Q: How can I train my salespeople not to prejudge prospects?
A: The house looks run down. There's a beat-up car in the driveway. You walk in and the homeowner has to clear a place for you to sit. To most salespeople, this looks like b.c.: bad credit.
Actually, it describes what was, at that point, the biggest sale of my career. The gentleman had inherited $600,000 and wanted to spend a lot of it on his $60,000 home.
Assume prospects are qualified when they call you. If they're not, you'll find out when you get there, and the only investment you've made is one trip to the home. Every prospect is worth that.
A large company's sales manager told me recently about a call they received. No one wanted to take the appointment, so it fell to a brand-new guy. No one at that company has sold a job for as much money before or since.
Teach your salespeople that they should be telling themselves to look for reasons why the prospect should buy, rather than reasons that would prevent the prospect from buying.
Sell first and finance later. Chances are you'll get a lot more financed.
--Phil Rea, Phil Rea & Associates, offering professional speaking, a money-making newsletter (Sales Pitch), and a powerful monthly sales meeting by phone to over 1,500 remodeling salespeople nationwide.
