Preparation
It seems to me that we spend a majority of our time discussing the actual sale or selling process and how to improve upon that. While that process is certainly the heart and soul of selling, there is a part that goes unnoticed and too often goes neglected. If neglected long enough, this part will certainly begin to affect the selling process itself in a negative manner. That part is the preparation aspect of sales, which we have hit on briefly in the past but not enough.
If you will allow me one small sports analogy, now that football season is underway. Teams have played two games already but it seems like they were just reporting to training camp. My youngest son always counts the hours until training camp opens, he understands training camps are all about preparation for the upcoming season. He is also aware that preparing does not stop after training camp is over, it is on going, and teams must prepare for each game.
The profession of sales is an everyday business, so I am talking about preparing for everyday and every customer. The easiest way to prepare is to prepare for everyday as it comes. For example, a car salesperson should probably prepare differently for a Saturday as opposed to a Monday. Odds are there are going to be more people who decide to shop for a car on the weekend, rather than on the first day of the work week. Therefore, the game plan needs to be adjusted. Are you prepared to discuss every car in your inventory? Are you geared up to go from the close of one sale to a non-business conversation to start another and so on? The point is not that you offer better or worse customer service based on how busy you are, because you should always give good customer service. The point is that when it is busier you need to be prepared going into the day. On a slower Monday, you may have time to prepare as you go but that may not be true on a busy Saturday.
There are so many other examples of ways to prepare for every day but you get the idea. Most salespeople stay in the field because they love what they do and are good at it, but the truly great salespeople are great because they understand that being good during the sale is because they did a good job preparing. Coaches all over the land are preparing for every possible third down play call. Are you preparing for the next objection a customer throws your way?
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