Business Marketing, Decorative Concrete Sales

Shhhh… Close your eyes and don't make a sound. The sound of silence is the sound of sales increasing substantially for you and your company. The sound of silence represents the ability to truly hear what prospects are saying, before worrying about your next statement. It also represents the lack of time salespeople spend honing their sales skills.

In the era of modern communications, it's become easier and easier to lose track of the most effective sales tools. Too often, the sales process has become one of faceless and nameless entities submitting bids via telephone, e-mail or fax. Or the process has been diluted so significantly that only one sales call is made, although statistics show that more than 75 percent of all sales are made after the fifth call. Is it any wonder that Pareto's Principle states 80 percent of all sales are made by 20 percent of all salespeople? This doesn't mean that the top 20 percent are incredibly different, they just tend to do the little things better and win the close ones.

In today's competitive market it's more important than ever before to understand the sales process. I have been told that prospects only want to know: What is the price? How long is the warranty? How long have you been in business?

Under these conditions, it's even more important to understand the process. Have you ever lost a contract to a competitor who is higher in price? Have you ever purchased an item that was not the lowest priced? Why did you make the decision? Did you feel that the salesperson understood you? Did you gain a higher level of confidence in the company you chose over the company you did not? There it is — the sales process at work.