The number 1 reason businesses fail is because they don’t have enough money. Whether you plan on owning a business or not, this is important for you to know because you work for someone. And that someone is a business. The people who tend to keep their job the longest are usually good at sales because if you are bringing in revenue it doesn’t make sense for your employer to fire you.
Whether you are an engineer, a receptionist, or a manager you should learn how to sell. I know selling sucks, but the skills you learn will come in handy. You sell yourself all the time, such as when you go to a job interview you are selling a company on why they should hire you. Here are a few things you need to know if you want to be a great sales person:
- Practice makes perfect – if you don’t try to sell, you will never get good at it. It doesn’t matter what you know or what you don’t, just pick up the phone, make a few cold calls, and sell. Don’t expect to make a sale on your first call, just keep on selling until you are comfortable doing so.
- Act like a punk – being a nice guy won’t get you anywhere. If you are too nice you are just going to be ignored or even worse, walked on. If you show a bit of arrogance at least you will get some attention.
- Sales are always being made – a sale is being made every time you make a pitch. Either you sell to the customer or he sells you on why he can’t buy from you. If you want to be the one closing, you better have a rebuttal for every one of his excuses.
- Do a sound check – if you sound dull and boring you are going to put people to sleep. Record your voice and play it back because you sound different then you think. Ask your friends and family how you sound…get as many opinions as possible. If your voice doesn’t sound great, practice until it does.
- Studying pays off – knowing who you are selling to is really important. You want to know a person’s hot buttons so you can push them. And more importantly, you want to know about them, so that you don’t accidentally say something stupid that offends them.
- You have an opportunity of a lifetime – if you act like you don’t you won’t close anyone. You need to act like you have a great deal that won’t last forever. Who doesn’t want a good deal? Especially one that is better than what your friends and family got.
- Numbers add up – the more sales pitches you make, the more deals you are going to close. Sales is a numbers game, so you better hustle and make the most out of each day.
- Time is money – your time is worth money and make sure others know it. When you are making a pitch make sure they know that you have other people to talk to as well. If you give someone too much attention you will seem too desperate.
- You’re the man – no one takes sales people seriously. You are not a sales person, instead you are whoever you want to be. You can be the CEO of a company or anyone you can imagine. If you act like you’re the shit, you won’t get treated like shit.
- Be persistent – if you give up or start slacking, you will never succeed. Sell, sell, sell and never let anything put you down. Keep in mind that it could take months before you close your first deal.
And on a final note, before you go out and start selling you should have some fun and watch the movie Boiler Room. There are some great sales scenes in the movie that you can learn from…
Look over my shoulder while I share: 
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That movie was awesome! I don’t know about being a jerk, but don’t let people walk all over you. Be assertive, practice, and you’ll get it… or you should do something else.
It’s all about adapting and improvising when you are talking to people. Pick up their style and try to adapt to that.
That goes well with NLP. If you adapt to their style, they will be more comfortable with you and it will help build trust.
Trust is a huge factor. If they buy from your once, they will buy from you again. Also, they will tell their friends, resulting in lots of referrals.
This is the reason why some companies are willing to break even on the first sale. Eventually they are hoping that the customer comes back.
Hey I couldn’t agree with you more on this one Neil. I’ve done a lot of sales over the phone and my goal is always trying to match how the other person is speaking. I watch for their tone of voice, what words they emphasize and things like that. They trust me more right away because subconscious signals are going off in their head telling them, “Hey, he’s just like me and seems like a good guy.”
Exactly… good for you. When you are like them, then they are automatically able to trust you.
Exactly! By being a jerk, I didn’t mean that you should bully someone. Instead you should have a bit of attitude and stand up for yourself.
I really wish that all the jerk out there will read this and behave on their act. Agree with you man!
Thanks. No one should have to take any shit from anyone.
Wall Street is another great one.. but the best sales scene in any movie is Alec Baldwin in “Glengarry Glen Ross”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-AXTx4PcKI
I was actually going to include Wall Street video clips in the blog post, but there weren’t great ones online.
Excellent film.
When I first started working in sales my manager gave me the DVD and said this movie was my sales training! lol.
Understanding sales will help your whole career.
LOL, I should of had all of my sales guys watch the video.
Being a Jerk is the Way a good Sale is done…Yes, be assertive, Yes Practice on everyone everywhere. Be arrogant not an asshole. “Act as If” is a real state of mind! You will close!!…Sales are out there, u just ned to get rid of the tire kickers….Who cares if you sound intimidating…Those that are intimidated easily are not who you want as a customer…They will call you at home to bitch about their share of disney they bought for the kids that went down a half a point. People want to work with someone who they perceive is smarter than themselves…rope in that perception and a client along with it!
