salesperson worth their salt can’t make two more calls per day? “It ultimately boils down to simply making a few more calls each week,” says Johnson, “As managers, it’s our challenge to make sure that making new calls is a regular part of our sales- person’s weekly routine.”


Johnson advises that salespeople need to be creative in squeezing out a few more calls a day. That may entail seeing or calling a prospect early in the morning, later in the day, hav- ing a breakfast meeting, or – heaven forbid – even making some calls on a weekend.


“When I was directly selling news- paper advertising, I’d spend some time on a Saturday stopping in at prospective advertisers,” says John- son. “Sometimes I even had my kids in tow, but the prospects didn’t seem to mind.”


Johnson also encourages her sales


staffs not to forget about past nega- tive responses.


“Customers’ needs change, and, just because they said no to a sales- person a few months ago doesn’t mean that they don’t have a need today,” says Johnson. “That’s espe- cially true in the newspaper business, where we’re continuously coming out with new special sections and other advertising opportunities.” “We do a series of things in pros- pecting,” says Randall. “One of the main things is to get a lot of referrals; that is the cornerstone of our busi- ness. I’ve committed to ask every customer in my inner circle to refer just one of their best friends or close associates to me. “We work very hard to create strong


relationships, and it pays off when it comes to referrals,” says Randall. “Because of those relationships, when I ask for referrals, many of my custom- ers will take the initiative and volun- tarily call that person and tell them to expect a call from Willie.” Referrals are prequalified, so they


are a key to increasing sales. “Some- times our advertising salespeople don’t ask for referrals because they


feel that they’re being pushy,” notes Johnson. “What they need to keep in mind is that their customers want to help them be more successful, but they need to be asked.” Randall also utilizes direct mail to


increase his prospect base so he can make more calls per week. “We buy the names of the type of customers that we’re looking for,” says Randall. “We usually mail them something very light, like a postcard, and, if we get a favorable response on the first shot, we’ll follow up with additional mailings. In the course of a block of names, we may send out seven or eight mailings. We refer to this as a ‘drip,’ and the idea is to stay in front of them and be branded. “We mail out about 100 pieces of a mailing a month, so that the numbers are manageable, and then we follow up with a cold call – but they actu-


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1. Persistence: In a multiple sale, find one ally. 2. Positive outlook: Be willing to put your credibility on the line. 3. Passionate belief in whatever you’re doing: Use confrontation if you can do it without offending.


4. Mental agility: Find out the other side’s weakness instead of the other side finding yours.


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ally aren’t ‘cold calls,’ because we’ve been sending them information on a regular basis,” says Randall. Randall feels that salespeople need to be more creative and do different things in terms of expanding their existing customer base. One thing he is considering doing is holding a golf tournament for his customers and asking them to invite a friend. “We try to do things that are not conven- tional,” says Randall. “In terms of the golf tournament, hopefully that friend could become a client.”


He also finds ways to connect with people on social media. “Any way you can connect and tell your pros- pect about you as a person and the products you represent, it’s a new way to enter into the market,” says Randall. “It’s a new way of packaging and branding yourself. So try as many ways as you can.” 


VIDEO: THE WHY BEHIND WINNING AND LOSING A SALE


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