This is what I hear, over and over and over, as I evaluate salescalls for clients. I'm focusing a lot on this lately, because so many companies are managing to get leads in the virtual door, but their salespeople just aren't closing them at a rate that is appropriate for their product and their market. And, fixing this one aspect of your business makes a huge difference in your revenue growth. You've already paid to get the customer to your doorstep, and to get that customer excited enough about your product to be willing to face a salesperson. If your salesperson were doing the right thing, all that previous effort wouldn't be going to waste.

How do salespeople prevent the sale from happening? Here are the most common ways. I'll write this as if talking to your salespeople, so you can pass it along:


1) You talk too fast. Yes, you have to make a bunch of calls today. Yes, you've said it all before, hundreds of times, and you're tired of hearing yourself say it. But every call is a NEW call to the customer. All of the information is NEW - to the customer. This is the first time the customer has heard your pitch. Besides, what's the point of talking if you're talking too fast to be understood? The point of saying anything is to communicate, not regurgitate. If you're talking faster than they can absorb it, you're wasting your time and their time. You may as well hang up the phone and let them call a more helpful competitor, which is what they will do as soon as they can get you off the phone.

2) You say things, in passing, that raise a BIG RED FLAG. "I'm not an engineer, usually I sell to engineers, but you're not an engineer either, so we can skip all that engineering spiel and just talk about basics." This is something - almost word for word - that I just heard on a call.

That is what the salesman said. Here's what the customer heard: "I'm not really qualified to sell this software, but I do it anyway, all day long. I'm really just a glib sales guy who does the same old spiel all day. I don't think very highly of myself, but I do it anyway. It's a job. And, since you don't understand this stuff either, I'll make this as simple-minded as I can for you."

The salesperson has sent a very clear message: "I don't respect myself, and I don't respect you either, but you called, so I'll talk."

3) You constantly rush the customer. "Yep." "Right." "OK." "Gotcha." "Uh-huh." These are just a few of the words that you are probably using to interrupt the customer so you can talk. You think you know what they are going to say, and you have lots of calls to make, so you want to save time by interrupting them and given them the answer you think they want.

Well, you're making a big mistake. You're removing one of the most essential aspects of a successful sales call: The customer's feeling that he has been heard and understood. Remember, he's bringing up all these issues because he has done a lot of investigation already, and now he has a couple of very specific questions for you.

Again, even if you think you have heard that question before, shut the heck up and let him ask the question. The entire question. Wait until you know that he feels he has stated his question in its entirety, THEN answer it.

4) You don't answer the question the customer asked. You may not know the answer to the question. You may not understand the question, and you're too proud or embarrassed to ask for clarification. You may think you know what he asked, but you really didn't listen well enough to pick up on the subtleties (yes, that means you CAN'T do your email while you are "listening"). You may think, "I've heard this question 5,795 times before. I know what he is worried about" - and then you launch into your boilerplate "answer."

So now, the customer has tried to ask a question, you have not heard or understood it, and you deliver an "answer" that doesn't answer the question at all. Talk about wasting his time! Not to mention how insulting this is.

And, guess what? This ONE little interaction, this seemingly tiny little infraction, could easily cause the customer to shut the door in your face. It happens all the time. "Well, obviously, this guy hasn't heard what I've said, or he's trying to avoid answering my real question, so now I can't trust this company to meet my needs. Time to call the next vendor." This is what he'll be thinking while you are yammering away with your non-answer. You'll be thinking, "I'm delivering a great pitch!" and he'll be thinking, "I'm outta here!"

5) You go on and on and on and on.... Salespeople often go into sales because they like being the expert. They learn something well enough to talk about it, and then they talk about it all day long. They like hearing themselves talk like an expert, so they overdo it.

A customer wants a thin smart phone. So he asks, "How thick is it?" You should say, "It's 10 millimeters thick. You say you have a Motorola RAZR now? That's 13.9 millimeters. So it's 28% thinner than your RAZR."

That is a good answer. It contains the actual measurement, and a specific, easy-to-understand comparison.

The long-winded, look-how-much-I-know version would be: "It's one of the thinnest smart phones on the market, and the lightest, too. It's only 10 millimeters thick. It's thinner than an iPhone. And, the body is made out of high-density plastic and stainless steel...." I could go on - and the salesman will - but you get the point. What if this person has never held an iPhone? Why provide all this information? Why tell him things he probably already found out on his own? You're wasting your time and his.

If you listen, you will know what the client knows already (such as knowing they have a RAZR in hand), and you will make your answer relevant to the customer.

