"I will do today what other people won't so I can have tomorrow what other people can't."
- Zig Ziglar
Six Ways to Get into a Sales Slump
Gary Korisko – Director of Sales Operations, Security National Life
I read a lot of sales articles and many of them are titled, “10 easy ways to improve your whatever” or “12 tips to a better such and such.” Just to be different this week, we’re going to cover six rules that a salesperson can follow to get into a slump. So if you are tired of the tedium of making sale after sale, follow the six rules below for a little change of pace.
1. Stop asking exploration questions.
Asking probing questions can be time consuming and most prospects don’t cooperate anyway. Since every prospect chooses to buy or not buy for the same reasons, it’s probably better to just start talking product early on, right?
2. Assume things.
People who have said no in the past surely will say no today. Those people aren’t worth calling on because they probably can’t afford our product. And those other people…don’t even get me started…they’re too young. (You get the idea.)
3. It’s all about the price.
Most people buy things solely based on the price. Consumers don’t care about value, so why waste your time demonstrating value?
4. Listen to surface level information.
When a prospect makes a statement, it is what it is. So instead of reading between the lines or asking for clarification to see if there is any deeper meaning in their comments, assume there is nothing below the surface.
5. Use the exact same approach for every customer.
We have an endorsed sales presentation, so why not just spit it out verbatim at every appointment? Customizing it for each individual prospect in order to make the buying experience personal for them seems time consuming. Note to self: Just send the prospect the link to our online sales presentation.
6. Give up on learning and trying new things.
There’s nothing new under the sun. I’ve been doing this for years so there’s not a lot I don’t already know. If you honestly believe that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, then you are totally on board with this rule already.
Clearly, these rules were written with a good deal of sarcasm. However, these are just the type of bad habits that even the most seasoned salesperson can slip into if they are not paying attention. So this week, check yourself. Are you inadvertently following any of these six rules and setting yourself up for a slump? By always paying attention to your activity and habits you can avoid these slumps and sell more consistently over time.
