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The 25 sales habits of highly successful salespeople - Stephen Schiffman -…

- - - - It means understanding your product or service, understanding what your prospects do for a living, and assuming responsibility for delivering results to your customers, no matter what.
    - - What makes a good leader?
      - A good leader has a vision.
      - A good leader commands respect.
      - A good leader sees the big picture.
      - A good leader knows when to change direction.
      - A good leader points out problem areas and is ready to discuss solutions.
      - A good leader has confidence in both approach and attitude.
      - And a good leader is accountable.
- - - - Here are some suggestions:
      - “Tell me, what kind of customers do you serve?”
      - “What other locations do you have?” (Or, “Where are your headquarters located?”)
      - “What kind of sales force do you use?”
      - “How long has the firm been in business?”
      - “What kinds of challenges do you face in this business/industry?”
- - - - Now your goal is to reach that same level of knowledge about your customer.
      - In order to fully understand the prospect's company and its needs, you need to see as many as twelve people in the organization.
      - Spending time with a buyer is just not enough. Ideally, you want to go to the manufacturing plant to see the way the people on the line make their products — hopefully discovering ways yours is superior to what is currently in use.
      - Spend time with the marketing staff to see how and to whom they sell their products. Speak to the company's sales force, its executives. And at every stop, ask all the people you meet how and why they do what they do and whether there's a way your product can help them do it better.
      - you have to listen to what they say. Every person you meet may be the one that can provide you entrée to this account, that special nugget of information that turns the tide in your favor. The key is listening to as many people as you can to truly learn about a prospect's business. When someone believes you are genuinely interested in what they have to say, they're more likely to open up and tell you more about the business.
- - - - L et's say your goal is to get five new prospects for the week. Carry with you at all times a package of three-by-five index cards. After you're done meeting with one of your customers or a good-quality prospect, simply say something like this.“Mr. Jones, I'm willing to bet there are people in your (industry, area, related businesses) who could benefit from my talking to them about this (product/service).”As you say this, you take out five index cards. Hold them in your hand. Let the prospect or customer see that there are five of them there. Then say, “Do you know five people I could talk to?”
      - Help your contact along. It will be easier than you think; the fact that there are five separate index cards will make the task comprehensible and immediate. Your confident, professional attitude will guarantee that your request will not be seen as inappropriate
      - Put the cards in a row on the desk as you fill them out, writing names only. Then, after you have identified the five referrals by name, go back and ask for the company affiliations, addresses, or other contact information. You do this because you want to make the first and most important job, identifying the people you can talk to, as easy as possible.
- - - - At this stage, because the two of you don't know each other well enough yet, you cannot convincingly say all that you might want to about solving the prospect's problem.
      - The prospect — along with most of the rest of the adult members of our species — requires a certain “choosing” time before entering into a socialization stage with another person.
      - So the best way to show enthusiasm in the very early part of the meeting is to underplay it. Confident bearing; good eye contact (but not to such a degree it could be confused with staring); a firm handshake; predictable, smooth movements as you walk from one point to another — these are the keys to communicating your excitement about the new relationship you're trying to build.
- - - - ACT SURPRISED
        At this point, the salespeople I know who use this technique are genuinely taken aback — even shocked. And it's not an act. They believe in their company so completely, and know so much about the prospect by this stage of the game, that they are legitimately concerned to see any evidence of a negative response to the proposal they've made. And they state that concern in no uncertain terms. You can, too.
      - Here's what you say: “Mr. Jones, I'm really not sure what to say. I am so convinced that we have the best service, the best pricing, the best customization, and the best reputation of any firm in our industry that I can think of only one reason for you not to sign on with us. And that's that I must have done something terribly wrong just now in giving my presentation. So I'm going to ask you to give me a hand, Mr. Jones, and tell me where I went off course. Because, to be quite frank with you, sir, I know this service is right for you, and I'd really hate to have made a mistake like that.”
      - What do you think you'll hear in response? One thing's for sure. It's not going to be easy for the prospect to come back with a run-of-the-mill brush-off like, “It's just not up our alley, Maureen.” No, if you're Mr. Jones, you probably respect the person who had the courage to say that to you, who believes so strongly in the service you're looking at. You're going to pass along information — information on exactly what the problem is with your firm's signing on.The common response you'll hear after you take responsibility for the initial “no” will sound something like this:“No, no, no, Maureen, it has nothing to do with you. It's on our end.” And the prospect can then be expected to go into detail about the remaining obstacles. Then you have the facts you need to continue through the cycle.
    - - Let me repeat: This can be a startlingly effective technique, but it requires absolute faith on your part that you can in fact deliver on your promises. There is another catch, as well: You have to be willing to put aside the common fixation with being right that we all share to a degree.
      - But when it comes right down to it, would you rather be right — or close a sale?