Posts Tagged ‘Sales’

Don’t Close sales, Open Relationships

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
Stop Closing Sales
What does it mean to close a sale? (Where did that phrase come from?) What are you closing?
In some situations, the word “close” suggests finality. When you close a file, you’re finished with it. When you close a bank account, the account no longer exists. When a detective closes a case, it’s over… mystery solved.
In other instances, “close” suggests a barrier or a sealing off. When you close a door, you are blocked from what is on the other side. When you close the lid of a jar, you cannot retrieve the jar’s contents. When you close the covers of a book, you cannot read the words within.
So, what does it mean to close a sale? Are you finished with the customer? Have you closed the door and put the lid on further opportunities? Hopefully, the answer is “no.”
Reframe you thinking about closing as the culmination of an activity and view it as the beginning of an activity–opening of a new business relationship. Here are some suggestions. When you complete a sale:
  • Find out if there are other divisions or departments within your new customer’s company that can also use the product or service you just sold and ask for the name of the person(s) to contact.
  • Ask your new customer for referrals to other companies that he believes can benefit from the product or service you just sold to him.
  • If there are additional products or services your company provides from which your new customer can benefit, mention those items at this time, determine the customer’s interest and set up a time for further discussion.
  • Make a point of meeting the principals of the company if you haven’t already done so.
So, stop closing sales and begin opening business relationships. You will earn compound interest on your selling efforts.
 
 
“One A Day” is not just a Vitamin
If I gave you a list of 250 activities that would make a positive impact on your business–none of which are illegal, immoral, fattening, or would take more than a few minutes of your time, what would happen? You would look over the list and then tuck it away in a desk drawer. Why? Because 250 things are too many to take in at one time. It’s overwhelming.
Suppose I gave you a list of five activities and asked you to choose only one to do today? Would you pick one activity and do it? Of course you would. Five is a manageable number from which to choose. And, you could surely find a few minutes in the day to do
the activity you chose.
 
Can you create your own five-activity list and pick one thing to do each day? Sure you can. Over the course of a year, assuming two weeks for vacation, you will have implemented 250 actions to improve your business. Two hundred fifty is no longer overwhelming when you break it down into manageable chunks.
 
Wrap up each week by identifying five things you can do the following week to help develop your business. Then, on Monday, pick one… and make sure you do it. Each day, choose from the remaining activities on the list. Make it a ritual. The activities shouldn’t be complex. Simple activities can be very effective… and you’re more likely to do them.
 
Need some help getting started? Here are some suggestions for your lists:
  • Call your top three customers to say Hello and ask if there is anything you can do for them.
  • Call three of your low-volume customers to say Hello and ask if there is anything you can do for them.
  • At the end of every conversation with a prospect or customer, ask for a referral.
  • Do some research on your biggest competitors to identify ways to better position your products and services. (There is a wealth of information on the Internet.)
  • Do some research on your biggest customers to identify potential opportunities and ways to better serve them.
  • Sharpen your skills by role-playing a prospecting call with a colleague.
  • Invest 15 minutes reading the local business journal, business section of your local newspaper, or trade journal.
  • Call former customers who have dropped off the radar screen and find out what you can do for them.
With a little effort, you will be able to identify many one-a-day activities that will add stamina to your business.
 

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THREE MORE FEET!!!!

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Standard
 > Sales Attitude
Go Three More Feet

Go Three More Feet
In Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich, R. U. Darby learned the secret of success. When all seemed hopeless in his search for gold, digging three more feet uncovered riches beyond Darby’s wildest dreams.People who want to give up on a goal because of some short-term discomfort are invariably discouraged. They are seldom engaged fully in what they are doing or with whom they are doing it, and have no idea how to move forward. They are often resigned, passive people who suffer from profound inertia. And, their chronic complaining changes nothing!People who want to leave an uncomfortable situation often retreat to imaginary places, and real places come off poorly in comparison. They can never make that imaginary place a reality, so they never go anywhere, and feel empty and cheated all their lives.

When faced with fear, worry, and self-doubt, going three more feet may well uncover the riches you seek. Be willing to work through set-backs and recognize that problems are temporary. Don’t give up until you realize your goal.

 

 

  
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Goals > Actions > ATTITUDE - the sales multiplier

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Be a Self-Starter

A race car has a tremendous amount of potential energy but cannot start until someone waves the green flag.

The powerful engines of a jet cannot lift that plane one-inch off the ground without ample runway and someone activating its controls.

A locomotive can be held in place by a single block of wood placed under its wheel, yet under power it can go through a brick wall 10 feet thick.

Raw power has only potential.  Machines cannot turn themselves on? People can! If you are waiting to feel “right” about doing something, it may never happen. The self-starter knows that there is never a “right” time to get started.  JUST START!!!!!!

Too many people sit around waiting to be motivated, as if there were some chemical reaction about to take place. The self-starter acts on his goals, and the motivation to achieve those goals is built into that action.

If you are not feeling “up to it,” no amount of concentration, wishful thinking, or smoke screen planning will get you into action. Things in motion tend to stay in motion; things at rest remain at rest. The more you think about becoming motivated, the better the chances are that you won’t.

The self-starter knows that regardless of how he feels at any given moment, how he will feel in the next moment is determined by the action he takes.

If you have set worthwhile goals, and have developed a plan of action, set your plan into action anytime of the day or night by acting on it. Don’t lose precious time by waiting for the time to be right: Become a self-starter.

It’s how you act that determines how you feel, not how you feel that determines how you act.

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