Performative plc
Business Performance Improvement Newsletter Edition 2
October 2004

Greetings!

Welcome to the the second edition of the Performative newsletter.

Our aim is to supply you with useful tips and articles to keep you updated on our latest company news; promotions, products and services, as well as providing you with details of new legislation and other things that could affect you and your business.

Coming up next month, we will be looking at Organisation Buying Behaviour, sharing the last word on Negotiating, and taking a closer look at Networking. Don't miss it!

But, in this issue...

In this issue
  • What's the ROI?
  • Physiology and Psychology of Cold Calling
  • Negotiation Tips - Wants Vs Needs!
  • The Importance of Focus
  • Quotes to put a smile on your face!

  • Physiology and Psychology of Cold Calling

    Simple truth - there is nothing more important than effective prospecting!

    Basically, if your team can't get in front of enough fully qualified prospects in a week, month or quarter then it is unlikely that they will hit target.

    Last month we outlined an approach to cold calling that was a combination of a step-by-step process and a methodology, which would significantly help to warm up your team's calling results. This month we want to emphasise the importance of the State that the individual is in when they prepare to make their calls.

    We've all heard the saying 'He was in a right state', which tends to suggest quite the opposite!


    Negotiation Tips - Wants Vs Needs!

    Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you submit a proposal to a prospect that covered all the things that they wanted only to find out later that they went with another supplier offering a different solution?

    Are you selling to your customers what you believe that they 'want' or what they actually 'need'?

    Here are some tips that will help you to find out what they really want and need:

    • As early as possible ask the question - 'What are your key objectives?'
    • Don't stop with what the prospect 'wants', but dig deeper to establish the need behind the want
    • Keep pushing to understand what is behind and beyond the stated objectives by asking 'why' type questions
    • Engage the prospect in the diagnosis to establish their real wants versus needs; you may be surprised how many of the 'wants' on the list fly out of the window
    • Use your knowledge to pre-empt questions, but do not guess
    • Use business/sector knowledge to guide your questions using 'Open Questioning Techniques'

    In following editions we will cover 'Your Offer/Solution' and also 'Negotiation Tactics'.


    The Importance of Focus

    Focusing your sales & marketing effort into the right markets is absolutely critical to success.

    An analogy which demonstrates the point, you have to hold a magnifying glass over a piece of paper, for a certain length of time, and in the same position to set the paper alight; the same principle needs to be applied when approaching target markets.

    Carrying out a full and detailed market research programme on any new market sector can take a long time and can be extremely costly, but failure to carry out some due diligence prior to embarking sales & marketing effort into a new market sector can be even more costly. Through a combination of our research and lead generation functions Performative have helped companies to ensure that they are focusing their efforts in the right markets.

    If you are aiming to expand into new market sectors call us now on 01494 582 084 to arrange an initial free consultation to see how we can help you.


    Quotes to put a smile on your face!

    Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish and you get rid of him all weekend. Zenna Schaffer

    To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer. Paul Ehrlich

    I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. Jerome K Jerome (Three Men in a Boat, 1889)

    If you have benefited from and enjoyed reading the contents of this newsletter, please forward it to others.


    What's the ROI?

    If you find that you are increasingly being asked to prove a Return on Investment before customers sign on the dotted line then read on ...

    Business case justification to support buying decisions is no longer reserved for large capital acquisitions, but is being used on smaller purchases and also now covers service and solution based purchases as well. More frequently, customers are expecting the supplier to do the work to produce the business case and financial justification model. Even if the customer does not request such a justification, your competitors may be providing it as a part of their proposal and as a result you may be at a disadvantage when trying to win the work.

    Intellect's Marketing Group are hosting a seminar on ROI on 3rd November 2004. The session will also look at ways in which business case justification can be incorporated and embedded within the whole customer engagement process.

    Business case justification needs to be a fully integrated part of the selling process if it is to work effectively. It is important that your customer engagement staff (sales, account managers, etc) are familiar with the techniques required to gather the necessary information to enable to preparation of a business case and financial justification to support your proposals.

    By the end of the session, you will go away with the means of starting to create your own process for building business cases. We will leave you with 10 top tips to help with your own process. The final deliverable for you should eventually include:

    • More first time sales
    • More repeat business
    • More profitable sales
    • Better qualified opportunities
    • Less time wasted on things you cannot win

    As an active member of Intellect, formerly the Computer Software & Services Association, Performative regularly contributes to group meetings.

    For time and venue information for the seminar, email us now or call us on 01494 582 084
    Quick Links...

    Register Now

    Newsletter Archive

    Related Topics

    More About Us



    Join our mailing list!
    phone: 01494 582 084

    Powered by


    Performative plc | St Marys Court | The Broadway | Amersham | Bucks | HP7 0UT | United Kingdom