by Meridith Powell
Since you arrived at the office this morning, while you were pouring your first cup of coffee, or leading that morning sales huddle; your customers have already started the sales process without you.
Right now, your customers and your best prospects, they are online browsing the internet for the next product they are going to buy. They are heading to an industry conference or community meeting where they will engage their peers in conversations about whom to work with and why. Then they will read Google reviews and articles in trade magazines looking for what products are hot, and who is getting the best reviews.
Out of Mind or Top of Mind, Which One Are You?
if your name is not popping up, if you are not the sales professional they are reading and hearing about, then guess what? You’re already behind in the sales process. By the time you knock on the door, or send that e-mail or make that phone call, just when you think you are starting the sales process your customers are more than half-way to making their decision.
In today’s marketplace, you have to understand that how your customers get information, make decisions, and decide whom to buy from has all changed.
If you’re going to compete, then you need to learn to attract the business before you ask for the business. You need to get your name and your reputation out into the sales cycle, the one where customers and prospects are looking.
Buyers today want to verify whom they should do business with BEFORE they even think about doing business with them. That means no matter how amazing you are at what you do; you can guarantee that your prospects and customers are looking to see what they can find out about you before they meet or talk with you.
Stay in Front of Them to Get Them to Keep Coming Back to You
Customers today may be in control of the buying cycle, but they are also overwhelmed. There are too many choices! Buying anything today has become like shopping in the cereal aisle of the grocery store. You know that cereal aisle that has the row, after row, after row of anything you could think of to do with a cornflake. When you are not sure what to buy, you see that box of cornflakes that you remember reading if you eat it you will lose 30 pounds. Then you remember your doctor saying it would lower your cholesterol, and the online reviews saying it made people look and feel younger. So now while all the other boxes of cornflakes look the same – this box now stands out. This is the box you want to buy, the cereal you want to eat.
In the world of sales, you have to be THAT box of cornflakes. You need to jump off the shelf. To be Top of Mind with your prospects.
3 Crucial Tactics that Will Keep You Top of Mind with Your Prospects
1. Understand the Game
The sales game is. You need to understand that sales today is different, and how your customers look to get information has changed. They are in control, and they know it. They also know they can buy the product anywhere and from anyone. Since they are making a choice, you need to give them the reason to choose you over your competition. Sales today starts long before the first sales conversation. You need to get in the game and make sure that when customers go looking for the information, you and your business are what they find – first.
2. Create the Buzz
You need to be controlling the information your customers and prospects discover out about you. Listen to your customers, no matter how amazing they hear you are, they will verify you before they meet with you. What they find when they do that – that is up to you. Think about all the fantastic things happening in your business – the awards you have won, the results you have had, the community service you engage in. Now ask yourself what are you doing to get that information out in the path of your customers? You can do videos and posts on social media. You can write thank you notes to your customers for the results you have gotten and awards you have received. Bottom line – if you want the market to be buzzing about you – then you better be creating that buzz.
3. Engage Your Fans
This is no time to be shy if you want to grow your business in 2019 and believe me, you do, then you need more than your sales team to make that happen. Let your top customers, and your prospects help you. Ask them to share your posts, send you referrals, and help spread the word about the fantastic things going on in your business. Give them reasons to talk about you and they will!
Selling today is different – competition, technology, and globalization have all changed the game. This is no marketplace for the meek and shy. You have a fantastic company; you are doing amazing things, be the first to step to the plate and share those messages. If you do, you will stand out from your competition, and open more doors, close more sales, and succeed no matter what this economy does. ~Meridith Powell
Meridith Elliott Powell is an award-winning author, keynote speaker and business strategist. With a background in corporate sales and leadership, her career expands over several industries including banking, healthcare and finance. MerIdith worked her way up from entry-level to earn her position in the C-Suite. She is a Master Certified Strategist, Executive Coach and Certified Speaking Professional, a designation held by less than twelve percent of professional speakers. She is Master Certified DISC Trainer and Coach, and has facilitated and coached thousands in the program.
She has a cutting-edge message, rooted in real-life examples and real-world knowledge. She is the author of four books, including Winning In The Trust & Value Economy (a finalist in the USA Best Book Awards) and her latest “Own It: Redefining Responsibility – Stories of Power, Freedom & Purpose about how to build cultures the inspire ownership at every level to create its at every turn.
Voted one of the Top 15 Business Growth Experts to watch by Currency Fair, and one of the top 20 Sales Experts To Follow by inked In. Meridith is regularly featured in publications such as Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., Investment News, and American Banker among others. High energy and highly interactive, Meridith’s helps leaders and business owners learn the new rules of success today. How today’s economy has changed. How that has changed today’s customers and employees. And specifically how that affects your business. In her highly engaging keynote-speaking sessions, Meridith shows her audiences how to attract more business, retain top talent, and leap into a position to win in this new economy. No walking on coals, no breaking boards, just real-life strategies you can put into place first thing Monday morning.
About The Author
