The moment(

l\fioveNrs oF rRUrH happen in sales. Establishing early IVlhow we want our relationships to go is essential to a profitable and happy sales life.

Start with your first sentence. "Hello, my name is Jeremy Profitmaker. I work with ABC Distribution. We sell lumber in your area. What kind of lumber do you buy?"

Keep the introduction simple and ask a question. (The person asking the questions controls the call.)

When selling face-to-face, other basic preparation includes:

. Card in left, shake with right. Eye contact and firm handshake please.

Simple introduction.

. Ask the prospect to sit.

Begin asking questions.

. Most sellers ramble in their introduction. Simple introduction, then questions.

Side-Stepping and the Non-Answer Answer

When customers side-step even a simple question, it is our opportunity to establish what kind of relationships we willhave.

Us.' "How much of that do you buy per month?"

Customer: "A fair amount."

This is what I call a non-answer answer. If we let it (side-stepping our question) pass, we are establishing that it is okay. And it is not okay What kind of relationship would we have with our spouse if, when we ask where they are going, they respond, "Out"? We cannot allow our customers to establish this kind of relationship with us either. When we ask a question, no matter how simple, we cannot move on until we get an answer.

Why doesn't the customer want to respond? What are they hiding? Like the detective who almost gets run over by the car at 3:00 in the morning, it only happens when he is getting close to finding the killer (order). If the customer obfuscates, all the more reason to ask more questions.

If we let the answers to simple questions slide, we are complicit in our own demise at closing and for the balance of the relationship.

Giving Price and Closing

Price should be given at closing only. Why give price if customers are not ready to buy? To have our price shopped? This does not work for us. We should do everything in our power to construct our sales calls so that we give price at closing only.

Master sellers construct sales conversations where pricegiving and closing happen simultaneously. A "quotron," for example, might say, "Hi, John. I've got a car of 92-518".|t is rolling, and I can get it into you at $250. What do you think?" All information has been siven. Are we information dispensers? No!

Instead consider:

Us.' "Hi, John. We just bought a block of 20 studs. We can work with you on trims and shipment. We've got a heck of a price. How many can you use?"

Customer: "What's the price?" (A question about price is a buy sign. We have constructed the conversation so that interested customers will give us buy signs. This is a great way to get into more sales conversations versus quotronic information dispensing.)

Us.' "The price is the icing on the cake, John. How many can you use?"

Or...

"The price is fantastic. If we agree that the price is fantastic, how many can you use?"

Eventually we have to give the price. But we have made the giving of the price an event-something of value. And when we give the price, we ask for the order!

The moment of truth of our sales career happens every no. Quotrons so fear the no they don't ask. Some sellers ask once. Closers ask several times in different ways. The sellers getting all the business ask multiple times per closing call. Set five times as a goal.

Firing Non-Profitable Customers

Setting a deadline for how long we will work non-profitable accounts is key to sales growth. (Especially the marginally profitable!)

Prospecting + Firing non-profitable accounts = Sales growth

Our biggest moment of truth is when we decide that we are worth more than we are being paid. Master sellers upgrade their account base continually. Struggling sellers hang on to customers (even those who abuse them) too long and only prospect in emergencies.

Some master sellers are born; most spawn from a moment of truth, an AHA! moment, where they enter the World of No Excuses. It's when they decide, it's 1007o up to me.

James Olsen Reality Sales Training (503\ 544-3572 james @realitysalestraining.com