I didn’t invent the internet, that was Al Gore. I didn’t
start Rock and Roll, that was Elvis. I didn’t invent the “GIBBS SLAP”, that was
Leroy Jethro Gibbs aka Mark Harmon. I didn’t invent sales, I have just enjoyed it
for the past 40 years.
What I did do is start this blog 8/18/10, almost 3 years
ago. Over the past 3 years I have made over 400 posts (none for the past 7
months).
Well I am happy to say, I’M BAAAAACK”.
I wish I had a good reason for not posting since last
December, but the truth is I have been focusing my attention on settling in to
my new position. It has been a wild 7 months but some of the most rewarding I
have had in all my years as a sales rep and sales trainer.
I have had to remember things that I hadn’t thought of for
years. It was exciting to once again be challenged to learn while I was
teaching. I had to be as open to new ideas as I was to helping others accept
new ideas. I was in a position of being new, while being the expert.
This entire time I have been making notes and planning this
blogging comeback. I have been outlining posts that I felt would be as useful
to everyone reading this blog as they were to me while I lived them.
To say I am excited is an understatement. ELECTRIFIED,
ENERGIZED, SUPERCHARGED, MOTIVATED, and plain HAPPY are all the feelings I have
about where I have been and what I have done over the past 7 months.
I am going to be doing what I have always tried to do here,
have fun while telling stories that will help sales reps of all tenure and all
industries. At the same time I will be as motivating as I can be, thought
provoking as I can be, and entertaining as I can be.
I look forward to your comments, e mails and communications
of all types.
Let’s get started.
YOU SAY WHAT?
I am sure that everyone reading this has gone into a “big
box” store to purchase some sort of electronics. Last night was my latest experience.
One of the TV sets I had went bad and it was time to buy a
new one. Off I went in search of an inexpensive set to fill the vacant space
where the old TV sat for years. My first stop was a favorite store of mine,
Best Buy.
I know that over the years best Buy has had some very bad
press about its lack of customer service, and I will be the first to say, they
deserved it. However over the past few years, at least for me, they have really
turned it around and improved greatly.
So, here I was in front of the GREAT WALL OF TELEVISIONS,
trying to make a selection. Was 32” too small? Was 60” too big? LCD, LED, HDTV,
720P, 1080P, PLASMA, the market has truly turned into an alphabet soup and
unless you know what all these letters mean, a decision is hard to make.
Up walks my “salesman”! A young man who wore his blue shirt
with pride. I told him what I was looking for and in seconds he had me pointed
at a set. It didn’t take me long to make up my mind and I bought the one he
suggested.
While the stock people were bringing my new TV up from the stockroom,
my SALESMAN started to write up the order and have me pay. As he was ringing up
my purchase he said, “I’ll go ahead and add the $160.00 for the extended warranty”.
To that I said, “WHAT”?
I believe in the assumptive close, and I guess he made the
ultimate assumption.
Does anyone see what I had a problem with? Before you can
close you need to SELL. My SALESMAN forgot to do what his job description says
he is supposed to do, SELL! He never told me anything about the warranty,
NOTHING, not what it covered, how it worked, how long it lasted, NOTHING! He
just TOLD me he was going to add it to the invoice.
At this point the Sales Trainer came out in me. I reached
over and snatched my credit card away from him and said, “Don’t you think I
should know what I am getting for $160 bucks?”
As he started to give me all the features of the warranty I
once again stopped him. I said “so what does that mean to me?” I guess he saw
the smile on my face because he asked me if this were some sort of test. I
replied YES, and you have failed miserably.
As sales reps we all want to assume the sale, but we all
need to understand that to assume a sale there needs to be a sales
presentation. The customer needs to have at least a minimal idea of what you
are offering and how what you have will benefit them before you can assume the
sale.
If you sell a service, let the customer know what the
service is and how the service will make their business or life better. If you
sell a product, either tell them or better yet SHOW them how your product is
better than what they have now. If they don’t have one now, let them know how
owning yours will make their business or life better. SHOW, TELL and then SELL!
There is an old saying in sales: A PRESENTATION WITHOUT A
DEMONSTRATION IS JUST A CONVERSATION!
Do what we do best SELL. If we forget to sell our product or
service we are just visitors.
By the way, I did buy the TV and I didn’t buy the warranty.
I spent about 30 minutes trying to make my point with MY SALESMAN about
selling. I hope that everyone reading this catches on quicker than he did.
Lorin
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