What Would Hal Do?

HAL STAMFORD 1999

Some people say they are in Sales.  Some even believe they are in Sales.  They are not!  Some are liars who will tell you ANYTHING to get you to sign up.  Some are reactive and rely on you coming to them for something you already have a desire to buy.

The true salesperson is one who can appear out of nowhere, break down your barriers, explain their product in a manner that you can understand, show you how you will benefit from it to the point where you want to buy and leave you satisfied that you have made the right decision.  No pressure, no lies, no manipulation.

I worked for many years at direct face to face cold calling and the pinnacle of that was my tenure at Cable London.  The salespersons job was to knock on a door in London and convince the person answering the door to not only let you in and listen to your presentation but to give you cash or a credit card and a months rental for a cable TV service and a Telephone line. No initial appointment, just a list of addresses and you walked streets knocking on doors.

I was honoured to be employed by and work closely with Hal Stamford at Cable London for 5 years. Hal was my Mentor.  He saw something in me and decided to pluck me from the sales teams and guide me from salesman to team leader, to Field Sales Manager and then Sales Trainer.  He taught me all about selling and management.  I am forever grateful to him.  There isn't a sales situation that comes up that I don't think "What would Hal do?"   He worked at Coca-Cola before working at Cable London and he had years of experience.  He was the go to guy and he helped me more than anyone else I have worked with before or since.  One day I will never forget was when he told me something that sounded funny but was very simple, very effective, and very relevant - He said, 'Just remember David: Some will. Some won't. So what? Next!!'  I have never forgotten it.  Ask for the business.  If they say yes, great, if they say no, go somewhere else. Don't let people who are never going to buy waste your time.

He told me that you can't lose a sale you haven't got yet.  How true is that?  So many salespeople worry about losing a sale before the customer has signed on the line.  Until they sign on the line you can't lose it because it doesn't exist.

He also told me that there is a simple truth to sales.  The secret to sales is...ASK.  If they say no, ask again.  If they say no again, ask again. If they still say no...ask someone else!

Be proud of what you do.  Never apologise for being a salesperson.  If you can't be proud of what you do or sell, then do or sell something else. You can't make people buy but you can let them know, if and when they are ready, that you will sell them a quality product at a good price and that you will appreciate their business.

Remember one thing;  Figure out what your features and your benefits are.  It's vital.

Why?

Because the feature is what your product does.

The benefit is what it does for your customer.

Get the benefit right and you are home and dry!   

I will never be able to thank Hal enough for training me to the point where I could see a bright future as a salesman and I trained and read about and studied sales from that moment and still do. I built on the solid foundation that he taught. So good was Hal, and his Sales Training partner Harvey Rigby, that they got me to a point where I was standing in a man's kitchen in Tottenham, north east London, having only met the man 15 minutes earlier, and he said to me, "I never buy at the door or over the phone. I just hate salespeople."
I replied "I know what you mean...Just sign there at the bottom please."
He signed a contract, gave me £140.00 in cash and I left.  THAT is how great Hal was as a trainer.

HAL GETTING READY
FOR HIS CLOSE UP!

If you are ever wondering what to do next in your sales career, if you hit a brick wall, if you have self doubt...just do what I do, Think...'What would Hal do?' ;-)

We lost Hal in 2011.  Here are some words from his wife Jackie Stamford:
"David that was a lovely well written piece, If Hal was still with us he would be over the moon. Hal was a very committed man to sales, he would pass his knowledge onto every one who he saw potential in, going forward to become a great sales person.
I am not sure if you know how Hal started his journey to become a very talented, hard working professional sales person/manager.
This is what I know...
In his younger years he started work for Coca-Cola as a driver salesman, I don't think it took him long to become a sales rep ( that's what they were called in those days). He worked hard to become a Sales Manager then onto Depot Manager, looking after many people and a bottling plant in Enfield. Hal was transferred to Coulsdon depot to get it to the highest volume in sales. He was with Coca-Cola for 25 years when Coca-Cola was taken over and unfortunately he was made redundant. Hal was in his early 40's. Hal's ambition was to make it back to the top again when he managed to secure a position as a salesman for Roboserve vending company... and he did. Hal worked his way up another ladder to become Manager again, unfortunately another takeover and Hal once again was redundant.
Next step he took was with Cable London, walking the streets door knocking to sell their equipment 

(as you know TVs and phone line )
I know Hal has helped so many people over the years in all the jobs he had and in life generally even me... Yes Dave a true gentleman...."

