Clarity Advantage's Sales Thoughts

In which we consider that companies generate more client loyalty and more sales if they’ve developed and managed their sales teams to specific client experience standards.

In which we are reminded that advising, earning trust, and generating value beyond our products involves looking beyond the needs our products address.

In which we are encouraged to explore the bigger picture of what our clients seek to maximize or minimize in purchasing our services.

Want to be the "go to" person for your clients when they need something? Watch for some tips from Nick Miller, president of the bank sales training and consulting firm, Clarity Advantage. http://www.clarityadvantage.com

In which we are reminded: Look up, from time to time, and engage with the people around us. No telling who we will meet.

In which we are encouraged to plan, then track and manage, our sales activities to boost our chances of hitting goals.

In which we are reminded: Find a niche and specialize… or get smoked.

In which we are reminded that buyers have so many choices that, no matter how much work we invest in differentiating the details of our products, they remember only one or two IF they distinctly stand out.

In which we are reminded to “follow the check list” as we’re closing sales or finishing projects.

In which we are reminded to tell the best parts of our story (i.e. our results, our value) first in three (or fewer) simple sentences.

In which we are reminded that very few questions come from idle curiosity. We need to know why.

In which we are reminded…again… that sustaining training is critical to long term capabilities and performance.

In which we are reminded that every client personal detail reveals choices and avenues to insight.

Ask questions to understand what prospects are thinking before you start pitching ideas.

In which we are reminded that “winging it” in sales calls without maps of the bigger picture frequently ends in our getting lost.. and losing opportunity.

In which we are reminded that even short call plans help us produce better results than no plans at all.

In which we are reminded that some people need more time to decide, and we should engage with others while they do.

In which we are reminded not to limit our explorations with clients and prospects to those issues in which they express interest or which they purchase.

Yet one more time… In which we are reminded to clarify before we pitch

In which we are reminded that, if we want our clients to embrace us as advisors, it helps to maintain a wide view of what’s happening the in the business world.

In which we are reminded not to call another person’s baby ugly… even if....

In which we are challenged to communicate the experiential aspects of our products to distinguish them and stimulate client hunger for them.

In which we are reminded that our network reputation for a specific expertise earns us introductions to the people who most need us.

n which we are reminded that people “out there” are reading what we write on line…. Really!

In which we are reminded to take care of “injuries” in our client relationships lest they come back to cripple us later.

In which we are encouraged to understand context before we pitch recommendations.