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Introduction 2-1 Using Observation 2-2 Quiet Time 2-3 Your Network 2-4 Your Own Business 2-5 Options In Franchising 2-6 On A Shoestring 2-7 Your Business Format 2-8 Commissioned Sales 2-9 Building On Initiative 2-10 Financing Your Venture Conclusion |
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Mission #2-8 Securing Your Future through Commissioned SalesObjectives:
Background:If you can sell, you'll never go hungry. If you can sell, your potential for profits is unlimited.
Could you stand spending the majority of your day hearing, "No, no, no, no, no"? Many people avoid direct selling or try it and hate it because they take product rejection personally. The customer doesn't want the vacuum cleaner. It feels like the customer rejects you, "No, I don't want to buy YOUR vacuum cleaner." The average weak person in sales cringes and slinks away depressed. The extraordinary person in sales will smile and knock on the next door. Do you remember from a prior mission, "Some will, some won't, so what, next."
Find successful people and model yourself on them. In the beginning, your modeling should border on mimicry. Later, you can add your own style. In general, you, the salesperson, will look and act like a successful version of your prospect. In other words, your appearance can border on the 'wild' if you're selling recording studio time to rappers. But, creative dress is not considered compatible with selling insurance for the Prudential. You can probably find legendary salespeople who sell refrigerators for Sears', suits for Nordstrom's and shoes for Macy's. There are commissioned salespeople who work for companies large and small and who make more money in a year than two doctors' salaries or three lawyers' salaries. If you want to be like them, find them. Finally, commissioned salespeople are almost always people who are optimistic and full of life. They have to greet life with a smile. They believe in themselves and their products. If some people don't want their wares, they know that others do. What should you sell? You can get rich selling almost anything: rubber bands, coffins, real estate, cars, coffee, anything. Do your research. Work a little harder and a lot smarter and you're going to be a success. If you like tennis, sell tennis gear. If you like to fly, sell airplanes. If you enjoy science, sell laboratory equipment. Who's stopping you? Story: Kirsten Likes TV
Let's take a woman named Kirsten and see how she can turn an interest into a profitable, multifaceted sales career.
It doesn't matter what the mediocre salespeople are doing or not doing. It matters what you are willing to do. Compete with the best, yourself. Where else do they do their research on television set retailing? How about Wall Street? All the big stock brokerage houses maintain market research departments. If a client calls up his or her broker at EF Button and wants to listen about buying stock in a television manufacturing company, the EF Button broker has got to have something to say. EF Button has researchers on the payroll whose job it is, as market analysts, to track the television manufacturing industry. 
Which companies should you buy and which should you sell? What are the reasons for the recommendation? Simply call EF Button or any larger stock brokerage house. Even easier, go online.If Kirsten really gets into this researching and wants to talk to the television industry analyst directly, can she do that? EF Button isn't the CIA. It's amazing. Kirsten calls EF Button and she gets the name of the television industry analyst. She asks direct questions and gets answers. "OK, let's see, that would be Gail Sutherland in our Newark office." Can Kirsten call Gail Sutherland, expert on the television manufacturing industry, with a question? Why not? You can find a wealth of financial information (and gossip) on any large company on the Internet. There are blogs from people who love every company and blogs from people who hate every company. How has research helped Kirsten? She knows a lot about the television manufacturing industry. She knows about the new technologies. She now knows what people are buying and why, and she can make an educated prediction on what and why people will be buying in two years, five years and ten years. But, our Kirsten still needs a job. She makes a list of the top twenty television manufacturing companies. These are her target companies.
Kirsten goes back to the research librarian. There will be business reference books and websites, which will list the names and addresses for the top executives in each of her target companies. She downloads or photocopies the relevant material for each company. Who is the Chairman of the Board, the President, the Vice-President, the Director of Research, the Director of Personnel, etc.? Can she simply call up each company and get the same information? Yes, she can. Can she research on the Internet? Yes, she can. Becoming very successful in financial terms may seem like a long shot fantasy to most people. That's their problem. Kirsten has a plan. She isn't a starry-eyed dreamer buying lottery tickets every week. She is doing her own work and buying a winning ticket to her own independent, financial future. Kirsten starts writing letters: August 30, 2001
How many job seekers would ever take the actions that Kirsten takes? She is showing that she is top ten percent material before she even works day one. Kirsten is starting to receive a dividend from her research. She can write an intelligent letter that might catch the eye of someone who can forward her career. Here's what she'll hear. "Good morning, Diode Electronics." Here's what she'll say. "Good morning, may I have Mr. Ordstein's office, please?" And, then, "One moment, please." "Mr. Ordstein's office, may I help you?" The secretary politely answers, "Yes, Mrs. Walker." Kirsten is on a roll. She calls Mr. Fenton. "Good morning, Diode Electronics."
