I have a loved one
who used to complain
I never thought of her. 
Despite calling her semi-regularly,
sending her emails, etc.,
I would hear that repetitive complaint. 

Then I started sending her weekly letters. 
Now for a cost of a stamp and a postcard,
she’s happy. 
She feels loved. 

What does this have to do with sales? 
Most customers have a tiny, tiny “thing”
that if supplied, they feel loved. 

For me, as a customer,
it is the follow up phone call/email/letter
after I buy. 
Do that and I’ll be a customer for life. 

How to find out that one thing?
Simple. Ask.
Ask about their best buying experience
and what the salesperson did during it.

I was on a site selling blogs
(doing research for a friend). 
Listing after listing had the same information. 
Page Rank, Monthly Revenue,
Unique Visitors, Links In…  

Then there was a listing
with none of that. 
And no bidders. 

The comments? 
Asking about the common information. 
It was common because
that was what the buyers were looking for. 
That was how they valued the blogs. 

By not listing the information,
the seller looked like a junior jammer,
out of touch with the market.
Not likely to get premium pricing.

Hearing no is part of sales. 
Learning how to deal with objections
is a must for any salesperson. 

Brian Tracy in this book “Be A Sales Superstar”
suggests using the Feel, Felt, Found method. 

“When a customer says something
like “It costs too much,” you can say,
“I understand exactly how you feel. 
Others felt the same way
when they first heard the price. 
But this is what they found
when they began using out product or service.””

We see it in retail all the time. 
The single-invoice mentality. 
What is it? 

Stan Adler in “The Zen Of Selling” explains…
“This store is full of single-invoice mentalities. 
It’s pathetic, but it’s also your advantage. 
Most salespeople don’t follow up for two reasons: 
first, because it means more work, and
they probably got a sales job in the first place
because they didn’t like hard work and,
second, they don’t have confidence in what or
how they sold the customer initially,
so why should they call the customer
and risk confronting a problem? 
That’s the working premise of a nonseller.

What the average salesperson doesn’t understand is:
If the customer hasn’t already called you,
whatever problem there is can’t be urgent.”

So follow up,
solve the small problem and be a hero.

I recently saw an entrepreneur pitch ownership
to a possible investor. 
The investor, of course, counter-offered
and the entrepreneur walked away,
refusing to negotiate. 

You, as a vendor or potential partner, 
may be entering a boardroom
to pitch a product or a deal
but your prospect is there to negotiate. 

Expect it, prepare for it. 
Run through what if scenarios in your mind. 
Don’t walk away from a possibly better opportunity
because you have another one stuck in your mind.