The art of closing the sale
Chapter 6: Double Productivity – Double Income
Waking up in the morning to plan the day’s trades
and following through on that plan will be the rope
that will guide them through the maze of busy lives. – Victor hugo
The ability to manage time is the key
to help you become a successful sales professional.
The quality of time management often determines
the quality of your life.
As a salesperson,
I considered time management an important issue in my sales career.
I consider it the little planet orbiting the sun of my lifetime.
It was only when
I realized that time management was the sun of my life
and that everything else going on was just a planet orbiting
that sun did I double and triple my efficiency.
“Our greatest asset is the customer!
Treat each customer as if they are the only one!” – Laurice Leitao
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WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT TIME?
How you think about your income is
what determines how much you earn.
The average salesperson thinks of their income
in terms of how much they make each month
and each year.
But top sales professionals think of their income
in terms of “hourly earnings,”
and they are determined to make every hour profitable.
When calculating your income
by how much you earn per year or per month,
it’s easy to waste time.
According to a Columbia University study,
the average salesperson only works 90 minutes a day.
They visit the first customer after 9am
and the last customer around 3pm.
The time in between,
they wasted their time on aimless preparations,
hanging around vending machines,
talking aimlessly…
“If you just communicate, you can get by.
But if you communicate skillfully,
you can work miracles.” – Jim Rohn
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DETERMINATION OF WAGES BY THE HOUR
Top sales professionals figure out how much they want
to earn by dividing their annual income goal by 2000
– the number of hours worked in a year and committing
to making that much per hour.
For example, if you want to earn $50,000 an hour,
then your income goal is $25 an hour.
If you want to earn $100k a year,
you have to earn $50 an hour,
no matter what.
You can’t reach your income goal
without doing the things that help you earn it.
When working and receiving a fixed salary,
you will receive the same salary
as long as you demonstrate competence in the workplace.
But the seller is different.
Sales staff are only paid according
to the results of their work.
As hunters say,
“You can only eat what you hunt”.
“Face the simple fact before it comes involved.
Solve the small problem before it becomes big.” – Lao Tzu
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LAW OF THREE ACTIVITIES
In our advanced training for sales professionals
and successful entrepreneurs,
we taught the Law of Three Activities.
This law states that no matter
how many jobs you do a week or a month,
there are only three activities
that will help you earn the hourly wage you want.
These three activities account
for more than 90% of your income.
The secret to success in sales
or in any other field is this:
try to do fewer and fewer things,
but do more of the important things,
and improve your skills at doing each of them better.
In sales, whatever the product,
there are only three activities
that will help you earn your desired hourly pay:
prospecting, pitching the product,
and closing the sale.
It is only when you engage in these three main activities
that you actually work.
“Your ability to communicate is an important tool
in your pursuit of your goals,
whether it is with your family, your co-workers or your clients
and customers.” – Les Brown
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WAKE UP IN THE LOOKING STATUS
Every morning, salespeople wake up unemployed
and will remain unemployed
until they sit across from someone
who can and will make a purchase.
Only then does the working day really begin.
When we say the average salesperson
only works 90 minutes a day,
that’s because they only spend 90 minutes a day generating leads,
pitching products,
and closing deals.
“One of the deep secrets of life
is that all that is really worth doing
is what we do for others.” – Lewis Carroll
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Increase face-to-face time with customers.
One way to determine if you’re working is
by the amount of time you spend face-to-face
with your client each day.
Your job is to meet people directly who are likely to buy
and then sell your product or service to them.
Driving to a customer’s home or office,
sorting through sales documents,
writing reports,
and listening
to music in the car may take place,
but those aren’t the main activities.
Of course you don’t get any coins.
The simplest ways to double your income is
to double your lead time,
introduce products, and close the sale, ie
double your face-to-face time
with potential customers.
Every hour of the day you should ask yourself:
Can I pay someone else $25 or $50 to work for me?
If you’re not paying someone
by the hour to do what you’re doing,
then stop and start tapping customers,
pitching products,
and closing sales.
Zig Ziglar once said,
“If you are strict with yourself,
your life will be easier.
But if you go easy on yourself,
your life will be hard.”
“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises,
he is not dependent on us.
We are dependent on him.
He is not an interruption in our work.
He is the purpose of it.
He is not an outsider in our business.
He is part of it.
We are not doing him a favor by serving him.
He is doing us a favor
by giving us an opportunity to do so.” – Mahatma Gandhi
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KEY TO TIME MANAGEMENT
Since they only work in person,
sales professionals often prepare
and organize during non-sales.
They are
Plan to work on the weekend.
They prepared for the workday the night before.
They plan and organize their sales
before the workday in the evening.
But when a client has time to see them,
they dedicate their time to meeting that customer face-to-face.
That was the decisive moment.
“Service is the rent we pay for being.
