A sales person walks into my office today unannounced and...
This is a true story that happened today (2010/11/22)
Here’s what transpired:
Sales Person: Hi, I’m not here for (he waves his hand around to indicate he’s not here for an appointment or anything with our services… he obviously doesn’t have a clue as to what we do or who we are) I just wanted to stop by and let you know about this upcoming event where you can get a free night’s stay at (Name of Resort) plus two free dinner entrees and a free round of golf … (now he starts fumbling with his time share brochures and then asks me a question)
Sales Person: “Do you like golf?”
“No” I reply (I really don’t… I’d rather bike, swim, run or play tennis. But I digress)
I know where this office visit is going, and I don’t have time for it.
Prospects NEVER have time for poorly trained sales people; in person or on the phone.
I tell the sales rep that I’m not the person to speak to and that the person he would need to discuss this with isn’t here but I’ll be more than happy to take the brochures and let them know he stopped by (I then reach out my hand for a brochure and thank them for stopping in as I show him the door, bringing his “show up and throw up” sales pitch to a screeching end)
One of my co-workers came out of their office laughing and said, “What did he want?”
To sell time-shares, I said.
“What could he have done differently to get a better result?”
“Simple” I responded… If I were that sales person, besides doing a little pre-call research on the company I was walking into, I would have walked in and asked:
“Who’s In Charge Of Employee Morale?”
After getting that answer, I would simply introduce myself, inform my prospect that:
"...I specialize in helping local small businesses find cost effective ways to get higher production out of their employees in order to raise profits and I just had a few quick questions to see if what I have in mind might be of some help to them, would that be OK?"
Once I found the right person to speak with, piqued interest and gained permission to continue the discussion, I’d be in position for the next phase of the sales cycle in order to advance the meeting from there.
Morale to the story:
It’s NOT the economy’s fault why you can’t make sales quota when you keep making the same sales mistakes over and over again.
When a sales rep is fired up and willing to take responsibility for their own success, nothing will stand in their way. Including a poor economy.
If there was ever a better time to
sharpen your sales skills in order to
outsell your competition, it’s when times are tight and your competitors believe no one is buying.
Think about it… right now your “competition” is at an all time low!
They don’t believe they can win right now.
They are making the same sales mistakes (and excuses) as everyone else and they are experiencing disastrous results. Don’t be like the guy above who at the end of the day will go home and say “No one is buying right now… times are tough, no one wants a time share” when his other half asks how his sales day went.
Yes, the economy is tough right now. It’s also exposing sales “weaknesses”. It’s exposing poor sales skills that were hidden during good times. Take responsibility and give yourself the best chance of success. Improve your skills now in order to reap huge rewards tomorrow.
And if you’re going to go down anyway, at least go down swinging.
Sincerely,
Michael Pedone
President/CEO
Online Sales Training Company - SalesBuzz.com
(888) 264-0562 Ext. 1
"SalesBuzz.com - Because Your Success Is Your Responsibility!"
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