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Nothing Happens Until Somebody Sells Something

Guest post by: Brittany Snapp

Article Overview: Every successful businessperson knows that nothing happens unless somebody sells something. And every successful sales professional knows they must do the following to achieve success: 1. Prospect for new customers; 2. Ask for referrals; 3. Set attainable yet challenging goals.

Nothing Happens Until Somebody Sells Something

These are the words written by my professor in a business class twenty years ago. In franchise sales or in any industry, sales are the lifeblood of business. Nearly four months of the calendar year is behind us, and there are sales professionals worldwide wondering how they are going to close more business this year than last. Below are a few pointers that any business owner or sales professional should practice to keep pace with annual sales expectations:

1. Prospecting: Years ago I asked a respected and successful sales professional the secret to his success. His quick reply was, “Prospect early in the day, prospect early in the week and prospect early in the month. Then, let the year take care of itself.” We never have enough leads, and filling the pipeline with qualified prospects is paramount to reaching monthly, quarterly or annual sales goals. So, prospect every day.

2. Ask for Referrals: Each and every client is a gold mine of new leads. There is simply no better way to build a pipeline of warm leads than by asking a happy client for a referral. Testimonials and referrals are the natural by-product of a satisfied customer.

3. Set Goals: Setting daily, monthly and annual sales goals and reviewing them regularly is a must for every sales professional. Rarely have I met a successful sales professional that doesn’t have a written list of goals that they refer to each and every day. Here is one of my favorite quotes by Brian Tracy, a noted author and public speaker: “In my conversations with hundreds of top salespeople over the years, I have found that they all have one thing in common. They have taken the time to sit down and create a clear blueprint for themselves and their future lives.”

Every successful businessperson knows that nothing happens unless somebody sells something. And every successful sales professional knows they must do the following to achieve success: 1. Prospect for new customers; 2. Ask for referrals; 3. Set attainable yet challenging goals.

Ron Saffell

Franchise Foundry

Director of Sales and Development

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Article Tags: franchise, sales



Related Forum Posts
Need a book recommendation for writing better - I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing skills, so I was just wondering if anyone could recommend a good copywriting or copyediting book? I was actually thinking of reading "The Copywriter's Handbook : A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Copy That Sells" by Robert W Bly [u:w3cg00nn]OR[/u:w3cg00nn] "The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications" by Amy Einsohn. Would anyone know if these books are any good? Thanks
Top 19 Copywriting books - 1. Ogilvy on Advertising. David Ogilvy. Wiley. 2. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. Al Ries and Jack Trout. Warner. 3. The New Positioning. Jack Trout. McGraw-Hill. 4. Tested Advertising Methods. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 5. How to Make your Advertising Make Money. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 6. Guerrilla Advertising. Jay Conrad Levinson. Houghton Mifflin. 7. Direct Mail Copy that Sells. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 8. Sales Letters that Sizzle. Herschell Gordon Lewis. NTC Business Books. 9. Herschell Gordon Lewis on the Art of Writing Copy. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 10. Romancing the Brand. David Martin. American Management Association. 11. The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves. NTC Business Books. 12. Confessions of an Advertising Man. David Ogilvy. NTC Business Books. 13. My Life in Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 14. Scientific Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 15. How to Become an Advertising Man. James Webb Young. NTC Business Books. 16. The Lasker Story as He Told It. NTC Business Books. 17. Advertising Concept and Copy. George Felton. Prentice Hall. 18. The Copy WorkShop Workbook. Bruce Bendinger. The Copy Workshop. 19. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. Luke Sullivan. Wiley. This should keep you busy for at least a year. Enjoy!


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