When it comes to food, I rarely put salt on anything I eat. In fact, the only thing I can think of that I salt before I eat it is chicken noodle soup. For some reason, I like a salty tasting chicken noodle soup. Maybe it was just the way Mom or Grandma made it, but without salt, it just tastes way too bland to me. Other than that, forget it. French fries? Nope. Steak or burgers? No way.

Now, for other people, salt is something they shake on almost everything. Many times, people will even shake some salt without even tasting the dish first to see if it is already salty enough. I even once knew someone that threw salt onto already salty McDonald’s fries! That’s an ER trip waiting to happen right there! But to them, everything tastes better with a little salt!

For some reason though, salt got me thinking about sales. (Don’t ask because I couldn’t even make up a story why or what triggered this one!)  There are a couple of characteristics of salt that could prove very beneficial where you definitely want to dust your sales with it.

The first characteristic is flavor. This is probably the number one reason most people use salt; it enhances the flavor of the foods they eat. Likewise, you also want to add some flavor to your sales and customer service efforts. Don’t be like an un-salted bowl of chicken noodle soup. There is no room in sales or business for bland. Let me give you a couple of examples:

As someone walks into your store…

Bland: You look at the door and say, “Hello. Is there something I can help you find?”

Blander: With your head looking down or away, you simply holler, “Hello.”

SALTY: Drop what you’re doing and go over to greet them with, “Good afternoon. My name is Scott. Are you on a mission to find something specific or just stopping in to see if something catches your eye?” Then follow that up with some “salty” banter as appropriate.

Another characteristic of salt is it makes you thirsty. This is also true of many things you do in sales and for your business. Put a dash of salt on everything you do so it creates a thirst in your customers and prospects to desire more – either of your product and service or for more information about them.

Whether you are having a conversation, giving a presentation or writing content for a brochure, flyer or advertisement, do not go overboard with information that either bores your prospect or doesn’t leave them thirsty to follow through on your call to action. Everything you do should be done with the goal in mind to elicit a question or raise an eyebrow.

I do caution you though. You can definitely be TOO salty! Adding too much salt into your sales and marketing mix can cause people to choke and turn people away from you. A common thing you hear about salt when it comes to many cooking recipes is all you need is a dash or a pinch. Salt is a very powerful ingredient and should be treated as such. It can make or break your feast. I remember as a kid, I was making chocolate chip cookies. The recipe called for “1 tsp” of salt and I read it as a tablespoon instead of teaspoon. You can imagine the grimace on my face when I sat down with a fresh, hot plate of cookies and a tall, cold glass of milk and took that first big chomp! Eeeew!

Now, with that in mind, “Go ‘Dash’ ‘Em!”

When asked about a spectacular performance, many athletes will begin answering by saying they were “in the zone” while they were playing. In baseball, the home plate looked like was four feet wide to the pitcher. For hitters, the fastballs seemed like they were just floating across the plate. In basketball, the hoop was as big as a pool. In golf, the cup was the size of a bushel basket. For archers, the target was as big as the side of a barn.

You get the point. Whatever it was they were doing, they just couldn’t miss and their confidence was an 11 on a scale of 1-10. Most of the time it is the culmination of weeks, months and years of hard work, practice and preparation – everything that was needed to put them in a position to succeed.

Athletes are also known for having special, and sometimes quirky routines and superstitions – especially baseball. For example, many guys will intentionally avoid stepping on a baseline when entering or exiting the field of play. If a pitcher is throwing a shutout, or better yet a no-hitter or perfect game, teammates will not talk to the guy and let him be to himself so he “stays in the zone.” This one also extends off the field of play where it’s taboo for people, especially radio and TV announcers to mention that he has a no-hitter going for fear they will jinx him..

Other athletes may even eat the same meal, wear the same undershirt, or even stop shaving until a special streak is over. Basically, they do whatever they need to mentally get into or stay “in the zone.”

Although the routines and superstitions are just a mental thing for the guy going through a peak performance, the underlying condition you’ll find common among all of their successes is preparation. They practice hard and go through the same routine so that they can physically and mentally prepare to compete at a high level on a consistent basis.

