Sales training ideas – 11 factors that lead to success in sales and selling.

Whether you’re just learning how to sell, or you’ve been in sales for years, focus on the following eleven factors to help guarantee success in sales. 

Eleven Factors for Success in Sales 

1) Positive attitude – enthusiasm, drive, competitiveness, and confidence  

Top salespeople have a positive, can-do, winning attitude. Specifically, it calls for enthusiasm, drive, competitiveness, and confidence—the four most critical aspects of a top salesperson’s personality. Top salespeople do whatever it takes to win, ethically, and they do not quit. They never give up, ever. Top salespeople have a win-win attitude. They are genuine and they truly like and care about other people. 

2) Action oriented

Top salespeople are people of purposeful, focused, well-thought-out action. They are not frozen by fear or paralyzed by indecision. They may occasionally feel fear, yet they act in spite of it. Top salespeople are clear about what they are doing and why they are doing it. They don’t procrastinate. They are protective of their time and use it wisely. Top salespeople have a plan every day. 

3) Preparation

Top salespeople are prepared for anything and they over-prepare for everything. They never wing it. They have prepared scripts, presentations, answers to objections, and proposals. They practice, drill, and rehearse. They are always looking for ways to improve. They are familiar with all the paperwork and other, more detailed aspects of their job. They make sure they have all the tools of their trade with them, ready to go.  

4) Being businesslike and business-savvy

Top salespeople partner with customers and build a compelling business case based upon what’s best for the customer. They know the customer’s business and problems intimately. They ask intelligent questions that both set them apart from other salespeople and let the customer know they understand the business. Top salespeople embrace technology, know where to use it, and how much of it to use.  

5) Ability to stand out from the crowd

Top salespeople differentiate themselves from other salespeople. They don’t sound or act like other salespeople —they are original. A top salesperson doesn’t come across as someone trying to sell; he or she comes across as an interested and informed party there to help. Top salespeople have an aura of respect around them. The way they walk and talk demonstrates to others that they are professionals and they, in turn, are treated professionally. Top salespeople are real, human, and down to earth, and people like them for this reason. Their caring, sincerity, and helpful dispositions stand out. They are memorable.  

6) Likeability, trustworthiness, and the ability to build relationships

Top salespeople do everything necessary to build solid, loyal, long-term relationships. This is true even in businesses such as real estate and car sales where the frequency of sales can be years apart. Top are able to establish a connection and build rapport quickly and effectively. They build trust and credibility. They are kind, caring, and most important, trustworthy. They are also genuine, open, and honest. They convey a sincere interest in other people. Top salespeople become personally involved with their clients and truly like to serve people. 

7) Effective communication

Top salespeople are great communicators. They actively listen to people and are able to hear them well and read between the lines. They ask many questions and listen well to the answers. Top salespeople are clear and concise in the information they convey. They have frank, direct conversations with people and talk to them the way they want to be talked to.  

Empathy

Top salespeople have empathy for their customers and prospects. They are able to put themselves in other people’s shoes and become emotionally involved. Top salespeople genuinely like people and people feel their understanding and compassion. Top salespeople enjoy helping people. 

9) Professionalism, integrity, and work ethic

Top salespeople are complete professionals with complete integrity. In addition, they have a great work ethic. Everything about them is nothing but professional. Top salespeople are always on their best behavior because they’re aware that they never know who is watching them and who is taking inventory of them. Top salespeople are honest, work both hard and smart, and they go the extra mile.  

10) Team player and leader

Top salespeople are team players. They look for ways to contribute to the team. They pull for their peers and colleagues. They are focused on becoming better as individuals and believe that by doing so, they help the people around them improve and make their company stronger. Top salespeople work well with other departments and develop strong professional relationships with co-workers. They lead prospects and customers to the right decisions.  

11) Continuing education and training

Top salespeople are committed to being the best they can possibly be. They are always getting better at selling. They read sales books, listen to sales information at home and in their car, watch videos, and talk to other successful salespeople. Top salespeople constantly look for ways to improve, add to, and build upon every tool in their selling arsenal.  

While eleven factors may seem like a lot, being a top salesperson really comes down to having a great attitude, a sincere interest in helping people, and a burning desire to succeed. With those elements in place, you will achieve success in sales.

