Idea Sellers

Rich Selling Opportunities Exist Now

Call it a recession or a declining market. Make excuses if you must. Regardless, what the economy is currently presenting to us is actually an unprecedented sales opportunity; that is if you are not allowing the nay-sayers to ruin it for you. To coin a phrase from the influence of my mentor, Jim Rohn, it may not be a season of stellar economic expansion, but there are still many "pots of gold" and plenty of rainbows if you look in the right places!

Perhaps you have noticed that my writing frequency has diminished somewhat over the last six to eight weeks. It's not that I have had little to say; on the contrary, I have much to say, yet have been busier than at any point in recent memory! Busier? That is correct. I have sought opportunity in the face of adversity and have found it. You can find it too. Forgive me for writing less... but I have been selling more!

In my recent article, Are Your Sales Growing Despite The Times, I cited several observations and made specific recommendations for finding sales prosperity. In following that advice, I have narrowed my selling focus, concentrating on offering my expertise and certain profitable products to a finite group of customers in specific industries that continue to provide sales opportunities.

Many companies, despite reigning-in expenses and operating in cost-cutting mode with fewer people, still need goods and services to operate. Many companies are open to cost-saving ideas and technical innovations that will contribute to lower-cost operations and improved safety. They are still buying. Are you there to sell to them?

The following are a few of the market areas where I have personally witnessed an expansion of sales opportunities despite the times. Perhaps you can prosper from them as well:

1. Hospital Services
2. Industrial Plant and Processing Safety
3. Food Service and Manufacturing Operations
4. Plastic Injection Molding and Extrusion
5. Synthetic Fuels
6. University Labs and Facilities
7. Green Power and Ecology
8. Nuclear Research and Power Plants
9. Military Installations and Applications
10. Biotechnical / Biological R&D
11. Advanced Composite Materials
12. Nano-Technology

What goes through your head as you plan each sales call? What are you saying to yourself just prior to the call? How do your beliefs impact your presentation?  Is your attitude expectant? Friend, if you do not believe that there is a successful sale approaching, you should not be wasting neither your time or that of your prospect. Why in the world would you even be there... perhaps hoping to stumble upon a sale by accident? Successful selling demands a success mindset, one that includes both optimism and vision. If you offer true value, you will find sales opportunity.

Nowhere have I said that it was going to be easy or a quick fix. Challenging the current economic storm is a daunting task, one worthy of your concerted efforts and persistence. It has been said "that which does not kill you will only serve to make you stronger."  You can and will prevail, if you believe you will. Set your goals and action-plan accordingly. Today's economic gloom will pass, leaving in its wake an exciting expansion. The question is; will you be positioned to prosper or will you still be wallowing in a "woe is me" attitude?

You alone will determine your success by the decisions you make today. So lift up that chin and get moving, you have work to do. 

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...........................
Daniel Sitter
Author

Stumble It!

There Are Many Salespeople; So Why Choose You?

When considering their specific needs and all of the available suppliers competing for their business, why should a company call you to remedy their current situation? What makes you stand out in the crowd? What makes you special and worthy of their confidence?

As a salesperson, if you can't readily answer these simple questions, you need to go back to the drawing board and create or re-create your own elevator speech, concisely describing the reasons why people should want to employ your services. Your "why" should be both unique and compelling.  Your concept message or brand, should be all-inclusive and fully-descriptive of your specialized value, espousing exactly what makes you uniquely qualified to provide your service. It also needs to be both memorable and describable in only a few seconds. A challenging task indeed, yet one that will pay limitless dividends if handled properly.

Your brand is your display ad to the world. It is precious and uniquely yours. If you have established yourself as an authority in your field, properly positioned yourself in your marketplace and adequately promoted your services, your prospects are more apt to find you and will be eager to deal with you. You must have that little "extra," that slight-edge that keeps you in the forefront of your prospect's mind.

Your brand, being your personal storefront, is your constant exposure to the masses. Keep it clean, well finished and well lit at all times. Your branding efforts require constant and consistent attention. You cannot afford to let up or allow your image to be tarnished in any way. On the contrary, you must do everything possible to keep your brand spotlighted and ready to deploy, realizing that every decision you make and direction you move in will affect your brand image and thus, your income.

As a salesperson, how can you ensure that your brand stands out in the crowd? FOCUS. Specializing in a particular area of service and expertise will allow you to stand out. Become the very best at something in your marketplace. Once proven, you will get noticed.  Soon, you will be regarded as the go-to person in your field, the beneficiary of countless and continuous referrals.

Successfully provide valuable, specialized and unique services and your customers will surely act as evangelists, sharing you with their world.

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...........................
Daniel Sitter
Author

Stumble It!

Are your Sales Growing Despite the Times?

Sales as both a career choice and a personal skill-set requires the development of specific techniques, ongoing personal development, the expansion of our comfort zone, confidence, persistence, patience, gut-level instincts and unlike most other professions, a thick skin! On the surface, it looks like selling is a breeze; but any experienced professional will tell you otherwise. However, mastery of the previously mentioned traits will afford you a profitable, fulfilling and rewarding career in any economy, if you are willing to do the work.

Learning how to sell your ideas to others, to persuade others to your way of thinking, may be the most important interpersonal skill that one can develop. Most of our successes in life hinge upon our interactions with others. Those interactions depend upon the relationships we develop. Those relationships are built by trust and integrity expressed through effective communication between the parties involved.

Effective communication hinges upon our ability to sell our ideas to others, to effectively convey our ideas in such a manner that gains acceptance from others and influences their thinking and decision-making process. Are you effectively communicating to your market the benefits of you?

The volatility of the present economic climate has left many people, including salespeople, in a state of fear and uncertainty. We now have the highest number job losses in five years as businesses are trimming both people and operations. How do you sell in this environment? You must learn to expertly and quickly qualify new prospects and seek to offer the highest possible value both there and to your existing customers.

Selling is indeed a unique profession, combining personal chemistry with precise direction. Today's business climate demands greater focus and clarity from salespeople. We cannot afford to be congenial generalists as that mindset will not allow us access to key decision-makers. We must become the expert in our field, being perceived as a valuable resource, their go-to person. Salespeople must comb through their offering of products and services, specializing with laser-like focus in one particular solution that will be of greatest interest and service to their marketplace.

Despite tighter credit, job losses, shrinking production and other economic headaches, many businesses will remain a going-concern, requiring key products and services to operate effectively. Your focus must be at this level.

In the short term, selling almost anything will indeed be tougher. Prospects and customers will be busier, perhaps doing the jobs of several people in prior times. It will become more difficult to reach decision-makers, as their availability declines. The "sales-men will be separated from the boys" as they say. Some salespeople may not weather the storm, yet opportunity remains for those willing to adjust their strategy and tactics in this ever-evolving situation.

Be encouraged. Dig-in your heels and aggressively ride out this storm. Those that do will emerge in a superb position to prosper when the economy cycles back to growth mode. Will you be one of those salespeople?

If you enjoyed this post, please bookmark it and subscribe! 

...........................
Daniel Sitter
Author

Stumble It!