2 Reps, 2 Attitudes
and 1Time Frame

March: Fiscal
year end for many hospitals, governments, military, and big business.


For some sales reps it is a time of woe. You hear their whisper
echoes down the

hallowed hall:

“There’s
no money left in their budgets…”

“All activity is frozen…”

“ Not a thing is happening until April…”

“ They’re still awaiting budget…”

“ By June they’ll know where the money is going…”

These reps say:
“why bother?” They take a ‘reactive’ approach:
whatever comes

their way they’ll take it. They wait, sometimes for weeks,
for something, anything to

happen. Sales peter out, commissions dry up…and so it goes.

For other reps,
it is a time of wonder. You here their joyous echoes down the same


hallowed hall:

“
There’s surplus budget they need to spend…”

“ Here’s the opportunity to sell capital equipment…”

“ Now’s our time to present our case to get budget…”

“ They’re spending like crazy before the end of the
month…”

These reps say:
“Hey, why not go for it?” They take a proactive approach:
let’s get

out there and beat the bushes. They don’t wait for something
to happen; they make

things happen. Sales increase, commissions soar… and so it
goes.

What kind of
a sales rep are you?

So draw a line
in the sand: what kind of a rep are you? Be brutally honest.

Do you believe
the myths and legends about fiscal year end as being the “worst
of

times?” Or do you see year-end as being the “best of
times?” Are you content to wait

to see what the Fates have in store for you or do you attempt to
be the master of

your sales destiny? Do your prospecting calls stall and die or do
they increase and

pick up momentum at year-end? Do you relax or redouble your sales
efforts?

Choice

Of course, you’ve
heard it before: your attitude determines your sales success. If


you think sales have dried up, you’ll find evidence to support
it…whether it really

exists or not. If you think sales have not dried up, you’ll
continue to sell.

You have a choice.
You have a choice to give up and wait or go out there and sell.


You have a choice to be the victim or the victorious.

Bigger Issues

Here’s
my real point and here’s ugly truth: it looks like a recession
is brewing. For

the “worst of times” rep, the recession is like several
months of “March” rolled

together: a time of little or no sales activity, a time of woe and
despair. For the “best

of times” reps, a recession is pure opportunity. They know
that, despite the economic

downturn, businesses and people still buy. Yes, they are more cautious
but sales

are still made.

Whether it is
year-end or an economic recession here’s what the very best
of sales

reps typically do:

• They choose
  to believe it is the ‘best of times’


• They work
  with sales and marketing managers to develop special offers that
  speak
  
  to the economic times (bulk discounts, favorable terms, etc.)
  or the year end budget frenzy


• They leverage
  their relationships


• They build
  and use account plans


• They go phone
  crazy and increase their prospecting calls to look for opportunities


• They call
  inactive accounts


• They look
  for and emphasize the benefits of ‘saving’ (time,
  money, and effort)


• They use
  cross selling and up selling to add value


• They are
  absolutely tenacious on their follow up


• They ‘sweat
  the small stuff’


• They never
  quit

Summary

Choose.

Choose to be
a “best of times” sales reps and you’ll knock
the dickens out of your

sales objectives.

About
The Author: Cited by Canadian Business Magazine as "...Canada's
reigning

telemanagement guru..." Jim Domanski is regarded as one of
North America's foremost

experts on outbound business tele-sales and tele-support programs.

President of
Teleconcepts Consulting, Jim helps businesses achieve their sales
and

marketing objectives by using the telephone to help generate leads
and sell directly on

both a strategic and tactical level.

A highly dynamic
speaker and trainer with over 15 years of direct tele-sales experience,


Jim has spoken to audiences around the world on telephone selling
applications, skills

and techniques. His "no bull" training style blends humor
with "real life, real drama"

situations which he has begged or borrowed from his clients.

Author of two
highly successful books: Direct Line to Profits and Profiting by
Phone: No

Nonsense Skills and Techniques for selling and getting leads by
Telephone, Jim has

also written hundreds of telephone sales and service articles and
has been featured in

numerous publications across the continent. A third book "Selling
on the Incoming Call"

will be released in the spring/summer of 2002.

Contact
Information:

Teleconcepts Consulting

Suite 200

35 Vanstone Drive

Kanata, Ontario K2L 1W4

1-888-353-0948

www.teleconceptsconsulting.com


jdomanski@igs.net

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