Posts from — February 2009

There is a wonderful sales lesson in a story I found about Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln once took a sack of grain to a mill whose owner was said to be the laziest man in Illinois. Abe watched the man for a while and then finally commented, “I can eat the grain as fast as you’re grinding it.”

The owner of the mill grunted and said, “Indeed; and how long do you think you could keep that up?”

Abe looked at the man and replied, “Until I starve to death.”

If you put your sales message in front of one person, you will reap a small harvest. If you put your sales message in front of 10,000 people, you will reap a larger harvest.

Understanding and using the Law of Averages leads to more sales and customers for your business. How? When you take an action enough times, a ratio of statistics will begin to introduce itself. Let me explain.

I always tell sales reps that your client or prospect has all the answers as to why they will or why they won’t buy, and that it’s your job to find that information out.

You do this by asking the right qualifying questions, by layering those questions, by qualifying any red flags you get and by actually listening to the answers you’re given.

You can’t count your chickens before they hatch but you can at least keep the eggs warm. I never count it a sale, until the contract and payment is in my hand. Only then, can I feel confident that the sale has been officially made.

There is a story of two experienced fishermen who decided to go ice fishing. They walked onto the ice and cut two holes in the ice about 25 feet apart. They then each sat at their own hole and dropped in their lines. Nothing happened. Not even a nibble. This lack of success went on for hours.