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Well, you get the picture. It is a great profession. It is an honorable profession. What you do as a sales professional ounts. What you do matters. Respect what you do; embrace the profession that you ’ve chosen, or the one that has chosen you.
Selling Didn't Come Naturally for Me
I am not a natural-born salesperson. Perhaps you aren't either. Here's the good news: there is hope for both of us! I am confident that if you have the will to learn to succeed in the world of professional selling, you can acquire the skill to succeed in the world of professional selling. That's the purpose of this book you have in your hands: to help you reach sales success.
I had to learn to be an effective sales professional. It has been hard work to learn my profession. And, I am so glad I did learn, because selling has been very rewarding to me and my family. Selling has allowed me to provide for my loved ones. Selling has allowed me to enroll my children in the university of their choice versus where I could afford to send them. Selling has literally taken me around the world. I honor the sales profession. I respect the sales profession.
However, as stated earlier, I am not a natural-born salesperson. I am jealous of those natural-born salespeople who caught on easily and didn't struggle with the stigma of being one of those "sales types." Looking back, I wouldn't trade places with the naturalborn salesperson. I am glad I had my doubts, uncertainties, and fears. (By the way, those are called DUFs. This book will teach you how to confront and overcome the DUFs.) These have made me more effective, more confident, more competent, and more successful. There is hope for the novice salesperson. There is hope for the salesperson who is struggling with moving to the next sales plateau. There is hope for the veteran sales professional who needs to be reminded what is necessary to remain a top producer. There is hope for the “non-traditional” salesperson; the person who has been mandated to sell. There is hope for the professional who doesn’t want to be a professional salesperson but must be a professional who can sell! Yes, if you have the will to succeed, there is hope for you to develop the skill to succeed.
This book provides the guidelines to do just that. If you implement the principles outlined in So, You’re New To Sales you will be able to:
To receive the best return on your investment, the following strategies are suggested:
1 Convert this book to your actual day-to-day sales environment. That is, modify the concepts/techniques into your real-world sales situations. By that I mean an example may refer to a tangible product such as automobiles, homes, computers, cell phones. Yet, you may sell an intangible (i.e., professional services, advice, insurance, warranty, protection…). You will have to use your industry knowledge to adjust the technique to your situation.
2 Try the technique more than once! To do something well you must first do it poorly. On your first few attempts, you will not be comfortable nor will you be confident with the sales skill or technique. Give yourself a chance to be successful by implementing the technique several times. You just might find that you are effective before you become comfortable!
3 Ask for advice. Ask senior sales professionals for insights into effective selling techniques. I love sales because it is such an individual activity. If I put forth a consistently effective effort, I will be consistently rewarded. Yet, I have never been successful in a vacuum. I have a team that I rely on to contribute to my success. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.
4 Contact me. My email is [email protected]. I am open to assisting you in any way I can to better your understanding and use of the principles outlined in this book.
The book is organized in easy-to-read and easy-to-apply lessons. Each lesson is designed to be brief and to the point so that you can read a section, put the book down, and go sell somebody something!
I look forward to contributing to your growth as a top producing sales professional!!!
Now, let's get started...
Are You Also an Accidental Salesperson?
I am an accidental salesperson. When I was in college, I wanted to be a high school basketball coach. All my fraternity brothers urged me to major in marketing. They told me, "You have a sales personality. You should be in sales. That's a perfect fit for you." Those words frightened me. I didn't know a thing about selling. Besides, my mother raised me the way your mother raised you. She told me, "Never talk to strangers and don't ask people for money!" (Sound familiar?) So, what did I do? I became a salesman! Talking to strangers and asking people for money is how I earn a living!
During my second senior year at Louisiana State University (I graduated in the half of the class that made the top half possible) Cyndi and I had been dating for four years and were planning to wed. But I had no job and Cyndi was spending her final semester as a student teacher. In an effort to find employment, I answered an ad in the Student Aid office for part-time work with the IBM Corporation. I was fortunate that I dressed properly for the first interview in my life. I actually wore a three-piece suit...and all three pieces matched! Again, I was lucky because I was hired despite having no experience in sales, business, or the marketplace.
I began working as a delivery boy for the IBM Corporation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This is how old I am: my first job was delivering typewriters for the Office Products Division of IBM. The division sold and serviced electric typewriters and copying machines. Yes, for you young readers, before “keyboarding” there was “typing.” My year-long, part-time job allowed us to get married, to live in married student housing, and to finish our degrees. Once I graduated, IBM hired me as a full-time sales representative.