There are a great many internal relationships which you should build and improve upon when working sales.  While all of them are important, I want to explain why focusing on building a relationship with your credit department can be of huge consequence to your sales performance.

The automation of the credit approval process will lead many to say that the line between getting credit and being refused credit is black & white.  On top of that (with a full recession underway), credit has tightened even further as of late for prospective customers with marginal credit.  If this is all true – then why in the world would building a relationship with your credit department still matter?

While your credit guy might not be able to put together a $25,000 line of credit for a prospect with poor credit, he can still do several things for you.  I have listed below three critical items that your credit guy or gal will usually have control over that could affect your sales:

1) For customers which buy on a regular basis, your credit contact might be able to extend terms slightly. For instance – if a customer is past due by 60 days and is cut off, your credit contact might be able to squeeze another order in for your customer with a promise of payment.  We all have accounts that pay slow, but the accounts I’m talking about here are the ones we know will pay eventually. Not only does this make it easier when an order is needed by your customer before a check can be cut, it also shows your customer that you have a sphere of influence and power within your company.  In short, you end up looking like a more powerful and influential individual in the eyes of your customer.

2) We all need credit limit increases on our accounts from time to time, especially on customers who don’t have a great payment history. While many will say this is another black & white issue in credit, I disagree.  As long as companies put a human in charge of approving or denying credit, there is still a human decision in play that can be influenced.  Having a great relationship can possibly allow you to up a customer’s credit limit to the needed level.  Without being able to influence your credit department in this area, you leave yourself wide open to lose future sales and get egg on your face when a credit increase request is denied.

3) For smaller prospective customers with marginal credit, a small credit line with heavy monitoring could be approved by your credit department. In our current economic climate of shrinking sales, this could be of huge importance in attracting new customers.  While this will usually apply primarily to smaller potential customers, never forget that big customers were at one time small customers.  While you need to use good judgment on whom you are willing to pull the trigger on in this area, having a small customer on board that has good growth potential can be very beneficial to your sales numbers in the future.  If they can build a good payment history, a customer in this arena will also already have the needed credit line in place for when they actually become a bigger customer.

A quick word of caution to everyone, please make sure to perform an internal “gut check” with every credit request that you might be able to influence.  You need to build your internal credit relationship on trust and you must not hang your credit department out to dry.  If you don’t have a reasonable belief that a prospective customer will be credit worthy, you will end up using all of your “juice” with them rather quickly.  There will come a time when you will certainly need it, and you cannot expect a favor with your credit department if you have a poor history with them.  If you take the time to build a great relationship with your credit folks, I promise you it will increase your goodwill and loyalty among your customers.

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If you are a salesperson, perhaps you have never thought about using the Internet to grow your sales.  After all, your company already has a website – right?

Look, I’m not here trying to convince you to go out and build a website to compete with your company’s presence on the Internet.  What you should do instead, however, is build a presence around your own name in order to build credibility with prospective customers.  The easiest way to do this is by blogging.  WordPress, Typepad, and Blogger all provide free services for starting your blog.  Yes – that means this won’t cost you anything but your time.

I have listed below steps for a quick-start process to get this done:

1) Go to www.blogger.com and select a name.  If you sell insurance, how about www.bestdamninsuranceguy.blogspot.com?  Whatever name you choose, make sure it is related to your industry.  Read over the technical details to get going.  Believe me, it is easy.  Choose a template and post your first article about what you do.

2) Advertise this blog on your business cards, proposals, and emails.  For instance, at the bottom of your email signature make sure to put “Please Visit My Very Own Sales Blog at www…”.  When you trade emails with prospects and customers, you will get clicks.

3) Post on your blog 1-3 times a month.  Make sure not to pitch specific products, services, or pricing.  What you need to do instead is post articles about how your products or services in a general sense will profit justify their purchase.  In other words, show how prospective customers will benefit doing business with you by decreased expenses, increased revenue, or increased productivity.

4) Don’t mention your company name.  This is to build your credibility, not your company’s.  Your company also might not like you using their company logo or name without their permission.  You could ask, but I would just keep it simple by limiting the blog’s purpose to promoting yourself.  You also might not know who you will be working for a year from now.

5) Make no mention of specific products or services.  Speak about these generally – only.  This will force prospective customers to contact you if you generate any interest with them.

6) Make sure to include contact info on your blog.  You can add your phone number, but make sure at the very least you include an email address where they can reach you.

7) Complete a short bio about yourself.  If you want to go further, throw up a mug shot of yourself in with the bio.

Compile an email list made up of your customers and prospects.  When you post something of value, make sure to email them on it.

How easy is that?  No SEO or cost is involved.  You can have this up and running in one day.  If you can implement this strategy and write effective articles that show value, you will build credibility and get sales that you otherwise wouldn’t.

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In order to negotiate effectively, you need to be armed with the most accurate information possible. I have listed below the top five items you need to know before heading into negotiations with your prospect. If you can accurately identify the answers to each of these five items, you will be well prepared as a salesperson to negotiate the sale to your favor.

1. Which party made the initial contact at the start of your interaction with the prospect?

-This item is rarely ever thought of by the time negotiations are getting ready to take place. If your prospect contacted you first, however, I would take this to mean you are in a little stronger position than usual. Someone who was interested in your product or service without you needing to “generate” that interest probably has a strong desire to take action. Remember, the party in the negotiations that “wants” is the party who is in the weaker position.

2. Was your prospect adequately qualified to your standards?

-Salespeople rarely perform this activity in the belief it will drive away prospects. However, you need to make sure the prospect’s time line, credit, payment terms, and real needs are up to your standards. If any of these items are not up to par, you aren’t ready for negotiations. You simply have an unqualified prospect you are wasting time on.

3. Did you prove your profit-justified proposal in your prospect’s mind?

-Have you either presented or plan to present a profit-justified solution to your prospect? Proving that your product or service will improve efficiency, decrease expenses, and increase revenues will put you in a very strong negotiating position with your prospect. On the other hand, if you fail to prove your profit-justified solution you will be in a very weak negotiating position. In my opinion, this is the most important item you need to address in order to negotiate a sale to your favor.

4. Do you have a backup proposal that can address the prospect’s needs if your primary proposal is turned down?

-Sometimes a customer might really like your primary solution involving your products or services but simply does not have the money or credit to pay for them. While many times you can uncover this situation during the qualifying process, you might be taken by surprise during the negotiating phase of your sale. If this problem arises, it is always wise to have a less expensive solution that still addresses the prospect’s needs. While it might not fix the problem as well as your primary solution, it could be the right middle ground that both you and your prospect can agree upon.

5. If the need for a price concession on your part arises during negotiations, have you planned on what you would like in return?

-Salespeople rarely plan for what they might be able to ask for in return for a price concession during negotiations. Usually, the salesperson heads into negotiations armed only with the “rock bottom” price they can get away with to still make the sale happen. A referral of high importance or a trade on price for another future sale might be a couple of things you can ask for in return for your price concession. Ideas for what you can ask for are limited only to your imagination, so make sure to plan for this accordingly before heading into the negotiating phase with your prospect.

Popularity: 13% [?]