What Are Your INTENTIONS?

This is the Intention poster on my office wall as of today 
and I will see it every day.  If I don't see it I have a smaller version
in my Filofax and on my iPhone as a screen saver.

What is YOURS!!

"If you are going to think anyway....you should think BIG!"


What is YOUR ‪#‎Intention‬ ?

Tell me what it is...‪#‎DareToShare‬

There is no limit to what we can achieve or be given.

You can ask for as much or as little as you want as long as you are specific.

Make your intention big, bold and powerful.

Then...TAKE ACTION!

Concern yourself only with doing things to make your Intention, your goal, a reality. Don't try to figure out the 'HOW'. That will show itself.

Look for the signs, guides and signposts in your life.

Be aware that the Universe conspires to give you everything you want as long as you are ready to receive and have taken some action to make it happen.

Endangered Species - Customer Service

Thanks to my friend Cynthia Bazin for reminding me about this post with her awesome Periscope today.  Follow Cynthia here: @TheSmartChic and her website The Smart Chic

Customer Service

You CANNOT survive if your business model is 'always look for new customers', Service your existing customers!

I am forever wondering the same thing...what happened to customer service?

In this fast moving, high energy, business world, when did we lose that good old fashioned 'customer service' option.
It's as if companies don't need customers!!

Has something happened that we have not been made aware of?  Have companies become omnipotent and just exist without having to have customers willing to buy their stuff to keep them in business?

Oh no...actually, they DO need us to buy their stuff but if you want after sales service it seems more and more likely that you will fall victim to the 'we have your money: tough' attitude.

A case in point is the automated service you get on the telephone with these places.  "Press 1 for... Press 2 for...." And then you get a voice telling you that you now have 8 more options...then 4 more options...and then...'I'm sorry, that department is not taking calls, goodbye'. (BT)  Or you end up in India or somewhere else in the world.  They ask you to tap in date of birth, account number, door number, numbers from postcode, dogs middle name and blood group and then, when you finally get through to a life form, they ask for all those details again!

I have trained Customer Service departments when I visited large companies...even small companies whose CS department is only three people...and there are some Laws....


DISCLAIMER!  These are not rules out of a book, a training manual or something from some school, college or University.  They are LAWS!  They come from EXPERIENCE, COMMON SENSE AND THE STREET. 
They come from a 450 page Sales Book that I have written over the years containing YEARS of experience, techniques, strategies and common sense actionable tips.  They Work!


BE THE BENCHMARK OTHER COMPANIES ARE MEASURED AGAINST!

Law 1
COMMITMENT
You MUST have a commitment to your customer. THEY, on the other hand, do NOT have or need a commitment to you! You need to create their commitment to you...start now!

One of the biggest challenges companies have is keeping customers.  It's quite easy for a company to mess things up once in a while or to screw a customer around for no reason.  It's done every day.  But some companies take it to an art form.
So many companies send their sales staff out into the big wide world, either door to door or by telephone, to 'get new customers' and completely forget that they already have a ton of customers.  It's far easier to get business from people who are already a customer than to get new customers! Duh!
If you look after your customer then they will be your customer for good.  By looking after your customer I mean: Do what you say you are gonna do, give them what they expect to get, and more...OVERDELIVER!


Law 2
SATISFACTION
You may think satisfying your customer is a big deal? Guess what? It's not a big deal...it's expected!   It is a condition of the deal.  It is expected by your customer, of course. They expect to be satisfied by your product.  They expect to be satisfied by you. You should see that as a matter of course.

Customer satisfaction is a priceless commodity.  If your customer has peace of mind, they won't give you a piece of their mind....Got it?  No issues, no complaints, no challenges.  Your customer isn't expecting a trouble or issue free time but they are hoping for one and they also want to know one thing.  If issues or problems arise, YOU are going to deal with them immediately!

The greatest phrase I came up with, and I know hundreds of companies use it now, is when a customer tells you 'I have a problem' your reply should be 'I can remove that problem for you'.  That's it.  Problem over in your clients mind.  If you cant remove it, take ownership and find someone who can, because having a problem is not your customers job, their job is to be satisfied.

