10 sales training tips for getting an

If you're involved in a sales environment where you need to get appointments so that you can pitch to offer your products or services, you may struggle to get appointments from time to time. A lot of sales people do not like calling for appointments. Don't be one of them, with these tips and ideas.1. Dream big. Why not approach the big corporations? They have to get their products and services from somewhere, why can't it be you?2. Call the most unlikely / hardest target first. This will get it out of the way, and you may even get a positive outcome. If you don't get a positive outcome, you still have the rest of the day to make more appointments3. Write down your goals, and you are moreikely to stick to them. They can be attached to your computer at work, fridge at home, as well as in the car. Perhaps there is a company you want to deal with, a sector you want to do business with, or you want to do better than a rival company.4. When you have made more than enough phone calls for one day, or have had our fill of rejections, just make one more call. This could be the appointment you've been waiting for.5. Why not indulge in some healthy competition with colleagues? This will encourage the whole team to perform better, and get more appointments.6. Reward yourself with a treat for getting an appointment, through to the decision maker, or some information from the gatekeeper. These rewards can be anything. Perhaps from a snack to a bit of retail therapy.7. Have a good opening statement, and be prepared for the common responses and questions. By preparing well, and knowing about your product or service, you will appear confident, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. These are all good characteristics to have as a salesperson, and likely to get you to the decision maker.8. Why not ask for a meeting at a specific time, rather than a vague date? This will put the prospect on the spot, and if they can't make the time, they are likely to suggest an alternative time. This is a great way of getting an appointment.9. Don't forget to be friendly towards gatekeepers. They are only doing their job too. If you are chatty and genuinely interested towards the gatekeeper, they are more likely to provide you with the information you want.10. As a way of getting a foot in the door, or a reason for calling, why not send a useful promotional item, or a sample of your product to prospects? You'll be remembered when you call. Whilst not everybody will be thrilled with another pen or notepad, perhaps a clock or mug will attract their attention.Now you know how to make getting new prospects less daunting, why not use these tips and see if you can get more appointments?

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the equilateral triangle model for

There are few more critical decisions that business leaders make than how to compensate their sales organization. Unfortunately, many look at this issue from a single vantage point. How much do we want our sellers to earn if they hit quota? While that is an important and relevant question, it should not be the only director of sales compensation. Unlike any other position in the company, the sales person has two job descriptions, the one called a job description and the compensation plan. While HR may have the job description on file, the one that drives the sales person's activities is the compensation plan.There are multiple considerations for business leaders to review when developingales compensation plans because the plan doubles as a job description. Since it directs their sales behaviors, you need to look at how it impacts the service the client experiences. It also impacts the overall results for the company. Thus, there are three entities to consider when formulating the sales compensation plan: the sales people, the clients, and the company (employer).The equilateral triangle serves as the perfect model when designing sales compensation as it ensures none of those three entities is over/under recognized by the plan. Each side of the triangle represents an entity affected by the sales compensation plan. If any of the sides of the triangle are out of proportion from the others, the result is the law of unintended consequences. Things happen that are not intended, but are consistent with the message communicated by the plan. Here are some examples of compensation plans gone awry.Case Study: Health Club. A large health club chain offered a program that provided employees of certain companies discounts on memberships. The way the program was structured was that the health club sales person would generate a lead for the corporate sales person. The corporate sales person would call the company and offer the employees a 20% discount on memberships if they would post a flyer for 30 days to communicate the offer to the employees.Coming back to the equilateral triangle model for sales compensation, this program was a colossal failure. The company paid full commissions to both the health club sales person and the corporate sales person on a 20% discounted membership. Needless to say, the sales people were happy and invested countless hours pushing this program instead of the other programs offered by the company.The other two entities were much less satisfied with this offer. The company, because the membership was heavily discounted and were paying double commissions (not only to the sales people, but their leaders), came to realize that they had a near non existent margin on every sale made. They also found that their corporate sales team dedicated all of their selling time to this program instead of other programs that were of higher margin to the company, but paid lower commission rates.When looking at the third side of the equilateral triangle, the clients saw no value on the program. The companies simply stuck a flyer on a bulletin board and saw no tangible benefits. Further, when those employees who joined the health club through this program were interviewed, most said that they were planning to join any way at list price.Thus, the program failed two of the sides of the sales compensation equilateral triangle model.Case Study: Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO) Service Provider: A firm offering outsourced services to Human Resources Departments of large companies structured their compensation plan to pay commissions to their sellers at the highest percentage for the first 18-months following the commencement of the contract. After that period, the commission rate dropped to a fraction of a percentage. While at the surface the plan does not look perilous, there were some underlying components that caused issues.The 18-month clock never restarted with a company. This means that if a sales person added other locations or regions, they only received the commission rate commensurate with the moment in time of the client lifecycle. If the sales person added a new client location in month 19, the commission they were paid wasn't enough to buy a cup of coffee at Starbuck's. If the client purchased additional services, the same compensation issue occurred.The plan told the sales person to sell whatever you could in the first contract and not to bother with upselling/cross-selling as the compensation level did not justify the work. The clients suffered as a result of this program as well. Since the commission rate for the sales person dropped after month 18, they noticed that the attentiveness of their sales person dropped too. The plan unintentionally directed that to happen, yet attentiveness of the sales person is critical as the nature of these buying relationships is such that there are hourly transactions. They need their sales person to remain engaged.The HRO provider wasn't happy either. They came to realize that their sales people were not focused on conquering accounts. The sales person would sell once and move on to some other opportunity. The sales people were not focused on adding locations or on selling new products/services to the account. They also found they would lose many of their clients in year 2 and 3 as the attentiveness of the sales person had dropped.Unlike in the health club example where the sales people were happy with the plan, but the clients and company were not, no one was happy with this plan. After two painful years, the plan was scrapped in favor of one that met the criteria of the equilateral triangle model.Thus as you develop your compensation plan, ask yourself the following questions to ensure you are following the equilateral triangle model.1. What message does the plan convey to the sales person about where to focus their selling time?
2. How does the plan impact the client experience?
3. If the sales person follows the plan exactly as it is written, how is the company impacted?Remember, the compensation plan you put in the hands of the sales organization are the marching orders for the force. The equilateral triangle model helps to ensure every action taken by your sales team is intended.

