S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Brings More Sales

Much like a previous post, I’d like to take each individual letter from the word success and see if we can find a way to bring more of it to us, as salespeople, in 2007.

S is for simple. You know I like simple, but I want you to embrace it, too.

Simple will make your sales life easier and will make you more successful in the sales arena.

Simple presentations can be much more effective than l-o-n-g d-r-a-w-n o-u-t affairs. Especially when it comes to PowerPoint presentations or slide shows of any type.

In 2007, limit your PowerPoint’s to the 10-20-30 Rule. No more than 10 slides, last no longer than 20 minutes and use no font smaller than 30 points.

I’m pretty sure the best, and maybe first, person to remind me of this rule for PowerPoint’s was Guy Kawasaki.

U is for unexpected. When was the last time a customer said “Wow ! That was unexpected” to anyone in your organization ?

If you can’t remember the last time, and I’d bet you can’t, that’s all the more reason to set a goal to cause that to happen … every, single day.

How hard can it be to give one customer a day WAY more than they asked for ?

Do you clean carpets for a living ? Give the customer a free sofa cleaning.

Do you sell cars for a living ? Include a free detailing (interior & exterior) after 3 months.

Set the goal and don’t lock the doors til you achieve it … every day.

C is for concrete. Speaking of goals, do not make them easy to break, set them in concrete, make everybody aware of them and make falling short painful.

Pain is a great teacher. If you have employees who don’t learn from pain, you need new ones, because they’ll treat customers with the same disdain that they treat pain.

Believe me, I know. If they don’t learn from pain, if all they do is get mad at you for their mistakes and having to be accountable, they need to go. Now. Fast. No questions asked.

C is for credibility. Do you have any ? If not, you can get some really quick by producing info-products to educate your potential customers and to teach your current customers how to consume your product or service.

Articles in your local newspaper, articles written for your trade organizations, tutorials, how to’s, etc.

None of these is all that hard to do and they create instant expert status for you and your company.

E is for education. What did you do in 2006 to further your knowledge of your industry or trade ?

Did you attend any seminars, any conferences ? Did you read any books ? Did you measure any of the actions you performed for your customers to see which ones made you more sales ?

For a lot of niches, it takes about 1000 hours to achieve expert status. That doesn’t comes from work hours alone. It comes from research, reading and ‘rithmatic.

Set a goal to read 6 books this year, all within your industry. That’s one every 2 months and that’s not asking much. Get out from in front of the TV and devote yourself to your vocation and not to thinking about your next vacation.

S is for stories. Learn to use them. Period.

When you tell them, the message has a better chance of being remembered.

When you listen to them, you learn exactly what your customer needs, and more importantly, what they want.

Relationships that last, customer wise, are built on the foundation of stories.

S is for sense, common sense. Use it to make decisions.

Will your customer remember it if you quote the company policy to them ? Yes.

Will they remember to shop somewhere else next time ? Yes.

Use a little common sense and learn that sometimes you have to give to get.

Remember that The Law of Reciprocity will repay you about 3 to 1 for everything you give that you didn’t have to give. Sometimes more.

There’s some keys for success in 2007. Write some more in the comments here. Write some on your own blog. Call a friend with some. Send these by email to someone. Whatever.

Just do it.

PS - The photo above is of Joseph Hachem, the Aussie chiropractor who won the World Series of Poker in 2005. I sometimes wish all I had to do was use my people reading skills to go on tour and make easy money playing poker.

But that wouldn’t be fair to all of you who need me to teach you the in’s and out’s of human nature, selling and being successful.

Uh,… kiddin’ there.