IN THE GAME OF SALES, LEARN TO FAIL FIRST.
By Jim Loria
Before approaching the major sponsors or corporations in the business world, you have to be prepared, plain and simple. It’s no different than a coach on a sports team. They develop a plan and scheme prior to each game. They watch film and look for tendencies. In the business world, there are some sales people that go on hit & run missions. Hoping for the person behind the desk to say “YES” until you get told by a client “that you’re sitting behind the 8-ball” (yes, this bold statement was said to me years ago!)
During my career as a manager, I have always assigned the start-up team members to phones sales first (the air attack in the armed forces of selling) to learn how to converse, introduce our product, its benefits and even to start hearing the many different forms of objections that will be used.
Then, mix in the ground force attack with visits to some small shops or stores around town, which is essentially like a hairdresser taking their first cuts on a family member to gain their real life experience. If the rep fails to connect on sales during this training period, the club does not suffer any financial harm. This is how I learned the business of sales myself. I went out to the very small businesses. Not only did I develop a routine but I quickly found that you had to adjust to many different personalities. No presentation would ever be the same.
From those meetings, I asked questions like "Why do you buy tickets or why not? What do you like from your sales reps? How do you like to receive proposals?" Some clients can be scared off if they see too many words in a proposal. I found that I had to become more comfortable in my approach when I walked into the client’s office. I took note of my body language and surroundings. I made sure to make eye contact with the front desk personnel. When I met the client, I had to learn how to begin a conversation and when to stop and listen. How to use my voice so that it was not always the same monotone level. To show passion and excitement for my product yet being seen as a pro. Along the way, I saw how some of the experienced CEO’s used sales tricks to their advantage… some actually had little wooden blocks placed under their desk so that they could look down on their sales reps. Some had their secretary answer the call and place you on hold, long enough in a way, to tell me that this person was in charge of the conversation because you were the one waiting on them.
Sales are like a game and it’s how well you play it that will determine your success and longevity. In the game of sales, it is OK to fail first, but just not for a long period of time, mind you. Take the sport of baseball: most players can get to the ‘Hall of Fame’ by making an out “seven times out of every ten at bats” during their career and still bat .300. Keep that in mind!
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