It is the very purpose of life,
and not something you do in your spare time.” – Marian Wright Edelman
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REMOVE TIME WASTE IN SALES.
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Cause 1: Procrastination and procrastination
The first cause of time-wasting in sales
is procrastination and procrastination,
which often happens
when you’re looking for a good reason
to delay meeting potential customers.
Everyone has a reason to procrastinate,
there is always so much to do and so little time.
The difference between successful people
and unsuccessful people is determined
by the things they procrastinate.
Losers who procrastinate on important things
can make a significant difference in their lives.
Meanwhile, winners who procrastinate
on low-value activities make little difference.
“Thank your customer for complaining and mean it.
Most will never bother to complain.
They’ll just walk away.” – Marilyn Suttle
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Stop wasting time:
According to research
by international recruitment firm Robert Half International,
people often waste half of their working time.
Most of this time is wasted on drinking coffee,
making phone calls,
doing personal work,
shopping, etc.
When people actually work,
the average person works about 32 hours a week.
Out of that,
16 hours are wasted and only 16 hours are actually working.
Of these 16 hours of work,
many people prefer to do the easy
and enjoyable things over the difficult
and necessary ones.
“Thank your customer for complaining and mean it.
Most will never bother to complain.
They’ll just walk away.” – Marilyn Suttle
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Get rid of procrastination:
The best way to get rid of procrastination is
to plan each day in advance,
prioritize your activities,
and then meet your first client
as soon as possible better.
Wake up and get to work right away.
When you quickly start the workday,
do the important work as soon as possible,
you will be more productive.
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When you find yourself procrastinating, tell yourself:
Do it now!
Do it now!
Do it now!
These words will motivate you to do immediately.
When repeated often,
you will put this message into your subconscious,
forming an element that stimulates you
to work and work continuously.
People are the main cause of time waste.
To break the habit of procrastination,
stick to your work schedule.
Don’t associate with people
who have time to make friends.
People are the biggest cause of wasted time.
Stay away from people who have a habit of procrastinating,
they only make you more and more retarded.
There’s nothing wrong with drinking coffee,
but do it when you’re on the road
or drinking with your clients.
There’s nothing wrong with stopping for lunch,
but have a quick lunch.
Don’t waste time on lunch.
If possible, have lunch on the way
to the client or have lunch with the client.
Break the habit of having lunch with colleagues.
This is a waste of time
and pulls you out of your core sales activities.
“How you think about your customers influences
how you respond to them.” – Marilyn Suttle
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Cause 2:
Another cause of wasted time is that the offer doesn’t work out
and you have to redo everything.
This happens
when you don’t properly prepare your presentation
or collect the necessary sales materials
when you go to the client.
When you go to a customer,
you find yourself forgetting the standard order form,
price list
or documents needed to close the sale.
Then you have to reschedule the time to go back
and see the customer a second time.
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Poor sales skills:
The unsuccessful offer can be caused by poor sales skills,
you do not know how to handle objections
or persuade customers to buy.
At that point you don’t know what
to say or how to handle it.
And you inadvertently encourage the customer to say,
“Let me think.”
As I wrote in the intro,
when I started my sales career selling
and earning direct commissions,
pitching from office to office,
selling $20 memberships to the club set of a restaurant.
With the discount card,
customers can get 10-20% off in about 100 different restaurants in the city.
The card also allows one free meal.
Perhaps such an offer to sell cards
is as simple as that.
But the truth is not so.
Because I don’t know how to sell after sales
and product introduction,
I don’t know what to say.
Then the customer says,
“Let me think about them.”
I thanked them
and said I would come back
and continue working.
But every time,
when I come back, the client isn’t there,
they’re in a meeting, they’re busy…
and forget everything I said.
I feel boring.
“If you don’t care,
your customer never will.” – Marlene Blaszczyk
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Change method.
One day I discovered: the reason
I only sell cards two or three times a week is
that I usually agree to come back
after the client has a chance to think about the offer.
From that moment on I decided never
to make a second offer.
After each product introduction,
I will invite customers to order always,
yes or no.
To do this requires a lot of courage.
In the next offer,
when I finished my presentation
the guest said:
“Sounds good, let me think.
Please come back next week.”
I took a deep breath and replied,
“I’m sorry but I’m not coming back.”
The guest looked at me and asked,
“What did you just say:
I replied,
“I’m sorry, I won’t be back to sell.
Sir, it’s not a big decision
and this is a great product.
The card also allows one free meal.
All you need to know to decide to buy,
you already know.
Why don’t you buy this card?”
And the customer replied,
“Okay, I’ll buy it.”
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
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Important turning point
At the end of that sale,
I became a whole new salesperson.
Since then,
I have not made an appointment
with a customer to return to offer.
My sales career changed completely.
I went to the next office,
got the same answer (“Let me think about it”)
and I got the same answer
as before (“I won’t come back for a second sale”).
The second also agrees to buy.