It is. The only time it isn’t is when you have a long sales lead (ex: relationship building… consulting clients), then you may want to be a bit nice or it could back fire.
That was a great movie. Those guys were quite impressive. I totally think this is the type of movie you should watch since it’ll get you pumped up!
I just watched it yesterday.
These are solid points. I have been practicing. http://seesmic.com/#/video/ecd29m8R3G/watch
It isn’t bad, but I would go into more depth on how the service helps the user. You also say the domain name a bit too much.
Totally fair assessment. Further, to my mind… I need to not read it off the screen and stand up like I am on an elevator too.
But, can you say the domain back to me? And, I only have one minute there. It’s amazing how fast a minute goes.
http://blog.extendr.com – more there.
I can, but even if you said it one or two times less, I would have remembered it.
I’ll cut it down in the future. Thanks for the feedback and candor.
Let me know if you need helping making a good video.
Great list man. Time is money always sticks with me. Don’t waste too much on one customer. If the person you are pitching to, shows no interest, forget him/her and find someone else.
And if too many people don’t show interest, adjust your approach because you are probably doing something wrong.
It also matters when you approach someone. Timing is everything.
It is. If you catch someone at a bad time, you aren’t going to close the deal.
Always ask if they are free to chat right now or setup a time when you can meet with them.
There’s a whole bunch of different factors as to what makes a good salesmen, one who can perfect all of them will be the ideal salesmen and make any business quite a bit of money.
Plus every person does stuff their own way. You have to find your own grove.
The video is convincing,before our eyes are the masters of sales,having a special gift.It was a Speech,it was a Lesson,It was a Masterclass in sales.
Yea, they are good. There are a lot more great scenes in the movie. You should consider watching it if you already have not.
I worked in a realestate office for 12 months the year before last and it was interesting listening to how people talked on the phone and then comparing it to how many sales they made. Good phone communication is essential!
It is and if you don’t have it, consider signing up for a communication class at your local college.
Yes it is Tom. If you are a great communicator, you will be very successful in life.
I totally disagree with the Punk & Shit item.
I’ve worked with large sales forces before; and if everyone took that approach – your company’s image will suffer. Think of 2000 people walking around acting like they own the place – what would happen to the company’s brand value? Customer service – you could assume it wouldn’t exist.
Where was the evaluation of the company’s needs? If you can show someone why your product fits their needs then the sale is easy. The needs-based sales approach wins more than any other sale approach.
If you’re not selling a one-time product – then you need to show value over time. Lifetime visitor values (subscriptions, repeat sales, etc) are a necessary component.
Maybe the above advice works for small consultants (which I disagree with some of the above for that group as well), but a large company shouldn’t take all this advice.
I probably should have used a different word than “punk”. What I meant is that you should grow a back bone.
You never want to hurt a company’s image and you should always put the company before yourself. Never close a sale if you feel like you are screwing someone over because it will hurt the company’s brand.
That probably would of been a better word.
You can be a “Nice” person without getting pushed around.
I’d like to think of myself as a “nice guy”, and people definitely treat me with the same respect. But since I don’t run a business, I haven’t really had to play hardball with anyone
You are right, who wants to be thought of as a punk. I also want to think of myself as a nice guy.
I would agree with this, (except to say that I want to think of myself as a “nice girl”) and go further to say that being nice and respectful will get you trust with your customers. Being arrogant or having an attitude will actually turn people off in some cases. I’ve run into salespeople like that, and it’s never resulted in a sale for them. Anyway, you shouldn’t take sales lessons from a silly movie. At the very least, read a book by Zig Zigglar or something.
I’ll check out the book.
Nice guys always finish last
I am sure you have heard that before. You can be nice but at the same time, you do not people to run all over you.
I am not sure if they finish last. I would say that they probably finish first.
Unfortunately there are some companies out there that where they want you to basically screw over the customer, and the customer knows that they are probably going to get screwed when they walk in the door. If you haven’t guest I am talking about prostitution… just kidding I actually mean car dealers. Even though you hear all of these ads for great deals and what have you buying a car is one of the worst investments you can make, proven fact, and still we buy a car for an insane amount of money and if we try to sell it back we get screwed. Why do you really think the “Big 3″ are in so much financial trouble.