Kirsten gets her sales job at Diode. Kirsten becomes the marketing representative for Diode Industries in St. Louis. What does she do? Of course, she researches. What has been Diode's prior position in the St. Louis market? Which retailers are currently buying Diode products and why? Which retailers aren't buying Diode products and why? Who are the people who make the buying decisions for each of the retailers? You want peoples' names and not company names. You sell TVs to people. Kirsten is selling the store buyers on quality, features, service and price. Kirsten sells fifty sets the same way she sold one set. Why are Diode TVs known for quality? What features do Diode TVs offer that others don't offer? How does Diode Electronics stand behind its products as few other manufacturers do? Why are Diode TVs a good value for the buck? Kirsten sells. If Kirsten hears, "No," she has to figure out what that "No" really means. Does the "No" in one case mean, "Yes, we'd like to buy 50 sets but we only have the money for 30?" Or, does the "No" mean "Yes, I hear what you're saying, but, what you're saying about Diode doesn't jive with our experiences with Diode in the past?" Or, does the "No" mean, "Yes, we'd buy 50 if the price were better?" Or, does the "No" mean, "Yes, we'd buy 50 if we had the warehouse space for them" Or, does the "No" mean, "Yes, we'd buy 50 if you'd finance the order?" Kirsten has to find out what the "Nos" mean and then sometimes she can find a "Yes" in the "No" answers. Can she personally guarantee better service? Can she offer a better price? Can she offer warehouse space or staggered deliveries? Can she offer financing? Kirsten finds out. Kirsten works with the retailer to solve his or her problems. Can she offer a sales seminar for the retailer's sales personnel? Can she offer practical suggestions to better showcase the Diode TVs in the retailer's electronics department? Can she work with the retailer to develop a more effective print advertising campaign? Can she offer to participate in the advertising campaign with the retailer? Kirsten can sell 50 sets by proving to the retailer that he or she can sell 50 sets. Kirsten knows that the retailers are on her side. They want to sell TVs. Kirsten puts herself in the retailer's position. If she were a retailer, what incentives and assistance would she expect from the manufacturer? Kirsten makes an effort to work with each individual retailer. It may seem like a lot of effort when she may be working with 50 or 100 different retailers. How can she possibly give personal attention to each? Kirsten, by constantly talking with and monitoring the needs of her retailers, finds common concerns. How can these common concerns be addressed? Kirsten can become an important link between her retailers. By observing and listening to her clients, she may find that store "X" has developed a workable strategy to build sales or solve a problem that, if appropriate, she can share with stores 'A', 'B,' and 'C'? Kirsten's job boils down to keeping the 50, 100 or 200 people who are buying her sets happy and productive. The little shops that sells 10 sets, how can she help them to sell 20 sets? The chain that sells 200 sets, how can she help them to sell 400 sets? Maybe Kirsten calls the chain store buyer every two days and the little shop owner once every two weeks. Sometimes, Kirsten's message may be simply, "I care." Is Kirsten doing more than her competitors? She'll know, because she'll ask. Kirsten is also learning to spend her time well. She may think that Gramp's at Gramp's TV is adorable and Bradley Florshein at Jupiter Stores is an overly ambitious jerk. However, Gramp's is having a good month if he sells four Diode TVs, while Bradley sells 300 sets. Whom should Kirsten be spending more time with? How smart would it be for Kirsten to gossip with Gramps about Bradley?