Then the third,
fourth and fifth.
I sold more cards that day than in a normal week.
The truth is people don’t think about your offer.
They will forget you
as soon as you walk out the door.
When you come back,
they don’t know what you’re talking about
or why they were interested in
that product on the first meeting.
“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” – Michael LeBoeuf
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Skill improvement
The main reason for wasting time in sales is
because salespeople don’t know how to sell.
They don’t clearly define their needs,
don’t know how to make a convincing presentation,
don’t know how to handle objections tactfully,
and don’t know how to close professionally.
As a result, they go to one customer
after another
but still sell very little.
This difficulty will be removed
as you improve your sales skills
and increase your determination.
“Bottom-line obsession comes from
turning the pursuit of money into a God
and forgetting the real master your business serves:
The Customer.” – Michael Shevack
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Cause 3: Inaccuracy and lack of information
You waste time selling
when you meet a customer
without the necessary information to recommend the product.
You may collect wrong information,
data,
specifications, or give incorrect prices.
You may misunderstand a customer’s requirements
and offer suggestions that don’t solve the problem
or don’t meet their needs.
“Be kind and merciful.
Let no one ever come to you
without coming away better and happier.” – Mother Teresa
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Small mistakes cause big consequences
A few years ago,
when I introduced a client to a building for sale,
I included a list of all sales,
costs,
and expected margins in my proposal
for the sale of the building.
I asked my assistant to type the proposal,
but didn’t have time to check it again.
As a result,
I lost that transaction
because of a single decimal point.
Instead of indicating a total return
on the investment of 15%,
the proposal states that the building has a return of only 1.5%.
The guest was very attentive.
He studied the proposal very quickly,
checked the numbers,
then tossed the proposal to me.
“Why are you wasting my time with something like this?”
The numbers were wrong
and I paid the price.
My reputation has plummeted.
That guest didn’t want to see me anymore.
Since that time,
I often carefully check every number
on the proposal
before giving it to the client.
You must accurately ensure
that all your documents are drafted correctly
and thoroughly checked
before meeting the client.
Never assume that everything will be okay.
Time management expert Alex Mckenzie says,
“False assumptions are at the root of all failures.”
“Remember, the best job goes to the person who can get it done
without passing the buck
or coming back with excuses.” – Napoleon Hill
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Cause 4: Lack of product knowledge
This disadvantage will make you feel like working very hard.
Its cause is due to lack of knowledge about products
and services and laziness of sales people.
However, this disadvantage can be easily overcome
with hard practice.
You must have a thorough understanding
of your product or service.
Know the difference
between a competitor’s product
or service and the product
or service you are offering.
Understand why your product
or service is better than other similar products on the market
and in what ways it is better.
“How you think about a problem
is more important than the problem itself,
so always think positively.” – Norman Vincent Peale
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All questions answered
When a customer asks,
“If I have this problem or request,
will your product or service meet it?”
You must answer clearly
and accurately.
If you don’t get an answer,
and then start mumbling
and talking nonsense,
you’ll look stupid.
Immediately,
customers will realize that
you do not understand what you are saying.
Your credibility is reduced
and customers are no longer interested in buying from you.
You leave the client’s office
and don’t understand what happened.
Understanding your product is the foundation for success in sales.
The best sales professionals are in the habit of remembering
every spec of their product.
If they lose all their brochures or sales information,
they can still recommend products that are very appealing
to them using their memory.
“The only certain means is to render more
and better service than is expected of you,
no matter what your task may be.” – Og Mandino
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Cause 5: Not well prepared
Careful preparation distinguishes good and bad salespeople.
Excellent sales professionals spend a lot of time carefully researching
every detail about a product or service.
They review it many times and then take notes.
They decided that they had to answer
“It is not your customer’s job to remember you,
it is your obligation and responsibility
to make sure they don’t have the chance to forget you.” – Patricia Fripp
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Complete and intelligent all customer questions.
One benefit of being well-prepared is confidence.
With careful preparation,
you will be calmer,
relaxed,
optimistic,
and more confident and self-centered.
This will help you make a good impression on your customers
and at the same time make you feel at ease.
The whole sales process is easier and smoother.
Good preparation really brings positive results.
“It is not your customer’s job to remember you,
it is your obligation and responsibility to make sure
they don’t have the chance to forget you.” – Patricia Fripp
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Time Wasting Cause 6: Not Reconfirming Appointments
This is a fairly common phenomenon.
A salesman drives from one end of town
to the other to see a customer.
The date was pre-arranged
so he thought maybe everything would go as planned.
But when the salesman arrived,
the customer was sent out of town,
busy with a meeting….
As a result,
salespeople have to go the long way
and drive back to the office.
Sometimes salespeople take up to half a day
for not reconfirming the appointment.
Why are salespeople afraid to confirm appointments?
They fear that if they call to confirm,
the customer will cancel the appointment.
