Quote of the Week

"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success." --Henry Ford

What are you doing now to get ready to succeed this week?

Are you researching your next prospect on the Internet? Are you practicing for tomorrow's sales presentation? Have you given careful consideration to the terms of your next negotiation? Have you prepared to close your next deal by role-playing with your manager or colleague?

Put the time in this week to do your homework, and reap the rewards.

Laugh all the way to the bank!

"I've found that humor can be an effective tool for moving the sale along at almost every stage of the process," says sales speaker and BusinessWeek Online Columnist Michelle Nichols.

However, using humor doesn't mean going overboard and acting like a goofball warns Nichols. Adding appropriate levity to a situation can increase your likeableness, and help establish that critical connection with customers. As a result, customers will listen more closely, and if trouble erupts, they're more likely to cut you some slack.

Here's some of Nichols' advice for injecting some humor into your sales process:


Get personal. One of the most powerful sources of humor is stories from your own life. Personal stories are easier to remember, which makes it easier to tell them smoothly. A little self-deprecation never hurts. For example, if my prospects are parents, I might tell them about my daughter. When her junior high was having Career Day, I asked if she wanted me to speak, since not everyone's mom is a columnist and speaker. "Oh great, how exciting," she moaned. "Why can't you be a pharmacist, or something that doesn't sound so boring?"

Talk about price. I have an old Mr. Boffo cartoon subtitled "The further adventures of the Bargain Hunter," depicting a guy displaying "Ed's Tattoo Parlor" tattooed on his chest in giant letters, saying, "Guess who got a free tattoo?" My point is, what is the real value of "free?" When I quote prices, the biggest potential sticking point, I like to say, "Your total is a mere $43,837.46." That always gets a laugh, and helps prospects over the price shock - at least for a moment.

Finish strong. A la David Letterman, an original Top Ten list of funny reasons the customer should buy from you, or buy right now, is an unusual approach - and could seal a deal.

Humor will put your customers at ease and help make the sale. So have fun playing with Nichols' ideas.

A warning to the humor-challenged: these are just suggestions. If it doesn't feel right, hey - don't do it! Remember: with humor, a little goes a long way.

This advice was excerpted from Top Dog Sales Secrets. Michelle Nichols is a popular sales speaker, consultant and columnist for BusinessWeek Online. Visit her site at http://www.savvyselling.com.

Magic Sales Words

With a wave of his wand, a magician chants "abracadabra" to cast his spell. What special words do you use in selling to open doors and close deals?

Renee Walkup of SalesPEAK has three favorite words. Here's the first: "Oh."

This versatile word can be a catch-all to assist you when:

--You have a difficult question from your customer
--You're shocked by what you've just heard
--Your customer has just shared valuable information about your competitor
--You're stumped

As an example, you are in the middle of your product presentation when your customer interrupts saying, "No need to go any further--I've heard this before."

Now it's your turn to say, "Oh?"

The customer will elaborate where he's heard the presentation (from an ad, your competitor, a website,etc.) and you'll have information you can use to advance the sale.

Remember, you have not argued with your customer, nor agreed with him, explains Walkup. You are simply inquiring in a professional, non-threatening way that you simply want more information.

Oh, go ahead and try using "Oh?" And, let us know what sales magic you create.

Renee Walkup is president of SalesPEAK Inc. and author of "Selling to Anyone Over the Phone."

Attention Women in Sales!

We recently learned about a special sales conference for women and thought you would want to know about it. One of our long-time contributors, Jill Konrath of Selling to Big Companies, has put it together. It's called the Sales Shebang. You can click here to learn more.

"I'm just calling to check in ..."

This is surely one of the most ineffective (translate: lame) openers you could use. But does that stop most salespeople? Unfortunately, no.

"If you're like most people, you've used this opener at some point in your sales career," says Colleen Francis of Engage Selling. "What you may not realize is that this little sentence can quickly reduce your credibility with your prospect. Are you really calling just to check in or check up? If so, either you've got a lot more time on your hands than I do, or else it's time to seriously consider a career change!"

Francis gives this advice for creating a more effective opening:

First, start by removing the word 'just' - it makes you sound unimportant, and your call seem like an afterthought.

Replace it with something like: "The last time we spoke, you ..." By taking the customer back to the last time you spoke, you remind them of your relationship, and prove that you are carrying through on what you were asked or promised to do.

Nothing builds rapport better than a promise kept. Rapport leads to trust, and trust leads to loyal customers.

Give this tip a try this week and see the impact on your calls.

Sales trainer Colleen Francis is president of Engage Selling Solutions and a contributor to Top Dog Sales Secrets.

Quote of the Week

"You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." - Wayne Gretzky

We hope this inspires you to go for it this week.

Rapport-Building Nightmare

Here's some fun for your Friday, courtesy of our friend, Dan Seidman at Sales Autopsy. Dan collects Sales Horror Stories, the worst sales blunders he can find and relays them with a sales training twist so you can learn from another sales professional's misery.

Check out this YouTube video of Dan telling one of our favorites. You'll howl as you hear how this hapless salesperson's rapport-building efforts crushed any hope of a sale. Enjoy!