Sales help for Franchisees: Closing the Sale With Ease
Naz Daud - Owner, CityLocal
How confident are you when the time comes to close the sale? One of the most consequential factors at play that can contribute to a successful closing (and possibly understanding when you should move on) has to be the leverage
and confidence you posses when going into a sale. Apply the following information to your franchise business effectively and you will be able to build both your confidence and leverage:
Stop emotional attachments when they are clouding your vision
Emotional attachments can reek of desperation whether focused on the ego, the money or the time invested into your sales process. And anyway, many prospects see right through the desperation or need for a quick sale and can even sense that your pitch is now more focused on getting a deal done than it is about the solutions and value you can offer. You need to be able to close the sale with a greater sense of confidence. This, in turn, should eliminate bad deals altogether from your franchise business.
Manage your pipeline
You need to manage all of your accounts over the entire sales process using an account profile management system (a corkboard will suffice) to post prospect information on as they progress through sales cycle stages. This is a great way to visually follow your sales activity. There are software programs that do the same thing; however, seeing your writing and notations up on your wall is a constant reminder to work harder to make your franchise business succeed. Engaging yourself in activity’s which move you through your sales cycle will give you the power to either close a sale or walk away confidently.
Formulate your value statement
You need to believe in your mission, the products you market through your franchise business, and understand what benefits your customers receiving. And the term, “Value statement” denotes the fact that you need to have a very enthusiastic and confident belief in whatever you are selling. A lot of it can come from the positive results experienced by your clients.
Possess a very stout history and track record
Amassing an impressive track record full of positive testimonials and results is priceless. For your closing ratios to increase, you should be focused on all of the great results that your franchise business can provide to your customers. Ask your prospects what they want to do with your services or products once they are in possession of them. Understand what their specified objectives are and then over deliver those objectives. Because in the future when you need help closing a deal, you can contact these satisfied customers who will gladly help you out.
As so many of us are already keenly aware of, losing a deal that you have put your heart and soul into can be quite demoralizing. Maybe your business activity was lacking or the qualifying questions were lacking something, etc. Whatever your situation is, effectively utilizing the tips in his article will allow you to close more deals with ease and waste a lot less of your precious time. And we all know that time is money!
Naz Daud is the founder of CityLocal. This Franchise Opportunity is for people who would like to work from home and be their own boss – Read more about the CityLocal Franchise Opportunity.
Tags: business sales, franchise sales, franchisees, naz daud
Sales help for Franchisees: Overcoming Objections Easily & Quickly
Naz Daud - Owner, CityLocal
Being a successful salesperson isn’t a talent that you are born with. Some people may have the right instincts and personality traits to potentially be good salespeople, but success still depends on learning and putting into practice the right selling techniques. One of the biggest roadblocks to success in business franchise sales is customer objections. When you are not prepared to deal with them, your prospects for successful sales are bleak. If you take the time to learn positive ways of dealing with and overcoming objections, however, you will see obvious financial benefits.
Let’s say that you have a franchise business selling a certain brand of office furniture. You set up an appointment with and then visit a business owner. Your goal is getting him to replace the office furniture he has with what you are selling. You make your presentation to the customer, laying out in detail the benefits of buying and using your office furniture. The business owner’s first response is that he is happy with the furniture that he has, and none of his employees have ever complained. Almost before he finishes saying this, you jump into how the furniture he has now could actually be physically detrimental to his employees. You tell him that he should replace it with the furniture that you are selling if he cares about the people who work for him. You walk out of there without a sale.
In a slightly different scenario, you make your sales pitch to the business owner, detailing positive facts about your office furniture and why it would be beneficial to him and his employees. He tells you that he and his employees are happy with the office furniture that they have and don’t see any reason to spend money on different furniture. You listen intently to his objection. You ask him to clarify what it is that he and his employees like
about the furniture they are using now. You tell him that you can see why he feels the way he does. You go on to explain that a lot of your customers felt that way at first, but when they bought your furniture they found that
there was a significant increase in comfort and decrease in employee injury. You get the sale.
In the second example of dealing with the customer objection, you show that you are truly listening and not simply thinking about the next thing that you’re going to say. You acknowledge his feelings and empathize with them. You ask him to clarify something to show that you want to make sure that you understand what he’s trying to say. You give him examples of others that have felt the same way, and then you go on to show why other customers ended up preferring your office furniture over what they used before. You can see the difference between this kind of positive interaction and respect for the customer’s feelings, and the negative approach in the first example.
When overcoming objections, customers should always be treated with respect, and their feelings should be taken into consideration. When you think of your customers as people and not potential sales, you are leveling the
playing field and creating a positive atmosphere for successful selling.
Naz Daud is the founder of CityLocal. This Franchise Opportunity is for people who would like to work from home and be their own boss – Read more about the CityLocal Franchise Opportunity.
Franchise M&A advisor part two
In my last post I outlined five aspects of credibility that you should determine when finding a franchise M&A advisor. Below are five more points that continue the theme. To read the last entry visit that outline points 1 to 5 go visit - http://www.selectyourfranchise.com/franchise-blog/2009/09/franchise-ma-advisor/.
It is vital that the franchise Merger and Acquisition specialist you choose can help you to find out:
David Young, Chief Executive of Shield Corporate Finance
6. Who are the likely buyers for my franchise business, and why?
7. What is the likely value range for my franchise company; what’s your approach to putting a price tag on it, and how will I know that I’m getting the best price and terms for my business if I choose your M&A advisory firm to sell it?
8. Do you have any client reference letters and will we be able to speak to referees?
9. How do your fees work?
Up-front payments?
Monthly fees?
Minimum cash at close?
Expenses?
How long is the “tail” on the agreement?
10. What can your M&A advisory firm do in advance of a franchise business sale to help us improve our ultimate transaction value?
Shield offer their own Business Improvement Programme and sell businesses with operating profits of £500k. Free valuations are offered to qualifying franchise businesses, in any sector, anywhere in the world.
