Sales Department or Sales Force? May The Department Be With You? From The Accidental Salesperson By Chris Lytle

The Force vs. The Dark Side Yoda tells Luke that the dark side is not stronger: “Quicker, easier, more seductive.” Think about how much easier it is to be a level 1 account executive vs. a level 4 Sales and Marketing Professional.

Your Goal The most important thing to do is propose your solution to the prospect face-to-face and ask for the order. The second most important thing you can do is get into position to do the most important thing. Don’t phone/fax/ when you can go in person.

Getting in the Door Prospects are protective of their time. They expect just another time-wasting, product-focused presentation. They want a faxed/mailed promotional kit (proposal) rather than a meeting. That’s broadcast advertisement, not selling!

Magic Phrase “(Gasp!) We don’t have an off-the-shelf promotional kit (proposal) that we send out. We customize everything. What would you like in yours?” Remember: “The way that I work is…”

Customized Selling “I would rather give you the one piece of paper that gives you information of value, rather than wasting your time wading through a package.” The prospect will like getting custom service. It will be more targeted/useful. Need to ask questions, preferably in person, so you can customize.

Get a commitment to communicate. I am sending this information (proposal) and I want assurance that prospect will take my phone call. I want you to tell me if you are a prospect and whether there is a next step or not. This lets the prospect know that you are a busy professional too, and don’t want her/him to waste your time either. This is Business!

If you get that commitment… Explain exactly what you intend to do –I am going to FedEx a package with a cover letter, a spec sheet, and a one-page list of our clients. –Make sure they don’t think it’s junk. Have them on the lookout for your letter. You want to gain their complete trust. That takes time (years). Don’t waste their time. Do what you say. Make a level 2 (or higher) impression.

Leverage is… …getting better results from the same effort or expenditure. If you are going to all the time, effort, and expense to get in front of a prospect, then make the most of it.

Top 3 Reasons People Buy Business expertise and image. Dedication to the customer. Account sensitivity and guidance. NOT PRICE!!!!

Why People Buy “It’s the quality of the salesperson-his or her knowledge and his or her ability to bring added value to the sales-that converts prospects into buyers.”

Learning that you can do it. Yoda: “You must unlearn what you have learned.” Luke: “I don’t believe it.” Yoda: “That is why you fail.”

"Do or do not, there is no try." Yoda (little green sage from the Star Wars series)

Sales Manager A great sales manager gets her/his people to think bigger thoughts, and dare to do greater things.

"Ya gotta believe." Tug McGraw ( ) Major League Baseball pitcher

Remember: Leadership "Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be." Ralph Waldo Emerson ( ) American writer and activist

Look Everywhere for Teachers Your best teachers may not look like teachers. –May look like Yoda. –Probably won’t look like a trainer. Learn from anyone who offers a lesson. –Sometimes active, sometimes passive. Always be learning. Be alert for lessons. Might come from customers, competitors, children, anyone.

Your beliefs are important. You have to believe in: –Your product; –Your company; –Yourself; –Your customer. Confidence and honest belief shows through to your customers.

Jerry Garcia