Yesterday we looked at the 5 Questions Successful Salespeople Ask Themselves Every Day. And if you’ve worked more than one sales job then you’ve had more than one top sales rep as a co-worker. There is one (or more) in every organization. Usually their numbers are insane while everyone else is wondering how they did it. Well the best merchant salespeople all have some things in common, and it’s usually not something they’re born with. Here are six things that the top sales reps in merchant services never do:
1. Complain – Merchant services are filled with people who complain about everything from leads, to the comp plan, to prospecting. You could say it’s a completely natural part of sales culture and comes with the territory. While some complaints are legitimate, you won’t hear the best salespeople at any processor complaining since they are too busy focusing on finding solutions and closing deals. Venting makes people feel better, but it rarely helps your numbers and the top sales reps understand this well.
2. Count their deals before they close – A great salesperson can read people well, but knows enough about sales to understand that a deal isn’t a deal until the deal closes and is signed sealed and delivered. While many sales reps (especially new ones) will believe a merchant who says they will sign in a few days, or says come back next week, the best sales reps won’t use the “be backs” as an excuse to for not closing deals. The best sales reps take responsibility for themselves and, more importantly, face reality.
3. Keep doing things that aren’t working – While sales involves lots of processes, many of which are repetitive such as calling leads, explaining product benefits etc., the best salespeople focus on the details and identify what isn’t working for them and adjust accordingly. This can be something as simple as tweaking a few words in a sales pitch that is falling short, or realizing that certain types of prospects aren’t the best use of their time and resources. The best salespeople stop doing something when it’s clearly not working and keep trying until they find something that does.
4. Let their performance affect their mood – One thing that nearly all top salespeople have in common is that they don’t let their numbers impact their emotions. If they’re crushing it, they stay humble and keep plugging along without acting elated or running around happier than ever, and if they’re in a slump they don’t mope around looking for sympathy or get angry. Their mood is consistent which makes their performance better.
5. Forget to follow up – Following up does not require an enormous marketing budget. In fact, if you own a phone then your only investment is your time. The question that every salesperson must ask is, “Just how important are merchants to my success?”Obviously, you know the answer to that question. Therefore, the real question is, “Do I treat my merchants and prospects like they are important?”
6. Forget to close – We have seen countless sales reps over the years who will build amazing rapport with a merchant, thoroughly explain the features and benefits of our product only to let the customer get away without asking for their business. There is nothing more important in sales than closing, and the best merchant salespeople live this day in and day out. They put themselves in the merchants shoes, listen to what the merchant is saying they want, and then they give it to them and go for the close. If you want to be #1 but you don’t know how to close, Email me at David@GraphitePayments.com and we will give you the tools you need to close deals and grow a profitable portfolio.
Happy Selling,
David
Payment Lynx Daily 