If You Don't Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails (23 page)

□ Use your answering machine as you would a secretary.

Be time-specific as to when you'll return. No one would ever instruct a secretary, "If anyone calls, tell them I'll call them back as soon as I can/'

J Never answer a sales call without a backup list in hand.

In real estate, customers rarely buy the house they call on, so the salesperson needs to have other properties to offer in order to win the customer's confidence and get the appointment.

□ Repeat back the attributes that got the customer to call in the first place.

When customers call in response to a specific advertisement, they like what they saw, so sell the same attributes back. In real estate, a customer calling about a newspaper ad is looking for a reason to end the call and get on to the next one.

□ The objective of every phone call is to get the appointment.

Get the appointment and then worry about finding the right product to show.

□ Never confess that you don't know something.

Instead say, Til find out and get right back to you."

□ Put in a separate work line or cell phone at home.

If you must take calls at home, a designated line will allow you to answer knowing it's a customer. It also puts a lot less stress on your family.

□ Push the hang-up button in midsentence.

If you can't get off the phone with a long-winded-going-nowhere caller, press the disconnect button while you're talking. You'll end the conversation and the caller will never suspect that you hung up on yourself.

BARBARA CORCORAN • IF VOl DON'T HAVE BIG BREASTS

PART 5

How to Educate,

Motivate, and Satiate

the Customer!

Buyers come in different flavors. There are the romantics, the pioneers, the bargain hunters, and the status seekers. If you want to be successful in sales, you'd better be able to figure out what kind of buyer you have. You can do that by finding out what motivates him.

Checklist for working with customers

□ Always ask, "When do you want it?"

The answer will determine more than anything else whether or not you'll be able to make the sale. The best answer: "I need it tomorrow." The worst answer: "Oh, anytime . . ."

□ Control the customer's time.

When you control the customers time, you control the customer.

□ Make every customer feel that he or she is your most important customer.

Customers really don't want to hear about vour other customers. They should feel they're your only one.

□ Don't take a customers "requirements" too seriously. Everyone wants more than they can afford. Validate the customer l»\ playing back exactly what he said and thinks he wants. Then show him what he really wants, but was unable to articulate.

□ When customers aren f t realistic, tell them.

Don t be afraid to tell a customer that he's not going to find what he wants. You'll both save a lot of time.

□ Show high!

A buyer will always justify a higher price if he sees what he likes. As they say, "Buyers are liars." Eighty percent of all sales happen at a higher price than the customer swore he would pay.

J Ask them not to buy.

Suggesting that a new customer simply "look and get educated" on the first date makes them trust you and want to buy it even more.

□ Let them compare.

Customers need to compare before buying. When they begin to shop, it's your best opportunity to show a wide range of product and s-t-r-e-t-c-h their budget.

□ Don't sell the wrong product.

If the customer asks for a garage, don't show a carport. A salesperson's job is to see what customers like, not tell them what to like.

□ Get feedback.

Ask your customers to tell you what they like and dislike about everything you show them. Their feedback will show you the way to close the sale.

□ Forewarn the buyer about "buyer's remorse."

Soon after they say yes, most buyers believe their decision was wrong. Telling them about "buyer's remorse" then is too late. Telling them beforehand will keep their fear in check.

BARBARA CORCORAN • IF YOU DON T HAVE BIG BREASTS

g

J Ask for the order and then shut up/

The silence might seem deafening to you, but it's not for buyers, because they can end it anytime.

□ Never expect loyalty.

You'll have to earn it by building the customer's trust.

□ Don't waste time with the bottom fishers.

They'll all still be waiting at the bottom same time next year.

PART 6

How to Prepare, Present,

and Proeeed with the

Sales Presentation

Ask yourself this question: "If you were buying your product, would you buy it from you?** To become truly great in sales, you must genuinely believe it's best for the customer to buy the product faomyoul

Checklist for making great sales presentations

□ Practice makes perfect. Practice. Just as a performer never shows up on opening night without a dress rehearsal, you should never practice your sales presentation on a customer. Role-playing puts your inhibitions to rest and results in a well-prepared, confident delivery every time.

□ Ask to be last in line. ^

When you know you'll be competing in a beauty lineup, ask for the last position. You don't want to hear "We still have a few 2

other people to meet . . .*" after you've made your sales presentation. If you're in the last position, your competitors are out of the way.

□ Make sure you have the customer's full attention.

A distracted customer won't become a buver.

BARBARA CORCORAN • IF VOL DON'T HAVE BIG BREASTS

□ Give yourself a title.

The right title conveys power in the customer's mind, not in yours.

□ Put together an "I love me!"package.

Create your own bragging book and fill it with your professional accomplishments, customer endorsements, and any press coverage you may have received. Be sure to include a detailed biography and a list of any school, club, or charity activities that you and your family participate in. Don't be shy, as customers fall for badges and endorsements. Size matters. Pull out all the stops and trumpet each success in the brightest color and largest typeface available. Our best salespeople's "I love me!" packages weigh in at more than five pounds.

□ Use third-party endorsements.

Ask for and bring letters of recommendation from past customers. Potential customers like to see proof of your success, and are more comfortable saying yes in a crowd of happy customers.

□ If you don't have it, flaunt it anyway.

Borrow your company's accomplishments and position them as "what we can do for you."

□ Make yourself half of a two-person sales team.

Having a sales partner improves your confidence tenfold, and the attention of two salespeople is irresistible to most customers.

□ Take your assistant along.

Customers respond well to someone important enough to have an assistant.

□ Show your enthusiasm!

