l0 moreways salespeople shoot themselves in the order pad - part

two -

EI'ERE are l0 more reasons why Ilthe overwhelming majority of salespeople fail to achieve greatness (also see last month, p. 57): rl A large number of salespeople believe they have arrived in their profession. They don't understand that they never will arrive. The great ones do understand. Who do you think buys SOVo of the sales books and tapes? It's the old 80/20 rule; the top 207o invest80To of all dollars spent on self-education. I read Working Woman and Redbook because I don't fully understand the opposite sex. I don't think I will ever arrive in that area, either. I just keep getting a little bit better.

I Most salespeople are not that passionate about their profession, which equals low sales. Almost anyone can be great in this profession if the desire to be so is there.

C rn u don't know what it's like to make a great sales call. They have never seen one. Nor have they been taught to conduct one themselves. Consequently, they can't sit down and plan out the "best sales call I will have made to date." The sales manaser comes into play here.

J e nller is the lack of prospecting. In most industries, prospecting is the major component for growing sales. Sales chiefs should install prospecting quotas. Phone, write and visit 257o to 5OVo more potential clients than you did last year. Don't have time? Nonsense. I help clients establish National Prospecting Week. The president, sales manager, salespeople, customer service personnel and I have at it for five straight days. We can't wait to get bunches of "no's" because our "yesses" also go way up.

D Mort have never been told the truth about their shortcomings so they think they are fine. None of us score lo07o in all areas. Get a one-on-one session with a consultant who will not hold back on you. Get the consultant to run your personality profile by profession. Also, sales managers must have the courage to tell the truth.

D Ouer 8O7o of salespeople are not trained to be consultative-type salespeople. They fail because, again, they are talking features and benefits. You wouldn't want a doctor operating on your brain unless she asked questions. It's the same in sales. Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice. Ask about their corporate goals, personal goals and challenges, then help them.

/ Rtt and ve shall receive. It's in the Bible, so I have always taken for gospel that a salesperson's responsibility is to ask for the order. There are many "professional visitors" out there who make social visits as compared to sales visits. Fall in love with the word

By Bill Blades William Blades, LLC Gold Canyon, Az.

"no" because it takes a lot of them to hear "yes" a few times.

O If you have seen one, you have seen them all. A rep needs uniqueness to set him or herself apart. Most corporations don't have a unique service so the salesperson must offer a service so valuable that he wins tons of clients when he asks, "Does your current vendor furnish you with (fill in the service)? And (fill in another service)?" The more valuable the service, the harder it is for them to turn you down. Do things no one else does.

I ao-rnunication is the top area fbr improvement. Many have a hard time in sales because they do not communicate in a clear, concise manner. They may ramble, speak in a monotone or lack style. Seven out of l0 people who lose their jobs do so because of poor communications skills.

lU Only one in 100 people is very creative. The rep who utilizes creativity when preparing for a sales visit will beat the logic-driven competitor every day. Creativity isn't taught in schools or corporate classrooms. So most salespeople are stuck in the same box as when they entered the profession. Most people have the same thoughts today they did five or 10 years ago.

Everyone can improve. Evaluate your sales group in all these areas and figure out how you will score a 9 or 10 in every area.

Why? Because most of your competitors will stay as they are.

- Bill Blades, CMC, CPS, is a professional speaker and consubant specializing in sales and leadership issues. He can be reached at (480) 671-3000 or bi I I @ w illiamb lade s. c o m.

At Britt Lumber, we specialize in redwood fence posts, boards and rails - made directly from the log in our modem sawmill. We're large enough to meet your customers' needs, yet small enough to care and provide the personal seruice you need.

...foJ all your redwood fencing needs from Britt Lumber Go.and Pacific Lumber Go., Fortunar Ca., reman. Cafl Foss Muxworlhy at (707t 822.1779

Lrrnrnr

Foxw o rth- G albraith Lumb e r Co. has acquired a yard in Las Cruces, N.M., from Hope Lumber & Supply Co. ...

Lumbermen's Building Centers closed its Kamiah,Id., location ...

Soares lumber, Gilroy and San Jose, Ca., added a yard in Los Banos, Ca.; mgr. Maria Carapinha, sales Jorge Ramos ...

