Following the Fundamental Rules of Selling
Following the fundamental rules of selling will lead to sales success faster than any high pressure sales technique.
People aren’t afraid of failure, they just don’t know how to succeed.
In 1960 I met a college basketball coach on the court, and asked him for his best, niftiest pointer. He took the ball, walked under the basket and shot an easy lay-up. “See that shot,” he said gruffly; “99% of all basketball games are won with that shot, don’t miss it,” and he walked away. I felt cheated that day, but twenty years later I realized it was the best sales lesson I ever got. Concentrate on the fundamentals, 99% of all sales are made that way.
We are each responsible for our own success (or failure). Winning at a career in sales is no exception. To ensure a win, you must take a proactive approach. Prevention of failure is an important part of that process. If you find yourself saying:
- I’m not cut out for sales
- I’m not pushy enough
- I hate cold calling
- I can’t take the rejection
- My boss is a jerk
- My boss is a real jerk, you’re heading down the wrong path.
Here are 39.5 recurring characteristics and traits of successful salespeople.
- How many of these apply to you?
- How many of these guidelines can you honestly say you follow?
If you are serious about achieving sales success, I recommend you post this list someplace where you can see it every day. Read it and practice these principles until they become a way of life.
39.5 Rules of Sales Success (reprinted from The Sales Bible)
- Establish and maintain a positive attitude…The first rule of life. Your commitment to a positive attitude will put you on a path to success that will be unstoppable. If you doubt it, you don’t have a positive attitude. A positive attitude is not just a thought process, it’s a daily commitment. Get one.
- Believe in yourself…If you don’t think you can do it, who will? You control the most important tool in selling, your mind.
- Set and achieve goals…Make a plan…Define and achieve specific long term (what you want) and short term (how you’re going to get what you want) goals. Goals are the road map that will direct you to success.
- Learn and execute the fundamentals of sales…Never stop learning how to sell. Read, listen to podcasts, attend seminars and practice what you’ve just learned. Learn something new every day and combine it with hands on experience. Knowing the fundamentals gives you a choice in a sales call… Even in a relationship or partnership, sometimes a technique is needed.
- Understand the customer and meet his or her needs…Question and listen to the prospect and uncover true needs. Don’t prejudge prospects.
- Sell to help…Don’t be greedy, it will show. Sell to help customers, don’t sell for commissions.
- Establish long term relationships…Be sincere and treat others the way you want to be treated. If you get to know your customer and concentrate on his best interest, you’ll earn much more than a commission.
- Believe in your company and product…Believe your product or service is the best and it will show. Your conviction is evident to a buyer, and manifests itself in your sales numbers. If you don’t believe in your product, your prospect won’t either.
- Be prepared…Your self motivation and preparation are the lifeblood of your outreach. You must be eager and ready to sell, or you won’t. Be ready to make the sale with sales kit, sales tools, openers, questions, statements, and answers. Your creative preparation will determine your outcome.
- Be sincere…If you are sincere about helping, it will show and vice-versa.
- Qualify the buyer…Don’t waste time with someone who can’t decide.
- Be on time for the appointment…Lateness says, “I don’t respect your time.” There is no excuse for lateness. If it can’t be avoided, call before the appointed time, apologize, and continue with the sale.
- Look professional…If you look sharp it’s a positive reflection on you, your company, and your product.
- Establish rapport and buyer confidence…Get to know the prospect and his company; establish confidence early. Don’t start your pitch until you do.
- Use humor…It’s the best tool for relationship sales I have found. Have fun at what you do. Laughing is tacit approval. Make the prospect laugh.
- Master the total knowledge of your product…Know your product cold. Know how your product is used to benefit your customers. Total product knowledge gives you the mental freedom to concentrate on selling. You may not always use the knowledge in the sales presentation, but it gives you confidence to make the sale.
- Sell benefits, not features…The customer doesn’t want to know how it works as much as he wants to know how it will help him.
- Tell the truth…Never be at a loss to remember what you said.