6) You really don't care about the customer, and the customer knows it. All you care about is making a sale. All the customer cares about is solving his problem.

If you make a genuine effort to focus on solving that customer's problem - whether you make a sale or not - the customer will appreciate it and reward you, any way he can. Even if he doesn't buy from you (because you couldn't really solve his problem) he will refer others to you, others who will come to you pre-sold, simply because you tried to help him. And, he will come back when he has another problem, one that he thinks you might be able to solve.

We all tend to remember the people who helped us in some way.

7) You talk more than you listen. If I could get one message across to ALL salespeople in the world, the message would be this: Sales come from listening, not talking.

If you don't listen to "where they are," you can't take them to "where they want to go." If you don't listen to "what they've already tried," you can't suggest the correct next step. If you don't listen to the question, you won't be giving them the right answer, and they will know it.

If you don't listen to the subtle (or even the not-so-subtle) hints they're dropping, you will fail one of their tests, and you will lose the sale.

During every conversation with every customer, you are being tested.
Underlying every single question is really a battery of tests:

Is this guy hearing me?

Is this guy answering my question?

Is this guy being honest?

Is this guy treating me like an intelligent person - or an idiot?

Is this guy trying to show me how smart he is - at the expense of solving my problem, or is he really trying hard to help me?

Is this guy rambling on about stuff I don't care about, or does he give me a straight answer and then let me ask my next question?

Does he really not know the answer? And, instead of saying, "I don't know, but I'll find out," he's serving up a bunch of BS?

Is he talking too fast, faster than I can absorb it or take notes, or is he talking at a respectful speed?

Does he really care if I am 'getting it' or not?

If I were you, I'd print out this list, and tape it up next to my phone.

Each of your answers either passes these tests or fails.
Your customer will allow you one failure - after all, we all make mistakes - but when he catches you in a second one, you're toast.

In his mind, you've switched from someone who made an honest mistake to a liar who can't be trusted. He will start to make his exit.

He will still be smiling and nodding; that's what you will "hear." But he will also be walking backwards toward the exit, pretending he is still interested. He's doing that so you will stop talking and let him go, because you are fooled into thinking that he will be taking the next step.

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If your salespeople stopped making these 7 mistakes, your sales would improve. Unfortunately, seeing one article won't do the trick. Salespeople are creatures of habit who need constant reminding and coaching from someone in-house who knows how to motivate salespeople to do the right thing.

I just helped a client find such a supervisor. It took some doing, because the effective ones are very, very rare. Every mildly ambitious salesperson wants to be a sales manager, but very few have what it takes. They can talk the talk - making you believe they could be an effective manager. But, they can't walk the walk - without a near-impossible, deliberate and violent shift in character.

Today's buyers are researching on the Web, then calling. At this stage, they are already far along in their buying process. They want to give you their money. Are your salespeople making that easy, or preventing it?

Melakukan closing sebuah sales bukan merupakan hal yang mudah dan seringkali menjadi momok buat seorang salesperson. Lalu, bagaimana supaya sales closing bisa berjalan dengan mulus? Berikut ini adalah sebagian tips dan trik.

Berlatih dan EvaluasiSebagian besar salesperson umumnya tidak lancar dalam melakukan closing sales, sehingga hal ini berpotensi untuk merusak peluangnya untuk berhasil menjual. Oleh karena itu, situasi menutup penjualan juga harus dilatih dengan baik.

Persiapan dan latihan harus dilakukan terus menerus. Rencanakan dengan baik mengenai apa saja yang akan Anda ucapkan ketika melakukan closing. Perkirakan situasi apa saja yang mungkin terjadi dan bagaimana cara Anda meresponnya. Latih dengan baik respon yang Anda berikan untuk setiap situasi hingga respon Anda menjadi natural. Setiap kali Anda melakukan proses closing, maka jadikan itu sebagai sarana evaluasi Anda, sehingga tiap hari skill Anda akan menjadi makin baik.

Tips dan Trik Lainnya
Praktikkan ABC, yakni singkatan untuk ‘Always Be Closing’ yang artinya supaya Anda selalu menuju kepada closing. Namun, bisa jadi buruk jika Anda melakukannya dengan teknik yang tidak tepat. Secara perlahan tapi pasti, tuntun prospek menuju sales closing, dan begitu timing-nya tiba, maka lakukanlah.

Sebelum melakukan closing, Anda juga harus memperhatikan bagaimana tingkat emosional yang sedang dialami oleh prospek. Jika kondisi emosional sedang negative, maka jangan lakukan closing terlebih dahulu. Bisa saja Anda kembali di lain waktu yang lebih tepat.teknik closing

Setelah melakukan teknik closing, maka berikan waktu mereka untuk berpikir dan merespon, jangan langsung berbicara. Berikan mereka ruang untuk fokus. Suasana diam juga akan memberikan tensi yang memicu mereka untuk merespon.

