The Selling Sherpa

YOUR CALENDAR, YOUR GOALS

If you’ve done the math and determined your “mpg” of selling, you should have a pretty good idea of what your personal income will be this month, this quarter, and this year.

You have the ability to determine your annual income every year and PLAN for the activity you need to achieve that goal. You can also plan for increases in personal income by increasing the activities that lead to sales. With a plan that includes more calls, more appointments, and more presentations, you can close more sales and earn more commissions.

Have you made that plan? Have you written your goals down? Can you look at your calendar and see where you should be by August 30, October 1, or December 31?

I challenge you to make notes on your calendar (Outlook, PDA, Day Runner, etc.) for daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. If you glance at your calendar every day and see your goals written there, you’ll be closer to achieving them than most salespeople will ever get.

EFFECTIVE SALES CORRESPONDENCE

Whether you use direct mail, email, advertising, phone calls or face-to-face communication, you’ve got to make sure your message is effective and compelling. How can you determine, in advance, if it is?

Take a good look (or listen) to whatever you plan to put in front of your prospect and ask yourself, “if I were receiving this communication, would it make it through my junk mail/phone solicitation filter?”

If you can’t be objective about this kind of assessment, ask a good friend (one who is unafraid to expose painful truths) to tell you if they would take your call or open your mail.

If the answer is anything less than a resounding “yes”, don’t send it. Instead, go back to the drawing board and create something so compelling that even the most jaded consumer would at least consider your offer.

Be sure to retest your results until you get it right.

BEING A RESOURCE

Want to build a closer business relationship with your clients and prospects? Become a resource they can trust to provide them with news and relevant information that helps them succeed.

Being a resource doesn’t require endless nights of research. All you have to do is start paying attention to every magazine, trade publication, and periodical that crosses your path.

When you find an article that might have some impact on your customer, clip it and send it.

Or, better yet, drop it off in person.