This same game plan holds true for us in the business world, too. Think about a particular time that you were “in a groove” when dealing with a customer, colleague, supervisor, vendor or other person you successfully dealt with. What about a time you were spot-on with a prospect and nailed the presentation that allowed you gain their business?

Regardless the meeting or occasion, I’m willing to bet that your success was tied to excellent preparation. Even if it was just a chance meeting or unexpected conversation, your knowledge, expertise and experience allowed you to enter the zone quickly and perform at an 11.

The bottom line is no matter what you do, how experienced you are, how big or small the meeting is, prior planning and preparation is key to your ultimate success. When you are up against a competitor, many times it comes down to which person is most prepared to handle objections, provide value, be creative and resourcefully provide the best solution. Never, ever underestimate the power of preparation!

Now, Go Get ‘Em

It’s been said that with everything else being equal, people like to buy from those they know, like and trust. While I believe this to be true most of the time, sometimes it may not always be enough.

If for whatever reason you have not yet established yourself as a person of value to your prospect, and your higher priced product or service is nearly, if not exactly identical to your competitor, there are a few things you can still do to seal the deal.

1. Make it Easy: Being flexible and diverse with the methods in which you accept payments can win you business. Types of payments can include cash, check, credit cards and PayPal. With others, a purchase order can get the ball rolling quicker with you rather than a competitor that won’t or can’t work with one.

This also falls in line with flexible payment terms like waiting until the 15^th or the 30^th of the month when your customer cuts their checks. If you can wait a little longer, Net 30 payment terms can be attractive where a business may accept your higher price in lieu of more favorable payment options.

2.  Supersize it: Many times a product requires some training to use it. Other times, the product could be used better or more efficiently if a little training was provided. This is a great piece of value you can provide along with the product to create a higher perceived value. As such, your customer will be more willing to pay more for yours.

3.  Peace of Mind: If your customer has a history of purchasing from you, she may continue to do so, even at a higher price, to ensure she receives the same high quality service from you that she has grown to appreciate and value. Remind her of this history and the peace of mind it brings knowing the product is delivered and performs exactly as expected.

4.  Insurance: This is especially true for contractors working on residential projects. When things get tight, insurances can be one thing a contractor will reduce or eliminate. As a result, they may be able to undercut your price for the exact same thing. Remind your prospect that you are fully insured and offer them a copy of your insurance certificate. Also be sure to educate your prospect on the importance of being insured and the headaches they can avoid by choosing someone that is.

5.  Know Your Stuff: This should go without saying, but since I am saying it, there must still be reason to say it! It’s one thing to tell your customer you “don’t know” but can check on it regarding a difficult question, but not being able to answer fundamental questions about your product can easily put your more expensive option at a severe disadvantage. Learn it. Know it. Live it.

6.  Sell for Them: My insurance agent sends me at least one or two new clients every year. He will also proactively do periodic checks to ensure I have enough coverage or be sure I don’t have more than I need. Do you think I’ll ever ask the little green guy for a quote? Or go on-line to shop the competitors for a better rate?

If you can be a couple of these to your customer it can improve the odds of retaining their business with your higher priced product or service. However, if you can be that trusted advisor that your customer is looking for to take care of them, not just sell to them, you’ve won the battle before there ever is a war!

Now, Go Get ‘Em!!

I sold a job once that happened to be the largest job our company had ever done. In fact, it was easily twice as large as any job we had done before. This wasn’t really an issue for us, but the customer wanted to know how we would handle such a large job. My response? “Just like eating an elephant – one bite at a time!” Must of worked because we got the joba dn it turned out great!

Most any job, or task, can be broken into smaller chunks. I know I’m not telling you something you don’t already know, so don’t worry; it isn’t another one of “those” articles. Rather than break down how to tackle large jobs into small, manageable tasks, I want to take a look at why we should do it.

Most people may be familiar with the Law of Diminishing Returns that states, “The tendency for a continuing application of effort or skill toward a particular project or goal to decline in effectiveness after a certain level of result has been achieved.”

