I know you all have been in sales for a long time, but I did want to put in my two cents if I may here.  Sometimes it seems we get so focused on the number of sales we are “supposed to make” that we forget what gets us there.  Too many times we focus on the numbers rather than the actions.  To make clear the point I’m trying to make I’ll say it this way, the product doesn’t make the sale, the price doesn’t make the sale, the appointment with the customer makes the sale.  The more  appointments you make, the more sales you make and it’s that simple.

I’m not out in the field right now, but when I did manage sales people I taught them 3 things.  One) Break sales down by the numbers. Two) Give the customer a reason to buy the product. Three) Be persistent.  I’ll break these down even further.

One: Sales need to be broken down by numbers, and I don’t mean the bottom line.  I mean for example: One sale is made for every 5 appointments.  5 appointments are made for every 8 decision makers you talk to.  8 decision makers are found for every 12 businesses you call on (walk in or telephone).

With this in mind if you want one sale a week, you need to visit call on 12 businesses a week to try to talk to the decision makers and complete 5 appointments.  If you want one sale a day, you need to call on 12 businesses a day and complete 5 appointments.  Sounds like a lot, but keep in mind you are talking to 12 businesses for no more than about 5 minutes just to make the 5 appointments, so really your day wouldn’t be overwhelming.  If that’s still seems a little tough make it a goal to talk to 6 businesses a day and that would be 2-3 appointments a day and a sale every two days.  Anyway, the numbers may not be exact, but from what I’ve seen and experienced one sale per 5 appointments is easily doable with our products and services.

The reason I’m pointing this out to you is that sometimes we get so focused on the sale that we forget what gets us there.  Rather than focusing on one appointment a day try setting a goal to talk to 12 businesses a day to make 5 appointments, and focus on that instead.  If you do this, the sales will naturally follow.

Two: Give the customer a reason to buy the product.  Simply put this means, you may be able to think of a hundred reasons why the product is a great product, but if none of those reasons are important to the customer, they don’t matter.  Selling is asking, finding out what the customer needs figuring out the problems they face and offering a solution that fixes those problems.  If you can find that one thing the customer needs, you’ll make the sale.

Three: Be persistent.  This means, when they say maybe later you say ok, and then you call them back a week later.  When you call back offer a thought or two, something like “hey I know you said to call back later, but I was thinking about your business and a couple of the issues you said you were having and I thought what might help was…”.  Remember a “NO in sales simply means you haven’t given me enough information to make me say yes.  So just because they say “not now” don’t give up, keep going back with new ideas until you find the one that makes the sale.  (personally I wouldn’t go so far as to have them need to get a restraining order, but you get the point)

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