SalesHQ

Ok, the economy sucks but there is a bunch of business to be had for those of us who are creative.  What has been your best success of late??

Sometimes success is measured in degrees.  My success is that I have been able to not only go from a job which afforded me an incredible amount of freedom and had a very short sell cycle to one that brings to mind a minimum security prison, has loads of ongoing rejection and a very long sell cycle and I have remained upbeat and sane.

I was hoping someone had some great story about a client they have pursued for a long period to only have them not only buy but buy big.  Rich you usually have a good one like this or are you too busy getting head shots to be actually out there selling??  I miss getting to tease you!

Rosemary

 I am going to be a little different. No I am going to be a lot different. The economy has not affected what I do.I do not allow the economy to affect what I do. Let me use last month 17 of my 20 days working I had  at least one client spend 1000 dollars or more with me  on  service calls for plumbing repairs.

 I could let the economy affect what I do however I am not going to let it affect my process.

 My best success; Improve your mental aspect and stop making excuses for no sale,client not choosing to own. Change the wording of  the presentation to engage and challenge your client to own.Start driving the client's want to purchase from the sales professional.

 Discover the client's motivation to own and partner with that motivation. Discover what is important to the client and choose your words wisely to drive what is important to them. Build a professional and personal relationship that is a real long term commitment with one another.

 Provide solutions that the client can count on and trust.

Help the client  and help yourself by helping them.

  Now on a great note of wonderful happenings. I am discussing with the publisher the book cover and have my second text review. The third review is the final version before print. When the first review came  it became a reality. The first page is the copywrite page and that  is very exciting and puts an exclamation point that this is no longer a dream but reality.

I thought of this post the other day when I was talking to my husband.  We were talking about low hanging fruit (of sales).  He hasn't really been in sales persay and he was explaining to me how he was going to work his day...in this example.  I went on to explain the low hanging fruit theory.  Being......in sales we all know we are only as good as our last sale.  When I was working....I was a top person for selling new accounts.  What I did was I always had something in the pipeline to close.  The sales might not have all been huge ballpark busters, but I worked those inbetween...because the big pops don't happen every day...unless I would imagine you were a manager or you sold major accounts.  But I call it the low hanging fruit therory...close what you can today....the big ones will come. I had worked some of my accounts for a long time....talking probably a year or maybe longer...and they do pan out when they finally close.  The sales rep just has to be smart enough to pick out the real buyers and not waste a lot of time on nothing and have a lot of prospects working in the pipeline.  Bigger sales sometime take longer...so just be patient and keep dialing for dollars...as we all know sales is not an easy job...just have to keep on keeping on.  Good Luck!!

rodiehl says ...

Ok, the economy sucks but there is a bunch of business to be had for those of us who are creative.  What has been your best success of late??

good question... I've managed to not only keep my business afloat during this recession but also expand it. I am looking at a tusinami of orders coming  at me in the future which can last for many generations... I can't say i've "succeeded" or reached ultimate "success" as that's still a long way away but along the way, I've had milestones of successes...

I started this project about 10 years ago and honestly haven't been  in a big rush to get to this point... "here"...You know where "here" is... getting out of your comfort level, rising to a higher level of incompetance, taking another step closer to the edge and putting it all on the line... kind of like making a sales call but everything you own, have, can get, and a lifetime of struggle (fruitless if unsucessful) hangs in the balance for, all one could ever hope to have...

I'm not ready for "success" as in the final stroke of my pen all is said and done and my business is sold and i walk away in the sunset with a pocket full of cash and a feeling of genuine accomplishment.... I  Guess i'm enjoying the journey a little more than I should be and not thinking too much about the destination... momentum will get me there now.. I'm entering the tide...

like sailing, when the winds are strong and the sails full, the salt water is splashing in your face, it's very exilerating... but, their is something to be said for the times when the winds become gentle breezes, when the fight for survival turns to peace and contentment...

I can see the storm coming and hope i have what it takes to survive it... but right now, it's a gentle breeze and I want to enjoy it while I can.

What a great topic, and what outstanding comments!

Selling is all about sowing and reaping.  No maatter what the economy, we have to continue to make contact, to "fill the hopper".  It is vital that we do not stop.  Most of us in sales are not rewarded on the first call.  Most have to build relationships, plant seeds.  We must prospect, and whether we get the sale today or not, we MUST continue to plant those seeds.  The successful sales person next year is the one that planted the seeds TODAY!

I think the past few years have taught us is to revisit and change up the process . Be willing to accept a new way to discover more wants and needs. To restate what has been stated cultivate, farm ,and nurture the clients for  now and in the future.