Four Universal and Highly Effective Sales Principles

I’ve spent the past nine days with thirty of my clients and Business Performance staff, enjoying the sights, sounds, culture and the people of Peru, one of the greatest incentive trips our clients have ever enjoyed. Every place we went, I was amazed at the sales skills practiced by local street vendors and shopkeepers. I’ve always maintained that “sales is sales” and the principles learned selling one product in one industry are totally interchangeable with other products and in other industry. This trip reinforced that belief along with the notion that these principles are universal with all countries and cultures.

Let me give you a few examples of the way four highly effective sales principles were applied. The first principle is building rapport. As I talk about this sales principle, keep in mind that in effective selling, that sales people sell themselves first. Also, people buy from people they believe, like and trust. I’m always a sucker for little children selling their wares. While walking in the main square of Cuzco, the ancient capitol of the Inca Empire, I was approached by a young girl, maybe seven years old. She asked me where I was from and then asked if I wanted to buy one of her crocheted finger puppets. She told me her mother had made them and that she had many different ones.

She followed me through the square showing me her little finger puppets and each time she reached into her bag to show me a different animal finger puppet, she would ask me if I wanted to buy one from her. She walked with me for maybe ten minutes through the square and then through several side streets on my way to the hotel. I was becoming a little worried about her safety but she continued to walk with me and talk with me and show me all the different finger puppets she had in her little bag. During that ten-minute time period we bonded. There was no way for me to escape purchasing from her. I wanted to buy from her because I liked her and had become somewhat attached to her. I didn’t really need any finger puppets, but I did think they might be a fun Christmas present for my grandson. She engaged me in conversation about myself and she walked with me allowing me to gain trust in her. I purchased enough finger puppets to start a small zoo. Oh, by the way, price was never a factor in the buying decision, she had my trust.

The second principle is Capturing Your Prospects Attention. One of the days we spent in the Amazon Rain Forest we went Piranha fishing. After a morning of catching Piranha and Cat Fish, we visited an area where large lily pads were growing in a pond adjacent to the might Amazon River where a Yagua Indian family was paid to keep the pond free of debris from the river. They knew that on a typical morning there would be a few small boats of tourists with their local guides coming to see the giant lily pads. They had a modest display of homemade crafts hung on posts along the pond in hopes of generating a few extra dollars. It would have been very easy to just pass by without paying much attention to their display, but I couldn’t look past their attention getter. They had two of them in hopes that they could capture my attention and entice me to purchase their wares. What captured my attention? - a boa constrictor and a baby sloth. I stopped to see the snake and the sloth and ended up buying several of their handy crafts. Attention getters really work. Our group stopped to visit a native Yagua Indian village, home to about thirty men, women and children. All the girls, both young and old had their faces decorated in bright red markings from the red fruit of a tree growing in the rainforest. In anticipation of our arrival, they had put on their makeup. The makeup was quite an attention getter. As a group we purchased many of their handmade trinkets.

There is nothing in sales quite so powerful as a demonstration. The third principle is showing the prospect the value of your offering, or in other words, what’s in it for him. While at the same Yagua Indian village, the chief and several of the other men demonstrated their skill with “blow pipes” using poison darts to kill their prey. We competed with them in a contest to see who had the greater skill. They won, but the act of demonstrating the use of the blow-pipes was enough to entice several clients to purchase blow pipes and darts. Poison for the tips of the darts was not part of the transaction. We also had the opportunity to watch the members of the tribe perform several of their ceremonial dances. Again, watching them demonstrate their dances encourage several members of our group to participate with the Yagua people in their festivities. Demonstrating the value of a product (showing the prospect “what’s in it for them”, is a classic sales principle.

Always ask for more is the fourth universal sales principle experienced on this trip. One aspect of this principle is not being afraid to ask for a fair price. A little four-year old girl approached me in Cuzco, asking me to buy a finger puppet. Remember, I had already purchased a whole zoo full of finger puppets from another child. This little girl was just learning the trade, and even though she had the courage to ask me if I wanted to buy, she wasn’t sure what to charge me. I knew the “going” price was one Sol (Peruvian Dollar). She turned to her mother and asked her what to charge me. The mother turned to her little daughter and said, “this is your sale, what do you think?” The girl hesitated, looked at me, then looked at her mother again, and after getting the “look” from her mother, turned to me and said, “two dollars”. She had the courage to ask for more and I was willing to pay it. After I purchased the finger puppet, she asked if I wanted to buy a little hand-made doll.