Kembali pada ABC, closing sebaiknya tidak Anda lakukan sekali saja. Jangan mudah menyerah. Sales closing memang terlihat seperti momok bagi salesperson, karena riset menunjukkan bahwa 63% proses pembicaraan sales berakhir dengan salesperson tidak menanyakan tentang order secara spesifik.

Oleh karena itu, lakukan closing beberapa kali. Riset dari Dr. Herb True dari Notre Dame menunjukkan bahwa sekitar 46% salesperson hanya menanyakan order satu kali saja dan kemudian menyerah. 24% lainnya menanyakan tentang order dua kali sebelum menyerah. 14 persen melakukannya tiga kali, dan 12% berusaha empat kali.

Artinya, ada 96% responden yang menyerah pada usaha closing pertama hingga keempat. Padahal, hasil riset justru menunjukkan bahwa 60% penjualan berhasil dibuat setelah usaha closing yang kelima. Intinya, jangan menyerah untuk terus melakukan closing.

Selama prospek masih menunjukkan sikap yang welcome, maka jangan menyerah terlebih dahulu sebelum penjualan Anda berhasil!
Namun ingat, hanya lakukan jika prospek Anda bersikap welcome.
Kadang salesperson bersikap terlalu menekan, antusiasme berlebihan, sehingga prospek terpaksa berkata ‘Tidak’ untuk menstop Anda bicara. Jika itu terjadi, maka terima secara lapang dada. Prospek Anda mungkin, seperti yang telah diungkapkan sebelumnya, berada dalam situasi emosional yang tidak stabil.
Closing tidak harus dilakukan saat itu juga, masih bisa Anda lakukan pada kesempatan lain.

Sumber : www.vibiznews. com

Warren Buffet, itulah fenomena baru dalam dunia investasi dewasa ini. Pria asal Amerika Serikat (AS) yang memadukan kemampuan berfikir, matematika dan keterampilan dirinya itu, kini telah menjelma sebagai seorang investor ternama di muka bumi.

Kemahsyurannya berawal ketika Warren mendirikan sebuah perusahaan tekstil kecil, dan menyulapnya menjadi sebuah konglomerat dunia yang paling dihormati. Kisahnya itu bahkan sering disinggung sebagai sebuah dongeng ajaib yang dipadukan dengan kejeniusan dan karakter.

Sepak terjangnya makin mencengangkan dunia ketika pria berusia 77 tahun ini dinobatkan sebagai orang terkaya di alam jagat, menggeser sang multibillioner Bill Gates yang telah menyandangnya selama delapan tahun berturut-turut.

Dalam presentasinya yang bertemakan The Genius of Warren Buffet: The Science of Investing and the Art of Managing, Robert Paul Miles yang merupakan seorang pembicara, penulis, dan diklaim sebagai orang yang paling mengenal Warren Buffet mengungkapkan, kalau sang empunya investor tersebut adalah jenius dalam hal manajemen dan investasi.

Ia bisa membedakan antara karakter dan reputasi, serta menggunakannya dalam hal berinvestasi. Warren bahkan datang seorang diri, dan menantang 500 perusahaan raksasa di AS. Dirinya juga berhasil membangun sebuah tim kelas dunia tanpa harus kehilangan CEO untuk selalu diajaknya berkompetisi. Menurutnya, investasi adalah sebuah hal yang mudah untuk mengenal bisnis.

"Jadi jika Anda ingin mulai berbisnis, mulailah berinvestasi," ujar Robert menirukan perkataan Warren Buffet, yang juga penulis buku Warren Buffet, dalam paparannya di seminar Danareksa, di Hotel Ritz Carlton Pacific Place, Jakarta, Selasa (12/8/2008).

Bersama Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Warren juga memiliki anak usaha bisnis yang beragam, mulai dari properti, asuransi dan reasuransi, perlengkapan dan energi, keuangan, manufaktur, hingga jasa dan ritel. Salah satu anak usahanya yang menjadi satu dari empat perusahaan asuransi terbesar di AS, dan satu dari dua perusahaan reasuransi terbesar didunia adalah GEICO.

Ia juga memiliki International Dairy Queen yang merupakan pemegang lisensi dan pelayanan di lebih dari 6.000 outlet yang menawarkan Dairy Treats and Food. Bahkan induk usaha (Berkshire Hathaway Inc) yang dimilikinya tersebut berhasil membukukan Compounded Annual Gain (1965-2007) sebesar 21,1 persen berbanding 10,3 persen yang dimiliki oleh indeks S&P 500 di AS.

