Yes, Zig Ziglar says, “Sales is the transference of emotion” and he’s right.

When you help a potential buyer develop the emotional ammunition they need to make a buying decision you get the sale.  There’s a flip side to emotion and sales I’d like you to ponder because the flip side guarantees no sale.  And you have ALL the control over the flip side of the emotion.

Right now the fear is so palpable you could literally cut it with a knife.  Not just one, not just two, but several industries are in the worst financial crunch since… the Great Depression.  The economic fallout is creating a free fall that is spreading across many sectors of the economy.  It isn’t as though this is a news flash to you.

Consequently many business owners, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals are in an absolute panic.  You are desperate!  If you don’t make a sale yesterday your world is going to come crashing down around your ears.

Some Really Bad News

As if all that wasn’t bad enough I have some seriously bad news for you.  As long as you allow yourself to continue in this state of desperation there is no one nor nothing that can help you.  Let me state that again…

No One Can Help You

Yet, things are far from hopeless.  First, allow me to explain why no one nor anything can help you as long as you allow yourself to remain in a state of desperation.  There are no instant fixes or magic wands.  You are where you are now for a very simple reason.

The reason things are so bleak for you right now is not because of the economy.  In every industry in every sector of the economy things continue to be bought and things continue to get sold.  In times like these the wheat gets separated from the chaffe.  There are no free rides and you can’t skate.

The reason things are so bleak right now for some of you is because you haven’t adapted to the current environment.  Because you haven’t adapted to the current environment you no longer have anything of value to say to potential buyers.  If you’re presenting your offer the same way you did before things began this slippery slide you are saying the wrong things to the right people.

To put this in perspective take a look at how you’re feeling right now.  Think about your biggest concerns right now.  Are they the same today as they were even 6 months ago?  What is the one thing you’d pay almost anything to get or get rid of?

photo credit: mullica

Now turn that same magnifying glass on your best potential buyers.  You have to present what you have to offer in terms of what they want NOW.  You have to help them envision a future where they get what they want.  You have to help them envision a future where they get rid of what they don’t want.

You Must Open Your Mind

As long as you remain in a state of desperation your brain is literally FROZEN.  All you can think about is what doesn’t work, what isn’t working, how you’re going to pay your bills, and what you’re going to do if you fail.  The more worked up you get about how bad things are, how wrong things are, the more closed off you become.  You literally can’t and won’t see the solution that’s right under your nose.

What Can You Do?

So what can you do to overcome your state of desperation?  The first thing you must do is develop a plan to get the money you need to exist.  If that means working a part-time job… so be it.  If it means selling the extra car, do it.  The thing is you have to do what you have to do to take care of your basic needs.  Even when it’s unpleasant.

The one thing you DON’T want to do is give up.  If all you allow yourself to think about is what’s wrong you WILL FAIL.  You will create the exact future you fear.

Take a deep breath and make a commitment to do your homework while you’re paying the bills so you can get back on the positive side of sales emotion.  That means talking to, listening to, and reading what your best potential buyers are engaged with so you can uncover exactly what they’re desperate to get or get rid of.  Then reevaluate your offer and how what you have can contribute to or provide the solution for getting that or getting rid of that.

Even in the Great Depression when unemployment rose to 25% people continued to buy things.  The 75% who were employed helped some businesses boom.  Those were the businesses who adapted to the environment.  They adapted their product or service to fit their buyers needs and they adapted the way they talked about their products and services so those buyers where open to hearing their message.

This is the time to prepare yourself to be the best.  The average dude is in big trouble, he just doesn’t realize it yet.  You’re one step ahead of that dude because you know you’re in trouble and you’re committed to doing something about it.

Major shifts are also major opportunities to leap to the top.  Right now you have an opportunity to overtake and surpass even your biggest competitor.  All you have to do to get started is talk about your offer in relation to the emotion that drives your buyers NOW.

Zig Ziglar certainly looks like a sales genie or a sales genius.  When you’re struggling to make sales yourself it can be frustrating to observe Top Producers like Zig at work.  They seem to have an almost magical quality that you don’t.

The truth is you too can become a sales genie or genius just like Zig or any other Top Producer.   There are some simple truths about Top Producers:

• they’re never afraid to invest in themselves and their development
• even though they’re considered great by others they continually strive to improve
• they’re great listeners and seek to understand the prospect and the prospects needs
• they never push for a sale when they haven’t uncovered a highly motivating need
• they always ask for the sale when they have uncovered that highly motivating need

According to Chris Hegarty salespeople fail to ask for the sale 63% of the time.  That’s an obvious problem yet many sales people just can’t bring themselves to ask for the sale.  If you can’t ask for the sale you lose, and so does your prospect.

Why can’t you bring yourself to ask for the sale?

• Do you believe in the value and importance of your service?
• Did you and the prospect discuss their highly motivating need for your service?
• Will you feel good knowing that your prospect will probably settle for a lower quality service provided by your competition because you wouldn’t ask them for their business?

Here are some things to keep in mind on your journey to becoming a Top Producer. 

• The first sale you have to make is to yourself.  If you don’t believe in your service neither will anyone else.
• A buyer won’t buy until they’re ready to buy and their readiness is directly proportional to the reward they’ll get for making a buying decision, or the consequence they’ll avoid.
• When a prospect is ready to buy they will buy from someone and it may as well be you, but if you don’t ask the buyer may misinterpret your reluctance to ask as disinterest in working with them.