As I have mentioned in several of my previous posts, I started my sales career selling accident insurance plans door-to-door in rural communities. We had a crappy product that would cover someone for six months for a mere $30, so you can imagine how awesome that plan was (sarcasm is my forte).
When we were able to find someone who was home and was willing to listen to our presentation, the entire process took about half an hour. Our sales manager insisted we give 10 presentations a day, or my interpretation, which was to talk to 10 people a day. The only way to give 10 people presentations was to group them together. For instance, if I could find a small garage with a couple of mechanics, I would try to talk to them at the same time.
The point of all of this was, as my sales manager would say between his frequent tobacco spitting, was that sales is a "numbers game". This genius, who also would tell us not to get "flustrated", whatever the hell that meant, was trying to teach us to stay active. Activity is the key to success in sales.
"I promise you, if you give 10 presentations, you'll sell some policies!" he would say with his mouth full of chew. He wasn't too specific on the numbers, but we were supposed to trust his wisdom, even though the driver's side of his car was splattered with brown tobacco juice stains.
You can't sell if you aren't active. Activity means seeing people, building a pipeline, asking for referrals or introductions, networking and all of the other stuff that goes into building a business. The graveyard of sales is filled with people who thought they could build a website or join the chamber of commerce and then wait for the phone to ring. The irony is that the sales person from the chamber of commerce is the one telling you that your phone will ring as soon as you join.
The book, "Going For No", details how salespeople should stay active and not let rejection get the best of them. The logic was that for each "no" one would get, it was a step closer to a "yes".
I mention in my book that the best way to work through rejection is to embrace it as my friends and I did when we were single and trying to meet girls in bars. Our opening line, "I thrive on rejection. Can I buy you a beer?" This actually worked as it disarmed our "prospects" and turned the situation into a win/win scenario.
Of course none of the above could work if we didn't get off of our butts and go to the places where the girls were - bars. Sitting in our dorm rooms was not going to help us meet girls. The same applies to sales. Sitting by the phone waiting for calls is a waste of time. You have to be proactive.
Unfortunately, during a pandemic, the rules of the game have changed. Many networking groups have vanished, while others have tried to stay active by going online. As more people work from home, business luncheons and other traditional ways of meeting people have had to be reconsidered. Marketing yourself and your wares is difficult, but not impossible.
One of the bright spots is that prospects have become more comfortable and accepting of online meetings. For now, they are making the best of a bad situation, and the hope is that eventually we can all get back to normal.
In the next post, I will discuss how to work the numbers to your advantage. In the meantime, stay healthy!
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
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