It doesn’t make sense to buy a new car either. You can get a used one at a great price.
Or get one from you mom, that includes custom window decals. lol
Got to love mom for letting me use her car.
That’s not the main reason the Big 3 are in trouble. They have great cars. It’s just perception and the fact that GM in particular is still paying people that have not been employed for years! They need to change their UAW contract.
They say Toyota is going to experience this problem sooner or later because they are too large.
Adaptation, improvisation but weakness is not your technique
right out of Jujitsu practice from the Matrix. I like this.
You can’t show any weakness. Weakness will lead to no sales! You need to be confident.
Great post for me – because, as I recently decided to run my own show, one of the quickest things I learned was that the salesman was the most important and most urgent role I needed to learn to play. And it was something I had little to no experience doing.
I’m still learning – and every failed sales call holds a lesson. I’m reading everything I can about selling effectively (something I always swore I’d never do).
It’s stressful trying to learn all of this while also trying not to lose my shirt – but I also feel that I am growing/learning faster now than ever before. The experience is priceless. Now back to selling…
Hopefully this article has helped. There are a lot of books that can teach you about selling, but the best way to learn is to go out there and start selling. (which you are already doing)
You are on the right path. Best of luck!
Nothing beats trial and error. You can learn more doing your own testing so to speak than you will learn by reading any book.
Word Vik – I totally agree. And dont underestimate the power of the “error” part. I try not to make them (as im sure we all do). But when I do, I dont beat myself up about it. Aside from my own thinking, I ask those involved how it could have gone better, and I ask those who know more what I could have done differently.
Even better, why not learn from other people’s mistakes.
Some people learn better through reading and others learn better through trial and error. It really depends on the person.
Great timely article Neil.
Some glengary glen ross footage to cap it off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TROhlThs9qY
“Sitting there waiting to give you their money, are you man enough to take it?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QipAqdomO3I
Thanks for sharing the clip. I haven’t seen that movie, but will rent it today… it looks good.
Dude, I have never heard about Boiler Room but the “trailers” looks really cool. I will try to find it on the net or in the rental house.
The movie came out around 8 years ago, so you probably won’t find it on the net. Your local Blockbuster should have it.
Nice post patel, you are really a motivator. thanks for the information, keep up the goood work.
God bless.
Thanks! Let me know if you need any help when it comes to sales.
The profession of sales does not suck. It’s actually one of the most noble professions, if you are passionate about what you are selling and if your product or service adds value to society. Successful salesmanship is helping customers make the right decision with their best interest in mind.
Important points you missed about how to master the art of selling in your list:
1. Shut up & Listen – most people think sales is about talking, wrong. Shut up and listen for once, your prospect is telling you what they want. If don’t listen carefully you’ll miss what they’re looking for, and the sales process will be very frustrating.
2. Give the prospect options – If you’re generating a quote, offer them three different configurations. High end to low end. explain the differences and let them decide what’s best for them. If you only present one option, if the prospect says no, you’re walking home with your tail between your legs.
Broiler Room is an excellent flick, if you want to learn how to be a con man. Sure you’ll learn how to make a quick buck but you’ll never master the art. If you want to make a great investment to improve your sales, I’d recommend “How to master the Art of Selling” by Tom Hopkins. Now go make some sales =)
Thanks for adding to the list. I know you enjoy sales, but trust me, most people hate it. I also love it like you, but a lot of people don’t like the concept of getting rejected.
The top 20% of sales representatives drive 80% of the sales revenue for a company, these top 20% of sales pros are called Champions, they love helping customers reach their goals.
So yeah, I agree with you that most average sales people will hate the process of selling. But that’s the problem, the first step to selling more is to stop making excuses and start enjoying the profession. A sales champion has no time for rejection.
Yep, it is the 80/20 rule. The champions usually get paid a lot and get pampered.
One of the best post I’ve come across this new year. Good sign for your blog. Those movies were awesome! I have never had the balls to sell, which might just be my personality clash with people. But after reading the tips outlined above,I guess it’s about time I take the plunge again.
It is never too late, you can still go out there and sell. I highly recommend that you take the plunge.
I agree. One of the first pieces of advice I heard from my mentor when I started my business, was LEARN TO SELL.
Cold calling, pitching investors, conveying your company vision to your employees, all comes down to communication and sales.
If you’re an entrepreneur and you suck at sales, get good at sales, or hire someone who can.
