Friday, January 25, 2008

Top Producers Never Say, "I Already Know That"

"I already know that" is a success killing phrase. When you tell yourself or think to yourself that you already know whatever your hearing or learning, you better think again. In my experience those words are the precursor to a humbling experience.

As a professional sales coach, some people will actually unsubscribe from my free email course. Shock of all shocks, right. It doesn't happen often, and when it does I'll sometimes get a comment about how they already know this stuff or they've heard this stuff before.

I immediately know a lot about the other person. I know that the person who just made that comment is an average or below average sales person and that they'll never be a top producer. You see top producers in sales or anything take a different approach.

Do you think Tiger Woods was born with or has developed a body so physically superior to all other humans that it makes him the best golfer in the world? I highly doubt it. What I do believe is that there are subtle differences about Tiger that make him superior: his attitude, his application of techniques, and his commitment to continuous improvement.

Sales is as old as man himself and there aren't really any new ideas. Professional sales coaching helps you to make those subtle differences in your attitude, in your application of proven techniques, and in your commitment to continuous improvement so you can get where you want to be. Coaching can help everyone, but not everyone is coachable.

Instead of telling yourself you already know something ask, "what can I learn from this that I may have overlooked in the past that will help me to get where I want to be"? As you read that if you didn't immediately experience a big difference in how you think about things read it again and again until you get it. Top producers know how to sell, but they work on the fine and subtle details that make all the difference in their results.

Overcoming the Customer's Indifference

Obstacles to sales success are everywhere and like every other business owner you have to find a way to overcome them.

Have you looked at the obstacles that are holding your business back? Frequently we find the biggest obstacles are not the obvious ones like competition from other companies in your niche but the biggest obstacle to business is actually your customer himself or at least the customers indifference.

In order to overcome customer inaction and make that sale you need to get the prospects attention and interest, you need to prompt their desire for your product, you need to get them to trust you and finally you need to get them to take action. In short you need to give your prospects the information and motivation they need to get them more likely to take action and buy the product or service.

Grab their attention and interest by talking about the problem or task they face in their own terms and language. Let them see you have been there yourself and you absolutely understand how it is to be in that position. Then tell them just how it is you can help, the options you have available and how you are ready to assist, how good your product or service is and what great results it has produced for others in the same position.

By demonstrating what their results are going to be and how much better their situation is after purchasing your product or service you stimulate desire for the product. Remember, your prospect needs to be reminded of how good things will be after they have purchased your product in order to make the decision an emotional one. Depending on your particular product or service it might be appropriate to think about giving free samples, free trials or teasers of some description you can stoke their desire to try your product even more.

If you can instill trust you will be much more likely to make the sale. Use testimonials from previous happy clients in your marketing efforts whether on your website or other advertising materials. Seeing other customers speak well of your product or service helps to instill a measure of trust and therefore overcome the natural reluctance barrier.

When it comes to a potential purchase most of us tend to procrastinate until later. By giving your prospect a compelling reason to act immediately, you can close the sale and move on to the next. There are some techniques you can try to prompt action such as a time limited offer or a bonus or discount for acting immediately which can be very effective.

So overcome the obstacle of customer indifference by remembering those key points you have to address in order to maximise your business. Grab their attention and interest, stoke their desire, gain their trust and prompt them to action.