What list is hotter than the hot prospec list?

Written By Jeffrey Gitomer
@GITOMER

KING OF SALES, The author of seventeen best-selling books including The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, and The Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude. His live coaching program, Sales Mastery, is available at gitomer.me.

What list is hotter than the hot prospect list? Make a list. Everyone does it. A “to-do” list, a “hot prospect” list, a “customer” list, a “books you want to read” list, even “David Letterman’s top-ten” list. What lists are you preparing? Are they helping your business? Or are they just getting in the way? Just to satisfy my curiosity about lists; how many of you stay up to watch Letterman, and won’t turn it off until you hear the top ten list? Put me on that list, too. In sales there is the hot prospect list. That’s a list that EVERY salesperson makes. Those prospects or existing customers that are his or her prime targets for the week. That is a bogus list. Hot? Hot for who? Why don’t you make a list of customers and prospects that are hot for you? That’s a better and more honest definition of the word “hot.” It’s also a much (much) smaller list. In fact, there may be no one on it. But it’s certainly a list you’d want to grow. Well, I have prepared a list of lists for this week’s offering. And they will hurt. But after you get over the pain of the fact that you don’t have ANY of them, and the pain that they are disgustingly obvious, they will help you make a ton more sales, and keep customers loyal. Oh, they will also improve your company and keep your employees happier. Cool. One problem. They will require work. Individual work, and team work. And by the way, these lists are not optional. If your competition reads this and makes the lists, and you don’t, they will kick your ass. The first lists are about the sale:

1. List your ten MOST powerful questions.(NOTE: If you can’t pull out the list off your computer or out of your briefcase, don’t even bother reading the rest of this, it will only make you more angry.)

2. List the questions you ask that your competition DOESN’T ask.

3. List what you say in your sales pitch that your competition DOESN’T say.

4. List what your ads say that your competition’s ads DON’T say.

5. List what your brochure says that your competition’s brochure DOESN’T say.Blank papers so far? Easy list:

6. List your ten most common sales objections.Hard list:

7. List your BEST responses to common sales objections.Harder list:

8. List the BEST responses to your most commonly asked questionsHardest lists:

9. List your most powerful sales statement.

10. List your most powerful business attraction statement Five lists of five:

11. List five ways you ask for the sale.

12. List five ways you follow up after the sales presentation but before the sale.

13. List five ways you follow up after the sale.

14. List five personal ways you provide value to customers between sales.

15. List the five best places you network for new prospects. And now the big three — the sales three… the three that answer the question “why should I deal with (buy from) you?”

16. List your “difference” — the real difference between you and the competition. These differences can be both real and perceived.

17. List the “value” you provide to the prospect or customer BEFORE the sale.

18. List the “value” you provide after the sale. And an un-thought-of list that could be the most powerful of them all, if enacted

19. List the profit you can make the customer.(NOTE: Do they want your product or do they want to make a profit?) OK, there’s a list of lists. Most of them are as painfully obvious as they are painfully blank. Fill them out as fast as you can. Most of them you should have had years ago. And a final list. A personal one:

19.5 List the ways you intend to get better at what you do over the next six months. Limit the list to less than five do-able actions or tasks. Do one of the improvement items a day, each day of the week. One small dose of everything each week. One of the coolest parts of lists is that they both remind and memorialize. Your opportunity is to take advantage of the information. Before your competition does.
Free GitBit… Want a few more lists and challenges? A GitBit GitList (smile). A to-do list. A smart question list. And a customer service list. Sure you do. Go to www.gitomer.com (register if you’re a first time user) and enter the word GITLIST in the GitBit box. Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Sales Bible, and Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts internet training programs on selling and customer service at www.trainone.com. He can be reached at 704/333-1112 or e-mail to salesman@gitomer.com. Sign up to receive Jeffrey’s free weekly ezine Sales Caffeine at www.gitomer.com.