8mo
As the poster noted – she came from a non-sales background, and therefore some common, and very appropriate, sales strategies were new and foreign to her.
We sell a variety of products – from payroll services, to POS hardware, to SEO programs to electronic payments, to inventory management software.
Our new team members tasked with sales scheduling, especially during their first year, receive focused training first and foremost on how to book appointments. Since they are not in-the-field sales representatives, they do not attend the same deep-dive product awareness training as sales professionals. Much of what she comments on is material in training for positions that she did not attend. We can see that she developed an opinion about the product line – but her understanding of how they all work together is inaccurate, and that stems from her being in a position that did not require that level of product training.
We sell many products. Many of them tie to and use a POS system as a centralized interface. Many of the products we sell do not require a POS system at all. POS systems make the products easier to use – so they are often part of the sale. None of that is misleading – it’s simply having a deeper understanding of business needs and product training.
We often will start a sales process focused on one product a customer is interested in – and then introduce additional product offerings during the sales process. This is referred to as cross-selling. In that we only offer products that will be beneficial to / enhance the customer’s operation - this strategy is helpful to both the customer and us. This does at times include taking a sales presentation meeting for payroll services, but then also inquiring about items that they might initially be opposed to.
Some customers who have saved the most started their sales discussion with us being adamantly opposed to certain products. ‘I do not want to change my payroll services provider’, for example. Then, after education, and financial calculations – some business owners quickly change their mind when they see the return-on-investment. A great sales representative knows how to present information in a way that’s easy to digest, highlights the benefits, and is delivered in a way that can expand someone’s thinking.
We wish this individual all of the best in their future career endeavors.
