There are always gambits and tactics that you could learn from the best sales professionals.  Some of these useful tools might present ways to become more effective and some might be ways to be more persuasive.  Whatever the thrust is, there are procedures that are working for some of the highest earning sales professionals out there, and you would be missing something not to try them.

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The best sales professionals have benefited from learning these things from others as well, although some of them have worked hard to construct the tactics.  I am a believer that the tactics are “fair game”, and the best will feel flattered that they are being ‘copied’.

12 Lessons You Can Learn and Benefit From

We all have certain tricks of the trade.  The best sales professionals have some rather simple ones that they brag about.  I think that the ease is in knowing them, and that they can be effective. You will need to remember and practice them, as they don’t necessarily come naturally.

Remember that you are not without your own time-proven gambits, yet these can supplement anything that you have been doing.

• Before You Leave – Secure the Next Appointment
• Each Meeting Have an “Action” in Mind
• Be an Effective Listener
• Know When to Say “I don’t know”
• Be an Expert
• Recognize that Rejection is Part of Sales
• Show a Personality
• Always be Dressed for Business
• Have multiple “touch points” at Each Customer
• Prospect Every Single Day
• Develop Deep Enduring Relationships
• Be Responsive

Before You Leave – Secure the Next Appointment – Never walk out without the next chapter being planned.  One of my favorite sales authors, Stephan Schiffman (101 Successful Sales Strategies, 2005 Adams Media), makes this suggestion about the first call.  I certainly suggest it for a first appointment, yet suggest as well for much of the early going with a customer.  End each session setting up the next encounter.

Each Meeting Have an “Action” in Mind – Know your end game for each session.  Make sure that you have an action step in each meeting.  Your update to the customer keeps you in contact, and keeps things moving along

Be an Effective Listener - The best sales professionals let the client talk.  They ask open-ended questions that generate complete thoughts and answers.  They let the client completely finish those answers before giving their input.  Then…they listen! Customers know when you are listening, and they appreciate it.

Know When to Say “I don’t know” – No customer expects that you will have an answer for every problem during your call or meeting.  It is safe to say that you don’t know.  Follow-up is the key, be responsive and do your research.

Be an Expert – You all know my sentiments about being an expert.  It is that angle that you can take which can define you in the future.  Everyone needs expertise in some particular area, and once they have it, the recognition and acclaim begins to flow.  Whether it is an industry, geography, or a product, you should recognize that “expert power” is effective and can mesmerize a customer in addition to giving the requisite value.

Recognize that Rejection is Part of Sales – A sales professional does not take rejection personally.  The Black sales professional needs to be able to separate rejection in the sales process from preference and prejudice.  They are different!  Rejection is part of the process, and the more you have rejection, the more you are able to determine its common nuances,  Don’t sweat it.

Show a Personality – Don’t put on a show, but show that you are a human being.  If the only thing the customer/prospect thinks is that you want his check, you have missed an opportunity.  Remember to be personable, not personal.

Always be Dressed for Business – Dress as if you are serious, and always dress for the part.  Business dress is your “uniform”.  Don’t find yourself being lulled into dressing down as you are on a mission.

Have multiple “touch points” at Each Customer – The “deeper” your contact points go into a customer, the more assured that you can be of having an “ear” in an organization.  When there is change in your customer’s organization, you will appreciate this suggestion.  Know more than one solid contact in each of your customer’s organization.

Prospect Every Single Day – Every single day you should be preparing for the future.  Prospecting is not the sole source of new business prospects, but it is most effective use of your time on a daily basis.  It needs to be a planned routine and it needs to consistently be executed.  Only then can the “law of large numbers” work for you.  Religiously execute the prospecting plan.

Develop Deep Enduring Relationships – Everyone that most of us sell to is a current customer and a potential repeat customer.  Relationships “rule” in the end and can change “preference” as two whom one prefers to do business with.  Develop relationships with a purpose, and work at them.  If you are truthful, and give value, they will start to increase in depth.

Be Responsive – The best sales professionals are responsive to the highest degree.  They answer their phones, return missed calls methodically, respond to questions and do all follow-ups against the clock.  Responsiveness does not mean that you grant all wishes, but it gets answers so people can move to the next important item.  It is always appreciated, and creates an expectation that many sales professionals cannot match.

I know that there are probably more things that could be learned, yet if you live by these simple rules you can generate more success.  If you are good at internalizing them, the difference will be reflected in a professional demeanor and the success should follow.

Maybe you are doing many of these, although maybe not all.  Try them and let me know the results.

We welcome your comments. You can reach me Michael.Parker@blacksalesjournal.com.

This is a topic that many sales professionals wrestle with, although some get adept with deceiving themselves.  Prospecting is at the foundation of many sales positions, and you cannot avoid it when in those positions.  Take a moment to read this and remember that everyone’s metrics are different based on their effectiveness. You don’t as much have to be scientific, but you do need to be formulaic.

