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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Other - Advertising & Marketing |
Has any of you ever had to contact businesses to promote the company you work for, but was scared about it?? |
I am part of a company that I really believe in, but I am really scared of doing it for fear of not being taken seriously....I want to get over my fear, but am not sure what to do....HELP ME!!! sure doremifaso If you REALLY believe in the company, and their product &/or service, then what's there to fear?Just be your self, and don't be afraid to show your passion for something you beleive in. If you are confident in your product what is the big deal? These other companies you are now promoting to started just like you did at one point. And they are just people, I promise the people you are talking to have lost files, misplaced orders, lost emails, just like everyone else. Having managed sales people, I hear ya. I think you're probably afraid of rejection...and who isn't. Just remember, the business world is a bowl of pits and you're looking for the cherry. Perhaps you should set a goal for how many "not interesteds" you want to get in a day. Then stick to that goal and don't stop until you hit it. Kind of reverse psychology but it does feel good to hit ANY goal. I guarantee you that, in the course of reaching that goal, you'll find a lot of folks who will talk with you and a few who will buy from you. But you have to be persistent. I also recommend that you practice practice practice and practice. You need to sound professional and you need to communicate well. The more you practice, the better you'll feel about yourself and your products and services. Make sure your manager doesn't just hand you a phone and a list of people to call. If s/he can't find the time or doesn't have the desire to train you, find another job. Seriously. A manager's job should be to bring out the best in their sales people, not sit around and do nothing. For a good place to look for things that will give you a better feeling for modern selling, check out www.businessbyphone.com I think that's the best place to get real info about selling. Be sure to sign up for his newsletter. Good luck. I too have managed a top team of sales pros's here is what i use to tell them. Whatever your product is you list out all its benefits to your client. then open up with a leading question? Like this: Mr Smo, if i could show you how to____ Would you be interested? or ask a question you know your going to get an yes to. You want to ask real easy questions that will generate a yes. Get 4 yes and then start pre selling. You want to get the client in the habit of saying yes. Then try trial closes. Like Can you picture your self or company ______ ? ask 3 or 4 trial closes and smoke out any objections. Take care of the objections then proceed to close. Remember being a salesman is about over coming objections. I use to start by writing out a list of every objection i could think of. then asking friends any objections or questions they can think off. Then I learn all the answers so I had enough confidence to answer any questions without looking for the answer. People want to deal with people who are confident and know what they are talking about. Become that person and you can do anything. AT ONE TIME, I WAS YOU! I loved going door-to-door soliciting for real estate listings - doing my very best to get folks to put their houses and properties on the market for sale or rent - through my parents鈥?real estate brokerage business. I LOVED going door-to-door. I DID EVERYTHING I was supposed to do - AND MORE! I would start at the appointed time and work until I knew I had to quit for lunch. I went back after lunch and worked until just before the children got home from school. After dinner, I did the same thing! Out there - knocking on those doors. I would start at the rear of the properties - a development of townhouses [back then, they were called 鈥渞ows鈥?or 鈥渞ow houses鈥漖, - walking down the rear driveways, catching the nice ladies and gentlemen who were putting up their wash on the clothes lines; taking their children and pets for walks, sitting 鈥渙ut back鈥?with a morning cup of coffee or tea or a cold beverage. I met LOTS of wonderful folks! I worked all day Saturday. AND ALL day on legal holidays - President鈥檚 Day, [Back then Washington鈥檚 AND Lincoln鈥檚 birthdays were separately celebrated!]; Good Friday; Memorial Day during the morning hours; the same on July 4; Labor Day, ditto; Friday after Thanksgiving; day after Christmas and New Year鈥檚 Eve day. I wrote 鈥淭hank You鈥?notes to the very nice ladies and gentlemen; I gave small gifts to those same wonderful people AND MORE 鈥淭Y鈥?notes!. On more than one occasion, I was invited in for coffee, or something cold to drink [YES, times were A LOT different back then!]. BUT when I was told to 鈥渃all back tonight when my husband/wife is home鈥? I JUST couldn鈥檛 bring myself to do that lousy little task! I would go back attempting to see those folks who weren鈥檛 home - but that stinkin鈥?phone call? Those seven little numbers [What? Oh YES< this was WAY before we HAD to use area codes!] - I JUST COULDN鈥橳 pick up that 5,000,000 pound monster! I JUST COULDN鈥橳 put my finger in the hole and push it around until it stopped [That鈥榮 why they call it 鈥渄ial鈥?and 鈥渄ialing鈥?today]. Did I have the numbers? ABSOLUTELY! Did have the names? Yep! NO PROBLEM there! I had EVERYTHING I NEEDED! BUT I absolutely hated using the telephone.! I just had this terrible gut feeling I was going to have my head bitten off and jammed into my stomach! UNTIL 鈥?UNTIL I said to myself, 鈥淵O! What the %^&* [no need to use that word, is there?] am I doing to myself? NO ONE works harder than me! NO ONE does the job as well as I do! Do I see any one else out there in ALL kinds of weather [hot and cold, any way] banging on those doors? %^&* NO! Well, what am I waiting for?鈥?br /> I looked at my list with MY NOTES - MY OWN handwriting! 鈥淧ick-up that phone AND call these wonderful people.鈥?They TOLD ME to call! THEY TOLD ME WHEN to call! C-A-L-L -- CALL! Call NOW!鈥?br /> AND I DID CALL. AND the man answering the phone said, 鈥淥H, YES, Ron, I鈥橵E BEEN EXPECTING YOUR call!