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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We half jokingly say that if you laid all the sales managers in the world end-to-end, they’d be more comfortable!

We find that over half rarely travel with their salespeople. They “direct” from behind their desk. Dishing out volume, quota, performance orders, but rarely spending mentoring time with their salespeople. Even when they do it’s from the “critical parent” perspective, punitive words or messages, even explicit threats about goals, targets, etc.

Ever consider how your leadership style affects your salespeople? Ever asked or measured its effect? In “First Break All the Rules” authors Buckingham and Coffman point out “that managers trump companies, and people join companies, but quit managers.” No where is this more true than the relationship of salespeople to their sales managers. Have your salespeople “quit” you?

Maybe it’s time to re-examine your role and your influence. It’s worth the effort.

Richard D.

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The Tuesday’s Sales Truths are taken from Bill Brooks’ Book Entitled: Universal Sales Truths

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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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The Tuesday’s Sales Truths are taken from Bill Brooks’ Book Entitled: Universal Sales Truths

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