Law 3
CONTACT
Remember all that work you did to get that customer?  Why did you stop?  You need to KEEP them.  The work STARTS when you get them!

A few years ago when working in the telecommunications field I was training sales people to switch customers from BT (The UKs biggest landline provider) to a cable telephone system.  One of the things I got the salespeople to make clear to the customer was that when they put the transfer in place they would be BOMBARDED by phone calls from BT asking if they could do something to keep them, or if they wanted different and more cost effective pricing plans.  I made sure that the salespeople asked the customer 'When was the last time they asked you if they could do anything for you?'  The answer was always the same.  NEVER!  Some of those people had been with that supplier for 25 years!  Many companies only care these days if you are going to leave them.  The art, or the secret, is to make sure that your customers are not even looking for a better deal.  You need to make them CERTAIN that you are the best, and you need to do that all the time.  Not just when a predator calls.

Law 4
LOYALTY
A Loyal customer is the best customer you can have.  Better than satisfied.  But then, they are only going to be loyal if they ARE satisfied.

Satisfied customers spread the word.  'Well, my provider is great'...or 'We never have that problem with (your company name)'.  And they tell their friends.  If you don't satisfy your customer, not only will they tell 50 times more people that they are not satisfied, they will not stay.  They will not be loyal.  LOYAL is where you want them.  Stuck to you like glue.  the way to get them like that is to look after them, answer their questions, call them, do what you say you are going to do and quick.

If you are still stuck on whether you want satisfied or loyal customers, think of this.  Do you want your spouse to be Satisfied...or LOYAL?  Got it?
                                                           ____________________

There are more Laws to this...and they really do work but, bottom line is simple....if you want a long term career, if you have kids at private schools, if you have a mortgage, if you want three holidays a year, nice cars, a great standard of living then you need to wise up.  If you lose customers ALL OF THAT CHANGES!
 You CANNOT survive if your business model is 'always look for new customers'  Service your existing customers.
Over deliver.  Involve them. Call them and ask what else they want.  They bought from you once, they will buy again.

There is a great saying I use and firmly believe in and that is
"The salesperson gives up selling LONG before the buyer stops buying"

You cannot expect to mine for gold in the same place every day...one day it will dry up.  Service your existing customers.  Stop making it hard for them with your automated call systems, your hold music, exorbitant charges, ignoring their calls, emails, requests for help.

Be the company they believed you were when they became your customer.  It was you who told them anyway...don't lie.

Friday Motivation

Self Belief

Never give up on your dreams, your goals or your destiny.

The Global Transformation Project...March 2016

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO DONATE!

WHAT IF THE CURE FOR CANCER IS TRAPPED INSIDE THE MIND OF SOMEONE WHO CANNOT AFFORD AN EDUCATION?

Our world is in need of Transformation.

Without US, collectively taking charge and instigating that transformation,
it will never, ever, happen.

Governments around the world send aid, medical supplies, food and all manner
of things to the far flung corners of the world in the hope that they are received and used.

Many people remember Live Aid in 1985. We were told that we would ‘heal the world’. We haven’t.
All that has happened so far over the years is the continual application of a new band aid on a wound that has never healed. In fact, it has got progressively worse.

Food, aid, medical supplies and money has been sent and yet , when you add it all up over the years, it would have been more cost effective to give every one of them a McDonalds meal, pack up these communities in Africa and move them nearer to a civilised area where they could be looked after until they could look after themselves. It is a harsh reality, but this is a harsh world for some people.

The ONE THING that is needed more and more is never sent. EDUCATION.

Not just a regular education. Not a multiplication table, not an English history lesson…but Transformational Technologies that will show people that there is an alternative to their current situation, there is a world waiting for them, they have the resources within themselves to go out and make a difference. Business knowledge, interpersonal skills, management skills, sales training and attitudinal training.

Many of the people around the world living in poverty have no way of learning any of this. They don’t have internet access, they don’t have the money to buy the books or DVD’s or even pay for the seminar ticket. They don’t know WHO to listen to. In fact, they don’t even know that these things exist. They believe they have to spend their lives on their knees, waiting for the latest help to arrive in the form of a food parcel.

The Moore Consortium is committed to spreading the vision, ability and technology to transform these communities from spending their lives down on their knees waiting for help into people with choices, information, ability, knowledge and determination to get off of their knees, to stand up, get out into the world and change their futures. We intend to give them a future designed with them in mind!