Join your local toastmasters club or take a community college class in sales. You can even sit in on some training seminars for ibankers and real estate agents if you wanted to. Pick up “Spin Selling” by Neil Rackham or “Bag the Elephant” by Steve Kaplan. Volunteer for a charity as a fundraiser.
But above all.. go out and put this shit into practice.
I actually got the idea of the blog post from you. I believe you mentioned to me that sales skills is the more important thing for an entrepreneur to have.
To become a master anything it does take time and pactice.
One thing to remember is that you WILL FAIL MANY MANY TIMES
You will be rejected like you’ve never been rejected before.
Don’t take it personal. Fail forward fast. And it’s a numbers game so just remember – NEXT!
Keep in mind that if you get rejected or fail, you will never have to see that person ever again.
also, dress for your client. I have made deals in suits for people in suits and also worn the everyday club gear for the younger clients (my age group I guess). Its all about being like able to adapt to whatever environment you are put in and pulling it off with charisma.
Also, also be groomed..I’m not trying to sound bad, but I would not do business with a person that cant comb his hair or forgets to shave…if basics cant be managed, how can I expect to give you business? (makes sense I hope)…You never know when a potential sale might come up. A phone call is great but follow up on that and any other leads from networking.
if you treat clients well, they will vouch for you and bring you more business.
Your right. Don’t expect to pitch a design firm in a suit. Or don’t expect to pitch a Wall Street tycoon in shorts. Make sure you dress appropriately.
great post Neil, I have been avoiding sales for a long time but I am starting to get the real picture now.
The last video really struck a nerve for me, it is either you sell them or they sell you a reason not to buy. It is a two way street and you must choose one.
Also, the bigger picture is about leadership, and standing up for yourself, being confident.
Best of luck! If you keep on trying, you will succeed sooner or later.
also when I sell, I don’t give an exit to my customer. I rehearse all possible rebuttals to my pitch in the hotel room/car vanity mirror/etc…by looking into a mirror, I can watch for any movements, eye contact, tone and possible words that might cause a weak delivery of my point…these are all tiny things, but at the end of the day, the smallest edge over your competition is all that you need to move up.
Like the saying goes, practice makes perfect.
I am not one who enjoys rehearsing, but it is never a bad thing to do.
Do you public speak, Neil? You say you don’t like rehearsing, but public speaking requires a lot of practice and rehearsal.
I used to do a lot of public speaking. I have pulled back to doing only 12 or so engagements a year. Last year I probably spoke at 40 to 50 conferences.
Haaa! You got to have swagger baby!
A few quick points (ahem):
– Acting like a punk and being the man are mutually exclusive. So says the manyly-man handbook (54th ed.) p. 73. Im currently working on the 55th edition and will be sure to keep expand this section.
- Are women “the man” too? Yes my friends, being gender inclusive is a a lovely thing. And it increases your coolness factor by a level of 10. Perhaps we can say “You are the ish” – (and for those of you who don’t know what ish means: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ish. Brush up on your slang sucka!
And some additions!
- Listen to Understand – nothing gives you better in intel for your sales pitch then truly listening to what the customer says (or doesn’t say!).
- Respect the “little people” – I try to treat everyone with respect, particularly the gatekeepers (secretaries, office managers, personal assistants, etc.). Very often they are the glue that holds the organization together and seldom are they recognized for it. In addition, they may be making the final decision or have input into the final decision.
- Make it personal – I also mentioned this on Andy’s blog. Personal relationships are key. If you have them, maintain them. If you don’t have them, work on developing them.
Keep up the good work Neil!
Thanks Tee! I am going to go brush up my slang.
For those of you who don’t know what “ish” is:
Slang term often used to replace “shit.” Derived from the process of editing the vocals of rap-songs by revershing the curse words so said song could be played on radio or television.
Haaa! Thats old school slang fella! That means you are waaay behind. Be sure to keep a look out for my next blog post “Hip old-school terms for the slang impaired”. ;o)
LOL, I will. What is the URL of your blog?
You are going to have to wait a bit on the URL – in currently in Beta for something that will include my latest manaical ruminations. However, do keep your eye on leftyswag.com. But be forewarned – if you are in any way conservative or a repuplican you probably wont like it very much. haaaa! (and dig that funky logo! w00t! w00t!)
Let me know when you are out of beta. I would love to read your blog.
No problem! Its a completely random mix of social justice, electoral politics and juvenile humor. Yes, I keep my inner child alive.
I guess I’m not as gangsta as you Neil, I only use ish for time, and never heard it used as “shit” or sort of.
