Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Organization
| Organization is a key for any good sales person. The problem is, most of us are not organized by nature, including myself. Neat, organized, focused people become scientists and engineers. Those of you that are like me (which is many I suspect) are always in the hunt for the next sale. When this becomes a problem is when we leave a disaster area of paperwork and loose ends in our path. Many times there are solid leads and half started sales in that mess that have been totally misplaced and forgot about. The important thing to remember is that it is always worth your time to stop and clean the mess. Especially when you are busy. We have a tendency to neglect our notes and our desk when the sales come start rolling in because we tend to think the all the activity is more important than our filing system and our desk. That's true for the most part, but there are five minutes in every person's day to tidy up and re-group. The benefits can be huge. I can use an example from my personal experience. My desk and organizational system had all gone by the wayside over a few weeks and I had a few potential sales come in at the same time. One sizable sale was nearly lost in the mess and another sale which had been almost completed nearly suffered the same fate. One had been lost in the wasteland of my e-mail inbox and the other in the sizeable mess of paperwork on my desk. It would have cost me much more than the five minutes it took to clean my desk if I had lost those sales. Possibly into the thousands of dollars. |
Monday, August 14, 2006
Learn to Love Objections
| It is the tendency of new sales people to be put on the defensive by an objection. Your life in sales will change when you learn how to handle objections. An objection is the second best thing that can happen to you. The only other options are yes and no. Yes is great, it means you got the order. No is pretty tough. A flat out no is difficult to over come. Not impossible by any means, but it is tough to do something with. That leave us with objections. Tom Hopkins says the sale begins at the first objection. The very first key to overcoming objections is learning how to deal with them mentally. You have to wire your brain to be excited about getting objections. The first step to loving objections start with a conversation between you and your subconscious. Have somebody throw an objection at you. Anyone, your spouse, a co-worker, anybody close by that will work with you. Have them toss an objection at you. What does your brain say when you get that objection? If your first thought is fear or disappointment, you need to explain to your subconscious why objections are a good thing. Keep working on this during your quiet time (maybe as you lay down in bed before you go to sleep) until your brain gets excited when you hear an objection. Step two is to learn your objections and rebuttals. For most industries, salespeople hear the same seven to ten objections over and over again. Once you have memorized what those objections are and what you will say when you get them, your self confidence will soar! |
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
I Need Your Help
| One of the single greatest phrases you can use in sales. People love to help other people. I use this one a lot when I am making cold calls. If I am calling business to business, I tell the gate keeper I need her (or his) help when identifying the decision maker within the company. That adaptation in my cold calling script has greatly increased my ratio of getting through the gate keeper. Try it! |