It all
started when I was 14 years
old, my sales career that
is. I took a
job as a
newspaper delivery boy. It
was an exciting for a 14
year old to have money in
his pocket and understand
the value of a dollar. I was
no longer reliant on my
parents when I wanted to go
to a movie or purchase a Slurpee, and I took every
advantage of my new freedom
and cash flow.
Being a paperboy not only
required that I deliver a
daily newspaper it also
introduced me to
door-to-door selling. On
Saturdays the paper route
manager would load her van
up with 10 teenage boys who
delivered papers and we
would drive to a new
neighborhood and do what we
called 'crew working'. This
simply meant door-to-door
sales. I wasn't an instant
success, however, very
quickly I did develop a
sales presentation, and as a
result that first year I
sold more newspaper
subscriptions than anyone in
the history of the
newspaper, and I was 14
YEARS OLD! I sold nearly 96
subscriptions that year and
the average was 25.
In my time with the
newspaper I was the number
one salesman the entire
time. Since then I have had
other sales jobs and every
time I have always been the
number one salesperson. To
this day, almost twenty
years after my paperboy
experience I make it a goal
to outsell those in my
circle. I don't do it to
prove I am better. I do it
as an internal competition
for myself and as a
motivator to keep me from
getting stagnate.
So how do you maintain a
level of number one sales
person for a period of
twenty years at every sales
organization that you go to?
There are a lot of factors.
However, two of the most
important are:
1. NEVER wing it!
2. Understand that buying is
an emotional decision
First of all, the sales
person who does not know
EXACTLY what he is going to
say, exactly what questions
he is going to ask and
exactly how long his
presentation will be, is
setting himself up for
failure. I can't believe my
ears whenever I hear
speakers say, "I was
preparing what I was going
to talk about right before I
spoke." or "I didn't know
what I was going to talk
about until I got here."
When they say that there is
almost arrogance in their
voice that says, "You know I
am so good and so
knowledgeable that I can
just decide what I want to
talk about at the last
minute and wing it." The
sales professional with this
attitude is no professional.
He is more impressed with
his ability and knowledge
than the size of his
commission checks. On the
other hand, the top sales
professional is concerned
with how much product he
moves.
If your goal is to be a
top producer, then
understand that you must be
prepared. Decide what
questions are thought
provoking questions,
memorize those questions and
ask them to your prospect.
When they are engaged and
thinking then you win. When
you are winging and just
spouting information, the
odds of them being engaged
decreases significantly.
Next, understand that
buying is an emotional
decision. Brian Tracy tells
the story of a couple who
are looking to buy a home.
As the couple walks up to
the home the woman exclaims,
'Wow! There is a cherry tree
in the back! I have always
wanted a cherry tree!' The
salesman makes a note of
this and walks them into the
home. The husband says, "The
kitchen is too small" and
the salesman replies, "Yes,
but look through the window
and you have a perfect view
of the cherry tree." The
husband walks into the
backyard and says, "We don't
want to have to take care of
a swimming pool." The
salesman says, "Yes, but you
can put a chair right here
and sit under the cherry
tree anytime you like." The
husband was using logic and
the salesman emotion. The
couple bought the house
because of that.
One tragic mistake many
salespeople make when
selling is that they talk
constantly about themselves
and how the product has
helped them. While this is
good to a limited extent,
notice the difference
between:
"I took this seminar on
memory training 15 years
ago. I tell you what; I use
this all the time. I used it
to give my speeches without
notes, memorize people's
names and much more. I have
appeared on television and
radio because of this
training. It has made me a
low end celebrity!'
Or
'I want you to imagine
this. You go to this seminar
and when you leave your
children are able to
memorize their school work
in minutes. I know their
smart and so do you. They
are taught what to learn…and
not how to learn. Let's
teach them together how to
learn and watch their
confidence and self-esteem
shoot through the roof!
Next, how many times have
you been at a baseball game
and you see someone that you
have sold a home to and you
can't remember their name?
You are embarrassed, and
they don't feel special.
Now, flip that around you
sell a home and 6 months
later recall their name. You
have made them feel
important, significant and
special. At this point, you
earn their referral business
and are well on your way to
earning a fortune!'
Notice the difference
between the two statements.
The first statement is a
salesperson stating what
this seminar has done for
them! The next statement is
the same information worded
another way. In the second
statement, you are getting
the prospect to visualize
themselves and their family
experiencing the value of
the product. When you do
this you have their
emotions. When you talk
about yourself you do not
have their emotions. Yes,
you may be your favorite
subject; however, you are
not your prospect's favorite
subject, and the earlier you
begin talking in terms of
them the earlier you will
get their emotions.
So in review: prepare and
get their emotions and you
will be the top sales person
in your organization for the
next twenty years!!
This article
was written by Ron White and
reproduced with permission
from the Jim Rohn Weekly
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