How many salespeople have a technique for sales, or a system for selling that works effectively?

Most of the successful sales professionals have a step-by-step plan for selling. From the very first contact to closing the deal and getting the check, sales pros are following a tested, structured system. They know exactly where they are with their prospect and what they need to do next to get the deal done.

New and unsuccessful salespeople just wing it every time. They'll try a false close, or start 'mirroring' their prospect, maybe even throw some NLP (neuro linguistic programming) they picked up from the latest fly-by-night guru. And their results will be all over the place. Sometimes they'll close the sale; in spite of making all they wrong moves, which reinforce more desperate selling behavior.

When you use a step-by-step sales technique, it enables you to actually control the sale. You're no longer on the defensive with the prospect. Instead of scrambling to come up with a response to an objection or trying to read minds, you know exactly where the prospect is in the sales cycle and what you need to do next.

The greatest benefit of using an effective technique for sales is that it produces consistent results every time. This removes almost all the stress from sale situation and makes the prospect more comfortable as they perceive you to be a professional solutions provider, not a desperate salesman. If a prospect doesn't feel comfortable around you, their "salesman armor" will come up, making it that much harder for you to communicate the value you are offering.

Proper sales technique is just like a recipe for your favorite meal; if followed, the outcome is virtually guaranteed. You go from step-to-step, adjusting where necessary, until you finish... leaving you with a hot delicious meal (or a big fat commission check).

Selling without a proven system leaves you stressed out. Your results will be different every time so you never know if you're going to make the sale. This is where all the fear and frustration of the sales profession comes in. You will hear many unsuccessful salespeople complain about it being the company's fault, or the economy, or XYZ... when really the problem is they never had a proper sales technique. If you don't know where or when your next paycheck is coming from, how can you expect to enjoy selling as a career?

Having a step-by-step sales method is one of the key techniques for sales success. Make sure you are using a sales method that has proven to work regardless of the industry, the economy, or uncooperative prospects.

To your bigger commissions!

Ron

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One of the biggest challenges I had when I first started in sales was talking to people.

I realized that sales was a 'contact sport.' Explained to me as "the more people you contact, the bigger your paycheck."

While this is true... to an extent... it was still one of the hardest skills I had to acquire. Mainly because any kind of cold prospecting (i.e. cold calling, door knocking, shoulder tapping, etc.) involves a good amount of daily rejection. And when your selling confidence is low from being new or not doing well, that daily rejection adds up quickly.

To conquer this fear, I made two breakthroughs:

1. You have to be comfortable talking to strangers... otherwise there is no point in you being in sales. I made a point to start a conversation with anybody I ran into throughout the day. I also started practicing a random technique I read about in a dating book. It goes like this: Everyday you have to get at least 3 movie recommendations from a total stranger you call at random. Try it. It sounds really silly, but after a week or two, you lose all fear of making a cold call immediately!

2. Life is too short to make cold calls... you can practice and practice and be a lethal phone sales expert, but at the end of the day.... cold calling sucks!

The GUTS Sales Method taught me that your commissions (and your ego) are much bigger when you only talk to warm prospects. People who have genuinely raised up their hands and said "Yes, I might be interested in what you are selling... tell me more." When you spend your days talking to people like that, all the stress, fear, feeling of failure are gone completely. And let's not forget how much your sales improve when you spend your time with only qualified prospects.

Sell with GUTS and and leave the struggle for the cold callers...
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In the last post about confidence, we uncovered attitude to be important in selling. No doubt about that.

Well, you ask, how do I develop a winning attitude?

An easy way to quickly boost your confidence is... enthusiasm!

With enthusiasm, you never have to convince yourself to act confident. It's impossible to feel helpless when you are excited about something or someone. When was the last time you had a vacation or big party planned and couldn't drag yourself out of bed? You probably had a pretty hard time sleeping the night before!

One of the most helpful books I found the explains this phenomenon in great detail is:

Enthusiasm Makes The Difference by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Read his book and see if his techniques don't improve your sales, and your life by the next day!
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One of the most important attributes a salesperson needs to be successful is without a doubt... confidence.

But the question I am always asked is, "Ron, how can I be confident when I've never had any real success before?"

Here is how I see it. Confidence is not something you physically posses... it is an attitude.

This isn't about faking it, or pretending, it's about having a winning attitude in your day's activities. There is always someone who is going to be better than you at something, and plenty of people who are going to be worse. Confidence comes not from being great at something, but feeling great about yourself.

And when it comes to selling, the easiest way to feel great about yourself is by feeling great about your product or service. Never sell something you don't believe in or wouldn't mind selling your Grandma. Follow this rule and your confidence will always be at the level needed to close the sale.

Yours in bigger commissions!
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