Selling Skills: Giving 100% By Mark Bowser

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.”

Do you know any sales people who never give it their all? They are always looking for the short cut, the easy way, the fastest way. Well, selling is hard work. The quickest, easiest, fastest way is not always the most productive way. A short cut is not a short cut if you “cut” corners. Give it your best and watch the sales orders come in.

I would now like to invite you to receive my seminar "The Keys to Empowered Leadership" on MP3 download free when you sign up for our Free Take Action Sales Newsletter. You can register at TakeActionSales.com.
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Mark Bowser is one of the top Sales Trainers and Speakers in the world today. He is the author of three books Power Nuggets, Unlocking the Champion Within, and Three Pillars of Success. You can visit him at www.MarkBowser.com.

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Sales Training: The Law of Averages by Mark Bowser

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 grew up in Indiana where basketball is king. In fact, my hometown of Anderson has the second largest high school basketball gym in the nation. The “Wigwam” holds just under 9,000 people. The largest high school gym is just 30 minutes down the road in New Castle where their field house seats around 9,300 people. We take our basketball seriously. We also use the Law of Averages. It is called free throw percentage. Games are won and lost at the free throw line.

Games are won and lost in the business world too. Not at the free throw line, but in how we use the Law of Averages. Let’s say that you talk to one hundred people about your business. Two out of those one hundred become new customers of yours. Now you have a ratio. Two out of every one hundred people that you talk with will become a customer. That is exciting! Why? Because the Law of Averages tends to repeat itself. It is consistent. There is a great chance that if you talk with another 100 hundred people, you will gain two more new customers.

I know what you are thinking, “Mark, how can you be so excited? It is only two percent.” Yes, it is only two percent, but it is a place to start. In time, it might be four percent, and then eight percent, and so on. How do you change the Law of Averages? By getting better. By growing. By learning Influence, Leadership, and Sales skills. Also, we have to remember, that those original two percent are going to talk about us. So, if we create them into loyal customers then that word of mouth is going to bring in even more new customers.

There is also a lot of other ways to sell and market. What if you reached your prospects by sending out direct mail pieces and post cards, voice broadcasts, billboards, etc…? How we use the Law of Averages can be endless. It also helps us know how to use our marketing/sales dollars best. Let’s say that we send out two different post cards to one thousand people each time. By using the Law of Averages, we can see which post card works best. A change in the wording or a change of look can make a big difference to the response rate.

The Law of Averages is great! Begin to use it for your advantage and you will be amazed how much more successful your business will become.

I would now like to invite you to receive my seminar "The Keys to Empowered Leadership" on MP3 download free when you sign up for our Free Take Action Sales Newsletter. You can register at TakeActionSales.com.
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Mark Bowser is one of the top Sales Trainers and Speakers in the world today. He is the author of three books Power Nuggets, Unlocking the Champion Within, and Three Pillars of Success. You can visit him at www.MarkBowser.com.

-What are some ways you can use the Law of Averages to skyrocket your sales career? Let your voice be heard by sharing your thoughts in the comments section below.

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The Only Qualifying Question You Really Need By Mike Brooks

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.

While this may sound basic and simple enough, you'd be amazed by how many sales reps still don’t do this correctly. There are a ton of reasons why, but in order to simplify the entire process, I'm going to give you the one question that will get your prospect to tell you exactly what they are looking for (and what they're not looking for as well). And here it is:

During the course of your qualifying, simply ask your prospect, "_________, if you could wave a magic wand right now and fix (or get) three things that would help your (sales process, bottom line, productivity - whatever is appropriate for your prospect), what would you wish for?"

Now shut up and listen. You will be amazed by what comes next. My experience is that my prospect immediately begins telling me exactly what
they are looking for. As I listen carefully, I'm asking myself if my services can actually help them, or if they have issues that are outside of my range of services - like more procedural or accounting/process based.

If they are telling me something that I know I can't help them with, then I know they are not going to be a buyer. If this is the case, I try to find them a resource and move on.

If, however, they tell me things that I know I can help them with, then, after waiting until they are completely done, I will then give them the good news:

"__________ I'm glad you shared that with me, and I've got some great news for you. The Top 20% customized training program we're talking about addresses those wishes perfectly and let me tell you why. First of all...."

I then go over, point by point, exactly how my training matches up with their expressed needs/desires, and I specifically use their exact wording back to them as much as I can (I was taking notes as they spoke!).

This technique works especially well in today's economy because it gets your prospect to open up and start talking. And, of course, it gets them to reveal why they will or won't be a deal for your product or service.
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Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: MrInsideSales.com

* Order your copy of Mike Brooks' Audio Program The Secrets of the Top 20% | How To Double Your Income Selling Over The Phone...

-Leaving a comment below is a great way to share your thoughts on the article you just read. It's a great way to get to know other sales professionals who frequent here.

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Sales Training: Keeping the Worms Warm By Mark Bowser

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.

Around mid-afternoon a young boy arrived. He confidently walked onto the ice and cut himself a hole between the two experienced fishermen. The boy had barely dropped his line in the water when he pulled up a fish. Then he pulled up another one... and another... and another.

The two men were very confused about all of this. Finally, one of the men walked up to the boy and asked, “Young man, we have been here for hours and haven’t even had a nibble. You show up and have success after success. What’s your secret son?”

The boy looked up at the man and said, “Mmmm hmmm yhmm!”

“I didn’t quite make that out son, what did you say?”

The boy repeated, “Mmmm hmmm yhmm!”

With a puzzled look on his face the man said, “I am sorry I can’t understand you. Will you please speak a little more clearly?”

The boy spat a large amount of a brown substance into the palm of his hand and then looked up at the man and said, “You gotta keep your worms warm!”

Just as with eggs and worms, we need to keep our sales warm. We have to service our customers continually if we want to keep them. Many times, we had to continually knock at the same door before that potential customer became a client.

What I am trying to say is that we can’t count our sales success before it happens but we can plan for it, expect it, work for it, and serve for it. The name of the game is servanthood. If you will serve your prospects and clients then you are successful and you will close many, many sales!

I think it was Dr. Robert Schuller who said, “Find a need and fill it.” There are plenty of needs out there. Find them, fill them, and your needs will be filled too. As the Biblical law says, “Give and it shall be given to you.”

I would now like to invite you to receive my seminar "The Keys to Empowered Leadership" on MP3 download free when you sign up for our Free Take Action Sales Newsletter. You can register at TakeActionSales.com.
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Mark Bowser is one of the top Sales Trainers and Speakers in the world today. He is the author of three books Power Nuggets, Unlocking the Champion Within, and Three Pillars of Success. You can visit him at www.MarkBowser.com.

-Are you making sure you're truly serving your customers? Please consider sharing some of the ways you serve others in your sales career.

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