• Hi Guest - Come check out all of the new CP Merch Shop! Now you can support CigarPass buy purchasing hats, apparel, and more...
    Click here to visit! here...

First sales call ever........

Dickson

"I am done - pay the bills and get me a cigar."
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
725
I'm heading out to my very first sales call ever, of all places my home town. The odds are stacked already as it's snowing and doesn't appear like it's going to let up. But, I do enjoy driving and at 5AM the roads should be clear of other drivers. Wish me luck guys and I pray that I can at the minimum, be well thought of by the respective client. ???
 
Good luck. Treat them with respect, honesty and integrity and you will have a customer for a long time. And treating the receptionist as if they were the president of the company goes a long way as well, they are the gatekeeper afterall.
 
The four rules of sales.

!. Show Up
2. Pay attention
3. Tell the truth
4.Don't be attached to the outcome.

Show up means more than just arrive at the appointment. It means, do your homework, be prepared, be prompt, and be on top of your game.

Pay attention, because the customer will tell you what he wants to buy.

Tell the truth, don't embellish your product, make promises you are unable or unwilling to keep and never ever lie.

#4 is the toughest one for me personally. "If I can just sell Joe, that widget, then everything will be perfect." Well Joe may hate widgets and there I am counting on something that will never happen. It works the otherway also and that is were I fall down. I make a big sale and I am the king, baby! I am done working until I run out of money.
 
The four rules of sales.

!. Show Up
2. Pay attention
3. Tell the truth
4.Don't be attached to the outcome.

Show up means more than just arrive at the appointment. It means, do your homework, be prepared, be prompt, and be on top of your game.

Pay attention, because the customer will tell you what he wants to buy.

Tell the truth, don't embellish your product, make promises you are unable or unwilling to keep and never ever lie.

#4 is the toughest one for me personally. "If I can just sell Joe, that widget, then everything will be perfect." Well Joe may hate widgets and there I am counting on something that will never happen. It works the otherway also and that is were I fall down. I make a big sale and I am the king, baby! I am done working until I run out of money.

I can't stress how important #3 is! If you lie or embellish the customer may not know today but they will find out eventually. When they do you are done. If the customer asks you a question about your product that you don't know the answer to or you are not positive. The answer is always "I'm not sure (or don't know) but I will find out ans let you know immediately." People can respect that others don't have the answer to everything and they will be more than happy to let you get the answer. If you make something up you will be found out eventually.

I hope that helps.

Good luck and hopefully your first sales call will turn into your first sale! :thumbs:
 
Some great posts in this thread. For me the most important thing to remember as a sales person is to not be defined by the outcome. You will lose more than you win, which is ok because you are first and foremost many other things in life, i.e.; a father, son, brother, etc. Keeping things in perspective (never get to high or to low) will be your key to many great successes.

Good luck and welcome to an exciting profession.
 
There are far too many sales guys who violate #3 routinely and with clear conscience. I could not tolerate standing next to them as a sales engineer and keeping my mouth shut. Couldn't do it. I can't tell you how many times I didn't say "are you fucking crazy??!!"
 
People don't like being sold, but they love to buy.

Here's the 4 roadblocks I always keep in mind:

1. Will your product/service do what you say it will do?
2. Am I justified in paying the price you're asking me to pay?
3. Am I justified in paying it right now?
4. Who says so besides you?

If you can proactively answer those 4 questions in a sales call...your closing percentage will be great.
 
BTW 2 great books I just read on Sales:
It starts with NO - Jim Camp
How to sell without being a jerk - John Klymshya
They are both enjoyable to read and have some great info no matter what you are selling.
 
Best of luck. :)

I could never do sales. Where I come from when someone says "no", that's it, end of conversation (and I'm the same way). That didn't work to well for me in my few attempts at sales. :laugh:

It's a tough job, but it can be very rewarding to those who are good at it.
 
Some good posts here. Two more items I like to remember:

1. Even the best sales person will hear "no" a lot more often than s/he will ever hear "yes". As mentioned above, don't invest too much of yourself in the outcome.

2. You can't say "yes" for the customer, so don't ever say "no" for them either. In other words never bypass a sales opp by thinking, "they probably don't need what I'm selling."

Good luck... :thumbs:
 
It's done, over, finito. Long story at this point not even feeling like discussing. :(
 
It's done, over, finito. Long story at this point not even feeling like discussing. :(


Sucks man...Sorry it didn't go as expected. But look on the bright side, today you gained much needed experience to use the next time...
 
Top