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Two Basic Truths of Selling
There is one
basic truth to successful business and that is: "Nothing happens
until something is sold." It doesn’t matter what end of a
business you are in, if nothing is sold first, no one gets paid
a dime.
There are two
basic truths in selling. I don’t care how many times you
think you have heard these two things, or even if this is the
first time you’ve heard them, it is important that you open your
mind to what they really mean.
The first truth
is: Anytime you are in front of a prospect...they have a
problem, and you have a solution to their problem. When
you let them know that you have a solution to their problem,
they will be open to a skillful presentation of your product or
service. You can fix the problem for them, you just have
to get them to realize that the benefits you are offering are
worth the money amount you are asking.
The second truth
is: you need to establish in the customers mind that he is safe
in dealing with you. That he is going to get treated
fairly and treated well, and that he is not going to be throwing
away his money when he buys from you. You need to
establish in his mind that he is not going to lose. That
loss could either be money or embarrassment.
Now as far as
the first truth is concerned, that is basically called product
knowledge and the application of that knowledge to the customers
need. However, all that does is put you in the realm of
justifiable competition with the rest of the people doing the
same thing.
So, where does
that leave us? No question, that leaves us with you.
The individual who is representing his product or service. That
very unique person that you are, because that is the only thing
that will really set the stage for incredible sales and a very
profitable professional career.
Let’s ask four
basic questions today. The answers or development of the
answers to these questions can very well be the basis of your
success.
The first is:
1. What part of
your personality do you want to get across?
What is it that
you offer that makes you stand-out from the crowd? Why is
this so important? Well, have you ever heard of Nancy
Green? No? Oh, yes you have.
Bright friendly
smiling Nancy Green was standing the World’s Fair on its ear.
Nancy Green was born in Kentucky. As a little girl, the
thing she loved the most was to watch her mama cooking.
She quickly picked up all of her mama’s techniques and became
quite a good cook herself. She moved from Kentucky to
Chicago and that’s where she met Christopher Rutt, a
newspaperman. Chris was all excited because he had just
found a new product that he was sure would just take-off and
make him a million dollars in no time at all. But he
needed someone to represent him and show people how good this
new stuff was. So he hired Nancy. Nancy would
demonstrate his product to the visitors at the 1893 World’s Fair
in Chicago. And man, was she a hit. She not only had
a genuine skill for cooking, but her warm and appealing
personality made her presentation the most popular booth at the
fair. Hundreds of people would gather around her booth
just to watch Nancy prepare this new product. Why, they
even had to hire police to keep the crowds moving. The
fair officials ended up awarding her a medal for her
showmanship.
Chris got over
50,000 orders from Nancy’s presentation alone. She was so
good that he gave her a lifetime contract. She went on to
represent him for the next thirty years.
And if you
wonder why this ‘personality’ factor is so critical, let me tell
you that Nancy was not the prettiest of women. She wasn’t
thin, she wasn’t young and she wasn’t well dressed. More
over, she wasn’t even white. She was actually born a
slave. And in 1893 nobody could have given her a chance at
selling 50,000 orders at that fair. But she did! Her warm
and appealing personality drew people to her like, hot cakes.
For 30-years, Nancy Green was Aunt Jemima.
Now if a black
heavy set former slave dressed in a tent dress and a dew rag can
do it, imagine what you are capable of doing. People buy
from people they trust. Who is one of the most trusted
people in our lives? Our ministers, preachers. Now
who do you know that is selling a concept that is more far
fetched than what they are selling? Something you can’t
see, touch or feel. Yet we buy and we buy in mass.
We buy from those we trust. Gain the trust of your clients and
you’ll gain their business.
2. Why should
someone listen to you? What do you have to offer that is
unique and different from the others? What do you offer
that they can not get somewhere else?
Being different
and unique has its advantages. I have often heard people
who have been given the responsibility for sales in their
organizations say, that they can’t compete with the other guys.
The other guys have this or that, and we don’t have it. Or
we have this or that which makes us more expensive, so I can
compete on price. It’s time to know your advantages and
your competition’s disadvantages.
