Simplify Every Transaction: Top Salesperson's Winning Strategies

Author: Xie Degao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features:
1. To persuade customers, you must first persuade yourself. For a salesperson, one of the keys to closing a deal is a strong desire to succeed. You must view closing deals as your second life and plant this seed deep in your heart. A top-performing salesperson once said, "I have an unparalleled passion for sales, and the satisfaction that comes from a successful transaction is simply my life's fountain." This top salesperson had already achieved both fame and fortune, but closing deals still held an irresistible allure for him; to him, closing deals remained the most attractive challenge in the world.
1. Convince yourself "it will definitely close." Before you can persuade customers to buy, you must first master yourself. However, the most difficult subject for most people is themselves. No wonder the Scottish poet Robert Burns prayed to God, "Please grant me the strength to know myself." In reality, the best way to master yourself is very simple—it consists of just four words: positive thinking. This theory has existed for a long time because it is correct. Recent medical research shows that some cancer patients who "imagined themselves healing" actually broke free from the control of their illness!
The coach of famous basketball player Jim Newman once told him, "Are these difficulties really difficult? The answer lies in willpower—willpower is the key to success, and success or failure depends on your mindset!" Newman later became the vice president of Hamilton Company. He said, "I believed my coach then, and I believe it even more now."
Iowa in the United States suffered a five-year drought on the frontier, leading to economic depression and a significant drop in consumers' purchasing power. Salespeople who came to Iowa for business complained that it was extremely difficult—everyone they met seemed to be a dead end, and nothing seemed to work. But the sharp-witted Clement Stone didn’t see it that way. He believed that business is about people, and as long as there are people living somewhere, there is always business to be done—the question is how to do it. He drove himself to West Osceola City in Iowa to expand his sales business. In the car, he imagined that he would succeed and didn’t dwell on the possibility of failure, so he always maintained high spirits and a positive attitude.
Clement went straight to the downtown area of West Osceola City and walked into the largest bank there. He found the bank manager and tried to sell him an accidental insurance policy. He briefly introduced his insurance business and said, "Our insurance policy costs very little but provides reliable protection." With little persuasion, the bank manager bought Clement’s insurance policy. A cashier and a teller who were present also bought policies. Clement then went to other stores and organizations, where people also eagerly purchased insurance policies. The sales performance was unexpectedly strong.
When Clement later discussed this successful sales effort with his company’s sales team, he explained, "Once the bank manager, who had a wide network of connections, bought the insurance policy, others followed suit. Because they had suffered a five-year drought, people were very afraid of accidents. I chose insurance policies as the product to sell, making them realize that insurance wasn’t just something to have—it was essential for protecting their lives and property."