Sales training ideas – 6 foundational keys to success in sales and selling.

When learning how to sell, it’s important to build a strong foundation. These six keys will help you build a solid career in sales. 

Six keys to a successful career in sales 

Foundational Key  #1: Be in sales for the right reasons.

The desire for money, a top reason many people get into sales, can lead to at least short-term success in sales. Provided your desire for money is strong enough, it will motivate you to work hard and do all that’s necessary to initially succeed. In order to have long-term success and become a top achiever, however, genuine caring and a desire to serve your customers must back your motivation for money. 

Foundational Key #2: The right attitude and beliefs.

Do you stay positive in the face of all challenges? If so, you will be far better off in work and in life. While you may have some tough days, you must try your best to find some positives, keep a good attitude, and ultimately resolve any difficult situations. To get to the top in selling requires high self-confidence and high self-esteem, you must be a self-starter, and you must be a consummate professional and every ounce of your being must exude integrity—at all times. You also need to be highly motivated and ready to work as hard as you have to in order to reach the top and remain there. In addition, you need to see yourself as a person who is completely responsible for your life and what happens in it. 

Foundational Key #3: A willingness to pay the price for success.

How far are you willing to go in order to be successful? There is a price for success and top salespeople have chosen to pay it. You must be willing to do whatever it takes, ethically, to get to and stay at the top.  

Foundational Key #4: “Hanging out” with the right people.

You must hang around with successful people who are growing personally and professionally and who support your goals and dreams. Birds of a feather do flock together, and the wrong group of people can drag you down quickly. This doesn’t mean you need to immediately discard your friends and family if they aren’t completely supportive of you. However, as you progress toward your goals, you may find yourself gathering a new, different group of friends and hanging out with certain negative people less often. Let friends and family know the track you’re on and ask them to help or even to join you in the adventure. 

Foundational Key #5: Good health.

It isn’t possible to operate at your highest levels both mentally and physically if your health isn’t good. If you are tired, run down, or frequently ill, you will not be motivated and you will not perform well. You need to get plenty of sleep, eat properly, and exercise on a regular basis in order to be a top salesperson with consistency. Good health also includes your overall mental condition. You must also develop the ability to handle stress, unexpected problems, and other similarly negative things that may affect your emotions. 

Foundational Key #6: A life with balance and growth.

For short periods, you can devote an inordinate amount of time to one area of your life and neglect the others. However, if you do that for too long, your attitude will suffer tremendously. To be truly happy in the long run, you must find a way to balance work, family, recreation, personal time, and other important areas of your life. Finally, you must be passionate about what you are doing, and you must always be growing personally and professionally. 

If you don’t have the six essential ingredients mentioned above in place, they can be learned. But, all are necessary to build a successful career in sales.

Sales training ideas – 9 steps to sales success.

Whether you’re just learning how to sell, or have been selling for a while, these nine steps can make you more successful in sales. 

9 Steps to Top Sales Performance  

1)   Do what the top salespeople do.

If you take the same actions as the top salespeople, you will eventually also be a top salesperson. Find the top salespeople in your company, and everywhere for that matter, and pick their brains. Ask if you can have some of their time to find out what makes them successful. Absorb as much information as you can. Write it down and record it if possible.  

2)   Learn everything you possibly can about the subject of selling.

Read, listen to programs, watch videos, and study everything you can get your hands on that relates to selling. If you are new in sales, there will a lot to absorb. Even if you’ve been in sales for a while, there are always new ideas coming out on all aspects of selling. Be open and curious and realize that no matter how much you know, there’s always more to learn.  

3)   Learn everything you can about your industry and your prospects.

Read industry publications, newsletters, magazines, and the like. Pay attention to “local” sources such as newspapers, Chamber of Commerce letters, and other news bulletins that are printed in the geographic proximity of the companies you’re interested in. Look for breaking news, new products, new laws, regulations, or changes in legislation, interesting articles, stories on people making an impact in the industry, and other interesting information. Stay on top of the latest innovations and technology within your industry. Study the companies and individuals to whom you’re selling. 

4) Work on yourself.

