*NEWS*12 DUMB THINGS SALESPEOPLE DO …..

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Date: Saturday April 30, 2005 10:19:00 am
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    The 12 Dumbest Things Salespeople Do . . .

    We all make mistakes…but some of us, salespeople included, keep making
    the same mistakes over and over again.

    We all make mistakes and some salespeople seem to make a lot of them.
    What scares the vinegar out of me is that most salespeople keep making the
    same mistakes over and over again. Now in my book – that’s just plain
    STUPID!
    Maybe this list will serve as a helpful reminder. Maybe it won’t. But at
    least you’re curious to learn what these blunders are or why would you
    keep reading this? Okay – maybe you just wanted to subscribe to my

    No-Brainer Selling Tips newsletter, which you’ll start getting with the
    very next issue.

    In any case here’s my list of the 12 Dumbest Things
    Salespeople
    Do:

    1. Relying on one relationship to protect your account. Why in the
    world would you put all your eggs in one basket? Excuse me – with one
    person. It doesn’t make any sense and the bigger the account is the more
    vulnerable you become. There are five reasons why you should develop
    more than one relationship in all your accounts, especially the major ones:

    First retirement – people do retire. Second is death – yep some people
    actually die at their desk. Sure it’s not common, but it does happen. Third
    is resignation – people do leave for better opportunities and that happens
    more than you might imagine. Fourth is termination – some people actually
    get fired. Finally – and sure this is a long shot – some people win the
    Lottery.

    Action-step. Build and cultivate a network within every major account
    you have. The biggest Rolodex usually WINS!

    2. Putting your fate with mid-level managers instead of starting with the
    top gun.
    The worst thing you can do is to follow your instincts on this one.
    Your instincts tell you to start at the easiest point of entry in any
    organization. Why – because it’s easy! Once you gain access at this point your
    instincts continue to give you bad advice. Soon you’ll be thinking you can’t go
    over the head of the person you currently have the relationship with.

    Here’s my advice and it works. Your first call should be to the CEO or
    president of the organization. Simply ask them, or their assistants, for their
    help in directing you to the right person. If you’re doing this over the phone
    you should also ask them to transfer you to this key decision maker.

    Action-step. Make your first call to the CEO. It’s easier to let him
    direct you down the organizational chart then to have some mid-level manager try
    to take you up the same organizational chart.

    3. Telling prospects/customers that you’re NEW. I know this is a big
    one because I hear it all the time. Sad to say many years ago I even used this
    same mindless introduction. Imagine walking into an account and telling your
    prospect/customer that you are the new sales REP for your company. For a moment
    let’s switch gears.

    Imagine boarding an airplane scheduled to fly from Chicago to San Francisco.
    Imagine also hearing the pilot welcome everybody on board and announcing that he
    is new at flying the 757 you are seated on. Also imagine your dentist refers
    you to a specialist for your very first root canal. And imagine that the
    specialist lets you know he’s a recent Dental School graduate and you’re his
    first patient. Now, how does that make you feel? That’s how everyone feels
    when they’re working with somebody who announces they are “NEW.”

    Action-step. If you’re new to sales or are an experienced sales REP
    just getting started with a NEW company give some thought how you will introduce
    yourself. Just don’t say that you’re “NEW.”

    4. Doing price-driven quotes instead of value-structured proposals.

    If you’re in sales you’re likely to get requests on a daily basis for
    product quotes. Somebody wants you to quote on a particular product or a
    particular service. So, like someone following the Pied Piper you do exactly
    what they ask, namely you send them a quotation. Then you go ballistic when you
    lose the deal because you did not have the lowest price.

    Look Bubba – when you send somebody your quote all you are really doing
    is sending them a price to look at. If you don’t like that approach get out
    of the quotation business. Do sales proposals. Load them with value. Make your
    sales proposal scream value and always include a benefits page. Your benefits
    page should be positioned ahead of your pricing page.

    Action-step. If you don’t know anything about sales proposals I
    strongly suggest you do a search on Google.com and Amazon.com using the keywords
    “sales proposals.” This is too important to be flying by the
    seat-of-your-ants!