They are more willing to lie down on any opportunity
than risk being turned down.
“Most people spend more time and energy going around problems
than in trying to solve them.” – Henry Ford
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Two ways to reconfirm the appointment.
There are two ways to reconfirm an appointment
without fear of canceling it.
First, call the customer directly and ask:
“Sorry sir, we will meet at two or three tomorrow.”
When the customer responds;
“Well, we’ll meet at two o’clock” you can say,
“As I thought, at exactly two o’clock tomorrow
I’ll be there,
looking forward to seeing you soon.”
The second way is to call the front desk and ask:
“Is Mr. Brow there?”
When the receptionist confirms Mr. Brow is in the office,
you continue:
“Please tell me that John Jones has called
and I will meet him at the office
at exactly one o’clock tomorrow afternoon as scheduled.
Thank you very much”
Calling and confirming appointments helps you work more professionally,
remind customers of the relationship
and arouse curiosity or prepare mentally.
This will also remind customers
to schedule
and spend time with you.
“Two important things are to have a genuine interest in people
and to be kind to them.
Kindness, I’ve discovered, is everything.” – Isaac Bashevis Singer
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Reschedule your appointment
Occasionally, you call to confirm an appointment,
the customer assistant will say:
“I’m glad you called.
Mrs. Prospect has urgent business and can’t see you today.”
You reply:
“I’m sorry but thank you for letting me know.
Perhaps we should arrange another appointment
at a more convenient time.
Do you have a schedule there?”
“Courteous treatment will make
a customer a walking advertisement.” – James Cash Penney
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Send confirmation email
E-mail is an effective means for you to confirm your appointment
without fear of cancellation.
When you first schedule your appointment,
ask for the client’s email address.
Then, the night before your appointment,
email them to confirm you’ll be there at the agreed time.
Because the first thing people do in the morning is check your email,
it will remind them of your appointment
and wait for you to come to the office.
Many salespeople call after hours
and leave voice messages reminding customers of appointments.
This is also a safe and effective way to confirm.
“If you just communicate,
you can get by.
But if you communicate skillfully,
you can work miracles.” – Jim Rohn
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Cause 7: Improper offer scheduling
This often stems from the fact
that salespeople inadvertently avoid the risk of being turned down
in sales by spreading out their customer appointments.
They will meet with one client in the north of the city
and then meet the next one in the south of the city
and they spend a lot of time traveling
between the two locations.
When they drive on the road,
listening to the radio,
they excuse themselves that they are traveling means working.
You can streamline sales
and increase income
by streamlining customer appointments.
By reducing travel time
between two far-flung locations,
you’ll increase the time you spend talking face-to-face
with potential customers.
Divide your sales scope into four regions.
Only work in one area for a day
or half a day.
Gather all the appointments in that area for that time period.
If a client in the Southwest of the city wants to see you
while you are working in the Northeast,
make an appointment to meet on the day you work in their area.
“The most important adage and the only adage is,
the customer comes first,
whatever the business,
the customer comes first.” – Kerry Stokes
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Successful
After I lectured on this skill at a sales seminar,
a successful saleswoman walked up to me
and told an interesting story.
Two years ago, she decided to move into sales
but she needed self-motivation.
In the following month,
she applied for a job
for a domestic company but failed.
Finally, one of their salespeople quit,
they decided to give her a chance.
Less than six months later,
she became the best female employee in the country.
She says the secret to her success is simple.
She divided her sales territory into four areas
and then disciplined herself to work diligently
in one of the four areas each day,
four days a week.
She does not allow herself to move
between the two areas.
As a result, she spends more time
with customers and improves her sales skills.
The more she improved her sales skills,
the more sales she got
and the more customers she introduced
to her area of expertise heart.
She eventually became one of the most well-paid sales professionals.
“If you make a sale, you can make a living.
If you make an investment of time and good service in a customer,
you can make a fortune.” – Jim Rohn
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Cause 8: Perfectionism is not necessary.
An old proverb says,
“Perfection is the enemy of good values”.
Salespeople,
who are nervous
when meeting new customers,
insist that everything is set up perfectly
before meeting the customer for the first time.
They see the need to be prepared
as an excuse to avoid selling.
They argue that they have to remember every detail.
They feel the need to check
and understand every line in the orders.
They study the sales literature thoroughly.
This is called unnecessary perfectionism.
The basic rule in sales is to try
to prepare about 80% well
and then start working.
Develop enough skill
and product knowledge to get started,
then become a leader.
Benamin Tregoe once said,
“The worst use of time is to do very well what is not necessary.”
You’ll find that the more time you spend face-to-face with customers,
the better you understand your product
and know how to sell.
Nothing can replace face-to-face appointments
and direct question-
and-answer time with customers.
“We see our customers as invited guests to a party,
and we are the hosts.