"Sementara untuk Overall Gain dalam kurun waktu (1964-2007), perbandingannya antara 400,863 persen (BHI) dan 6,840 persen (S&P 500)," lanjut Robert.

Uniknya, Warren sangat konsisten dengan portoflio investasinya, ketika memulaui investasi pada tahun 1965, dirinya memiliki komposisi investasi 30 persen di asuransi, 10 persen di energi, dan 60 persen di manufaktur serta jasa dan ritel. Satu hal yang membedakannya, ditahun 1965 ia memulai investasi dengan USD 3,700, pada tahun 2006 dirinya mampu mengumpulkan uang sebesar USD 100 miliar.

Meski begitu, seorang Warren juga pernah mengalami kegagalan. Ia pernal merugi ketika berinvestasi pada sebuah Maskapai yang membuatnya kehilangan uang hingga ratusan ribu bahkan jutaan dolar, namun Warren tidak melihat itu sebagai aksi yang salah, salah satu investor di American Express Company ini memandangnya sebagai jalan yang berbeda.

Seperti kata pepatah, jalan menuju kesuksesan memang sangat terjal, tetapi Warren telah menemukan jalan sutra menuju kemakmuran.

JAKARTA - PT Bank Danamon Tbk (BDMN) membatalkan rencana untuk menerbitkan obligasi rupiah senilai Rp1,5 triliun.

Menurut rencana, semula Bank Danamon berniat menjual obligasi rupiah pada triwulan II tahun ini. Bahkan, seperti dikutip dari Buletin Ciptadana, Danamon telah menunjuk tiga penjamin emisi yaitu CIMB-GK, ING Bank, dan PT Indo Premier Securities.

Namun hingga saat ini, BDMN saat ini masih berencana untuk menerbitkan obligasi subordinasi senilai USD300 juta. Dimana Barclays Capital dan JP Morgan Securities, ditunjuk sebagai penjamin emisi.

Sold at Rp2,400/shares. - Kim Eng Report - 19 Aug, 2008

Corporate Secretary announced that Indofood has sold 251.8m shares at Rp2,400/shares, rising Rp604b, to a subsidiary of an investment firm Zurich Assets International Ltd.
Comment:

The above represents 27.5% of Indofood treasury stocks, or 2.67% of total outstanding shares.
The placement price represents 26% premium from latest closing price, we expect positive sentiment from that.
Maintain BUY.

Today Indofood (INDF) Closing at 1910 with total value : 40.2 B

off an intraday low of 2036.710. Decliners led gainers 174 to 25, with total volume at 1.5 billion shares valued at IDR2.9 trillion. "Lower oil prices triggered selling in most commodity stocks, which also in the end spurred investors to sell their other blue chips," said a fund manager with a foreign securities house. She expects shares to rebound Wednesday on bargain buying. The main index has fallen 26% since the start of 2008. Palm oil producers fell, with Astra Agro Lestari dropping 3.9% to IDR15,950, London Sumatra falling 8.5% to IDR5,400 and Sampoerna Agro sliding 6% to ODR2,300. Meanwhile, coal miner Bumi was down 2$ at IDR4,950 and heavyweight Telkom ended 1.3% lower at IDR7,350. -By Edhi Pranasidhi, Dow Jones Newswires; 62 21 3983 1277; edhi.pranasidhi@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires August 19, 2008 05:16 ET (09:16 GMT) Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 05 16 AM EDT 08-19-08

Notes share trading at 5X P/E, marking discount to sector's 7X; says potential 2008-09E yields of 5%, 13% could also provide support to near term volatility. Adds key risks are possible decline in thermal coal price, weaker-than-expected earnings on higher costs, policy risks, longer-than-expected delay in approval of forestry permit at Indominco East Block. Share off 2% at IDR22,550; main index down 1.2%. (RLC) Contact us in Singapore. 65 64154 140; MarketTalk@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires August 19, 2008 02:33 ET (06:33 GMT) Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 02 33 AM EDT 08-19-08

Tragedi slide presentasi semacam itu mestinya bisa dihindari jika kita tidak melakukan 3 kesalahan fatal yang acap saya temui.
Mari kita telusuri tiga kesalahan ini satu per satu.

