The success of the sales rep relies quite heavily on his or her adherence to some common courtesies:
- Being on time;
- Saying, “Thank you!”
- Good listening skills, and so on...
One reason why it’s so difficult to be a salesperson is that so much of your success relies on your ability to go against your upbringing. For example, you were taught to respect your elders. When someone said, “No,” it was important for you to comply. Sales is the exact opposite. If we let objections stop us, nothing would ever get sold. We have to unlearn that courtesy.
Like anything else in life, there needs to be a balance.
In this case, it means finding a place on the aggressiveness scale, if there is such a thing, that allows us to be successful at our jobs without crossing the line becoming rude. We have all witnessed obnoxious. We have seen and perhaps been aggressive. Most people are relatively complacent and passive. So where does sales need to be? Where does it fit?
The balance point is summed up in the word, Assertiveness. Assertiveness is halfway between complacent and aggressive. Think of it as one more.
One more sales call.
One more attempt.
One more try at beating the price objection.
Wikipedia says that an objection is a request for more information. Ever since I read that, it has affected my sales approach. I turned up the dial one notch ... One more notch.
Imagine the effect on your sales if you apply this One More thinking.
You’ve heard me say this in the past and are recommended again: There is a book called the "Assertiveness Workbook" and I highly recommend it. Even if you are aggressive in your own mind, you will get something out of this book. It’s definitely on my rotation of books that I review once a year.
I would bet that most of us have good manners and I certainly would not want that to change. But what I would hope for you is to have the courage to embrace Assertiveness and make one more. One more. One more.
Want more?
The video version of this sales tip goes into more detail. Click here to watch the video.
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Bill Farquharson can be reached at (781) 934-7036 or bill@aspirefor.com
Bill Farquharson is a respected industry expert and highly sought after speaker known for his energetic and entertaining presentations. Bill engages his audiences with wit and wisdom earned as a 40-year print sales veteran while teaching new ideas for solving classic sales challenges. Email him at bill@salesvault.pro or call (781) 934-7036. Bill’s two books, The 25 Best Print Sales Tips Ever and Who’s Making Money at Digital/Inkjet Printing…and How? as well as information on his new subscription-based website, The Sales Vault, are available at salesvault.pro.