Over the last couple of months, I've been working on a major project at my day job. I have decided that it's time to replace our backup system with what's called an enterprise backup solution. This means we want to be able to manage all of our backups from a central location.

We are getting near the end of the bidding process for this project. It's been very interesting what with the recession and all. A year ago, when I asked for a price reduction on anything I was often laughed at or given just a token discount of a couple percent. Now I am getting deep cuts of thirty to fifty percent! One thing that I am learning is that while recessions are not good things, they do give the buyer more of an advantage than in a strong economy.

Where was I? Oh yes, I've been gathering information, bids, competitive data and lots of other things that I need to make a decision. You see, this is not a cheap solution and the problem is complex. Thus, I want to be sure that I can honestly sell the whole thing to my boss. When he asks me questions I want to be able to answer immediately.

The salespeople are getting very frustrated with this process. They are, quite frankly, not used to selling. My staff and I have noticed that salespeople in the computer business are, well, fat, dumb and lazy. Even though we are talking about a quarter of a million dollar project, the people just don't want to do any work.

Finally one of the salespeople came right out and told me he was very frustrated. He did not understand why I had not yet purchased his product. He had given me price quotes, a competitive analysis and a product specification. In his mind, he had done everything he needed to do.

I sat back in my chair for a minute, thinking about his question. It didn't take me long to formulate my thoughts.

"Tim", I said, "What I want is for you to sell me your product."

Tim was very surprised by this answer. He explained that he thought he was already doing that.

"No Tim", I replied, "what you are doing is giving me canned presentations, printing prepared specifications and comparisons off your web site, and pulling numbers from your price sheet. You are not selling me anything."

Tim honestly didn't understand - what was wrong with his approach?

Here's what I want from a salesperson. Listen to me and my staff. Really listen. Don't be thinking about the sale, about your wife or your commission. No, listen to me. I have patiently explained what problems we are trying to resolve, and I have asked my staff to explain what they want. We are very good communicators so you should be understanding what we are trying to say.

Now if you've been listening so you should know exactly how to solve our problems. Go back to your office, sit down at your desk and turn off your phone. Type on the computer exactly how your product will solve the problems and concerns that me and my staff have presented to you.

Don't tell me why people want your product and don't tell me about your product. Tell me how your product solves the problems that we have explained to you.

Yes, I need to see the specifications, but you need to explain why your product is better at meeting our requirements than anyone else. You say you've listened, okay, then prove it.

We want an enterprise backup package. Why? Tell me what problem we are trying to solve, then tell me how your product solves that problem. Is it going to save us time and money? Is it going to improve reliability? Is your product going to make it easier to restore files? What makes your product shine?

What the salespeople have been doing is telling me to buy their products. They have not been selling. I already know all about their products, their companies and their services. I don't need them to tell me this information again, especially since it already exists on their very own web sites.

No, what I need to know is how are our problems and requirements are met by their products.

Let me give you an example. A few months ago I went into the Saturn dealer to buy a new car. The salesperson came over and greeted me personally, then asked me what I was looking for.

As I explained my requirements she asked lots of questions. What kind of financing was I looking for? What color? Did I have kids? A wife? Was I looking for something conservative or flashy? One thing she found out right away is I have a big concern about maintenance costs. Another important issue is comfort. On the other hand, the look of the car is not all that critical. This question and answer period went on for over an hour. It was pleasant and not stressful by any means - in fact, it was great just telling the gal what I wanted from a car.

Now it was her turn. She spent the next hour showing me cars which met the specifications and qualifications that I had given her. She showed me under the hood, and explained how Saturn cars are easier to maintain than others. She showed me how the car is dent-proof by hitting a sample automobile with a hammer.

She didn't spend any time at all on the look of the car - she knew (because she listened to me) that this is not very important to me. Instead, she spent the time telling me how a particular Saturn model met my needs - the needs that I had just been telling her.

Needless to say, she got the sale.

What the computer salespeople have been doing is showing me pictures of computers, sending me specifications and explaining to me how wonderful their products are.

What they should have been doing is listening, then responding. Instead, they were simply presenting canned presentations. Much like the Toyota salesperson that I visited only thirty minutes before the Saturn dealer. Needless to say, the Toyota dealer didn't get the sale.

So what's the moral of this story? Computer salespeople need to get to work. The fat, lazy days of the last ten years are gone - we are entering a recession folks. Recessions are buyers markets. You've had it easy, now roll up your sleeves and really sell.

The other lesson is equally simple - listen. Once you've listened, ask some questions, then listen some more. Do this until there is nothing else to listen to. NOW, after listening, tell me which of your products best solves those requirements that we have just told you and why.

That's what I want from salespeople.

'Nuff said.

Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets at http://www.internet-tips.net - Visit our website any time to read over 1,000 complete FREE articles about how to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.

If you're selling a product or service on the Internet, one of
the best ways to increase your sales is by offering a free trial
also known as a teaser, demo or limited version. By enabling your
potential customers to review your product and providing them
with an easy ordering process, you can increase your sales
immensely.

Free trials are not exclusive to software programs. There are
many ways you can offer a free trial no matter what product or
service you're offering. For example, if you've written a book,
consider offering it in an electronic version; better known as
an eBook. You can include your entire book within the eBook and
choose to lock out certain chapters.

In order for your potential customer to gain access to these
chapters they will be required to purchase the full version.
You can include an order form and instantly take orders, right
through your free trial Ebook. When you receive an order, you
simply send your customer a predefined user ID and password that
you set up when you create it.

The key to using a free trial version is to offer your product
for download from your web site and allow it to be freely
distributed. Provide some valuable free information, but save
your most important information for the unlocked version. Make
your locked chapters sound very intriguing and create curiosity.
Tell your potential customers what they will receive by
purchasing the full version, provide a complete list of all the
benefits, and provide them with an easy ordering process.

If you're selling a service on the Internet, you can offer your
potential customers a free trial as well. For example, if you
offer a search engine submission service, you can provide your
customers with a limited free submission to the search engines.

To entice your customers to purchase your full service you can,
not only submit their site to your full list of search engines,
but you can create doorway pages, insure their pages are
optimized for the search engines and provide a resubmission
service every month for a year. In addition, provide your clients
with a free report of each submission process.

Prior to doing your customers last submission, contact them and
inform them that their submission contract will soon be expiring.
Tell them how they can renew their submission process and offer
another enticing freebie such as, "If you renew your submission
contract before (date) we will also submit your site to over
1000 Free For All Sites."

This type of free trial will not only increase your current sales
but it will promote future sales as well.

In summary free trials build customers confidence and desire for
the fully paid up version. The possibilities are endless.
By offering your potential customers something of value for
free, providing instant gratification, and an easy ordering
process, you can dramatically increase your sales.

Patrick OBrien is a Webmaster at Sirius Java Productions.
He has been building and promoiting websites for the past 3
years with a strong bias towards Java Applets. He has used
the above technique to great effect and many free trial applets
are available at,
http://www.net800.co.uk/netstart/sirius/index.html
Careful though, you may get hooked and end up buying