The Magic of Selling

It is amazing how many times a sales person shows up on a meeting and cannot stop talking. Maybe they get so excited about their product or service that they do not realize they are monopolizing the conversation. Not only is that a turn off, but they are blowing their chances of connecting with the prospect. The reality is, we should only be talking about 20 percent of the time. When we do talk, we should be asking well thought out questions that get the prospect to think and open up. By asking key questions and using clarifiers we show our concern and genuine interest in finding solutions. Plus, we end up taking in valuable information. People love to talk about themselves and they will be quite impressed when there is a salesperson visiting who will actually listen to them and care. The prospect will be impressed that you are allowing them to be heard and acknowledged. You will relate to one another more easily. Listening is one of the most important skillsets in selling. Practicing can make you become more proficient. Genuine listening leads to great relationships with clients and prospects and is CRUCIAL to your success.

We all know how important being organized is, but sometimes (many times?) things can easily get away from us. This is the perfect time of the year to focus on improving our organizational skills. With sooooo many things to keep track of and under our control, you have to develop a system that works for YOU! Long ago, in a galaxy far far away, I spent many years in radio. Here are a few of the important things I needed to keep track of so I didn’t feel like I was always spinning plates: A thorough list of who my clients were past and present, including all of their pertinent contact information, how long they were advertising on the air, what their budget was and what their monthly schedule looked like. A servicing journal, tracking every touch point with the client or prospect. Knowing when existing business was up for renewal and when to change someone’s commercial campaign. Keeping track of my monthly and annual totals. Who was on the air at any given moment. What business was written. What dollars were collected. What referrals were given and received. Being organized and staying on top of your many to do lists has quite a positive effect on being sucessful: Being more focused on the task at hand A feeling of being in control; on top of things A better use of your time which leads to better results More well-rounded, more creative Nothing slips through the cracks A positive mindset and feeling of accomplishment Peace of mind I want to wish you much continued success and of course a very big, Happy New Year!

One of the most important aspects of being successful in sales is your ability to handle objections effectively. When a prospect or client has an objection to something it usually means they literally want more useful information or maybe they are even on the road to being convinced and want to be convinced.This is why any company that has sales people…all sales people in general…should master ALL of the typical objections that they face while selling their product or service. The FIRST thing to do is identify all of the objections you can think of. Talk to your colleagues, your team – pow wow on it. Come up with as many you can. Once you have identified them come up with how you would answer said objections in an effective manner so as to win someone over. Winning them over means that you have diffused the objection, answered it in intelligent, positive and convincing matter. You are believable and are developing trust. Believe it or not I love objections. I think of them as batting practice, an opportunity to constantly sharpen my skills. I KNOW that by handling these objections effectively the prospect is gaining trust in me, my abilities, my company. They want to be confident in me before they work with me. So don’t be afraid someone may ask you something you are not sure about or that you may clam up when an objection comes your way. The secret is to prepare for them. I always say the football game is won not the day of the game, but the week prior IN PRACTICE! Become a master at handling objections and you will be rewarded. People buy from people they like and handling objections properly helps lead to that end!

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It is so important when meeting with a prospect to be genuinely curious and genuinely interested in them and what they do. It has to come across as real because you know in your heart, to you, it is always real. People can intuitively tell if you truly care and it will really help with your bonding and rapport with them; finding those levels of commonality. After all, people buy from people they like. That they trust. They will want to do business with someone who is confident, caring, intelligent, a good listener, a problem solver and a straight shooter. In sales we are all in the persuasion business. Trying to persuade others to buy our product or use our service because we believe emphatically that it will benefit them. Remember, if you want to win them over – be interested in them. It is all about them.

