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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

QUICK TIPS TO CONQUER THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN SELLING

Salespeople were surveyed to discover what their biggest challenges were in selling. Their top answers have been compiled in this chapter. Whether one of these is an issue for you or not, or ever becomes one, you might be interested in what others suggest their challenges are and my brief thoughts on each one.

REJECTION

Rejection is not a sales issue. It is part of the human condition and an experience or illusion created by the person experiencing it. If you don’t like rejection, well that makes you more normal than abnormal. I have never met anyone who does. Also, if you think you can avoid rejection, sorry, you are on the wrong planet.

If there is something you want and you ask someone to help you with it, and that person declines, then you experience rejection. So you either walk away disappointed, rejected, and sad, or you dig in and figure out how to get that person to support what it is you want.

For example, is a homeless person rejected when he gets told no when he asks for a quarter? Maybe. Or maybe he needs to change his presentation and offer. A rich boy asks a girl out and the girl says no. Was he rejected? Maybe he needs to change his presentation and offer and not come off like the rich guy who always gets what he wants. See, in this case I took two extremes and both were told no.

I think the experience of rejection as an emotion is actually what happens when a person has a low responsibility level in getting things done. “I didn’t get what I want, so now I am going to feel sorry for myself, label it rejection, and act like a victim.” Ain’t nothing happening to you; it’s happening ‘cause of you!

How you handle rejection is the key. Try to avoid it and you are doomed because you will withdraw. If you start to think less of your product or offer after being told no, then you are being sold on someone else’s agenda. When you are told “no,” or “not yet,” or “we bought from someone else,” have you been rejected? You will only feel rejection as a negative sensation if you do not take full responsibility for the situation.

When I am told no I don’t equate it with rejection; I look at what I could do differently next time to earn their business. How could I be more effective? How could I turn this person into a customer next time? No one says to you, “I am rejecting you,” they merely say no to the offer. You are creating an illusion that it is rejection. Rejection is experienced by those unwilling to be responsible for the outcome.

NEGATIVE SURROUNDINGS

This is a major complaint from salespeople: Being surrounded by environments that are negative. The ease at which people can get into sales and then the unfortunate low demands put on sales organizations to learn the craft can create negative environments.

But all you have to do is sit in front of a TV and see that most of this planet is negative. The problem with negativity anywhere is that it is a disease and is contagious by nature, affecting everyone in its vicinity. When you put negative people into a sales environment, it is destructive to your ability to be focused, productive, and effective. The last thing a client wants is negativity. People can get that without a sales presentation. It is my belief that your clients will pay more for a positive attitude than they will for a great product.

It will be critical to your sales success that you keep your environment positive. That includes your physical environment as well as what goes on between your ears. Trust me, you will hear enough negativity from the media and clients. The last thing you need is people you work around or your family adding to it.

Make it known that you will not tolerate negative thinking or talk around you. Post it up in your office that it is not tolerated any more than you would allow someone to leave trash or filth in your space. Take a hard stance with everyone close to you: NO NEGATIVITY ALLOWED HERE. If you don’t have something positive to say, then go away until you do! Negative talk or references about clients should be against the rules and reprimanded by management. Negative talk about your product line, the company, or management should immediately indicate the person is operating as an enemy of the group. If people can’t bring solutions and improvements and all they offer is negativity, then they are enemies to you, the company, and even themselves.

DISCIPLINE

Probably the single most important factor to any success is the ability to show up day after day and do the right things. The person, company, or team that is unable to deliver disciplined actions is going to experience ups and downs.

In sales, lacking discipline is going to negatively impact your presentation, motivation, ability to predict results, follow-up, and your ability to keep your pipeline full. Lack of discipline is rampant in sales because so many sales positions are commission based. This allows the salesperson to believe he or she can self-manage and get away with spotty undisciplined activity. The economy will discipline anyone who operates with this sense of freedom. If you want sales success, you must exercise discipline. That is why I provided you with a schedule.

White space on a calendar is a disaster for the salesperson. Keep your schedule full, stay busy, and always be moving forward. Discipline the little things like when you go to sleep, when you wake up, the first thing you do each day, when you get to work, how you start each day, etc. The reason discipline is so important in sales is because there are so many random things happening, so the more stability you can personally create, the more secure you will be and the more certain your results.

THE ECONOMY

The economy is a source of concern for all sales organizations and salespeople. When times are good and people and companies are spending money, it would appear easier to sell. But in good times the competition is even more fierce. When the economy gets very tight, uncertain, and is more contracted, selling becomes more difficult because people are more careful with their expenditures.

I personally achieve more when economies are contracting than when they are expanding because it is a time for me to use my other skills, such as work ethic, discipline, and a positive attitude, to stand apart. When people are so focused on how “bad” the economy is, I am able to get accounts I might not have been able to get before. People make many mistakes during contracting economies because they incorrectly respond to contraction.

Tough economies result in contracted spending and investments, uncertainty in making decisions, tighter lending by banks, and more. This is when the professional and his skills will win the game. If you are in sales long enough, you will experience stagnant economies, great economies, and terrible economies. Be prepared for all of them. In selling, you can create your own economy rather than being a participant in what everyone else has agreed upon as the economy. Take advantage of all types of economies, because you will experience them all and they all offer opportunities.

COMPETITION

In my seminars, I am always going to have someone ask me, “What do I do about the guy who sells an inferior/similar/same product for less than I am?” My question is, “What about the competitor who has a superior product and sells for less than you!?”

My answer to the situation is, “What are you doing competing?” Don’t compete; dominate with your product, company, personality, and your offer. If you aren’t the difference maker, then others will forever outsell you with a cheaper price or better offer. No product stays superior forever! Sooner or later, someone is going to create a better X, and then you are going to experience lower prices and fewer sales followed by less success.

