We were at church a few weeks back and the preacher spoke about his Spiritual Fitness Center and the equipment he uses during his spiritual time. He provided examples of how he prays, where he prays, and other equipment he uses during his spiritual time.
I started thinking about other “fitness centers” we have or should have. Retirement fitness center.
Volunteer fitness center. Caregiver fitness center. Professional development fitness center. Personal development fitness center. Sales fitness center. And of course, Exercise fitness center.
Do you have a Sales Fitness Center? Where do you sell? How do you sell? What equipment do you use to sell with? Do you practice your sales? I’ve been playing trumpet since sixth grade. If I have a gig where I’m playing in church, sounding taps, or playing ‘Happy Birthday’ and I haven’t practiced enough, I should leave the horn in the bag.
Where else is practice important? At the golf driving range. In the batting cage. And, of course, in your sales fitness center. My sales fitness center is, in fact, my office. My equipment includes a desktop PC blaring off two 24-inch monitors allowing me to multi-task, and the door allows me to minimize distractions throughout the day.
Other equipment are books on selling and articles on selling including “Focus On Those Six High Payoff Activities.” Prospecting. Networking. Setting appointments. Making presentations. Handling stalls and objections. Closing sales. Three areas I practice my selling are while making phone calls, before making presentations, and before networking.
Making sales calls are my least favorite sales tasks. Each call I make I build off the previous calls. What seems to work for one future customer may not work for another. It is important to keep notes on each customer and future customer to ensure the next call is a continuation of the last time you connected with them. Practice by using different phrases and intonation and soon you will have a new customer or two every day you pick up the phone.
Making presentations is where the rubber meets the road! Once you have that killer presentation you have taken years to perfect, continue improving it. When there is a new stall or objection, include those in the revised revision so it no longer can be an objection. Practice your presentation before each sales call. Remember, you only have one chance to make a first impression. Know your presentation inside and out so you can quickly answer any questions or skip back or forward to visually answer those questions.
Another place where you should practice your ‘intro’ is before Networking events. You have about 30 seconds, and you want your intro remembered. Make sure it is compelling and exciting. Practice before you leave your sales fitness center. Practice in the car. Put it on a sheet in size 50 font and practice all the way to the event.
Develop your own customized Sales Fitness Center and Heat Up Your Sales.
