The spirit of the salesman

f, s se,I-esreopI-E, we need to be confident. Confidence lLinspires confidence. If we are confident in what we say, our customers will feel and believe it. This will help them relax enough to listen to us.

So many sellers can't even get their (potential) customers to speak to them, much less listen, because their approach is too humble or nervous. The humble may inherit the earth, but they are going to inherit it from a salesperson who was bold enough to ask for it first. Humble salespeople confuse being humble with being respectful and suffer for it. Humble is easy to say no to.

Confidence alone is not enough. Great sellers are bold. They ask for things, even when they are told those things aren't available:

The Buyer

Us.' "May I speak to the buyer please?

Reception: "She is on the phone right now."

Us.' "That's fine, I can wait a little bit. How are you today?" (Friendly banter ensues-the rare and subtle art of the master seller.)

Reception: "Oh, she's free. Let me put you through."

The Order

Us.' "John, we just bought a block of 2x4 l6's out of Big Timber. We've already sold five to market-savvy customers. How many can you use?"

Customer: "I can't afford to pay the premium for l6's, but what's your price?" (This is where the Quotron gives the price and then says, "Okay.")

Us.' "The price is the good part. If you think you can't afford l6's now, wait until they run another $50/MBF. Let's put at least two of these on to protect you from this market andhelp you make money while we do it."

Customer: "Alright, give me one of those."

More

Customer: "Okay, I'll take one of those at $450."

Quotron: "Thanks for the order."

Us.' "John, I don't think one is going to be enough. You only buy great deals, so this must be one and since that is true, we should put on at least five."

Customer: "You're right, but five is too many. Give me an extra two for a total of three."

Persistent & Gonsistent

Salespeople who struggle are afraid of being pushy.

Master sellers don't even think about it. There are salespeople who are too pushy, but they are rare. Unless you are a statistical anomaly, you are not too pushy, probably the opposite.

We don't need to be pushy. We need to be persistent and consistent. We need to call on our customers and promote product to them in a persistent and consistent way. Many sellers only call their customers with deals. This makes them the deal supplier, not the main supplier. When we are in sync with our customers, we can sell into their need. When we call willy-nilly, all we can do is offer them deals. This is called chasing. Chasing orders/selling deals are part of what we do as market-driven sellers. But we also want the "relationship orders." These orders go to the salesperson who calls in a persistent and consistent way.

The Spirit of the Possible

In many cases, "We have reached our conclusion" just means "We have stopped thinking." Too many sellers arq hiding behind the truth, Master sellers find a way. They usd creativity and imagination to structure the deal so it workd for everyone.

Sawmill/wholesaler/distribution organization has a carload of 2x4 14's that needs to be gone-todayl

Quotron: "I talked to my guy. He can't use l4's." (Thid is a truth, but a worthless one. This is like a Marine at war saying his tummy hurts. It may be true, but it doesn't help us win.)

Us; "My guy couldn't use l4's, so I sold them to him on a 12' count. It was a bit of a counter. but they're sold." :

The fact (master sellers ignore these annoying things sometimes) is that both customers above can't :use l4's.

It is also a fact that the second customer bought a load of l4's! Many sellers think they are in the fact business, while master sellers realize they are in the possible business.

It's just talking, right? Wrong. Salesmanship takes a certain spirit-the spirit of a salesman.

James Olsen Reality Sales Training (503), 544-3572

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