Low-Tech Sales Tools Rule

Selling success does not require lots of high-tech gadgetry. Snazzy spread-sheets, complicated flip charts, or four-color brochures are not needed. If you have these tools, by all means use them, as long as they do not interfere with why you showed up in the first place-and that is to ask the right questions. One of the major keys to being a sales superstar is being a diagnostician, a highly-effective questioner. Effective diagnostic questioning takes time-it should occupy at least 70 percent of face-to-face sales time. Effective questioning is designed to peel back the onion and get answers to basic questions like "What are you trying to accomplish here? What are your overall objectives? Or what problems are you currently facing?"

A sales superstar uses the gold medal technique of letting prospects tell them what they most desire to gain, or where their real pain is. The selling elite give up the need to be presenting their products all the time, and they let the prospect have the floor. Top sales achievers give the prospect plenty of room to breathe before they begin making any recommendation on what they might have to offer-in short, they are very patient.

Because diagnostic questioning is at the heart of selling, several fundamental, distinctly low-tech tools are needed. The following five low-tech tools make the questioning phase more effective no matter what else you bring to the sales call.

1. Your appearance
No matter how fancy your brochure or Palm Pilot, if your appearance is unprofessional, you will not be taken seriously. If your clothes, hair, or teeth are not well kept, you have an obstacle to overcome. The initial purpose of any questioning is to get the prospect to open up to you, and good grooming is essential to that.

2. Your briefcase
Make a stylish, attractive briefcase your only accessory as you walk in the room for the first time. Just as with your appearance, you only get one chance for a first impression, and you do not want to blow it by walking in juggling boxes, samples, or other items.

3. A quality leather folder with note pad and a high-end handsome pen
A high quality leather folder with a yellow legal pad and a handsome pen are the most powerful sales tools a salesperson can use during the questioning phase. When you take out that beautifully made Tumi black leather notepad folder and a gorgeous Mont Blanc pen and then encourage the prospect to talk, you communicate several important things:


The prospect has the floor.
He or she has your undivided attention
You are engaged in finding out what he or she does and what he or she needs.
The prospect is a big shot.
You are organized.
You are trustworthy.
You are a high-end professional.
You are credible.

These low-tech tools will bring amazing results!

4. Your client list
Give the prospect a copy even if he or she does not ask for it. It shares the names of others you have helped and helps establish your credibility and reputation.

5. Your calendar
The physical presence of your calendar communicates you are very busy professional and that you are encouraging your prospect to commit to a date to continue the process.




Low-Tech Sales Tools Rule - To learn more about this author, visit George Ludwig's Website.

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