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5 proven sales strategies to implement

Are you losing sleep at the thought of having to change careers due to the recession? No wait! This isn't "officially" a recession, but rather a soft economy. Regardless of what you call it, many economists are forecasting more to come. This means that if you haven't already experienced a slump, consider yourself fortunate. But eventually, you too will feel the impact.The worse thing you can do is assume that since things are looking good right now, you don't need to proactively plan for a potentially bleak future. Many businesses and consumers fear anything that resembles a recession. This type of economy is characterized by a decrease in spending, tighter budgets, and downsizing. You caeither look at these times as life-shattering or see them as an opportunity to give your business and sales a revenue-boosting makeover.If you incorporate and execute the following no-cost techniques, you will increase your bottom line and take your business straight to the top. And on your way up, the competition will be forced to ask why you are thriving and they are barely breaking even.Show Compassion / Be Empathetic: This may come as a big shock, but your prospects and clients aren't interested in you. Especially in times such as these. They are only interested in themselves. If you want to peak their interest, you must appeal to them emotionally. Pain, pleasure, and fear - emotions - make people buy. Asking questions that evoke these feelings allows you to respond with empathy. When you do this, you are fostering a relationship, one which will exist long after the purchase and sale is complete.Cash in on Repeat Business: Past clients are more likely to do business with you than new prospects. In a slow market, those would-be clients are holding tight to their money and don't want to gamble on a new comer. You've already proven yourself to your past clients - you don't have to sell them on your services. Let this work to your advantage. Contact your old customers to find out how things are going. This not only makes them feel appreciated, but it also opens the door for new projects. This simple gesture offers reassurance that you desire to do business with them again.Ask for Referrals: Even if you've just closed the biggest deal of the year - don't stop there! Ask that person who just entrusted you if they know of anyone else who could benefit from the product or service they just purchased. This is the most over looked strategy in any economy, but can be more detrimental when leads are already few and far between. The easiest way to get business is to ask for it. You can't afford not to practice this lucrative business building strategy and it won't reduce your marketing budget by one red cent.Work Your Existing Leads: It may be hard to believe that the prospect who said no the first two times would've said yes on the fourth or fifth try. How would you know when you typically write them off after the second call? Be diligent and persistent when following up on leads, but be careful not to come across as desperate or pushy. The easiest way to make these leads active again is to send a handwritten note enclosed in a card or by simply making a phone call. Ask if they still have a need and what it would take to close the deal. You'll be surprised at how quickly these once dormant leads can turn into profit generating accounts.Exceed Expectations: One of the golden rules in sales is to under promise and over deliver. It's critical in a recession to provide your clients with a level of service that no one else can duplicate. You want to do more than just please them. You should give them more than what they've paid for at every opportunity. They didn't have to do business with you - they chose to. A stellar customer experience combined with a great product or service lays the foundation for loyalty and keeps your clients coming back for more.

