Barris starts by acknowledging the


clients’ ad. For example, she says she had been going through a certain magazine, “and I saw your ad. That’s a nice-looking piece of equipment.” She then builds rapport by asking questions about the type of equip- ment her company would like to sell them: “I noticed that, in the photo, you’re currently buying a blower for your equipment. Who are you buying your blowers from? How many do you purchase? Have you been satisfied? Do you have any concerns?” Next, she addresses any concerns by briefly describing one or two unique features about her product. Then she tells the prospect something special about the company (for example, it is a family- owned business) and a story about a competitor who switched to buying from her company. Natural enthusiasm and a thorough knowledge of your own product and competing ones are helpful. Honesty is an important reason why


Barris reps gets prospects interested in meeting with her. Barris explains, “Some competitors manipulate facts and figures to suit their needs. When my reps show prospects the reality of


SELLING TIP Believe It!


A lot of people will tell you that a combination of knowl- edge and skill is the key to human achievement. Even with generous amounts of knowledge and skill, human achievement is still impossible without one other ingredient: belief. Without belief, nothing will happen. Long before Columbus sailed to the Americas, scien-


tists had already proven that the world was round, and we now know that more than a few people probably circumnavigated the Earth before Columbus but without knowing they had done so. Until the time of Columbus, however, nearly all well-informed people believed the Earth was flat, and because of that widespread belief, it might as well have been flat for all those centuries. Then Columbus made his historic voyage, and from that time on, the impossible gave way to the commonplace. When I was a kid, Glenn Cunningham had come


VIDEO: UNLOCK YOUR SALES POTENTIAL WITH INSIGHTS FROM 100 PHDS


a given situation, they realize we are not afraid to tell the whole truth. “Product quality is based on facts.


We give people straight facts, even if it means saying something bad about our own products. I’ve said, ‘Don’t even consider this product we offer. Our price is too high. But please con- sider this other product we offer. It re- ally is the best product for your needs – and here’s why.’ This establishes our


honesty and credibility. Frequently, it leads not only to sales and an ongo- ing relationship, but also to referrals to other possible clients.” Even if prospects aren’t ready for an appointment now, by keeping in touch, Barris’s reps may be able to sell them later. In the meantime, they send out literature and follow up with infor- mation about other Barris products that may interest the prospects. 


closer to running a four-minute mile than anyone else. But Glenn Cunningham believed that a four-minute mile was impossible. Coaches, doctors, anthropologists, and other athletes concurred until Dr. Roger Bannister disproved them all. Not too long after his achievement, it became commonplace for several people to run the mile in less than four minutes in a single race – yet still lose to even faster runners. In the 1860s, Dr. I. P. Semmelweiss said that, if doc- tors simply washed their hands, fewer women would die from what was then called “childbed fever.” But even in the face of solid evidence, the medical profession believed that Dr. Semmelweiss was mistaken. They flatly refused to wash their hands and thus condemned their patients to needless suffering and death. If all things are possible to one who believes, isn’t it


equally true that nothing is possible to him who doesn’t believe? Although non-believers achieve things now and then, if they persist in their belief that something can’t be done, their subconscious minds will make them right. – JOSEPH P. KLOCK


SELLING POWER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025 | 7 © 2025 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27