1. Effective Communication – pick the right method for your message: phone, email, letter, note
2. Stop talking about what you DO and start talking about what your stuff DOES for the prospect
3. Asking questions is important – listening to their answers is even more critical
4. When using humor; it doesn’t matter if you think it is funny – the question is, will they?
5. Consistency is key for sales success
6. If it’s not working – for Douglas Adam’s sake, stop doing it
7. Don’t share everything you know, only what the prospect actually needs to make a buying decision.
8. If you’re listening to the voices inside your head, you can’t be listening to your customer.
9. No matter how smart you are, if you don’t have the client’s best interest at heart – the solution will fail.
10. Take Douglas Adam’s quote to heart “I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don’t know the answer”
11. Sometimes it is best to throw up your arms and walk away (quickly).
12. Paying attention to the details at the beginning tends to eliminate misunderstandings later.
13. You can never ask too many questions, but you can ask too many questions in a row.
14. “Don’t Panic.” ~ Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
15. It is important to understand each individual prospect’s buying process – or you might be using Monopoly rules, when their playing Yahtzee.
16. It is as important to disqualify a prospect and save time as it is to keep trying to qualify them.
17. “A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.” ~ Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless
18. Asking for the “why” behind the request will ensure the “what” they asked for will actually fix their problem.
19. When in the middle of the conversation, you’ve created the solution; you still have to let them finish talking.
20. Pick three goals every day: if you achieve 1 = a good day, 2 = great day, and 3 = fantastic day.
21. Even if you believe the universe is about to end, don’t jump to conclusions.
22. The only person who gets to judge your responsiveness is the customer; ask about time-frame; when then need the information, the proposal, the product, etc.
23. Sales Paradox – you have to care but can’t get emotionally tied up in the deal
24. Watch out for what Colleen Stanley calls “the knowing-and-doing gap” when the going gets tough do you chicken out?
25. Why may be the most important question – but you can’t sound like a 2-year old in sales! Have multiple ways to ask why.
26. Accountability partners are a great way to keep your activity on track! Pick someone with the same drive as you, even if their tasks are different.
27. “There is nothing more uncommon than common sense.” ~ author unknown but attributed to many people & a book written by Jill Harrington
28. It is better to lose a deal than disappoint the customer by not delivering on an empty promise.
29. Sometimes you have to tell the little voice in your head to SHUT UP, and go for it!
30. If changing how people think was easy – salespeople wouldn’t make commission!
31. “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” ~ Douglas Adams
32. The two things you can control in sales are how you spend your time & your attitude; choose wisely.
33. Changing the time part of a SMART goal isn’t failure, only giving up on yourself would be.
34. The things that are easy for you = VALUABLE. So get the JUST out of there!
35. A salesperson’s favorite answer “It Depends”, the question doesn’t really matter…
36. Have you ever noticed that the important stuff is always the scary stuff.
37. always & never = dangerous thinking (words have POWER, use them carefully)
38. I love the status quo… when it’s me!
39. Make sure you know what you’re afraid of – sometimes it is False Evidence Appearing Real!
40. Month end is an arbitrary deadline set up by YOUR company… not when the prospect’s purchase will happen!
41. Always remember – you can’t be inspired if you’re not paying attention & looking for inspiration!
42. Stop asking for “The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything” it’s 42
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