I haven’t either until Tee told me about it. You are probably a lot more gangster than me.
And on #9 you had better be able to sell to yourself. If you cannot sell yourself on yourself you’re pretty much screwed.
Sales is definitely an area where a “yes I can, yes I will” attitude is required.
Great job as usual Neil.
Good point. If you don’t have the right attitude, you won’t cut in the sales arena.
Hey Neil,,
I liked this sentence…Act like a punk
Just don’t abuse it. Nice guys don’t always come last.
one of my favorite movies of all time! ABC son.. always be closing
Ah, I was wondering what “ABC” meant.
Thanks!
I like ABC a great deal. I mean, what’s the point of it all if one isn’t closing ALWAYS. According to Jim Rohn “RESULTS is the name of the game”.
That’s right. What is the point of selling if you never make a sale.
I’d rather add that it is wise to look at the sales,at the life itself with a little bit humour because the rules are just rules and the life itself is a tremendous creative process where there are many ecceptions as well.
There will always be exceptions. For example if you are selling to your dad, you probably don’t have to use any of these tactics.
Learn to sell with honesty.
When a person is honest about his/her product knowledge, chances are very high he/she will sell.
That’s right. You never want to lie because it will bite you in your ass.
Many People end up being lazy, They end up going to work late once they see money is coming in the bank. Which I don’t understand why they still do it. Work harder and make new goals. Then there business ends up crashing and they wonder what they did wrong? Duhh you ended up becoming lazy you have to be persistent and make new goals after you have accomplished old goals.
Or when they get fired, they ask why. And tell everyone how great of an employee they were.
There is one rule that my previous sales work thought me. Always on the phone and don’t ever talk about business. Just talk something that is not related to work. At the end of the 10 minutes conversion, talk about the business for 10 seconds. If we are friend, then it is easy to make business. This is my secret of hitting target most of the time.
That’s right, people hate talking about business most of the time. You need to build a relationship first before you try to get money out of someone.
I see most of my comments here got reply from your end. This is how you build your relationship with your clients? I don’t see any probloggers reply comments like you did.
Thanks! It is how I build relationships with people. A lot of “probloggers” aren’t willing to put in the time.
So far today, I have already spent 3 hours replying to comments and I have a few more to go.
I have followed your steps and gained more comments in my blog too. Some posts even have 50+ comments. I have never crossed 20+ comments for few months now. I think this step should be followed by all bloggers.
Congrats! I am glad it is working for you!
Great post. You have good point of view and excellent points covered. You have really great business management knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
No problem. I am not sure if I have good management knowledge, more so networking/sales knowledge.
Btw you have knowledge of attract visitor.
Yea, I am familiar with Internet marketing stuff. I may start blogging about marketing tactics.
Negotiation was not mentioned, but it is a wonderful skill to have. The book How To Win Friends and Influence people has some good knowledge on that topic, plus I’ve done professional courses on negotiation at the corporate level that were good fun.
It is a great skill to have. If you want to get the most money out of a customer, you better be able to negotiate.
Is this a movie or is it a tv show? Because I have never heard of this whatever it is, it might just be that I live in Nebraska and there aren’t much for big firms trying to sell us stock and we hate telemarketers or something.
I thought that the telemarketing one was super funny if I was bored one day and could listen or understand the person trying to sell me something then I might try something like that but I don’t think I could keep a straight face.
I did a search on the “Boiler Room” and it came out in 2000, I was just was in my first year of junior high that is why I have never heard of this movie before.
Movie. You should watch it even if you aren’t a fan of the stock market or telemarketers.
Yeah I might just have to go and find it. It looks like it will have some good stuff in it, and it looks to have a lot of good actors in it.
It will be at your local movie rental place.
Most likely in the “Vin Diesel / Bargain bin”. The scene above is a great example of what they actually do in real life (and I knew what was happening when they tried to do it to me), however I concur with the others, 2 words: Wall Street.
That was my favorite seen as well. Only if they could teach you to sell like that in school.
The difficulty is in understanding what is being aggressive and what is being assertive. The latter wins almost always whereas the success rate in the former is less though exists.
Good point. The key is to be more assertive than aggressive. If you are too aggressive it can be a big turn off.
For more great info and sales things to think about check out any book by Jeffrey Gitomer.
Thanks for the info.