In other words, a project you may be working on will reach a point where the effectiveness of the additional effort you put into completing it will begin to diminish at a given rate. For some, this may be the reason why they have a file full of unfinished projects. The project reaches a certain level of completeness and it may become “complete enough” because the amount of additional effort to fully complete it may be more that they are willing to expend.

In contrast, breaking large jobs into smaller tasks can reduce the Law of Diminishing Intent. This Law states, “The longer you wait to accomplish what you already know you should do, the more likely it is that you will never do it.”

This Law not only applies to tasks or projects that we need to get done, but also to ideas that we would like to pursue. Have you ever woke up in the morning and have an idea while getting ready for work? It’s a great idea and you just can’t wait to get to the office or shop to get started on it.

Then you get to the office and see that you have six voice-mails and a dozen customer e-mails that need to be handled before getting started with your day. You rifle through all of the return calls and reply to the e-mails, all the while thinking about the new idea you want to develop. But during that process, you receive more calls and e-mails and customers start to come in. Before you know it, closing time is near and the day fades away.

On the drive home, the idea re-enters your thoughts and again stirs your emotions. You pull in the drive-way and the chores of your home world come into view, but not until you spend a little time with your spouse and kids. Before you know it, it’s time for bed and the idea gets shelved for tomorrow. And the process repeats.

What was the first mistake that caused the flame of the new idea to fizzle? It was the failure to take the first step which is write it down and immediately break it down into a few small tasks. Doing this gets the ball rolling and creates the momentum and inertia behind the idea that keeps it alive.

Let’s take a look at inertia. The quick definition as it applies to this article is “The tendency for an item in motion to stay in motion.” Consistently accomplishing small steps and completing small tasks that lead closer and closer toward the completion of a project or idea is critical to its successful completion and implementation.

Sorry about the science lessons there, but I thought they’d paint a pretty good picture for not only how, but more importantly WHY it is important to break things down into small, manageable pieces – bite size pieces that will help you eat your elephant!

Now, Go Get ‘Em!

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” – Many People

This famous quote has been attributed to several people from Napoleon Bonaparte and Russian author Ivan Turgenev all the way back to the Godfather of Chinese proverbs, Confucius.

The premise is that a single picture can say as much as a considerable amount of text. (But for those that are long winded, don’t get too excited, it does NOT mean that 1001 words are better than any single picture!)

Here’s my slant on this old adage. An orally painted picture is worth more than any brochure or PowerPoint you could ever present.

“An orally painted picture?” What the heck is that!? It is an emotionally enhance visual that your prospect or customer develops as you descriptively tell them a story about how your product or service will save their world – or at least provide the solution to their dilemma.

Why is this important? Because many people make their purchases either emotionally or on a gut feeling. Also, if the person you are trying to sell needs time to review the information before making a decision, they will remember the emotional visual they had while meeting with you more strongly than the actual information that you shared.

So how do you orally paint a picture? The first three ingredients are passion, passion and passion. If you want to be a top-notch salesperson, unless you can passionately speak about your product or service, you may as well leave a brochure and go home.

Next, you need to lead them, or encourage them to create their visual picture. Something as simple as “How would your day look if…” is a great start to get the visual juices flowing. Once you have them visualizing your story, be sure to use visually descriptive words while telling your story.

When telling your story, and orally painting your picture, also try to use descriptive words that covers multiple senses. Your goal now is to paint a visual picture that also includes sounds, smells, touch/textures and tastes. Now every picture you paint may not include all five senses, but the more you can include, the more memorable it will be and the more emotion they may create.

Let me share with you a personal example of one of my most successful stories I’ve told. It may not be as effective in written form because you can’t see my passion and excitement while telling the story, but I’ll describe the details the best I can. This story wasn’t told to sell a product or service, but it sold me and my abilities to my boss well enough to get a promotion after only one year to a position that typically requires five years of service to attain.

The story is about a foul ball I caught at a Detroit Tigers baseball game. It was a scorching hot Saturday afternoon and three of my friends and I decided to take in a ball game. We got into the stadium and found our seats – facing smack dab right into the early afternoon sun! After a couple innings of sitting in the oven, we looked around to find some empty seats in the shade.

