How to Be a Successful Sales Representative

Sales can be an exciting yet stressful career. I'm talking about "Outside" sales, in which you are an Independent Contractor, making your own hours, setting your own appointments with potential clients (also known as Cold Calling), and attending these appointments yourself, as well as team meetings, conferences, and seminars. It can be a load on your schedule.

There is a lot of Psychological and Social Skills that one must possess to be in this type of profession, but most of all, you have to learn how to deal with stress, because sometimes you have to work long hours on a lot of days to make any profit or commission (whatever the form of pay may be.), not to mention all of the people that you have to deal with on a daily basis.

I am going to supply you with some useful tips aka. Sales Tactics on how to become a better Salesman or a Sales-woman for that matter. (hehe, We don't want to leave the ladies out.) Before, I start, I must inform you that I NEVER insist upon illegitimate business practices, or down right lying. Please be professional and courteous with all of your customers and transactions, and be willing to help and assist them in any way. This is a vital key to success and the growth of your client database, and will make you feel better about yourself and what you are doing.

So, let's get started. First of all, It is CRUCIAL that you "believe" in your product. No questions asked. If you don't believe in your product, then the person you are trying to sell it to will not either. This is NOT a "fake" belief, or something you can put on like a "fake" smile. You have to "genuinely" believe in what you are selling. So, if you don't, I suggest you find something else to sell.

Now, before we go any further, we are going to talk about "Cold Calling" a little bit. This is a vital part of your achievement in what you do. It all STARTS with the first contact, and we all know how vital a first impression is. Cold Calling is "similar" to telemarketing, except I never suggest that you just call random people out of the phone book. You can get yourself in a lot of trouble this way. What you do, is you use "leads", from previous customers, so when you call a NEW POTENTIAL customer, this way you can make it personal:

For Example (Your initial statement upon receiving an answer on the telephone while cold calling)

"Hi, Leo, I was speaking to your friend, Debbie Smith, the other day, and she was very interested in a product that I'm offering. She said that you may be interested in this as well, and that the same time, you will be helping me out."

Now, Let's analyze this!!!

First of all, you are calling the person by their "first name". This creates a sense of informality and you are being PERSONAL (but not too personal). Second, You have mentioned somebody that THEY KNOW, so they are less likely to hang up on you. (Probably the most important thing about this tactic) And, you are not lying when you said that "She said you may be interested", because you actually received this person's information by telling (example person: Debbie) at a previous appointment, "Write down a few people that you think would be interested in this product." (more will be discussed on this tactic later on). With this approach, "Leo" is more likely to have an open mind about what you are offering BECAUSE "his friend" SAID that he may be interested in it. AHHA!!! And finally, Last, but not least, You finish by stating that she will be "helping you out as well". See, people have a "natural" tendency to want to help people when they are in need.

Setting the Appointment

While on this phone call...Don't get me wrong, You don't want to be rude, but you want to get an appointment set with this person RIGHT THEN! If you give them a chance to think it over, your chances of an appointment, and virtually a possible sale, has diminished. Most likely, if you use the Cold Calling tactic above, you won't have much resistance. But if you do, just let it go, and move on. You are only wasting YOUR time, and you know what they say in the world of business, "Time is Money".

However, let's say you do get a positive response: My first tip for you is to not schedule appointments to far into the future. (Basic principle: Try to make them within 1-3 days, 5 days "at the most" of the initial call.) This is because, after awhile, this person may forget about the appointment, or even more likely, something may come up in their schedule.

Next, make sure that you are not going to have to call them back. If you have to call them back for more information (for example, to get directions to their home or office), then this just gives them another chance to cancel on you. So, make sure, even before you get on the phone, that you know what you need, and you know what you are going to say.

Doing a Little Extra To Make Sure That They Keep the Appointment

Here, I am going to talk about creativity. Basically this consists of thinking of something creative that you can say, do, or have the potential customer do, so that they get reminded EVERYDAY of your appointment. For this I'm going to give an example. I used to work for a sales company in which I sold kitchen cutlery. Part of the sales presentation was to take a pair of scissors and cut a penny to demonstrate how sharp and strong the scissors were, so... This is what I would do while on the phone setting up the appointment: I would say to the potential customer, "Please do me a favor, and take a penny, I'm sure you have one lying around the house somewhere, and tape it to your refrigerator." Of course, this raised a lot of curiosity in their mind, but I didn't tell them why. I kept them wondering. The only way that they were going to find out why I asked them to place the penny on their refrigerator was to KEEP THE APPOINTMENT! ...and everyday that they go to get into their icebox, they get reminded of it. Badda Bing, Badda Boom!

Only Target Specific People for Sales

You want to target specific people for selling your product. This is simply for not wasting your precious time. Obviously, you don't want to approach an 11-year old with a diet pill in your hand, and you don't want to pressure a 70-year old to buy a Corvette. These are just simple things that are obvious to the human mind. But it isn't as straightforward as these examples. Sometimes, you have to be a little more cautious to who you offer your products to for reasons that are less obvious. And, I'm not trying to be discriminative in any way by what I'm about to say here, or what I already said for that matter. I mean, I really don't suggest that an 11-year old take a diet pill, because it may have adverse effects on their health, because they are not fully matured, mentally and physically. I guess it is possible for a 70-year old to want a Corvette, but MOST LIKELY not! My point is: There are a lot of people out there. In other words, there are a lot of potential customers out there, and you do not want to waste your time pursuing the ones LESS LIKELY to go for your product. Now, like I was saying, Some are less obvious. Such as: If you are selling a "high quality", "high priced" item, you don't want to offer it to people that are less likely to afford it. In this example, I would concentrate on people that are over 25 years of age, preferably married, and own a house. Don't get me wrong, you may find potential in somebody that lives in a trailer, but the probability of it is less likely. So, to sum things up, don't waste your time. Target specific people that are most likely to go for your product.

