Door to Door and Telemarketing: Do They Still Have a Place?

For every successful sales rep that I know, I know at least four failed ones. Out of those four, three of them started in the worst sales positions imaginable. Out of those three, two of them kept on with their careers of horrible sales jobs. The last one ends up deciding that enough is enough and ends up turning it all around to become successful!

Too many people "stick it out" when it comes to a miserable sales position, then quit sales entirely, when they should be diversifying their sales experiences. If you have a set sales strategy, here is why you should "switch it up" and not stick to these two types of sales:

Door to Door Sales: It goes without saying that door to door salespeople are among the most miserable people in the world. Between the fatigue, the weather, and the constant face to face rejection, it's no wonder that door to door sales is one of the careers with the highest turnovers. Who can blame them? It's hard not to wonder how many talented salespeople never came to be, simply because door to door sales turned them off of the career?

Telemarketing: Telemarketing is almost as miserable as door to door sales. Although weather is not a factor, the stress is much higher. You don't have the luxury of seeing people in person. It all rides on the balance of one phone call; a call which is heavily scripted and can get you fired if you stray too far from it. Add on to that list that this is usually an entry level sales position, and you get a lot of people who end up hating sales. Plus, learning a script is not the same thing as learning to sell. Getting off a script is the only true way to sell!


Although these two types of sales jobs are absolutely miserable, they still have their place in a successful business. Successful salespeople sell in person, but they don't do it cold. They take the time to establish rapport with a prospect, in order to convert them into a trusting customer who views them as a valuable resource. It's a shame that these two types of salespeople aren't merged together into one, because by combining phone and in-person sales, you can get more permanent customers!

3 Crucial Cues: When it's Time to Chase a Commission Increase!

My first sales job had me start with a meager salary and a commission of just 4 percent. Granted, each sale in the industry usually brought thousands of dollars for the company. Yet,with each sale I got, I was still unsatisfied with the commissions. I felt like my sales were being undervalued with the commission I received. If I were to do it all over again, I would pay more attention, work even harder, and look out for these three signs that I need to have my commission increased.


1: You feel like you have hit a glass ceiling.

"Glass Ceiling" is a term that is often used to describe the wage gaps between genders and how women find it harder to rise to the top in an organization, yet it can also describe the feeling that you get when you need to get your commission increased.

You've felt a bit down about your job, you don't see yourself making much more money than you are, so you get bored. Your boss, while not making as many sales as you are, makes more money than you since he's in management. Odds are, he is not going to leave his position any time soon, which puts you in a predicament. You aren't going to make much more money and there is little to no upwards mobility in your organization, so what is stopping you from jumping ship?

Bringing this up to management, along with strong sales numbers that back up the necessity to increase your commissions, will go a long way towards getting that commission increase. You really do need strong sales numbers for this though, otherwise they have no motivation for doing so.


2: Your sales conditions are miserable

 A friend of mine used to sell newspapers door-to-door back when he was in high school. The best salesperson made between 80 to 100 dollars a night in commissions when he was selling.

Mind you, this is door-to-door sales, and you are knocking on several hundred doors a day, all for a wage that, while quite good for a high schooler, is really not that good as someone who has a family to support. There is a reason why these kind of sales job have a high turnover: the pay is bad and the conditions are terrible. If you are doing this sort of work, you had better make sure you are getting paid fairly!


3: Your company is undergoing serious change

Companies are constantly evolving; whether it be by offering new products or changing the organizational structure itself, it is crucial to remember that sales is what keeps the entire organization afloat. If there is going to be major change in the company, then why not see how sales can change?

If new products are going to be offered, what if they're harder to sell? You may need a bigger commission out of products or services that most will not have a need for. If people in other departments are getting raises, why don't you get a commission increase?

If you act like sales is truly what keeps your company together (and it is!), then you need to realize that the sales force needs to change along with the company. Even if we are not discussing payment, sales is the glue that holds a company together. If you change what you are gluing, but don't change how you apply the glue, what you are gluing will surely fall apart.


Have any of you successfully negotiated a commission increase? If so, do you have any tips? What motivated you to seek that raise? Please comment!

Also, if you have any ideas for what you would like to see discussed on this blog, please feel free to share in the comments as well!

A Very Odd Way of Getting Your Sales Voicemails Returned!