鈥?For the sake of my answer to you, I emphasized the language with UPPER CASE letters. IF I didn鈥檛 call I would have disappointed that man, wouldn鈥檛 I? Is there any other way to look at it? I don鈥檛 see any other way. Did I get the listing? No. BUT I made that call. I spoke with that gentleman. TRUE STORY: Many, many years later, I was taking a real estate investment course. On the very first day of one of those classes, we [about 6 or 7 others and myself] walked into the room. One of my mentors, Dennis C., wrote this on the upper left corner of white board: SW3 - N! From my seat, pointing to the board, I asked, 鈥淒ennis, what does that mean? In a very calm voice, Dennis said, 鈥淵ou鈥檒l find out, Mr. Berue. In due time, you will all find out. I promise! For right now, don鈥榯 pay any attention to that.鈥?AND he erased it. We went through the morning鈥檚 session. We stopped for lunch. Then completed the afternoon session. Next day, it was back on the board. It was almost a videotape replay of the previous day鈥檚 Q: 鈥淒ennis, when are we going to get the answer to that?鈥? Dennis said, 鈥淲hat did I tell you yesterday?鈥?Nothing more was said. Nothing more needed to be said. The third and last day: Morning session. Done. Stopped for Lunch. Afternoon session ditto. UNTIL about 20 minutes before we finished the class. Dennis wrote it on the board: GREAT BIG LETTERS - right in the center: After he finished writing, Dennis turned to us and with the black marker, pointed to the whiteboard and said, 鈥淐an ANY ONE tell the others what that means?鈥?For about 2 seconds there was silence. I said, 鈥淣o, but for 3 days you sure had my curiosity raised.鈥?Everyone laughed and said or murmured, 鈥淵eah, me, too.鈥?鈥淵ep鈥?or something in the affirmative. 鈥淣o one has a clue what that means?鈥?Almost in unison, 鈥淣o.鈥?br /> He turned and erased it. Then he started writing AND as each word was being written, we, in unison, started saying each of these words: Some Will. Some Won鈥檛. So What! NEXT! When Dennis finished writing, he stepped aside, nonchalantly flipped and spun the black marker in the air, caught it and said, 鈥淣ow you all you know! Folks, what have we talked about for some of these days?鈥?br /> Someone said, 鈥淲e talked about talking to people.鈥? Dennis said, 鈥淣ot quite, but close.鈥? Someone else said, 鈥淲e learned how to speak with people about Dennis stopped him COLD! 鈥淲hat was that? What was that word? Come on -- SAY IT!鈥?br /> The young man started over and continued, 鈥淲e talked about talking WITH people about their real estate and their problems WITH their real estate ---- and how we might help those people WITH their problems.鈥?[I emphasized 鈥淲ITH鈥漖 THAT is 100% CORRECT! I鈥檓 telling you right now - NO ONE gets up to bat and hit鈥檚 a home run each and every time he or she steps up to the plate. No one. I can almost guarantee it - you are going to strike out A LOT more times than you will hit that home run. You may be able to help people with their problems. You may - inadvertently - say something which will set those wheels in motion, which could cause those folks to do something you may have thought would apply only to you. BUT you know what? There are a hundred other people out there trying to do the exact same th9ng each of you will be doing. Helping people. You aren鈥檛 going to get any money for saying something in a certain way to make them do - or not do something. You have to go to bed knowing you did the best job you could under those circumstances and with those people. THEN the next day you get yup and do it all over again. AND that鈥檚 what that saying - that 鈥渃ryptogram - for lack of a better word is ALL about. Some of those wonderful people WILL see things as you AND them see them. THEN you might be able to help them with their particular situation.. Some of those wonderful people WON鈥橳 see things as you AND them see them. THEN you WON鈥橳 be able to help them with their particular situation For those who do as you suggested, then do what you suggested with someone else, SO WHAT! There are others out there doing the exact same thing you are doing - only in a slightly different way. THEN the ONLY thing you can do is shrug your shoulders and move on to the NEXT person and their situation. DON鈥橳 GET STRESSED-OUT OVER IT. JUST DO IT! Then learn from your mistakes and keep doing it untill you get it down, COLD! Honest to God, folks, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it, wouldn鈥檛 they? 鈥? THE HARDEST PART IS GETTING started! THE EXTREME HARDEST PART IS CONTINUING! THE MOST EXTREME PART IS FOLLOWING THROUGH! DO IT!鈥?br /> Back to you and your situation: You lack at least one very important element or trait: Confidence! YOU MUST believe in yourself and what you do, what you want to do and what you have to do. No one is going to give you confidence. Confidence is in you. You should be able to do just about whatever it is you want to do. I鈥檓 sorry, you won鈥檛 be able to walk on water - I don鈥檛 think - unless you know where the rocks are! You 鈥渓earn where the rocks are鈥?by doing and learning from your mistakes. THEN you do your best to correct those mistakes. At one time, I WAS YOU! NOW its time for YOU TO BE YOU AND DO! DO IT, isn鈥榯 it? Honestly, no one is going to bite off your head. Some folks might holler. Others might hang-up or slam the door in your face. Still others might out and out lie to you. And there may be other situations you鈥檙e going to have to deal with. Don鈥檛 you think its time to get out of your 鈥渟terile鈥?environment? I must move on. Just like you, there are other wonderful folks who need honest answers to their Qs, aren鈥檛 there? Thank you for asking your question. I enjoyed taking the time to answer your question. You did a great job - not only for your information, but for every other person interested in reading my answer. Thanks to everyone for reading my answer. I wish you well! VTY, Ron Berue Yes, that is my real last name. My wonderful family. The many books I read, wrote-in and marked up. In the real estate business over 33 years in Pennsylvania. 鈥淭HE University of Hard Knocks鈥?br /> My wonderful teachers, professors and mentors - not the least of whom is Dennis C. QWERTY's answer is very good! Krogers160's ansewr is very good! |
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