One of the simplest pieces of advice I can give you is to ask questions when you sell.

Sounds like simple advice.

And in a way it is.

Asking questions takes a ton of pressure off of you the seller.

It takes pressure off of you and it helps to put the responsibility for solving the prospect's problem where it belongs - on the prospect.

But just "ask questions" doesn't tell you enough.

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Some people get into sales because they "like people".

They are people persons at heart.

How nice.



Turns out though that this can be a limitation to sales success.

People who are real people persons often find that they bend and conform themselves too far in order to satisfy their need for approval.

This need for approval can go so far as to cause fear of making the prospect mad.

And when you are afraid of making your prospect mad, or of not getting his approval, bad things happen to you in sales.

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What is the perfect sales call?

Giving the best sales presentation?

Being in complete rapport with your prospect the whole time?

Asking just the right pain questions so that you really stir up trouble and discover powerful purchasing motivation?

Asking for the order, or the appropriate "next step", and getting it?

One could say that the Perfect Sales Call would include all of the above (and possibly more).

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The 1st quarter of 2008 is almost over.

Sales kickoff meetings are done.

Quotas have all been assigned for the year (hopefully).

So how are you doing on building up your pipeline?

Are you proactively contacting lots of new prospects?

Do you have a solid system for networking and finding new leads through current and past customers and business contacts?

Do you have a system of rules in place to qualify and introduce new prospects to your business and into your pipeline?

The thing about sales is that it really is all about you.

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The other day I asked "What would your customers think of Persuasive Selling?"

Well a salesman out in here in California who sells industrial water treatment products and services wrote back with an answer from a real customer of his.

Here's Bill Kelly's story:

Shamus, I purchased your program and it helps to bring the customer to a conclusion faster, whether you decide to work with them or not. 

A customer walked me to my car last week and on the passenger seat in my car was the CD case for the Persuasive Selling Skills Audio Program. 

My customer looked at case, then at me, and then asked 'Am I being manipulated?'

I looked into his eyes and asked him 'What do you think?'

He thought for a second and said 'No, you got right to my problem, addressed it with no BS and helped me move to fix the problem.' 

I told him that is the basis of your program. 

My customer purchased from me because I fixed his problem. Thanks."

The customer didn't feel manipulated.

He wasn't angry.

He didn't feel ripped off.

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Whoo boy, by the time you read this, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer just may be known as former Governor Spitzer, or else the soon-to-be-impeached Governor Spitzer.

In case you been hidin under a rock the last two days, you must know by now that Mr. High-and-Might himself, the Sherriff-o-Wall-Street, is tumbling down from the mountain top by his own hubris and hypocrisy.

Seems he just couldn't resist sampling the candy.

Turns out Sherriff Spitzer is client number 9 of a high priced international call girl ring known as the Emperor's Club VIP.

Prices are rumored to be as high as 5500 bux an hour.

Man!

Do ya think he got a discount?

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Ever wonder what your customers would think if they knew you studied how to be a better salesman?

What if you told your customers that you took a course called Persuasive Selling Skills, how do you think they would react?

Do you think that they would get mad?

Do you think that they would feel ripped off?

Manipulated?

Taken advantage of?

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Oh boy, are these lame.

I just read an article from a real old school sales trainer about how to overcome sales objections.

I am in a good mood right now, so I am going to spare the guy the embarrassment and not mention his name.

But here's what he suggested…

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Do more sales calls make you a better salesman?

Does more activity give you more sales?

Well the answer is yes, and the answer is no.

More sales calls can bring you more sales.

If you have a systematic method for qualifying your prospects, generating interest and desire, and getting commitments then, yes, more sales calls equals more sales.

If on the other hand, you have a haphazard approach to selling with no firm rules about who you will sell to, and who you will NOT sell to, then making more sales calls will not necessarily give your more sales.

How about becoming a better salesman?

Will more calls make you better?

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Early on my sales career I became well known for dropping my pants too fast.

Dr. discount, one of the other sales reps called me.

As soon as I had a prospect on the hook and ready to close, I would use a discount, sometimes a big one, to get the deal to close fast.

In other words, I would "drop my pants" anytime I thought it would help me to close a deal.

Hindsight it 20-20.

And in hindsight, I coulda done a lot better.

But hey, I was green and I didn't know.

I was selling software, and the final decision-makers were pretty experienced businessmen, usually older than me.

And they knew enough in the negotiation to pose as if they didn't need what I was selling right away. They played as if they could wait a few more months, and they would be fine.

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