It was a pretty crowded game but we eventually found a few seats in the upper deck about halfway between third base and the outfield wall. In old Tiger Stadium, these seats were perfect as the roof overhang not only shaded us from the sun, but felt noticeably cooler.

On the way to our new seats, we stopped off at a vendor for a snack. My treat was a vanilla sundae with chocolate syrup and crushed nuts served in a miniature Tigers baseball helmet – perfect for cooling off on such a hot day!

Soon after we settled into our new seats and about half way through my tasty treat, with the pop of the bat, Tony Phillips sliced a towering foul ball in our general direction. In what seemed like slow motion, one-by-one, everyone jumped to their feet in anticipation the ball would land in their vicinity. As the ball
started its decent, we rose to our feet as it was coming right at us. As it got right above us everyone began reaching for the heavens for a chance of catching the prize!

So picture this…I’m leaning forward with my thighs pressed tight against the seat in front of me, my right hand is stretched up as high as I can push it and my left hand is deftly cradling my delicious treat up close around my chest. The ball drops and hits the fingertips of first my buddy, then me and the next thing I know, chocolate and ice cream is splattering all over my arm and face! I look down and discover that I “caught” that foul ball in the very helmet that once contained my sundae!

If you couldn’t tell from a couple of the Tiger references (Tony Phillips and Tiger Stadium), this story happened about 15 years ago. Some of the details are a little more fuzzy than they were the Monday after it happened while telling my boss, but five descriptive paragraphs paint a heck of a better picture of what happened than a couple sentences that anyone would forget about a minute after hearing it.

Your challenge now is to look at how you present your product and service and develop a way to present it, or part of it, with an emotion eliciting story that orally paints a picture that will stick with your prospect and compel them to buy from you.

Now Go Get ‘Em!!

Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right!”

If our thoughts mold our attitude, and our attitudes dictate the words we speak, then Mr. Ford could have also said that “Whether you SAY you can or can’t, you’re right!”

But what really comes first – our words or our attitude? If our thoughts mold our attitude, then I’d argue that the words of our inner monologue that we use in our thoughts are the ultimate driving force behind not only our attitude, but our resultant actions. Let’s take a look at several perspectives of how our words drive who we are and how we perform.

How many times have we heard someone say “Be careful what you wish for?” Spiritually, we are taught about “Speaking things into existence.” Both of these examples show undeniable belief that our words have power.

Scientifically, depending on the article or study you read, the average person has anywhere from 12,000-60,000 thoughts per day. And of those thoughts, the studies show that half to two-thirds are negative. Wow!!

Anecdotally, here is a great example that could happen at any business, at any time. I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine, Lisa Lee who, with her husband, David, own Wendel’s Home Furnishings in Mt. Pleasant, MI. They do an exceptional job of fostering a very positive environment and culture within their business and provide superior support and training for their staff. We were talking about leadership, but here is a relevant part of one of her stories.

At the beginning of one day as the sales reps were coming into work, she greeted one asking, “How are you doing today?” The response was, “Fine.” She then asked with a smile, “Just fine?” And again the reply was, “Yep, just fine.” As another one came in, she again asked the same greeting. This time however, the response was “Excellent!”

Long story short, the Fine rep had 10 “ups” or prospects that day and made zero sales. The Excellent rep had 7 ups and helped all but one with making a purchase. We both are convinced that the difference was the mindset each rep had that day with the words they chose to use early on. So even in the very best of environments, the effect of words on performance can be very adverse.

The scary thing is this could easily happen to anyone that may have a day start off on the wrong foot or allows a negative thought creep in and take root. When those negative thoughts take root, they affect the words we use and the demeanor we display throughout the day. If it happens when dealing with customers, it can quickly put the kibosh on any hopes you’d have on making a sale.

So what can we do with these negative thoughts that seem to be stacked against us? The first step is to be cognizant of them and when they pop up, be conscious of the words you choose to counter the thoughts. When consciously using positive words, you can be confident in what you wish for as well as the things you speak into existence.

