Selling to Big Companies – How to Stop Losing Sales

Remember I told you about Jill Konrath’s Selling to Big Companies 2 weeks ago. This lady is just amazing. I couldn’t resist posting the whole of this article on Translator Power. As you can see, it’s both deeply insightful and highly practical. If you really want to sell to big companies, I urge you to rush to her website and religiously listen to everything she says, because she knows what she’s talking about! And it all applies perfectly to the Marketing (or in this case, the Selling) of Translation Services

How to Stop Losing Sales
by Jill Konrath

Have you ever felt that your product or service was an absolute perfect fit for a prospective customer then found out later that you lost the business?

If you’re like most sellers, you’ve probably been in that situation more than once. (I have!) Losing a big sale is downright painful. You may also have an overpowering urge to blame the decision makers for making a “stupid” choice or for their failure to see why they should change now.

I’d like to suggest an alternative: turn your losses into learning opportunities. Use post-mortem debriefings to figure out how you might have contributed to the lost sale. That’s what top sellers do. They assume total accountability for the lost business and then try to figure out how to ensure it never happens again.

The key to learning from your losses is to ask yourself tough questions. Then, be brutally honest with your answers. If you let your ego get in the way, you’re doomed to repeat the same mistake again. Rack your brain to get beyond the obvious answers.

Use the questions below to jump start your thinking and give you insights into how you might improve.

General Overview Questions

Start by analyzing the whole sales process. Make sure you notice what you did well too, because that’s also imperative to your long-term success.

* When did you start to sense something was amiss?
* In your discussions, what did your customer like? Want to achieve? Eliminate?
* Where did you encounter resistance, objections and stumbling blocks?
* What actions could you have taken to prevent these obstacles?

Losses to “No Decision”

If your prospective customer decided to stay with the status quo, it’s because they didn’t see enough value in making a change. Ask yourself:

* What could you have done to help your prospect better understand the ramifications of staying with the status quo?
* How could you learn more about your prospect’s problems, business issues, goals and
objectives?
* Did your prospect have enough proof sources to assure him of the business outcome?
* How could you have helped you prospect better understand the value of changing now?

Losses to a Competitor

If you lost to a competitor when you think you should have won, for some reason your message didn’t work. Ask yourself:

* What was your prospect’s primary decision criteria? Based on this, how did you stack up against your competitors?
* What could you have done to maximize your strengths, minimized your weaknesses and better differentiated your offering?
* Did you miss any vital piece of information that caused you to lose the sale?
* What strategy did your competitor use to convince the prospect to choose his company over yours?

Self-analysis is a starting point. If you’re brave, ask your customer for direct feedback. You may be amazed at what you learn. If other people from your company were involved, debrief the situation with them. Brainstorm with your colleagues, friends and peers. Try to figure out what you could have done that would have let to a different outcome – one where you were the winner.

What do you do if you’re totally stumped? Sometimes that happens because you literally lack the knowledge and expertise to figure it out. Other times it’s a challenge to step into another person’s shoes and see the situation from their perspective.

When that occurs, it’s imperative to seek outside advice. Talk to an experienced sales professional.

Read books or listen to CDs that focus on the sales challenges you’re facing. Search online for resources to improve your sales savvy and skills.

But don’t give up! The answer is out there. You just don’t know it yet. Plus whatever you learn is a chance for you to get better. That’s the true value of this exercise.

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Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies, helps sellers crack into corporate accounts, shorten sales cycles and win big contracts. She is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events.

For more article like this, visit http://www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com/. Get a free Sales Call Planning Guide ($19.95 value) when you sign up for the Selling to Big Companies e-newsletter.

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A.M.Sall

P.S. Click here to download your copy of “The Insider Guide to The Strategic Marketing of Translation Services“, the book no translator/interpreter in his/her right mind should even think of going without . Or maybe you’d rather take a look at the Free Preview first? This is the book you’ve been waiting for so impatiently: it’s here NOW. So why wait any longer…!?

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P.P.S. Subscribe to Translator Power and successfully market your translation/interpreting services either by Email or if you prefer the feed, just look on your left and make your choice!

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Differentiate and Avoid Commoditization!

The Wiki definition of a “commodity“: “A commodity is something that is relatively easily traded, that can be physically delivered, and that can be stored for a reasonable period of time. It is a characteristic of commodities that prices are determined on the basis of an active market, rather than by the supplier (or other seller) on a “cost-plus” basis. Examples of commodities include not only minerals and agricultural products such as iron ore, crude oil, ethanol, sugar, coffee, aluminium, rice, wheat, gold, diamonds, or silver, but also so-called “commoditized” products such as personal computers.”

“Prices are determined on the basis of an active market, rather than by the supplier” simply means that there are several people selling exactly the same commodity and competition is on price: people will buy the cheapest, since there is no difference in quality.

So you have to make sure your translation service is not “commoditized” and competition with you is not on price. You do this by differentiating your translation services so that prospects will unhesitatingly turn to you even though you may be more expensive than some of your competitors

Some suggestions on how you can do this:

1. Needless to say, you must OVERdeliver on your work, both in terms of quality and deadline. This is a given. Please don’t think if you say “High Quality” and “Timely Delivery“, your prospects will consider you as a great service provider. These are no longer considered as differentiating features, but simply as “normal” for anyone that calls him/herself a professional. Of course you can, and indeed you must say “High Quality” and “Timely Delivery”, but you do not stop at that!

2. Know your client’s business and industry better than anyone else, including him/herself if possible. Use “insider jargon” in your communications with them

3. Become a trusted advisor, for example research your client’s market and give them advice or make suggestions on that market. Your business relationship with your client must be of a consultative rather than a purely technical nature

4. Be your client’s friend: go beyond purely business relationships

5. Become a Global Communication consultant, show them that globalization, i.e. internationalization, translation/localization must accompany the product, all the way from product idea to product marketing and sales (Some companies do not know even what EXACTLY they must have translated)

6. Take up the role of a Going-global consultant: almost play the part of an EMC (Export Management Company) or an ETC (Export Trading Company)

7. Act as a Cultural Advisor: selling at home is not the same as selling abroad

8. You may even decide to double as a Sales Representative…

9. Offer to localize their website

10. If you’re working with Translation Agencies, make sure you write nice emails to your Project Manager. You can even go as far as finding out whether she has a family, hobbies, pets, etc.., build a real relationship with her. You must at all costs differentiate yourself from other translators with the same language pair as you.

11. There are lots of other ways you can differentiate yourself. Now, dear friend and colleague, what can you add to this, for the benefit of the “Translator Power” community? That’s what the “comments” are for! Please give us your $0.2 worth!

N.B. You sometimes hear or read “commodification” (J.C.Levenson) or even “commodization” (Smartbiz.com) instead of “commoditization”. All these words refer to the same beast )

A.M.Sall

P.S. We have turned our Free 7-Part PR ecourse into a free ownloadable PDF and all you have to do is visit this link and instantly download it!

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Subscribe to Translator Power and successfully market your translation/interpreting services either by Email or if you prefer the feed, just look on your left and make your choice!

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