It's the Volume...It's the Volume...It's the Volume
written by Jim Berry
You want to be a fantastic sales person. Others seem to be doing very well at it but you don't seem to have a clue. You try and try but your numbers just don't seem to be making it. My friend, let me tell you about sales - It 's the Volume...It's the Volume...it's the Volume.

Without the volume in leads generation your sales effort is going nowhere. It takes a lot of effort to generate the volume of leads that you need to be successful and it seems that all of your energies are expended on getting those valuable leads.

Why do you need the volume? Because not everyone is ready for a close when you so deem fit. People need time to make decisions and you cannot force a close or you will probably have buyer's remorse and the sale will be canceled the next day. All of your efforts will go down the tubes.

You need that pipeline of volume of suspects who might become prospects. Timing in sales is extremely important.

One of the most valuable things I can tell you is that you have to give your customer the idea in such a way that they come back to you thinking it was "their idea". This makes the customer feel as though they made the choice and were not forced into it by a pushy sales person.

As a point of fact there are really very few good "closers" who can sustain themselves on a long term basis. That is why it is the volume that is important. You have to generate the leads (or have a system that does this for you), make the phone calls, visit the customer and then the fallout will occur. YOU WILL START MAKING SALES in a more consistent manner.

In sales, I work by way of the "Need, Problem, Solution".

First you have to target your market to identify which customers Need your services. The customer might not recognize that they have the Need, but at least you are at 1st base.

Then you have to discuss the Problem that the customer is having. The customer might not recognize that they have a Problem. If they don't recognize the Problem - you have a problem. So it's onto the next customer to repeat the process.

Finally if the customer knows they have a Need & they recognize their Problem - YOU DELIVER THE SOLUTION (S). Don't ever give them to many solutions as it will confuse the customer. Give them 2 maybe 3 solutions. Sell them the sizzle not the steak because the steak might bog down the sale. If you start getting into too much detail you will probably lose the sale because it is too much for the customer to handle.

Once you've made the sale - EXIT !!! Don't hang around chit chatting too much. The customer might pick up something you say that will change their mind. You are a professional. Don't dally. Move onto the next customer as a matter of course.

There are a number of other tips you will need in your bag of tricks but these are a few.

Keep in mind though that you need the numbers. Without the numbers you won't succeed.

If you want to succeed in sales you've got to make allowances for the customer and remember - It's the Volume...It's the Volume...It's the Volume.
11/20/99