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[The following article appeared in Sales and Marketing Magic (Volume 14, Number 5). Sales and Marketing Magic is a monthly newsletter that helps sales and marketing professionals make more money. It regularly features articles written by top authors on subjects as: how-to's on prospecting, opening, presenting, answering objections, closing and much more. Also, featured monthly are ideas on marketing you as a sales professional. Sales and Marketing Magic is a monthly newsletter for the advanced sales / marketing professional. For a limited time subscriptions are being offered to America Online customers for $15.99 / year (regularly $24.99). To order send check or money order to:
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By Mike Michaels
WHAT IS MOVEMENT?
Movement is the most simple and the most important concept in selling. It is a concept of bringing a buyer from point A to point B (the sale). Your clients expect you to sell them, after all that is what you do. I have heard salespeople time and time again say, "I don't want to be pushy." To me this is translates into, "I'm lazy and don't want to work, I'd rather take orders, and get paid allot for this effort a 16 year old could do as well as me."
Movement is a process. A well defined process of "moving the customer along what I call the "sales line". A sales line for example may start at a point where the buyer says, "No, under no circumstances would I ever buy your product or service...to where do I sign?" What happens in between is movement. You have to create the movement. Buyers won't. This movement skill separates the great salesperson from the champion.
Movement stops in the selling process when repetition starts. If you enter a buyers office, ( let's assume you are "non- pushy" salesperson), present your product, answer objections , close, leave brochures, and promise a follow-up, that is step 1 on the "sales line." If on your follow-up, you re-present your product or service, answer objections, close, and promise a follow-up call, no movement has been established. You are in the same place on the "sales line" as when you started the sale. Valuable time and credibility have been wasted. The buyer is still holding to their position and now you are becoming a "pest." Instead, create movement. One way to do this is to leave the buyers office( assuming you didn't get the sale) offering them a small commitment to do something. I used to leave samples and say, "When do you think you'll try them?" They would give me a date (or if they were vague, I set a time to which they would agree) and to the minute they said , would call them back or see them personally. In most cases the sample was not used, but I followed-up and the buyer knew at that time
I was going to follow-up on anything they promised. On each call I wouldn't close on the sale, but rather on a small commitment for them to do something. I a short period of time the buyers knew I'd be back to see if they followed-up on what they promised to do. The commitment you ask doesn't need to be a major commitment, in fact it may unrelated to the sale. You have to create the movement, the buyer won't.
Some examples of movement may be:
" Would you read this article?"
" Would you try the sample?"
" Would you find out how much you are paying now for (the competing brand)."
" Could you find out how the Widget works in your machine, we don't have one like it,
and I'd like to learn more?"
" May I take a self guided tour of your store, plant, company?"
" Who does your decorating? Could you find out who it was and I'll check back."
It can be anything to keep a dialog moving. Soon you will become a part of their business and have tremendous integrity. You chances of a sale are far greater. It is work, however that is why you are a champion making money and the rookie isn't. You will always change the game and bring the buyer to your side. The rookie is seen as an "outsider" in the sale for themselves, not for the buyer. Show the buyer you have a genuine interest in them and position the sale as incidental. The sale will eventually happen, but you have to be patient and create movement. Without movement, the competition will have you for lunch. Before you sell anything you have to have already sold it in your minds eye.
Mike Michaels is currently a Regional Sales Manager for a national maker of hair care products. He has been in sales for over 14 years and has won numerous awards in the feild of selling. Mr. Michaels has developed training courses for salespeople and sales managers. He also is the the author of "Creating Inner Selling Desire", and has spoken to over 600 groups in the past 6 years on motivation. To contact Mr. Michaels
write to: 1223 Elm Spring Drive suite 1, Collierville, TN 38017.
