4 Fantastically Simple Fundamentals to Help You Boost Your Sales
It was the Fourth of July parade, 2013, in our small town of Leesburg, Virginia.
My daughter, Claire, was five at the time. And she loved parades (still does), but for one reason, and one reason only – she gets free candy thrown at her.
We arrived at the parade a bit later than usual but Claire wasted no time elbowing her way to the front just as the parade began.
She was literally bouncing up and down with excitement as the first float passed.
But something horrific happened – no candy was thrown at her!
She shook it off as a fluke and regained her position for the second string of marchers.
Candy was thrown, but not to her. Bag still empty, she was 0 for 2.
Now clearly baffled and frustrated, she refocused once more just in time to see the third wave of crazy costumed people on unicycles spin by her tossing candy to all the children around her but she was once again left empty handed.
She was crushed.
She turned back to me, lips quivering, “I’m not getting any candy!”
(Tough life, I know.)
“Claire, I said, this is a sales game. Want help?”
She did.
I quickly coached her on the four fabulously easy fundamentals of selling because hey, what good is having a sales coach for a mama if she doesn’t help you figure out how to get more candy at a parade?
Sales Fundamental #1: Get Noticed
This parade was crawling with kids and they were all jockeying for the same flying bits of sticky goodness.
I told Claire that she had to grab the eye contact of the people in the parade and wave at them.
She needed to stand out in the crowd.
This is no different for all of us in sales – we must stand out from the competition by grabbing their attention.
When they are with us we have to bring a different experience to the buyer in order to provide value clarity.
Sales Fundamental #2: Be Likeable
I told Claire that once she got their attention she needed to continue waving and flash them a big smile.
She needed to not come off as just another greedy, candy-snatching kid, but rather a polite child who was just there to enjoy the wonderful parade.
We also cannot come off as self-serving, overly aggressive sales people with commission breath.
According to the psychologist Albert Mehrabian, we have seven seconds to be likeable in the eyes of our buyers – so throw back those shoulders, stand up straight and put on a smile when meeting your buyers.
Sales Fundamental #3: Know the Right Thing to Say
What you say in sales is critical and preplanning the exact right thing to say in the exact way you want it to be delivered is a must in tricky selling situations like the initial greeting.
Having strategically rehearsed lines that come off as natural and friendly is the goal.
Winging it is not advised!
For Claire, her line was shouting the correct holiday message for the type of parade she was attending.
In this instance, (while maintaining eye contact, smiling and still waving) she needed to shout “Happy Fourth of July!”
Sales Fundamental #4: Give Thanks
Once success is achieved, thanks must be given.
Technically this is just good manners, but in the selling arena it also buys you consumer goodwill in the form of props on social media, scores you referrals, and provides testimonials you can share with other prospective buyers.
Being truly thankful and expressing your gratitude for winning the sale is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.
And for Claire, it was the only way she was allowed to keep the candy!
