You remember the scene in Glengarry Glen Ross, right? Where Alec Baldwin spins around the blackboard
For me, its ABA
A – Always
B- Be
A – Authentic
After I was laid off at the real estate information service, I got a job in the garment industry. Specifically, I was working at a factory, owned by a Romanian immigrant named Peter, which had just secured their first big order. They had to purchase most of the raw materials from suppliers on credit, to be paid when the order was delivered and paid for, and I was essentially there to ensure the order would be delivered and the suppliers paid.
As we neared the delivery date, I asked the owner what we would be working on next. He replied, “Good question, we better go out and make some sales calls.” A few days later he told me we would be going to a catalog house to present our line of sweaters.
This is what we would be showing:
Needless to say, when we showed up, Peter toting his beat up leather suitcase he had moved to America with, filled with these ugly sweaters, I thought we would be laughed out of the room. But we were not.
The young fashionistas, buyers for this catalog house, were eating up every word of Peter’s broken English. And it was because he was 100% authentic.
They were used to garmentos (the derogatory term for salesmen in the garment industry) coming into their office and shmoozing them. This man, however, was the real thing and they were buying whatever he was selling.
When you call a prospect, you must sound authentic from the first words you speak, or there is a good chance that prospect will hang up on you. There is nothing anyone dislikes more than being “sold.” If you can sound authentic, like a person speaking to another person about something they might find valuable, then you are more than half way to your goal of securing the next step, be that a presentation or deeper discussion of a purchase.
The most succesful sales representatives and SDRs I have worked with and managed, always sound authentic.
Here’s a tip: Practice your pitch with a close relative or friend. They know how you sound “normally,” and can tell you if you sound the same way when giving your pitch. Keep practicing until you have it right with them and you well be on your way with the prospects.
Scoop on Sales 