It’s our job to make the customer experience a little bit better.” – Jeff Bezos
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Hit the road and get to work
Insist on everything perfect
before meeting a client can be poison to your success.
Research what you need to research,
get the basics right,
then hit the road and meet potential clients.
Everything else will take place in the original order.
Fear of being met
by the word choose is
is like a goblin hidden deep in your subconscious.
That fear grows on its own as you panic
and try to find excuses
to avoid seeing new clients,
confirm appointments,
and meet them in person.
Remember you overcome your fear by facing it.
You eliminate your fear of rejection
by facing rejection so many times
that you no longer fear it.
“One of the deep secrets of life is that all
that is really worth doing is what we do for others.” – Lewis Carroll
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Cause 9: Absent-minded and inattentive
Many times, salespeople miss out on buying
and selling opportunities
because they don’t pay attention
to what the customer has to say.
Maybe the seller is thinking of personal matters
or weekend plans….
In any case, if you don’t listen attentively
to your customers,
you won’t know what they’re talking about,
you won’t be able to catch the nuances of their expressions,
but the delicate matter they’re trying to present.
You don’t notice the customer’s eyes
on you in your product presentation,
and it’s impossible to know
which feature of your product captures
their interest the most.
“The most important thing in communication
is hearing what isn’t said.” – Peter Drucker
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Every rule can be learned
The ability to focus, pay attention to customers
and what they say is a rule,
and every rule can be learned.
Concentration isn’t easy at first,
but over time you’ll find it gets easier.
You can increase your ability
to focus and pay attention
by taking notes as the customer speaks.
When you practice skills like leaning forward,
stopping and asking questions that are not clear,
you will pay more attention,
grasp more quickly what the customer is saying,
and more importantly,
understand the underlying meaning in what they say.
“The goal as a company is to have customer service
that is not just the best but legendary.” – Sam Walton
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Cause 10: Overworked and Too Tired
Fatigue is a cause of wasted time.
But selling is hard work that drains your energy,
drains your stored energy,
and leaves you exhausted.
The harder you work,
the more people you come into contact with
and the more tired you will be at the end of the work day.
As you decide to stick
with this profession,
understand that your energy
and sharpness are key factors in the sales process.
Customers don’t buy your product,
they buy who you are,
and then the product.
When you are full of energy
and enthusiasm you make a good impression on the person
you are talking to.
When you’re at your best,
you make the most sales.
Without health,
you can’t sell anything.
“Rule 1: The customer is always right.
Rule 2: If the customer is ever wrong,
read Rule 1.” – Stew Leonard’s Grocery Store Customer Policy
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Sleeping enough
Most adults have a mild form of sleep deprivation.
They don’t get enough sleep each night
to get the most out of the workday.
Don’t let this happen to you.
Go to bed before ten o’clock at least five nights a week.
Many people have followed my advice.
They increased their sleep time from
or seven hours
to eight hours a night
and were amazed at the change.
They felt as if their bodies had just awoken
from a hypnotic sleep
because of the sleeping pills.
Previously,
they did not accept that each day passed they lived in a state of lethargy,
confusion, bewilderment,
not as alert and agile as before.
“The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is
to treat customers like guests
and employees like people.” – Tom Peters
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Health care
Your chances of selling will be greatly improved
if you prove yourself to be smart,
agile and enthusiastic
when talking to customers.
Excellent salespeople take great care of their health.
They eat nutritious food, get regular rest,
and exercise regularly.
In the United States,
many well-paid salespeople are marathon runners,
and they even compete in triathlons.
Buy a book on how to stick to proper nutrition.
Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
Choose a high-protein breakfast,
eat bread,
bacon,
and soda
chains and indigestible,
high-fat foods.
Lunch with fish
or chicken salad.
Drink plenty of water during the day.
Maintain the high efficiency of your kidneys
with a reasonable diet to stay healthy
and full of energy.
Imagine you achieve your dream of becoming rich through sales.
You buy an expensive racehorse for $500,000.
If you owned an expensive horse,
what kind of food would you feed it?
If you invested that much money in a horse,
would you feed it junk food like chips,
donuts, donuts…?
Of course not!
How much more valuable are you than a racehorse?
Just like when you feed a racehorse
with the most nutritious food,
you must also nourish your body
with the best food.
Take care of yourself as the most important
and valuable person in the world,
because it is true.
“Rule 1: The customer is always right.
Rule 2: If the customer is ever wrong, read Rule 1.” – Stew Leonard’s
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Energetic Sales Professional
An old adage says:
“It is not the strength of the competitor
or the size of the match that determines,
but the determination of the competitor is the prerequisite”.
Just sitting directly across from
the customer is not enough.
The biggest impact on a sale is the passionate passion you show
in front of your customers.
Be determined to take care of your health from today.
The more energy you have,
the faster you will bounce back after each failure or rejection.
You will be more confident
and have higher self-esteem.
You will make a good impression on people.
