1. Success in sales is not necessarily determined by the demand for the product, current market conditions, company or location, prospect or customer needs, or even the sales techniques used. The ability to think big, disregard objections and rejections, never worry what others say or think, constantly be enthusiastic and optimistic, overcome fear and doubt, and have confidence and belief in ourselves - this mentality is what is needed to be effective in sales, regardless of what the product is.
2. Anyone can be effective in sales if they work harder, longer, and do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals. Sales is a numbers game - and the more calls made, appointments set up, or doors knocked, the more success is experienced. Never forget, however, that because it is a numbers game, many of those numbers will be a 'no.' And always remember that the greatest baseball players in the world usually only hit the ball 3 out of every 10 times they are up to bat - and they get paid extremely well for striking out or getting out those 7 other times. Sales techniques are secondary to perseverance, daily action, and working hard.
3. The word 'no' means the customer does not understand, does not see the benefit, or needs more information. Successful salesmen understand that hearing the word 'no' is nothing personal, signifies more information is needed, and is a necessary step to the word 'yes.'
4. Your mentality, body language, words used, and actions should always communicate that you know that the customer will buy from you. Your approach is not one of hope, but of complete confidence in yourself, the product, and the fact that they need this product - and they thus are going to buy from you.
5. The most successful salesmen actually develop the ability to lose in order to win. They put the customer or potential client's desires, wants, and needs above their own and ensure that the end result is a win-win for all parties. Losing a little revenue to obtain a satisfied customer has always been a recipe for long-term profits and success.
6. Not the Product: Ultimately, people don't care about you or the product - they want to know how the product will benefit them.
7. Developing effective sales techniques should never translate into developing a different personality. People will buy from you if they like you, trust you, and sense genuineness from you.
8. Our typical perception of salesmen is usually someone who is fast-talking, cocky, and greedy. Effective, professional, and ethical salesmen know how to talk and listen, ask sincere open-ended questions, and engage the customer by having them reveal their interests, needs, and concernsA sign of effective salesmen is that they have specific short-term and long-term goals. They not only review them, but re-commit to them every day. Their goals, however, are more than a hope or dream because they implement specific daily actions and never quit until their goals are realized.
9. Successful salesmen know and continue to learn about their products, prospects, customers, market, and industry. Being knowledgeable and a resource of information - call it a sales technique if you wish - is important to their success, and more importantly, appreciated by the customer. Because they know their customer, product, and industry so well, they can thus tailor each approach according to the situation or need of the customer.
10. There is no such thing as a 'comfort zone' to a successful salesman. They realize that their success is dependent upon taking risks, doing things that are difficult, facing rejection, and persisting despite how hard, awkward, uncomfortable, or unsuccessful it may be at times.
11. Fortune is in the Follow-Up: Enough said, right!
12. Unprofessional salesmen use these tactics by lying to obtain sales; effective and professional salesmen implement them properly all the time. Have you ever heard the phrase 'while supplies last,' or 'limited time offer,' or 'weekend blowout sale' or even 'half-off'? Communicating scarcity, creating a sense of urgency, and advertising discounts initiates increased action by both the salesman and the customer.
13. Attributes & Appearance: Effective salesmen possess (actually, they develop) certain attributes that are necessary to achieve success in anything in life. They are confident in themselves, are excellent communicators, have exceptional people skills, never take rejection personally or worry what others think, always take risks, learn from failure, and continually overcome the voices of fear and doubt in their minds. In addition, they dress for success! Not only do their thoughts and words communicate confidence and success, but so do their actions and body language, clothing and grooming, as well as their appearance and demeanor.
14. Name Dropping, Endorsements, & Testimonials: As effective, knowledgeable, and even hard-working as the salesmen may be, the potential customer wants to know what others say or think about the product. Any effective pitch, promotion, or marketing campaign will always include endorsements, reviews, or testimonials of others - and the more recognizable the names or companies endorsing, the more success will result.
15. Time is money! Effective salesmen develop an ability to sense when an opportunity is fruitless or a potential customer is not interested. Then, in a respectful way, they move on - and quickly.
16. As important as each of these techniques are, they will be ineffective if implemented in a dishonest or unethical way. Of course money can and is made from unethical approaches and tactics; however, those individual salesmen and companies who do this will always be revealed, and failure will eventually be the result. Professional and effective salesmen realize that honesty is just as important as product knowledge, integrity is far more important than sales techniques, and a person's character, kindness, professionalism, and honesty always result in increased profits, repeat customers, and greater success.
