Work less. Sell more.

9 replies
Work less. Sell more. Here's how.

"Come in early. Stay late. Do whatever it takes to succeed."
How many times have you heard that?
I know I've heard it plenty of times, and every time it was from an unqualified sales manager, who was promoted to management, ironically, because he couldn't sell and the company wanted him out of the field. (It's a difficult truth that most companies won't promote top sales reps to management because they want them to keep selling.)
People who've never succeeded in sales don't understand what it takes. And guess what - it doesn't take long hours.
Selling is a prime example of where "don't work harder, work smarter" is literally true.
Unqualified sales managers believe that if you spend more and more hours calling people at random, you'll somehow sell more. Which I never understood because prospects, at least B2B prospects anyway, are only in the office during business hours - they're not coming in early and staying late so they can sit around and wait for your sales call!
Successful selling has nothing to do with contacting people at random hoping someone will bite, or wasting endless hours at networking mixers hoping you'll meet a new prospect.
No. Successful selling begins with the understanding that a certain percentage of the market needs what you have and is pre-disposed to buy from you, followed by the precise science of finding out who those people are, where they are, and positioning yourself so they call YOU when the times comes to buy.
"I don't throw darts at a board, sport. I bet on sure things." -Gordon Gekko, in Wall Street (the original Wall Street, not the sequel)
And that's what top sales pros do - they bet on sure things. Rookies and failures throw darts at a board. Every now and then one of them will stick, but not enough of them to make big the big sales and big commissions they really want.
In many cases, so few of them stick that the salesperson loses a job and gets fired. This is increasingly the case in today's fragile economy where companies simply cannot afford to keep a salesperson around who isn't producing big numbers.
So here's how to succeed at selling:
1. Understand that "throwing darts at a board" will get you nowhere but the unemployment office, and change your thinking to put that nonsense out of your mind.
2. Begin understanding and accepting the fact that a certain percentage - perhaps a large percentage - of the market will buy from you, if they only knew who you are.
3. Put together a game plan that will, first, identify those prospects, and, second, strategically position yourself to make yourself visible to them, with an air of success and prosperity (that a cold call would destroy) and get them to call you.
Yes, it's really that simple.
So take the time to think about and digest this information, then compare it with how you're selling today. I'm willing to bet that you're "throwing darts at a board," but sincerely hope that you'll take this information seriously and change your ways so you'll succeed instead!
#sell #work
  • Profile picture of the author jimbo13
    In other words, Market yourself.

    Dan
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  • Profile picture of the author Mav91890
    Man, John Durham and Iamnameless must be completely wrong then, according to you.
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    “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.” ― Jordan Belfort

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    • Profile picture of the author elasu13
      Originally Posted by Mav91890 View Post

      Man, John Durham and Iamnameless must be completely wrong then, according to you.
      No, It works as I said ". Rookies and failures throw darts at a board. Every now and then one of them will stick, but not enough of them to make big the big sales and big commissions they really want.

      Im sure they both do more then just 'Cold call'. Sure it works. But its not going to make you a long successful business.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mav91890
    Oh I know they do more than cold calling. Nothing is a sure thing. Direct mail and ads are just more passive & less time consuming.

    But I agree that a company should not throw its eggs all in one basket.
    Signature

    “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.” ― Jordan Belfort

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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    There are some things in the OP I want to talk about.

    First, pre-qualifying your leads is fine, but it's only possible to warm them up or find out if they might need what you offer to a degree. The best way is to get in there and have a real conversation.

    Second, it's not a painful truth that great salespeople don't get promoted into management. Sales management takes a completely different skill set than selling, and coaches don't make the best technicians (and vice versa). Look at a sports team and you'll see.

    Third, if you understand qualification and have a consistent process to follow, sales is quick.
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  • Profile picture of the author PeacefulCalamity
    I think that's why everyone finds offline marketing so appealing. Rather than working under somebody earning a portion of the pie we can just go out, put in less mundane hours and still come out with an actual pie.

