Has anyone ever tried a headline like this?...

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by -TW

"Are you open to new ideas about [whatever]?"

Let me know.

I seem to be a cosmic magnet for people who are NOT open to new ideas about [whatever].

Within 6-seconds of meeting me, everyone instantly quips, "I'm all set -- thanks anyway, bub." -- as they point me towards the nearest exit.

Maybe it's my toothpaste.

Hi TW,

I only have a short time to post at the moment, so this will be fast and quick!

Have you read Gordon Alexander's "The White Bread Post"? You can read it here... http://sowpub.com/story-whitebread.shtml

As Gordon says, "you can’t do anything well without enthusiasm."

It's most definitely true in sales...

Your attitude comes across. People can sense it. It doesn't matter whether you are talking to them face-to-face, speaking to them over the phone, or writing words on a page... People can sense your mental state!

If someone is happy and enthusiastic... it comes across. Also, if someone is hesitant and cynical... it comes across too. Of course, people prefer dealing with happy, enthusiastic, cheerful people...

So, the first thing a person must work on is their attitude!

It was a long time since I've read it, but I think this was also mentioned in Joe Karbo's "The Lazy Man's Way To Riches". He said his wife was the most optimistic, enthusiastic person he knew. If she walked into the house and saw a pile of horse manure in the living room, she'd jump up and down with delight, clap her hands and say, "Someone got me a pony!"

So... attitude really makes a big difference!

(By the way, I still sometimes make this mistake... and don't work on my attitude first, like I always should...)

Now... I haven't had the years of sales experience some have had here. But... I've taken a couple sales jobs, mainly for the sales experience. I won a few sales competitions (in my work place), so while I don't claim the years of expertise others have here, I do know something... And I found it to be true. If I was feeling down, or lacked energy, I made fewer sales. If I felt enthusiastic, and felt energetic and great, I made more sales!

Okay... The other part is, you have to build up rapport... People are more likely to buy from someone they feel a "connection" with.

Finally, what questions you ask depends on your approach. For example, if you have a huge list and you are selling by phone, you might want to quickly determine who is a real prospect, and who isn't. In that case, a "yes/no" question might be appropriate, so you can quickly hang up and move on, if they give the wrong answer. However, if it's part of the sales process, you generally don't want the person answering "no", so ask questions they can only answer "yes" to. I think we've had big debates on this in the archives somewhere...

Best of luck, TW...

Cheers,

Dien

P.S. Hmm... more lengthy than I was intending.