‘No’ means redefining your approach to sales

Although salesmen, like baseball players, must follow the rules
By : Jeffrey Gitomer

   A reporter once asked John Kruk, the overweight first-baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, the following question: “What kind of an athlete are you?” Kruk responded sharply: “I’m not an athlete. I’m a ball player.”

   In his response, Kruk redefined the term “athlete” and made it his own.

   The same can be said for sales. Although salesmen, like baseball players, must follow the rules of the game, everyone plays according to his personal beliefs and definitions. What are yours? Or are you still looking words up in the dictionary to get the meaning? If so, you are making a big mistake.

   Noah Webster, the author of An American Dictionary of the English Language, was good at providing definitions of words but lousy at providing their meanings. It’s obvious that he was never in sales as some of his definitions are not very realistic.

   I challenge you to begin thinking beyond dictionary definitions. Take the term “cold call” for instance. It’s defined in the dictionary as a “first-time sales call to someone you don’t know.” The word “sale” is defined as “the act of two people getting together to transact business.” That may be the dictionary definitions of these terms, but it’s far from their true meaning.

   For example, how do you define someone who refused your business? You may be a little rougher than the dictionary. Webster might define a missed sale as “someone who refused your offer to buy.” You, on the other hand, might define a prospect who just turned you down as “the stupid yo-yo who didn’t return my phone calls, lied to me, jerked me around, took a lower bid, and kept me from making my quota.”

   But in terms of sales, the real definition of a prospect who turned you down is “someone who decided to buy, but not from you.” That’s the real definition. If you think of it any other way, you are just kidding yourself.

   Let’s try a few more real-world definitions.

   • Selling – An opportunity to be your best. An opportunity to help others. An opportunity to provide something of value. An opportunity to earn. The key word is “opportunity.”

   • Cold call – A waste of time. The lowest-percentage sales call often performed by the least trained. Everyone hates them – the caller and the receiver. A great place to learn how to sell – a lousy place to make a sale.

   • Customer – Your paycheck. Food on your dinner table.

   OK, get it? Here are some more, in no particular order.

   • Gatekeeper – The person who approves spending for a company or a household. The person you need to win over to make the sale.

   • The customer’s office – The worst place to make a sales call. A place where you have no control.

   • Personal information (about the prospect) – The pathway to a sale.

   • Lunch (with a prospect) – The pathway to gaining personal information.

   • Late (for an appointment) – I don’t respect your time.

   • Sales presentation – A place to discover needs and create an atmosphere in which the prospect wants to buy.

   • Question (asked by the salesperson) – Opportunity to gain information, determine needs, qualify the prospect, understand the situation better and look intelligent.

   • Question (asked by the prospect) – A sign of interest. A signal for the sale.

   • Reduced price – Your kids eat less.

   • Close the sale – The delicate balance between your words and actions and the prospect’s thoughts and perceptions.

   • Follow-up – Creative opportunity to build value and earn a sale. Gives you a good reason to call a prospect besides asking for the sale or for money.

   • No returned call (from a prospect) – You have not gained the prospect’s interest. You have built no value. You have not earned a returned call.

   • Getting your customer a lead or a sale – A mind-blowing strategic advantage. The next time you call the customer, he won’t know if you’re buying or selling. An act that puts you on their team. The most powerful relationship building tool in the box.

   That’s it for now. So until next week, may I be the first to tell you: “Have a nice day.” Which could also be defined as “insincere words used by everyone as a non-thinking way of saying goodbye. Try instead: “Thanks for your business” or “Thank you for being our customer.”

   Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of “The Sales Bible,” and “Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless.” President of the North Carolina-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. He can be e-mailed at salesman@gitomer.com (mailto:salesman@gitomer.com)