Pick up a newspaper. Listen to the news reports. The price of gasoline is still quite high. The stock market is still down. The economy is still sluggish. The Middle East is still unsettled. The mortgage industry is still volatile.

Pack a survival bag and head for the hills
Airlines are increasing fares, charging extra for luggage, and cutting back on services.
Automobile manufacturers are closing plants and laying off workers. The price of food is higher. The air is more polluted. Glaciers are melting, endangering various species that live on and below the ice. People who are trying to sell their homes can’t find buyers. Buyers looking for homes can’t obtain financing.

Civilization will survive
You can worry about the sad state of affairs, or you can say, “So what?”. People and companies are still buying goods and services. And, salespeople are still needed to sell those goods and services.

A bigger piece of a smaller pie
True, the market potential may be less today than it was a year or so ago. So, what does that mean for you? You have to be a bit sharper. A bit more organized. A bit more focused. A bit more determined. And, a bit more willing to do whatever is necessary to identify, qualify, and develop selling opportunities. You must be willing to go the extra distance. If you don’t, another salesperson will—and he or she will obtain the business.

It’s easier to find a new customer than it is to find a new job
So, you can buy-in to the bad news and join the Misery Club. You can complain, make excuses, and wait for things to get better. Or, you can go out and make things better. There are undoubtedly customers who will buy more of what you have to offer…if you will only ask. Some of the customers who have dropped off the radar are willing to buy from you again if you will take the time to contact them. Some of your competitor’s customers have become disenchanted with the service they have been receiving and will give you their business if you’ll take the time to seek them out.

A glass is only a glass
It doesn’t matter if you see the glass of water as “half empty” or “half full” if all you’re after is half a glass of water. If you’re after a full glass, tear up the Misery Club application and go out and take action.

Silence Is Golden... and It Can Ruin Your Business
Here today... gone tomorrow
Have you ever had customers drift away in silence? They did less and less business with you
and then, without warning, they stopped doing business altogether. They didn’t complain.
They didn’t raise a fuss. They didn’t make demands. They didn’t do anything—they just
stopped buying from you.

Customers have a tipping point
There are customers who, experiencing a problem, become very vocal very quickly—they do make a fuss and they do make demands. And, they let you know exactly what it will take to retain their business. Be grateful for them. At least you know there is a problem and you have an opportunity to fix it. But, there are other customers who become unhappy bit by bit over time. They appear to put up with problems or inconveniences until suddenly they are no longer buying from you. If they do say anything, it’s at the very last moment and then, if it’s at all possible to hold on to any part of the business, it takes a mammoth effort.

It’s a fact of life
Most companies lose customers over time. And so will you. Accept it. But, you do have some control over how many customers leave and how quickly. Don’t wait for customers to complain.

Get your customers to complain!
Part of your job is to find ways to uncover complaints before your customers reach their tipping point. Conduct quarterly performance reviews with your customers. (Your performance—not theirs.) Provide Customer Satisfaction surveys. Make sure your customers know who to contact at your company if they have a problem with YOU. When you provide your customers with channels through which to voice their concerns and complaints, you obtain valuable feedback for fixing existing problems and heading off future problems. And, your customers are much less likely to drift away in silence.

“Think It Over”— A Ray of Hope or the Cloud of Despair?
A job well done
The procurement committee said that they were ready to make a decision and granted Dean 90 minutes to make his presentation. He explained the details for each point of his proposal. He addressed each of the committee member’s concerns. He answered all of their questions and received a nod of approval after each answer. He asked if there was anything else they needed to see or hear from him, and they replied “no” and commended him on the thoroughness of his presentation.

Here it comes
Dean felt very positive about his presentation. Confidently, he asked for their decision. After some mumbling amongst themselves, they announced that they needed some time to “think it over” and promised to get in touch with Dean within a week or so. What do you think? Did Dean get the sale?

A decision not to make a decision is a decision
When you request an appointment, attempt to close a sale, or ask a prospect or customer to take some action, you are asking for a decision—a commitment to do something or not do something. In short, a “yes” or a “no” and nothing in between those alternatives. When a prospect decides not to decide, i.e., he gives you a “think-it-over,” in whatever form it materializes, it is most often nothing more than a convenient disguise for “no.” Prospects rationalize the indecision as a means of “protecting” you—letting you down slowly and not hurting your feelings. More likely, the prospect is protecting himself from having to explain a “no” decision. It’s a means for avoiding a potentially uncomfortable situation…for him.