To be a top salesperson, you must constantly improve personally as well as professionally. Make it a habit to think positive and stay motivated. Put as much positive information into your brain as you can and keep negatives out. Work on improving mentally, physically, spiritually, etc. You need to keep growing as a person. You’ll find that as your attitude about yourself improves, your sales ability will increase; and as you get better at selling, your attitude about yourself will improve. 

5) Set goals.

Goals are important because they give you direction. Your goals can be as simple as doing 120 percent of quota and making the annual awards trip, or as complex as a list of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual goals in all the major areas of your life. Some people find a complete list of complex goals overwhelming. If this is the case, simply set one or two major goals at a time.  Ask and answer the following questions: What do you want for all areas of your life five years from now? Ten years?  What do you want for your family?   What kind of person do you want to be?  

6) Record new ideas quickly and develop new information.

Always have a recorder and/or pen and paper handy. Have them in your car, by your bed, at your desk, and everywhere you go so you can record good ideas as soon as they hit you. A recorder is also great if you hear someone say something that you’d like to use. You can either have them repeat it or record it yourself. Take notes on information you read, see, or listen to. This helps to further reinforce the idea. Once you’ve captured some good ideas, develop them further and review your notes regularly.  

7) Practice, drill, rehearse, and apply new ideas.

Take sayings, closes, and other information you like and make them your own. Practice them on other salespeople, family members, friends, and practice them on yourself. Most important, once you’ve mastered them privately, look for places to use these new ideas in real-world selling situations.

Review motivational and educational information often.

Actively listening to tape and CD programs while taking notes is the optimal way to learn. However, this is not always possible, and when it’s not, passive listening in the car or elsewhere will also work well. With books and other written material, read them, take notes, highlight sections, flag pages, and then review your notes and highlighted sections ten to fifteen times. With videos, watch them, take notes, and then review. Again, you also want to be looking for ways to apply the new information you’re learning. Occasionally you will want to review resources you’ve already studied. As you need help in certain particular areas, you can return to several resources and get different ideas. 

9) Work hard and smart.

Obviously if you’re given a choice, it’s much better to work smarter than harder. At the same time, when you are just starting out and don’t know anything about the business, you simply must work hard until you figure things out. In order to get the most out of your hard work and understand things as quickly as possible, do what the top salespeople do, as we’ve already discussed, make more calls and work longer than anyone else, be persistent, use your time effectively and stay organized.  Your overall objective is to work smarter and harder than anyone else. If you combine brains with hard work, you’ll get to where you want to go. 

Keep these nine steps in mind with regard to your sales career. The more you focus on them, the more successful you’ll be in sales.

Sales training ideas – A typical schedule for success in sales and selling.

When learning how to sell, it’s important to get a picture of the typical schedule of someone who is very successful in sales.

Daily schedule to follow for success in sales 

 6:00 a.m. – Get up, make sure the attitude is in check and look forward to the upcoming day. Read, listen to, or watch either something positive, something about the industry or, something sales related. Many times it will be a combination. Also, review your major goals and brainstorm solutions to your biggest roadblocks. 

7:00 a.m. – Review the day ahead and mentally rehearse and picture a positive outcome to all upcoming calls and meetings. Use positive affirmations while showering and dressing and further increase enthusiasm to tackle the day ahead. Eat a well-balanced breakfast—not too heavy—and drink some water. 

7:30 to 8:00 a.m. – Off to work, prepare materials, review daily goals, set up for the first calls of the day, and check for any early morning messages. 

8:00 a.m. – The selling day begins. It is time to be in front of the customer or prospect, or on the phone with them. If there are any “unpleasant” tasks to be handled, such as breaking bad news to a client, handle these first and get them out of the way. From 8:00 until about 11:45, spend time on time-critical, client-related tasks, such as prospecting, presenting, and closing.  

11:45 a.m. – Check for messages, return any calls, e-mails, or other communications that need to be taken care of. 

Noon – A light lunch with some good protein and a glass of fruit juice or water. 

12:30 p.m. – Back to prospect/client time critical tasks. 

4:45 p.m. – Check for messages, return calls, e-mails, or other communications that need to be taken care of. General wrap-up of the client-related, time-sensitive tasks of the day and a positive and objective review of the day’s events.

