Take This Sales “POP QUIZ” Now!

Published by Chuck Bauer on Tagged Sales Tools, Free Sales Training Videos, Uncategorized

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Take a moment and think about your days in high school … when every so often, to everyone’s dismay, your teacher would stop right in the middle of class and deliver a POP QUIZ! In spite of all the moans and groans, you held out hope you’d get a passing grade that would improve your overall grade in the class.Well, today, I have for you a Sales POP QUIZ that I’d like for you to take. I need for you to grab a pen or pencil and a sheet of paper. Understanding the results of this POP QUIZ could add hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to your weekly and monthly income.

OK, ready for the POP QUIZ? Here it is.

Step 1:

Please write down these five words/phrases:

Manners & Charm
Product Knowledge
Empathy & Understanding
Enthusiasm
Fun

Step 2:

Take a moment and ponder each one of these. Then, write down the one YOU THINK was the most important to the clients who responded to the sales survey. (Cue: Jeopardy music playing in background)

Step 3:

Write down your response:

The Actual “Client” Survey Results

First off, this survey was totally about your client and really has nothing to do with you, except that the results of the survey can become a learning experience for you … thus resulting in an income increase. The survey was taken a couple of years ago, and the clients who responded were asked this important question

Survey Question:

What is the most important item (SKILL?) that you want from the salesperson that you are working with? Your choices are:

Manners & Charm
Product Knowledge
Empathy & Understanding
Enthusiasm
Fun

So, let’s put this into perspective. These clients, based on their experience with their salesperson, came up with these answers:

MOST IMPORTANT SALESPERSON ITEM (SKILL?) % of Respondents

Enthusiasm 51%
Empathy & Understanding 25%
Manners 10%
Fun 7%
Product Knowledge 7%

51% chose ENTHUSIASM, followed by 25% who chose Empathy & Understanding as their #1 item. That means that 76% of the survey respondents chose either Enthusiasm or Empathy. I would call that a “sales clue”! Bringing up the rear of the pack are Manners, Fun, and Product Knowledge. Yes, Product Knowledge placed LAST in the survey. Okay, be honest - how many of you picked Product Knowledge?

So, enthusiasm … how do we improve on it and make it a daily habit? Holy cow! I could spend HOURS speaking about this so let’s just settle for the first ten things that come to mind:

The five people that you spend time with, are they enthusiastic?
Do you eat energy providing foods on a consistent basis?
Are you fired up about what you do in sales?
Do you have your dream board (see Use Visual Impressions) visually in your office or cube?
Do you have a set daily and weekly income goal of what YOU must make?
Do you have the “correct” accountability partner?
Do you work on your sales trade outside of your sales time?
Do you consistently read and explore new sales ideas and techniques?
Are you coach-able?
Are you happy and smile all the time?

Okay, that took me all of about one minute. So, what is your score? Did you score a “yes” to all 10? Do you need to sharpen your sales saw? Maybe you need to completely start all over? Regardless, ENTHUSIASM was the #1 choice by over 50% of the clients. Again, a BIG CLUE to understand.

Additionally, what is your office environment like? Some of the sales departments I work with locally here in Dallas … their offices are built around excitement, enthusiasm, and positive motivation, sometimes LOUD motivation. Other offices … a funeral home would be louder if they were to compare decibel levels from a noise meter.

Product Knowledge … rated last on the survey. I know, it was tied for last with FUN, yet I need to share with you the pitfalls of Product Knowledge. The clients, by the way they rated Product Knowledge, were TELLING YOU something. In most cases, they DON’T CARE about how much you know. Or, a quote found in my SalesMastery Book of Quotes:

“Ignorance on FIRE will always outsell knowledge on ICE!”

Being “authentically” enthusiastic will always outsell anyone who knows all there is to know about a certain product, yet being knowledgeable can be very boring. Being enthusiastic is a natural “attraction” item; it will draw clients to you. Even if your personality type is “a thinker” or “analytic,” at least get excited about your product knowledge and convey that enthusiasm to your clients.

In closing, make it a point to practice becoming more enthusiastic. Be it on the phone, a live presentation, or using some exciting words in a text document or e-mail, get excited about your product or service and watch your clients become excited too!

Contact Chuck and get started today!

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http://www.chuckbauer.com/pdf/SalesMasteryAssessment.pdf