    I do think that people miss that point a bit... calling ALL day isn't always going to help unless you have some strategy for the people you're contacting (ie, different time zones and out of state cold calling) Bosses are typically in early. At some point it's just burning through numbers better used the next day.

    It's not written in concrete anywhere, but it does make sense.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    I want to add my own comments to this.

    1. “Come in early. Stay late. Do whatever it takes to succeed.” - This quote isn't saying that coming in early or staying late will help you succeed. It is saying do whatever it takes. In the white collar world that means being the first in and the last to leave often. The quote is for the white collar world directly not sales. But it applies to many sales jobs as well. The car salesman who is there at all hours sells the most. He gets more leads and he has less split deals because he chooses to always be available to his customers. And most customers means more referrals and that snowballs to the point where his time is almost always filled. Is this a life you or I want? Likely not but it is success the way they and most people measure it.

    2. The best sales people don't normally make good managers. And sadly in the real world it is the opposite of what you said. They promote the best sellers to be managers because they think they can make or hire others like themselves. This is the problem a lot of people in business have. They think managers should get paid more than sales people. And this isn't true. The best management training I ever got was from a trainer who told us all that we would know we were truly great managers when we had multiple sales people under us who made more then we did. Remember that. As a manager your goal is to get as many sales people you can to make more then you do. So back to the unqualified sales managers, if you have one of those above you it is likely because they got promoted for selling best and they wanted the higher pay a sales manager gets. They sold well but have no clue how to help you sell better. And they likely got to be the top sales peron by putting in more hours then anyone esle because it is the most tried and true way to succeed.

    3. Doing anything (including selling) doesn't require a lot of hours but the key to success is learning to maximize productivity and then work more(yourself or hiring people). We all exchange hours for dollars. Just as we grow we make more per hour and learn to pay others to free up our own time to do tasks that are worth more.

    4. Cold calling works. You need a good script, a good product, and a great additude but you will make sales. And since cold calling is a numbers game (ie you will close 2%) calling more people will mean more sales.

    5. Decision makers in a B2B environment are actually best talked to outside of "business hours" IMO. When their stores are open they are busy but if you can hit them before or after a business opens you will be golden. Remember these people (owners and managers) work more hours then the average person. Many work 70 plus hours a week so don't think in a 9 to 5 mentality. Also if cold calling who says you have to call your time zone?

    6. It is great to be able to market yourself so that people call you. It is the goal of every business. But lets be real for the vast majority on this board that isn't going to happen. They will need to cold call.

    7. We should all make bets on "sure things" but how do you find those sure things? Sitting and waiting for them to come to you will not get results. Sitting and waiting is what the bad sales people you speak about do. The top guys understand ABC (Always Be Closing). They understand that a sales opportunity can come up any times. It might be during a conversation at a little league game. It might be overheard at Olive Garden. But when these "sure things" happen they pounce. And when they don't happen they hustle and make them happen. And for a lot of people that means cold calling and cold walking.

    The OP may not believe it but for the vast majority the top sales people also are some of the hardest workers out there. They put in the hours and the hustle because that is what makes them more money.

    It is all well and good to maket yourself and to get people to call you but will it bring you the numbers you need? Will it be a good ROI? Basically is it smart to spend thousands to advertise yourself to get a few people to call? In the end I hate cold calling. I think it is among the worst ways to get business. But for someone starting out it is the smartest and most cost effective way.

    Sure they need a game plan. Some will target specific industries. Others will work completely local. Some will cold walk to be different. But in the end when you are an unknown you can either hustle or you can spend thousands to advertise and hope you see a good ROI. Myself I would always advise the hustle. For some that will be cold calls and for others it will be networking. But never is it waiting for people to call you. People call you when they get referrals and when you are a "known". Till then you make your own business and never wait for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author zigzag007
    Thanks for this post...
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