Sales
can be a melancholy job. On one hand, many people (especially nonsales people)
feel that it’s sleazy and lowbrow. On the other hand, it can be the most important
function of a business. Until there’s a sale, there is no business. Personally,
I’ve gone from thinking the former to believing the latter and honing my skills
over a decade to where today I am effectively the chief sales officer of Teracycle.
I don’t know exactly when this transition happened, but it took me a few years
to embrace the power of sales the way I do today.
I
recently wrote a friend who is starting a nonprofit and suggested that the role
of a company leader is to become the chief convincing officer. In the end these
two titles are synonymous, because selling is really the art of convincing
someone to believe and buy into your concept, whether by buying your product or
service or by investing in your company or by working for your company.
Here
are my top 10 sales tips, all of which have served me and our staff — including
Jo Opot. pictured above — for years:
1. You can
sell only if you yourself are convinced: If you are not sold
on the product or service, it will be an uphill battle to sell someone on else.
Your lack of conviction will scream through.
2. Be
clear and direct: When pitching do not use complicated diction.
Pride yourself instead on being able to explain the concept as quickly, clearly
and simply as possible. This is important because the biggest problem in sales
is client confusion. Confusion does not lead to a Yes.
3. Pressure
is an art: Creating FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) in your
client’s mind can be a good thing because it will lead to serious consideration
of your concept. In the TerraCycle world, we award brand exclusivity by country
and by category. I often need to tell potential clients that their competition
is also talking with us. The trick is to mention this once and to NOT rub it
in, which is likely to anger them. No one who is angered into saying Yes.
4. Know
your client: Make sure to research your potential clients, know their
challenges and their needs. One size hardly ever fits all, and you look much
stronger if you care about the business enough to invest in the research. I
can’t tell you how many times I get cold calls from sales people who don’t even
know what TerraCycle does.
5. It’s
all about the presentation: Building an amazing deck is
critical to the sales process. Practice it, memorize it and be prepared to
shift your emphasis based on how the energy changes when you give the
presentation. Internally, we always ask ourselves: “Is the flow of this deck
right? Will it convince?”
6. Be passionate
and exciting: Most presentations are BORING! So create a show and make it
exciting. Excitement is contagious – just like a yawn.
7. If you
don’t know the answer, do not guess: People will ask you tough
questions, and you may not always know the answer. The person asking you may be
testing you, knowing the answer full well. And if you fumble, it’s very hard to
rebuild credibility. Do not guess.
8. Answer
questions directly and clearly: If you are asked a
question and you give a “politician’s answer” – in other words, if you don’t
answer the question – your credibility will decline, and you will hurt your
chances of making the sale.
9. Humor
is a great lubricator: Funny stories always
break the ice. Instead of using business cards, everyone in our company uses
stamps (see right) to leave our contact info. It’s eco-friendly, it never runs
out and it makes for a nice ice-breaker at the beginning of every meeting.
10. You can
always be better: Sales is an art, not a science. Which means
it’s never perfect and can always improve. TerraCycle has a standard sales deck
most of our associates use. We’ve gone through 94 versions in the last three
years and version 95 is around the corner.
