Thursday 11 May 2006

How long have you been selling?


HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A SALESPERSON? Jeffrey Gitomer

How many no's are you willing to take before you give up on the sale?Remember when you were just 7 years old, in line with your mother at the local store and asked, "Mum, can I have a bar of chocolate?"
That was a closing question if ever there was one! "No" she replies.
You, the master salesperson, ignore the first no and respond, "Please, can I have a chocolate bar?"
Mum is a bit put off now; with her mind on the grocery bill, and she says, "I said NO!"
No number two is now safely out of the way, and you respond with, "Aw, come on, PLEASE!"
Now Mum (the prospect) is emphatic. "Absolutely NO!" she shouts.
That's No number three in the shredder. (Sometimes she will actually spell it out: "N-O".)
It's time to move in for the kill.
Let's find out what the objection is here.
"Why can't I have a bar of chocolate, Mum?" (Hold on, this is a classic example of a direct question going straight to the real reason for the first three No's. How did you learn these skills so early in life?)
"Because it will spoil your dinner," she responds true to form.
Now is your big chance. Overcome this fourth objection and it's in the(grocery) bag.
"No it won't, I promise to eat it after dinner." You reply in your most sincere voice.
She's on the ropes now; about to cave in, but being the true sales-reluctant prospect she isn't going to give in easily.
"Well, I don't know," she weakly states the fifth negative response.
You see your opening and immediately bellow, "Puleeeeese!" in that endearing mixture of song and whine.
"Ok," she says, "but don't you dare eat it till after dinner." (She has to get out of the loss gracefully, so she emphasizes the caveat "after dinner" to save face with the checkout girl, who is grinning.)
VICTORY!
You made the sale, and it only took 5 No's to get it. You were prepared to go to at least 10. Possibly risk a smack and in some cases prepared to throw a psychotic fit in public.
Think about it, when you were seven, you were willing to risk public embarrassment, corporal punishment and verbal abuse to get a sale.
Somewhere between junior school and getting your business cards printed you forgot just how tenacious you need to be to make a sale. If you're looking for the best examples of how to overcome the obstacles and objections to sales, just reminisce. The bar of chocolate, first date, staying out later than usual, keys to Dads car, raise in pocket money, getting served in a bar when you were under age…they are ALL sales!
All were full of No's and objections. You hung in there against all odds. You were willing to risk everything. Your closing rate was likely to be greater than 90%.How much money would you be making if your closing ratio was that high today? Forget the bar of chocolate, you'd have enough to buy the shop.
On average it takes seven impressions, exposures, No's or objections to get the sale.
What's the secret to getting the sale?

Persistence!

www.gitomer.com

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