Very exciting piece, Neil. I particularly liked this tip you gave “Numbers add up – the more sales pitches you make, the more deals you are going to close. Sales is a numbers game, so you better hustle and make the most out of each day.” Being a long time student of Jim Rohn (one of the greatest business motivational speakers in the world), he gave the parable of the sower and one statement stuck out – “if you keep sowing the seed, some of them will fall on good people”. So, yes, it’s a numbers game, like you said. The more sales pitches we make, the more deals we are going to make. It’s that simple. Thanks for sharing once again, Neil. I loved it!
No problem. The numbers theory is true in almost all aspects of business.
Yes really one might only keep sowing the seeds and the crop will get ripe.
You just have to be patient like anything else. You can’t expect your crops to ripe in a few days.
Knowing how to sell means jack squat. True it used to be the case that in order to buy anything we would need a slick knowledgeable salesman to tell us what to buy because he knew stuff we didn’t about the products being sold. But nowadays the savvy consumer knows what they are going to buy before they even walk into the store, has read 100 peer reviews about said item and compared it to 20 other similar items online, etc etc.
I’m not saying that salesmanship is entirely dead, I’m just saying that the secret to a truly successful business should never *rely upon* salesmanship to carry it forward. A business should spend as much as it can on research and development, strong branding of its products, and advertising/marketing.
The most successful businesses are ones that don’t require any salesmanship at all. The product speaks for itself and flies off the shelf without any salesman present necessary.
Loren, If you have a product that flies off the shelf let me know
That’s true, but there are many many people that wouldn’t have bought a product/service if not for the skill of a salesman. Not to mention those convinced into upsales.
You can have a great product, but if you don’t know how to sell it, then what is the point.
You are right, Neil. Loren might be right in saying a business needs to “spend as much as it can on research and development, strong branding of its products” but like you said, Neil, “You can have a great product, but if you don’t know how to sell it, then what is the point?” INTERESTING discourse!
Ideally both are necessary. You need a great product and a great sales team.
It shouldn’t but sales is an important part of being successful. You need to be well rounded.
I wouldn’t totally agree. I understand and agree that “salesmanship” that is slick is dead, but knowing how to sell isn’t salesmanship isn’t.
Actually that’s totally absurd. It really depends on the medium that you are referring to. Direct mail, TV, shopping channel (lots of selling there), Internet, one-on-one, telephone. You said that shoppers do a lot of peer reviews before buying and know what they want…
I do believe that people review and find out what others are saying, but not all reviews are good or detailed enough to make the best decision and many many times when I go to buy a product I end up with a different one all together because of demonstration, or salemanship, or gut feeling, or price change, etc etc.
There is so much that goes into a sale and it depends on what is being sold too. Is it a house, a car, a notepad? Each price range is different also. So salesmanship can’t be dead and never could die.
It might evolve, but is always needed. If that is the case why do sales, advertising, marketing people even exist today? We should be totally sufficient on machine checkout and never need anyone even working the store.
Anyway, I agree that slick salesmanship is dead, but salesmanship and marketing, the art of matching needs and wants with products can’t, isn’t, and never could die. As a matter of fact marketing and advertising in many cases is just salesmanship in print.
But, that’s a whole other issue. Anyway, thanks for heating up the discussion.
lol
Kenney
I think over time the meaning of it evolved. Like you said it is now mixed with other things like marketing.
I think the old version of salesmanship is dying, but isn’t dead yet. A lot of companies are still making money by using those old tactics.
As does everything. If there were no salespersons then I would have someone to help me try on shoes at footlocker, or the know one to let me get the keys to take a car for a test drive. Slick salesmanship has had it’s day, but not salesmanship. Anyway Neil. Hope you’re having a great day.
I am, thanks for asking.
You are right, slick salesmanship has had it’s day, but salesmanship hasn’t. But that probably goes for anything that isn’t “slick”.
Being nice and respectful will get you the trust with your customers. Being arrogant or having an attitude will actually turn people off in some cases. You can’t show any weakness also. Weakness will lead to no sales! You need to be confident.I’ve run into salespeople like that, and it’s never resulted in a sale for them. Anyway, you shouldn’t take sales lessons from a silly movie.
Best of luck! If you keep on trying, you will succeed sooner or later
It depends what you are selling. With my company, if you aren’t cocky you won’t make much.
Isn’t that so true though. If you learn how to sell you will always have a job, or you’ll always stay in business. I like the tip about act like a punk. It’s funny because you find that most all successful business people when it comes to “business” have a at the very least a little bit of arrogance…eh
I think a lot of that arrogance comes from being good at their job. If they weren’t good at what they did, they probably wouldn’t be arrogant.
