My whole world changed once I realised that selling was really
not hard to do. You don’t need any fancy scripts. Neither do you
need any clever closing phrases such as "which color would you
prefer blue or green?" Every sales training school I ever
attended failed to make me into a salesman. All those clever
closing techniques probably work for some, but they just did not
click with me.
Most newcomers to selling are actually scared rigid at the
thought of face-to-face selling. They just cannot survive the
constant rejection. You can never expect everyone to say "yes"
and the emphatic word "no" just destroys many good souls who
might otherwise have made their fortune from a career in selling.
The same thing happened to me, and this is why I desperately want
to tell you about it so that you too might become a real whiz at
selling.
Here’s What Happened To Me:
I had made some progress as a salesman in the retail trade. It is
much easier when prospects actually walk through the front door
of a store as they expect to be sold a product otherwise they
would have kept walking. My feelings of success in retail where
grossly overrated, because I truly believed that I could sell
anything to anyone – I was in for a big shock. The world of
selling on a commission-only basis is far removed from selling in
a store. It’s the toughest place to break ground, and usually
only the truly hard-nuts crack it.
My initial success in retail came from selling fridges powered
from an internal heated element and not a motor. Therefore, it
seemed natural to stay in that product field to progress my sales
career as a commission-only sales person. What that means is that
you do not get paid a salary, you only get a predetermined
commission on the actual sales you make yourself. It’s a tough
field for most.
However, I took such a job selling upright food freezers on
credit terms door-to-door. I worked solidly for a two whole days
and sold . . . nothing.
Every door that opened when I rang the bell, was slammed in my
face once the prospect knew I had called to sell them something.
I was just simply demoralised and had to admit defeat to myself.
I took my sales kit back to the company sales office to quit the
job, but was called into the Sales Manger’s office.
"Okay, so you want to quit?" He asked
"Yes. I’m sorry but this job is heart-breaking for me. No one
wants to listen to the pitch, and every door is shut in my face".
I explained.
"How many calls did you make today then?" He enquired
About thirty in all. I covered four blocks but not a single
taker.
"Okay". He continued. "So you got 35 people who said "NO" is that
right?"
"Yes that about the size of it. I responded".
"Will you do me a favour? Go out tomorrow morning and find 95
people who say "NO". That’s all I am asking you to do. You will
not be trying to make a sale, I just want you to mark down in
your call sheet, 95 people who say no to the deal. That’s all.
Will you just do that for me tomorrow, before you finally quit
and before I can return your kit deposit ?" He suggested
"Well I don’t quite understand why, but I need the sales kit
deposit desperately now so I suppose there’s no choice". I
replied.
The following day I trudged around the streets knocking on doors
as he had suggested, and marking off every "NO" on my call sheet.
Late into the afternoon I had made about 70 calls and just about
had enough of it all. I went into a small café for a hamburger
and coffee feeling completely dejected, but I still had 30 calls
to make, and I needed to get my kit deposit back, so there was no
real choice unless I chose to be dishonest and mark the sheet as
completed.
However, for some reason I decided to be honest and complete the
remaining calls. That was at just past 4pm and found myself still
on the patch at 8.20pm having made eight sales. I just could not
believe that I had cracked it.
With a spring in my step I walked into the Sales Office the
following day with eight signed orders complete with initial
payment checks.
"You made it then?" Asked the Sales Manager knowingly.
"If you did as I asked you should have five orders". He
continued.
"No, not five, but eight orders signed and paid". I said with
pride and not without a little arrogance.
"You’ve done well" He said. "The average is five percent of calls
made and that’s what selling is all about. For every 95 No’s
there will be five Yes’s. That’s how it works." He continued.
My commission amounted to $125 per deal. So with eight orders I
had earned a thousand dollars for a day’s work. From that point
forward I never looked back, my career in sales was only just
beginning.
There is a certain way to sell door-to-door which I had also
learned and which requires no actual "selling" as such. The
method is ideal for non-sales people and those who were like
myself – scared stiff of being constantly rejected. I call it
"The Drop-Card and Search Method". If you would like a
complimentary copy of the eBook just fill out the enquiry form at
my website at http://www.themartuk.com and I’ll be happy to send
you a download link for the complete book.
I would also love to hear from other sales people who have a
story to tell, or a technique they have used. Selling can be a
lonely job, but immensely rewarding. Sales people are the most
interesting people I have ever had the pleasure to be associated
with. Good pitching and good luck.
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