And always remember the 10/90 rule. Everything in life is only 10% what happens to us (thoughts) and 90% how we react to it (the words we use). When you consider that, the deck doesn’t seem to be stacked so one-sided now does it!?

Now Go Get ‘Em!!

Last week I threw down the gauntlet and challenged you to write down five reasons why you like to work with referrals. At the end I threw out a personal challenge for me to come up with 20 reasons why I like working with referrals. I had no idea exactly how many I actually had, but figured I could come up with 20 – and I did!

Some of the reasons I like working with referrals are similar to others, but there is a unique component to each. So, in no particular order, and without further adieu, here is my personal Fav 20!

1.  Easy to Obtain – Provide your customers with greater value than your competition, along with a great product and excellent service, and you’ve positioned yourself to generate referrals.

2.  Confirmation – Receiving a referral means that you are doing a good job. It is the highest compliment a customer or someone that knows how you do business can give you.

3.  Warm Lead – A referral is the exact opposite from a cold call where people have no idea who you are or what you do. Referrals know exactly who you are and what you provide!

4.  Low Cost – Unlike other forms of lead generation, receiving a referral does not cost you a dime. Referrals are a byproduct of your superior service and value combined with a strategic and proactive mindset to generate them.

5.  Transferred Credibility – When a referral comes through your door or calls you, they have no idea who you are. However, they do know and respect the person that referred them to you. The referring party has a high level of trust and respect for you and a certain level of that trust and respect is transferred to the referral through your customer’s recommendation.

6.  Pre-Sold Customers – When your referral first meets with you, not only do they have that transferred credibility, but your customer has already sold them on you as well. They have shared their successful experience with you and talked you up like no advertisement ever could!

7.  Immediate Need – When a referral walks through your door, they aren’t there to browse around; they are there with a purpose – to make a purchase.

8.  Increased Conversions – Studies have shown that, on average, 90% of referrals turn into customers. I kind of like those odds!

9.  Spend More – Referrals will spend more with you than someone off the street. The referral is doing business with you for the quality product and superior service you provide and because their friend told them they can trust you. As a result, they are not there to kick the tires and shop you on price. They also will be more open to additional products and services you provide.

10.  Motivation – The more referrals you receive, the more they are on your mind to go generate. They also provide motivation as a sign of you doing something great and valuable.

11.  Larger Net(work) – On average, everyone knows at least 250 people. When you gain a new customer through a referral, you also gain exposure to at least another 250 people in your potential referral network.

12.  Leverage – With each referral’s personal network of at least 250 people, and with the proper actions, you can leverage your latest positive customer experience into additional referral introductions.

13.  Grow Your Army – As you wrap up a positive experience with each new referral customer, remind them how they came to know you and “train” them to go out and do the same. You’ll be surprised at how willing and motivated they can be to duplicate the experience.

14.  Existing Follow-up – Working your business through referral generation gives you another opportunity to make contact with your existing customers. A quick, simple call to check in, say hi, and ask if they happen to know anyone at that time that may also need your product or service not only may generate a referral or two, but keeps you in the front of their minds the next time they need your product or service.

15.  Marketing Focus – When you begin to see the impact referrals can have on your sales and profits, you begin to re-focus your marketing attention to activities that generate more referrals rather than tire kickers that may try to beat you up on price.

16.  Giving Referrals – The flip side of getting referrals is looking for opportunities to give referrals to others. Sometimes giving a referral that turns out great feels just as good, if not better than the referrals you receive. As such, you will also begin to develop that side of the referral mindset as well.

17.  Connecting – Altruistically, referring someone you know or even bump into to a person you trust and respect feels great as you know that referral is going to have a great experience.

18.  Arrow in Your Quiver – As a referral generator, you need to have a good network of business owners, employees, sales reps, etc. to be able to refer people to. Some referrals you receive may turn out to be good people that you can add to that “database.”

