Last week I talked about the power of sales success and gave you the first ten personal powers you need to possess in order to have all of the sales success you desire. As a professional salesperson, you want more selling power and this two-part article reveals the sources.
Let me share with you the remaining powers you do possess and how you might be able to use them and take advantage of them to build sales, build relationships, build referrals, earn testimonials, and achieve the sales success that you are striving for…
11. The power of relatable example. Please don’t tell me how the product works. Rather, tell me how someone else is using it and winning right now as a result of it.
12. The power of truth. It’s sad I have to write about this. The elusiveness of truth has caused more business deals and more relationships to be lost to lack of truth than to lowest bid. Truth starts with you.
13. The power of trust. Trust is built slowly over time by taking consistent, value-based actions. Trust is lost in a minute by taking inappropriate actions, telling untruths, or failure to deliver as promised.
14. The power of service. The power of service is realized through actions, not advertisements. There is no power in telling me how great your service is, there is power in delivering it, and there is HUGE power in having your customers talk about it, brag about it, on social media.
15. The power of a relationship. Real relationships mean there is no bidding involved and no proposals involved in earning a sale. Relationships are based on mutual value provided, mutual loyalty exchanged, truth, and trust. Take a moment right now and list the ten customers that fall into this category. If there are less than ten your power isn’t close to what it could be.
16. The power of loyalty. I define loyal customers two ways: will a customer do business with me again and will they refer someone to me. Many customers may never be satisfied, but they continue to do business with you. That’s loyalty. Repeat business and unsolicited referrals are the report card that everything else in the relationship is excellent. Keep in mind that loyal customers are also your most profitable customers.
17. The power of reputation and social brand. Social media presence is no longer an option. And the most powerful part of it is the fact that your customers can interact with you one-on-one. They have access to your Facebook page. They can tweet about you with a hashtag. They can post a video about how great you are on YouTube. Social media can make you a fortune or cost you a fortune. It all depends on the way you respond and the speed of your response.
18. The power of proof. When you make statements or claims about yourself, it’s bragging. When your customers say the SAME THING about you, it’s proof. Proof is a reputation builder, proof is a sales tool, and proof reinforces the belief of everyone in your company that you are who you say you are, and you do what you say you’ll do.
19. The power and joy of rejection. It’s amazing what you can learn when someone says no to you. Much more than when someone says yes. In both cases you need to understand why the yes or the no occurred. Celebrate the no. It will help you understand why and ultimately get to more yeses. The power of rejection, and learning from it, is the foundation for your resilience and your success.
20. The power, joy, and celebration of victory. YES attitude! When you’re in sales, nothing feels better than making one. The power comes one minute after the celebration. That’s when you start making the next one. Most salespeople stop after one. Big mistake. Your assertiveness is in high gear, your belief system is in higher gear, and your attitude, your YES Attitude!, is in highest gear. Once you learn that the best time to make a sale is right after you have just made a sale, you’re on the path to doubling your sales.
20.5 The power of opportunity. The most important realization in sales and selling is the one you give to yourself. You do not have a job. You have an opportunity. An opportunity to earn while you’re learning. An opportunity to earn based on your results. And an opportunity to grow without limits. If you look at your present position as an opportunity, then all barriers and all negatives will fall by the wayside as you challenge yourself to be your best regardless of your circumstance, regardless of your boss, regardless of the marketplace, and regardless of any obstacle that is in your way. I challenge you to take full advantage of your opportunity.
NOTE WELL: These powers do not act alone. Rather, they act in harmony with one another. One power will not put you over the top. It’s important to know them all and it is equally important to execute them all at their highest level.
Many of you are probably frantically searching for the first part of this article that appeared last week. Your search is over. Go to www.gitomer.com and enter the word POWER in the GitBit box.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of 12 bestselling books including The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling. His forthcoming book, 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling, will be available Sept. 3 and will feature a national public seminar tour. Get the details at www.gitomer.com. It will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at salesman@gitomer.com.
