What do I do?

fl u" WALKS lNro the doctor's \foffice. "Doc. I broke my arm in five places, what do I do?" The doctor thinks for a moment and says, "Stay out of those places."

Many salespeople come to me asking for help on problems that are at best mitigate-able but almost never winnable. Let's take steps before these situations happen.

" I talked to my customer last Friday. He assured me he would give me the order on Monday. Now I can't get him on the phone." What do I do?

Sell the whole account. Many sellers save all their charm and attention for the buyer. This is insincere, and the other people at the account know it. Make a conscious effort to get to know everyone at the account. In this way, when we need allies-and we will-we will have them. If we make the minimum of effort with the receptionists, they will bend over backwards to help us. They live to help those who recognize their importance (and respect their power).

Create urgency in your closes. To overcome customer procrastination, use urgency, "John, I would love to wait until Monday, but these great salespeople I work with will have this sold by then. Let's just do it now."

"My biggest account continually grinds me down to the last penny. He holds the price of our cheapest competitors over our head at negotiation time and we always cave." What do I do?

Be precise on value. The earlier in the relationship, the better! If you charge more money than your competition, it may be because: You always ship on time. Instead of telling the customer you always ship on time, ask your customer if there is a penalty for late shipment. If they ask why, tell them because you make on-time delivery seem easy, but in fact it costs you money to ship on time every time, but you appreciate the erstwhile unknown ability to ship late without consequence. This forces the customer to decide. Of course they want your level of service, quality, expertise and charm at the same price as the cheap guy-but it is our responsibility to sell the difference.

. Your product is always right the first time. Ask your customer if there is a penalty for poor product. "But they always make it right" will be a common response. yes, but what is the price of the hassle and loss of momenlum? In any case. is there a penalty? If your product is always right the first time, force customers to answer these questions. Make sure you are not in denial. Just because you say you are better doesn't make it so. The same goes for quality, integrity and the rest. Make sure you are selling a value that truly differentiates you and, more importantly, that your customers will pay for. o Prospect. If we do not prospect, our current accounts own us-and they know it. If we find ourselves in this situation, it will be difficult to win negotiations. If we always upgrade our account base-the lifetime activity of the seller who wins negotiations-we will get better prices.

"She only wants to communicate by email." What do I do?

Speak to your customers by email as you would in a conversation.

Always ask questions that demand-or ask for, depending on your and your customer's style-a response. IJse teasers. Give them a list of five products, listing the price of four. For the product they need/want the most put "Too good to put on the Internet. Call for secret price."

. Leave great phone messages. Practice and polish. Our phone message in the age of email and texting is vital. Keep it under l0 seconds. Be bold (not loud or bombastic) and confident in your value. "Hey, Pete, this is Bob. I've got some great de.als on the ,#,, items we have been emailing about. Call me. I only have five left."

. Persistent and consistent. Keep calling. There are those who only communicate by email, but to really get close to an account, we will have to talk to them. Be consistent and persistent-they will pick up.

James Olsen Reality Sales Training (503) s44-3572