That is true. When you are really good at something you have this confidence about you… and it is expressed differently with different personalities.
And also just as much as customers (or prospects) get tired of bull so do good business owners, companies, and good marketers. Because “potential customers” are slick too… lol lol
If you know what you’re offering is the “magic pill” then you will have a swagger and confidence. I mean if the person selling the thing doesn’t have confidence why should the potential consumer.
Ron Legrand a real estate dude has this saying that he puts in most of his salesletters that goes something like “There is no one out there like me, I’m the best in the world at what I do (quite modest to)â€. He also goes on to say that you’ll pay many times over what his course cost if you don’t buy and…
Anyway, the point is he is extremely successful, and he definitely has arrogance and swag, but I love him for it. I appreciate it and almost admire it. lol He is that good too.
The problem is, his arrogance can hurt him. In many cases it could slow him down from learning more.
A book that helped me with sales was The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino. A very easy read with some great points about the philosophy of selling. It stresses the importance of believing in yourself and what you are selling.
I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the info.
You are right, Anthony. I have read it. It’s one of my very best books with that by Joe Girald, titled “How To Sell Yourself”. Joe Girald is known as the world’s greatest salesman. Yes, he was given this by the Guinness Book of World Records when he sold 1,425 new cars in just one year. They were not fleet sales, but all were individual units sold at retail, belly to belly.
There’s something he said in the book which resonates with me- “What the Guinness Book of World Records doesn’t mention is that I really sell the World’s Number One Product – which is not an automobile at all: It’s me, Joe Girald. I sell Joe Girald, I always have, I always will, and no one can sell me better than myself”.
Joe Girald is sure a very gifted man with great motivation and love to that kind of business he runs,besides he confirm th e old saying ”First you serve your name then you name serves you.”
I’ll have to check him out. He must be popular for a good reason…
Nice Post and Videos. Thanks For given information about the useful topics. I think the Good sales person has ability to convince the customers and sale the product.
He does, but remember, anyone can be a good sales person. It takes a lot of practice.
Yes it’s true. good sales person wants more and more practice. Sales person every customer has learn new things.
That’s right, every customer can teach you something new. You will never stop learning.
Not me!I tried many trades but never thought to be a sales person. I am sure it isn’t mine.Without liking a lot of practice will do nothing.Sorry!
Give it a try. You may like the profession.
In short, selling is about being excited about what you are talking about. Even if you don’t know everything (although it helps) about your product, if you come off like it is the latest and greatest thing you will get other people excited about it.
That’s right. You need to get people excited about what you are doing. If you have a dull and boring voice, no one will be excited.
Neil,
you need to update your video list in this post.
The sales theory is resumed at the Glengarry Glen Ross speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TROhlThs9qY
Sometime I think i should watch it each time I weak up in the morning….;)
Yea, I still need to watch the movie.
I especially agree with the last point of your post, I think it is absolutely crucial that you stay persistent. Persistence definitely is a millionaire maker.
That is what separates a millionaire from an average person.
I love sales & marketing.
In fact, my last 2 jobs before I went full-time into my own internet businesses were both sales jobs.
I absolutely loved the process of getting out, creating and showing value, and closing deals, while being rewarded financially for using the art of persuasion to help a client see why they must have the product or service.
Those selling skills that I learned in those sales careers have helped me dramatically in my own business, and I preach to new business owners all the time that if they truly want to be successful, then they must learn sales.
It’s cool to learn the basics through books, but I highly recommend my buddies to get some type of sales job, or create a service that they can sell in order to go out and get some real world sales experience.
Also, I love all of those movies that you guys posted earlier. My first sales manager suggested the same movies lol.
Selling is great! The best job I ever had as a kid was selling 1600 dollar vacuums door to door.
And how many did you sell them? Just out of curiosity.
I use to sell insurance contracts, too bad for me I didn’t have the right knowledge I have know..
I sold 1 and then they returned it. So technically, 0.
You have an opportunity of a lifetime is probably my favourite there, if you believe in what your selling (and genuinely think it will add VALUE to people’s lives) then the rest is easy in my opinion. Much of the difficulty in selling is when you are nervous, your embarrassed about ‘selling’ or being pushy, if your selling something that will help the person, you will look at it in a whole new way.
Never be nervous. If you are nervous they will be nervous about your product.
If you can sell, then you can make tons of money. These are some good tips on how to sell better, and should come in handy whether its selling my own product, or selling something in store.
Good sales people always make tons of money. They may be slimy, but they make tons of money.
