Tag: Sales

Recognizing A Yes

I asked my Mom
if she wanted me
to call her on a certain date
or would she be receiving
too many calls
that day.

She told me
she didn’t think
she’d be very busy.

That’s a yes.
She wants me to call her.

My Mom NEVER gives me
a clear yes.

Some of our prospects
are like this also.
They will never say
yes, they want our products.
They’ll say things
like
‘That would be useful’
or
‘That is lovely.’

I do the presumptive close
with these prospects.
I’ll tell them
I’ll add the product to their bill
or I’ll write up the contract
or I’ll place it in their shopping basket.

If I misread the situation,
they’ll tell me.
But usually I haven’t misread it.

Some prospects will never
give you an outright yes.
If they don’t give you
an outright no,
assume they want your product/service.

We Have To, At Least, Cover Costs

A newer writer told me
she wasn’t going to worry
about sales.
She planned to give
all her books away.

That’s not a business.
It is a hobby.
And it isn’t sustainable.

Even free books
have a cost component
to producing them.

Unless she has funds
to sink into that hobby
forever,
she HAS to have sales
to, at least, cover those costs.

We need sales
or donations
or some other source
of income.
We have to,
at the very least,
cover our costs
in the long term.

Figure out
what YOUR sources of income
will be.

Sales And Product Development

Yesterday,
I talked about
how I pitch story ideas
to my agent.

I do this
BEFORE I start writing the story.

It makes no sense
to spend months
on a story idea
my agent (salesperson) can’t sell.

It also makes no sense
to not include
my agent’s inputs.
Those inputs
should help her
sell the story.

Sales should
ALWAYS
be included
in new product development.

They are on
the front lines.
They talk with customers.
They know what customers like.

Involve salespeople
in the product development
process.

How To Follow Up With Prospective Customers

A loved one,
a skilled salesperson,
is waiting for a huge deal
to close.

He follows up
with this prospective client
EVERY day.
His goal is to ensure
his deal
is their priority.

How does he do this
without coming across
as pain in the a$$?

He asks them
variations of
“How can I help you?”

He positions himself
as their assistant,
as an extra person
on the task.

Follow up
with prospective customers
today.

Why You Need Online Sales

Having a bricks and mortar
retail store
is super sexy.

We can point to it
and tell loved ones,
“I own that.”
We can wander the aisles
and talk face-to-face
with customers.

I get it.
It is a dream
of many business builders.

But, if you sell products,
I strongly suggest
you have a venue
to sell them online
also.

Why?

Because online venues
are a hedge
against pandemics,
natural disasters,
construction,
and anything else
that stops customers
from visiting our physical stores.

Right now,
my corner of the world
is being severely hit
by RSV, the flu,
AND COVID
all at the same time.

Sick people
(and people trying to avoid
illness)
tend to switch
from shopping
at their favorite physical stores
to shopping online.

It would be great
for them
AND for you,
if they could continue
buying from you.

Offer an online shopping experience
and
keep those customers.

Creating Holiday Spirit

We’re deep into
the holiday buying season
here in North America.

When we sell customers
gifts,
we’re selling them
the possibility
of happiness.

That is MUCH easier
to do
if our salespeople
are happy.

How do we accomplish
this
while they are working long hours
and dealing with
quite a few customers?

Some retailers host contests.
Some bring in treats
for their salespeople.
Some post a joke every day.

They create a festive environment
for their salespeople,
knowing that mood
will be relayed
to customers.

Ensure your salespeople
are happy
this holiday season.

Happy salespeople
sell more products.

Small Deals Matter

A salesperson loved one
works for a HUGE tech company.
He regularly works on
million dollar deals.

He hustled to close
a two thousand dollar deal
last week.

Why did he care
about that tiny deal?

It might lead
to a larger deal
in the future.

But most importantly,
it puts him ‘on the board.’

When staff-reduction-focused
management asks for a list
of all the salespeople
who didn’t close a deal
this month,
his name won’t appear
on that list.

Of course, he is continuing
to work on the big deals.
But he has closed A deal
and that might save his job.

Chase the big deals
but close A deal
this month.

Discrimination Can Happen At Any Level

One of my buddies
is a skilled salesperson.
She is also very detailed-oriented,
which is why
she found it surprising
that legal
would block or significantly delay
every one of her deals.

Seeking to fix this issue,
she asked a trusted coworker
to look at her contracts
before she submitted them.

He found no issues with them.
This white male salesperson
said he had submitted similar deals
in the past
and received no pushback
from legal.

She submitted the contracts.
Legal blocked them.

She brought this issue up
at a department meeting.
Every woman in that department
had the same issue.

The Legal department of one
was an older white guy.

Recognize that the ‘isms
– racism, sexism, etc
– could happen at any level
in an organization.

Legal could block
the sales of female salespeople
in an organization.
The mail person
could ‘lose’ the deliveries
of people of color.
Reception could ‘fail to connect’
the calls for trans employees.

Monitor complaints
and
take them seriously.
Look for patterns.

Our organizations
aren’t truly exclusive
if someone within it
is discriminating against others.

Sales Is A Necessary Skill

One of the key jobs
of a business builder
is to sell.

She sells her products/services,
her company,
herself
to
prospects, customers,
business partners,
banks,
and other entities.

She sells everywhere
she goes.

In his newsletter,
Carmine Gallo
shares

“I remember the first time
a famed venture capitalist
debunked the myth for me.
Geoff Ralston,
the president of
seed accelerator Y Combinator
(early investor in Airbnb, DoorDash,
Reddit, and thousands of other startups).
During our conversation,
I called public speaking
and storytelling
a “soft skill.”
Ralston corrected me
before I finished the question.
“You might call it ‘soft.’
I call it fundamental,”
he said.

Ralston’s point was that
an entrepreneur can have a great idea,
but if they can’t persuade
investors, partners,
and potential employees
to join them,
their startup won’t even
get off the ground.”

Sales is a necessary skill.
Gain it.
Practice it.
Use it.

Renewals Are A Lot Of Work

A loved one,
a skilled salesperson,
signed a renewal
for a multi-million dollar contract.

He had worked on this renewal
since the previous contract
was signed.
There were multiple meetings
a week regarding it
for an entire year.

The contract could have easily
gone to competitors.
My salesperson loved one
fought hard
to keep the business.

He was paid no commission
on it.

His company’s policy
is
they only pay commission
on new business.

Contract renewals
are key to a company’s success
and they are HARD work.

Ensure your salespeople
are compensated
for them.