Antonio Garrido is President and Founder of Absolute Sales Development – Miami’s own Sandler Sales Training organization that provides companies of all sizes with superior business-growth training. Visit: www.absolute.sandler.com or contact: (786)-527 0277
Twitter: @SandlerASDMiami

The TACTIC: Does the prospect have the need?
The STORY:
Nick sat in his company’s car at the nearby regional shopping mall. Seven o’clock at night, he glumly thought to himself, been on the road since seven this morning calling on people. Not one lousy sale, couple of nibbles, no closes.
Nick had set out in the morning to call on as many of the “call me back in three months” prospects as he could. He figured that maybe physically showing up might get some interest in what he had to offer.
His first call at seven in the morning was with a small manufacturing plant. Even though the owner gave him two minutes in the outer office, all he heard was “could you leave some literature?”
He left it, thinking to himself as he handed it over that before he sat in his car, it would hit the circular file. The next stop, just down the street, was no better. No one had any time to see him; “leave a business card.” Along with all the rest, he thought.
Fortunately, he thought at the time, I’ll use the car phone to make some calls since I’ve got at least an hour ride to the next stop. With the voice mail, the “she’s on vacation,” and “Does Mr. Smith know you?” type responses, calling from the car was zero for fifteen.
Nick stopped for lunch and wondered just how those other salespeople in the restaurant managed to “do lunch” with clients and get orders. The two times he had done it, the prospects had a great lunch and promised to get back to him. They never did, and when he called them, they were always “unavailable” or “in a meeting.”
There were 12 stores in the mall that he had been phoning for the past eight months. He figured this would be the best use of his afternoon. At eight of the stores, all purchasing was done out-of-state. The rest all had suppliers and, as one lady manager put it, “We’re absolutely delighted with their service. Never have the need to change.”
There has to be a better way, he thought. Starting his car, he headed back to his condo, hoping tomorrow would be better.
The RESULT:
Nick isn’t going to sell any of these people anything because he has not established if they will ever need what he is selling. They will buy, but they will buy from someone who sees their need and sets up a situation where they express it.
DISCUSSION:
Why do salespeople have a multitude of prospects that they have repeatedly contacted but who have never bought? The old sales adage of “someday they will” is why. Also this type of prospecting activity is considered appropriate by sales managers and upper management. The problem is that occasionally someone does buy with this method.
The basic problem, the fallacy with this thinking, is that this type of sale makes money for the salesperson and the company. If you tracked the amount of time spent in this process, you would painfully find out that the cost of making the sale wiped out the profit Add up the phone bill, allocate some of the overhead and figure in an hourly rate for the salesperson. Also add in postage and the cost to print the sales literature. Now divide the net from the sales by this figure. Painful.
So does it make sense to keep doing it?
But someone is saying, “But what else can we do? This is the way we have done it for umpteen years.”
There is another way.
APPROACH:
Understand that if you are calling the appropriate prospects for your product, that someday every one of them will buy that product. While it may not be from you, they will buy. There are, however, a certain number of prospects who will buy within the next two months. You need to uncover them.
What makes them buy within the next two months is not price, but need. If they don’t buy, they will be in pain. Someone in their company, someone at home, or they themselves will suffer unless they have what you sell. These are the prospects you need to quickly find before they go and buy from someone else.
Approaches? By reversing questions, bringing the past and future into the present, by asking questions and waiting for a response however long it takes, by using many of the “prospecting” TACTICS cards, by seeking their needs and not your needs, all of these will uncover those prospects who are in pain and have a need today.
“Call me in a couple of months” is a brush-off.
What’s going to change in a couple of months that causes you to need my product? Nothing? Why should I ever call you back and waste my time and my money?
THOUGHT:
There are prospects out there right now, who need to buy what you sell. Sell them!

Sandler Training is a global training organization with nearly 50 years of top-flight training experience. Sandler Training provides training and consulting services for small-to-medium-sized businesses, as well as corporate training for Fortune 1000 companies. With over 250 offices located throughout the USA alone, Sandler’s goal is to help clients initiate substantive, measurable and sustainable growth.

