Volume 6, Issue 3

Sandler Rule: Every unsuccessful prospecting call earns compound interest.

You can’t win them all—especially when prospecting. Not everyone you call on will need or
want your product or service. Some will need it, but not now. Others won’t know they need it.
So, you are likely to have more unsuccessful calls—ending with turn-downs and put-offs—than
successful ones. But, you can learn something from the unsuccessful calls that will contribute
to a win down the road.
If, for example, you are receiving the same put-offs time and again (especially the
preprogrammed responses prospects use to fend off salespeople), you can prepare for them—
develop your own preemptive strike.
Suppose you sold employee benefits packages. Rather than start the conversation with a
business owner with a request to review the current program or statements about the
advantages your company can provide, both of which invariably lead to a put-off, you might try
the following:
“If you are like most business owners, as
soon as I mention employee benefits
programs, you’re going to tell me, ‘We’re
already working with someone’ or ‘We’re
covered.’ Would you be willing to put
those on the shelf for two minutes while
I explain why I called; then, you can
decide if there is a reason to talk further?”
By bringing up the put-off first, you
diminish its impact and let the prospect
know that it isn’t going to work with
you—you’re not afraid of it. And, the
approach distinguishes you from all the
other salespeople who found themselves
trying to “overcome” the put-off.
Commit to learning a lesson on every call
and applying it to subsequent calls.
They don’t have to be earth-shattering
lessons. Just something you could do
more effectively… or something you
should avoid doing. The lessons learned
(even from those “unsuccessful” calls),
compound over time and lead you to big
rewards.
Sell Less; Earn More
Conventional thinking suggests that to earn more money you have to close more sales. That
means, calling more prospects, setting more appointments, developing more proposals, and
making more presentations. That strategy will work. But, what do you do if you are already
investing a great deal of time in your business?
Quality, not quantity, may be a better strategy. Rather than focusing all your efforts on finding
more people with whom to do business, concentrate your efforts on doing more business with
the people you find (or have already found).
Answering the following questions will help you identify more productive strategies.

Are there higher-ticket items in your product mix that you can sell, but often neglect?

Are there multiple sales you should be going after, but don’t always pursue?

Are you targeting “Class A” prospects that likely have greater needs and greater budgets?

Are there existing customers who should be buying more of your product mix…but aren’t?

Are there customers who use you as a back-up supplier rather than their primary supplier? If
so, what can you do to change the positioning?
You don’t always have to do more things to accomplish more. Sometimes, you only have to do
things differently. Look for ways to improve the quality of your sales before you look for ways to
increase the quantity of sales. It’s a better use of your resources.

Do your words inspire confidence or create doubt?

When dealing with prospects and clients, you want to appear professional, confident, and
knowledgeable. However, the words you use can undermine your efforts.
What is the difference between the following pairs of words or phrases?
Definitely …………….. Probably
Tuesday by 10 a.m. .. Early in the week
$114.85 ……………… About $100
Exactly ……………… Approximately
The words and phrases in the first column are certain – precise. The words in the second
column are tentative.
Using tentative words sends the message that you are a bit unsure. If the prospect or client
hears insecurity in your words, he may interpret that as insecurity in your work. It may not be
enough for the prospect or client to rule you out, but tentative words don’t inspire confidence.
Sometimes, in an attempt to give a decisive answer, you accomplish just the opposite: your
language becomes wishy-washy. For example, a prospect asks, “Are you confident that you
can handle this size project?” Your “confidence-building” answer is, “I know you’ll be very
happy with the job we do.” What does that mean? A better answer is, “Absolutely.”
Here’s another example. The prospect asks, “Do you think you can get the job done by
Thursday?”, and you reply, “That shouldn’t be a problem.” That’s right, it shouldn’t be a
problem, but will it be? A stronger answer is, “Definitely.”
Avoid tentative and wishy-washy language. It doesn’t inspire confidence and doesn’t do you
any good.
Things Won’t Change Until You Change
Are you completely happy with the results of your
selling efforts? Are some sales smaller than you
expected? Do others take longer to close than
anticipated? Do some of the sales that are “in the
bag” never close at all? Do these situations occur
too frequently?
Why do these things happen? Do prospects just
not appreciate the value your product or service
represents? Is it the condition of the economy?
Has market demand precipitously dropped off?
Are competitors making unnecessary concessions
in order to corner the market? When you look for
external excuses to justify poor performance, you
deny yourself the opportunity to improve future
situations.
When an opportunity doesn’t work out as planned, rather than blaming the prospect, the
marketplace, the state of the economy, or your competitors, examine your own strategies and
actions. What did you overlook? Could you have done a better job qualifying some aspect of
the opportunity? Could you have obtained a stronger commitment from the prospect regarding
the timing for a decision? Was there an essential element of the selling process that you missed
or skipped?
If you’re not happy with the outcome of a selling opportunity, examine your actions and the
sequence of events that led up to the outcome. Identify what you could have done to achieve a
better result and apply that lesson to future opportunities. Mistakes uncorrected are destined to
be repeated. Things won’t change until you change.

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