5:30 p.m. into evening – Exercise, a good dinner, relaxation with the family. An hour or so before bed, work on non-time-critical tasks such as paperwork and follow up on e-mails, communications, proposals, etc. Read motivational or sales-related material, positive affirmations, plan the following day, and check messages one more time.  Use the above example to design your successful day. Keys to designing your day are: 

• Planning
• Organizing
• Time management
• Balance throughout the day

The above sales schedule is for a salesperson calling on businesses running on a typical 8 to 5 schedule. You can take what we have above and adapt it depending upon what your industry looks like. In any case, following the above schedule will help ensure your success in sales.

Sales training ideas – Rules for getting to the top in sales and selling.

Whether you’re just learning how to sell, or have been selling for a while, follow these rules for a successful career in sales.  

Rules for getting to the top in sales 

• Be customer centered with a sincere interest in helping the customer—make this your number one priority.
• Be motivated, enthusiastic, and positive.
• Show up to all appointments early.
• Be honest and straightforward.
• Be empathetic.
• Find out what people need and how you can fill their needs.
• Sell benefits.
• Follow up.
• Ask thought-provoking questions and listen well to the answers.
• Return all calls and other correspondence promptly.
• Sell to others as they would like to be sold to.
• Have goals.
• Work hard and smart.
• Believe in yourself and what you are selling.
• Continue learning and getting better.
• Listen to educational and motivational tapes and CDs in the car.
• Try new ideas as soon as possible.
• Don’t argue or be defensive.
• Don’t make up answers or pretend to know answers you don’t know.
• Be a team player and work well with others.
• Anticipate and be proactive.
• Take good notes and read them back.
• Be persistent, yet not obnoxious.
• Develop relationships and continue to build upon them.
• Ask for the order, then say absolutely nothing until the prospect responds.
• Know your product, your competition, and your industry.
• Expect things to go your way but realize things won’t always go as planned.
• Be prepared by having a plan and backup plan, and being ready for anything.
• Keep good records.
• Act with confidence, speak with confidence.
• Have meaningful conversations.
• Send thank-you notes, newspaper clippings, and other items of interest to customers.
• Give them something to remember you by.
• Know your customer—interests, children, etc.
• Keep your name in front of the customer.
• Personalize customer relationships.
• Deliver more than expected, earlier than expected.
• Demand more from yourself than your customer could ever expect.
• Go the extra mile.
• Take responsibility for your life and your business.
• Be balanced in your life and work.

 Keep these rules in while selling. The more you follow them, the more successful you’ll be in sales.

Sales training ideas – Do you have a sales roadblock?

Okay, you have all your sales training, you have your great product, and your great support system in place. You have everything you need for huge sales numbers… or don’t you? Is there something that’s slowing you down?

Is Accounts Receivable ticking off customers? Is your Installation Department not installing equipment properly, leaving a mess when they leave, or giving the customer attitude? Is service not responding or not fixing the problem until the fifth trip on average? In other words, what areas of your business may be preventing sales?

Here’s an example from my previous life when I was selling bank equipment. One day a Senior VP from my second largest bank called to tell me that he could not get service on one of his ATMs. When he called for service, they told him there was an outstanding invoice for $239 and before they could send someone out to fix the machine, they needed to Fed. Ex. a check overnight, and they needed to call back with the tracking number. There are a few problems here but the first is that the bill was for an OPTIONAL service contract on new equipment they installed but equipment they didn’t typically carry service on, they paid as they went. Second, this bank was doing $500,000+ in business a year with us. Third, the bill was only 32 days old. Forth, they had 42 ATMs, they were paying us over $100,000 in service contracts per year, and this was a multi-billion dollar bank that they were holding hostage for an OPTIONAL $239. By the way, this was 5 years ago, WAY before the current banking crisis just in case anyone is thinking about that.

This was when I found out why God gave me two ears, because that VP only left me with one. Well, the situation got straightened out, but, when something similar happened again, they went to the competition, for service and ATMs. They apologized profusely to me for the move but, said they wouldn’t be continually treated like that by any company.