Antonio Garrido is President and Founder of Absolute Sales Development – Miami’s own Sandler Sales Training organization that provides companies of all sizes with superior business-growth training. Visit: www.absolute.sandler.com or contact: (786)-527 0277
Twitter: @SandlerASDMiami

The TACTIC:  Sales is not intellectual.
The STORY:
Frank was one of those notorious customers about whom every sales group tells stories.  Any sale made to Frank was small, the commission even less than small, and the pain and suffering Frank put the salesperson through were legendary.
“I remember the time,” said Andy, “that Frank and I went at it for close to an hour.  He thought he could nail me with his knowledge of how our product was built and why it was overpriced.  Took him to the mat.  He finally admitted I knew my stuff.  Didn’t get any order, but I got his respect.
“So that’s why,” asked Melinda, “he’s now my client?  No one else in the office wants to deal with him?”
“For sure,” responded Andy, “best of luck.  If you want to get anywhere with him, best you know all the obscure little details.”
Three days later, Melinda met Frank for the first time at his office.
“I understand you have a new valve that I might be able to use, that titanium one.  It’s overpriced for what it does.”
“That’s interesting you say that.  Could you tell me how you decided that?”  For the next 10 minutes, Melinda just sat and listened, occasionally nodding her head.
“And to top it off,” he went on, “your technical support isn’t the best.”
“Our technical support isn’t the best… that means…” she asked.
Frank again went n for five minutes to end with, “You know, you’re the first salesperson from that company that has ever listened to me.”
“By listening to you, does that mean I’m doing my job or am I in trouble with you?”
“God almighty, no.  You’re not in trouble.  In fact, I’ve been thinking of making some drastic changes in the manufacturing department.  I think your company has some of the stuff I need to do it.”
“When you say, ‘drastic changes,’ exactly what do you mean?”
Frank not only did 90 percent of the talking for the next half hour, he even gave Melinda a copy of the construction blueprints and made her a promise she would work up a quote.
The RESULT:
Melinda listened, questioned, and will probably make more than a dollar or two.
DISCUSSION:
If you know by heart the 101 all-time closing lines, are you a successful salesperson?  Maybe.
If you know everything there possibly is to know about how your product can be used, how it is made, and how it stacks up against the competition, are you a successful salesperson?  Maybe.
If you have the most sophisticated and well-thought-out prospect tracking system, and use it, are you a successful salesperson?  Maybe.
If you arrive at your sales job at seven in the morning, eat lunch at your desk, and get home by nine at night, are you a successful salesperson?  Maybe.
If you keep meticulous records that made getting reimbursements a snap, are you a successful salesperson?  Maybe.
If you habitually buy the latest sales training video and audio tapes, and listen to them, are you a successful salesperson?  Maybe.
How do you define a successful salesperson?  Simple.  How often do you go to the bank to deposit your earnings?  A lot?  Do your deposits get larger and larger?  That’s the only measure of a successful salesperson.
APPROACH:
A salesperson’s job is to get his prospects and clients to tell him a story.  The story line is how much they need what the salesperson has to sell.  The conclusion of the story is the sale.  Notice that the salesperson is never the one telling the story.
How do you get them to tell you a story and include you in the final chapter?  By asking them questions and then waiting for answers.  Let them fill in the details.  Remember, it’s their story, and if you start telling it for them, they’ll be annoyed.  Annoy the enough and you’re out the door.
Everyone is convinced their story is the most important.  Give them a chance to tell it.  Remember, the prospect and client don’t care at all about your story so don’t bore them with it.  Telling your story doesn’t make you money no matter how interesting it is to you.
When their story starts to get dull, ask them a question.  “That’s really interesting you selected to include that… tell me why.”  Wait they will.
THOUGHT:
Don’t sell.  Do this instead; listen, question, listen some more, question some more, go to the bank.  That’s being successful.

Sandler Training is a global training organization with nearly 50 years of top-flight training experience. Sandler Training provides training and consulting services for small-to-medium-sized businesses, as well as corporate training for Fortune 1000 companies. With over 250 offices located throughout the USA alone, Sandler’s goal is to help clients initiate substantive, measurable and sustainable growth.