The effective and consistent application of these four universal sales principles will significantly increase your sales performance.

The Thirty-six Thousand Foot View Of Sales

I’m on my way to Lima Peru with twenty-nine of my clients and staff for what will be an adventure of a lifetime. We will spend a day touring Lima and then catch a flight for Cusco and the sacred valley of the Incas. Cusco sits at nearly 12,000 feet. Sales people can be a little windy, and I’m sure I will need all the oxygen I can get just to remain standing. Cusco, the ancient capitol of the Incan Empire; a city of phenomenal wealth and architecture, was conquered by the Spanish in the mid fifteen hundreds. The wealth was taken back to Spain and the Inca people along with their leaders were killed. As part of our sales incentive trip, we are taking about a thousand pounds of medical and school supplies donated by our clients, their friends and others, to a small native school located in the Sacred Valley. Our next stop will be Machu Picchu, the religious and scholarly citadel of the ancient empire, lost to civilization until its discovery in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American archeological explorer. Machu Picchu is considered one of the seven modern wonders of the world. We will round out our adventure by spending a few days in a lodge on the banks of the Amazon River as we explore one of the greatest treasures of the world, the Amazon Rain Forest.

This trip is possible due to the extreme effort and success displayed by the sales people we train. Sure, they could have taken this trip on their own, but because they worked hard and successfully reached their sales goals, they will now be enjoying this adventure as a reward for their efforts. Travel is always more fun when someone else is paying the bill. Every sales person on this trip has reached their sales goal for the year, and the goals were all significantly higher than their performance in prior years. One of the reasons we offer this incentive, is to reward sales people in a way that they may not have enjoyed previously. The second reason we provide this kind of a reward for sales people is to create a pattern of belief and experience that they can continue their top performance and continue to travel to great locations around the world either as a client of The Business Performance Group, or by earning a great income and pay for the trip themselves.

Kerry Preece with All Metals Fabrication is enjoying this trip with his wife Lori because he brought more new business to his company this past year than any sales person in past years. Kerry has set a new standard of performance for his company, and is working diligently this year to bring even more business to All Metals Fabrication. Dave Herrscher, his wife Laurie and daughter Kathryn are traveling to Peru because Dave more than doubled his sales with Plastic Fabrication, one of three companies in the Fisher Group, which also includes Regional Supply and American Label. Dave Arbon and his wife Ashley left their young children home with grand parents so they could enjoy ten fabulous days together. They travel a lot with the children, but this incentive trip gives them time together and an adventure beyond their own expectations. What did Dave do for his employer, Jorgenson Companies, the leading provider of “space”, racking, mezzanines and lockers in the Mountain West? Dave had an increase in gross profit sales of nearly one hundred and fifty thousand dollars this past year. This has been accomplished during what has been one of the most difficult and challenging economies since the great depression. If you ask Dave about the challenges of achieving his greatest sales year since joining Jorgenson Companies several years ago, he will respond with, “What recession?”

Shelby Stewart, General Manager of SERVCO and his wife Angie are traveling with The Business Performance Group because he has led his company to their most profitable year since John Holbrook purchased the company nearly seven years ago. In fact, SERVCO had their most successful year last year, in the forty years since the company began servicing and selling boilers along the Wasatch Front. Shelby was part of the Management Training Program of The Business Performance Group, and earned this trip through applying the skills he learned, which then allowed SERVCO to exceed their annual profitability goal.

Stephen Halverson, President of Halverson Company and his wife Mary with their two children Brayden and Erin earned this incentive trip due to Steve’s unwavering application of the principles and skills he learned in the Management Training and Sales Training programs taught by The Business Performance Group over the past couple of years. During these difficult economic times, Halverson Company, a leader in designing, engineering and constructing material handling systems and facilities for the feed and grain industry, posted their most profitable year in the seventy year history of the company. Halverson also sells and services all types of scales, material handling equipment and parts. They also have a very successful structural steel and fabrication group.

