You Rock At Sales

You want to Rock At Sales?

If you get passionate customer testimonials like this one, you are very good at sales.

If you take that testimonial and turn it into a killer video like this one and put it out on the internet for everyone to share and embed on their blogs, websites, and favorite social media platform, You ROCK At Sales!

Just as you get to choose whether you SUCK or ROCK at Sales, so too do you get to choose the customers you work with. 

Do your customers SUCK or do your customers ROCK? Either way, it's your fault.

Sales Appointment Calculator

Do you know how many appointments you need per year to meet your annual sales goal?  Probably not.

Social media agency Carrot Creative was in the process of hiring a community manager. The job ad said “boring cover letters are not necessary.”

Enter Torrey Taralli who created a video cover letter using 300 carrots to spell out his cover letter and qualifications.

Like any good recipe, there are specific ingredients required in setting goals to ensure a great result.  There are four key goal ingredients: 

1. THE WHAT Knowing what you want to do, accomplish or have

2. THE WHERE The specific measurable outcome

3. THE WHEN The time factor

4. THE NOW Acting as if it is happening now

Let's say your goal is to increase your Internet sales in 2011. If you walk around saying:  "I want to increase my Internet sales"  that's just a wish, it's not a goal. That statement doesn't contain the four key goal ingredients and you're less likely to actually achieve the goal.  Increase your odds of success by using all four key ingredients.

Try something like this instead:

Improved Goal Statement: "I increase my web sales in 2011 by having at least one meeting per week with a client or prospect to specifically discuss internet marketing beginning January 10, 2011."

The statement above contains the four key ingredients...

THE WHAT:  Increase your Internet sales by increasing your meetings about the Internet What you want to accomplish

THE WHERE:  "...at least one meeting per week..." A specific measurable outcome

THE WHEN:  "...beginning January 10, 2011." A definitive time factor

THE NOW: "I increase..." Stated as if it is already happening (not "I want to increase...")

What would happen if each of you identified and refined 3-5 goal statements just like this for 2011? 

How much more likely would you be to achieve those goals (and your budget!) in 2011?

Let your brain percolate over the holidays on how to specifically apply this method to achieving your own goals in the new year.

This is a clip of Kevin Spacey on Inside The Actors Studio.

He may not be speaking specifically about your sales career. But if you can connect what he says with what you do -- you rock at sales.

"To want, and to be ambitious, and to want to be successful is not enough.

If you ask clients dumb questions, they'll think you're dumb. If you ask clients great questions, they'll think you ROCK.

What are dumb questions?

So, what does your comany do? It's called Google, dude -- use it!

Who is your current supplier? None of your beeswax, buddy!

Can I send you a quote/bid? You just made it all about price and told them your company just like all the others.

What are Rockin' questions?

How would you improve...?

What have you found...?

Where do you see...?

When you think of...?

Can you see any reason not to...?

Dumb questions ask about things you should already know -- things you could have easily learned about on your own during your prospect qualification process.

Rockin' questions makes the client consider new information and answer in terms that provide you will deeper information about the client's current situation.

You should have a list of 10-20 questions that ROCK in your notebook, legal pad, Blackberry, iPhone, etc. at all times, somewhere that's easy to access when you need them.  Once you use them a few times, they'll become a natural part of your conversation.

...And that's when You'll ROCK At Sales!