Voicemail is one of, if not the worst aspect of a sales career. Many people are busy or ignore their calls. As a result, you get to leave them a message! And what do they do with that message? Usually, they'll delete it. Often, without even listening.

Very few people return voicemails, usually because they go through so many calls like yours. Eventually, they'll just tune out and delete your message and soon as they even begin to suspect that it's a sales pitch.

I recently heard about a very unorthodox way of getting voicemails returned and I have to say that I would never have even contemplated doing this. It goes against the very fabric of what I have been taught over the course of my sales career: hang up in the middle of the message.

That's right. Just hang up. Think about that for a second. Seems like a scummy move, right? After all, it is certainly rude to just hang up the phone in the middle of a call. So why should you hang up in the middle of a message?

It piques their curiosity. Imagine getting a message saying "Hey, this is Rob. I have a great idea for-". And the phone goes dead. What was this guy trying to say? Even if it's not pressing, it will certainly interest you at least a tiny bit. 

Will the person call back? Maybe, maybe not. If not, try calling them again and telling them you tried to contact them recently and that what you mentioned is not going to be relevant much longer.

After I tried to do some "hang-up" voicemails, I got an extra sale per week, on average. Now, that may not sound like much, but it is quite impressive in my industry if you sell that much.

Go ahead; try it. Just hang up in the middle of your message! Worst case scenario is that you lose out on that one particular prospect. That doesn't mean it has to hurt your bottom line. Experiment a little!

So has anyone has increased their sales by hanging up when leaving voicemails? Have you attempted this? Please comment below! 

Four Ways to Spring your way to more sales in 2015

Spring is just around the corner, so I thought it would be a opportune time to discuss boosting your sales.

Look at the picture above. What do you see? A flower that hasn't bloomed yet. Why am I showing you this? Because this represents opportunity. It is up to you to see that flower bloom, just as it is up to you to see your sales grow!

I am going to give you four surprisingly simple tips that I found helpful to me and some of my colleagues in increasing their sales around spring-time.

Golf Outings: If your swing is faulty, now is the time for you to bust out your golf club! This is especially handy when you know you are going to be doing a lot of business with middle aged men. Nothing but the green and fresh air. It's quite relaxing, isn't it? Your prospects and clients most likely also think so, and very little matters more than getting someone in a good food, if you want them to buy. So, what are you waiting for? It's time to get out on the green!

Use the Weather to your Advantage: No, nice weather will not get you an easy sale in and of itself (unless you're selling air conditioning!). I am referring more to the fact that it has been found that when the weather is good, people are in better moods. Naturally, the better mood people are in, the more likely they will buy! Use this as motivation to get out there and sell!

Up your Cold Calling Campaign: Many people think that January is a great time to call on people. I agree that a new year is a great time to bring about change in an organization. However, I also find that many organizations make their changes during the summer months, which means that the spring months are when much decision making gets done. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and cold call like you've never cold called before!

Reach Out to Former Clients and Contacts: This reinforces the other three tips I have mentioned. Get a hold of them and do something that will allow them to enjoy the weather. Even if they don't want to buy, they certainly would rather go out and play golf than sit in their offices all day!

These are just a few ways that you can use the nicer weather to motivate yourself and get yourself more sales in the Springtime. Anybody else have any tips for this time of year? What do you do? What are your experiences? Comment below!

Being Yourself: The Easiest Way to Increase your Sales!

I have seen far too many salespeople collapse under the pressure that a sales career entails. I used to bend under the pressure as well, until one of my old bosses gave me some solid advice that sticks with me to this day: just be yourself.

Just be yourself; what a simple tip!

I used to fall into the trap of trying to be someone I'm not when I went out selling. As a result, I came across as somebody who had something to hide. I was always trying to push the product and get people to buy, buy, buy. Needless to say, I did not make as many sales as I would have.

After I decided to instead simply approach potential customers with natural conversation and less sales pushiness. I noticed that I was beginning to enjoy goings on sales calls more. That I was enjoying speaking with people. As a result, my meetings with prospects were more productive and I could more easily communicate my thoughts and the prospect's needs to them.

Try it: simply stop overthinking and let your natural self take over. Stop trying to sell and start trying to help. Be a HELPER, not a SALESPERSON! Do this, and you will start to forge a stronger sales path than you currently have.

LinkedIn for Sales: Three Ways LinkedIn Can Help eYour Sales!

