When hearing about a success in another business, most salespeople have found themselves thinking or saying, "That may work in other businesses, but not mine." Don't ever let yourself fall into this trap. This is generally nothing more than an excuse not to change. Are there differences in a business? Sure there are, but when it comes to selling, the process is the same for most of us. Find prospects, manage pipeline, win business, and retain clients. No matter what you are selling this is probably your outline.

Within this process there are many successful strategies and techniques. Don't ignore any of these by using the excuse that your business or industry is different or that a certain strategy or technique "wouldn't work for you".

Why is this a dangerous myth? It is dangerous because we act on our beliefs. Beliefs, whether positive or negative, will determine action. A belief that our business is unique is a license to stagnate. It gets us into a habit of making excuses for not being as successful as we can be. Instead of looking to excel, we start to look for reasons why we can't excel. If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten. If you come across techniques that are working for others, adopt them. It might take some tweaking to fit directly in your business or industry, but try it.

Don't allow yourself to believe your selling situation is unique. People buy for the same general reasons: either to get more of what they want more of, or get rid of what they want less of. All this myth accomplishes is cutting you off from useful strategies. Instead, find ways to tweak any good strategy you come across to fit perfectly to your business or industry. A belief that your business is completely unique only offers the benefit of deceiving yourself in an effort to make convincing excuses.

Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Jeremy Rawitz

888-311-6822

jr@salesstrategy.com

Often salespeople answer every question the prospect has yet we walk on eggshells, hoping not to upset them. We certainly want our prospects to feel comfortable with us, but a sales call doesn't necessarily always have to be pleasant.

Our job is to discover a gap between what they are doing today and how our product and service can make it better for them – finding their "pain." Please don't perceive this concept of "pain" as something negative. It is just understanding the gap of where they are versus where they need to be.

We have to make our prospects feel a little pain to discover how much our product or service can help to ease that pain. To uncover the pain means the prospect will be more motivated to buy. The better you understand their situation, then the better equipped you are to help them to solve this pain. It turns out to be a win/win for both of you.

On the other hand, if you try to find pain and there isn't any, then you know you can't help them and you can move on to other prospects. Make your prospects deal with their pain instead of trying to make everything pleasant for them. The better we are at finding what a prospect needs by discovering their "pain," the better we sell.

Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Jeremy Rawitz Sales Strategy Corp.

jr@salesstrategycorp.com

Did you ever find that there seems to be an inverse relationship between the amount of praise a prospect showers upon you during your presentation and your chance of closing the business. How often have you heard something like, "We love it...great presentation," only to ultimately hear, "We need to give this some more thought...we'll get back to you"? If they "love it, why aren't they buying it?

Actually, prospects employ the strategy to protect you. They already know, usually before the presentation, that they aren't going to buy from you. So, rather than send you packing empty-handed, they send you away with a few nice compliments about your presentation.

Don't fall into the trap. When a prospect makes a favorable comment about an element of your presentation, ask her to explain or expand on her comment. That won't guarantee that you'll make the sale, but you will know fairly quickly if the prospect's praise is real or just a piece of your eventual parting gift. Don't be afraid to ask what they mean when they say they "love it."

Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Jeremy Rawitz

Sales Strategy Corp.

jr@salesstrategycorp.com

It happened to me the other day. I got one. A prospect (now downgraded to a suspect) gave me a "think it over." I know what I did wrong because I have a process to debriefed myself. Still I want to share some thoughts on "think it overs".

When you leave a presentation with nothing more than the prospect's promise to "think it over," the only one doing any "thinking" will be you. For the most part, there is only one reason to make a presentation to demonstrate your product, or review your proposal...to obtain a buying decision. If you are involved in a multi-step decision process, the objective for the initial presentation is to obtain the intermediate decision maker's endorsement for you to move to the final step.

In either case, you must obtain a decision at the conclusion of the activity. Yes is certainly desirable. No is OK...at least you know where you stand. Leaving with a "think it over" is unacceptable.

Often, a think-it-over is nothing more than a no in disguise. Hence I am the only one still "thinking it over." It is the prospect's way of letting you down easy. If they are not going to give you the business, they can at least spare your feelings...for a short time, anyway. Get the "NO" and move on.

Jeremy Rawitz

Sales Strategy Corp.

347-385-8500

jr@salesstrategycorp.com

In the many years I've been in sales, I've found that about 5 to 10% of salespeople have an uncanny ability to keep a positive outlook, virtually all the time! They never seem to get in a funk or a slump, or if they are in a funk, they hide it well enough for the rest of us not to notice.

But I'm not lucky enough to be one of them! Are you? If you are like me and most people I know, you'll find that you periodically get down on yourself, which obviously is a hard place to sell or prospect from. Here are a few key thoughts to assure that this temporary state doesn't ultimately hurt your level of success:

DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP... Remember that feeling down once in a while is part of life. It could be from the dinner you ate last night, or the argument you had with your spouse, or the bad grade your kid got on his report card, or the big sale you thought would happen, but didn't. Whatever it was, it's a temporary condition... it will pass.

FIND A WAY TO RELAX... Taking a little time to calm yourself down. Go shoot some baskets, or listen to a few of your favorite songs, or write in your personal journal. Breathe, meditate, sing... whatever works to get you back in touch with the "better" part of you. This may seem non-productive, but you won't be too productive in a funk either.

CALL A FEW FAVORITE CLIENTS... Ask how they are doing? They'll give you a much-needed reminder of all the wonderful work you have done.

NOW GET BACK IN THE SADDLE AND KEEP RIDING... OK, it's time to get back to work. Often, doing productive work is exactly what we need to straighten our mood right out.

Good selling!
Rich Isaac
richardi@legend-development.com
631-231-3538