    5. Making sales calls like a tourist. Anytime you show up on a
    prospect’s/customer’s doorstep without written sales call objectives you are
    nothing more than a well paid tourist. I think you’ll agree most people most of
    the time are too busy to waste their valuable time. When you show up planning to
    touch base, catch up, check up, and see what’s going on – that’s called “Wasting
    time.” To get you started in the right direction, here’s an example of a written
    sales call objective for an account you’re calling on for the very first time.
    Simply stated your sales call objective could be written as follows:

    “My objective for this sales call is to establish rapport, build some
    credibility, ask 3-5 open-ended questions, attempt to identify one common
    interest we have, and if the person is qualified to secure a confirmed
    follow-up appointment. Note how numbers make this objective even “More
    specific.”

    Action-step. Never leave home without written sales call objectives.
    The key word is “Never!”

    6. Getting mugged by your own mouth. This is a very easy trap for a
    salesperson to collapse into especially if you’re extroverted and talkative.
    If you’re not careful with the language you use, you run the risk of
    sounding like the “Mediocre majority.” For example, you should avoid using
    these phrases: I think, can I be honest, can I ask you a question, I know
    you’re busy so I won’t take up much of your time, how soon do you need it, I
    agree with you – But, what do I have to do to earn your business today, so –
    what do you think, I was wondering etc. I hope you get the picture and
    recognize
    that these phrases aren’t inherently sinister. They are however
    over-used by the salespeople who are in the “Mediocre majority” category.
    Avoid them like the Plague!

    Action-step. The more you prepare what you’ll say and how you’ll say
    it during a sales call the less likely you’ll end up getting mugged by your own
    mouth.

    7. Making the sales call a virtual “Improvisation.” The way my twisted
    mind works is there are only two types of sales calls. One is prepared and the
    other is a total improvisation. Let me concede right out of the chute, it’s
    inconceivable to totally prepare for a sales call – the way I define the
    word prepare. It should also be inconceivable to you from this point on,
    that your sales calls should be a 100% improvisation. In this example, when
    I use the word prepare, I mean in writing.

    Here’s a short list of what I recommend you thoroughly prepare – in writing:

    – Prepare how you call for appointments.
    – Prepare your elevator speech.

    – Prepare at least 12 open-ended questions.
    – Prepare how you will segue
    into your presentation.
    – Prepare how you will deal with the price
    objection.
    – Also prepare how you will ask for the customer’s commitment to
    order your product/service.

    Action-step. Prepare in writing the words you will use in each of
    these key steps in your selling process. Preparation always sounds better
    than improvisation. Always!

    8. Forgetting to develop the “Brand Called You.” One of the cardinal
    sins I observe salespeople making is your complete reliance on the
    branding of your products and your company. Please remember this. Most
    people don’t buy the product. Most people don’t buy the company. Most
    people buy – because they buy the relationship with the sales professional
    working with them.

    I just ordered the autobiography written by PT Barnum. I can’t wait to get
    my hands on this book. If you want to be remembered you have to be
    memorable and PT Barnum wrote the book on this topic. Marketing will win
    more sales than selling ever can. To be a success today, and in almost any
    business, you have to be an extraordinary marketer! You might want to buy
    Peter Montoya’s book, “The Brand Called You.”

    Action-step. I believe everybody is unique. Discover your uniqueness
    and parade it around your sales territory. Forget about being boring, bland, and
    benign. Blending in is out! Standing out is in! Do everything you can to be
    different in a memorable way!

    9. Playing the win-lose instead of the win-win game. This point is
    easy to say and hard to do because it involves a dramatic change in your
    thinking. In some cases, it may involve a lobotomy! Never offer a price
    concession without getting a concession from your prospect/customer. To do so
    means he wins and you lose. Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned game of
    win-win?

    What happened to it is quite simple and very easy to fix. When ever someone
    asks you for a better price – ask them for a better deal – which could mean a
    larger quantity, something else added to the order, an extended contract
    etc.

    Action-step. This one takes courage. Do you have what it takes to do
    what it takes to make your selling game a win-win game?

