Thoughts On Selling - Part One

Selling is absolutely my favorite part of the cleaning industry. I wish I had time to do more. My main influences include Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar and of course Dale Carnegie. I'm sure many of you have had these same leaders impact your careers in some shape or form. There are a ton of great ideas and techniques available to you from these guys and others that can improve your ability to sell. After being involved with literally thousands of bids in this industry I've just a few thoughts to share with you. Contact me if you would like to explore the details behind these.
· Take action! You must invest energy into an ongoing marketing program. With the exception of good luck and referrals, sales do not occur on their own. Create a measurable marketing plan with achievable goals. Yes, a zero budget marketing plan is better than no marketing plan.
· You must understand this is a numbers game. You must understand your numbers. Good or bad, you have to identify the results of your efforts in order to improve.
· In understanding that sales is a numbers game, concentrate most of your energy on that fact by making lead generation primary to any single sales technique.
· Do not attempt to close the sale on your first visit to a prospect unless it's obvious that they want you to. It's disrespectful. It shows you value your own needs more than theirs. You are not selling a used car, you are asking for keys and alarm codes to their property.
· The first visit is about listening not talking. Be quiet and listen! Of course you need to ask and answer questions, but your purpose there is to discover their pain while developing the specs you will use for the bid. Make all your questions open ended.
· Make sure your proposal identifies their pain and provides a solution. What problem did they have that you can solve within your proposal? Make sure you identify the fact that you heard them when you make your second visit.
· Make sure you ask for their business! Do not do a bid "drop-off" or fax unless you really don't want the account. Sit down, review your proposal, and ask for their business.
· Make your proposal and contract as short and easy to read as possible. You really can get everything you need in just a few pages. Ten page contracts can give the impression that you anticipate a problem later, and that you are more concerned about protecting yourself rather than serving the client. I have closed many a deal by saying I have enough faith in my service, to not have to try to trap the client in a fine print contract.
· Follow -up! Send a thank you card after the second visit. Ask permission to make a monthly or quarterly check-in call. If you haven't annoyed them, they will always say yes. Position yourself to be the go-to company when they decide to make a change. More bids are won in follow up than in the first 30 days, but too many operators/salespeople are too short sighted to realize this critical fact.
· Be personable, smile and be your natural self. Dress appropriately. Don't go casual to a RFP walk through, but don't wear a three piece suit when your meeting with the Facility Manager at an industrial plant. And remember, this is a relationship business, if they don't like you, they won't buy from you.