When I recently asked you what articles about selling you would like to read, the most popular response was “Show me how to make more money.” I cannot thoroughly answer that in one article but I can share several ideas that will help you immediately.
Money is a byproduct of Serving. Want to make more money? The top salespeople focus on serving their customers. The money they make is simply the result of serving the needs and wants of their customers.
Top Salespeople are in business for themselves. They create their own traffic. They network and prospect continuously to increase the number of customers they see everyday.
They Prepare. They know their products, inventory, advertising, finance offers, policies and procedures, and those of their competitors. I must acknowledge John F. Lawhon’s breakthrough book here “Selling Retail”.
They Shop their Competition. You must shop your competitors or have them shopped. Failure to do this will lead to missed sales.
They Educate Themselves. They embrace new ideas. One top salesperson shared that his favorite sales trainers were Dale Carnegie and Tom Hopkins. Not only did he buy the books he invested in their seminars! He saw Hopkins twice! He did not wait for his company to train him. He invested in his own business. His sales business! Among my favorite authors/speakers are Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins, Brian Tracy, and the fabulous Jeffrey Gitomer. A big Thank You to Jonathan DiPrinzio for turning me on to Jeffrey Gitomer. After twenty nine years of success in selling, I am still learning.
Continuous Improvement. Top Salespeople seek to learn every day in every way. They study their coworkers for new ideas and techniques. They become friends with the sales representatives so they can learn everything they can from them.
They Measure their Success. They know their metrics. They measure their closing rates and their average ticket. They strive to improve their statistics. They are on a mission to improve their service to their customers. They know that to achieve true success everyone must win.
They Follow-up. Before I read John F. Lawhon’s “Selling Retail” I would send thank you notes only to customers that bought from me. After I read the book I started sending thank you notes to all my customers. Lawhon explained that one of the differences between good and great salespeople was the great ones sent thank you notes to all their customers. He was right! My income went up. The most important follow-up is a phone call the day after a customer shops your store.
Find a Mentor. Who do you know that is the best? Model yourself after them, but do not lose yourself. Follow the principles of your mentor’s success but be yourself. On my YouTube channel you can see the video I created about me and my mentor. Just go to https://youtu.be/SR30nxHDT6A.