Where are your weaknesses? Is it in messages that don’t get returned on time or at all? Is it something as seemingly small as a bad receptionist, the first person most people come into contact with from your company?

The bottom line: we all have these issues somewhere that are preventing or slowing sales. Find out where yours are, and find a solution.

John Chapin  www.completeselling.com

Sales training ideas – The importance of taking responsibility for your success when selling.

Whether you’re talking about how to sell, or how to live, taking responsibility can play a key role. Let’s look at it here with regard to success in sales. 

Responsibility equals success in sales 

Top salespeople take complete responsibility for their businesses and their lives and thus find themselves in control of both. While outside factors can influence what happens to us, at the end of the day, we ultimately control our own destinies both in business and in life. By taking complete responsibility of everything in our lives, we significantly increase the odds of success and we get superior results.  While top salespeople take complete responsibility for and control of problems, mediocre and poor salespeople try to shift blame to everyone but themselves. Thus mediocre and bad salespeople have much more difficulty resolving problems than top sales people do. Top salespeople know that taking responsibility means owning the problem and that once you own the problem, you will be motivated to solve it. When blame is placed on your company, you need to shift that blame to yourself. Your primary goal is to keep company market share, not your individual market share. Once your competitors get a foothold in an area, they can spread like wildfire. If a customer blames a salesperson and that salesperson falls out of favor, a different salesperson can take over that account. However, if a customer blames a company and that company gets a bad name, the company as a whole is out. Often, if you have a good relationship with the customer, she will be willing to forgive you. After a mistake, tell the customer that you value her highly as a client, but if she is unhappy with you, you would be pleased to bring in a different sales representative. The bottom line: take the personal blame; take responsibility. Taking responsibility also means resolutely dealing with the problem. For example, if you sell a product and someone informs you during the installation that something has gone awry, you have to get on the phone, get in touch with your people, figure out what’s going on, get back to the customer with an update, and then you need to jump in your car and get out there. Stay there until the installation has been completed while at the same time calling the customer every so often with updates. If you cannot reasonably get to the site in person, you need to stay on top of the situation every step of the way, preferably by phone, and hang on to the situation with the tenacity of a pit bull.  One of your first steps should be to inform management of the situation by letting them know precisely what is going on and how things are being resolved. You want to keep management involved for several reasons. First, they may have some ideas that can help you, or they may go to bat for you immediately; second, if you do eventually need their help, you won’t catch them completely off guard; and third, if the proverbial doo-doo does hit the fan, they aren’t going to wonder why you didn’t make them aware of the situation earlier.  You also want to make sure the people tackling the problem have all the resources they need. Inform the person directly above the people working on the problem about it.. Occasionally, you will have to escalate an issue up the chain of command and go over people’s heads. Also, pass messages from customers on to other people involved, including management. You do this for some of the same reasons listed above. In addition, messages from the customer keep everyone apprised of how the customer views the situation and offer insight into the customer’s state of mind.  Remember that one of your objectives in staying on top of the situation is to support your people and help them do their job. Bring food, coffee, and other items in order to take care of the people working at the site, and let them know you appreciate their efforts. You want them to regard you as moral support. In this same vein, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Ask your people what you can do to help them and what they need to get the job done. As a salesperson, you may not have their technical knowledge, but they may simply need an extra pair of hands or need you to be an intermediary. Occasionally, you’ll run into someone who does not want to escalate an issue up the chain of command even though he needs help. In a situation such as this, it is your job to recognize this and either have him escalate the situation or do it yourself. Be diplomatic—there may be some egos in play here. But never forget: your most important priority is to get the situation resolved for your customer. Start by simply making a suggestion, and if that doesn’t work, take action.  For example, if you know that a particular individual is adept at solving the issue facing you, you might say to your person, “I’m very confident that you’ll figure this out. I also know that Steve Smith faced the same problem about a month ago. I’m going to try to get him on the phone and see if he has any suggestions.” And then make the call. If you can’t think of anyone in particular who can help, try this: “If you could have anyone here to help right now, who would it be?” Once you get a name, start tracking him or her down.  Take responsibility, own the problem, and then resolutely deal with it. Solve the problem or otherwise make sure the customer is satisfied with the end solution.  If you take complete responsibility for your business and your life, you will soon find yourself on the fast track to success, both in life and in sales.