Dixon Hardware & Lumber, Dixon, Ca, recently held a grand reopening, two years after the store was destroyed by fue ... the company was honored as 2001 Business of the Year by the Dixon Chamber of Commerce ...

Tualatin Vattey Builders Supply, Salem, Or., has closed its Salem, Or., store, reducing the chain to seven retail stores, four contractor service centers, three truss plants and one wall system plant

Lane Forest Products, Eugene, Or., opened a retail yard in Springfield, Or., on part of the old Stone Forest Products property now owned by Harnmer Lumber Co.; specialties include ground covers and planting mixes

Spar Lumber Co., Long Beach, Ca., has closed, seven months after the death of Robert Carter, who founded the business in 1947 ...

Yardbirds decided against acqniring a 4.2-acre mobile home park in Novato, Ca., to build a 50;000-sq. ft. home center with 20,M-sq. ft. garden center

S.M. Hovt Lumber Co. closed its 75-year-oid Ontario, Ca., store, consolidating operations at its Upland, Ca., location

Lowe's Cos. opens new stores this month in St. George, Ut. (Fred Zavala, store mgr.), and West Valley City. Ut. (Barry Chillcott, mgr.), and unveiled new locations last month in Tigard, Or. (John Hills, mgr.); Palm Springs, Ca. (Larry Deakins, mgr.), and Riverside, Ca. (Jonathon Roach, mgf.)...

Lowe's hopes to begin construction next month in Citrus Heights (Sacramento), Ca.; broke ground in Elk Grove, Ca.; may relocate its Bremerton, Wa., store next year to a new l5-acre site; is negotilting to buy 7.2 acres in Vista, Ca., and, despite a delay in design plans, is still on track to open next year in Anchorage, Ak. ...

Home Depot this month opens 107,900-sq. ft. home centers in Glendora, Ca., and Sandy, Ut.; a 108,000-sq. ft. location in Farmington, N.M.; a 115,050-sq. ft. unit in E. Boise, Id., and a 130,500-sq. ft. store in Kahului (Maui), Hi. ...

Home Depot expects late summer openings in Escondido, Ca., and Pearl City, Hi.,(store mgr. Shawn Troup, co-mgr. Keoni Queypo); is fighting resident opposition to plans for a new location in Agoura Hills, Ca.; anticipates an early 2OA2 opening in Woodland, Ca.; paid $3.3 million for 15 acres in Longview, Wa.; has an option on county land in Auburno Ca., and reportedly wants to expand its San Fernando, Ca., warehouse

Horye pepot received p]ary-ri-ng commission approval to build a stacked Depot on top of a Costco on 11.9 acres in the midcity area of Los Angeles ... the chain is

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expanding e-commerce sales into Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Arizona; initial test markets were Las Vegas, San Antonio and Austin, Tx. .-..

Anniversaries: Minton's Lumber & Supply, Mountain View, Ca., 90th ...

Wnorrsrltns/trrurlcrur:rs

Big Valley Lumber Cc- has curtailed operations at its Burney and Bieber, Ca., sawmills for an undetermined period

Simpson Timber Co. permanently closed its Commencement Bay stud mill in Tacoma, Wa., days before starting up a new dimension mill on the same site

Willamette Industries' Dallas. Or., mill has been down for a month to install new equipment

Taylor l4&s/, Sacramento, Ca., has been opened as a West Coast subsidiary of Ohio-based flooring, rift and quartered lumber manufacturer Taylar Lumber Co.

Simpson Strong-Tie moved its offrces from Pleasanton to Dublin, Ca.

XL Co., Lake Oswego, Ca., is representin g Klenk-Holz of Germany for all North American sales of pine and spruce

Allweather Wood Treaters, Washougal, Wa., is the newest licensee of J.H. Baxter's Chemonite wood presewation process ...

Housing starts in March (latest figs.) slipped lVo to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.613 million single-family starts fell 47o to a 1.241 million; multi-family was at a rate of 330,000 for 5+ units, 4?,044 for 2-4 units ... building permits fell 4Vo to an annual pace of 1.615 million

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