Farmiloe's Ten Commandments of Sales

There are a few things that I have learned in coaching and leading sales teams for the past 35 years. I call them my Ten Commandments of Sales. I’m amazed at how often I need to remind sales professionals about these over and over again.

1)   Know your value proposition. Work hard on developing both your company value proposition, and your professional value proposition. Develop an elevator pitch that is compelling and meaningful. If you can’t explain it simply, then you don’t understand it. You’re not even going to get a meeting unless you know the value you provide.

2)   Show them respect by being prepared. Every meeting deserves an agenda. Send it to them in advance. Let them know the purpose of your visit. It is not only respectful, but it helps them get into the frame of mind to have meaningful discussions. They may even invite other decision influencers into the meeting if they know the exact purpose and discussion points in advance. Do research about them, their company, and their industry in advance. If you can find it out on Google, you shouldn’t waste their time by asking.

3)   Start and stop the meeting on time. Arrive early. If you say the meeting is for 30 minutes, then end it at 30-minutes no matter what. They can always ask you to extend the meeting or reschedule to continue the meeting. You will gain their respect by doing this.

4)   Don’t waste their time. Professionals are very busy. Don’t talk about their favorite sports team pictured behind their desk. Don’t make small talk. Get to the point.

5)   Take notes. Ask if you can take notes during the meeting. They want to be heard and understood. When you take notes, you remember better. It also shows them that you hear them. 

6)   They don’t want to be sold. But they do want to purchase. They want to buy from you if you can prove that you can help them. Used car salespeople and time share salespeople want to sell. Don’t be like them. Spent the majority of the meeting asking questions to better understand their challenges and needs. Be inquisitive.

7)   Everyone will buy if you prove the value.  If you offer someone a $100 dollar bill for their $20 dollar bill, they will take it every time. Prove your value in measurable terms.

8)   Prospects don’t care about you meeting your quota. They only care about what you can do for them. That’s all they should care about. That’s what they get paid to care about. They want to know what pain you can take away, or what cost you can reduce. How can you make their situation better?

9)   Next steps. Discuss and agree upon the next steps as a result of the meeting. Following the meeting, put them in writing to provide a recap that can be referenced. Otherwise, they might think they wasted their time with you.

10) Ask for referrals. After you deliver on your promises, ask them who else they know that you could help. HubSpot's 107 Mind-Blowing Sales Statistics found that 91% of customers would be willing to give a referral, but only 11% of sales reps actually ask for one.