The Global Transformation Project is the most important program I have ever been involved with.

Think Asia.
Think South America.
Think Africa.
It is easy to think that these are the usual places that need this help.

Now think USA.
Think Canada.
Think Great Britain.
Think Russia
Think Eastern Europe.

In every part of the world there are collections, groups, communities of people living rough. Homeless communities, poor people, people with no education who live on assistance, benefits or maybe just the scraps they can steal, beg for or find.

We have nice lifestyles. We have families. We have careers. We have money. We have ideas. We have plans. We have a duty…a duty to change this world, not just for ourselves, or for those that follow us: We have a duty to help those less fortunate than us. We have the ability to help them, to assist them, and we need a group of intelligent, successful entrepreneurs, business people, trainers who can Transform these people around the world by sharing our knowledge and abilities so that THEY can have the same as us…a future.

We are committed to putting together a group of Transformation Experts from all over the planet. A collaborative group of excellence who are willing, and who are funded, to travel to these places and give advice and training for free, to people who could never afford to listen to this life changing information, because they have no idea it exists and, if they did know, they have no idea where it is or ability to buy it.

We need to create the crack in the wall through which people see a world they never knew existed...OURS!

We aim for Governmental funding to make this a long term reality. We know that this will work but in the short term we need to prove that this will work.

We are looking for Trainers, business people, coaches, managers who are willing to take some time out of their schedules to go to some of the areas we have identified and give a presentation to groups of people in Hotel Seminar rooms, Cinema auditoriums, and sports arenas. Your expertise, your knowledge will make a massive change to the lives of these people.

Our initial goal is to raise £500,000 to fund the project for one year. Then a variety of experts will travel to various areas of the globe with their travel, expenses and accommodation paid for, and make some positive and life altering Transformational Changes to thousands of people. When the various governments get more and more involved the Project will be governmentally funded.

This is an opportunity for YOU to be involved in making a difference that makes the difference. We need to raise £500,000. So far we have raised over £218,000 (as of February 2016) from very small and very large donations.

We have a long way to go...but we will never,EVER, give in.

Please click on the link at the top of this page for more information or to make a life-changing Donation.

Your donation, however small, is integral to giving these people a future. This is not a charity...this is a Global Transformation Project dedicated to altering the future of the people of our planet. Each person making a donation will become a Global Transformation Ambassador, commemorated as one of the financial angels that started the movement. Who knows? You may want to go further and be one of the Transformation Trainers taking your expertise to people who need it.

On behalf of The Moore Consortium,

the future Belongers of the GTP

and the people who need us,

Thank You for reading

Transform Your Sales

Selling.  What an honourable profession.  Some people say it’s a difficult job. Thank God for that otherwise everyone would be doing it. 

Sales is the greatest job in the world, if you can do it.

If you can’t do it; it’s the greatest job in the world you can’t do!

If you look around the room, everything you see has been sold to someone else in some way or another.  All of that stuff is a result of someone talking to someone else.  Someone plants a seed of desire in someone else’s mind.  The main thing to remember in selling is to sell to a customers needs and not you’re own agenda.  If you do that you won’t go wrong.  Once you realise that everything around you in the world, on this planet, apart from nature, is man made, you’ll realise what you can achieve.

There is so much talk in sales about closing that there has to come a time when you say, what else is there other than closing?  Close, close, close.  In some boiler rooms and cold calling environments that’s all there is, close!

ABC.  A always, B be, C closing.  Always be closing.  There is a saying in martial arts, which is, to receive you must first open your hand.  In other words, you must do something before someone else will.  In this case though, think about what you have to do to close your hand.  It has to be open first!

If you went to the shop to buy something and it was closed you’d be disappointed and you wouldn’t get what you wanted.  If you sell to someone who is already closed you ain’t going to get a result there either.  The only way you can close something is if it is open first.  You can only close a presentation if it has been opened well.

Over 70% of the people you will speak to will have to be asked for the sale.  Can you get your head around that?  These people will nod in agreement to everything you say, they will ask all the right questions and give you the answers you want, they will impart all the information you need and yet, you have to ask for their business.  They will never say, “Can I buy this then?”.  They NEED you to ask them!

