Resistance Training For Salespeople
We’ve all heard about resistance training with regard to exercise, have we not ?
You know, ” No Pain, No Gain. “
Do you use this method for training yourself in the sales arena ?
I do. Monthly.
Once a month I pull out a list of all the people in our industry that don’t EVER buy from us. EVER.
I take that one day as a form of resistance training.
All of those people will resist :
1) My even finding them
2) Getting past the gatekeeper if I do find them
3) My finding their cellphone numbers
4) My finding their jobsites where my competition has product in use
5) Every technique I employ to breakdown their resistance
6) Every story I tell
7) My offer of buying their lunch, dinner or a round of golf
My special OTO’s ( One Time Offers )
9) My offer to set an appointment for another visit
10) Everything but my wampum - scratch pads, pens, hats, shirts,etc
The reasoning behind this is that I believe that it keeps me sharp. Without resisitance, muscles don’t grow. Worse yet, they atrophy.
Keep your selling muscles in shape by calling on people that you know won’t buy from you. Don’t make a habit of doing it too often, but about once per month seems to work for me.
Continually calling on friendly clents will dull your edge. You need a good reaming every now and then to strengthen your resolve.
Also, keep a ledger of those calls.
1) What you offered
2) What stories you told
3) Where you were at
4) What the competition had in use
5) Any trigger phrases you used
Because you never know when you might get a callback and need to reference the conversation.
If you ever do break down their disbelief, you’ll want to know what technique, trigger phrase or offer was likely the one that worked.
PS - for more info on resistance training, check out the Speedster
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
This is great advice that I’m the worst in the world at following.
Can’t I just send them a new letter?
Uh, … that would be a ” No “.
As good a storyteller as you have proven to be, I’d bet you could sell knives at a gunfight.
Besides, there’s nothing any more fulfilling than selling to one of those listed as ‘Impossible’.
It’s figuring out how knocking them down is doing them a favor.
Hey Liz - Sometimes you gotta be tough when you love your job !
Mike - When I read this I feel lazy and out of shape which reflects why I haven’t succeeded yet in sales like I should. Now to get back into shape!
I’m with you, Brian, with the letter but Mike said “no…”
[...] imply makes me yearn for such skill and endurance. Take for instance his recent post on Resistance Training for Salespeople which instantly brought visions of sale after sa [...]
Sorry Tammy,
I only spout off with tips and techniques, I don’t make the rules
Just like with anything else, we only get out of it what we put into it.
Another great exercise is to see how many contacts/sales you can make between the hours of 4PM and 5PM.
Lots of people waste that last hour, but I always try to squeeze in anohter few contacts, instead of waiting for the next day.
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