Back in 2009, while we were still in the throes of a difficult recession, and in 2020 during the pandemic, I wrote similar articles to the one below. That said, while these tips are critical during difficult times such as something in the economy, your market, or any other disruption, this article will help you sell more anytime, good or bad.
Six Tips and a Bonus Tip for Sales Success
Tip #1) Don’t let anything outside of you be your excuse.
After a tough day or some difficult sales calls, it’s easy to blame a host of things other than yourself. If you do, as most of communication is non-verbal, people will see and hear your doubt and you’ll sell less. This attitude will also demotivate you which will lead to working less. When salespeople struggle or have doubt, the vast majority cut calls and activity significantly. The answer? Use difficult times and perceived challenges as a warning and motivation to work harder and smarter, not as an excuse to back off. Have a plan in place, know what you have to do every day, and make sure you do it. If you back off, business will go down, if you work harder and smarter, business will improve. As I’ve said before, “In tough times, be it personal or professional, don’t give up, double up.”
Tip #1a) Always be on offense.
This is related to the last two sentences above but broken out for emphasis. In war, retreating, or sitting and waiting, are sometimes viable options, they aren’t when it comes to business. In business it leads to stagnation and paralysis. At that point, your first indication that things are back to normal will be your competition whizzing past you while you sit still. Let me say that again because it’s that important: Always be on offense.
Tip #2) Get better at selling.
When there are fewer sales opportunities and prospects, you must do better with the ones you have. The way to do this is to get better at selling. Become a student. Read books, listen to audios, watch videos, become a sponge and absorb everything you can get your hands on. Using this strategy has helped many salespeople improve to the point where they actually sold more in a so-called tough market than they sold when times were good. Now is the time to improve your skills; constantly and consistently getting better at selling is the best way to grow your sales.
Tip #3) Keep a good attitude.
Your attitude is your most important sales tool in your arsenal. It’s almost impossible to watch the evening news and be positive. Our brains are like computers “Garbage in, garbage out.” Put as many good ideas as possible into your brain. Pick up anything inspirational, motivational, positive, and upbeat and use it to keep a good attitude and stay focused. Be positive and persistent. In addition to putting good ideas into your brain, eat good foods, get plenty of rest, exercise, and surround yourself with positive people. Stay away from negatives and negative people.
Tip #4) Prepare for the price objection and build value.
This tip is ALWAYS a good idea. Price will usually be a factor in some way, shape, or form. Many prospects do everything they can to commoditize vendors and simply go with the lowest price. Thus, it is very important that you build value. What are your primary benefits? How are you, your company, and your product better than the competition? Are you local; is your long-term cost less, can you respond to service calls faster? You need to accentuate your primary benefits, make them as powerful as possible, and provide proof in ROI Models, testimonials, and the like. Finally, come up with some solid responses to the price objection.
Tip #5) Focus on relationships.
The relationship with the salesperson is the number one reason people give for doing business with a particular company. We’ve all seen it happen, you make an overwhelming case for your product versus the competition and yet, the prospect still buys from your competitor because they’re golf buddies. Relationships are extremely important, in most cases more than anything else, so you need to focus on not only staying in touch with and keeping your name in front of customers and prospects, and delivering value each time, but also on taking that next step and building solid, long-term relationships. Send handwritten thank-you notes, anniversary cards, birthday cards, and holiday cards. Follow my 28 Items to increase your personal connection. E-mail me if you need this. Your objective is to touch the customer more often on a more personal level at a time when your competitors are calling less and being less personal.
Tip #6) You are completely responsible for your success.
Five years from now you and your career will arrive somewhere, the question is: where? If you decide that something outside of you, such as the economy, tariffs, the market, inflation, or another factor is responsible for your success or failure, you give away power and control of your destiny and your ultimate success. The way to change that is to remember that your success is up to you, you own it, and you control it. Provided you have solid goals and strong enough reasons why you need to get there, you will arrive where you decide to arrive, regardless of any outside factors. Reminding yourself that you are 100% responsible for your success keeps your success under your control and within reach.
Bonus Tip: Here are some other quick ideas on sales success:
- The #1 reason salespeople fail is that they don’t talk to enough prospects to make enough sales.
- In selling, most attempts fail. Failure is the path to success.
- You have unlimited opportunities for success. What’s required is that you keep stepping up to the plate and swinging the bat.
- Stop looking for the easy way or short cuts which will never get you to where you want to go; it only leads to frustration and continued mediocrity at best. Success requires hard work on the key sales activities: prospecting, presenting, and closing. Follow the tried-and-true path that’s stood the test of time and been shown to lead to guaranteed success providing you continue on the course and don’t give up.
- Resolve to do what is required for success, ethically of course. Success at the highest levels requires hard work, dedication, and facing fear and uncertainty and stepping out of your comfort zone.
John Chapin is a motivational sales speaker, coach, and trainer. To have him speak at your next event, go to www.completeselling.com John has over 37 years of sales and sales management experience as a number one sales rep and is the author of the 2010 sales book of the year: Sales Encyclopedia (Axiom Book Awards). You can reprint provided you keep contact information in place. E-mail: johnchapin@completeselling.com.