Kesalahan pertama : memindahkan word ke powerpoint. Maksudnya, powerpoint dan word adalah dua aplikasi dengan fungsi yang amat berbeda. Sialnya, perbedaan yang amat mendasar ini acap dilupakan orang ketika membuat slide presentasi. Demikianlah, saya acap melihat kalimat-kalimat panjang dan rinci dari word langsung saja dicopy paste ke dalam powerpoint – dengan font yang kecil lagi (misal ukuran 12 atau 14). Ini namanya, powerpoint abuse atau penganiayaan slide presentasi.

Solusinya : jika Anda akan menulis persentasi dengan bullet point, mungkin ada baiknya jika kita mengingat 5 x 5 rule. Aturan yang bisa diterapkan secara fleksibel ini intinya mengajak kita untuk hanya membuat maksimal 5 bullet point dalam setiap halaman slide; dan masing-masing poin sebaiknya terdiri tak lebih dari lima kata. Slide presentasi adalah slide presentasi. Maksudnya : tayangkan hanya poin-poin pokok dari gagasan yang ingin Anda sampaikan. Tulisankan gagasan itu dengan ringkas – hindari kesalahan fatal berupa keinginan untuk menampilkan kalimat-kalimat panjang dan rinci dalam sebuah slide.

Kesalahan kedua yang juga acap saya temui : SEMUA TULISAN MEMAKAI HURUF KAPITAL. Untuk judul sebuah slide mungkin oke menggunakan huruf besar semua. Namun ketika Anda menjabarkan dalam poin-poin yang ringkas dalam baris sesudahnya, gunakan huruf non-kapital. Sebab kalimat panjang yang semua menggunakan HURUF KAPITAL terbukti justru sulit dibaca.

Selanjutnya, kalau bisa gunakan font dengan ukuran minimal 24 (ukuran yang lebih kecil akan membuat orang yang duduk dibelakang akan kesulitan membacanya). Dan jangan lupa, sebaiknya gunakan jenis huruf sans seriff seperti Arial, Verdana atau Georgia. Dan bukan jenis huruf seriff seperti Times New Roman. Sejumlah pakar presentasi menyebutkan, dalam medium digital seperti layar komputer, jenis huruf seperti Arial lebih mudah dibaca dibanding Times New Roman.

Dan jangan lupa juga satu hal : konsistensi. Maksudnya, jika kita menggunakan huruf Arial dengan font size 28, maka sebaiknya jenis dan ukuran inilah yang kita pakai dalam semua halaman slide. Ini perlu diingat, sebab tak jarang saya melihat pemakaian jenis huruf yang tidak konsisten. Kesannya jadi berantakan dan tidak profesional.

Kesalahan ketiga : desain gambar yang kampungan dan ditata dengan serampangan. Untuk membuat slide lebih artistik, kita memang kudu meletakkan gambar (image) yang relevan dan artistik. Sialnya, saya banyak melihat slide dengan gambar yang dicomot dari clip art (banyak tersedia dalam powerpoint); dan sorry to say, hal ini akan membuat slide Anda terkesan kampungan. Apalagi jika clip art itu diletakkan secara serampangan – tanpa memperhatika segi estetika.

Kalau ingin menaruh gambar, ya cari gambar (image) yang professional look, jangan pakai clip art. Dan yang tak kalah penting : semuanya ditata dengan memperhatikan aspek estetika, dan sekali lagi konsisten. Maksudnya, style peletakan gambar kalau bisa mengacu pada pola tertentu yang konsisten (dan bukan asal taruh saja). Mungkin dalam hal desain image ini ada baiknya jika kita langsung berguru dari presentasi sang pencipta PowerPoint itu sendiri (lihat beberapa contoh presentasi melalui image dibawah ini).

Seperti yang kita saksikan dalam contoh diatas, desain gambar dan tata letak kalimat tampaknya disusun dengan mengacu pada nilai estetika. Kita mungkin sulit meniru kejeniusan Tuan Gates dalam membikin software, namun tentu bukan hal yang relatif rumit untuk bisa mengcopy desain presentasi seperti yang terlihat dalam gambar diatas. Yang dibutuhkan hanyalah kepekaan kita akan nilai-nilai estetika (sense of aesthetic).

Demikianlah, tiga kesalahan fatal yang mestinya bisa kita hindari jauh-jauh ketika kita hendak membuat slide presentasi. Sebab dengan itulah kita mungkin baru bisa mendesain sebuah slide yang elok nan menggetarkan. Dan bukan deretan slide yang garing nan membosankan. Dengan mutu yang memilukan. Duh.

Note : Jika Anda ingin mendapatkan file powerpoint slides mengenai developing presentation skills, silakan datang KESINI.

Photo Credit by Niall Kennedy under creative commons license.