Operating in a Leaner Economy

Businesses worldwide have been forced to operate leaner and meaner as a result of the global recession. In many ways, this has changed the way companies market to their potential customers. In good economic times, companies often push their well branded high-end products or services to potential customers who are willing to pay for them but in these challenging times, companies have scaled back the bells and whistles in order to compete with competitors who carry lower-end items and more efficient services.

Today's consumers are no longer willing to pay for extras they don't need. This is not to say that customers won't pay for quality goods or services; they want to be convinced that they are getting the best value at the best price with your company's products or services. Companies need to focus on what is of value to potential customers and to identify goods in strong demand as it relates to specific industries. By keeping up with the trends in your company's industry and coming up with new and/or modified products and services that customers are willing to pay for, your company might very well buck the discounting trend.

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Product Training Isn't Enough

Companies often mistake product/service training for sales training. They are in fact two different things. Just because your representatives are getting product/service training does not make them good salespeople.

How many times have your representatives lost orders to your competitors as a result of data dumping? It is simply not enough to regurgitate the basic features and benefits of a product/service but to have the proper sales skills training that is crucial to uncovering prospects' needs and to sell to those needs.

Do you ever wonder how some representatives who have less industry knowledge end up outselling your industry veterans? Whether your representatives have two, five or ten years of industry experience, it will unlikely help them sell more if they don't receive the proper sales skills training. If you want to motivate your representatives to sell more and help them along in their professional development, then take the time to invest in the proper training because sales success itself is a great motivator that won't cost you anything extra.

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