Sales training ideas – Going the extra mile when selling.

When learning how to sell, one of the basic rules that should always be conveyed is going the extra mile, because, while it is so important in many areas of life, it is especially relevant to sales. 

The extra mile in sales 

With the speed of business accelerating every day and with competition getting much tougher, it is extremely important to go the extra mile and do things that set you apart from your competition. You need to go above and beyond and one of the best ways to do that is to do the unexpected. You also want to make it a habit to under promise and over deliver. For example, if you know you can get the product there Wednesday, tell the customer Friday and then deliver early, that’s assuming they can accept it early. Include extra supplies that the customer was not expecting. Find ways to give a little extra, to always provide a little more value, to deliver more than the customer expects. You also want to jump on problems and go above and beyond what most salespeople would do. Here is an example:  We once had an installation that, due to unforeseen problems, caused our installers to be on site all day Sunday to ensure the bank was ready to open on Monday. The installation was completed just after 11:30 on Sunday night and we, the salespeople, had been there the entire day on Sunday, roughly fifteen hours. Most salespeople might stay abreast of things by phone, but how many would actually go the extra mile and drive out there and stay until the job was done while staying in touch with the customer? By the way, this is also an example of what you must be willing to do to be at the very top of the selling profession. And when you bring that kind of dedication to your sales job, you will rarely, if ever, have to worry about job security or not being at the top of the sales profession. Here is another example of going the extra mile: When we were in the automatic teller machine (ATM) industry we used to look for “out of service” ATMs while we were traveling. If we saw a machine that was down, we’d make a written note. If it was one of our machines, we’d make sure that the service department was aware of the problem. Sometimes service calls would get lost in the shuffle. By letting them know about the problem, they could jump on it quickly.  If it was a competitor’s machine, we’d keep tabs on how long it was down for. If the machine was down for an extended period of time, we knew it would be a good account for our sales representative to call on. These are both examples of taking an extra step to make sure the customer is being taken care of while also going the extra mile.  Demonstrate to customers and prospects that you are committed and willing to go the extra mile, serving them in ways beyond what they might reasonably expect. If you do, you will have a leg up on almost everyone else in sales.

Sales training ideas – How to stand out when selling.

In sales you simply must stand out from all the other salespeople, not just the ones in your industry, but also the other salespeople that are calling on your prospects and customers, as they are taking up their time too. This article outlines several ways to be unique in sales. 

7 Ways to stand out in sales 

1) Everyone has to eat, right?

Dropping off breakfast, lunch, or other treats at a prospect’s or customer’s office is a great way to stand out from other salespeople. You can even call ahead and take everyone’s order. You can also bring special items at festive times of the year. For example, you might bring in some Halloween candy late in October, some Easter candy in April, or chocolates during the December holidays.  

2) Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Find excuses to stay in touch with your customers. Think of reasons to send a card to your customers every month of the year. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, the Fourth of July, a birthday, a marriage anniversary, the anniversary date of the day the customer started doing business with you, you name it. Every month is known for something whether it’s a major holiday or something like Groundhog Day, so between holidays and personal events, you can find a reason to send a card to customers every month. 

3) Go out of your way for your customer’s customers.

Once, when we were cold calling on a competitive account, we approached the receptionist, who was tied up helping some customers. While we were waiting, one of us noticed an older woman seated, her walker in front of her. My associate caught her eye, said hello, and began a conversation about the weather, housing, and the local economy. It was evident that she didn’t get an opportunity to talk to many people during her day. They continued talking for a few minutes until the receptionist was free. My associate didn’t rush away; he continued to talk with the woman a little longer before saying goodbye. The receptionist, observing this, apparently thought he was the greatest guy in the world and grinned widely as she asked how she could help us.  My associate asked for the contact person and mentioned that although he was not familiar with us, he would probably recognize the name of our company. He also mentioned we simply needed a moment of his time. With a big smile on her face, the receptionist said, “Oh don’t worry. I’ll get you in to see him.” She was on our side at that point because one of us had taken the time to make one of her customer’s days. 