Customer surveys consistently show that enthusiasm is the

Dumber one reason why customers bought from a particular salesperson. The number two reason is knowledge.

J Always send a thank-you note, whether you won the business or not.

Thank-you notes and customer guilt lead to future business. The best thank-vou note is handwritten.

ARBARA CORCORAN • IF YOU DON T HAVE IUC BREASTS

PART 7

How to Communicate, Negotiate, and Close the Sale

Numbers don't kill deals, egos do. A salesperson's job is to control perception and keep everyone feeling like a winner. If one side feels that the other got the better deal, you can bet the deal will fall apart. A good deal is when each side is a little bit happy and a little bit sad. It's also the deal that sticks.

Checklist for negotiating the sale

□ Never take sides.

In negotiation, you need to stay independent so you can think independently.

□ Get all the facts before you start.

A small objection that is easily overcome soon becomes a nightmare when it's discovered too late in the negotiation.

□ Pinpoint each side's "hot button."

A successful negotiation is far more likely when you can figure out what's most important to each side.

□ Anticipate every possible objection.

It's the salesperson's responsibility to have an answer ready before a question is raised. A good sales exercise is to write down a commonly heard objection and then brainstorm every possible answer. Pick your best three and practice them until they roll off

your tongue. For example, when the customer says, "It's too expensive!" your response might be (a) "Yes. and it will only appreciate over time"; (b) "Yes, and everybody wants it"; (c) "Yes, and it has every feature you want"; (d) "Yes, and it has great tax advantages"; (e) "Yes, and can't you see yourself owning it?"; and. finally, (f) "Yes, and it's worth it!"

Don't carry messages, like a carrier pigeon.

Instead, present them. Think of yourself as a prominent diplomat with a message that must be presented carefully. Instead of saying, "I have a low offer for you," try (a) "I have an excellent buyer, with impeccable credentials, and he's asked that I submit his offer of $X"; (b) "I'm happy to tell you I have an all-cash offer. It's somewhat less than what you're expecting, but the buyer is serious and he's willing to take delivery at your convenience"; or (c) "Today's your lucky day! I've got a real buyer on the hook, and he's asked that I submit an initial offer of$X."

□ Paint a happy picture.

Always describe your customer as the "nice/ "sincere, person he may or may not be.

tair

□ Don V let the customer back himself into a corner.

By not agreeing with his position, yon give him the opening to later reverse his position and make his way out.

□ Don't rush the bid.

Buyers change their mind when they are pushed to buy before they're really ready.

□ Don't ever suggest an opening bid.

If you do, it quickly becomes the new asking price in the buyer's mind.

BARB A R A CORCORAN

II VOL) DON T HAVE BIC BREASTS

□ Dress up an offer by putting it in writing.

Everyone takes a written offer more seriously.

□ Never refuse a low offer.

Make a counterbid. Most deals start as low offers, and for some customers, it's a way to put their toe in the water.

□ Never submit your offer without a deadline.

If there's no deadline for acceptance, a bid will often become the one to be bid against.

□ Never have the first bid accepted.

People like to negotiate. When the buyer's first bid is accepted, the sale feels too easy and he'll almost always back out. Easy come, easy go.

Q Delay a quick counteroffer.

When you reply "I'll try to have an answer for you in an hour" you build anticipation and give more credibility to what would have been a "too quick" response.

□ When you're expecting a low offer from a customer, forewarn the other side.

An early heads-up is always appreciated. It leaves the door open and will soften the blow.

Avoid the Friday rush hour.

People like to conclude business by the close of the business week. For example, in real estate, 80 percent of all offers are submitted on Fridays. Avoid the competition and push for a Thursday offer.

□ If your buyer gets cold feet, offer to show him more product.

When the customer changes his mind about buying, take the pressure off by suggesting he see more product. It usually con-

firms his original decision.

□ Never go back empty-handed.

Always get a counteroffer, no matter how small the concession. Going back without one is the equivalent of slamming the door in a suitor's face.

□ Whenever you're uncertain, do nothing.

It's on the firing line that you're most apt to make a strategic mistake. Since very few sales are lost by taking a few minutes to think, step back and think through what your next move ought to be. You'll have the general's perspective and a much better shot at making the sale.

□ In heated competition, get your customer to put his best foot forward.

Small incremental bid increases will only drive the price higher and inevitably won't secure the deal.

□ To overbid another buyer, ask the seller, "what number will make this deal happen?"

Without knowing the number, you're only shadowboxing.

□ If you're asked to submit a closed bid, make your offer an uneven number.

Bidding wars are often won bv a few dollars.

—

□ Share a story about "the fish that got away. "

You can create urgency by sharing a story about someone else who waited and lost.

BARBARA CORCORW

IF VOL' DON'T HAVE BIG BREASTS

□ Play your hand to its best advantage.

Price is not the only card in your hand. The other negotiating points are delivery date, financing terms, warranties, and extras.

□ Never leave only one remaining issue on the table.

With only one question left to be resolved, there has to be a winner and a loser.

□ Get it in writing.

Kisses aren't contracts.

PART 8

How to Jump a Slump

Sales is a business of fifteen noes to every one yes. Most sales slumps start when competition is stiff and one more lousy customer succeeds in wasting your time. You know you re headed for a slump when you start taking your business personally.

Steps for Getting Out of a Slump

/. Stop worrying about the next deal.

Instead, make weekly appointment goals and write them in your calendar. It'll take the pressure off and lay the right foundation for future sales.

2. Knock that chip off your shoulder.

It's a sure sign you're taking the business too personally.

3. Don't worry about what everybody else is thinking about you.