Want to know the quickest ways to increase your income from commission selling? The following are common sense, but points of common sense in selling are quite often those most overlooked.
1. Plan: Plan your work; plan your play; work your plan.
Sales trainer Dick Gardner used to say, tongue in cheek, "Plan your work and work your friends." There's a lot of truth in that. Work your plan religiously and you'll find your prospects and customers are rapidly becoming your friends.
Plan your sales calls around appointments for the sales interview or presentation. Plan your interviews around your collections. Plan a full day every working day. Plan your day the day before. Plan your week the week before. Days will go faster, but they will be more productive. If you have a trainee with you, he or she will observe and learn good working habits. You will have made a contribution to the world.
2. Know and offer what your customers need, want, can/will pay for, and trust.
The primary reasons why the prospect says "no" to the sale are no want or need, no money, no trust and no hurry. If you anticipate these sentiments and address them up front, your sales will come more frequently!
It's up to you to build urgency. "If not today, then when? Today is a good day to make a change. If change doesn't get made today, it probably won't get made. Are you going to be satisfied with things as they are? For how long?"
The primary reason for lost sales and for turnover in selling is lack of planning and preparation before getting in front of the customer.
Do your homework. Sell more.
3. Target your market and qualify your prospects.
Trying to sell to a market you haven't targeted is simply spinning your wheels. That's all there is to it. Trying to sell to people who don't have the need you address or authority to make a buying decision is an exercise in futility.
The better you target and qualify your prospects on the front end, the less often you will have to rely on "objection-handling" and "closing sequences," and the more often you will find yourself just "taking orders."
4. WIIFM: "What's In It For your Market base!" Customer Benefits!
Always see your prospect as a one channel radio station: WIIFM! WIIFM is an acronym for "What's In It For Me?" "What's in it for me?" is the question that's always on the prospect's mind. If you suggest an appointment to your prospect, let her know what's in it for her; how she will benefit from giving you the appointment. If you talk about features, always tie them to what's in it for her: benefits!
5. Turn "major objections" into benefits and brag on them up front!
What is the overriding reason why your prospects buy from your competitor rather than you? It may or may not happen very frequently, but if you can identify that reason, you can turn it around.
The guest bedroom is too small? That means the home is designed to put the maximum living area into the more lived-in areas of the home!
The customer doesn't like the color? "I know what you mean, sir. I prefer last year's color schemes, myself. The fact is, the designers do a lot of research each year to keep our color schemes up to date. I get left behind, myself, but most of our customers come back and say the new color schemes grow on them. They're glad our designers are on the ball, in the long run."
Look for ways you can turn your product's vulnerabilities into benefits. Brag on them on the front end.
To be continued in "Common Sense Money Makers for Sales People Part 2"
About the Author
Gene Shambaugh has been a salesman, sales trainer, training developer, seminar presenter, public speaker, and is author of DISCOVER STREET SMART SELLING and STREET SMART SELLING among other books.
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