4) Work Fridays

It’s amazing how many salespeople leave early on Friday or simply do a bunch of “busy” work yet get nothing accomplished. Most people are in great moods on Friday, and that’s precisely when you want to catch them. The same goes for days before a holiday. Take advantage of these times when people are in good moods and most other salespeople aren’t working. 

5) Get involved in installation and implementation.

There are very few salespeople hanging around the customer’s office when the installation and implementation are going on. You should be different. Customers will be very impressed if you’re there for installation and implementation. You don’t have to go to every single one; however, you should be there for a customer’s first install and occasionally on future installs. You will also learn a little bit more about your product, which is a nice side benefit. 

6)   Find creative ways to make customer problems go away.

With what problems do customers call you? Billing problems, service problems, installation problems? Make notes on all of these, particularly the most frequent ones. Be proactive. Try to correct any recurring problems at the front end to prevent them from happening in the first place. Also, brainstorm more effective ways of handling problems.  

7)   Exceed customer expectations.  

Exceeding customer expectations means delivering more, better, or faster. If typical turnaround time is three weeks, tell your customer, “Typical turnaround is about four to five weeks.” When you call a couple of weeks later and say you can deliver sooner, you’ll look like a hero. If you make it a habit to deliver more than is expected, you will have happy customers. 

In sales you need to be unique and stand out from the crowd. Let the people you deal with know you are a nice person, someone they can trust, and someone with whom they want to do business. Always make sure everything about you says you are professional, positive, energetic, trustworthy, friendly, helpful, and different, in a good way, from all the other salespeople. This is one of the best ways to ensure success in sales.

Sales training ideas – How to get yourself to do what must be done in order to be successful selling.

Successful salespeople don’t like to do the same things that unsuccessful salespeople don’t like to do. The difference is that successful salespeople motivate themselves to do these things while unsuccessful salespeople do not. If you ask one hundred salespeople how many of them like to cold call, ninety-eight will say they don’t and the other two are either lying or crazy. While at times it helps to be crazy in the world of selling, we doubt that any salespeople truly love cold calling. So what can we do to a) get ourselves to do it, b) make it bearable, and c) get ourselves to do it effectively? 

How to get yourself to take action so you’ll succeed in sales 

To get yourself to do an unpleasant but necessary task it is helpful to use the carrot-and-stick approach (pleasure and pain). The more carrots and sticks you involve, the more effective you will be at altering your behavior in the long term.  Here are some examples of effective “stick” or painful questions you can focus on to help drive you to cold calling: 

• What will happen to my business if I don’t cold call?
• How will that affect my income and my lifestyle?
• What will that do to my self-esteem and my view of myself as a person?
• Can I reach my goals and dreams if I don’t cold call?
• What is my manager going to say to me when she realizes I’m not making the cold calls and, in effect, not doing my job?
• If I don’t do what I know I need to do in this area, what other obstacles will I face down the road that I will also let stop me?

Here are some examples of “carrot” or pleasure thoughts to change your behavior: 

• If I were to increase my cold calls by 20 percent, what would 20 percent more sales and referrals do to my business and my income?
• If I got good at this, it would have a very positive impact on my self-esteem and confidence, and that would flow into other areas of sales and my life.
• I will reward myself with (something that would really motivate you) if I increase my cold calls by 20 percent over the next thirty days.
• Imagine the mental edge I’ll have when cold calling is no longer a problem.
• Imagine how much more energy and time I’ll have when I stop fighting with myself and procrastinating over cold calling.

These are just a few examples. Take some time to come up with other motivators you can put in the form of statements or questions that will work most effectively for you.  One of the best ways to achieve behavior change is to “step into” the experience and imagine what you will lose and what you may gain. Take an area that you need to improve upon—let’s suppose, again, that you really need to do more cold calling. Picture your goals and dreams. Think of those around you who are positively or negatively affected by your success—or lack of success—at work. Now imagine the negative effect that not cold calling will have on your business. 

• Visualize your business shrinking.
• See yourself going from prosperity and happiness to debt, worry, and despair.
• Imagine your goals and dreams washing away.
• Think about how that will affect those you love.
• Think about what you will be depriving them of—the better lifestyle, better schools, happiness, and prosperity.

