A couple of years ago a salesman stood
in my office and gave an excellent short
presentation. Then a very strange thing
happened. When it became time to close
me, he got very nervous, and his whole
demeanor changed. His hands started to
shake, and his speech became halting.
I knew what was happening, and so I
had him sitdown and relax.
This salesman, like many salesman,
had a huge fear of asking someone for
money. We salesmen have all kinds of
phobia's, enough to keep a shrink on
duty twenty four hours a day. Some of
our phobia's are harmless, like wearing
the same tie when you're on a roll, or
wearing the same sox until you strike
out, things like that.
But this salesman's fears were strangling
him. One thing you have to be able to do
in sales is ask for the money. If you don't
get the money you can't complete the sale.
I offered to help this salesman get over his
fear.
He accepted my offer, and I began to work
with him sometime last year. We have an
hour long chat once a month, and I teach
him about sales situations and how to handle
them, with an emphasis on how to close and
how to ask for the money.
Soon after he started with me he started have
small successes, and then at the beginning of
2008 he started having big ones. He has
followed that up with even bigger successes
since the end of May.
In his last twelves presentations he has
closed eleven, and the last one could fall this
week. That's a perfect closing ratio, and it
doesn't just happen.
Not only is he close to perfect, more than
half of his customers are buying his most
expensive product, or an even more
expensive custom product. He has erased
all his fears of asking for money, and
followed my advice.
Not only has he followed my advice, but
he has adapted what I have told him into
language that he and his prospects are
very comfortable with. He is now able to
establish rapport with almost everyone he
comes in contact with immediately. Spend
five minutes with him and you'll think you
have known him for ages.
What has this done for him?
1) It has quintupled his income in the last
twelve months. He will generate more than
a million dollars in income by December.
Thats not gross sales, that's income from
gross sales.
2) His confidence and self esteem have
gone off the charts.
3) Selling has become so easy for him that
he can spend almost all of his time developing solutions.
He doesn't look like the same guy I met a
couple of years back, and he certainly
doesn't talk like it. Just like me, he has
his own planet. He had to choose a different
name though, because I already own Planet Jim.
The moral of this story is; that not only
did he listen to what I had to say, he had
the courage to put it into action, and to
continue to refine it.
If you're struggling, find a mentor, or a coach.
They can take years off your learning curve,
and help propel you to the next level.
From the big saddle,
Jim Whelan
The Chairman of the Board
P.S. In sales there is no such thing as voting "Present."
Leave a comment