Getting a Job in Sales: Be Different

Today, I had lunch with a very nice young man who is a senior at The University of North Carolina right here in Chapel Hill. He had read my book, The Best Damn Sales Book Ever: 16 Rock-Solid Rules for Achieving Sales Success , and when he realized that I also lived in Chapel Hill, he called to ask if he could have lunch with me and pick my brain.

Since he will be graduating in a few weeks, he wanted to know if I had any advice for him on the best way to go about finding a job in sales. He’d been looking for a while and was not having much "luck." He hadn’t even been able to land an interview.

I asked him what he was doing to contact these companies. He said he was targeting certain companies and industries, sending out emails to their human resources or personnel department and then following up with a phone call. It was pretty easy to see why he wasn’t getting results.

The advice I gave him was not only geared to getting him in the door, but in front of the right people.

• Be different. Look at what everyone else is doing and do something different. Everybody emails! The people you email probably get so many emails, most of them never get read, so try something else. I told him, in addition to emails, send a letter (hardly anyone gets letters anymore, so they’re more likely to read them) stating the day and time you’ll be calling to follow up; and then be sure to call at that time. Believe it or not, many of them will be expecting your call.

In addition to the letters, he might also want to just drop in on a few companies wearing a jacket and tie. Remember, nobody will ever be insulted that you’re wearing a jacket and tie, but there will always be someone who’ll be insulted that you’re casually dressed.

Like any good salesperson that needs to get in the door to do business, it’s always good to try a number of different methods to see what works best.

• Stop dealing with human resources and personnel. More commonly known as “The Sales Prevention Departments.” They are gatekeepers. Their job is not to let you in, but to keep you out. If you want a job in sales, go to a sales executive: The VP of Sales; Sales Manager; Regional Sales Executive, etc. Sales executives are always on the lookout for aggressive young people who are not afraid to follow up again and again and again. A sales executive sees those qualities as something they want in the people who work for them. The people in human resources see that person as an annoyance.

Similarly, in sales you determine who to approach by figuring out who will benefit the most from your product or service. Do you want to sell to the purchasing department who only cares about price or to the executive whose problems will be solved by buying from you?

• Be a pest. I told him that his future employment was not the biggest thing weighing on the minds of these executives. Just because someone said they’ll call, don’t expect it to happen. The people you’ll be dealing with are busy. In fact, I offered this piece of advice. When you’re told, “We’ll call you next week,” say, “Don’t bother. It’s not your responsibility to call me; it’s my responsibility to call you. When would be a good time to follow up?” This allows you to remain in control of the situation.

Oh, and another thing, as soon as you get back from an interview, send a hand written thank you note. Not a bad idea for those of you just returning from sales appointments either.

Be different. If you’re just going to do what everyone else does, you’re going to end up like everyone else. Mediocre.

Getting the Life You Want

Planning ahead is the key to successfully transitioning from two incomes to one. Most people think they can’t do this because it’s not affordable. Learn: why it’s more affordable than you think. 4 steps to affording your dream lifestyle. Specific tips to make it easier to “Stay home with the kids.” The allure of being a homebased entrepreneur is hard to resist, isn’t it? Whether you’re deciding on a business or have already started up, these 19 timely tips will guide you through your homebased journey.
 

Always Keep Your Clients Informed

Have you ever had this happen to you? You see a client; someone you’ve been doing business with for quite a few years. On this occasion they tell you about a product or service they just purchased from your competition and you say, “You know, we also offer that,” and their reply is: “I wish we would have known, we certainly would have bought it from you.”

How stupid do you feel at right about this point? Too many salespeople have the mistaken idea that it’s the client’s or prospect’s responsibility to know our product line, or, at least, assume what products or services we offer. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The only way you can be sure a client knows exactly what you offer is if you tell them: and remind them, over and over again. Even if they have no need for many of the products and services you currently offer, it doesn’t mean they never will. And believe me; when the time comes that they need one of those products or services, you’ll be glad you delivered those constant reminders.

Remember it is never the client’s responsibility to stay informed. It is your responsibility as an expert, advisor and resource AND single point of contact to KEEP them informed.

Many salespeople would rather have an uninformed and naïve customer because they’re the type that will “Buy anything you put in front of them.” The only problem is if you have such an easy time selling to them, so will your competition.

What you really want are informed, educated customers who will not buy from every flim-flam man that comes down the pike. The best way to make sure your clients are informed and educated is for you to do the informing and educating.

Do you know why so many salespeople are afraid to constantly inform the clients about the other products and services they carry? They’re afraid they’re being too pushy.

