The Selling Newsletter
The Selling Quote for the Month
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” -Albert Schweitzer
It’s almost Thanksgiving and you’re on the homestretch for meeting your sales goals this year. As you look back at this year and all you’ve accomplished, think about all those people who helped you on your selling journey this year. I hope you were able to include your peers, your manager, your family and certainly your customers. I know of one salesperson who takes the time every Thanksgiving afternoon to take a few minutes to call his customers. He leaves a voicemail to say “Thanks.” He touches many hearts and makes his customers feel special. You may not be making calls on Thanksgiving. Just remember, if the people you are grateful for are unaware of your feelings, isn’t that a waste? Why not think of their kindness and make a point of calling, emailing, or writing a note of thanks to them. I’m sure they’ll be very grateful for your kindness. And, as John E. Southard, the writer says, “The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.”
I’m now a guest columnist for the Dallas, Austin and Houston Business Journals. My column is called “Customer Connections.” I’ll be answering readers’ questions about selling. Do you have any selling questions? Send them to info@bestatselling.com
THE BLOG S AND OTHER COLUMNS
I’m now writing The Real Deal, a column on women in business for Allbusiness.com and for Salesmecca.com
Leave your comments and I would love to respond to you.
I’m now a guest columnist for the Dallas Business Journal. My column is called “Customer Connections.” I’ll be answering readers’ questions about selling. Do you have any selling questions? Send them to info@bestatselling.com
What sales tip has helped you be even more successful in sales?
Send your helpful tip to tip@bestatselling.com
Upcoming Programs
I’ll be speaking at the Pool and Spa Association meeting in December.
The Selling Ideas for this Month
Thinking About Your Selling
Ever notice how thinking is so underrated? Along with skills like listening and questioning, thinking is one of the skills that great salespeople have mastered. Here are some ideas to think about to improve your selling results.
What do you think you’re doing? More and more I encounter business professionals who think selling is pushing products on people. Selling is something different. If you’re using manipulation and coercion to get people to buy, you are manipulating and coercing people, not selling. It still distresses me that selling is perceived in this negative way. Perhaps with the economy down turn and job cuts, more people are selling without training in how to sell. You are selling only when you are helping your prospects and customers make the best buying decisions. Sometimes the best buying decision is to buy another product sold by someone else. That’s when it’s best to walk away without business and find the next opportunity that is better for both you and your customer. It may be hard for you to be honest with yourself. It’s always better in the long term.
What are your customers really saying? Even as you do your job and sell a product or service that a customer needs or wants, your role can be expanded to a greater understanding of what your customer is really communicating. Listening is one of the most important skills a salesperson can master. Remember that we listen with our ears and eyes. Some salespeople have an intuitive understanding of their customers’ facial expressions and body language. These salespeople will be better at selling because they are better listeners and observers.
A recent article in The New Yorker discussed reading people’s thoughts just by looking at their faces. A smile from a person isn’t a genuine smile unless you see a tightening of the muscle that encircles the eye. There are “microexpressions” or fleeting looks that linger for just a fraction of a second. These looks often go unnoticed by untrained observers. Miss these expressions and you miss the meaning conveyed. The best interpreters of expression are those people who emphasize what they see over what they hear. If you want to practice focusing on people’s expressions, start watching the television with the sound turned off. It will force you to watch people’s faces more closely.
As you work to observe your customers, instead of thinking of your response, you can watch their faces more closely. If you recognize more of the signals that your customers give, you can demonstrate to them that you truly hear what they mean.
What are you saying with your response? Another area to think about is your response when a customer objects or thinks differently than you would like them to. Your initial reaction is probably a defensive one. Most people do react that way when they are challenged. I recently caught myself when I reacted this way. When my customer challenged a statement I made I quickly focused on changing my attitude to one of calm and openness instead of defense. I then responded with a question to understand why my customer felt that way instead of countering with a reason why he should think my way. The sales call would have been very different if I had continued trying to argue my case.
Selling is more than the transfer of goods and services. To be effective, you need to know more about your customers and what they are really thinking. It’s something you should think about.
Action Items
1. What objections do you anticipate? If you develop your questioning strategy to avoid creating those objections, you’ll be more successful. What questions could you be asking?
2. Focus on reading body language during your next few sales calls. What do you notice?
Selling Tips
Get more selling tips from Maura’s ebook: 97 Ways to Sell More Now E-Book
https://www.bestatselling.com/e-books.html
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Looking for new strategies to improve your persuasion skills? This easy to apply Audio CD will give you many new ideas to easily improve your persuasion skills so you can sell more and close business faster.
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I’m always looking for success stories and other tips from sales professionals. Please feel free to email me at info@bestatselling.com with ideas that have worked for you.
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Articles from this newsletter may be used in your free publications or posted on your web when given the following credit:
Written by Maura Schreier-Fleming, [email protected] (www.BestatSelling.com). Maura works with business and sales professionals who want to sell more and be more productive at work. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results.
For free articles, selling ideas and morale boosters
visit BestatSelling.com
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About Maura Schreier-Fleming
Invite Maura to speak at your next conference or sales meeting! Contact: info@bestatselling.com
Maura Schreier-Fleming works with business and sales professionals to make it easier to sell more and be more productive at work. Her [email protected] clients want to create long-term client relationships. They include Fujitsu, Fannie Mae and Dr Pepper/7UP. She has an M.S. in Textile Engineering from Georgia Tech and was Mobil Oil’s first female lubrication engineer in the U.S. With over 20 years of sales experience, she teaches the art and science of selling with a unique hands-on perspective and a great deal of real-life insight. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results (a book filled with ideas to make selling easier and more productive. Her business column ‘Selling Strategies’ appears in the Insurance Record magazine and her column ‘Street Talk’ appears in Jobbers World. You can contact her for seminars at company or trade association meetings at 972 380 0200 or info@BestatSelling.com
Privacy: At [email protected] we take privacy issues very seriously. Your information remains with us and will never be sold, shared, or distributed in any manner, for any reason.
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Contact Information
1. Our Web site: www.BestatSelling.com
2. E-mail: info@bestatselling.com
3. Call: In Dallas 972 380 0200
4. Write us:
6757 Arapaho Rd., Suite 711-183
Dallas, TX 75248
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(c) Copyright 2007 Maura Schreier-Fleming. All rights reserved
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