SALES QUOTE
“There is no “Things turn out the best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.”
-John Wooden
For Salespeople…
Selling is like riding a roller coaster. There are the highs of the great days and there are the lows of the days that disappoint. Even the best planned sales calls might turn out differently than you plan. Why? Because customers buy on their schedules, not yours. So when the meeting turns out differently than you would like, it’s time to figure out what you’re going to
do about it. That means making different plans for the next time. What did you learn from the disappointing sales call? Why did it happen? How will you prevent it from happening again? When you make plans to avoid it from reoccurring, you’re making the best of it. You always have choices. Making the best of it is always the right choice.
Sales Tip: Before the sales call, plan for several outcomes in addition to what you want. Develop strategies to address each one of them in the sales call.
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I’m now writing The Real Deal, a column on women in business for Allbusiness.com Hope you’ll read more ideas so you can achieve your success in business.
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Your Sales Tip
Thanks to Jenniffer Mackey, East Coast Sales Director with ZyXEL Communications, Inc. for this important tip.
“It hadn’t occurred to me that my actions/attitude towards my customers begin the minute I drive into their parking lot, literally. This experience happened to me last month when driving into my customer’s parking lot. The visitor’s parking stalls were positioned in front of the reception area. While walking to the front door, I introduced myself and explained who I was meeting with. The receptionist helped me and asked me to have a seat. It was during this waiting time when the receptionist told me about a vendor last week who drove into the visitor parking area ‘too fast’, rushed into the stall and proceeded to put on his tie. Still in the car, scrambling for the items to collect the items for his meeting. The receptionist said there happened to be someone from the team he was meeting with already in the lobby and witnessed the whole event. It was my “gut” feeling that this person did not make a good impression with the customer.
After hearing this story, I realized that I hadn’t thought of my customer experience of beginning the minute I drive into their parking lot. From that meeting on I make sure, that I am prepared and ready to make a good impression because I would never know who is inside observing.”
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THE SELLING IDEAS FOR THE MONTH
The American writer, Ambrose Bierce, said, “There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don’t know.” In sales, that includes lots of ideas that others may have used that you may not know. Here are some of the old ideas that I’ve used over the years that have served me very well in sales.
Cut to the chase. There are some salespeople who think that negotiations with prospects can go on and on without any consequences. They let negotiations drag on endlessly. What’s it costing them? Lots. I have a very smart mentor who has always told me, “Negotiate to start selling. The more that negotiations drag on means you’re not making any money.” He always knew what range of deals he would accept and once the deal fell into the range, he was good to go. Part of your sales process should include what is acceptable to you so you can reach an agreement with a prospect. If you have one price and one price only that you are ready to work with, then you are setting yourself up for endless negotiations until you get to that price. Instead, what’s the range of offers you’ll take? When you get in the range, stop selling and close the deal.
It’s not as bad as you think. Procrastination is a big part of selling for some. They can’t make cold calls. It’s too scary so they procrastinate. Writing the proposal is difficult so they postpone sitting down and writing it. Other obstacles exist that are in their mind and cause all kinds of delays in the sales process. When I think about procrastination it reminds me of the incredible US Airways Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III who landed his Airbus A320 into the Hudson River when both engines lost power. After Capt. Sullenberger made that extraordinary landing, the plane settled in the water and didn’t break apart. Then he and his copilot turned to each other and almost simultaneously said, “That wasn’t as bad as I thought.” I can almost guarantee you that if you take any task and break it into smaller pieces, upon completion of each task, you will say the same. What fools you into procrastinating is when you agonize over the task, not the actual doing of the task. So just get going on something. Nike was right. Just do it.
Take your people vitamins. There is no other job as emotionally demanding as selling. Why? You get to hear “no,” “maybe” (which really means no) “not now,” “not yet” and other negative messages in so many different ways. Even the best sales professionals experience, through no fault of their own, cut budgets, project delays, customer promotions and other experiences which delay or prevent the final sale. Does it sound depressing? Maybe, but that’s the price you pay for the rewards of selling. You know that selling is tough. That’s why you have to be careful about the people who you select to surround you.
You need support to sell effectively. Pick for your support team those people who will motivate and encourage you. These supporters are like “people vitamins.” They boost your sales performance because they keep you emotionally charged up. They give you compliments. They are positive people who see the good in most situations. They are there to help you when you need it. These people elevate you. Make sure you surround yourself with people like these.
Bierce was partly right. There may not be anything new, but still there are ideas that may be new to you. Why not give them a try to see if you get some new sales by trying old ideas?
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Action Items
1. Determine your range of acceptable offers for your next deal.
2. What task are you delaying? Do just one thing. Break it down into its components. Pick one task and do it. Now what’s holding you back?
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Programs
What: Secrets of Persuasion
When: June 24 2010
8:30 AM- 11.30 AM
Where: TEXO, 11111Stemmons Freeway, Dallas
For more information: 972-647-0697
What: Master Selling:
Persuasion Strategies, Strategic Questions, Laser Listening, Optional: Strategy/ Territory Management
Build your sales skills foundation to sell more now.
When: Thursday July 29, 2010, August 5, 2010. August 12, 2010, August 19, 2010
11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center
4800 West Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
For more information: 972-985-3749 or 972-985-3758
What: Effective Meetings
Run a meeting where people show up on time and participate to produce results.
When: Friday July 30, 2010
11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center
4800 West Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
For more information: 972-985-3749 or 972-985-3758
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DID YOU KNOW?
A study published in the July/August 2008 issue of the Journal of Business Strategy suggests that mergers and acquisitions destroy leadership continuity in target companies’ top management teams for at least a decade following a deal. The study found that target companies lose 21 percent of their executives each year for at least 10 years following an acquisition – more than double the turnover experienced in non-merged firms.
For Salespeople: People who leave companies open the door for new ones to come on board. New managers come with their own contacts, business experience and supplier loyalty. They have the ability to make changes. Be ready!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Here are some selling tools to help you sell more now. Click on the photo to find out more!
Sales Quotes: A book that has quick ideas for you to be more successful in sales. Real-World Selling: A book with selling skills and strategies that work in the real world of sales. Secrets of Persuasion: Audio CD for the clues to use to speed-read people and close more business.