I really enjoy the SalesDog weekly newsletter. The authors vary but the quality is the same. Even so, with information being so free and all these days, today’s piece, High-Tech Selling: Is It Really That Difficult?, seemed especially unique and powerful. Take a peek:
“3. Premature selling efforts leave a lasting negative impression, and dramatically reduce the odds of ever doing business with that prospect.
‘Forced’ appointments and communications result in closed sales less than 14 percent of the time. When feeling pressured, prospects who do not commit to doing business on the first visit are even less likely to ever buy. The probability of ever getting the sale drops to five percent.”
The author, Jacques Werth, has a book and (surprise) consulting service for his sales approach, called High Probability Selling. He wraps up his article with this rip:
“High-tech salespeople who are strong on product knowledge and weak on the one-to-one sales process help perpetuate the myth that high-tech sales is difficult. The truth is that selling high-tech products and services is easy when an effective selling process is utilized with each and every individual involved in the buying decision.”
Wow, salespeople strong on product knowledge make high-tech sales look difficult??? In B2B, haven’t we all assumed that product knowledge is #1 for an effective salesperson? Have we been that stupid?
Have we been so stupid? Well, at least according to this gentleman. ouch!
Have we been so stupid? Well, at least according to this gentleman. ouch!