In the time of telemarketing, before the 1-800-stop-calling-me-number kicked in, I was a telemarketer. My job was to close as many sales as possible in six hours a day, to make every call a sale. The trouble with goal-oriented sales is that it is very depressing, at least it was for me. Cold calls seem to always result in more "No's" than "Yes's." If my success was defined by whether or not a customer said yes, then I quickly became a failure.
Goal-oriented sales do not encourage a motivated sales environment. When you look at every no as a failure, then you will begin to loose your edge. If focusing on goals leads to unmotivated sales, then process-oriented sales is a much better alternative. This new way of looking at sales has proven to create a more motivated and effective environment for sales. Let me explain.
When you focus on cold calling as a process, then the "no's" you receive are simply part of the big picture. The big picture is finding customers that actually need your help and giving it to them. You will spend less time talking to people who don't need your help and more time with those who do. This mindset is uplifting and will put you in the mood you need to be in to make a top notch sales call. This is why process-oriented sales is in and goal-oriented sales is out.
Another attitude adjustment is to be ready to "quit" the call. When you sense the customer is done listening to you, stop talking. You will only waste time with someone who does not even need your product or service. Be ready to let go of this sale so that you can move on to the next.
One of the greatest accompaniments to sales calls and meetings is booklet printing. With a booklet, you can offer to send it to the interested customer on the phone or bring it along as a visual to face-to-face sales calls. Here are some ways to prepare for a sale with the process-oriented sales booklet:
• Booklet printing should be well thought out. The first step is to research your target audience, the people who need what your business has to offer. Look at a few costumers' web sites and sales releases. Find out who your customer is and what their world is about.
• One way to create a process-sales attitude is to use the verb form of your product. If you are selling a car, talk to your customers about driving. The idea is to focus on how your product will help your customer. Booklet printing should present the benefits of your product instead of your features. The difference is that benefits describe how the product will help the customer, while features simply list what is good about the product.
Whether you are cold calling or booklet printing, you will have far better success if your thought process is in the right place. Think of sales as helping and try to help those who need it. Learn to let go of those who don't need your help. Look at all of your attempted sales part of the process. You will find sales to be a much more pleasant atmosphere with this new attitude.
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