Self Development

With the new year rapidly approaching (perhaps it’s already arrived by the time you read this article), it’s time to focus on the future and ask yourself three questions. What specifically do I want to accomplish in the new year? How will I do it? How will I know that I’m on the correct path for accomplishment? Do you want to grow your business revenues and profits? Do you want to increase your income?

Goals must be set individually. While one salesperson might be able to get 10 referrals from 10 current customers, another in the office might only get 5 referrals from 10 customers. If the first salesperson’s goal was 10 referrals and the second’s was 5 referrals, they both achieved a 100 percent. If you always focus on how far you have yet to go, it will always belittle how far you have come.

Sandler trained salespeople don’t chase prospects, don’t behave desperately by agreeing to price concessions in an attempt to get a signature, and don’t allow themselves to be used for unpaid consulting. 

A good rule for selling, and for life! When a prospect makes you feel not OK, it probably means you are following his or her system instead of the Sandler Selling System. Although, as a Sandler trained salesperson you can make yourself appear not-OK to help the prospect become OK, it is not OK to allow the prospect to challenge your self-esteem, or your “I.”

The fear of losing a sale that has yet to be completed has kept many salespeople from doing what needs to be done to actually close the sale…or close the file if the sale can’t be completed. When the selling process starts to drag on—a prospect doesn’t follow through with commitments or otherwise stalls the process—salespeople need to be assertive and address the issue with the prospect.

There seems to be a belief that the harder you work, the more you are likely to accomplish. Certainly, persistence and hard work pay off in some endeavors. Digging your way out through the rubble of a building that has collapsed around you is one example. But selling shouldn’t feel like digging through debris.

No, you’re not crazy. There really are voices in your head. Voices that keep you from doing what you need to do during your sales calls. It can be the voice of your teachers, your parents, your piano teacher, or your little league coach. Voices which have now become your own voice, collectively known as negative self-talk.