It has been said, “Nothing happens in America until first something is sold.”

There is a lot of truth in that statement. But often I see that many sales are unconscious and not on purpose.

We all know those, on both sides of the sales equation, who are confused about value and cost. Many salespeople I meet believe that price is the one thing that determines the success of their selling.  “If he, the owner, would just sell at a lower price then I could make more sales.”

It’s my belief that the price driven market is not filled with salespeople at all but order takers. Sales is the art of persuasion, and it is an art.

Just as athletes measure their performance and the results so that they can improve so should salespeople.

Among those elements a salesperson should measure are the following:

1. pre-qualifying leads. When marketing provides a lead, it is to the benefit of the salesperson to analyze the probability of success they might enjoy.

There are indicators which, when discovered, will help the salesperson to estimate the percentage of possible success.

Among these are:

1. Age
2. Gender
3. Marital status
4. Income
5. Employment
6. Owner or Renter
7. Immediacy of need

How often is the salesperson successful with each of the preceding indicators?

1. Some elements of the sales call

1. Observation skills: Can the salesperson, like Sherlock Homes, deduce from the surrounding of the prospect (type of houses on the street, upkeep and care of the home, boats in the yard and pictures on the wall) what kind of people these are and what approach would be best suited for success?

• Questioning skills: Does the salesperson ask questions which provide indicators of need or other readiness to buy signals. Do question clarify objections the prospect may have to a purchase? How often does this work?

• Answering skills: Does the salesperson have the ability to clearly respond with solutions to needs or emotional and rational responses to objections the prospect may offer?  What is the number or percent of success?

• Closing Skills: Can the salesperson ask for the order and help the prospect to make a buying decision? How often does this happen per every ten calls?

• Close rate: Out of all the appointments with prospects, what number or percentage purchased?

• Mining for referrals: Sometime after the completed sale, what is the percent or number of qualified prospects a salesperson gets from a completed sale?

If a salesperson was to track his success with these elements of the sales experience and use the results of the tracking analysis to modify his behavior, then like the athlete he would have a conscious approach to sales and would be doing things on purpose.

 Some with interesting methods for improvement in business or self.

When I find a book that you should read, I’ll share.

Here is one.

Raving Fans

A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service

By Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles

Three years after Business Navigators was born Ken Blanchard wrote a book and ever since that time, I have used the concept when I talk to clients, workshop participants and people on elevators.

I ask, “If you believe in the goal of having Satisfied Customers, please raise your hand”. Usually everyone in the room raises their hand and then I say, “I’d like to change your mind because I believe you don’t want satisfied customers you want ‘Raving Fans’ and then I quote Ken Blanchard’s words.

“Your customers are only satisfied because their expectations are so low and because no one else is doing better. Just having satisfied customers isn’t good enough anymore. If you really want a booming business, you must create Raving Fans.”

Those words were published twenty years ago and, in my view, not many really people in business have changed their behavior.

What a wonderful opportunity if you were to read this book and use the ‘Three Magic Secrets of Creating Raving Fans, the ultimate in customer service’!

The book is a delightful read because like “The Goal” it is written as a story of encounters between ‘The Area Manager and Charlie his Fairy Godmother. “You can’t be my Fairy Godmother you’re a man” said The Area Manager.

I love Charlie’s response. It’s on page 4 and has something to do with Celestial Equal Opportunities Legislation.

Here are the ‘Three Magic Secrets’ but you really will have to read the book to fully understand what they mean.

1. Decide what you want.
2. Discover what the customer wants.
3. Deliver Plus One.

By the end of the book, The Area Manager has achieved his new goal and is told by the president of the company, “You’re a customer service genius and I want you to do for the company what you’ve done for your department. So, you will replace our retiring Executive Vice-President. Tell me, where will you start?

“Well,” said the Area Manager beaming with pleasure. “Let’s just close our eyes and spend a few minutes visualizing our customers using our products.”