How to Be a Better Salesperson
Don’t blame the world if you’re not producing. Learn from others.
Today’s topic is how to know if you’re doing well at your job, and what to do if you’re not.
Listener Mike called in:
Hi, Stever. It’s Michael from England. I’m a big fan of your podcast. It always cheers me up.
I know you’re busy so I will be brief. I have just taken my first sales job cold calling. I have been there three weeks and sold nothing. I know this sounds bad but our product is 20% to 50% more expensive than competitors. Am I just being rubbish or is the company expecting too much from me?
Michael, the Quick and Dirty tip is to start by assuming you can get better at what you do, using resources you already have available. If that doesn’t work, assume it’s the product or pricing.
Dear Listener, if you’re not a salesperson like Michael, think about your job as you listen to the rest of this episode.
Why assume it’s you? Maybe it’s not. But if you get in the habit of blaming the company, the price, the market, or the competition, you’re training yourself to think of yourself as a victim. It’s not a nice way to live, but it is convenient. You can blame anything on something else. I tried blaming my dog to jump-start my victimhood. My homework? Er, I don’t have it. My dog ate it. Then he messed up my desk. And clawed through my hard drive. And then chewed through all my good clothes, tore up my textbook, and forced me to remember the multiplication table WRONG.
Finally my parents just got rid of the dog. I had no choice but to do my homework. I went to get the textbook … and just before he was shipped off, howling, to some unsuspecting family, the dog really had left a little present for me. The mutt won, and I was truly a victim.
In that moment of epiphany, I realized I thought of myself as a victim and that darned dog thought of himself as the one in control. And sadly for me, he was right. We both had control over parts of the situation. He was just owning his part, being a dog, while I was giving him my power over my grades, for goodness sake!
Take Responsibility
I’m sure most of you listening have already learned this and would never, ever blame your co-workers, your boss, your sweetie, the economy, your kids, the Democrats, the Republicans, the Communists, or Lycra for anything. But just in case you accidentally blame someone, just remember: always assume you have some control over a situation, even if it’s not true. You’ll be happier, more confident, and feel better if you do. If you’re about to be beheaded in the French Revolution, tell the executioner that if he lets you up for just a moment, you can show him how to get rid of that annoying squeak in the guillotine. He’ll laugh, you’ll lose your head, but at least you’ll exit knowing you could have done a better job.
As a first-time manager, I was convinced I was doing a crappy job. My boss asked, “How would you know?” That was a really good question, and I had no idea. I started sweating profusely, shifting side-to-side, and hemming and hawing, when he took mercy and said: “Just ask yourself if there’s anyone else who could do better. If the answer’s yes, do what they would have done.”
Find Mentors and Role Models
Mike, maybe you can do it better. Go out and compare. Are any salespeople in your company making sales? If so, ask one who’s successful if you can follow them around for the day.
Watch them make calls, go to meetings, meet with prospects. If they do things you wouldn’t, ask why they did that and how they knew it was the right time. Thus can you learn the secrets of the masters, Grasshopper. For example, a great salesman once taught me to help my prospect make the case for my product inside his company. I would never have thought of doing that. But of course it makes sense. If I’m selling to Erin, and Erin has to convince Vice President Pat to sign off, then I’m more likely to get the sale if I help Erin convince Pat.
Read Books
Read books! Just about every professional imaginable has books on how to do it better. When it comes to sales, one of my favorites is High-Probability Selling by Jacques Werth. It’s great for cold-calling and telemarketing sales. For selling customized relationship products like consulting, Value-Based Fees by Alan Weiss is excellent. I also like SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham.
Look in a Mirror
And don’t just rely on experts, either. If you can get your ego out of the way—which can be really tough to do, unless you’re a studly manly-man like me—maybe you can evaluate yourself and improve. Try recording your next few sales conversations. Then lock yourself in your cubicle, close the curtains, shut the door (impressive cubicle!) and review it. Did you interrupt your prospect? Did you talk about yourself? Your propsect? What did you say? And most importantly, how’s your voice tone? Did you sound bored? Happy? Enthusiastic? Curious? If someone were pitching you like you pitched your prospect, would it work? Would you buy?
When this podcast first started, a listener wrote that my writing was good, but my delivery, well, sucked. It was stilted and flat. It sounded like I was reading a script, which I was. Boy did that letter hurt. Part of why it hurt is because I listened to my own episode and he was right. It sounded that way to me, too. So I grit my teeth and began rehearsing and reviewing and rehearsing and reviewing and now, my delivery sounds a lot better, even though I am still reading from a script.
Change Jobs
If you learn from yourself and learn from the superstar salespeople, you might start turning your numbers around. Or maybe the problem really is with your product or pricing. In that case, you might want to find a new job. But there’s still room for you to take control: you can be smart about how you interview your new employer, so next time, you’re working for a company whose product is way more likely to sell. For example, selling private jet time to the ultra-rich. In keeping with my “Get-it-Done Guy service ethic,” I humbly volunteer to take the private jet to Las Vegas, just to be sure it’s really worth the price. Sell well, my friend!
This is Stever Robbins. Send questions to getitdone@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email or call them in at 866-WRK-LESS. I’m “getitdoneguy” on Twitter. Follow me! For information about keynote speeches, workshops, or other appearances, visit SteverRobbins.com for details.
Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!
RESOURCES:
Visit the 36 Sales Skills page by Steve Robbins
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Visit the High Probability Selling page by Steve Robbins
High-Probability Selling by Jacques Werth -
Visit the High Probability Selling website
High-Probability Selling website -
Visit the View From the Top page by Steve Robbins
Value-Based Fees by Alan Weiss -
Visit the SPIN Selling page by Steve Robbins
SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham -
Visit the Quick and Dirty Tips Sales page
The Sales Guy