Technology Changes, People Don’t

by Bob Poole on May 18, 2012

When I started out in sales I didn’t worry about a website. The Internet hadn’t been invented. I relied on my listening and presentation skills, on my personality and knowledge, on my marketing ability and how well I could get a customer to relate to me and trust me. I was able to get clients by being able to listen, to watch their body language, and hear their hesitancy in their tone of voice. Sometimes it would take several calls, many conversations and a lot of contact with someone while I earned their trust. Now I have a partner in that process—the Internet. Only now I don’t have the advantage of the personal touch. A potential client or customer can find my page, scan it for 10 seconds or ten minutes, make a decision about me without ever meeting me and I never get a second chance to make the right impression. If they don’t find what they’re looking for in a few mouse clicks, they’re gone. Many of them make a decision based on the colors, the graphics, or a few paragraphs of copy. If that doesn’t click with them, or if they don’t find exactly what they’re looking for, they click away and they’re gone. I heard someone complaining a few weeks ago about not having the technology to “keep up with the big boys.”

Frustrating isn’t it? And it doesn’t seem fair. Salespeople think, “If they’d just call me, email me, give me a chance, I know I’ve probably got what they’re looking for.” We complain about not having the best website, the coolest toys or best tweets. The fact is, before the Internet our customers, or potential customers, did the same thing with our ads, brochures and fliers. They glanced at them and kept them, or tossed them. They decided on whether or not to call based on the content they saw, or a commercial they watched. Maybe we didn’t have social media, but we had the water cooler. The technology has changed, but people haven’t. Don’t blame your lack of customers or clients on technology. It plays a part in sales, but people are still people. They respond to people—not to the technology.

Quote:
“Life is not fair; get used to it.” ~Bill Gates

Sales Tips for Shy Salespeople

by Bob Poole on May 17, 2012

You may not consider yourself a sales person, yet you do depend on selling your services or products to make a living. Freelancers—such as artists, writers and many others who sell their talents and art (music, writing, crafts etc) often tend to be shy and struggle with how to sell themselves. After all, their primary business is what they create or do, not selling or sales. A few tips for those who shy away from selling, but need to sell to survive:

  • Stop apologizing for selling or asking for the sale. Unless you’re trying to cheat someone, it’s perfectly legitimate to offer your services or products for money. People expect to pay for items they want.
  • Let your prospect, client or customer do most of the talking. Listening is a better sales skill than anything else you can do. If you don’t understand something they say, ask for a clarification. Listening takes the pressure off of you to “perform” or pitch, and you’re more likely to make a sale because you’re answering the customer’s questions and solving their “problems” by providing the right answers.
  • Be yourself. All you have to do is be honest, be positive and be relaxed. You don’t have to pretend to be something you’re not. Just be authentic.
  • Avoid negative self-talk. Don’t think about what can go wrong. Focus on what can go right. Remember that someone saying “No,” to your services or products isn’t being personal; so don’t take it that way. Focus on the next client.

Quote:
“Everyone is shy — it is the inborn modesty that makes us able to live in harmony with other creatures and our fellows. Achievement comes not by denying shyness but, occasionally, by setting it aside and letting pride and perspiration come first.” ~ Kirkpatrick Sale

image compliments of spanaut

There’s Only One Real Secret to Sales Success

May 16, 2012

New salespeople are a lot like kids at Christmas, looking for the “perfect present.” Just as kids think the perfect gift will make their holiday perfect, salespeople often think there’s one or sometimes two or three secret sales tricks that once they learn that will make sales “easy” for them. If they can just learn [...]

Read the full article →

Old Dogs, New Trick

May 15, 2012

People tell me that dog training is hard. I disagree. Mine had me well trained within a week or so about when to feed them, give them treats, pet them, and walk them and all the usual stuff about sleeping on the furniture. Sure, I resisted, but in the end they mostly had their way. [...]

Read the full article →

A Magic Trick Anyone Can Use

May 14, 2012

I don’t know about you, but I love a good magic trick. I love being caught up in the impossibility of the trick. I love trying to figure out “how they did it.” I love the surprise, the laughter and feeling amazed. There’s just something captivating about magic. I even spent some time learning how [...]

Read the full article →

Shadow a Salesperson

May 11, 2012

Police departments call them “ride-alongs.” Other companies and schools call them “shadows,” but whatever you call it, there’s a lot to be said for just going along for the ride and watching an expert sell. Whenever you get the chance, outside your training for instance, to go along and watch a peer, or the top [...]

Read the full article →

Risk Is Its Own Reward

May 10, 2012

Life is risky. The greater the risk, the greater the payoff, or the greater the loss. Since most of us hate loss, we tend toward “safer risks.” It’s less risky to introduce yourself to someone you’ve met at an industry conference or function than to come up with a great solution and call a CEO [...]

Read the full article →

Retail Robots

May 9, 2012

I don’t have to read the logo on their shirts to know that the guys dressed all in brown are UPS delivery guys. When they say, “We’re starting a new service over the holidays that can save you money on shipping, would you like to hear about it?” they don’t sweat my answer. I’ll say [...]

Read the full article →

Writing a Great Sales Letter

May 8, 2012

If your sales letters aren’t bringing in queries and responses, maybe you’re not writing them right. People hate to be sold, but love to buy. So make sure your letters do these seven things: Write sales letters to generate leads, not to sell your product. Just because it’s called a “sales letter,” doesn’t mean you [...]

Read the full article →

Cue the Music

May 7, 2012

Life would be a lot different if we could cue the music at critical points in our presentations. There’s nothing quite like an inspirational, toe-tapping swell of an orchestra to convince people to buy, or horror movie tension to make them back off a sure thing. Face it—people are emotional creatures and make emotional decisions. [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries