Here are some of the common questions posed by our visitors together with our responses. If your question isn't answered here, call us or send an email to coach@salessense.co.uk.

• Q. How can I find and attract good sales people?

  A. First work on your proposition. Good sales people are very discerning. They can afford to be. If the business proposition or product offering that you make to potential customers is encapsulates real value and is truly compelling, good sales people will recognise the opportunity that working for you represents.

  Once you have a good proposition, you will find it easier to attract good candidates for sales jobs. Unfortunately, you will also attract more less able candidates. This may not matter if your proposition is well enough articulated.

  An excellent question for sorting the good from the merely interested is, "would you consider a commission only role and if so, what terms would you be looking for?"

  You may get some uncomfortable responses to do with your advertising practices. Simply reassure them. Say, "This is a salaried position that I am interviewing for however, I am still interested in your thoughts about a commission only role."

  You have now set the candidate a difficult quandary. His or her answers should be very revealing.

  If you would like to know more about ways you can improve the articulation of your proposition, the article titled 'Commission Only' on the main SalesSense web site, offers an important check list. Follow this link to read it.

• Q. How many telephone calls should a sales person expect to make before finding a new prospect?

  A. About 20 calls is the average. It varies most according to the quality of the list of suspects being called. If you had bread to sell and only called hungry people, you would expect to make a sales more often than one in twenty. If you are selling a supercomputer and start at A in the yellow pages, you might expect to make many more than 20 calls before you find anyone who is interested. The success rate also depends on the skills, persistence, and state of mind of the caller. All these things can be improved.

  The SalesSense site user archive offers many ideas to help the DIY telephone sales person improve their conversion rate. Register for free at www.salessense.co.uk.

• Q. What's the best way to establish an overseas customer base?

  A. First understand the market. Here five no cost/low cost suggestions to help.

  1. Investigate government support. Does your government maintain an embassy in the country you would like to sell into? Part of the diplomatic mission is to promote trade and in particular, exports. Embassy staff are often an excellent source of free advice and depending on your need, may be able to make excellent high level introductions.

  2. Contact the editors of any relevant industry or trade magazines. Such people are normally very knowledgeable about the market, trading conditions, and the best way to make a start. Magazine editors are usually easy to approach and very willing to share their knowledge.

  3. Scan the trade and industry magazines to identify the most active resellers and distributors. Note their contact details. Check there credentials to be sure they meet your qualification criteria and approach the principles directly.

  4. Look for consultants or outsourced sales companies who have specific experience of the markets and channels that you are expecting to sell into.

  5. Have us do all of the above on your behalf.

• Q.What is the best way to overcome a price objection?

  A. The first thing is to remind yourself that only about 15% of people only buy on price. This is true even for commodities.

  People who raise a price objection have different reasons for doing so including:

  1. We don't have enough money to pay the price.
  2. We don't think it is worth what you are asking for it.
  3. We think we can get it cheaper elsewhere.
  4. We always negotiate whatever the price is.

  It is appropriate to first agree with the objectors intent. A simple re framing of the objection might sound like, "Of course It's important that what you buy is good value and I want to be sure that you are satisfied with anything you buy from us." A statement like this affirms the buyers rights and takes the tension out of the moment.

  Next, get confirmation of the benefits or advantages of buying that have already been established. This builds accord.

  Now you are ready to ask about the objection. Question it's nature to discover the reasons behind it.

  If you stay in the questioning process long enough by using good questioning and listening skills, many objections will evaporate and not need answering at all.

  Once you understand the primary reason for a persistent objection, it becomes much easier to deal with.

  If it is No. 1, discuss less expensive alternatives, explore financing, or counsel the customer to do without.

  If it is No. 2, go back into the sales cycle and work out how to communicate the value.

  If it is No. 3, waste some of their time. This process will do nicely. If they allow you the leeway, they are either lying - they can't get it cheaper, or they don't want to - they would rather buy from you, or they have better not buy it elsewhere - they have been told to buy it from you.

  This leads nicely into No. 4, they want to negotiate. Negotiation is just like selling but different! If you are unsure how to handle a negotiation, do some reading. You will find two articles here. Alternatively, take our Mastering Negotiation course.

• Q. How do I select / manage / ensure I derive value from a telemarketing company?

  A. If you do not have a good script that has been thoroughly tested and is known to work, don't expect a third party telemarketing company to do any better than you can yourself.

  Some telemarketing service providers will spend time trying to understand your value so that they can create their own script or training for their staff. This is a good practice in so far as it goes however, it is important to recognise that you are paying them to test whatever they come up with.

  Most telemarketing companies employ temporary staff on an as required basis. You are paying their wages plus a management overhead and profit margin. It may well be worth doing so because you don't have the resources to do it yourself. Remember, you are likely to get what you pay for. Good telephone sales people command a high price.

  Ask about an agencies longest running assignments. Those who get results are kept on. Ask to speak with two or three of there longest standing customers. Ideally, you want to speak with customers who employed the agency last year and are doing so again this year.

  Telemarketing agencies tend to use their best people on new projects. As new projects come in, their best telephone sales people are moved to the new projects. This usually results in a decline in results for the older assignments. To counter this, be prepared to visit the team and provide regular refresh or repeat training yourself.

  Take care to specify very clearly what constitutes a positive result, how it is to be communicated, and what happens at your end when the lead is passed over. There is no point in spending money on telemarketing if you don't use the results.

If your question isn't answered here, call us or send an email to coach@salessense.co.uk. We are happy to offer free advice.