People who think there is such a thing as a “born sales person” are very difficult to train. \u00a0They think that everything depends on luck or natural talent. \u00a0Nothing could be farther from the truth. \u00a0Successful sales people are eager to learn, study everything they can get their hands on, attend sales meetings and seminars with enthusiasm. \u00a0They understand that it takes hard work to be successful in selling. \u00a0If you are the type of person who fights against every policy the company has, thinks training is a waste of time, sorry, you’re fired.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 How long do you think it will take to become a true professional in sales?<\/strong><\/p>\n Learning to be successful in a business as complex as selling takes more time than many people are willing to invest. \u00a0There are two time-lines. \u00a0The first is 3 years. \u00a0A person should give it everything they’ve got and not even make a decision about the business until they give it their BEST for 3 years. \u00a0The second time-line is 5 years. \u00a0Once a person is in sales for more than 5 years, it is very unlikely they will ever do anything else for a living. \u00a0However, the real answer is that a “professional” has no time line. \u00a0They are ALWAYS looking for ways to improve their skills! \u00a0What have you done in the last six months that you DID ON YOUR OWN TO BETTER YOUR CAREER? \u00a0Not something your company made you do? \u00a0If you haven’t taken any initiative in the past six months, sorry, you’re fired.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 How do you feel about accepting responsibility for someone else\u2019s mistakes?<\/strong><\/p>\n You are in a business that requires a chain of people doing their job efficiently. \u00a0If something goes wrong along the way the sales person is the one who takes the heat. \u00a0It is easy to blame someone else, however, the sales person has to be willing to take responsibility for someone else’s mistakes. \u00a0If they are unable to do it – the business will eat them alive.<\/p>\n Do you take full responsibility for the actions of your entire company, or do you take the easy way out and blame someone else? \u00a0If that’s the case, sorry, you’re fired!<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 What is your definition of \u201cValue Added Selling?<\/strong><\/p>\n You are selling products made by the same manufacturer, same labeling, and the same cost, or providing the same services as your competitor. \u00a0The real value has to come from the sales person. \u00a0Value added selling is not looking at the product as much as looking at the service and attention-to-detail the sales person is willing to give. \u00a0The only true point of differentiation is the sales rep and the “extra value” is their relationship.<\/p>\n If I called ten of your customers at random and they complained about the service you are giving them, sorry, you’re fired!<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0 What motivates you to keep doing the things that are necessary for success?<\/strong><\/p>\n A successful sales person has to be self motivated. \u00a0There is very little room in any industry for maintainers, for sales people who are willing to settle for minimum orders without being hungry for more. \u00a0Successful sales people have to be willing to do the things they don’t feel like doing. \u00a0No one likes to take a customer complaint call on a Friday night when they would rather be watching a movie.<\/p>\n It takes a special kind of personal motivation to be in sales today, and if you are not hungry for more, sorry, you’re fired.<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0 How well prepared are you when making a sales call?<\/strong><\/p>\n To effectively call on between 25 and 50 or more accounts every week with the intention of increasing business with all of them requires a minimum of 4 to 6 hours of intense planning every week. \u00a0Friday afternoon or Saturday morning are the most important hours of the entire sales process. \u00a0It is important to put together a battle plan as if you are fighting a war.<\/p>\n A person who does not understand how to plan and the importance of putting together the details of each call they are going to make during the next week will never be on top of their business. \u00a0If you think detailed planning is a waste of time, sorry, you’re fired.<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0 How good are you about filing important pieces of information?<\/strong><\/p>\n The important pieces of information are not only details about the customers business, but include all the personal data you can collect. Each customer should be treated as importantly as your best friend. \u00a0A successful sales person should know their family, hobbies, goals, and even their dogs name.<\/p>\n Personal information is power and if you are not willing to take extreme measures to get it and use it, sorry, you’re fired.<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0 What are some of the things you do to help control your expenses?<\/strong><\/p>\n Even if the sales volume in your business is huge, the net profit margins are tight. \u00a0No matter what you are selling, you are in the penny business. \u00a0Costs can easily get out of control if the sales person is too extravagant when charging expenses to their company expense account. \u00a0If you look at your expense account as a second source of income, sorry, you’re fired.<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0 What is your biggest accomplishment and how long did it take to accomplish it?<\/strong><\/p>\n We want someone who has a proven track record of persistence. \u00a0What have you done that has taken 2 or 3 years of sticking to it in order to accomplish the task? \u00a0If you don’t have a good story of persistence under your belt, sorry, you’re fired.<\/p>\n So the bottom line. \u00a0If you made it through the interview you are only half way there. \u00a0Your customer is next in line to hire or fire you. \u00a0And it’s a fact that 25%, on average, is the percent of customers who will tell you to hit the road next year. \u00a0Are you prepared for the interview with them?<\/p>\n Next year is going to be a year like you have never seen before. \u00a0You are going to feel the heat. \u00a0Heads are going to roll, companies are going to close and people are going to be wondering what happened and whom to blame. \u00a0You are going to have to work twice as hard to sell the same amount of business.<\/p>\n While your competitors are taking it easy and falling asleep over the holidays, use that time to sharpen your skills, get yourself organized and hit the street in January with so much enthusiasm it will be impossible to fail.<\/p>\n Be sure and pass this around to your team members. \u00a0Your job depends on everyone giving it everything they’ve got.<\/p>\n – Bob<\/em><\/p>\n
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