    10. Putting your families on the veritable back-burner. Most people
    don’t think bad things can happen to them. I think it’s called the theory of
    self-exception. Maybe it’s because you’re so optimistic. You think you’ll live
    for ever. You think your families will live for ever. Take it from me it doesn’t
    always work out that way. Now rest assured, I hope it does for you and your
    family.

    I just don’t want you to bank on it. You see stuff happens: My first wife
    Louise died when she was 34 from cancer. My brother John died when he was 46
    from a brain tumor. My brother Ray, a New York City firemen, was killed on 9/11
    a the age of 46. Enough said!

    Action-step. When you put your family on the back-burner you’re
    risking life’s biggest regret – “I wish I had spent more time with my family.”
    To avoid this potential tragedy make your calendar the centerpiece of your life
    and make sure every member of your family is on your calendar.

    11. Living life in the multi-tasking lane. This thing called
    multi-tasking isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Sure it looks impressive to a
    casual observer to see you driving your car with a headset on and nibbling on
    your morning egg McMuffin. How many tasks can you do at the same time and do
    them equally well? Some people, notably researchers writing on the subject, are
    now saying that tasks completed by the multi-taskers are losing out in the
    quality department.

    Hey – it’s a No-Brainer – how many things can you do at the same time and do
    them all exceptionally well? Go figure! Two months ago in the men’s room of one
    of my major clients I heard someone behind that closed door, and presumably in a
    seated position, talking on his cell phone, munching on what sounded like potato
    chips and flushing at the same time. How do you explain that to a customer?
    Would you actually say you’re passing through Niagara Falls, thus accounting for
    the noise in the background? I think you get the point and I’ll leave the rest
    to your imagination.

    Action-step. This one is so easy it hurts! Start every day with a
    written list of what you want to get done during that day. Using numbers, be
    sure to prioritize your list. Do one thing at a time. Do the most important
    thing first. Don’t do anything else unless it’s more important than the next
    most important thing on your list. I told you this was easy – easy to say and
    hard to do.

    <>12. Giving a “Gazillion people” your cell phone number. Man do I get
    a lot of heat when I talk about this in my No-Brainer Selling Skills Boot
    Camps and sales training programs. I’ve heard all the reasons why

    salespeople give every body their cell phone number. I know why people
    print their cell phone number on their business cards. I know why
    salespeople do this but I’m not sure it makes any sense.
    Well it does make some sense if you’re the kind of salesperson, who
    after
    giving 50 or more prospects/customers your cell phone number,
    goes
    immediately to a tattoo parlor and has 24/7 tattooed across your forehead.
    Maybe it would make some sense if you had the only cell phone in your sales
    territory. That would be a clear advantage for you. Whenever you give
    somebody your cell phone number it becomes the default number which people
    use to call you. The more people you give your cell phone number to, the
    more people will dial your cell phone number every time for every minuscule
    reason they want to talk to you.You may like it this way but I sure don’t. I have two cell phones- one in my
    car and one in my briefcase and I use them exclusively for making outbound
    calls. Until you experience this – you won’t realize how much control over
    your life you give up every time you give someone else your cell phone
    number.
    <>Action-step. Here’s a suggestion. Get a stamp that allows you to print
    on the back of your business card the times during the day you check your voice
    mails and e-mails. Tell your customers, except for two or three of your biggest,
    you’re disconnecting your cell phone number because it’s taken over your
    life. My guess is you’ll get some well deserved empathy and sympathy.
    Well – it’s agreed then – we all make mistakes. The good news NOW
    for
    you, is you don’t have to make the “Dirty Dozen” any more.

    Number 13?
    Now that I think about it, there probably should have
    been a #13.
    Let’s just say most salespeople don’t ask good questions. You
    think you do but you probably don’t. Here’s a quick test. On a blank sheet
    of paper write down your 12 best open-ended questions. You’re leaving so
    muuuuuuuch money on the table – if you can’t do this blind-folded and do
    it within 3 minutes.

    What are your 12 Best Questions?
    If you’d like to know what my 12
    Best questions are use this link to find out. It
    might change your life. These questions changed mine. These phenomenal
    questions have helped me earn millions of dollars over the last 17 years. If
    they work for me, I’m certain they’ll work for you as soon as you adopt and
    adapt them.

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