"Sales 101"
 

For all you "non-salespeople" out there (who would, one day, like...to be a "salesperson")....I divide the "Sales Interview" into compartments;

1) Intro or "Interest"....introduce yourself (Depending on the program, I usually say something like, "Hi! I've got a NEW Idea for (increasing your business) (bringing you more business)...etc....if you have a "quick-minute" I can show you what it is (and I start moving into his office or ask him for his Fax # to fax more details to him, like a photo)

2) Presentation of program....giving all the "REASONS WHY" your program will "benefit" him.

2a) This is an "Interim" compartment. You want the prospect to agree that he understands what you are doing and that the "Price" of your program is the ONLY REASON WHY he will NOT buy...RIGHT NOW. You want to "Smoke Out" any excuse that will cause him to postpone buying. I use the following words to "Seal Off THIS Compartment";
"Mr Prospect....OTHER THAN PRICE....IS THERE ANY REASON WHY YOU WOULD NOT GO AHEAD WITH THIS....RIGHT NOW?"
By getting him to agree to this....he CANNOT come back with;
"OK! I've got to run this by my partner."
or
"Looks good to me BUT....all our "x" is handled by "X""
or....ANYTHING other than "price"....why he is not buying....RIGHT NOW!

3) Presenting your "Price"....I usually try to give my prospects a "choice of 2" ways to go (I call this my "WHICH PITCH") I'd rather give them a choice of "something" and "something"...rather than, "something and nothing".
Or...I include a "One-Time Set-Up Fee"....which I drop IF....he buys right now.

4) The "Close" (This is where I usually "assume" the sale and start writing up the order)

the following is more detail on the "INTRO" compartment.....

the "initial contact" of a prospect is to;

1) Introduce yourself
and
2) Get your prospect to AGREE to give you some TIME to present him with more info....either now or later, if he's busy.

Now....if you are making an "In-Person" call....you give your prospect JUST ENOUGH INFO for him to agree to have you give your presentation. You do NOT want to "spill your beans in the lobby".....give your entire spiel at the "Intro" compartment.

Or....if you are contacting him by Phone....just enough info to get him to agree to;
a) let you send a Fax
b) set up an appointment to see him in person.

Now...because it is impossible for prospects to "see" a Full Color product when phoning....I usually have to phone many MORE prospects than when I go in "In-Person".

For ex: I might have to phone 20 prospects to get 7 to agree to see more info, either in-person or by my sending them a Fax.

HOWEVER....with those that I have "Pre-Qualified"....by "feeding them just enough info" I am usually able to CLOSE a higher percentage.

So...this is the "BASICS" of "my" sales calls...this is not the place to go into more detail....just the "basics" which have worked for "me" for many years.

Maybe some of you can gain something from this and help in YOUR sales.

Don Alm...."SalesMan"

Re: "Sales 101"
 

That's as simple, yet exact as I've ever seen it... I first read Don's "sales method" in his "Midas" program about a year ago, and loved it. I'm no salesmaster or "guru", but I've read about 8 books on salesmanship, including the masters', like Tom Hopkins, Zig Ziglar, Hank Trisler (remember them?), and found that no matter how fancy or complex the closing's are explained or how many tips and theories are presented, it always boils down to the basics and "uncomplicated genius" that Don teaches.
Hat's off to ya, Don....
And Thanks!
Ken :)

Re: Wow!!
 

A real testimonial for you to use there Don.

Kbayer, have you implimented what you have learned and have you profited from the methods learned?

What are you selling, anything that was in the Midas Report?

Re: "Sales 101"
 

Well, I had ZERO sales background... I worked in a plastics mfg plant as a lab tech for 14 years, till it shut down several months ago. While working there, I'd always wanted to try something different, hence the self-improvement books, ie, sales.
Regarding Don's report, I had a good run with the "Oil Cleaning Business" and using his sales "training", approached a few local businesses and landed a few jobs (seventeen to be exact), made some good money for a few months, then stopped when I was hired on by another plastics company in Houston. I'm sure that my particular sales approach wasn't as complex as a salesman selling insurance or online-digital-retina-recognition-software, lol, but I'd bet that getting to a "yes" is always just as satisfying.
I don't regret reading all the sales books, as each had something great to offer. My point is, from that moment in time that you are waiting for the owner to free himself to come speak with you, at least for me, to the point of walking out the door, a lot of the slick and flowery phrases and verbal strategies presented in the guru-books kinda vanished, and all I was left with was what I knew about the product I was selling... which seemed to be enough.
Again, that was my experience, as a beginner, just barely getting up the nerve to go into a business in the first place. Seasoned professionals probably have a different perspective regarding sales training materials and what helps them in their particular situations....:o

Re: "Sales 101"
 

To me, the most important thing you said is this.......

"a lot of the slick and flowery phrases and verbal strategies presented in the guru-books kinda vanished, and all I was left with was what I knew about the product I was selling... which seemed to be enough."

This my friend is the most important thing you can learn about sales.
If you beleive in what you are selling, know a great deal about it (whatever you are selling), and know that it will benefit the target, you will do just fine.
Even if you stumble along for a while while learning the ropes of the sales game!

You will have a list of repeat, referral givin', customers longer than you can reach in no time!

On the flip side....
If you are a fancy talker that PRETENDS to know your stuff, you will never grow your repeat or referral business to the point you no longer need to sell.

You posted a while ago about the frustrations of not being able to get to the decision maker as they were not on site or were not in.
I agree, it is not fun to always look for your next dollar bill.

However if you give your clients what they want on their terms, you will never be short of work as you will soon have more than you need.

I hope you haven't canned the concrete cleaning gig because, if you treated your 17 customers right, they will all need your service again at some point.
Not to mention all of the referrals they will give you.

How about offering them additional services like window cleaning, etc.......

You already have your foot in the door!





My point is if you have a product or service that Will benefit the end user and know a great deal about the product, you are sitting on a gold mine!!!!!!

Gordon talked a bit about farming your area in the Real Estate business.

Same thing here.....
Farm your field, but the only way to grow your field is to water and care for your field, in other words, give it what it wants and needs!!!!!!

If you take care of your field, it will take care of you!

Best wishes in '07
Jason