We've got it covered....

We're continuing to refresh and rebrand our fabulous eCC crime titles - and we're excited to be publishing some of them in audio book versions!

 We love this cover for Chris Nickson's "The Broken Token"!

Branded!

We're rebranding some of our crime fiction! Here's the new cover for The Crimson Cavalier (which also happens to be *cough* promo-priced this month). We love it!

The 10 Top Reasons Why Most People Fail To Close The Sale

Simon Hazeldine, author of “Bare Knuckle Selling: Knockout SalesTactics They Won’t Teach You in Business School”, gives more helpful tips...

If you want to close more sales you need to stop doing the following:

1. Rushing into sales call without being properly prepared

Don’t rush into sales calls without having thought about what you need to prepare in advance.  If you don’t have the information the customer wants about your products and services immediately to hand then you risk losing the sale.

2. Having very little idea about what you want to achieve in each sales call

Everyone knows it is important to set goals.  It’s just common sense isn’t it?  However what is common sense is not common practice.  I know you know about how to set specific objectives for your sales call. The question is, do you do it?

3. Not introducing yourself to the customer properly

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.  When meeting a prospective customer for the first time, relax, slow down, smile and introduce yourself calmly and clearly.

4. Not grabbing your prospect’s attention

You must get your prospective customer’s attention fully onto you.  Hook the customer’s attention. One of the fastest ways is by making them curious about what you have to offer.

5. Not establishing rapport

You can establish rapport by having a genuine desire to truly understand what is important to the other person. It sets you apart from your competition.

6. Talking too much about your products/services

Telling is not selling.  Asking questions to understand what someone wants and then showing them that you can help is selling.

7. Assuming you know what the customer wants

It is dangerous to assume you know what a customer wants.  Ask questions and listen carefully to the answers.  What you hear that will help you to close the sale.

8. Not understanding how much money the customer has to spend

 Many prospective customers will be very happy for you to provide free advice and consultancy and avoid talking about money.  You are a salesperson, not a free advice bureau.  A sale isn’t a sale until the money is in the bank.

9. Not watching for buying signals

 Keep your eyes and ears open.  Look out for verbal and non-verbal signs of interest.  Look and listen – the customer will tell you when they want to buy!

10. Not closing frequently enough

 It usually takes several attempts to close the sale.  Make sure you close frequently and sooner rather than later.  The customer is expecting you to ask for the order, so do so!

Simon Hazeldine is the bestselling author of four business books that have been endorsed by famous business leaders including Duncan Bannatyne from BBC TV’s ‘Dragon’s Den’ and multi-billionaire founder and CEO of Dell Computers, Michael Dell.

Simon is in demand as a keynote speaker; performance consultant and facilitator in the areas of leadership, organisational performance and sales force effectiveness.  He has a Masters Degree in the Psychology of Performance and extensive international business experience.

For more valuable information on leadership, sales, negotiation and persuasion including sample chapters from Simon Hazeldine’s bestselling books please visit http://www.simonhazeldine.com

Picture by AKZOPhoto

5 Fatal Sales Traps That Stop You Dead & How To Avoid Them

More great advice from Simon Hazeldine, author of "Bare Knuckle Selling: Knockout Sales Tactics They Won't Teach You in Business School", which we're proud to publish in audio book format.

 

Have you ever dug a big, deep hole and then been stupid enough to fall into it? Countless people unwittingly dig fatal sales traps for themselves that kill off any chance of a sale being made.  Five of the most common traps that you must avoid if you want to sell more of your products and services are:

1)      Thinking about the sale too much

When you are in the selling process you must stop thinking about the sale.  My  book ‘Bare Knuckle Selling’ does stress how important it is to set solid objectives for every sales call.  However, once you have done this, put your objective out of your mind and concentrate on the customer and what they want.  Get the dollar signs out of your eyes, forget your objective and focus on the most important person – the customer. Help them to get what they need and the sale will take care of itself.

2)      Failing to probe

If you truly want to help the customer then you must probe their needs thoroughly. Failing to ask enough questions and failing to clarify customer’s requirements leads to sales proposals that are off target.  If your proposal doesn’t meet the customer’s specific needs, your chances of success are slim.