The people who say, “I never buy from salespeople” and “I never sign anything and I don’t buy at the door!”  Do you think they are talking to you?  NO!  They are talking to themselves!  They are telling themselves that they shouldn’t buy because they have in the past and it all went horribly wrong but if you hit all the right buttons, and you get them interested and excited about your product, then their subconscious mind will take them over and, BINGO!  They make the decision they should do.

People have said to me in the past, “I never ask salespeople in and I never, EVER, sign anything.  I just won’t entertain the idea!”  At the time they were saying this I was standing in their kitchen watching them sign a contract for me.

It never ceases to amaze me how some people have the emphasis switch.  The emphasis switch is where all their hopes, dreams and even their energy and time, are focused on the wrong area.  Like people spend a lot of time and effort in getting a job but not in what to do when they have it.  These people put more planning and investigation into a two week holiday than they do into the other 50 weeks of the year.  They plan a wedding rather than a marriage.  These people also look at how to get through the day rather than what they can get from the day.  They are the same people who go out and sell with no plan, idea, preparation, or focus.

Do you play the lottery?  Most of us do.  It really depends on what you play the lottery for though.  I play it in case I accidentally win.  Some people play it because their future is based on it.  There is a 10 MILLION to one chance of you winning.  I have heard people on TV say, when asked what they would do if they won, “I’d pay off all my debts”.  I’ve sat there and thought, ‘What the hell kind of debts can this guy have?”

“If I won the lottery I’d pay off my mortgage”.  What mortgage?  The one on Buckingham Palace?  The best one was, “I’d go on holiday”.  What holiday is that, all-inclusive on Jupiter?  There are hundreds of thousands of people who base their future, their life’s success, and their standard of living, on being that one in 10 million.  That is crazy.

Luck!  That’s all it is. 

This job has better odds of success.  On average, every three pound coins I got I got one NO for.  Every three sales gave me a no.  Equate that to out on the street in the real world and you reversed it to three no’s to one yes and you have still got a better return than any lottery hoper there has ever been or ever will be. 

Do me a favour.  When you go out try to get as many no’s as possible.  I can guarantee that someone will ruin your day and buy from you.

You are a team.  That’s T.E.A.M.  Together Everyone Achieves More.  Occasionally, someone will score an own goal, or pass the ball to the other side.  That’s life.  Just remember that together you are only as strong as your weakest link.  You have focus and energy.  Drive and determination.  Motivation and the will to succeed.  You have skills far outreaching and outperforming many others. 

We don’t take advantage of people.  Your job is to sell as much as you can.  The customer’s job is to get what you have as cheaply as possible.  Why should you feel guilty about being better at your job than someone else is at theirs.  If someone feels that they have been screwed by the salesman than they are an idiot because the buyer has control.  He can bail at any time.  He doesn’t own anything until he takes delivery.

I hear the strangest things sometimes.  I remember after I had been in sales for a few months I was told: “You can’t sell on Fridays because people go out on Friday nights.  Saturday is out as people go shopping.  Sunday you can never find anyone in, especially in the summer.  Monday is no good because they are either taking a long weekend or they are too stressed from going back to work that morning after the weekend.  Tuesday and Thursday are pension and giro days so forget those.  In the summer people go on holiday and in the winter they are paying off the holiday and saving for Christmas”.  I thought about it for a while and then it hit me.  There was just this one Wednesday afternoon in May that was a good day to sell.

I didn’t realise all that.  I didn’t realise there were only certain times of the day, week, month, year that you could sell.  I didn’t realise that there were certain people you couldn’t sell to.  People who come home late in the evening are not interested in buying.  People who live in big houses with driveways don’t want to save money.  They don’t care how much things cost and they don’t want to talk to you.  I didn’t know any of that.  I was stupid, because I kept doing business with these people.  I kept selling.  I know now.  And I know that it is wrong!

Someone telling you that, and they do, is going to instil fear.  F.E.A.R.  False Evidence Appearing Real.  The evidence is their figures.  Their results.  Their performance.  The evidence is false but it appears real.  These are the people who go to work tomorrow because that was what they did yesterday.  If you go to work today because that’s what you did yesterday then you are no closer to the goal you do not have.  Have you got a goal?  Howard Hill was the greatest archer that ever lived.  He killed game with a bow and arrow.  He could hit the bull and then fire another arrow and split the first arrow on more successive tries than anyone else.  But I can take anyone here and get you hitting the bull more consistently than Howard Hill.  How?  Well, I’d have to blindfold Howard Hill.  You would ask, “How can he hit a target he can’t see?”  A better question would be, “How can you hit a target you don’t have?”

