Tweet

Are You Giving Thanks, or Begging For Dimes?

Guest post by: Troy Harrison

Article Overview: Ah, yes, the holiday season is upon us. That means that this is the time to spend with friends and family, giving thanks, gifts, and appreciation for all that they give us. It’s also the season for something that is charming at its start, but – if we’re all honest – can get kind of annoying by Christmas – the Salvation Army bell ringers at every supermarket and shopping center. It seems to me that there is a parallel in the sales world.

Are You Giving Thanks, or Begging For Dimes?

Ah, yes, the holiday season is upon us. That means that this is the time to spend with friends and family, giving thanks, gifts, and appreciation for all that they give us. It's also the season for something that is charming at its start, but - if we're all honest - can get kind of annoying by Christmas - the Salvation Army bell ringers at every supermarket and shopping center. It seems to me that there is a parallel in the sales world.

I've always found that in selling, there are essentially two types of salespeople within the last month and a half of the year. Those who have had a successful year are in a very celebratory mood, because they already have a pretty good idea where their year-end numbers will be. They're not worried about the "holiday objection;" instead, they are thinking about, and lining up, January business to get a good start on the year. The other kind has had a bad year, and spends their time running from customer to customer, ringing their bell and begging for dimes so that the less fortunate (themselves) can have a Christmas. Which are you? More importantly, would you like to be one of the celebrators next year?

If you do, it needs to start NOW. Over the years, I've written several articles on dealing with the "holiday objection," ("talk to me after the holidays"). The reason that salespeople have trouble with this objection is that they don't contribute value to the discussion. Too many salespeople spend their lives doing what I call the "doughnut call," where they bring a box of donuts and ask for an order. If you're one of them, it doesn't have to be that way. If you're NOT one of them, you're still probably wanting to move ahead next year, so let's talk about that. Here are some ways to redo your game for 2011:

Every call has a purpose. The biggest sales-killer is the purposeless sales call; i.e. a call that begins with no agenda and ends with no result. Stop 'just dropping by' to get the weekly order (or beg for an order); instead dedicate yourself to moving the relationship forward on every call. Ask new questions, present new products, get introductions to new contacts, etc. If the relationship is no better at the end of the call than the beginning, you're wasting your time and your customer's.

No excuses. Salespeople are great at making excuses and coming up with reasons why they don't control their own destiny. Quit it. Your company blows? Find another company. Products are outdated? Find new applications or again, find another company. No new business? Get comfortable with prospecting resources like ReferenceUSA and Jigsaw, and build your business. It's on YOU, champ, and there are more resources available to you than ever before.

Know your numbers and live them. Sales is a process, and like all processes, it has predictable results. While equal quantities of activity may produce differing results in the short term, over the long haul, you can predict your results with a given level of activity. Given that, there's really no excuse (see above) for poor results - other than an unwillingness to live by the numbers. Know your numbers - how many calls produce an appointment? How many appointments produce a viable proposal? How many viable proposals produce a sale? Then EXECUTE them to achieve what you need. Or - just for giggles - why not go BEYOND the basic formula and overachieve?

Better your game. The basic formula of sales achievement is: (Quantity of activity x Quality of activity = Results). We just talked about the quantitative issue; when was the last time you worked to up the qualitative side of the equation? If you learn a new technique, every call you make is more powerful. The truly great salespeople work consistently to become better week in and week out, year in and year out. Do you want to be one of those people?

There's no magic to this, of course. It just takes hard work and dedication. Even in this time of 10% unemployment, few salespeople who live these principles are out of work. Start working NOW to make 2011 your best year ever, and this time next year, you can be giving thanks.

Related Articles
  Real Estate Marketing Strategies - Tips for Creating Success
  The relentless search for "tell me what to do"
  Asking For Marketing and Networking Help
  Grameen Bank - Alternative Microfinance Approaches
  Scope Creep
  Local Visibility Search Engine Optimization Blue Wave Design Studio
  Should The Government Help Beggars?
  The Importance Of Making Connections
  Time for a “REAL" Change
  Today\'s \"rant\" - insubordination
  Prolonging your Fifteen Minutes of Fame
  The Most Important Word In Sales
  Giving To Others: Draining Or Fulfilling?
  Five Business Truths to Learn By Heart
  How to sell yourself to others
  The secret to success
  Help Me Keith: My Feedback Makes People Defensive!
  Three Strikes for Customer Service
  How to Ace that Job Interview
  Giveaway Marketing Basics

Article Tags: holiday selling, sales improvement



Related Forum Posts
Re: Quote of the Day - ?"If you want to stand out and win busine - Great post Evan, I agree 100% with GT, it's good to learn from others who have trodden the same path and found success but the time comes to branch off and discover ourselves and what we can bring to the business that others haven’t thought of. Giving extra value to a customer is a sure fire way to stand out and build your reputation as a unique service in an established market. regards, Mal.
Re: SES Toronto Next Week - In that case, how about the following? Track: Get Me Up to Speed * State of Search Marketing in Canada Track: Practical & Actionable * Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Online Mentions Track: Advanced * User Search Behavior * Social Media Success * Web 2.0 & Search Engines * Giving Credit Where It’s Due: Which Campaign Sold What?
Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the New Consumer - Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the New Consumer Michael J. Silverstein 2006 From the inside jacket: "Today's consumers can seem impossible to understand, and even harder to please. For instance, the average mall shopper will spend about $100, then leave when she hits that limit. SHe'll probably buy shoes rather than clothing, because she doesn't want to think about her dress size. And the store most likely to get her money isn't the one with the nicest display or the deepest discounts - it's the one closest to her parking spot." Okay, ladies here at evancarmichael.com? Do you follow this generalization? I myself go to bookstores, and nowhere else. Being self-employed in a home office, I don't need to buy new clothes, but I confess I did buy a new pair of bike shoes recently... The Introduction states: "This book tells the story of how middle-class consumers around the world are reshaping the consumer-goods market by trading down to low-price products and services, trading up to premium ones, and avoiding the boredom and low value that increasingly characterizes the middle. These consumers, mostly women, are better educated, have more disposable income, and are buying with more sophistication than ever." Table of Contents 1. The Bifurcating Market 2. The New Middle-ClassConsumer 3. Cheap is Good 4. Spanning the Poles 5. All Treasure, All the Time 6. When the Calculus Shifts 7. In A Pickle 8. Nickels and Dimes 9. Left in the Dust 10. Taking Action
Connecting with Influential People - Thanks Martin! In "The Little Black Book of Connections", Jeffrey Gitomer suggests the following ways to connect with influential people (page 106): -Third-party introductions (best method). -Writing and publishing content. -Giving seminars/speeches so you can be perceived as an expert in your field and leader. -Attend social and business events. -Say or ask something powerful by doing research ahead of time. -Engage them by offering something of value first. Gitomer also stresses the importance of making more friends as well.
Your Intial Mistakes Business - Hi, When I started my business I had made a lot of mistakes initially. These helped me in learning the art of the trade and today when I look back, I feel that these mistakes were quite silly. I had made my learnings then and those learnings have helped me time and again. Some of the mistakes I made were - i. Wrong Time Management ii. Wasting money on glossy Brochures and Business cards iii. Believing what they taught me at school was 100% correct iv. Giving too much when it was not required...... I would like to find out what have been your faltering moments in Business when you had started and what/how did they help you grow. Regards


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Are You Listening?

Multilevel Marketing: 4 Tips To MLM Success

Presenting Yourself With Impact at Work

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.