Dan Ramsey - 60 Second Solutions. Selling

Second solutions

SELLING

DAN RAMSEY

INTRODUCTION

Nothing happens until something is sold. Take a look around you. Someone has sold everything you see from beans to buildings to someone. Without sales, factories and stores would close worldwide, trucks would park, airplanes would be grounded, and virtually everyone would be unemployed. Fortunately, selling is alive and well. It contributes significantly to the economy, providing us with employment as well as something for us to spend our earnings on.

Unfortunately, the sales profession been damaged by an unscrupulous few who will say or do anything to win a sale. Happily, they are in the minority, and you can be reassured that selling is a satisfying and rewarding career that contributes to the lives of others. It doesnt have to be cutthroat, you dont have to be deceptive or greedy to be successful, and there are plenty of opportunities for those who sincerely care about their customers.

Wherever you are in your sales career starting out or burning out this book will give you guidance in fulfilling your aims.

the economy rolls forward on the wheels of sales

A COMMON SENSE GUIDE

60 Second Solutions Selling is written for people who are considering their first or twenty-first job in sales. It offers practical and proven advice gleaned from decades of experience and dozens of experts. It is a guide to selling in the real world.

Due to lack of good training, many retail salespeople get frustrated at the very start of their careers and quit, missing out on the opportunity to discover how rewarding a sales career can be. at the other end of the scale, experienced salespeople become disheartened, disappointed by yet another foolproof selling method offered by a sales guru, which when tried, doesnt work for them.

You wont find any hypes, gimmicks, high-pressure tactics or unproven psychology here, just the simple guiding principle: help buyers make good choices. The solutions offered are all based on common sense. Wherever you are in your sales career, use them to build a better future for you, your employers and your customers. youll learn how to find buyers, make successful presentations, solve customer problems, and keep them coming back time and time again. most importantly, youll feel good about being in one of the worlds most valuable professions sales.

everything you need to sell in the real world without selling your soul

FIND A SOLUTION

60 Second Solutions Selling offers 60 solid solutions to improve your selling techniques and develop your sales career. each can be devoured in just one minute, yet each will offer lasting inspiration to help you achieve your career aspirations. The book is divided into six parts, with ten solutions in each.

Part One starts by looking at what selling is all about, explores what makes a good salesperson and introduces some of the most powerful selling techniques including the Golden Rule of sales, sell as you would want to be sold to. after all, selling isnt rocket science; customers simply yearn for an honest, trustworthy, helpful guide who can assist them in making informed decisions. Part Two prepares the groundwork, and covers important topics as finding customers and setting career goals. In Part Three, the secrets of meeting with prospective customers are revealed, helping you to secure that all-important sales appointment. Part Four walks you through the sales meeting step by step to ensure you maximize your chances of success. Part Five is about giving a winning presentation, no matter what you are selling and to whom. Finally Part six looks at some of the more challenging tasks you may face as your career advances, including selling to multiple buyers and writing a sales proposal for consideration. It also shows you how to apply sales techniques to marketing yourself so you can succeed in getting the best jobs in sales.

whatever the situation you find yourself in, youll find a solution to seal the deal

TOP TEN THINGS YOULL LEARN

Buyers purchase features and benefits, not products and services.

It is important to know your competition better than your buyers do.

Instead of selling on price, you must help your buyers understand the greater value of what you offer.

You can use suggestion and gentle persuasion to help your buyers make decisions.

Most buyers today have too many other choices than to be sold using fear and intimidation.

Buyers dont want you to be their best friend, they just want friendly assistance.

If your buyers trust you to be honest and accurate, they will buy more from you.

Buyers have a problem that you can solve; by asking relevant questions and listening to answers, you can help them buy.

Once youve earned a position of authority and trust, you can consult with your buyers to find the best solution to their problem.

adding real or perceived value to transactions can improve your sales income.

part one

THE PRINCIPLES OF SELLING

SOLUTION 1

WHAT IS SELLING?

The adage that nothing happens until a sale is made is true. Without a transaction (the exchange of goods, services, ideas, promises, or funds) the economy would come to a standstill.

To sell something is to inform a customer of the features and benefits of a product or service, and to persuade her to make the purchase. While the techniques that are used to inform and persuade others are extensively developed in professional salespeople, these are essential life skills that everyone can make use of.

LIFE IS SALES

We all have knowledge, a product or a service that we offer to others and, in many cases, attempt to persuade others to acquire. Some real-life examples include:

A job interview

A marriage proposal

A friendly smile to another driver, asking to be allowed into his traffic lane

We all make sales pitches every day, and often many times a day:

If you do your homework, you can go out to play football.

I think youd prefer this movie. The star is gorgeous!

Can you be here by ten? I need to leave by eleven.

AN ESSENTIAL LIFE SKILL

Many professions, including actors and doctors, use the principles of persuasion and sales in their professional lives. But everyone can benefit from understanding the sales process and how things are sold.

Consumers can make better buying decisions by understanding the approaches that sellers use

Career professionals can use basic sales techniques to advance in their chosen fields

Parents can use simplified sales methods to help children accept household rules

Sale: an exchange of goods or services, typically for money

what you learn about selling can be applied throughout your life both professionally and personally

QUICK FIX: THE KEY TO SUCCESS

In our transactional dealings with others, compromise is so often the key to our success. To compromise is not to give in but to share, to help others to reach their goals as they help you reach yours. To compromise is to find the common ground on which two parties can agree and to respect the areas in which agreement cannot be reached. No one gets his own way for very long, and uncompromising positions lead to gridlock, where nothing will get done.