But if we go along with the theory that clients want to deal with salespeople who are experts, advisors and resources, who will also act as the client’s “Single Point of Contact” within the company, then aren’t we doing the client a favor by constantly keeping them up to date on all we have to offer.

Doing the “Hard” in Business & in Life

In business, and in life, I believe the willingness to do “the hard” is what truly separates the successful from the unsuccessful. Most people are only willing to do the easy, or, in most cases, what’s known as the minimum.

In business, most companies would rather cut their price than deliver extraordinary quality, service, convenience and value. Most companies would rather tell you “There’s nothing we can do about it,” or, “I’m sorry, that’s company policy,” than actually go out of their way to solve a client’s problems.

Even more incredible are the companies that judge the effectiveness of their customer service departments by how many calls they handle and not by how many customer complaints they turn around.

But the amazing thing about “doing the hard,” is that most of the time it’s not that hard. Differentiating yourself from the competition very often is quite easy, simply because there’s not a lot of competition. For example:

Showing up might seem like the easiest thing to do, but the reason that “Eighty percent of success is showing up,” is that most people don’t. The average salesperson’s lack of production can easily be traced back to the fact that they don’t see enough people.

Returning phone calls promptly takes no special talent, but have you ever wondered why so many clients seem overly appreciative when you call them back? Maybe it’s because hardly anyone does. I recently left a message for a salesperson saying I wanted to purchase a piece of equipment I had spoken to him about. He never called me back. Unfortunately, his was the only company that carries that equipment, so I couldn’t go elsewhere, but I did the next best thing: I called, spoke to a different salesperson, and gave him the business.

Follow up: getting back to people when you’re supposed to or when you promised. Whenever I arrive in a city to deliver a speech the first thing I do when arriving at the hotel is to call my client and let her know “I’m here, I’m fine and what room I’m in, in case anyone needs to speak to me.” This gives the client one less thing to worry about. What amazes me is the reaction of many of my clients when they receive my call: They are so overly grateful it gives me the impression that what I’ve done, while not being the least bit difficult, is obviously not done very often.

Admit it, you’re not the least bit surprised anymore when you receive bad service or someone fails to call you back, but I’ll bet very often you’re shocked beyond belief when just the opposite happens.

Doing the hard is what separates you from your competition and makes you great. But fortunately, for those of you willing to do it, thanks to a lack of competition, doing the hard is not as hard as it’s cracked up to be.

Five Keys to Being the Best: Part I

For the past show on this topic please click here: Sales: Five Keys to Being the Best

A few days before delivering a sales seminar to one of my clients, I had the attendees email me with ideas for what they wanted to get out of the session. Here is one that really stood out; along with my reply.

One attendee wrote: “What are the top five things that most people have to continually work on to be the best?” This week, I’ll cover numbers 1 and 2; next week 3,4, and 5.

1. Prospecting: If you were to ask, “What is the single, biggest reason so many salespeople do not do enough business,” I would tell you it’s because they don’t see enough people. It’s wonderful to know everything about your product; it’s great that your presentation skills are second to none and just wonderful that you are constantly looking to educate yourself on how to be better at who you are and what you do. However, if you have no one to tell your story to, it’s all worthless.

Prospecting is not just about cold-calling. It’s about following up on leads and referrals (you’d be amazed at how many salespeople let hot leads sit because of the fear of rejection). It’s about prospecting within a client company (your best prospects are your current clients).

Don’t worry so much about sales; worry more about activity. If you generate consistent activity on an every day basis, guess what: you’ll get SALES. Sales are nothing more than a by-product of activity.

2. Follow Up: Things that sound dumb, but are true: “Out of sight, out of mind.” That’s exactly what happens to salespeople who don’t follow up with their clients. Keep in touch with your clients on a regular basis. Emails and periodic phone calls are great, but if you really want to be smart, follow up by sending information that is of value to them. Articles and newsletters are two great ways of doing it.

When you find an article that you know would be of interest to a client, cut it out, send it along with a handwritten note. This keeps you in front of the client in a positive, yet non-threatening way and better yet, gives you a reason to call.

Newsletters are great because they keep your name in front of your clients on a regular basis while also giving them information they can use to become more successful. Just make sure to include ALL your contact information.

Remember; one of the keys to selling is to be in front of the prospect when he or she is ready to buy. But since we’re never really sure exactly when that will be, it helps to be in front of them a lot.

Don’t Be Afraid to Tell Your Story

When faced with misinformation you have two choices, either take it lying down or fight back. Great companies fight back and reclaim their credibility when beseiged by an army of the ill-informed. Warren illustrates his experience with one of the largest tire manufacturers in the USA, and at one point the most embattled. Listen to the message he got across to them, and why he was invited back!