Allow yourself to see, feel, smell, taste, and hear exactly what this will be like. The more senses you involve and the more “real” you can make these thoughts, the more effective they will be.  Now do the opposite. Feel the positive effects of cold calling and doing it effectively. 

• How will your business improve?
• What will that do for your goals and dreams?
• What will that do for your self-esteem, self-confidence, your feelings about yourself, and your ability to tackle tasks effectively?

Again, “step into” these feelings as much as possible, involving as many of the senses as you can.  Once you’ve completed this exercise, realize that simply motivating yourself to cold call and to do it more effectively can help steer you away from the overwhelming pain of failure, and drive you toward the tremendous pleasure and rewards of success.  Next, focus on this area for at least the next four weeks until it becomes a habit. During this time, you will get yourself to do more cold calling, get better at doing it, and find ways to make it more enjoyable. In order to achieve this, you’ll want to take the following steps: 

• Set an achievable goal for the number of cold calls you would like to make daily and weekly.
• Study cold calling. Read books, listen to tapes, talk to other salespeople, and discover as much as you can about cold calling more effectively.
• Every morning, and at times during the day when you need some motivation, repeat the negative and positive “stepping into” process.
• Use affirmations such as, “I am making more cold calls and am getting better at them each day.” Say the affirmations with as much feeling and conviction as you can. Say them in the morning upon waking up and in the evening just before bed, and try to say them several times during the day.
• Keep track of how many cold calls you’re making daily and weekly.
• Record how many cold calls turn into appointments and how many appointments turn into sales.
• Figure out how much each cold call puts in your pocket. If one sale gives you five hundred dollars and it takes you five presentations to get a sale and ten cold calls to get a lead to present to, then each cold call, whether they say yes or no, is worth $10.00 to you. If you increase cold calls by 20 percent and sales by 20 percent, what will that do to your income?
• Report to someone. In sales, it’s good to report to someone with authority such as a sales manager. Let him know what you’re trying to accomplish, and tell that person you will be reporting your numbers to him. In most cases, this person will encourage you and give you more ideas on how you can improve.
• Turn cold calling into a game. How many different ways you can find to have fun with the process? Find another salesperson with whom you have a good relationship and have a contest to see who can make the most calls, get the most leads, etc. You can also partner up with another salesperson and go on cold calls together if you’re in face-to-face sales, or block out certain hours of the day when you both cold call.

Once you have worked on a particular area, pick another area and work on it for four weeks. After those four weeks, pick another area. By the end of a year, you will have significantly strengthened thirteen selling areas; moreover, you’ll see marked improvement in your business, your image, and your overall sales career. In addition to the steps above, here are three more ideas to ensure your overall success: 

• Stay as positive as you can by having positive conversations with yourself. Surround yourself with positive sayings, quotes, and other motivational items. At times when a quick inspirational quote won’t do, have a point–counterpoint discussion with yourself. If you find that small, negative voice rising up and it won’t be stilled, engage it in conversation. Let it know that you realize things may not be going well at the moment, yet you are committed, you have a plan, you believe in yourself, and you will succeed!

 

• Work on your self-image. We all have certain beliefs about ourselves that either limit or empower us. Those beliefs are not always correct, yet we act as though they are. The beliefs that limit you need to be challenged if you are going to make any progress.

For example, if you have a belief that you do not make good first impressions, cold calling will be a challenge for you, to say the least. Start by questioning that belief. Where did it come from? Obviously, there have been times when you have made a good first impression. What did you do at those times, and is it not possible for you to duplicate that behavior more often? After questioning the erroneous belief, decide what you can do to weaken it and replace it with the belief that you can and do make a good first impression. Join a speaking group, ask friends and family for help, and study the subject by reading and listening to information on it.  

• Give yourself small rewards for following through and achieving your goals. Whether it’s partaking in a favorite activity, or going out to a favorite restaurant, reward yourself for hitting your weekly goals. Also reward yourself with larger items, such as a vacation, for reaching quarterly and annual goals.

The bottom line: you need to do whatever you need to do to get yourself to follow through and do the things you need to do to succeed in sales.

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