By Drew Stevens, PhD,

drew [at] gettingtothefinishline . com
www.gettingtothefinishline.com

Sales professionals must create magnetic appeal to increase closing efficiency. Our present global environment creates numerous obstacles that polarize sales efforts, form the proliferation of the Internet to advanced media. Ironically, with the intrigue of technological miracles the foundation of sales success exists upon 10 principles. Since the beginning of trade, selling has not changed, nor have these laws. These principles as they have for centuries are the laws that attract numerous clients and create successful selling professionals.

The Law of Preparation

The best selling professionals are always prepared. First, preparation begins with grooming and clothing. Like many, I am repulsed by numerous organizations that partake in casual clothing. To be successful one need look successful. A selling professional cannot attend an appointment in a T- Shirt and jeans. To be successful you need to dress successfully. Statistics for this article with over 1000 representatives illustrate that those dresses professionally closed 87% more business than those that didn’t.

Productive professionals attract more clients when they read information and eventually convert this to client knowledge. The knowledge output provides client value in terms of competitiveness, productivity and even profitability. Value stems from reading newspapers, trade publications and conducting research. When clients determine from the value professionals provide they are more apt to conduct business and moreover, use them repeatidly.

The Law of Selling Methodology

ES Research Group reveals that 90% of all sales training programs conducted for corporations result only in a 90-120 day increase in sales productivity and, as a result, fewer than 20% of companies realize any sustainable productivity gain that lasts beyond 12 months. In the United States alone over four billion dollars is spent per year on training selling professionals with two thirds of that money ear marked for one day training.

To be competitive, selling professionals must be competitive. It appears that taking the time to develop a training program does in fact pay tangible returns. More importantly is providing selling professionals with a methodology they adhere to and more importantly create attraction. The true competitive professional employs a methodology that stems from start to completion.

The Law of Value Proposition

One of the best assets for every selling professional is a value statement. Be mindful, this is not an elevator speech. This pithy statement ends the stereotype and focuses all attention completely on the prospective client. A value proposition is solutions based with all benefits focused on the consumer. Moreover, it denotes brand. A value proposition is nothing more than a benefit statement that offers to the client to improve their condition. Customer value propositions have become one of the most widely used terms in business markets. In 2006 the Harvard Business Review “Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets” discussed how corporations use them in the branding process. Value propositions are a powerful marketing tool that are powerful and help gravitate the buyer to your direction. These simple statements enable selling professionals to articulate their company’s position into useful terminology that engages the prospective client.

The Law of Referrals

Proper attraction involves referral acquisition. Professionals abhor asking for referrals! Business is driven by the ability to ask for new business. If clients are happy with your work they will willingly provide others that can need to receive your value. There is a story of an insurance professional that would visit clients and not leave without three new referrals. Even if the client provided one or two, the agent would not leave until he received three or more. Needless to say, the agent retired an extremely wealthy individual.

The Law of the Decision Maker

Sales attraction is discovering the true economic buyer. 67% of selling professionals spend too much time with those that cannot make a decision. Sellers are often duped into the process because they do not ask the proper questions. Good detective work means asking the difficult questions. Detectives enjoy seeing the discomfort of others as they squirm to reply. Selling professionals must be intelligent enough to know about the organization, the competition to conduct and intellectual conversation. Research has found that the title never denotes the economic buyer. 87% of respondents in a research survey stipulated they underestimated the decision maker by virtue of title.

The Law of Value

There is a wonderful detective show in syndication on television entitled “Monk”. The analytical detective works vehemently to resolve the case quickly. He eludes numerous hurdles yet in the end as the clichй states, “he always gets his man”. The same must hold true for selling professionals. True selling professionals endeavor to resolve client issues before the client understands the issue. In a recent interview with over 10,000 clients, they indicate their desire for sales professionals that can speak client language, understand the core issues and get to the heart of the matter expediently. Ask clients provocative questions that get them thinking about legacy, expectations and strategic direction.

The Law of Networking

Truly the best professionals constantly network. Selling professionals by nature require constant engagement with others to comprehend business trends and meet new opportunities. Admittedly, there exist a plethora of networking associations and organizations, choose those close to your location and aligned with your business. Review your local paper for functions that interest you and attend as a guest, but go! If you do not attend, your competitors are.

The Law of Desire

Successful professionals love challenges, are exceptional at overcoming adversity and love what they represent. They are never shy or non-conversant, and you can sense their spirit and their passion when they speak. There is a South African word called unbutu, meaning “from the spirit.” Successful professionals have an aura of spirit, of love, of passion, of commitment in everything and anything that they do. The more you can create unbutu in your sales presentations and your sales, the more energetic and inspirational you can be to your clients. The passion for assisting others is the fuel that bounds from failure to fortune.

The Law of Faith

There is no better nourishment and attraction then faith. Faith is a component of both passion and love. Faith is the ability to disavow the norms and continue. Thomas Edison did not believe he failed he had faith to succeed. If Henry Ford, and Andrew Carnegie did not have faith our American business system would not be the supreme power it is. And if Abraham Lincoln did not have faith, African Americans would not be free and his name would not be associated with America’s greatest president. In fact, faith was so imperative for Lincoln because his successes did not arrive until after his 40th birthday. Faith is one of the largest key components to the laws of selling attraction.

The Law of Success

I recall a young man that had limited athletic ability. He was reared in a dysfunctional home and loathed by family and friends. After much discovery he found an outlet in track and field. After years of searching he found a tool that displaced the discontent in his life. With much practice he got better and began to appreciate the sport. His success brought about future success. He visualized future success. Within months he became the captain of his team and a four-time school record holder. He also enrolled and graduated from a prominent university. Professionals have to breathe it, become it and yearn for it. Success does not come easy. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King jr. stated, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” Take the ladder of success one step at a time by seeing each step, living each step and appreciating each step.

These laws are simply a roadmap to creative success. These laws function similar to a GPS system. They become guideposts to recognize and live by. Our spontaneous world leaves little time to reflect, we must act quickly. The best professionals absorb, collate materials and create action. To live by these laws, do not procrastinate, act quickly, your next sale might depend on how you fight or side with the laws!

Published - June 2008