I used to think a good product sells itself. Well, it doesn’t. Others have sold the same products I tried selling with far greater success.
Yea, it doesn’t always work that way.
couldn’t agree more with this post. sometimes we lose sight of the most important thing to any company. sales.
Having a solid sales team is very important. It can make or break a company.
I won’t buy stuff from anyone who does not behave humbly in front of me, but then some people do get under pressure.. so there may actually be a trade off as to whether being a jerk really helps or not.
For me being a jerk has helped, but it doesn’t work for everyone.
Knowledge of the art of gentle persuasion is key for a business to attract more buyers. This is the concept behind attraction marketing, a new internet network marketing system where you develop ongoing relationships with clients by educating your buyers first and then moving them along the buying path in your communications. Prospects resist selling…the more you sell, the more people resist it. Attraction marketing enables you to bring in customers in a pleasant and streamlined manner. Integrating the attraction marketing formula into your business helps you develop personal relationships with your existing clients and become a person of value, so that they have the underlying feeling of attraction and want to come back for more.
Selling is a great thing. Some of the most successful companies don’t have a great product or service, but they have a great sales team.
Hi Neil!
My friend told me, “If you want to sell anything to someone, you must help him/her first.” It is true? If so, how to apply on my online business?
That isn’t always the case. What you are selling just has to be useful to them.
I always tell people that…If the business isn’t making enough money they aren’t the only ones that is going to loose. You are going to be out a job so keep up on everything going on around you financially at work. That is one of the biggest reasons why I decided to start business offline and online. Even though I may loose money I still know where my money stand because I’m in control.
Yea, when a business loses all of the employees lose out as well.
Hey, I thought I was the only one that love this movie….Boiler Room is the best. Truthfully, you can learn a little from that movie. It’s weird how you can make a sale just by a common conversation.
A lot of people love it. I have watched it like 10 times by now.
If you wonna do a sale you need a potential buyer who has money to spend. That will be a main challange in 2009.
Things will get better as we get over this recession. Just have faith.
Recently I’ve been reading up on sales psychology and what you say in your post it true. Although a softly-softly approach may seem like it would work, a helpful but a little pushy pitch works much better.
soft doesn’t work that well, no well enough to make it big time. You need to be impressively skillful with your words and language.
I haven’t seen the Boiler Room, but after watching those few clips from youtube, it really makes me want to go out and see it. I know that selling is a very important skill, and those who can successful harness that skill, it will take them a long ways, no matter what career they are in.
Till then,
Jean
Make sure you rent it as selling helps you in all aspects in your life.
# 2 Act like a punk # 4 do a sound check 6 9 # You’re the man my favourite.One can do everything better if he put some pasion in it.
I’m going to have to get a copy of this movie! All those clips were really inspiring. I’ve been interested in selling ever sense one of those door to door security system salesmen convinced me to get an alarm system for my house. There were half truths in his pitch, but I signed the contract and he made money. That’s how the world works.
Its a VERY entertaining movie! Let me know how it goes for you.
Its easier to sell offline than online.I mean you can someone in person and make him to sign a deal with you.Its harder to do it online I think.
Online is definitely more difficult because you don’t have the ability to use your body or language skills.
I used to think a good product sells itself. Well, it doesn’t. Others have sold the same products I tried selling with far greater success.
You and your skills are what sell products and high levels! That’s why it’s so important for you to learn the art of selling.
Trust is a huge factor. If they buy from your once, they will buy from you again. Also, they will tell their friends, resulting in lots of referrals.
Your referral business can be huge…. just treat the customer right.
Wall Street is another great one.. but the best sales scene in any movie is Alec Baldwin in “Glengarry Glen Ross”
Oh yeah, I saw that just recently… Such an amazing scene!
Is it only me but sales and seduction have so much in common?
lol… no it isn’t just you. Seduction and sales have a lot in common because it’s all about being irresistible.
I like the phrase “Act like a punk”, and I definitely agree with this. If you’re kind many people will abuse your kindness and there will times that you will be ignored easily.
that was a great movie, is the seller is good the cuality of the product is not important, im not saying you have to sell rubish but it is posible
One of my all time best movies to watch. It always inspires me to do my best but also make sure it’s the right thing to do. Thanks for the post.
Yep, it’s always super motivational to watch this movie.
I think it is better watching “Rocket Singh – Salesman of the year” than “Boiler Room”, because even the sales is important we have to know the right way of making sales.
lol, I did see that movie, so I know what you’re talking about.