Sales Blog with Sales Tips

I’ve always wanted a Jeep Wrangler. When visiting the Jeep dealer I discovered Wranglers get an average of only 18 MPG. A Jeep is what I really wanted but it uses 33% more fuel than another vehicle I was considering at another dealership. I decided that four dollar a gallon gas was going to make the Jeep a nonstarter. Writing a sales blog just doesn’t provide me that much additional lettuce.

What I didn’t know was that the sales professional who was helping me at the Jeep dealership was prepared for my cost-of-ownership objection.

“There are times when we need to put our sales skills to the side…”

She Goes to Work
She asked me to come to her desk. She said she wanted to show me some information. Here comes the generic sales pitch I thought. Instead, she asked me some questions, took out a legal pad and calculator and said, “Mr. Sheaffer do you know that the other vehicle you’re considering requires premium fuel at 10-15% higher cost? Based on the miles you drive and the difference in fuel costs, your additional cost to drive the Jeep, the vehicle you really want versus your second choice, would be only $68 per month.”

Sales Tips an Accountant Would be Proud Of
This was powerful stuff. With just some minimal information gathering she demonstrated that the 33% difference in MPG between the two vehicles did not mean that my fuel costs would rise 33%. Furthermore, did it make sense to let a net $68 per month increase in cost-of-ownership keep me from the vehicle I really wanted? She knew that sometimes customers just need more information in order to make a buying decision.

Customers Crave Knowledge
When it comes to emotional purchases, like a vehicle, this sales tip can be especially effective. However, it can be an equally useful sales tip whether we’re selling industrial products or telecom services. There are two important customer behaviors that come into play here.

1. Customers are lazy and won’t do the math themselves; we have to present the facts to them.
2. Customers frequently want to buy from us; we need to give them hard data about why their objection isn’t as big an obstacle as they think it is.

We occasionally forget the power of information in sales. When it comes to objections, sometimes just providing the raw data to a customer or prospect will move their buying apprehensions to the back burner. There are times when we need to put our sales skills to the side and focus on simply educating our customers with the facts.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

I don’t agree with 100% of what Oprah Winfrey says. However, one thing in particular that she said has never left me. It contains an abundance of implications for sales professionals.

“One of the most puzzling things known to man…”

Oprah’s Ultimate Sales Tip
Fear is an important emotion in sales as I have mentioned several times before in this sales blog. It can limit us and can cripple our sales skills. It can also be our greatest tether in life as well.

What is the opposite of fear? Passion. Oprah believes, “We approach everything in life with either fear or passion. We are afraid of something or we are drawn to it.” We don’t let fear block us from things we are passionate about. When we feel passion, fear is nothing but an annoyance.

Why are We Afraid?
What makes us fearful as sales professionals? Fear of not hitting our sales budget. Fear of incompetent looking sales skills in front of our sales manager. Fear of not appearing sharp and knowledgeable with important decision makers. When it comes to what we are afraid of, we are only limited by our imagination. That is the irony. We create our own fear. The seeds of fear are always sewn by us. Quite literally, we scare ourselves.

Our Most Damaging Fear
I wish I had a dollar every time I’ve heard a sales professional say something like, “Scott, my sales were good last quarter but I’m not sure I can do it again this quarter. I’m just not that good. This won’t last forever.” I could fill this sales blog with dozens of these stories.

One of the most puzzling things known to man is the impostor complex. At just the point we realize great success as sales professionals we can begin to tell ourselves, “I’m doing great, but it’s only a matter of time until someone figures out that I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m just faking it. I don’t deserve this success. It won’t last.”

Thinking we’re a pretender can be an imposing impediment to our success. We fear we’ll be found out. We’re just a stand-in for the real thing. We have trouble accepting our own success while everyone around us is cheering us on. We have a grand case of fear-of-success.

Sales Tips: The Antidote
Fear can’t coexist with passion. Being passionate about our customers, our job and our employer will help silence our fears. Every sales professional has moments of fear. Having a pure love of the sales game – a passion – gives us more power than we realize.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

May I be blunt? Talking heads (also known as news reporters) absolutely love to report bad economic news. They even have a little expression that says, “If it bleeds it leads.” These talking heads can make a small downward business trend sound like a tsunami of catastrophic economic news. If we listen too much it can hurt our sales skills. Here’s a sales tip on how to avoid being their victim.

“…it does demonstrate the incredible latitude we have…”

Time for Some Mental Drano
Too many sales professionals have let these talking heads get to them lately. This is the worst time to be diving for cover. “Weathering the storm” is not a good sales strategy right now. It ultimately comes down to what is going on between our ears more than what we’re hearing with our ears. We need to clean out all the economic bad-news-media gunk accumulating in our heads that causes us to retreat. It’s time for some mental Drano to clear out our brain pipes and get us selling again.

Sales Tip from an Island
I know there are a million shoe salesman stories out there but this one hits right where some of us are living right now.

Two shoe salesmen go to an island where no one wears shoes. What follows are their reports to their sales manager.
Shoe Salesman #1: “There is no opportunity on this island. No one wears shoes.”
Shoe Salesman #2: “This island represents an unbelievable opportunity. Not a single person has shoes.”

Sales Tips to Take With Us
All right, I know we’re tired of shoe salesman stories and this one is simplistic. However, it does demonstrate the incredible latitude we have in interpreting our sales environment. I have some uncomplicated, but important, sales tips I want us to remember:

1. Talking heads exaggerate negative economic news.
2. Perceiving our sales environment in a positive way is one of the most important sales skills we have.
3. This is not the time to withdraw; now is the time to stay aggressive, see opportunities that others miss and keep our sales skills strong.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer