Sales people read

So how much do you read every day, week, month? You need to read about sales, sales management, and life often. Recently i had been going through some blahhhs. I realized that i was uninspired and my coworkers had even pointed out that I had lost a little of that spark they depended on for their inspiration. They also mentioned that I had not posted on here in a while. So I took their thoughts and reflections of my own to heart and asked, "what changed?" The answer is i stopped reading the ezines, books, and articles i was used to reading. I stopped getting new ideas. I stopped new opportunities and challenges from coming my way. In short, my brain got bored. Honestly, sales is pretty much the samething everyday with new people. If you sit back and say, its the same thing everyday then you will get bored like I did.

I started reading. I signed up for new sales ezines and newsletters, i met back with a sales networking team i hadnt been to in a month or two. I brought back out a book or two i had enjoyed and reread them.

I started seeing answers to questions and I started inspiring my mind, and it was ready.

Yours is ready too. Start reading.

In case youre wondering which two books i reread they were "GO for NO" and "Switch"

Contact sport

Sales is a contact sport

I am sure we have all heard this before, “In sales, you must contact as many people as possible to be successful.”  This is certainly important, but part of that mantra is contacting the right people, the other part is knowing what you are going to say.  Is the call looking to cold call and sell something or is it the kind that is going to concentrate on deepening a relationship?  Both have their places.

Developing the relationship

If you are developing a relationship, make sure you call or email and mention nothing about sales most of the time.  You will want the impact of you having an idea or desire to sell something not to be the expectation when you call.  Your relationship will not blossom if they cringe at the site of your number on their caller ID.

I’m calling to sell you something

Make sure you have a connection of some sort to the person you are calling.  Try and get a referral.  If you are calling dead cold, you need to make an impact in the first 2 sentences or your call is over.  You will have to assume what the benefit is for the prospect before the call, so some industry knowledge or research will be important.

It’s not just the phone

You cannot win at the contact sport of sales with just the phone and email.  You will need to use your network, both physical network  and your virtual one.  In person meetings work as well, but don’t forget to embrace the preferences of those you are targeting and adjust accordingly.

How much is enough?

You have to develop your own sales ratio, but if you want a place to start, in his book, “Never Eat Alone”, Keith Ferrazzi says you will not be successful in sales unless you talk to 50 people per day.

Are you talking to enough and is the conversation the best quality it can be?

Remember:

Results = Quantity of contacts x quality of the interactions x the right customer.

Sales is a contact sportI am sure we have all heard this before, “In sales, you must contact as many people as possible to be successful.”  This is certainly important, but part of that mantra is contacting the right people, the other part is knowing what you are going to say.  Is the call looking to cold call and sell something or is it the kind that is going to concentrate on deepening a relationship?  Both have their places. Developing the relationship  If you are developing a relationship, make sure you call or email and mention nothing about sales most of the time.  You will want the impact of you having an idea or desire to sell something not to be the expectation when you call.  Your relationship will not blossom if they cringe at the site of your number on their caller ID.I’m calling to sell you something Make sure you have a connection of some sort to the person you are calling.  Try and get a referral.  If you are calling dead cold, you need to make an impact in the first 2 sentences or your call is over.  You will have to assume what the benefit is for the prospect before the call, so some industry knowledge or research will be important.It’s not just the phone You cannot win at the contact sport of sales with just the phone and email.  You will need to use your network, both physical network  and your virtual one.  In person meetings work as well, but don’t forget to embrace the preferences of those you are targeting and adjust accordingly.How much is enough?  You have to develop your own sales ratio, but if you want a place to start, in his book, “Never Eat Alone”, Keith Ferrazzi says you will not be successful in sales unless you talk to 50 people per day.

Are you talking to enough and is the conversation the best quality it can be?Remember:

Results = Quantity of contacts x quality of the interactions x the right customer.

Great sellers know their closing ratio and build relationships.

Book Review – Go for No

A while back i was given a copy of the book "Go for No".  Since then i have given it to many members of my staff and even required one staff to read it.  We did a "Ryan's book club" moment on it.

The main point of the book is that being rejected is okay, and in fact, encouraged.  Knowing your own personal sales ratio is important to understanding many things in your sales.  1st, you get to understand what is normal for you.  2nd, you can start to decipher if certain approaches, or tactics on your part work better than others.  3rd, you get to discover some internal constitution that you didn't know you had.  resiliency is often under appreciated.

The read is not particularly long or expensive, and the book is widely available.  below is a link to amazon where i got it for my team.  I encourage you to read it and share liberally with others.

Book Review - Go for No

A while back i was given a copy of the book "Go for No".  Since then i have given it to many members of my staff and even required one staff to read it.  We did a "Ryan's book club" moment on it.

The main point of the book is that being rejected is okay, and in fact, encouraged.  Knowing your own personal sales ratio is important to understanding many things in your sales.  1st, you get to understand what is normal for you.  2nd, you can start to decipher if certain approaches, or tactics on your part work better than others.  3rd, you get to discover some internal constitution that you didn't know you had.  resiliency is often under appreciated.

The read is not particularly long or expensive, and the book is widely available.  below is a link to amazon where i got it for my team.  I encourage you to read it and share liberally with others.

Recommended Reading – Switch

I wanted to take a few moments to give you my impression of "Switch".  Many people may not see the connection to this book for selling.  Understand what makes people choose is an important piece of the sales puzzle.

You can read all the "wedge technique" or benefit statements rationale, but if you don't understand why people make the choices they do then you are really missing out.

The book is easy to understand and a fascinating look at society in general.  I have used this in sales as well as the sales coaching I do with my team