Forget Twitter. Forget Facebook. Only one social media site truly matters, and that is LinkedIn.

Yes, LinkedIn is a common site for job seekers to find people to connect with, but it is also an excellent way to connect with people.

I want to preface this by saying that shared connections are VERY important for LinkedIn users. Without connections, why should someone view you as somebody who is worth their time? How do they even know if you are relevant?

LinkedIn is practically built around shared connections. I'm sure we've all heard the phrase, "I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy". This saying is so relevant when it comes to LinkedIn!

In fact, in order to really get anything done on LinkedIn, you need to "know a guy who knows a guy". Everything from messaging to viewing profiles is usually restricted by mutual connections. Luckily, the more connections you have, especially within your industry, the more access you will have to others on LinkedIn. Now, go and get those connections!

After you obtain some relevant connections, especially with past and present clients, I would recommend you make use of some of the following tips:

• Get recommendations: Recommendations can really give you an edge you need to stand out. Positive recommendation from your connections not only highlight positive experiences with you, but also positive experiences with your company. If the right person sees and understands those recommendations, you are likely going to be the person they will want to do business with in your company. As with in person sales, never underestimate the power of referrals, and that is basically what a recommendation is. Ask some of your connections, I am sure a couple of them would be willing to write a recommendation for you.

• Get the proper person to speak to: There have been so many times I have attempted to get hold of a "person in marketing" without having a name on hand. When I am transferred to the proper person, it always makes it a little less awkward when I already know who I am speaking to. Luckily, I can usually get around this by browsing a company's LinkedIn page. In doing so, I can usually find the name of the right person to speak to. I can also get an idea of what their interests and specialties are; certainly better than flying in blind!

• Message people if you can't get a hold of them: I rarely do this, as I prefer talking to somebody on the phone or in person, but if I message somebody on Linkedin, then that gives them the opportunity to see what my company is all about; what I'm all about. They can also see my skill set and recommendations. As such, my profile says more about me that I can convey in a 30-second voicemail.

These are just a few uses for LinkedIn when it comes to improving your sales. What are your experiences with LinkedIn? Has it helped your sales? Do you have any tips? Please feel free to comment!

Gatekeepers: How to turn them into Valuable Sales Allies!

(WikiMedia Commons, uploaded by AgainErick)

As a salesperson, you are no doubt going to run into gatekeepers on a regular basis. Whether it be an office secretary, a personal assistant, or a simple phone operator, it is important to realize that they hold all of the power in the conversation. While the person you are trying to get a hold of has all of the purchasing power, the gatekeeper has the power to determine whether or not you get the opportunity to speak with your person of interest at all!

When I was first starting in sales, I called on a company with the most obnoxious gatekeeper. This person clearly did not want me to speak to my person of interest. As such, he kept answering all of my questions with disinterested, one-word answers. It was clear that I would go nowhere if I kept using my normal tactics with this gatekeeper.

Instead of continuously trying to get him to give the boss the phone, I let him know about my interest in the company and how the services that I would provide would benefit the company. I want to save their company valuable time and money. I can save them precious hours of labor time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in various costs. So, why would his boss not want to know that?

You have to pitch two people: the gatekeeper first, and the buyer second. You need to convince the gatekeeper that the buyer would want to speak with your about your service or product. In my case, the gatekeeper was so dead set on not listening to me that I had to do the one thing that would make it impossible for him to hang up on me: I went to the company in person.

While I was there, I tried to get a meeting with my person of interest, but the gatekeeper was still insistent that I couldn't meet with the person of interest. I ended up giving the gatekeeper a full-on pitch about my company's services. I broke it down to him that I knew my product could save the company tons of money and that it was crucial that I speak with the proper person. I would do whatever it takes and I'd go through whatever channels I would need to in order to speak to the proper person.

I ended up impressing the gatekeeper enough that he actually broke their protocol and gave me the person's extension so that I wouldn't have to go through him anymore. He even gave me some tips on how to sell them. I ended up writing up half a million dollars of business with that company! I would never have done so if I didn't put in the effort to convince the gatekeeper. It was actually two sales: one to the gatekeeper, and one to the actual buyer.

So, what other advice would you give people regarding gatekeepers? Do you try to bypass them or turn them into sales allies? Any particular tactics? Please comment below!