Attending Appointment: Sales Pitch

The most crucial and important tips that I can give you that underline everything that you do is be positive, smile, use humor, and be professional yet personal at the same time.

First of all, you want to build rapport. Rapport is more than what a lot of people assume that it is. It is more then just friendly talking to build a base relationship before you start your sales pitch. It's a combination of verbal and non-verbal communication to not only send messages to the other person, but to gather information from that other person. You can start building rapport from your first contact on the phone, as a matter of fact, but you will probably use it a lot more once you've met the person. Start off by paying close attention to the way that they sit and move. Start creating a mirror image of that person, by picking out something that they are doing and do it yourself. Don't be a mimic, or you will probably end up looking like a fool. But, simply, nonchalantly, and unnoticeably start mirroring something that they do: Sit the way they sit, or when they take a drink, you casually take a drink too. You'd be surprised, sometimes you can gather information this way on how the person is feeling and/or thinking. And, it closes that gap between the two of you, so that you can easily send messages back and forth without tension, both verbally and non-verbally. If you are feeling confident and having a positive attitude, and you just "happen" to be sitting like the other person, THEY WILL pick up on the confidence and positive attitude, and THEY WILL start to feel the same way. This is a basic principle of psychology. To better understand this principle, think of how you may walk into a store, and the moment that you enter...a man with his back turned to you (doesn't SEE you), AUTOMATICALLY turns around. This is "non-verbal" communication, and a part of rapport.

Another tip that I am going to offer you is more of an effortless one, and easy to comprehend. Have you ever been in the middle of your sales presentation and the person you are speaking to interrupts with a question, and you know all a long how important it is to lay down the sales pitch, before you give them the price? This can be quite a hassle, but there is an easy way of dealing with it. Simply say, "Mrs. Smith, I understand that you have questions, and I am more than willing to answer them, but can I please continue on with the presentation before I answer any of them. You have my word that when I'm done, I will answer any questions that you have." IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT, and it almost always works.

Closing The Deal

A lot of "professional" Sales Reps. Forget this. That is to close the deal. When you are finished with your sales pitch, YOU MUST come right out and ask, "Does this sound like something you'd be interested in?" or "Do you think you could benefit from this?", "Are you interested in this?", or even, "Do you want to buy this?" You HAVE to ASK, or the person is never going to give you a direct response, and more than likely will lose interest.

So, ask, and then when you have asked, Sit Back, Take a Drink, play with your shoelaces, whatever, but don't say a word. (I don't care if they sit there for an hour thinking) There is a rule in the sales profession and this is it: "Who ever talks first, LOSES!"

"Not Asking", but Insisting for Referrals

Receiving referrals (leads) is the central most important thing that keeps your operation running, and a lot of people will be hesitant to give them to you. SO, you must INSIST that they supply some. Here is what don't do: "Mrs. Smith, I'll understand if you don't feel comfortable, but can you, uh, please give me some people that may be interested in this?" NOOOOOOO!!! Here is what you do: Have a piece of paper ready. Have a pen ready. GIVE IT to "Mrs. Smith" and say, "Do me a favor and write down at least 5 people that you believe would benefit from this product." In this second example, you are not "asking". You are not "giving them a choice". You are commanding, "DO me a favor". This alone, will make you more successful in getting referrals. Most likely, they will comply. But, this isn't the end of it. Before they are finished writing that last referral, say something like, "Thank you, You are doing a great job, Go ahead and write down 5 more." They are already writing, so they are most likely to continue. You can do this all day long. I've known of Sales Reps. that have received 50 referrals from one person by continuing to do this.

Now for a small tip: You can request further details about the referrals, so that you will know if they are a person that matches your "target".

The Schedule of a Sales Representative

The awesome thing about being an Independent Contractor and making your own hours is you can take off whenever you want, BUT this can also be your worst enemy. Even though the sales profession is known as one of the highest paying jobs, when "starting out" as a Sales Rep. A LOT of hours have to be put into it before you start seeing the money. This is why it can be so stressful. Of course it is important to take time off, as a matter of fact, I sincerely encourage it! You need it! But, at the same time, you can't make money by sitting on the couch watching TV all day. If you work from home is when it is really hard to concentrate, because you have distractions that you wouldn't have at an office. I suggest that you set a steady schedule as to what days you are going to work, and what days you want to be off, and STICK TO IT! ...at least for a week or two, and then if you are the type of person that needs change, you can mix it around a bit. But, most importantly, on those days that you have scheduled yourself to work, you must work and put all your effort into it. Get up early. Do your "Cold Calling" in the morning. This is the best time for it, because in the afternoon a lot of people are at work, and in the evening you may start off on a bad foot, by interrupting someone's dinner, or even just catching somebody that has had a stressful day. "Generally", the best time to reach people is in the morning. (of course this is something you can ask the person who referred - when is the best time to reach this person)...but you don't have to. You can just stick to the "morning routine". Don't call before 7am, and if time zones play a part in your line of work, remember to pay attention to them. But at 7 o'clock, start calling. It is really up to you to how many appointments you want to schedule in one day. And, don't forget, remember to take some time off.

Finally, I would like to end this by saying, IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE SALES PROFESSION, YOU CAN STILL USE THESE TIPS AND TACTICS. Just for example, Think about how you could benefit from rapport while dating, besides you are selling something: YOURSELF!