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There is no magic to prospecting, just some real hard work, some simple tactics and gambits, and a realization that the only way to win is volume.  That is volume of calls, volume of appointments, and volume of proposals.  Without that, you will not have a volume of sales. Sales professionals who have done this long enough know that your best effort, even when well directed will still result in a certain amount of rejection and wasted time.  The key to dealing with the rejection is to make enough calls that the rejections don’t bother you and the feelings of wasted time are eclipsed by the successes that you generate. As was discussed in Black Sales Journal, 9 Prospecting Tips For The Black Sales Professional (2/10/2011), this is the most necessary of your activities, even if you are having a banner year.

What is the Definition of a Prospect?

A prospect is a potential customer that you are attempting to take to the next stage of the buying relationship.  Once they buy, they can remain a prospect, even though they are a customer for one of your products or services.  This definition will keep it simple for this discussion.

How Many Prospects Do You Really Have?

You must take an honest accounting.   How many of your prospects truly have an opportunity to move to the next level?  If there is doubt as to their potential, then they fall a “grade”. If you don’t use a system already to grade your prospects, then consider this one: Divide your prospects into 4 groups -

Grade A – High Probability, based on your relationship with the buyer, a match between buyer needs and your product.  Spend adequate time to test these prospects.

Grade B – Better than Average Probability, based on access to the decision maker, buyer needs and your product.  Spend adequate time on these as well.

Grade C – Average Probability, good match of product features and benefits.  These deserve time to develop, and should be reduced to Ds if they do not allow contact or show promise.

Grade D – Lower than Average Probability, based on difficulty with buyer access.

Kiss the Grade Ds Goodbye

Your distribution of “prospects” in the grades is important.  That is why you must be very honest with yourself.  Honest with yourself in a way that you are not honest when discussing your sales funnel with your manager.  This brutal honesty is required because you cannot succeed if you do not have the requisite number of prospects. The first thing I suggest you do is to trade off your D accounts!  If you cannot trade them to another sales professional, then I would suggest you shelve them, as they will only hurt you if you spend time or other resources on them.  D accounts may be a D because of no chance of a relationship, or because of some evidence of preference or prejudice.  Whatever it is, if it is rated a “D”, I would suggest you don’t touch it.

How Many Prospects Do You Need? – Know Your Ratios!

This depends on your goals, and the kind of sales that you are involved in.  To an even greater extent, that is dependent on you, and your sales abilities and effectiveness.  If you are still learning and honing your skills, you possibly will need more than someone who is a consummate veteran. Review your sales records, and calculate your sales ratios. Know these items:

• How many telephone calls you require to get an appointment on average?
• How many appointments it takes to get a proposal?
• How many proposals it takes to get an order?

You can get this from your records if you have been selling for a while.  It will help you construct your ratios.  Your ratios are important because they reflect your selling styles and abilities.  It makes for a good exercise. If you are successful in getting an appointment 1 out of 5 phone calls on average, you know a valuable variable.  If you also know that it takes you 2 appointments on average get 1 proposal, you know another key variable.  The combination of these builds a large part of the equation.

Now if you determine that you get an order on 1 out of every 5 proposals for a hit ratio on proposals of 20%, you know some good information. In the example above, you will note that:

In the example above, you will note that:

Successful Sales –       1

Proposals –                   5

Appointments –           10

Calls Required –          50

Your Ratios are YOUR Ratios!

You must know and respect your ratios.  They will not be exact, yet the longer that you are involved in sales, the ratios will begin to have their own rolling history.  You need to believe them as they only respect the historical, yet you also can change them. If you annual sales goal for new customers is $250,000 and the average sales of the product your company sells is $50,000, you need 5 (average) sales to reach goal. Your ratios would require the following amounts of activity:

Calls Required -            250

Appointments –              50            (1 in 5 phone calls yields an appointment)

Proposals –                     25            (2 appointments gets 1 proposals)

Sales –                               5             (20% of the proposals end in sales)

Meets goal –                  $250,000 in new customer sales

So if you take your goals, and include YOUR ratios, as opposed to the company ratios, you will get a clearer picture of what you need to do.  Remember, as a Black sales professional, your product as well as your receptiveness by the buyer affect your ratios.  There is still racial preference and racial prejudice that will weave its way into the equation.  Be prepared for it, and stock your prospect base in preparation for it. We are talking about averages so be careful.  You may need more or less.  This will serve as a starting point.

A Couple of Tips

Before I close I will drop a couple of tips regarding the impact of your activities.  In any sales job, no matter what they are called, there are activity standards (such as prospecting and quoting), and there are production standards (such as number of sales and dollars of sales.) If you are successful in getting the production standard, you will probably have a job for the next round, yet if you fail in getting your activity standard, and also fall short of your production standard, you are probably in trouble.  Be aware of your goals for both activity and results.  If you are successful in getting your activity through prospecting, and incorporate your ratios, you have a chance to reach your results Good luck and good prospecting.