No Soliciting?

One of the most bizarre experiences you can have as a salesperson is to be out prospecting, locate the intended business you wish to call on, and see a sign that says... NO SOLICITING. Depending on what you sell, and who you sell for, this may be a non-issue. However as a sales professional you have to be perplexed at a business, I mean a BUSINESS posting one of these signs. Homes - okay. Businesses - NOT okay.

For those sales pros who go out and beat the streets once and a while (or everyday) for business this sign emits one of the most confusing messages I've ever come across in 20 years of being in the business world.

I'm selling not soliciting? Is a Girl Scout with a wagon full of "Thin Mints" soliciting? Who is soliciting and what exactly are they doing!

Selling is the backbone of the American Economy. To see small, medium or large businesses posting no soliciting signs makes me crazy. If you have one in your office it's your duty as a sales person to take it when no one is looking and trash it! We've got to stick together!

TK

Quote of the Week

"Some of the most negative experiences between buyer and seller come at the hands of the salesperson who does not properly qualify before they present..."

Tom Kauffman

Yep - I get credit for this one and have been preaching the absolute necessity to qualify to new salespeople for years. Not only does improper qualification result in "no sale" and "no money" - failing to qualify before presentation is a major contributor to the poor image good sales professionals battle everyday.

Qualification is not only the key to making a sale, Tom Hopkins says that it's "the key to high production."

TK

Quote of the Week

W. Clement Stone said...


"Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman, [salesperson] not the attitude of the prospect."


What a simple yet direct reminder that as sales professionals we make the key moves in the game of selling, and those moves are based on how we are thinking at the time we are playing. Too often we let sales go nowhere because we believe the sale has nowhere to go...

The difference? Our attitude.

Prejudging a client or an opportunity is one of the worst things we can do in selling. Since our thoughts determine our actions, what will be the result of a presentation where we believe a prospect is unqualified or will never say yes to our offering? Ninety percent of the time - exactly as we thought.

It seems there are so many quotes dealing with attitude and it's role in selling. In fact if you Google the two words together you get 2,030,000 hits. That's a lot of references to sort through put if you just move through the first ten pages I guarantee you'll have enough information to train yourself or your team for months!

TK