Now is the time to become a Sales Hero!

Don Mastrangelo   •

Have you recently been bombarded by all the talk about recession, hard times and all the rest of the “Gloom and Doom” speak going around out there? Me too, and frankly I’m laughing at it. I’ve been a sales professional for over twenty years, and I’m here to tell you what’s happening right now is no different from what has occurred at least half a dozen times before in my personal career. When things get tough, certain members of every industry go down with the “economic” ship. The weak fail and the strong survive. The weak usually include start-ups, because most new businesses are undercapitalized to begin with and without an established customer base the start-ups can’t weather the storm.

For those of us making a living selling a product or service this can be very disconcerting, especially when prospects tell you they are not spending any money because they are simply trying to survive. Again, I’ve been through this before and I want you to know that the current situation is – in fact – a tremendous opportunity for you to rise to the top of your field, regardless of what you are  ##MM[more...]##selling!

Here’s the thing – what you are seeing now is just a cycle. As some of your prospects fail, the survivors are getting whatever market share the failures left behind. The survivors are getting stronger, and they are buying products and services – right now - that make them operate leaner and with better efficiency. When things come around again, these customers will continue to be strong, and a whole new group of start-ups will enter the game, spending money like crazy on products and services to get their new businesses rolling. A few years later the same thing will happen all over again! You can’t fight it, so embrace it and get your market share of the business that’s out there!

Look around at the other people currently selling your product or service – what are they saying? 80% are complaining about their customers going out of business, reducing orders, etc. They’re telling you they are making less money than last year. Some are looking for a new job. Let them! Here’s how I feel – “Too tough for you? Just right for me!” Don’t you get it? The same things that are happening to your customers are happening to you and your peers as well! Some salespeople are shutting down, unprepared to fight the battle or weather the storm, while others are taking full advantage of the situation and reeling in the market share the others are leaving behind. Really, all you have to do to succeed is get tough, get organized, stay positive and enthusiastic, and stay focused on your game plan. You may have to pick up the phone a few more times than you’d like, or walk in a few more doors than you would prefer to, but so what? Success is worth it. So next time you hear a fellow salesperson whining about how tough it is, tell them “Too tough for you? Just right for me” and then get out there and secure your future.

Not sure exactly what you need to do to be a survivor? I created Ready, Set, Sell! Personal Edition just for you. It is designed to help anyone whose income depends on selling a product or service to get from Zero to Sales Hero in 90 Days:

http://www.RSSPersonalEdition.com

I hope you choose success – it’s just more fun than failure.

-Don Mastrangelo
— Power Plan Press, LLC

This guy was NOT a Sales Hero!

Don Mastrangelo   •

I'm often amazed by a salesperson - sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes - not so much. Last week I decided to run a few classified ads to sell some stuff. I called a weekly shopper publication owned by the local newspaper on Friday. The publication comes out on Wednesdays, and Jen, the salesperson who took my call told me the deadline was Monday at noon. Great! I had the weekend to write up the ads and get them turned in. Jen gave me her e-mail address and assured me that as long as she received my ads by e-mail no later than noon Monday they would run in the Wednesday edition. I e-mailed four separate ads to Jen on Sunday.

Monday around 10:00am I called to verify they had been received. The phone was answered by - let's call him "John" - not Jen. "Hi John, ##MM[more...]##I sent in four ads to run on Wednesday, just want to make sure you got them." "Nope, I don't have anything from you, who did you send them to?" (big sigh - here we go...) "I sent them to Jen." "Jen is out today." "Okay, can you find the ads in her system?" "Nope. I can't access her stuff." "Can I re-send the ads to you? I want them to run this week." "Sure, here's my e-mail address." I gave John my phone number and sent him the ads. At about 11:45am I had not heard back so I called John who said he had not had time to check his e-mail and had already closed out the file for this edition so I would have to wait until next week!

John did not bother to check his e-mail or call me to make sure my ads ran. In fact, he couldn't have cared less about me (his customer!) or my needs. NOT a Sales HERO. It's amazing how hard we have to work to spend money with some companies! — Power Plan Press, LLC

Who would have thought a cheap tie could become a great sales tool?

Louis Mastrangelo   •

(Story originally published in late 2006 - back by popular demand...)  The winters in Arizona are extremely mild and this particular day in 1990 was no exception. The sky was bright blue and the morning sun was not the raging beast it was in the summer. I turned my car off the main drag and slowed. My destination was just ahead- a fairly new industrial park with about 40 units. You know the kind I mean; they are all the same with small front offices and warehouses that have roll up loading doors in back.

Any parking spot would do because I didn’t have an appointment with anyone in any of the suites in this complex. I pulled into the first available space I saw and turned the engine off. On the seat next to me was my portfolio stocked with flyers, selling tools and business cards. Next to it lay my demo cellular phone fondly and accurately nicknamed “the Brick”. (more)