- If you make a promise, keep it…The best way to turn a sale into a relationship is to deliver as promised. Failure to do what you say you’re going to do, either for your company or your customer is a disaster from which you may never recover. If you do it often, “the word” gets out about you.
- Don’t down the competition…If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing. This is a tempting rule to break. The sirens are sweetly singing. Set yourself apart from them with preparation and creativity — don’t slam them.
- Use testimonials…The strongest salesman on your team is a reference from a satisfied customer. Testimonials are proof.
- Listen for buying signals…The prospect will often tell you when he is ready to buy – if you’re paying attention. Listening is as important as talking.
- Anticipate objections…Rehearse answers to standard objections.
- Get down to the real objection…Customers are not always truthful, they often won’t tell you the true objection(s) at first.
- Overcome objections…This is a complex issue – it’s not just an answer, it’s an understanding of the situation. Listen to the prospect, think in terms of solution. You must create an atmosphere of confidence and trust strong enough to cause (effect) a sale. The sale begins when the customer says no.
- Ask for the sale…Sounds too simple, but it works.
- When you ask a closing question, SHUT UP…The first rule of sales.
- If you don’t make the sale, make a firm appointment to return…If you don’t make the next appointment when you’re face to face, it may be a long hard road to the next one. Make some form of sale each time you call.
- Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up…If it takes between five and ten exposures to a prospect before a sale is made, be prepared to do whatever it takes to get to the 10th meeting.
- Redefine rejection…They’re not rejecting you, they’re just rejecting the offer you’re making them.
- Anticipate and be comfortable with change…A big part of sales is change. Change in products, tactics and markets. Roll with it to succeed. Fight it and fail.
- Follow rules…Salespeople often think rules are made for others. Think they’re not for you? Think again. Broken rules will only get you fired.
- Get along with others (co-workers and customers)…Sales is never a solo effort. Team up with your co-workers and partner with your customers.
- Understand that hard work makes luck…Take a close look at the people you think are lucky. Either they or someone in their family put in years of hard work to create that luck. You can get just as lucky.
- Don’t blame others when the fault (or responsibility) is yours… Accepting responsibility is the fulcrum point for succeeding at anything. Doing something about it is the criteria. Execution is the reward (not the money – money is just the by-product of perfect execution).
- Harness the power of persistence…Are you willing to take no for an answer and just accept it without a fight? Can you take no as a challenge instead of a rejection? Are you willing to persist through the 5-10 exposures it takes to make the sale? If you can, then you have begun to understand the power.
- Find your success formula through numbers…By determining how many leads, calls, proposals, appointments, presentations, and follow-ups it takes to get to the sale. And then following the formula.
- Do it passionately…Do it the best it’s ever been done.
- Be memorable…In a creative way. In a positive way. In a professional way. What will they say about you when you leave? You always create a memory. Sometimes dim, sometimes bright. Sometimes positive, sometimes not. You choose the memory you leave. You are responsible for the memory you leave.
The 39.5 characteristic is the most important of them all – Have Fun!… You will succeed far greater at something you love to do. Doing something you enjoy will also bring joy to others. Happiness is contagious.
Not following the rules leads to slow but sure failure. It doesn’t happen all at once. There are degrees of failing. Here are 5 of them. What degree are you?
- Failing to do your best.
- Failing to learn the science of selling.
- Failing to accept responsibility.
- Failing to meet quota or pre-set goals.
- Failing to have a positive attitude.
Success is a level of performance and a self-confidence brought about by winning experiences. Failure is not about insecurity. It’s about lack of execution. There’s no such thing as a total failure.
Zig Ziglar has an answer, “Failure is an event, not a person.”
Vince Lombardi said it better, “The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare to win.”
The guy who won the 100 meters dash in the last Olympics, did it in just under 10 seconds. Ten seconds isn’t too long to run in a race, but how long did it take him to prepare to run it? Do you have the same will to win? I hope so.
(P.S. They never remember the name of the guy who came in second.)
~ Jeffrey H. Gitomer
