If You Can Keep Your Head
Rudyard Kipling is our friend
Sales makes us look in to the depths of our soul and ask, Am I ever going to get another order? or wake in a sweat (hot or cold – sometimes it feels like both) at 3:00 a.m. asking the more profound question, Do I have what it takes? Read the rest of this page »
Vows of Silence
Trappist Monks take a Vow of Silence. They believe that it clears their minds for the purer contemplation of God.
I’m not suggesting we become Trappist Monks but I am suggesting that we vow to use silence more in our selling. The general rule of listening and talking is the customer talks seventy percent of the time. If we hear ourselves talking for more than three-four sentences in a row, an alarm should go off – ASK A QUESTION! (The person asking the questions controls the call!)
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The Purpose Of My Call
Many struggling sellers believe master sellers are saying magical things that are getting customers to buy from them. The reality is most master sellers:
1. Have a crystal clear idea why they are calling their customers
2. Use a simple approach
3. Ask for the order more often!
The (Action) Attitude that Sells
I used to work with a guy who made fun of the “positive attitude” people. “Oh, so all I have to do is have a positive attitude and I will sell everything I need to sell. I’d like those positive attitude idiots to come in here and try to sell some lumber in this market!”
I admit, I am one of those positive attitude proponents. But to me attitude is more than a state of mind; it is also a state of action. Read the rest of this page »
Thanks for the number; I’ll let you know
Nothing can be more frustrating than working up an offering for a customer and then having them tell us, “Thanks for the number, James, I’ll let you know…” No salesperson is needed because no selling is involved; we just give a number and wait for the call-back or call back ourselves to find the product has already been bought. The only thing worse than losing orders is working for an order but never really having the opportunity to compete for it!
Below are two sure-fire ways to get out of the quoting business and get into the selling business! Read the rest of this page »
Selling in Down Markets
Down markets can be difficult to sell in. Let’s call them contracting markets, because that’s what markets do; they expand and contract. We are in a contracting market right now. What is the solution? Get back to the basics:
Cast a wider net. If we are to grow our business is contracting markets we will have to call more customers, not just the same customers more often. Many of us who have established connections haven’t prospected in awhile. This won’t play in a contracting market. The good news is we are going to be better prospectors than we think we are. We have experience. We must use it. An experienced seller will have a much better chance to break into accounts and break into them quicker than a rookie salesperson. Prospect, you’ll be presently surprised by the results.
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How Do I Grow My Sales Force?
Business owners and sales managers ask me two questions. “Should I hire experienced or inexperienced salespeople?” And “How do I grow my sales force?”
Let’s look at the pros and cons of hiring experienced and non-experienced sellers.
Experienced Sellers
10 Ways to Overcome the Price Objection
Competing on price is often just being in front of the wrong customer, with the wrong product at the wrong time. Avoiding that situation is a subject for another article.
But in the hyper-competitive lumber industry, we are often in front of the right customer, at the right time with the right product, and we still are forced to compete on price.
Use these techniques to battle price: Read the rest of this page »
Our Approach Matters
Recently one of my students told me he learned something. “James, I’ve finally learned how to sell manufacturers.” I asked him what had changed. “I speak to them with a more serious tone.” This student happens to have an outgoing personality and approaches most people with an open, joking style. “James, when I sell distributors, they love the jokes and the negotiating back and forth, but these manufacturers are more serious. They want me to slow down and explain the product and the logistics of delivery more.”
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Mental and Emotional Preparations of a Closer
Technique is not enough
In the movie “Million Dollar Baby” Clint Eastwood plays a hardened boxing trainer. Above his office a sign reads, “Tough is not enough”. ”Show me a fighter with nothin’ but heart, and I’ll show you a fighter who is about to take a beating.” His point is that boxing is an art. Being tough and having heart are simply the buy-in money to the fight game; a boxer must train in the art of boxing to stand a chance against anyone who is a real pugilist, not just a tough-guy swinging roundhouses in the air.
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