Why would I talk about an incentive trip to Peru and highlight some of the individuals who earned this reward? Plain and simple - to demonstrate what sales people can accomplish when they focus their efforts on sales activities and apply the correct principles. Every sales person who reads this message can have similar results if they apply the correct sales principles with the same unwavering effort. Even if you don’t have the opportunity to earn an incentive trip, you can pay for it yourself with your increased income that will accompany your increased performance. The thirty-six thousand foot view of sales performance is one of hard work, focused effort, application of correct sales principles, increased income, and the time to enjoy it. Decide which great trip or adventure you want to enjoy and then work to achieve it.

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We Can Learn A Great Sales Lesson From The Depression

The Great Depression was a time when businesses were failing and people were out of work. They lined up and down the street and around the corner for a bowl of soup and a piece of bread. Perhaps you remember some of the stories from your grandparents regarding this difficult time, or from history books. For several years in the 1930’s the newspapers were filled with front-page stories depicting the grim events of the Depression. What you typically didn’t read about were the stories buried deep inside the business section of the newspapers, those stories of businesses that flourished during the great depression. Many businesses had increases of two and three hundred percent. This may come as a surprise to learn that there were businesses that flourished during the most difficult economic times this country has ever seen. What caused some companies to have phenomenal success during a period when most people did their best just to survive? Nearly every business was so preoccupied with cutting costs to improve their bottom line, that they lost sight of the top line, which is more sales.

Sales drive the success of every business and increased sales is what caused the success of businesses during the great depression. The great depression gave birth to the outside sales person. Business owners figured that if people were not going to come in to their place of business and buy their product, then they would send salespeople to find potential buyers. This is the same pattern that many businesses follow today. They employ outside salespeople to sell their products and services. However, with the advent of outside sale people business owners discovered a new dilemma. They found that they were at the mercy of their salespeople. A company can have the best product in the world, but if the people don’t know what it can do for them and don’t choose to buy it, they will go broke! It is as simple as this: if salespeople don’t sell, businesses go under.

Have you ever asked yourself, or wondered why salespeople don’t succeed as they should? When you interview salespeople, you’re never really sure what you’re going to end up with. They seem to look real good on the surface, but very often, you don’t end up with what you expected. Industrial Distribution Magazine conducted a survey a few years ago. They wanted to find out why salespeople typically don’t succeed as expected. The results of the survey indicated one of three things:

LACK OF MOTIVATION: Difficulty staying excited in the face of constant opposition.

LACK OF DISCIPLINE: Knowing what should be done but just not doing it.

LACK OF SKILLS: Not possessing the professional skills and personal development to get the job done.

I’ve been involved in Sales, Sales Management and Sales Training for over Thirty-three years. During that time I’ve asked a lot of business owners why their salespeople did not succeed, as they should. In addition to poor follow up, poor planning, and just not getting out to see the people, the most common answer was “the salespeople are lazy.” I’ve surveyed hundreds of salespeople and asked them why they felt they were not as successful as they could have been while working for their last employer.

What do you think their answer was? Not too many of them said, “well, it’s because I’m lazy.” No big surprise there. Their main contention was that “there was no training or support from management.” The employer says poor follow up, poor planning, not seeing the people, or that the salespeople are lazy. The salespeople say there is no training or support.

Could both the employer and the employee be right? The answer is a resounding yes! It is amazing to me, the number of companies that do not train their salespeople to sell. They are taught product knowledge, but not the most important knowledge of all – how to sell. Management just assumes that since people present themselves as a sales person they must know how to sell. Some do and some don’t, and most are in need of some serious training. There is no other profession in the whole world that prepares people so poorly for success than the world of sales. Sales training is a multi-billion dollar industry, but the methods used, combined with the mediocre commitment from both business and employee is shocking.

