signup, the wording could be, “Send me the free newsletter!”

Avoid silly password requirements: Requiring passwords to be formatted in a specific manner (minimum and maximum number of characters, numbers, etc.) might help improve security. The downside is it discourages repeat visits since visitors need to remember an unfamiliar password.

Keep it simple, Simon: It’s easy to design creative text boxes, but creativity doesn’t encourage people to take action. Keeping form fields simple ensures visitors understand a form field’s purpose and they won’t confuse the form with design elements.

Show field formatting examples: Some fields should have notes showing how to format them, depending on database requirements. For example, phone numbers could be formatted with or without area code parenthesis; dashes between the prefix and last four numbers, etc. Keeping these formatting requirements to a minimum makes it simple for visitors and encourages action.

Build forms for your target market: Forms which require an address will generally be different for different countries. If your target market is international, ensure address form fields apply to people from any country, not just your home country.

Can the captchas: Captchas are great for blocking spam, but they also block conversions. Losing conversions to prevent spam is seldom a good tradeoff. If you insist on a captcha, make sure it’s easy to read.

Allow easy navigation, especially forward and backward: Visitors seldom maneuver through websites the way webmasters intended. The back, forward, and refresh buttons are all commonly used. This could cause error messages for your website visitors such as “This page has expired”. Test the forward and backward flow of all multiple page forms to ensure maximum conversions.

Use Point of Action references: Visitors may get confused by the information needed in a particular field. Including a small information note within a popup link helps clarify requirements. A common Point of Action reference is the explanation of the three-digit CVC or CVV code found on the back of credit cards.

Logical tab sequencing: When visitors hit tab, make sure the cursor goes to the next field, instead of somewhere else on the page. Make sure forms tabs flow in a logical sequence to prevent visitors from accidentally skipping fields.

Cancel the cancel button: For long or multi-part forms such as checkouts, don’t give visitors the option to cancel any decision. Doing so negates the positive, action-oriented elements of the page. With conversion rates on many e-commerce sites less than 5%, it makes no sense to give a visitor any reason to stop making a purchase.

Indicate the number of steps: Forms which span multiple pages should include prominently displayed progress indicators. Letting visitors know where they are in the process increases conversions and reduces shopping cart abandonment. These are commonly seen during checkout and can be defined as “Page 1 of 3” or “Shipping Info > Payment Info > Receipt Confirmation.”

Clearly define error messages: When customers enter invalid data, make sure the error messages are clear, specific and prominently placed. If a visitor enters an invalid email address, an error message stating “Please enter a valid email address” is far more effective than “All form fields are required.” A best practice is to return them to the field with the incorrect data and display the error message next to it.

Remember me feature: Allow customers to choose a “Remember me” option when filling out forms. The cookie used to fill in their login information will save them time on subsequent visits. When site visitors don’t need to remember passwords, the odds of them returning increase significantly.

Show them where to go: When a visitor lands on a page containing a form, automatically send the cursor to the first required field. This prevents users from having to click into the field in order to start typing.

Logical list order: For drop down lists or radio button lists, order them in a logical way, listing items higher if they are selected more often. For example, if 95% of your customers are from the USA, show USA as your first option instead of listing countries alphabetically.