When you are tired,
you find it difficult to accept,
difficult to overcome failures
and unsatisfactory things in life.
They make you depressed
and fully rested,
you will easily overcome all difficulties
and sell tirelessly.
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life,
and the only way to be truly satisfied is
to do what you believe is great work.” – Steve Jobs
**********
Cause 11: Lack of ambition
Perhaps the single most important quality
that will help you get there
and lead you
to sales success is ambition.
To be ambitious,
you must have a desire.
You must have a strong desire to succeed.
Every morning you wake up you have to think:
I can’t wait to start the day with something new!
Success in sales stems from an eagerness
to meet new customers.
When you realize
that sales success can help you achieve other goals,
for you and your family,
your ambition will reach the point
where nothing can stop you.
Ambition is a miracle.
“The fastest way to improve your relationships is
to make others feel important in every way possible.”— Brian Tracy
**************
No ambition, no future
There are people who are not really ambitious
and therefore are not suitable for sales.
In many cases,
they reach a certain threshold
and then become complacent with themselves.
They adjust their lives
to their existing income
and have no desire
to increase their income.
Even if you give them incentives,
even if they offer prizes,
they still don’t have the motivation to work harder.
They may be stable average producers,
but they have no future in the competitive world of sales.
“Optimism is the one quality more associated
with success and happiness than any other.”— Brian Tracy
****************
Qualities of mediocrity
Not long ago I was invited to collaborate with a large company.
They want me to encourage
and motivate their salespeople
with ideas on how to set goals,
be more productive,
and achieve better.
All morning I gave a passionate speech,
sharing with them some of the best ideas
from thousands of salespeople across the industry.
But the price difference is very indifferent
and even hummed for passing.
Many people lean back
and chairs,
very few people take notes,
some even read newspapers
or talk to people around.
I have never seen such a sight.
Finally, I consulted a senior salesperson during the break.
What he said shocked me.
He said that this lecture did not appeal to him or anyone else.
All salespeople here are union members
and are paid by the hour.
An ordinary employee has worked
for the company for 0 years
and whether
or not they do anything does not affect their income.
Most people are full-time employees.
They plan to stay with the company
for the rest of their lives,
and then retire.
“Develop an ‘attitude of gratitude.’
Say thank you to everyone you meet
for everything they do for you.”— Brian Tracy
*************
There is no cure.
He continued:
“I myself do not understand what you are saying.
I have no ambition,
I don’t care how much or how little I do.
That doesn’t change my practice.
It also does not affect my liability.
Why should I work harder?
I just like working for eight hours
and then going home to watch television.
That salesman was about 40 years old.
What a tragedy,
I think. He may have lived to be 80 years old,
yet the fire of his enthusiasm had died out by the age of 40.
He has no ambitions
or desires except a leisurely job
and watching television every night.
Lack of ambition is the cause of wasted time and talent.
“Seek first to understand.
Then to be understood.” – Stephen Covey
******************
JOIN THE TOP 20
One of the most effective principles of time management
and getting better at the things that matter most.
You know 20% of salespeople make 80% of the money.
As always, the top 20% of those employees know
how to make the most of their time
and effort to do the things that matter most.
The better you do what you do,
the better make money fast and more.
Remember:
No one is smarter than you
and does better than you.
Everyone starts from the first rung of the ladder.
People who do very well today may have done very poorly.
Whatever other people learn,
you can also learn.
If someone does you a favor,
it’s only because they learned important skills before you.
The proof that you can learn them is
that they learned them too and started from scratch.
“When a customer complains,
he is doing you a special favor;
he is giving you another chance
to serve him to his satisfaction.
You will appreciate the importance of this opportunity
when you consider that the customer’s alternative option was
to desert you for a competitor.” – Seymour Fine
***************
GO EARLY AND LATE
Schedule your first appointment early.
The most difficult people to meet are those
who can meet you at seven
or seven thirty in the morning.
Sometimes, they even date you earlier.
The best time to meet customers is
before and after business hours.
This is especially true for successful entrepreneurs
or business owners.
The reason why they become leaders is
because they work earlier
and leave later.
If you extend your working hours
and meet them at a time
that is convenient for them,
you can make great deals in your career.
In fact, the most difficult people
to meet are often the most valuable customers.
Those who have free time rarely buy anything.
“You are a living magnet.
What you attract into your life is in harmony
with your dominant thoughts.”— Brian Tracy
*****************
Applying the 80/20 Rule
Apply the 80/20 rule to everything.
Spend 80% of your time prospecting
until you have so much to do that
you don’t have time to meet any more customers.
Then spend 80% of your time meeting the 20% of the customers
who can make up 80% of your work,
those customers who buy the most for you.
“The goal as a company is to have customer service that
is not just the best but legendary.” – Sam Walton
*******************
CUSTOMERS MEETING RACE
Like the athlete at the starting line,
when the firing command starts at eight o’clock in the morning,
you can rush to work hard at any time.