The economy is facing the most difficult time of recent history. I hope it doesn’t approach the devastation of the great depression of the thirties, nor last as long. But this is something I do know, and something that can offer a ray of hope to every business and every sales person in the country – There is enough opportunity in every market for those businesses and salespeople who work hard enough and smart enough to be successful. Get yourselves trained, be accountable for your actions and performance, and overcome the rejection that has always been part of selling and become motivated by the rewards of your trade. Just as there were many businesses that succeeded during the great depression, there will be many businesses that will succeed now, but they will only succeed as they learn to Motivate, Monitor and Train their salespeople.

The World Is In Need Of Sales People Who Will Get The Job Done

When I was fifteen years old, my father shared a profound little essay with me. It was entitled “A Message to Garcia.” He first told me the story and later produced a well-worn, dog-eared, pocket-sized pamphlet. Having heard the story first from the lips of my father and then having received the written word, I read and then pondered the message and tried fervently to incorporate its message into my soul. As I have grown and matured, I recognize this event as one of many attempts my father made to teach me character and responsibility.

Sales people hold the success of their employers in their hands. The fortunes and failures of any business can be traced to the success of its sales people. The well-being of every employee ultimately rests on the shoulders of the sales effort. Sales people are saddled with the singular effort of bringing profit to the organization, thereby providing the financial stability of all those employed. True, there are others, whose efforts are paramount to the success of any organization, but in the absence of profitable sales, nothing else really matters. Are you building wealth for your employer, fellow employees and yourself, or are you holding them hostage and in fear of eventual economic collapse?

National statistics reveal that the average sales person works only four hours each day at sales related activities. The remaining hours of the day may be busy and tiring, but not focused on those specific activities that generate sales. I don’t believe there is a conscious effort on behalf of sales people to become distracted in their sales efforts. However, I do believe that they lack the understanding of the profound impact their lack of effort and focus has on the lives of their fellow employees or the financial stability of the company. Top sales performers must demonstrate discipline and character. Selling is difficult work and is often conducted in a relatively unstructured environment. Sales people are often left unsupervised in their selling activities. They enjoy a freedom that very few other occupations enjoy. That freedom is necessary for success, and at the same time can create the distraction that result in less than stellar performance.

Sales people must understand and accept the huge responsibility that rests on their shoulders. A responsibility that will determine the security and wealth of all people associated with their employer. Theirs is a responsibility that extends beyond the boundaries of their own company, to both suppliers and customers and their respective employees. A sales person must accomplish their objectives with limited supervision, in difficult economies, and adverse markets. They must find profitable opportunities even when it appears there are none. They must carry with them the hope and trust of all employees whose financial wellbeing depends upon their success. As my father told me, you must learn and incorporate into your character those qualities that will enable you to “carry a message to Garcia.”

I have attached a short introduction to this profound essay by Elbert Hubbard with the hope that it will impact your life as it did mine. With the attitude, character and sense of responsibility exemplified by Rowan, who was called upon to carry a message to Garcia, I believe every sales person reading this message can find a way to spend eight hours each day focused on meaningful sales activities and fulfill the trust of your employer and fellow employees.

“Elbert Hubbard penned his classic essay, “A Message to Garcia" in one hour after a dinnertime discussion with his family. At dinner, Hubbard's son, Bert, claimed that the true hero of the Spanish-American war was Rowan -- a messenger who braved death by carrying a note behind the lines to Garcia, the leader of the insurgents.”

“In all this Cuban business there is one man who stands out on the horizon of my memory like Mars at perihelion. When war broke out between Spain and the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents. Garcia was somewhere in the mountain fastnesses of Cuba - no one knew where. No mail or telegraph could reach him. The President must secure his co-operation, and quickly. What to do! Someone said to the President, "There's a fellow by the name of Rowan will find Garcia for you, if anybody can."

“Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia. How "the fellow by name of Rowan" took the letter, sealed it up in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, and in three weeks came out on the other side of the island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and having delivered his letter to Garcia.”

“The point I wish to make is this: McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the letter and did not ask, "Where is he at?" By the Eternal! There is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college in the land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this or that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies; do the thing - "carry a message to Garcia!"