Some people have a negative attitude.  The ones that hang around in the office by the water cooler or coffee machine.  The cup is permanently in their hand and I think you could take the cup away and the hand would still be there.  They have no direction.  All they do is talk about how difficult the job is and they get to the point where they believe it.  Don’t hang around listening.  They are not going to buy from you.  You make your money out there in the real world.  Your time is very precious.  How do you think Michael Eisner, the Chairman of Disney, got his job.  If you asked him do you think he’d say, “Well, I just showed up for work one day and they started promoting me…” Edmund Hilary, the first man to conquer Everest.  “How did you climb that great big mountain?”  “Well, I was out walking around…”

Bottom line is, people buy.  They always have done, they always will.  Your skills are going to make people line up with their money and chequebooks in one hand and a pen in the other waiting to give you their business.  Be proud of what you do.  Be the best.  And NEVER apologise for being salespeople.

Transformational Selling Course

Transformational SELLING

This course is geared specifically towards helping and instructing new and experienced salespeople to win through in today’s environment.  It is the people who have the right attitude, skill and knowledge that will be successful.  Delegates will learn that those three ingredients are vital in the recipe for a successful sale, thus enabling them to become better equipped to maximize their potential and skyrocket their performance.

Who is it for?

·       New salespeople

·       Experienced salespeople

·       New to the business or those who want to take the ball another 100 yards

·       Those who have had little or no training

·       Anyone who wants to develop their sales skills

What will they learn?

·       Plan and manage a sales territory

·       Prospect and identify key decision-makers

·       Plan and prepare a sales presentation

·       Open a sales presentation confidently

·       Recognise different types of buyers

·       Tailor a presentation to suit the situation

·       Power/ open/ closed questioning

·       Features and benefits

·       Eliminate ‘buyers remorse’

·       Complete the sale with a full commitment

TRANSFORMATIONAL SELLING SKILLS COURSE STRUCTURE
DAY ONE	DAY TWO	DAY THREE
Course start ·       Introductions ·       Individual aims and course objectives The psychology of the selling process ·       The changing role of professional selling ·       A formula for successful sales structures BREAK Territory Management ·       Your territory is your company ·       Self-organization LUNCH Planning to Sell ·       Prospecting and customer qualifications ·       Understanding the decision process BREAK Planning to Sell (cont) ·       Pre-call planning ·       A.S.K ·       Clear objectives	The Sales Interview (part one) ·       Make a successful opening statement ·       Power questions to determine needs ·       Selling benefits BREAK The Sales Interview (cont) ·       Listening skills ·       Presentation and involvement skills ·       Effective use of visual aids LUNCH Understanding Buyer Behaviour ·       Analysis ·       Recognising buyer types ·       Modifying your approach BREAK Understanding Buyer Behaviour (cont) ·       NLP overview ·       Mirroring and matching ·       Body language snapshot ·       Eye accessing cues ·       VAK ·       Language patterns and embedded commands	The Sales Interview (part two) ·       Trial closing ·       Dealing with competition ·       Anticipating and handling objections ·       The difference between Cost and Value BREAK Closing the sale ·       Getting commitment and agreement LUNCH Peak Performance ·       Managing your state ·       Anchoring BREAK Course Summary ·       Review ·       Q & A ·       Preparation of Action Plans ·       Feedback

Course Methods Ø  Role Play Ø  Syndicate Exercises Ø  Evening Exercises Ø  Personal Action Plans

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A SALESPERSON

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!

Rules of Selling

·                 Say it (sell it) in terms of what the customer wants, needs and understands – not in terms of what you’ve got to offer.

·                 Gather personal information – and learn how to use it.

·                 Build friendships.  People buy from friends, not salespeople.

·                 Build a relationship shield that no competitor can pierce.  Would your customers tell your competitor that they need to speak to you first before making a decision?  What are you doing to ensure that?

·                 Establish common ground.  If we both like golf or have kids, we’ve got issues and things in common that will draw us closer.