Think of it as a race to meet
as many customers as possible.
You can even compete with your colleagues.
Each set a goal of meeting 100 customers
as quickly as possible.
When you have met 100 customers,
you become optimistic,
enthusiastic,
positive,
and very knowledgeable about your product or service.
You no longer worry about rejection or failure.
You will hear any comments
or questions that some customers may have.
You will know the most effective way to sell.
Good customer service costs less than bad customer service.” – Sally Gronow
**************
ENJOY EVERY MINUTES
Calculate time in minutes instead of hours.
Enjoy every minute of work.
Do things faster.
Accelerate more often.
Develop a sense of urgency
and the habit of taking immediate action.
Let’s work faster, more urgently.
When you get to the office don’t wait
until you’ve finished making your coffee.
Get to work now.
Once you’ve started,
be productive in your work time,
don’t stop to dry-clean,
pick up clothes at the laundromat….
Work hard every minute, every hour.
Be determined to be the hardest worker in the company.
Don’t tell anyone about your determination
just make sure that
when people see you,
you’re working hard.
Don’t take a break
or waste time,
for you,
it’s not a break,
it’s work.
If someone asks:
“Can we chat for a bit?”
Say:
“Sure, but not now.
I have to get back to work.”
“Inside of every problem lies an opportunity.” – Robert Kiyosaki
*************
Breaks can make you rich.
Don’t waste your coffee break.
When people go to college,
they spend a lot of time taking breaks,
having coffee,
and having lunch.
When they go to work in the morning,
they think about taking a break
and choosing who to talk to,
but don’t make it a habit of your own.
Since you get paid for the fruits of your labor,
don’t do anything that doesn’t make you money.
Save the time the average person takes
for a break and use that time
to increase sales.
This has a significant impact on earnings
both before and after you realize it.
“When the customer comes first,
the customer will last.” – Robert Half
************
Raise your salary now
The average person takes a break twice a day,
20 minutes each time, sometimes longer.
That’s 40 minutes a day.
Those 40 minutes multiplied
by five working days of the week make 200 minutes,
which is multiplied by 50 work weeks a year,
the result is ten thousand minutes,
which equates to 166 hours of work
or more than a month.
So you have wasted more than 1 month of overtime just
because of taking a break to drink coffee.
When you decide to take a break to work,
you will be able to add 1 month’s salary
to your income.
A month’s overtime salary can help you buy comfortable equipment
or a new house,
new car,
vacation, etc.
“People expect good service
but few are willing to give it.” – Robert Gately
**************
Improve your income
Take advantage of lunch time.
The average person in college
or new to work often spends an hour eating lunch.
One hour is equivalent to five hours a week.
When you multiply those five hours
by 50 weeks of work per man,
the result is 250 hours.
The amount of time after that work week is wasted
and an activity doesn’t add any benefit to your life.
When you combine breaks
and lunch breaks, using that time to sell,
you can quickly add two
and a half months
and your working time ie
your income increases by nearly 25 %.
When you do something over and over again,
it will become a habit,
and the effect will soon become a habit
If you make a habit,
you will have a habit of using your time more effectively.
You will form the habit of earning more than your peers.
That’s a great habit you need to have.
“If you work just for money,
you’ll never make it,
but if you love what you’re doing
and you always put the customer first,
success will be yours.” – Ray Kroc
**************
EVERYTHING CAN BE LEARNED
Regularly attend sales seminars, before a seminar is held,
the content of the seminar will be checked and proven.
Seminar speakers often spend hundreds of hours of research
and thousands of hours of experimentation
to gather all the information
and findings to present at the conference.
When you attend a symposium,
you will learn some great ideas
that have come up in that field.
Attending a workshop can save you weeks,
months,
and even years of hard work.
Many sales professionals have doubled
or tripled their income in 30 days thanks
to the idea they got from a seminar.
“Until you understand your customers,
deeply and genuinely,
you cannot truly serve them.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru
*****************
CREATE ADVANTAGE
Probability explains success and failure quite well.
Successful people do many things
that can lead them to success.
Unsuccessful people do less.
According to the law of probability,
successful people often do the right things
at the right times in a more rational way than unsuccessful people.
By regularly attending sales conferences,
you greatly increase your chances of learning
what is needed to achieve your goals.
But if there are many different ideas,
according to the law of probability,
you will surely have one or two ideas
that can change your career for the better.
This is why the top 10% of experts
in all fields regularly attend seminars.
Likewise, the most successful
and well-paid sales professionals regularly attend sales seminars.
Low-income people often sit in the office worrying about money
and complaining about the difficult business situation.
The people who lead are eager,
eager to learn everything
that can increase sales and income.
We’ve talked about the benefits of reading books
about your field,
as well as taking advantage of the accumulated knowledge gained
from radio programs.
