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Chances are you attend regular meetings of some organization in your marketplace, whether it is a Chamber, service organization (like Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis), professional association or leads group.
Do you sit at the same table with the same people every time?? If so, it is time to stir it up!
Make a point of sitting at a different table every time. Plan to meet new people every time you attend regular meetings and you’ll see rapid growth in your personal network.
Every morning, I used to open up my calendar, look at previous commitments, and ask myself, “what am I doing today?” That’s probably the same thing you do every morning, too.
A professional speaker friend of mine once suggested I change that question to, “what am I doing today to get a booking?” By making that slight change, I have begun programming myself to be more focused on what I need to be doing to further my speaking career.
You can do the same thing by asking, “what am I doing today to make a sale?” This will help you focus more on the task at hand, getting new sales, rather than finding excuses to ‘stay in touch’ with everyone in your contact database.
Ask yourself the right question every morning and throughout the day and you will get more sales. So you don’t forget, you can even set up reminders every hour in your Outlook, PDA, or day planner.
So, what are you doing today to make a sale?
It has happened to me in the past, and it may have happened to you. You negotiate, you reach an agreement, you move forward only to find out later that what you remember about the agreement is not the same think your customer remembers about it.
Make sure you cover all points thoroughly, document everything, and get all parties to sign the agreement.
If there is something in your agreement that has caused problems in the past with our customers, discuss it at length with your customer to be sure they understand the details, then have them initial that clause.
Doing business on a handshake is great, but it’s better to get paid in full on a sales that is signed, sealed, delivered.
Some folks mistake leads for referrals. They are not the same thing.
A lead is a business card handed to you with a suggestion to contact the person on the card because they might need your help. A lead is a well-meaning friend calling you to let you know about a new construction project, or a new business, or a new neighbor, because it might be an opportunity for you.
A referral is someone bringing a friend into your place of business so they can buy from you. A referral is a person of influence introducing you personally to a colleague who has already heard about your products and service and wants you to be their solution-provider.
When you ask for referrals, make sure you don’t settle for leads.
If you have a prospect who is indecisive about buying, you might try a technique called the “take-away” close.
It is simply this: refuse to sell them your product or service. Tell them that your company doesn’t want to create a relationship with anyone who is less than enthusiastic about your product or service, so it might be better if you don’t let them buy from you.
Don’t take my word for it. Try this the next time you have a wishy-washy prospect. At the very least, you’ll be able to stop wasting time baby-sitting them and move on to brighter prospects.
At another coffee shop this morning (we have one on every corner in the Seattle area), I was asked if I have a punch-card. My answer was no, and the cashier had nothing further to say.
I asked if there was a reason I should have one and he told me of their “buy 10, get one free” program. Sounded good to me, so I opted in.
Do you have a program to reward regular purchasers of your products or service? If not, create one.
If you already have one, make sure you promote it to every customer. Don’t wait for customers to ask you for the details; instead, suggest participation to every customer with every transaction.
My sister-in-law, her husband and their 3-year old son have been staying in our guest house for a little over a month. Because they live on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, their visits with us are rare and several years between, so it truly is a joy to be able to spend so much time with them.
Of course, having a 3-year old running around is extremely entertaining. He is fascinated by most everything and is very inquisitive, as most children his age are. He frequently challenges my reasoning ability with the never-ending “why?” game.
He is also quite the negotiator and goal-setter. He makes up his mind that he wants something and he puts all his energy into accomplishing his mission. More often than not, his objectives are achieved.
You were born with the same abilities that he was. But somewhere, you may have lost a little of the intensity that he brings to every endeavor. Could you bring back some of that youthful energy, excitement, and exuberance?
What would happen to your sales if you had the same determination that he has? What would your commission checks look like if you had the closing ratio of a 3-year old?
If you weren’t able to make a sale to a well-qualified prospect, stay in touch with them anyway.
You don’t have to call them every week, but be sure you contact them at least quarterly.
Why? Budgets change. Priorities change. Decision-makers change.
In time, everything changes and that could mean doors that were once closed could swing wide open for you: but, only if you stay in touch!
Most of the time, we take whatever business comes out way and in that crapshoot of customers, we end up with scenarios of all kinds: win-win, win-lose, lose-win, and even some lose-lose.
That is because we are rarely discriminate in our sales and marketing efforts. Instead, we cast out the largest net we can and bring in as many prospects as we are able, whether or not they are right for our company.
If you could choose your customers, who would you choose? Which prospects would make the perfect clients? Who do you love?
Decide who you want to be in business with and develop a deliberate, focused strategy to make that happen. Concentrate your efforts on bringing in the best customers and two things will happen: most of your customer service issues will disappear and your profits will soar.
When I was selling broadcast and print advertising, my habit was to almost try to talk prospects out of buying. I would ask disqualifying questions like, “why do you want to advertise?”, “why do you want to reach our listeners/readers?”, “do you really think our demographics are a match to your market?”, and “wouldn’t it be better if you used another media?”
While this sounds crazy, it actually prospects to reinforce to themselves why they should buy advertising. Once they convinced themselves, I did not have to sell them anything....I only had to help them buy what they wanted.
Try this technique with your prospects and watch what happens. You will be amazed!
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