17. A 'close' essentially is a phrase stating that you are 'assuming the sale,' or it is an actual question asked to determine whether or not they are ready to buy, sign, or move forward on the deal. Effective salesmen use 'soft' or 'hard' closes all the time with the intention of course to get them to buy, but initially to actually allow them an opportunity to reveal their concerns. 'Closing' is difficult, takes courage, can be uncomfortable, and can even be risky because it could possibly cause the customer to retreat - but effective salesmen are always 'closing.' Read that last sentence again, and therein you will not only find attributes of a good salesmen, but many of the secrets of success to accomplish anything.
18. The majority of personal successes in life are usually accomplished after the individual determines to not give up when they experience setbacks, rejection, or even failure. More important than any of the tactics, techniques, attributes, and actions listed above - the salesman who persists will be the salesman who succeeds.
19. As one carefully reviews each of the principles above, it becomes evident that success as a salesman requires implementing the same principles, laws, and recipe to be successful in anything in life. Thus, having the best product, the longest experience, the most effective techniques or tactics, and the perfect market conditions are irrelevant if one does not possess these attributes: a strong desire, belief in self, ability to think big, establishing specific goals, commitment to daily action, creating a positive attitude, overcoming fear and rejection, learning from and getting up after failure, and a determination to never quit until the goal has been realized. Therein is the formula for success in anything in life - including sales!
20. Figure out who your current customers are. Dig through your files for commonalities: is it location? Income level? Value of home? Is net worth the driver? Neighborhood? Business type? Circle of Friends? Write all this stuff down on a sheet of paper. This will become the heard of your sales lead generation program. Hey... if I do this for you - figure out who your customers are, and write it down on a sheet of paper I call it marketing research and charge you two grand. You can do this for free, and call it whatever you like - it's your sheet of paper.
21. Figure out where your current customers and client hang out. And hang out there, too. What restaurants do they eat at? What mailing lists are they on. What do they read - what newspapers or magazines? What do they watch on TV? What circle of friends do they go out with? What charities do they donate to? What gym do they work out at? What associations do they belong to? Now, go on - hang out there yourself.
22. What do your customers own? Do your customers all drive Chevys? Do they all own boats? Airplanes. Tractors? Write all this down, too. It's part of the marketing research. (Remember, two grand?)
23. What exactly do most of your clients have in common? If you could clone a few clients, what are the common characteristics they'd all have? Because that's exactly what I'd start looking for in new clients: the same demographics of clients in my own customer database. Section out people who have those same commonalities with your current clients, and advertise or mail to them.
24. Suppose you find out that every one of your clients reads the same 3 magazines. Those magazines would be good places to start a highly qualified lead generation program: take out an ad schedule, or send press releases regularly - wouldn't they?
    If all your prospects eat at the same restaurant, I'd start eating there too. If it's an upscale restaurant, that might be a good place to sponsor the coat check room for a few nights. For a few dollars, I'm sure most restaurant owners would be happy to put up a small sign noting tonight's coat check is FREE, courtesy of your firm. A small and tasteful sign does it.
    Of course if your clients eat at Denny's... then, yeee-ha: time to get some new clients there, Jethro. Sorry. If it wasn't for bad taste, I wouldn't have any jokes at all.
    You could always sponsor desserts for an evening. Or if you're in the city - sponsor parking.
25. Create media awareness. As a traditional direct marketer, I don't believe in unfocused mass advertising for generating leads, especially higher quality sales leads. Those methods only work in very select circumstances. But some campaigns in traditional media such as newspapers, magazines and local TV can work well to raise the level of awareness of your firm in your own back-yard, and generate quality leads of local leads...and phone calls. And you know who likes to shop in their own back yard? Everyone.Create the right message, the right image, and present it consistently in the right media, and presto - people get to know you. Then you know what happens? The phone rings.
26. Create trust. Build up your network of referrals and referral sources. Start by referring customers to others, and it will come back to you-in spades. Remember, every referral - whether you make one or receive one, needs to be followed up by a WRITTEN piece of correspondence. Either thanking someone for giving you the referral, or letting someone know that you just referred a potential client to them. Written. No, a call is not the same. Sure you can call them, but then... you still need to write something down and send it.
27. Pick up the phone and call. Just say thanks for your business. Don't sell anything - you don't have to. Just thank customers, and ask if you can help with anything, provide any information they may need. Giving away something FREE is one of my favorite offers. Quotes are always the first line of a sale.In the next article in this series on lead generation strategies, 8 additional tips on how to generate leads and get more sales.
    

27 Successful Sales Tips for 2010