You don't argue or gossip. You are professional. When Kirsten is seeking new accounts should she spend more time with Jason of the five store Frontier chain or do you spend as much time wooing Herbie at Snailville TV and Radio Sales? For any salesperson, it's important to keep careful account of his or her time. Time is money and time should be spent productively making money. Kirsten is a whiz. She never stops researching, analyzing and thinking. What's happening in the TV manufacturing industry? What's happening in the retail industry? What's happening in her local sales territory economy? What's happening with her time? She sees the big picture and the little picture. She learns by herself and from her company and her competitors and from her buyers. Is it possible to become the world authority on television set sales in St. Louis? Yes, it is. Kirsten did it. Kirsten has a knowledge, which is unimportant to most, but a knowledge which could make her rich. Operational Limitations:
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Question and AnswersWhy are business cards so important? The master of business card usage is the "World's Greatest Salesman", Joe Girard. Joe wants to be sure that everyone he meets knows that he sells automobiles. He hands them two business cards. Two cards? Yes, one to keep for themselves and a second to give to someone else. Or, Joe will joke that he gives a person two because he knows that they'll want one to throw away. When Joe goes to a restaurant in his business area, he'll often leave a slightly larger than normal tip along with his business card. Joe also has a habit of leaving his cards everywhere on the top of vending machines and on counters near cash registers. People know that Joe Girard sells cars and you know that he sells more cars than any other salesperson in the world. Make sure that everyone knows what you do for a living and wait for the referrals to follow. You talk a lot about creating new business through the use of FREE promotion. I give piano lessons. What ideas would you have for me? Plenty. Why not start giving a few FREE concerts at nursing homes, hospitals, schools? And make sure that the local press is aware of your activities. Where is a gathering spot for most of the people in your community? At the mall or at a superstore? Then ask the mall or superstore if you can put on a FREE mini-concert or demonstration. Of course, you'll also be offering everyone a FREE half-hour lesson. And, don't be shy about writing articles to your local newspaper on the joys of music and offering FREE advice to readers on music topics. Do you have a podcast or a video on YouTube? You may also want to check into opportunities to offer a FREE performance on your local cable channel. Maybe even begin a FREE series of lessons on cable. Don't forget the candelabra on top of the piano! I like your ideas on small business but I have a great job managing a computer repair facility that I have no plans to give up. Which of your ideas can I still use? You can use most of them. Become an intrapreneur. An intrapreneur is an entrepreneur working within a company. Say you offer a quality service repairing computers. You keep track of your competitors to make sure that your pricing is fair. If you deal directly with the public, make sure that your staff appreciates each customer's business and knows that the customer's primary concern is to get the job done in an efficient and timely fashion. The customer's business wants to be back on line as quickly as possible. If you tell a customer that a repair will take two days, and then you find that the parts don't arrive and the job will actually take three or four days, pick up the phone and call the customer before the customer has to call you. Apologize for the delay even if the fault isn't yours directly. Thank the customer for the business. You may suggest to management that you start a monthly permission e-newsletter regarding new products and services, and maintenance tips, and coupons for upgrades, etc. If you don't deal directly with customers, then your employees are your customers. As always, make them feel appreciated and part of the team. Finally, copy success. Find the leaders in your industry. Study what they are doing and do what they do. Action Plan:
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Inspirational Insights:There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work learning from failure.General Colin Powell Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never -- in nothing, great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Winston Churchill Private victories precede public victories Stephen R. Covey If you do a lot of things to build business, you'll build business. They don't have to be done perfectly to work, although the better you do them, the better they'll work. But the main point is that you have to do them -- a lot. Joe Girard Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing, layout, processes, and procedures. Tom Peters Bravery never goes out of fashion. William Makepeace Thackeray Cowards die a thousand deaths, the brave just once. William Shakespeare Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do and you've done it. Margaret Thatcher When I was young I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures, so I did ten times more work. George Bernard Shaw It takes twenty years to become an overnight success. Eddie Cantor Speak softly and carry a big stick. Theodore Roosevelt Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and then bring friends with them. W. Edwards Deming I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America. Air Force ROTC creed The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you. Anthony Robbins If you envy successful people, you create a negative force field of attraction that repels you from ever doing the things that you need to do to be successful. If you admire successful people, you create a positive force field of attraction that draws you toward becoming more and more like the kinds of people that you want to be like. Brian Tracy First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. Mahatma Gandhi The purpose of hand-to-hand combat is to create an opening for me to get to my weapon. British Special Air Service Soldier If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking. General George S. Patton If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us. Jim Rohn Keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final. Roger W. Babson Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul. Michel de Montaigne The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice. Mahatma Gandhi A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one. Henry Ford Every evening, write down the six most important things that you must do the next day. Then while you sleep your subconscious will work on the best ways for you to accomplish them. Your next day will go much more smoothly. Tom Hopkins The world's a puzzle; no need to make sense out of it. No amount of knowledge will nourish or sustain your spirit ... Life requires more than knowledge ... Life demands right action if knowledge is to come alive. The warrior acts, and the fool only reacts. Dan Millman Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led. Warren G. Bennis Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. Booker T. Washington Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul. Michel de Montaigne My formula for success is rise early, work late, and strike oil. Paul Getty Feeling important makes one heavy, clumsy and vain. To be a warrior one needs to be light and fluid. Carlos Castenada It is change, continuing change, inevitable change that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be...This, in turn, means that our statesmen, our businessmen, our everyman must take on a science fictional way of thinking. Isaac Asimov How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live. Henry David Thoreau |
A big advantage to becoming an entrepreneur in commissioned sales is that you can get into the field without any of your own seed money. You work for a commission which means that you don't get any money if you don't sell. It's good old 'cold hard fightin' in the pits' free enterprise. You get yourself a commissioned sales job and the boss says, "You think you can sell cheese. OK, go out and sell our cheese. Here are some business cards, our price list and a laptop to send in the orders. Good luck." Nothing fancy is needed to sell cheese: a telephone, a car, a pen, a laptop and you're off. OK, maybe some samples of your delicious cheese.