The most successful sales people, the ones that are in the top 1% all know one indisputable truth. Referrals are king! They know it is not about cold calling, knocking on doors, walking into places randomly. It is about looking at your active client base and asking yourself what have I done for them lately? For if you understand that you have to give to get, you will become top of mind with your clients and create raving fan relationships with them. Do not be afraid to ASK your clients for referrals. They are happy to help you when you ask. The best time to ask is after you did something positive for them or after they may have paid you a compliment. Ask then and they will usually happily want to help you with a referral. Make it easier for them too by giving them examples of what a good referral is for you rather than just saying you can work with anyone. Saying that makes your client’s brain hurt because they have to really think. Its better to be specific like saying for example that you love working with people in Pharma or IT or tech or automotive etc. Also, rather than your client sending an email introduction from the referral to you or even them calling said person to mention you the best scenario is if you can arrange to take your client and the person they are referring you to out to lunch! Remember to include ASKING FOR REFERRALS in your weekly activities. It is that important!!

While it is true there are hundreds of things to learn and perfect when working on becoming an elite sales person, when putting it into the simplest of terms, it really comes down to the Big 4: FIRST You have to truly BELIEVE in your product or service. When a prospect looks YOU in the eye will they sense how much you love what you do and how much you beleive in what you are offering? Remember, we are in the pursuation business. We are trying to persuade our prospect or client to buy from us/work with us because we truly believe in what we are selling and that we can help them. NOTE: this belief usually comes after you notch your first few bullets under your belt! SECOND You need to handle all objections effectively. When someone asks you questions or even objections, that is usually a good sign that they may be interested. When you can respond to objections in a positive manner, you build credibility and trust. It is good to be confident, but not cocky and people like buying from confident, trustworthy people. SUGGESTION: Write down the top 50 objections you might come across in your profession. Then write down what would be a proper response to said objections. And finally, memorize these responses so they come automatically to you when you need them. THIRD Product knowledge. It is important that you know your product or service inside out. We all know how important bonding and rapport is, digging into the prospects pain points, etc, but you really should continuously educate yourself on what you are offering. TIP: It is important to educate yourself atleast a little bit every day. It never ends! FOURTH – Relating to people. There are all kinds of people in this world. Type As, Amiables, Analyticals, Expressives, Introverts, Extroverts and on and on. It sure helps if you can relate to everyone you meet. Bonding with them, building rapport and likability. Finding levels of commonality. This leads to trust and people buy from people they like! NOTE: If you can tell what type of personality you are dealing with sooner than later, it will give you a leg up on how to communicate with them.

MINDSET : we’ve all heard of the power of positive thinking. There have been many books written on the subject and many experts talk about it. There is a reason, for example, why succesful people like to hang out with other sucessful people. At the end of the day, it really is amazing what we can do when we put our minds to it. When you can have that desire to acheive something it is a force to be wreckoned with. By the way, I always like to remind people that if can you do something once (that first time), than you can do it anytime! (it just takes guts to do it that first time.) Do you remember the first time you went on a roller coaster, how nervous you were? Not only did you live to talk about it, now you have become a thrill seeking, roller coaster nut!

The most powerful word in sales is the word ASK. Ask for the business. Ask them to move forward. Ask them to buy from YOU. Just ASK. They always say a goalie’s best friends are his goal posts. Well sales folks have a best friend too and it’s the word ASK! Hey, what’s the worst thing that can happen. Maybe they say no. You know what, with practice you may find you can turn a no into a yes! (Here’s a way to make a ton of money. Next time you are at a flea market or yard sale, ASK if they can do better or ASK if they could take a little less than what they are asking for. Amazing things can happen. Try it when you buy a high ticket item. ASK them if they can do better. Your ASK-ing, negotiating in this case, will save you many dollars.) Most people are afraid to ask because of rejection. They see the word “sale” on an item and they think that’s enough and it’s their lucky day. You’ll be surprised how often someone will say “okay” when you ask them to do a little better on a price and you will have just saved two, five, twenty or even a hundred dollars or more just by ASKING! In sales, never be afraid to ASK. It’s central to your success!