134 How to Sell Yourself
You can’t win ’em all
Don’t be discouraged by a series of “no sale” calls. You can’t
know why you didn’t make the sale, and sometime it has nothing
to do with you, your product, or your presentation. If you suspect
it’s you, then work at improving your selling techniques. But don’t
lose sight of other factors that may have caused the buyer to look
elsewhere.
It’s not outside the realm of belief in today’s world that some-
one is “kicking back.” The buyer may have a brother-in-law sell-
ing the same basic products. You may be dealing with a true status-
quo person (“We’ve been buying Faunce Corporation widgets for
30 years and we’re happy with them.”).
There are reasons you’ll never even dream of, so just press
on, improve, grow, and do the best you can.
Don’t waste their time—or yours
Time is an important commodity. Don’t waste it. When you’re
making a sale, know all your facts.
- State them.
- Answer any questions.
- Ask for the order.
- Thank your client.
- Go.
Variety is the spice of life
Vary your presentations. Keep them fresh. Use your imagina-
tion. Be creative. Dare to be different. This sets you apart from
the pack and will help you make the sale.
Enjoy your work. Believe it or not, it’s contagious. Just as
when you make intellectual love to your audience and your audi-
ence loves you back, when you’re having a good time working, it
shows and others enjoy your enjoyment.
Enjoy what you’re doing
I remember watching Ed McMahon, my favorite salesman,
selling vegetable slicers the way he had done years before on the