Summary: Whining is almost epidemic in the sales arena. There’s always an excuse and you hear them often. “The economy is bad.” “The prospect was only buying on price.” “They got a better offer.” And while there are reasons that prospects don’t close on the transaction with every sales presentation the professional salesperson doesn’t make excuses or whine about the loss. Instead, that person works harder to maximize the process and refine their skills so their closing rate increases over time. You can hear how Kelly Riggs, author of “Quit Whining and Start Selling” addresses those issues and coaches sales professionals to close the deal through their own skill and expertise at sales.<br> <br> <br> Buyers are concerned about price, but it’s not all they are concerned about.<br> It’s a sad situation when all a sales professional can think about is how averse his prospects are to the price of his product or service. That’s a sure sign that his closing numbers are going to drop and he’s going to become discouraged quickly. The problem is that he’s more convinced that pricing is the issue than his prospects are. He’s not convinced of the value of what he has to offer - so much so that he’s able to overcome pricing objections by showing that what he brings to the relationship is much more valuable than the prospect’s money. On this episode Kelly Riggs tells how to get beyond that price limitation mindset, so be sure you listen.<br> You may be the reason your prospects ask for a lower price.<br> Why is it that prospects so often ask for a lower price? It’s at least in part because sales professionals have conditioned them to ask for a lower price by giving it every time. The knee-jerk reaction to resistance based on price is to waffle and lower the price. But a true sales professional acknowledges the desire to have a lower price but takes the conversation back to the value of what the prospect will get for the money she’s paying. When the value of the product or service is shown to be greater than the value of the money in the prospect’s pocket, the sale will happen every time.<br> <br> <br> If you shortcut effective qualifying, you’re decreasing your chance of a sale.<br> Anthony believes that many sales professionals are so hungry they want to cut immediately to the sales presentation, the thing they see as the main arena in which they are able to close a sale. While the actual close does happen at the presentation appointment, there’s a lot more that goes into a successful close on the front end. The qualifying step is of paramount importance when it comes to making sure you are speaking to the decision makers in the company, understand their needs and desire, and are able to effectively address them once you get to the presentation appointment. Shortcutting the qualifying process is a sure way to frustrate your sales success.<br> Kelly’s book is a field guide for the professional salesperson.<br> Other than the fact that Kelly Rigg’s book, “Stop Whining and Start Selling” is full of fundamental principles and approaches to sales, Anthony loves it because it’s so user friendly. On this episode he likens it to a field manual that a salesperson can use on the spot before going into a sales appointment. The chapters are short, to the point, actionable, and easy to understand and digest. It’s a great resource for sales managers to have as a resource for their sales team and it’s a hands on tool for the sales professional to use day to day. Find out how to get it on this episode of In The Arena.<br> <br> <br> Outline of this great episode<br> <br> [0:42] Anthony’s introduction of this episode and his guest, Kelly Riggs.<br> [2:20] Kelly’s introduction of his own role in the sales arena.<br> [3:18] The detrimental effect of whining as a sales pro.<br> [5:00] The 1 to 1 sales approach Kelly teaches.<br> [7:40] The things that are REALLY important to a buyer.<br>