19.  Being a Resource – The more and more your give and receive referrals, the more people will approach you for referrals. “Hey, who do you know that does a great job on ______?” If people can rely on you to refer them to someone to do business with, how much more confident will they be to do or continue to do business with you? Exponentially!

20.  Opportunities to Give – More than making a sale, or the specific acts of designing a website, writing an article or leading a training event, I really enjoy giving and helping others. Working with referrals, both on the receiving and giving ends, provides the opportunity to do just that. I guess I left my best reason for last!

So there you have them, 20 things that I really like about working with referrals. Some of them may not relate to you. However, some of them may turn on a light and provide an “A-ha Moment” for you as well. Hopefully there will be a few that you can run with to increase your sales and enrich your life and the lives of others.

Now Go Get ‘Em!!

Thomas Edison once said that “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

Jonas Salk once said “The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.”

Those are two of my all-time favorite quotes for together they embody our entrepreneurial spirit whether we are small business owners, sales reps, consultants, inventors, innovators or a combination of any of these. I have a third one that I will sprinkle in later that will wrap things up with a very exciting opportunity.

For the sake of this article, let’s define “hard work” as doing more than what is expected. Conversely, there are basic work expectations that are placed on us. These basic expectations can come from a boss, a written job description, or a colleague that depends on us so they can do their work. Basic work expectations can also be placed on us by our customers. Successfully meet these basic expectations and your customers will be satisfied.

But satisfied customers are not what we want, right? (Stay with me for a sec!) Let’s use ourselves for an example here. We all have countless products and services that we consume and use every day. And for the most part we are pretty satisfied with these products and services as well as the people we buy them from.

For each product or service we buy, we have several choices from whom to purchase them. And for many of them, it really doesn’t matter where we go to get them, as long as we get them. With these products or services, we are “satisfied customers.”

But for a handful of things, you just couldn’t imagine going anywhere else but that one special place to buy it. With these products or services, we are LOYAL customers. Why? Because someone saw and took advantage of an opportunity to provide additional value to their product or service. It may even just be the experience of getting it from that particular place or from that particular person. Whatever the reason, it brings you back without consideration of shopping elsewhere.

It is this distinction that I believe is one aspect of what Edison and Salk refer to. It is the opportunity to give the extra effort to go above and beyond that brings the reward to do it again and again for all of our loyal customers.

The third quote I mentioned earlier comes from Steve Pavlina, a leading expert on personal development. Steve writes that “When you discipline yourself to do what is hard, you gain access to a realm of results that are denied everyone else.” When reading that, I envision the doors to opportunity slamming open for those that put in the hard work rather than slamming shut on those that deliver basic expectations.

Here is the exciting piece to these three quotes – Opportunity does not discriminate! It is there for all of us to grab. And opportunity doesn’t always have to lie somewhere else. We all have hidden opportunities in what we currently do to slam the door open and turn our satisfied customers into loyal customers. Discover and commit to what you are going to do today to slam open your doors to opportunity!

Now, Go Get ‘Em!

This week we are going to pull together a few articles from previous weeks to provide some tips on increasing your sales without compromising your profits by selling your value rather than your price – especially your discounted price. (To review the articles that are referenced below, visit our Archive Page.)

When it comes to sales, one of the biggest challenges business owners and sales reps deal with is selling to price-oriented customers. These customers look at purchasing products and services through green colored glasses and are always looking for the discount. If handled correctly, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

As price conscious as these customers are, they typically also have a greater sense of value for the dollar they spend, or the dime that they actually want to spend. This gives you a great opportunity to earn their business – their long-term, loyal business – with a profit, rather than turn a quick sale with a slim margin and move on to the next one. Let’s take a look at a few tips that will get you there:

Tip #1 – Ditch the Pitch: In article #12, we talked about conversational selling. In a nutshell, it talks about the importance and value in having conversation with your customers and prospects to uncover what their real needs are. It is very rare that you will begin any meeting with a pitch about the features and benefits of your product or service.

There are many times that you may not even present the benefits of your product or service during that initial meeting. The prospect may not really need what you have to offer. This is the time to find out what their problem is and if you have a solution for them. If you can provide a solution, it’s now time for tip #2.

