memorable sale
A Well-Bread Sale How one precall message clinched the deal
PHILLIP PROCTOR
At a Toastmasters meeting, another club member ap- proached me about a printing job for her direct-mail com- pany. As vice president of sales and marketing for a com- mercial printing company, I was interested in the sample she showed me. “Is it something you can handle?” she asked. When she told me her company produced 30 mil- lion direct-mail pieces per month – at a total printing cost of more than $1 million each month – I said, “Of course.” However, I still had to convince the chief operating officer of her company that we were the best choice for the job. To create interest in setting up a meeting, I routinely use a corny but effective prop: a simple bag of bread with a note that reads, “Our clients say we’re the greatest thing since ... sliced bread.” It’s a little out of the box, but it works as an immediate door opener.
SELLING TIP
Beat Procrastination Three ways to change your off-putting habits
If you’re guilty of putting off until tomorrow what you could do today, listen up. Before you can effectively cope with procrastination, you must realize it’s happen- ing; then, categorize it. Putting off tasks generally falls into three categories: 1) things you can control 2) things you can influence 3) things you can merely plan for
Decide which category your task falls into; then, start your plan of attack. By taking some sort of action, you will almost immediately feel better about yourself – and get more done. Here are three ways you can painlessly and success- fully overcome procrastination. Do tomorrow what you don’t get done today. Realize
that it’s not always possible to complete everything in one day. If you can’t finish a task, return to it tomorrow. This isn’t really procrastination as long as you return to the task and finish it (emphasis on the “finish”). Pick the best time to do something and then work on it during that time. Don’t feel guilty about not complet- ing the task. If the project requires more time than you currently have to devote to it, return to it at a later date and complete it.
Prioritize by determining those things that are impor- tant to you and putting them at the top of your list. At the same time, place the low-priority and trivial items at the bottom. Successful sales professionals address those things that produce results – and ignore, delay, or delegate minor issues.
The comic strip character Pogo once observed, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Recognizing pro- crastination is the first step in eliminating it.
– WILLIAM F. KENDY This time, with so much at stake, I decided to do a little
extra research. With a quick call to the secretary of the COO, I learned he was Jewish. Instead of sending my normal bakery bread, I sent a fresh loaf of challah bread. The results were incredible. The COO’s secretary called me – soon after my package arrived – with an invita- tion to come to the office that afternoon. The COO was absolutely ecstatic. He thought it was the boldest, most creative introduction he’d ever seen. Even though he had been about to commit to another company, he’d changed his mind at the last minute and insisted on splitting all the work between the two companies. With the good recommendation from my fellow club member and the initiative I showed in the sales process, I had closed the sale even before making the call.
To Think About
Your thoughts predict your outcomes. Think useful thoughts.
SELLING POWER JULY 2015 | 5 © 2015 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.
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