Sometimes the worst questions we can ask on a sales call are the ones that come out of our mouths the easiest. A great example is, What are you paying?
It's a natural question to ask, and it has a valid purpose, because you never want to throw prices out blindly. However, asking the question this way is, as they say
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When I started out in sales, my first territory was south-central Iowa. Coming from Chicago, I was having trouble adjusting to the laid back, rural culture, where the main topics of conversation included farm chemicals and the condition of the Iowa State wrestling program.
One day I stopped to make a cold call at a factory in a small town about
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Wouldn't it be lovely if every business conversation started with,
Hello, my name is ________. How can I help you?
Simple enough, but how often do we hear it when we call in to customer service or invite a sales person into our office?
The first thing a customer hears will set the tone for the conversation and perhaps the whole business relationship.
Start
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If you're unlucky enough to fall into Worst Bad Habit Number 5, dwelling on the negative, you're only a short step away from Number 6, losing respect for your company, your colleagues, and your customers.
Needless to say, this habit is about as bad as smoking three packs of Camel filterless cigarettes a day, only it will ruin you more quickly.
But
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My last Worst Bad Sales Habit was about drawing a general conclusion from an isolated bad experience and applying it to all similar situations. This Worst Bad Habit is similar.
It's called not letting go. Dwelling on the negative. Holding grudges. Grinding an ax. Forgiving but not forgetting. An eye for an eye. Get the idea?
Such a way of thinking is
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In all cases, experience drives outstanding sales performance. Depending on how you apply your experience, your performance will be outstandingly good or outstandingly bad.
Experience without perspective is catastrophic. In sales, there is a trap we fall into called "the halo effect". It means taking one experience and generalizing it to apply to all similar situations.
This printing company hated me and
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Success breeds complacency. But what happens if a star sales rep stops learning? Stops challenging himself? Well, nine times out of nine, it spells T-H-E E-N-D, especially these days when business practices and technologies change at breakneck speed.
Yet, nothing is easier than talking oneself into complacency.
I've already paid my dues.
I'm incredibly successful. People should be learning from me.
Nothing really changes
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Most sales people would rather jump into a cold Lake Michigan than jump into a day of cold calls. When reps start their careers, they make colds call because they have to. Over time, as they build a base, the urgency of cold calling fades. A day of cold calling becomes half a day. Then it becomes a hit or
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