There is, indeed, a secret to meeting sales goals in times of “tight fists”. The secret is – re-think your own habits of selling.

Positive Things to Consider During Economic Down Times:

1. People like to buy from people they know and trust. Go back to exiting customers and get to know them again.
   a. Take them small customer loyalty gifts.
   b. Show them new products you may have never shared with them.
   c. Engage them again in a strong customer relationship.
2. People don’t want to take risks when money is tight. Show prospects the safest way to complete a sale with the most effective delivery of products or services.
   a. Demonstrate ways you save them money.
   b. Show them ways other customers have benefited from using your products or services.
   c. Assure them of the ease of the sales process.
3. People always want to feel they have made a good investment when they have to be monetarily accountable.
   a. Apply their specific needs to the long term savings in their investment with you.
   b. Introduce them to employees, in your company, that can assist them in each part of the delivery process.
   c. Make sure you allow them easy access to you should questions
   or issues arise.

Positive Ways to Consider The Prospects’ Position:

1. People like to know their company and you, the sales person, have a good working relationship.
2. People like to feel important all the time.
3. People want to be surrounded by the familiar.

Positive Ways to Consider Yourself:

1. People want to buy from experts. Position yourself as a consultant sales person
   in your field of expertise.
2. People want to buy from the trustworthy. Position yourself as one who follows through on your promises.
3. People want to buy from those who care. Position yourself as the one who cares the most and they will remember you, first, when it is time to buy.

The secret is to re-think your selling habits. Let’s face it, your tired routine may need a gasp of fresh air. So, get rid of negative thoughts, go after your existing customers, continue to build new prospect relationships, and ask for the sale once you’re in front of the buyer. Remember, it could be YOU that is making this slower buying trend seem dismal.

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I am always fascinated by data collected from our clients indicating that approximately 65% of their salespeople fail to ask for commitment from the prospect. I’m even more curious about why this happens.

Most people, including non-sales people, have some concept of “selling.” Undoubtedly, each of us knows what works for us and especially what doesn’t work for us. It’s a fundamental truism that we feel more comfortable buying and selling to and from people most like ourselves. Sales emphasis has shifted throughout the past thirty years from salesperson-focused to customer-focused methodologies. However, in my opinion, asking for commitment should not be perceived as “pushy,” “old” selling methods. It is truly still customer focused.

Asking for commitment assures the customer that you are:

• Reflecting your confidence in your recommendation/solution
• Validating your own belief in your selling process
• Allowing the buyer to decide (their decision, not yours)
• Maintaining trust
• Strengthening dialogue
• Reducing buyer anxiety

You’ve done well to reach this point in the sale. Don’t sabotage your efforts, or your sales career, by not asking for commitment. It’s why you’re there!

Richard Dickerson

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This was one of Bill Brooks’ favorite principles. He always preached that managers need to get out from behind their desks and get into the field. This doesn’t just mean sales managers, but also VP’s and C-level executives. Top organizations have executives and managers that “walk the walk.”

I made a sales presentation to the executive team of a Fortune 500 financial company. The CEO, CFO, COO, Divisional VPs, and Directors attended the meeting to evaluate our company against five others for training and consulting services. During the Q&A portion of my presentation, the COO asked me, “Why is it that when other organizations do sales training they get results, but when we do it we don’t see any change?”

Being the blunt, direct person I’m known to be, I responded, “The difference is everyone in this room. If you decide to work with us – or any of the other five companies you’re considering – you will be choosing an excellent organization with success stories from clients who’ve achieved positive results. We all have excellent tools. The difference is what you do with those tools. You’re fooling yourselves if you think you will see strong results simply by choosing a training company, then going back to your offices to wait for the P&L to change. Great organizations drive training from top down – they not only establish expectations, but they get out in the field and set the example for those expectations.”

Here’s an example from the NBA: Mitch Kupchek is the general manager of the LA Lakers, and Michael Jordan is part-owner and GM of the Charlotte Bobcats. Recently, the hosts of a sports talk show interviewed an NBA “insider” who observed that Mitch Kupchek goes to practice every day. He also attends almost every game, before which you’ll find him down on the floor talking with the media and meeting the fans. He’s also highly visible promoting the Lakers in the community.

In contrast, Michael Jordan drops into practice about once a week. He’s rarely seen at games – and when he does attend, he’s not out talking with the press and the fans – nor is out promoting the Bobcats in the community. The Lakers are competing for the championship and the Bobcats were at the bottom of the standings all year.

If you want to be one of the top organizations in your industry, look at where you’ve set the bar for your sales force, your executive team, and yourself. How often are you and your executive managers visible in the field, setting the example?

As Bill Brooks always said, “You can’t lead where you won’t go and you can’t teach what you don’t know.” (Sales Management Principle #6)

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In the many years I’ve been a salesperson and a sales trainer, salespeople have continually asked me, “Why can’t I seem to close a sale? I do everything according to the six steps of the sale. I do what the company requires, but I can’t get the customer to sign the contract. What am I doing wrong?”

I believe salespeople focus too much on the close and not on the process of meeting the customer’s specific needs. Most salespeople I’ve observed have a tendency to:

1. Dominate the conversation; thus, it becomes a monologue
2. Demonstrate only the items that get them the largest commission
3. Sell anything in their “bag of tricks” to close something today
4. Talk the buyer into a product or service they really do not want
5. Take the easiest path toward a one-time sales call

This behavior wastes both the salesperson’s and the buyer’s time. For higher closing ratios, I suggest looking at these five considerations:

1. Make the toughest sales appointments when you are at your highest energy level.
2. Find out as much as you can about the company before you arrive.
3. Take initiative to learn the names and faces of possible decision makers that may be attending the sales call
4. Remain totally focused on the client/prospect you are with presently – not another, bigger appointment later that day or the appointment you just left
5. Ask for the order. It’s simple. But, fear often prevents you from taking this final
   action.

These five simple steps would make a salesperson’s closings increase dramatically by handling each call with a more professional, pre-planned, priority-based, personal approach.

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One of the great rewards of being a sales trainer is hearing back from your students that what they’re doing is making a difference in both their personal lives and the lives of their customers.

Following a recent seminar, one of the sales managers in my class forwarded to me a testimonial letter one of his newest salespeople received from one of his customers. This young sales rep was relatively new to the business, but apparently he took his training on the IMPACT Selling System very seriously.

It the letter, the customer mentioned he had spoken with other salespeople from the same organization in the past, but in each case he never saw enough value in the opportunity to make the decision to “buy.” Specifically, the customer said the person sitting across the table never asked what he was looking for or showed true concern for what was important to him. In his words, the “level of comfort” or “personal connection” was never made.

The customer went on to say all that changed when he met the new salesperson. He walked the customer through the entire buying process, exemplified the utmost personal attention and professionalism, answered all the questions and committed himself to what the customer needed and wanted. In the end, the customer said the salesperson created value that was more than just a short-term benefit – he created long-term value that would brighten his entire future. As a result, the customer made the decision to “buy” and has no regrets. In fact, he wrote the testimonial on his own because he was so pleased with the entire buying experience.

Isn’t it ironic that a newer salesperson that practices the “basics” can outshine an experienced representative? How about you? Do you still work to establish the level of comfort or personal connection that makes a customer want to buy from you? If the answer is “No,” remember the words of Zig Ziegler who said, “You get what you want by helping people get what they want.”

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