·                 Gain confidence.  Once you motivate them to act, you’d better have built enough confidence to buy or they’ll get someone else.

·                 Have fun and be funny.  It isn’t brain cancer; it’s your career.  Have a great time.  If you can make a prospect laugh, you can make them buy.  Laughter is tacit approval.  Tacit approval leads to contractual approval.

·                 Never, ever, get caught selling.  There is nothing worse than a salesperson sounding like a salesperson in a presentation.  Learn the science and convert it to an art.

·                 Always sell to the customers needs: not your own agenda.  This will reduce the amount of cancellations you get.  There is nothing worse than having to give back all that hard earned commission. 

The Real Objections…

·                 Doesn’t have the money.

·                 Has a personal or credit problem.

·                 Can’t decide on their own.

·                 Wants to shop around.

·                 Doesn’t need your product now.

·                 Doesn’t understand what he’s buying (or not buying).

·                 Has a friend or connection in the business.

·                 Knows he can buy it cheaper elsewhere.

·                 Doesn’t trust or have confidence in you.

·                 Doesn’t trust or have confidence in your Company.

·                 Doesn’t like your product.

·                 Doesn’t like you.

·                 “You’re price is too high.”…I can’t afford it.

·                 “You’re price is too high.” …I can buy it cheaper elsewhere.

·                 “You’re price is too high.” …I don’t see, perceive, understand the cost or value of your product or service.

·                 “You’re price is too high.” … I’m not convinced yet.

Before you even attempt a sale you better realize just how your customers want you to act!

·                 Just give me the facts.

·                 Tell me the truth, and don’t use the word “honestly”.  It makes me nervous.

·                 I want an ethical salesperson.

·                 Give me a good reason why this product/service is perfect for me.

·                 Show me some proof.

·                 Show me I’m not alone.  Tell me about a similar situation where someone like me said yes and it was all ok.

·                 Show me evidence of a satisfied customer.

·                 Tell me and show me you will serve me after you sell me.

·                 Tell me and show me the price is fair.

·                 Show me the best way to pay.

·                 Give me a choice and let me decide, but make a consultative recommendation.

·                 Reinforce my choice.

·                 Don’t argue with me.

·                 Don’t confuse me.

·                 Don’t tell me negative things.

·                 Don’t talk down to me.

·                 Don’t tell me what I bought or did is wrong.

·                 Listen to me when I talk.

·                 Make me feel special.

·                 Make me laugh.

·                 Take an interest in what I do.

·                 Be sincere.

·                 Don’t use a bunch of timeworn sales techniques to pressure me to buy when I don’t want to.

·                 Deliver what you sell me – when you say you will.

·                 Help me buy – don’t sell me.

18 Buying Signals to look for(in selling Advertising)

1.     Questions about availability or time.  (How long does it take? Do I need to get copy to you now?)

2.     Questions about delivery (When would distribution be?  How soon would I have to tell you?)

3.     Specific questions about rates, price, tariffs, or statements about affordability.  (How much does this package cost? What is the price of…? I don’t know if I can afford this?)

4.     Any questions or statements about money.  (How much would this be?)

5.     Positive questions about our business.  (Who are your customers?  How long have you been with the Company?  How long has your Company been in business?)

6.     Wanting something repeated.  (What was that you said before about other publications?)

7.     Statements about problems with previous vendors.  (Our old client gave us a poor service.  How quickly do you respond to a fault?)

8.     Questions about features and options.  (What will it do?)

9.     Questions about quality.  (How do I get to see a copy?)

10.   Questions about guarantee or warranty.  (How long is it under guarantee?)

11.   Questions about qualifications (yours or the Companies). (Can I get answers over the phone if I have a problem?)

12.   Specific questions about the Company.  (What other services do you provide?)

13.   Specific product or service questions.  (How do you decide about editorials?  How do you block certain businesses?)

14.   Specific statements about ownership of your product.  (What if our strategy changes, can I update anything online?  What if I put a change my URL?

15.   Questions to confirm unstated decision or seeking support.  (Is this the best way for me to go?)

16.   Wanting to see a sample, demo, publicity material etc AGAIN!  (Could I see the (product) again?)

17.   Asking about other satisfied customers.  (Have many companies like ours do you have?)

18.   Asking for a reference.  (Do you have any letters from satisfied customers?)