Imagine you read a book for an hour a day,
attend a regular sports festival,
and listen to radio programs while driving.
Naturally, you can make one more trade a day.
Once you get into the habit of doing one more trade a day,
you will automatically move on
to making two more trades a day and so on.
How does that impact your performance and earnings?
You can become one of the most competent
and well-paid professionals in your field
by continuously improving your skills.
“Never underestimate the power of the human element.
Whether it’s assisting a guest
with a special request
or a friendly greeting from staff members in the hallway,
the people aspect plays a key role
in guest satisfaction and loyalty.” – Ramez Faza
************
REASONABLE TIME MANAGEMENT
Peter Ducker writes:
“Thoughtless actions are the root of all failures.”
The most effective way
to help you accelerate sales
and earnings is to plan ahead.
The more time you spend carefully thinking
and planning your sales activities,
the more productive you will be
and the more sales you will make.
Any type of schedule works for you as long as
you make it a natural extension of your business.
It doesn’t take long to learn how to use a schedule.
Every day, you will have at least two more productive hours
by using a reasonable schedule.
When you know how to manage your time properly,
you will double your productivity,
achievements,
and income.
“The most important thing in communication
is hearing what isn’t said.” – Peter Drucker
*****************
INCREASE MONEY MONEY
Hourly pay is a metric
by which you measure how effectively
you use yourself and determine exactly
how well you apply your skills
to your life and world.
Monetization is your primary valuable asset.
Everything you do to improve your earning potential
will improve your quality of life.
“We asked ourselves what we wanted this company to stand for.
We didn’t want to just sell shoes.
I wasn’t even into shoes
but I was passionate about customer service.” – Tony Hsieh
*****************
PROFIT FROM ENERGY INVESTMENT.
When planning strategies
for companies and corporations,
we often focus on improving the standard
of return on investment.
It is the amount of profit the company owner
gets from the investment in the business.
It is the primary benchmark
for strategic planning
and determining business performance.
But in life, the main investment capital is intellectual,
emotional and physical.
In your personal strategic plan,
focus on improving your return on energy investment,
increasing your money by the hour,
and the results you get every minute of every day.
“When you make a mistake,
there are only three things you should ever do about it:
admit it,
learn from it,
and don’t repeat it.” – Bear Bryant
*****************
MILLIONAIRE MILLIONS OF SELF-REFULLY
In their book The Millionaire Neighbors,
Thomas Staney and William DanKo found that in the US,
79% of self-made millionaires are entrepreneurs and salespeople.
As such, the most important skill for business success is the ability
to sell a product or service.
According to the law of probability,
the ability to sell well helps you
to lead in terms of financial prospects,
even becoming a millionaire will be higher thanks
to good sales skills.
There is no limit to what
you can achieve except the limit of your thoughts.
“The only certain means is to render more
and better service than is expected of you,
no matter what your task may be.” – Og Mandino
*****************
Practical exercise
1. From today, resolve to double your productivity and income,
calculate your current hourly rate and multiply it by two.
2. Plan your day,
make a to-do list and prioritize your list,
always starting with the most important task.
3. Start each day by asking yourself:
what can I and only I do,
and if done well will make a huge difference in my work?
4. Constantly perfecting your skills,
always ask yourself:
what skills can I improve and master to double my income.
Whatever your answer,
practice that skill every day.
5. Form a sense of urgency,
the habit of acting immediately,
waking up and working early.
Make the most of all working time
6. Read books for 60 minutes every morning,
attend seminars on sales four times a year,
listen to radio programs on the radio in the car,
constantly improve yourself.
7. Analyze your sales activities every day,
determine the number of customers you need to meet
to sell a certain amount of goods,
then surpass yourself.
Be the leader.
Anything that wastes effort is also a waste of time.
Therefore, the most effective time management method is
to make the most of effort. – Alec MacKenzie
*************
CONCLUSION
Every year, millions of businesses are born
and their success depends on the sales staff,
all of which is created from the exchange
and purchase.
So be the runner in the race for higher income
and financial independence.
The most important rule for success is
to learn from the experts.
You don’t have enough time to discover all those rules
by yourself through learning from mistakes.
The most recognizable quality in sales professionals
is action-oriented.
When they learn how to make new skills,
they will try it for days
and there are only two possibilities:
success or failure.
If successful, continue to develop
to improve that skill.
If it fails, learn from the experience to become a smarter
and more capable employee.
When I started selling,
I made a decision that changed my life.
I always try a method
or skill five or ten times
before giving up.
Then I understood that nothing works the first time.
Developing a vital skill takes a lot of practice,
just as walking requires a lot of falls before you can walk.
Likewise, skills can be learned.
You can learn any sales skill, including closing skills.
No limit exists.
What others can do,
you can do.
Your job is to take advantage of proven methods,
skills and strategies,
repeated and mastered
until you become the ultimate sales professional.
Take action now! – Brian Tracy
