“Don’t lose a sale by talking too much.” Red Motely If selling is a new game to you, you may find it easy to become confused over the piles of books containing “the” secret to making the sale and making the bucks. You will find instructions from saying hello to roping in the prospect with all so ever intriguing questions. You will be presented with enough “lines” or canned presentations to rewrite most of Shakespeare. You will be thrown so many possible ways to say introduce yourself, present your product, arouse interest, and get the poor soul to say yes, that you may feel you need a degree from the Yale School of Drama to master it all. What was a simple vocation has become in the hands of well meaning sales execs ( most have never faced a buyer) a complex psychological process better suited to a student of “Dr Phil” than marketing. If you are a little shaky about charging in to the jaws of rude and ill-mannered buyers who use you to relive their frustrations of the day, you are perfectly normal. Here is a bit of turtle shell you can wrap yourself in- try deep breathing exercises, tell yourself that you are playing a role in a drama of business success, and hold in front of you the image of a smiling even doting warm and wonderful buyer and watch the fears melt away. Hang onto these two truths: “They can only say no,” and, “Ask enough people and someone will say yes.” Some buyers enjoy acting the role of the doubting “prove it” hard nosed buyer- it is their only place in life where they can reign fear- they look different taking out the garbage. Now if you find yourself confronted with the challenge of selling and getting up and on the road knocking on doors a dread, you are normal, not a misplaced introvert. When I was an undergraduate, I was offered the chance to sell brake parts to car dealers in Eastern New England. I was given samples, price sheets, and a list of new car dealers. Boy was I a failure. I was so terrified of cold calling on the parts managers I spent the days driving around concocting some idiotic reason not to stop. It was too early, too late, it was raining, it was too hot, or it was the wrong day of the week. After two months of misery and the feelings that I was headed for skid row, I quit and took a more challenging job of working downtown Boston four nights a week in a parking lot. Years later as a sales and product manager for Capital Records, part of my responsibilities was to travel with the members of the company sales force. Watching and listening to these guys and gals who made enough bucks to live the good life, was the best sales education I ever received- bar none. They approached their jobs with professionalism, honesty and knew the value of building a long-standing relationship with their customers. They knew the importance of “knowing their lines,” and material. They were organized and had pre planned each sales call. To call on a prospect or customer with out a plan is wasting your client’s time and insulting to a busy buyer. They did not try to sell products that were unsuited to the needs of their customers. To do so shows ignorance of their cliental. They did not waste time with oft-told warm up stories and a rehash of last night’s game. A professional in a professional setting knows time is important and social calls do not cut it. They did not make promises or use the trite expression to postpone a problem, “don’t worry about it.” They did not exploit the trust and goodwill of their customer by “padding orders” to please their sales manager. If your opinion of selling is from the fiction of Arthur Miller or David Mamet, reality eludes you. If you have customers who are in business, old-fashioned honesty and dependability is what cuts it. Successful business owners do not have time for theatrics or role-playing. Now if you are a “natural,” love people, love to meet the world, radiate bushels of self-confidence and feel you are the worlds best snake charmer, then “How to Sell in Five Lessons” has more use as a doorstop than educational material. But, my friend watch out, you have a hidden Achilles heal time will reveal to you. If there is the one most important rule a sales pro understands and never-never violates, and that is once you get the order- get out! Many a sale has been lost because a peddler hung around for small talk or too explain one more feature- with the purchase order in hand, say thanks, and say goodbye! Dr. Paul E Adams, Professor Emeritus Business Administration Ramapo College of New Jersey Author “ Fail Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful.” Available at Amazon.Com If you have questions about your business- contact me: drfailproof@earthlink.net