There are a few basic rules in the selling game and all professional salespeople know them. Too often, though, they are relegated to a dark corner of their minds, brought out only when something joggles their memory. Yet, these simple thoughts should be in the forefront of their minds every Monday morning . . . early.

 

Let nothing interrupt your “money hours.” This is the time you spend in front of customers, the time you should be making money for your company and yourself. Think about this: One Sales Day is 20% of Your Sales Week! When it is gone, it is gone forever. You cannot go back and recover the lost time if you wasted a sales day.

 

Begin your sales day early and work until you can no longer see any customers. The time before and after the sales day is reserved for paperwork, so make your calls when you can and do your reports, itineraries and expense reports during non productive time.

 

You have scratched and scraped to locate this prospect, so your opening comments should be attention-getting and momentous. You have a “window of attention” of about ten seconds so don’t waste it talking about trivia or the weather.

 

Prepare an opening statement, edit and rewrite until it is a work of art. Practice it often before you are in front of the prospect and then deliver it well.

 

Your opening statement is intended to get attention and develop the prospect’s interest in listening to your product presentation. Make your opening remarks brief and to the point. Many professionals use this moment to tell the prospect why they are there.

 

Public speakers use the “Ho-Hum” formula to captivate their audiences. These principles also apply to a salesperson’s opening statement, presentation and close. In a sales presentation, the last point is when you ask the closing questions.

 

 

Do your homework before making your first call on a prospect. Contact people in your network of industry acquaintances to learn about the prospects background and business style. Use the data gathered to tailor your opening statement to grab the prospects attention.

 

Sharing too much, too early in a relationship with a client can be a turn-off. The prospect has enough personal problems of his own, so he doesn’t want to share yours. Also, you are there to solve business problems for the client (remember, salesmanship is finding a problem and offering a solution), not to establish a personal relationship.

 

Later in your relationship with the client, if he shares personal information, it is still not okay to share your problems, only your interests and a (very) little personal data.

 

 

A sales professional might make a list of these and other salient points that will help keep their money hours on track. The will post these points where they will see them frequently and are reminded to “plan-your-work-work-your-plan” for maximum productivity.