Universal Principles For Selling Professionals
Like the seasons
Each sale has a cycle.
Some a few days
Some a few years
Prospects buying when they need to
Not when the sellers needs a sale.
Awake to the buying cycle
The Master Seller generates urgency.
By understanding fears,
frustrations
and desires,
They connect the dots
showing how they can help.
Identifying needs
They create desire.
Closing the deal
It’s done sooner rather than later.
Some say you need to take
the good with the bad.
But the Master Seller sees no difference.
Some days it rains
Some days the sun shines.
Both necessary for
For a rich harvest.
Knowing that the easy day
is balanced with the hard,
Make hay when the sun shines
For tomorrow it may rain.
I was reading a LinkedIn forum hosted by the Sales Association and it was discussing what differentiates successful sellers from the rest. Reflecting on some difficult wins I can’t help but think its a case of tenacity and discipline. The sales cycle of some deals can become quite lengthy. And often sales professionals lose interest and the deal withers away.
There is practical day to day explanation about this is in my very first blog post:
“The Master Seller listens before talking
Sells without effort
Sharing without preaching
Explaining without judging
Demonstrating without closing.
Never assuming the sale, the seller never loses one.”
The trick here is they never assume the sale is won. They keep at it; doing all the things we expect of great sales people: following up, keeping in touch, overcoming objections, and genuinely trying to serve. This kind of patience is unusual.
“If you want to speed up the sale
you must give the deal time to breath
If you want to dispel objections
you must allow them to flourish
If you want to take new business
you must give time and patience.
This is the path to success.”
Winning sales folks “stick with it”. They don’t give up. They keep at and again never assume the sales is lost.
If you’d like read more about this you can find the blog posts at https://taotechingofsales.com/2012/11/03/listening/
Most sales have problems.
It is common as spring rain,
Business as usual.
As opposed to life picking on them
The Master Seller accepts
no one is immune from adversity.
They see problems as opportunity
For growing business and wisdom.
Problems are a consequence of change.
Neither positive or negative.
Know only the unemployed Seller
Has no problems.
This is the 100th posting of this blog and quite frankly I’m surprised! I can’t help but think:
“Tenacious and deliberate
The dog barks and barks
Wearing away patience
Until the door is opened.
So too does Pat.
Accepting the thrice weekly schedule
Patiently uncovering new topics
Wearing away his complacency and laziness
Even setting aside golf at times.
Barking the blog
with resolve.”
I would like to celebrate this posting by thanking all the subscribers and readers who have been so supportive with comments and advice. I know at times these postings can be quirky and obtuse. Yet each week more people subscribe and past readers fail to hit the “unsubscribe” button. Their good will is an inspiration, their patience heroic and forever they will have my most undying appreciation.
Thank you Master Seller and best wishes,
Pat
Risk takers lose jobs
Disciplined professionals survive.
Though some risks are successful
This is not the case in the long run.
The Master Seller doesn’t exert
Yet expertly they overcome.
They hold their tongue
By listening the deal is won.
They are unhurried
Yet excel in planning.
They believe in the sales process
and honor it.
Next week I’ll be attending the the National Sales Conference hosted by the Sales Association. I attended one of these events in Chicagoland last fall and was extremely impressed by the speakers and topics. I was able to share with peers, who like myself, struggle with sales and sales management. I was also able to pick up a number of new skills and strategies that I applied immediately.
According to the website , here are some things you’ll learn during this conference:
This is probably short notice, but if you can set aside a day , you’ll not be disappointed. Again the link is https://m360.salesassociation.org/event.aspx?eventID=72512
Please leave a comment if you’ll be attending.
Some want quick answers
Others copious details
Some a relationship
Others the bottom line
Some see purchasing a necessary evil
Others a social event.
The Master Seller discovers the prospects buying style
And tunes their presentation accordingly.
Meeting the buyer where they are at
The sales process is crafted as needed.
I was talking to two car dealers this week and wanted to buy a car from one I had previously done business. I was sending both of them emails to get the best price, yet this dealer never responded. A different dealer was constantly following up, giving me information I requested, asking me to visit for a test drive. I appreciated their efforts. So much so I visited last night and they sold me a car.
“The window of opportunity
maybe wide,
It maybe narrow.
The Master Seller makes no assumptions
And follows up quick.”
This was from the post Follow Up.
Sales is a process of becoming.
Like budding trees in spring
They are constant in flux.
Shaped by deals both won and lost.
While others elect to stay the same
The Master Seller knows this is folly,
A kind of death.
They learn from past mistakes
See lost deals as tutors
For new deals yet to come.
Trusting in the process,
They are authentic with prospects
Who see the seller as honest;
A vendor here to help.
The Tao Te Ching of Sales 