1926 - The
automobile industry was facing a real crises. Sales were
plummeting and the industry was in real trouble. The
reason? It seems that Mr. Ford’s idea was working...too
good! You see, he built his business based on the idea of
mass production and giving people a chance to own a good car at
a low price. So by 1926 most any one who wanted a car, and
could afford one, had one. And since all cars looked the
same back then, your basic black model A that is, no one was
buying new ones. Even the new ones looked the same, so
what’s the point of buying new. But that’s when the
marketing people at GM come up with the idea of changing the
design of cars every year to entice people to buy new. Not
because people needed a new car, but to have something new and
different in their driveway that the neighbors didn’t have.
It worked and it saved an industry! Other manufacturers
followed suit. Car sales bloomed again. It wasn’t
long before Mr. Ford was now on the short end of the stick and
having to change his own marketing concepts and build cars to
complete with the rest of the industry.
The history of
corporate America is chock full of examples of schemes to
manipulate consumers into not only purchasing new products but
into buying more of the same products they already use.
Like do you know why your shampoo directions say, lather - rinse
- repeat? It’s not because the shampoo is so bad that it
won’t get you clean the first time. It’s so you’ll use
more shampoo, and you do!
That brings us
to the most compelling message that you give. It is: "I
understand what you need." Once the customer or
prospect gets that message loud and clear, then your job is all
but finished and the sale made.
3. What is your
goal/purpose? Why are you here?
Are you here for
the money? If so, you are here for the wrong reason.
Money is important yes, and you have to pay close attention to
it, but you can not allow it to be the primary reason that you
do what you do. Doing so reduces you to a base that is
nearly contemptible. Moreover, it won’t take long before
the people you are trying to deal with see your true intentions.
True
happiness comes not by the possession of material things, but by
the way you relate to them.
Take the example
of Amadeo Giannini. The great San Francisco earthquake of
1906, actually did a relatively small amount of the real damage.
But that quake started a fire that destroyed nearly 70% of the
city. Thousands homeless and now, unemployed. No
government programs, darn little insurance.
There was only
one bank who was really there to help the little guy, that was
the Bank of Italy. It wasn’t really an Italian bank, but
it was owned by an Italian American. Amadeo was the
President of that very small bank and his resources were
strapped to the max, but he could not turn his back on the
people of San Francisco, whether they were Italian or not.
He leveraged everything he could and borrowed more from other
out of state banks. He loaned money to those who had nothing but
desire and honor. When no other bank would help the little
guy recover after that huge disaster Amadeo Giannini stepped up.
He provided the funds for thousands of people to rebuild their
lives. And he became a hero to all of them for it.
And why haven’t
you heard of this little bank who helped the honest hard working
people recover from the San Francisco earthquake? Oh, you
have...it’s just that Amadeo changed the name to better reflect
the kind of business he was doing now.....and it has become the
largest bank in America.....called of course....Bank of America.
4. What
obstacles do you have to overcome?
Just because
something didn’t work, doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea.
Anyone who has studied business knows that most of the tycoons
of business went broke (sometimes several times) before making
their mark on the world. Mr. Hershey failed at 6 businesses
before he founded the world’s most famous and successful
chocolate company. The history books are filled with
stories of people who failed at first, but tried again.
John Patterson
was a restaurant owner who was plagued by theft from his
employees. They kept stealing cash from him. He bought a
little gadget called the cash register and that solved his
problem. But he got the idea to sell them to other
restaurants. He sent out over 90,000 brochures, and it was
a complete failure. He was devastated. Until he
investigated and found that the very employees that were
stealing the cash at the restaurants were stopping the brochures
from getting to the owners.
So he sent out a
new letter, inviting owners to a demonstration of a new product
that would help their business. The demonstration was held
at a neutral location away from employees. As John
suspected, every restaurant owner was having the exact same
problem with cash theft. What was it that John was
selling? The very thing that kept employees honest.
The world’s first cash register. He started National Cash
Register (NCR).
Opportunity only
knocks once is a big myth, it knocks many times, but you must be
open to it. It could be
knocking for you - right now.
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