This could be and probably will be one of the shortest blogs I've ever written. When I used to have a lot of newbies reps around I would always ask them "what type of day is it today?".
Kinda makes you think right? I could also see the puzzled look on their faces and thinking there's got to be more than this to the weather right? Yes, most if not all of the answers to my question was weather related. Raining, sunny, cold, hot, humid and not a one gave me the answer I was looking for.
The answer is simple and should be easy to figure out when you're in the business of selling. Ah, that key word of "selling", for those that are new they don't understand the art of selling. Their early entry to the sales world is more about being an order taker because most don't know how or when to ask for the order.
Are we really teaching the art of sales anymore or are we just teaching reps about prospecting and finding opportunities?
Back in eighties when I learned it was all about asking for the order and we all understood that if we don't ask we don't get. Those who didn't get the order by asking for it and still got the order were the "order takers". Who the frak wants to be an "order taker?"
Those that listened to their clients and heard those key words; warranty, maintenance, availability, and support knew that these were buying signals and the next question of course would be the trial close. Of course it took many orders lost for us to understand what the client was trying to tell us. However over time we learned from listening and asked more questions that would lead to a yes.
Is there a moral to this? Well yes and no, times have changed from those days when you had to sell a client hard and on the spot. We've learned to be a bit more patient and be more consultative in our approach. That's a great thing, but from time to time we still need to ask those closing questions that move the order into the win column. If you don't ask you don't get.
Ah yes, the answer to the question is. It's a Great Day to Sell Something!
-=Good Selling=-
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