Teach Me How To Sell
We have been selling since we were toddlers.
People in sales tend to have a reputation for being fast talkers, hustlers, con artists and liars. Most people who work in sales never thought that sales is what they would end up doing. Somewhere along the way, life brought them to the sales floor. It could be a criminal record, since most call centers and door to door sales companies do not require a background check or it could just be there were no other jobs out there. When I trained new reps in Mexico who were simply hired because they spoke English, I had to teach them how to sell from scratch. My job was to take someone with little or no confidence and develop them into sales agents. The first step is convincing them that they could do the job. In order to do that, I had to connect them to the job and completely change their perception of sales. I broke the process down into three steps that over years was a proven success.
We have been selling since we were toddlers.
Sales is convincing someone to do something they may not want to do initially. Obviously, we all want to have that golden offer that brings prospects in by the masses without us having to do anything. While that might be the case for U-Haul and drug dealers, it is not always the case in the typical sales world. Either the deal is too good to be true or not good enough. The product is either too expensive or not necessary. This can be intimidating to someone new to the industry. I strongly believe that everything in life is a sale. We might be selling someone on lending us money, giving us a ride, selling your parents on letting you go to that concert, selling the cop on only giving you a warning or selling the landlord on accepting late rent and not evicting you. It can even be selling your boss on not firing you for coming back from break late. In a job interview we are making a sale. Toddlers, even babies, start selling when they learn what will get them the attention they want or that piece of candy, whether it is crying, throwing a tantrum or doing that one cute thing that drives the adults crazy. When this simple concept is put into perspective, the transition begins. That terrified person slowly upgrades to nervous but hopeful. If this is done correctly, you can practically see dollar signs in their eyes. Their body language changes and they start asking questions on how the commission works. Ironically, you have to sell them on the job itself, convince them they can do the job and then sell them on the pay. They suffer from the same symptoms as the prospects. Either it is too good to be true or not good enough. If the payout is too big then one sale must be impossible. How do you know if you made the sale? If they come back from break or lunch, sold.
Just having a conversation.
Working on the phones looks easy. The first time someone gets on the phones they are usually a mess. That voice on the other side of the phones can be terrifying. Reps will talk low, stutter and freeze repeatedly. Their voices are tighter than a teenage boy going through puberty. Those same reps will then get on their personal phones during breaks and be so loud and energetic, you can hear them from across the room. If they talked to prospective customers the way they spoke on personal calls, meaning volume and tone, they would undoubtedly progress a lot faster. When they treat the call like they would a normal conversation, a shift happens and they become an entirely different person on the phones. How do we get them to do this? Out loud coaching is very effective. Don't plant yourself behind them, this will make matters worse. Listen to a call, give them some feedback and then move on to the next rep. Make sure you recognize any progress they make and do this part louder. You could also turn their volume down. For some reason when people can’t hear as well, they tend to talk louder. This is the reason why old people talk so loud. Face it, if they don’t hear the no then they won’t give up. One of the best sales people I know is deaf in one ear. I use to say, “He can’t hear the customer say no, he just keeps going until they fold.” Joking aside, it is important to read the new hire properly so you are applying the right amount of pressure without discouraging them. The most effective tool I used was having them listen to their own calls. Never do this on the first day. If by the second or third day they are not progressing or putting your feedback into action, then they need to hear themselves. Hearing is believing. A lot of times, they “feel” like they are talking normal or even louder. Once they hear themselves and the tightness in their voice, they then make the effort to improve. Initially I would listen to their calls with them in a separate office or room. You do not want them to feel embarrassed when they’re new. After a while though, I would listen to calls with agents right in the middle of the floor. No one wants to get called to "the desk." By calling one or two agents over to listen to calls, you can get the entire team performing. They figure if I make a sale, I will be spared.
Setting the right goals.
Every manager wants their reps selling from day one. Focusing on the sale, especially with a sales rookie, has the opposite effect. Set small goals. Day one, getting the introduction down. This could take a couple of days for some. We want them talking the script rather than reading the script. Next step, overcoming that first no. The following step could be getting to a certain point in the script or the sales process. I used to tell people, don’t worry about getting the sale. Just push to get to this point in the script and when you get there, raise your hand and I will come help you. When that hand went up, I had my headset on so I could hear the call and I just talked them through the process. After doing it a few times, they didn't need me as much. By using this approach, they didn't feel that paralyzing pressure and they started selling sooner than later. I am not a believer in taking over calls. A lot of managers take over calls because they want the sell and they want to get that new person on the board. Of course the manager can sell, at least I hope so. Most believe if a sale is not made on the first day, they won't come back the second. You can't close every deal for them. Taking over the call stunts their growth and renders them handicapped. Some think, well they are listening to me do it, so they are learning. While that is true, it is not as effective as having them do it themselves. If you are confident, they will trust you and believe they can do it themselves. Make sure your floor understands that during this process, you can’t be interrupted. The new person needs your undivided attention. If the building isn’t on fire and the cops aren’t waiting for you in your office, it can wait. I also recommend running contests for script or process check points. First person to get to this point wins this and so forth. It could be money or food, it still works. They need a lot of encouragement, correction and motivation.
The inexperienced sales person can prove to have more value than the experienced rep. No bad habits to break. It is a real challenge if they come from a shady company that cut corners or just flat out lied. You can literally mold the new rep into the rep you want them to be and this mold will be long lasting. They develop habits that stay with them for years. You control the habits they develop. A great salesperson with a bad attitude and bad habits can be more work than they are worth and are high risk, meaning they can be that bad seed that takes out your entire sales floor. If you have a new rep that insists on telling call center war stories at every turn, fire him or her before they become a liability. Holding true to the process, to integrity and to quality will pay out in the end and those inevitable sales droughts will be few and far between and short lived.
Please leave a comment if this was useful. Check out my article Sales 101 for general tips and watch the short video. Tune into my podcast Tornado Torres currently streaming on all the major platforms and my YouTube channel under the same name. Both links are below. I will also be hosting a radio show on Stationhead. Download the app on your phone and tune in starting mid September. After you download the app, subscribe to Tornado Torres Radio.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235192/podcast/website
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpRxGntTVTVUwhFzZvD9N_Q?view_as=subscriber
About the Creator
Corene Torres
Specialize in sales training and coaching for management and agents. Poet, published a book (Where I Stood), podcaster & doing spoken word on YouTube (Tornado Torres). Dealer in NASA based green technology (Krypto Marketing on Facebook).
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.