Tell me “yes” or tell me “no”
When asking prospects or customers for a decision, let them know in advance that a “yes” is desirable, but a “no” is OK. That’s right; a “no” is OK. When you give prospects permission to say “no” and make it very clear that “no” is OK, they are less inclined to disguise it with some form of “think-it-over.”

Sooner or later... you choose
When interacting with prospects and clients, your objective is to uncover the truth, even if it’s not something you want to hear. After all, if it’s going to be “no”—the prospect isn’t going to grant you an appointment, your customer isn’t going to buy the latest promotion, or the prospect isn’t going to become your next customer— wouldn’t you want to know sooner rather than later?

Study hard, take the test and earn your next belt.

The similarities between the training in Martial Art and the training that we as Sales Professionals undergo have become somewhat obvious. Both take Discipline, Commitment, Desire and Practice.

In the spirit of exploiting the parallels between martial arts and selling, Effective Sales Development, Inc. has instituted a performance certification program using the same standards of excellence demanded by the martial arts. We call this program the Black Belt Performance Program. It parallels our learning model of Awareness, Knowledge, Application, Ownership & Mastery.

Every 5th Tuesday, we will be giving you the opportunity during the regularly scheduled Presidents Club class on Tuesday morning to show us what you?ve learned by earning your next belt through our specially designed belt certification process.

Belt Certification Guidelines

A free informative booklet that will help you understand why many of the common sales problems occur and what to do to prevent them from happening. To get your FREE booklet entitled "Why Salespeople Fail and What You Can Do About It", simply click on the link below to download your FREE PDF.

WhySalesPeopleFail.pdf

Our students and participants continuously give us feedback on what they have learned.

Click here to find out what they are saying...

When on a sales call, do you hear your voice more than the prospect's voice? Do you find yourself explaining and educating to establish your credibility and expertise? Are you displaying your knowledge in the hope of generating interest and enthusiasm? Are you discussing the features and benefits of your company and your product or service? If you answer "yes" to these questions...you're doing way too much talking!

At the end of a sales call, your prospect has learned more about you and your services than you have learned about her or him. You didn't find out much about how your prospect perceives salespeople like you, about her or his preferences in doing business, how she or he prefers to make decisions, about what was tried in the past - what has worked and what hasn't.

After the sales call, when you are back in your office, do you find yourself trying to figure out some critical elements like budget information, what the decision process is, or how committed the prospect is? Are you unsure why some prospects buy from you and why some don't. Again, if you answer "yes," you're in trouble. You are relying on mind reading, rather than on your ability to ask questions, especially tough questions, and get answers.

If asking questions is difficult or uncomfortable for you, you are probably finding it just as difficult to get your prospects to make commitments and decisions. The result is that you do all the work, jump through all the hoops, while your prospect's sense of urgency seems to disappear and he or she becomes harder to reach.

Are you still uncomfortable handling stalls and objections from your prospects and clients? Have you used those one-liners you've been taught, but they just don't seem to get you where you need to go in the sales process? Have you tried all those "guaranteed" closing techniques you learned only to find your prospect knew them better than you? If so, you have fallen into the technique trap. Sales relationships are built on binding, rapport, communications and understanding between individuals, not on techniques.

What can you do about it? The first thing you must do is decide you WILL do something about it. Exactly how much longer will you put up with these roadblocks which have been holding you back? The second thing you must do is accept the fact that you will have to make some changes. It is usually not for the lack of technique or trying that you experience the above problems. It's more likely a combination of your fears ("Oh, I could never ask my prospect that...") and your prior belief system ("Prospects aren't going to reveal that information even if I do ask...") which handicap and prevent you from breaking through the barriers to greater levels of success. Third, you must be willing to exercise your rights as a salesperson. Yes, salespeople have rights, too!

You have the right to the truth, even though sometimes it's not what you want to hear. You have the right to ask questions to determine where you are in the selling process and what is going to happen next. You have the right to determine early in the process whether there is a real business opportunity there for you. You have the right to determine where and with whom you will invest your time.Please note the sequence of this three-step solution. You must first be committed to the change before it will happen. As you begin to change your beliefs and behaviors and exercise your rights, you will probably experience some short-term discomfort, the kind which accompanies change. This discomfort is short-lived, however, and will be worth the trade-off of greater long-term success.

Good Selling!