Tip #2 – Turn the Tables: Once you’ve had your good rapport building conversation and earned the opportunity to continue with the solution you can provide, telling them the benefits of your product or service can still be met with skepticism and a pair of arms folded across their chest. The key here is to ask strategic questions that, with the answers they give, will sell the value that you know you can provide. With their answers, you can now speak freely about your product or service’s benefits without any resistance from them.

If you’ve had a good conversation and uncovered their dilemmas, these questions should easily be pulled out of your quiver. (See article #25) The difference here is these questions will now be designed to elicit an answer that describes the specific benefit and value you provide while reinforcing the need they have for it that you discovered earlier in your conversation.

Tip #3 – Super Size It: Once they have “sold” you on their need for your product or service, sprinkle in a few more benefits that they may not have thought about. It’s best if you keep them relevant to their basic concerns, unless they have not mentioned anything about a major point of value you can provide. (See Killer #4 in article         #26) Doing this solidifies your value stance and elevates you to the trusted advisor they are looking for that will solve their problem and continue to look out for their needs.

BONUS Tip #4 – Higher Education: This is where and when you see their light bulb go on. Often, your prospect has researched other product or service providers and is still searching for the right or best solution. They’ve talked to other companies and sales reps, but had nothing close to the experience they’ve had with you. They talked and you listened. You took their comments and answers and enhanced them with your input and insight. They feel important (as they should and are!) and you can see the excitement in their eyes and hear it in their voice. If you need to meet again, they will look forward to your return. Not only that, they understand the value you bring to their table and will be willing and pay you for it.

Now Go Get ‘Em!!

Have you ever received a phone call that started something like this? “Hello, my name is Chris. I am from ABC Company and don’t worry, this isn’t a sales call.” Instead, they want to give – yes, GIVE! – you a free trial (that turns into a purchase if not canceled after thirty days) or are looking for a donation of your time or cash. Either way, there is an effort to part you from your dollars – aka: a sales call.

For most everyone using a phone that no longer requires your finger to travel in a clockwise direction to dial it, most any call from anyone other than a friend, family member or doctor’s office calling to remind you of an appointment is probably a sales call. And to preface it with a statement like that above borderlines on insulting our intelligence.

The same holds true whether you work at a retail sales store, call on businesses to provide a product or service or hustle your rump in any number of other arenas where sales take place. For the most part, people are too savvy anymore to be “sold.” They will buy from you if they trust you and you provide a level of quality and value above that of your competition. Lay a corny sales technique on them and you might as well escort them or yourself to the door because everything you say thereafter is “muh-nah-muh-nah!”

Instead, try a little transparency. The customer wants to buy. They know you are the person that is going to conduct the transaction of their purchase. And they are ok with that. Certain purchases are understood to provide a commission and they are ok with that, too.

Rather than focusing on a sales technique or which of the top five closes you’ll use to make the sale, focus your efforts on what you can do to provide them with value (way beyond that of the product, service or your competition), gain their confidence and earn their trust. Do this, and do it well, and watch them pull out their paper or plastic.

An excellent example of transparency is me sharing with you part of my motivation for writing these articles. I have no delusions that readers think I am putting time and effort into these weekly newsletters just because I’m a swell guy. I really do enjoy writing and providing nuggets of good information. I also know that by providing something of high value on a regular basis will help position me at the forefront when the time comes that someone is in need of sales training or help with developing and communicating their image brand with a new logo, website or e-newsletter just like this one.

Transparency is not merely being open about your intentions, but backing it up with your commitment and sincere willingness to help others. Not everyone has the time or desire to publish a newsletter. There are several ways you can transparently provide value. Find twenty-one minutes today to identify what you can do in your business that will help you become transparent and bring down the “sales” wall between you and your customers and prospects. Work on that idea each day until you are ready to implement it.

Being transparent is not being presumptuous. It is not being arrogant. It is being truthful with yourself, your customers and your prospects. Being transparent in a world of high-pressure sales and stiff competition is a breath of fresh air and greatly appreciated.

Now Go Get ‘Em!!