In my book, The 10X Rule, I talk about competition being for sissies. You don’t want to compete; you want to dominate a sector. The goal is to provide your client with so much attention, follow-up, and service that you can’t be competed with. Find a way to differentiate yourself. The value proposition should always be what you bring to the table.

A client once told me, “I can get a better deal from so-and-so.” And I said, “I don’t come with that transaction. Sign here, and let’s get on with it.” And he signed. Don’t compete; own and dominate your sector!

PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE

Products are changing so fast today it is almost impossible to keep up. Whether it is the menu in the restaurant, the 38,718 products in the grocery store, regulations on mortgages and financial products, or the technical advances of all mass-manufactured goods, product knowledge is a very big challenge to salespeople.

Regardless of the industry you are in or the product you sell, there will be advances that make your product current and appealing to your client. With that comes the challenge of staying in the know on those improvements. The only salespeople this is a problem for are those who are not committed, those who don’t make time to study up, and those who overestimate product knowledge as a sales solution.

If you aren’t committed, you are going to get crushed, and product knowledge will only be one of your excuses. If you don’t take the time to study up, you are going to lose credibility with your clients and it will be painful. And, lastly, if you overestimate product knowledge as a solution, you will be gravely disappointed.

With the advent and ease of the Internet, 90 percent of all buyers are going online to check out their next purchase or investment. With that comes both misinformation and accurate information. But the good news is that they are still requesting some information from the salesperson to assist them in making their decision. Don’t get bogged down in product knowledge, but do learn enough about the product to stay credible and also to customize your value ad proposition. Remember, very few buyers want a drill for the sake of a drill; most of them want it for the hole it will make, and even more want it because of the problem it will solve!

FOLLOW-UP

This has to be the greatest weakness of salespeople and sales organizations. More often than not, when I have an experience with a company or individual, I am not followed up. And when I am followed up, it is only once or twice, and then I am forgotten or written off as a waste of time.

Even my company errs here with not following up enough with clients. There are thousands of customer relationship management (CRM) tools that have been created with the hope of solving this problem. Some companies even hire telemarketers to ensure the follow-up.

The best salespeople I know are those who are great at following up, staying connected, staying in touch, and using creativity to keep their sold and unsold clients thinking about them. Following up someone who you just sold is one thing and offers its own challenges. Then there is following up the unsold who has not bought yet. Add to that the person who was unsold and bought from someone else. What about the person, company, or account manager who you know will buy your product in the future but has yet to show an interest?

All of these are follow-up opportunities that offer different challenges and require different creativity. Follow-up requires an undying clarity about your purpose and staying sold on yourself to get it all. I am not interested in some of the market; I want to get all of it. Great follow-up requires commitment, perpetual motivation, a can-do attitude, a never quit mentality, organizational skills, support, reminders, and lots of creativity, fortitude, and persistence.

There are clients whom I have followed up for ten years before I ever earned their business. There are clients I have now as I write this that pop into my mind whose business I have yet to earn: A book publisher, a publicly held automotive company with more than 3,400 locations, an international production company that I want to get in front of, and more. With follow-up, you don’t know when they are going to finally come around.

Staying committed and creative is key, and even more important is you staying interested and not forgetting about your clients. When you forget about them, they are certain to forget about you. Remember what I did with the greatest sale of my life—winning the date with my wife—I stayed interested, continued to find creative ways to get in front of her, and now she is stuck with me for this lifetime.

ORGANIZATION

Keeping organized is a challenge for me because I move at two hundred miles per hour and create lots of activity and unfinished cycles around me. This means I need either organization or someone else picking up the pieces and organizing the past actions and next actions to take. Moving fast doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to be organized.

I like order, as it gives me a sense of control, and I love control! Good organization skills allow you to put more in a piece of luggage and find it, or even better, to travel light, only bringing that which was needed. Organization allows me to find things faster, make contact quicker, and hopefully get more done. The type of organization that just slows things down is a different type of organization than we are talking about here.

Organization is critical in order to be able to later find things, follow up, and identify what you know about a client and where to pick up with that client. There are what seem like endless CRMs, filing, storing, and follow-up tools available today to organize you better. The issue is figuring out how to use these tools, as they are only going to put things in place for you; you will still need to dig them out.

Organization is critical to the salesperson, so take some time to make sure you record EVERY potential client interaction with cell numbers, e-mail addresses, photos, assistants’ names, hot buttons, likes and dislikes, family, and what is vital to the individual. Regardless of the outcome of your interaction, do not EVER discard data. Even when you leave your current scene, make sure you maintain those contacts because you might find you need them in the future.

Your ability to organize your space, your thinking, your clients, your office, and your own physical environment are important to organizing your success.

CALL RELUCTANCE

This is the phenomenon whereby an individual creates reasons not to actively and aggressively call on clients. Salespeople have suffered from this issue for years.

Anytime you aren’t calling on a client, you are participating in some form of call reluctance. Paperwork, organizing your desk, filing, calculating possible commissions, counting money, gossiping, and hanging out at the watercooler are just a few examples of call reluctance. This costs salespeople more than anything they will ever spend money on.

Call reluctance ultimately comes from not being constantly motivated and trained at your job as a salesperson. When you KNOW what to do, what to say, how to handle objections, get appointments, and handle stalls and other challenges, you will not experience call reluctance. The length of time someone has been doing sales does not protect him or her from call reluctance.

Salespeople who are motivated, regularly trained, and, especially, those involved in train-drill-rehearse exercises are less apt to fall victim to call reluctance. Call reluctance is not a disease and does not mean you are not cut out for sales. Call reluctance is an indication of a lack of training, motivation, and education that builds confidence in the sales professional.