You really can’t talk to people and determine whether they’re good prospects if you don’t  know your own products inside, outside, top to bottom.  You dont have to work on the manufacturing line or pursue a degree in design and engineering, but you have to know what you’re selling so that you can relate it to your customers’ needs.[more…]

A couple of salesmen for a large telecommunications firm called on a real estate company that needed an increase in the number of its telephone lines because of an increase in its telemarketing force. The reps made a number of calls, showed the owner of the real estate company lots of shiny, four-color brochures, and invested a lot of time and energy – and a lunch or two.  Toward the end of the long selling cycle, the owner asked a series of questions abut the installation of the new lines, such as how much downtime it would create for his business, what the constructions and installation requirements would be, and other related matters.  As it turns out, the control box would have been far too big for the space allowed, so a wll would have to be knocked down and extra cable would have to be installed.  So the firm’s downtime would be a few days lo9nger, and the estimated investment would surely have to go up.

Those salesman lost the sale.

The salesmen concentrated on selling the attractive telephones, the convenience of additional lines, the internal messaging, and other features, with no thought, and apparently no knowledge, of the other components of their package.  If they had known the product better, they would have asked where it was to be installed or how much space was available for the equipment.  They could have evaluated their prospect’s needs and found a different unit more matched to its facility.  If they did not have an appropriate unit, they could have at least thanked the owner for his time and moved on the the next prospect, instead of wasting all that time.

I hope you’re having a great day – let me know if you need anything.