3)      Negotiating before selling

Selling is convincing someone to purchase your product or service. Negotiation is agreeing on what terms the purchase will take place.  If you start negotiating before you have followed the correct selling process then you are, quite literally, selling yourself short.  If the customer does not fully appreciate how much you can help them then they are unlikely to be prepared to pay what you ask.  Sell first, negotiate second.  If you sell well then you may not need to negotiate at all.

4)      Price dropping

Many customers, particularly trained buyers, will always tell you that your price is “too expensive”. Many salespeople immediately drop their price (and cut their profits) in an attempt to close the sale.  This only encourages the customer to ask for further price cuts.  One of the many counters to “It’s too expensive” is, “you are absolutely right, it’s not cheap.  Would you like to know why?” And then re-commence selling the benefits of your product or service to justify your price.

5)      Failing to follow up

A sale isn’t a sale until the money is in the bank.  Failure to do what you say you are going to do will lose you more sales than anything else.  Always do what you promised to do, make sure the customer gets what they want, and make sure they pay you for it. The selling process is far from over when the customer says ‘Yes’. Follow through and make sure you don’t lose the sale through poor customer service.

Simon Hazeldine is the bestselling author of four business books that have been endorsed by famous business leaders including Duncan Bannatyne from BBC TV’s ‘Dragon’s Den’ and multi-billionaire founder and CEO of Dell Computers, Michael Dell.

Simon is in demand as a keynote speaker; performance consultant and facilitator in the areas of leadership, organisational performance and sales force effectiveness.  He has a Masters Degree in the Psychology of Performance and extensive international business experience.

For more valuable information on leadership, sales, negotiation and persuasion including sample chapters from Simon Hazeldine’s bestselling books please visit http://www.simonhazeldine.com

3 Surefire Ways To Get Your Customers To Say Yes!

We’re proud to have published the audio version of “BareKnuckle Selling – Knockout Sales Tactics They Won’t Teach You in BusinessSchool”. Author Simon Hazeldine lets us in on some of his favourite strategies:

Master salespeople are adept at utilising powerful psychological strategies to influence people. Here are three from my personal top ten:

1)      People will buy from people they like

Extensive psychological research demonstrates the importance of ‘liking’ in persuading people.  Master salesman Joe Girrard (In the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s “greatest car salesman”) credits liking as one of the most important factors in closing sales.  The fastest and most effective way to encourage people to like you is to use the rapport building strategies from Neuro Linguistic Programming.  People like people who are like them.  Matching the behaviour of your customers will enable you to establish deep levels of liking.

2)      People will buy if other people are buying

The impact of other people’s behaviour on our own is powerful.  We will view a specific behaviour as correct to the degree that we see other people doing it. It is possible to encourage someone to take a specific action by demonstrating how other people are taking that action.  Utilise this persuasion strategy by making frequent use of testimonials from existing customers, and by using stories about how existing customers made the decisions you want your prospective customer to make.  This strategy is particularly effective when people are feeling uncertain.  When people are feeling uncertain they are more likely to use the actions of others as guidance.

3)      People will buy if the decision is consistent with previous commitments

The drive to be and look consistent is a powerful motivator of human behaviour.  Utilise this strategy by getting your prospect to commit to something early in the selling process and then use it to leverage a decision later in the sale.  Far too many salespeople have far too many customers “thinking it over”.   Early in the selling process I get a customer to commit to “taking a look at what I have to offer and then deciding ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if you want to go ahead”.  At an appropriate time in the sale I remind them of their earlier commitment and ask them for a decision.  This bold approach results in far more closed sales.  It filters out timewasters, which maximises my selling time with people who are actually going to spend money. This approach is not for wimps. If you feel more comfortable wasting your time re-contacting all of the people who are allegedly “thinking it over”, then please don’t use it!

Simon Hazeldine is the bestselling author of four business books that have been endorsed by famous business leaders including Duncan Bannatyne from BBC TV’s ‘Dragon’s Den’ and multi-billionaire founder and CEO of Dell Computers, Michael Dell.

Simon is in demand as a keynote speaker; performance consultant and facilitator in the areas of leadership, organisational performance and sales force effectiveness.  He has a Masters Degree in the Psychology of Performance and extensive international business experience.

For more valuable information on leadership, sales, negotiation and persuasion including sample chapters from Simon Hazeldine’s bestselling books please visit http://www.simonhazeldine.com