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webbased employee training provides

With the current state of the US economy including financial bailouts from the federal government, stock market plummeting, and high unemployment rates, the pressure on businesses to be more productive with less resources has skyrocketed. Operating more efficiently and cost-effectively has become the current corporate mantra.During this volatile economic situation, more businesses are faced with the challenges of maximizing employee performance and increased productivity. One way in which businesses can achieve operational excellence while continuing to cut costs is to invest in web-based employee development and training.This current trend in e-learning continues to defy the challenges fcing corporate America today. Through the continual investment in employee development, businesses are able to accelerate business growth and differentiate themselves from the competition.How can investing in Web-based learning for employees contribute to a company's bottom line? Web-based learning provides employees the opportunity to enhance their core skills and competencies while providing employers with a cost-effective means to improving employee productivity. With Web-based learning programs, employees are able to take courses in the convenience of their office or home - resulting in minimal loss of productivity, money saved in travel, time out of the office and more.Perhaps the most important benefit for businesses is Web-based learning provides employees the opportunity to learn in a more productive manner while enabling them to begin contributing to the productivity and profitability of the business in a faster method over traditional learning. New hires are now capable of contributing to a company's bottom line in a more concise manner.When searching for an online learning resource, be sure to look for one that provides an interactive, real time learning atmosphere. This type of learning allows learners to interact directly with the instructors for a more enhanced learning experience.

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a proven strategy for sales success

Do you have a strategy for sales success, or do you just "wing it" and hope for the best? Maybe you do have a strategy, but it isn't working as well as you would like. Whatever the case, you're reading this because you're interested in improving your sales results, so what you're going to learn today is a proven strategy for sales success.The first step in your strategy for sales success is to adopt a successful mindset. Do not underestimate the importance of your mindset! Take a close look at any really successful salesperson in any industry and you will see that they work extremely hard at cultivating a mindset of winning. They simply refuse to allow themselves to think negative thought. They won't even associate with other salespeople who are negative lest they become "infected" themselves. So do what the best salespeople do, fill your mind with positive thoughts and expectations and don't let anyone poison your mindset.The next step in your strategy for sales success is to become a student of successful selling techniques. Great salespeople understand that selling isn't a job, it's a profession. It requires ongoing education just like a doctor, a lawyer, or an accountant if you want to stay at the top of your field. Read sales books instead of watching television at night. Listen to sales/self improvement CD's in your car in between appointments. Seek out other top salespeople and pick their brains. The improvement in your sales will happen automatically.Now that you're full of positive thoughts and you're studying the fundamentals of successful selling, you need to develop a strategy for sales success that follows this basic formula: develop rapport first, ask questions to discover your client's needs and wants, use follow up questions to magnify those needs and wants into must-haves, get a commitment to take action if you can satisfy those must-haves, then make a presentation that focuses exclusively on those things and nothing else. Ask for the order every time!Now of course, you're going to get objections quite often, so your strategy for sales success must include strategies for dealing with them. Within three months of selling any product or service, you will have heard just about every objection you're ever going to hear and you should be ready for them. Talk to your sales manager and the other top salespeople in your company and put together your best ways to overcome the most common objections. Keep them in a notebook and read them every day. When they start to become second nature to you, your confidence and your sales will skyrocket!Maybe the most important part of your strategy for sales success is to practice. Yes, practice! Practice your warm up, practice your presentation, practice your closing sequence, practice your objection handling techniques. If you think you don't need to practice, think about this: Tiger Woods is unquestionably the greatest golfer in the world today, and one of the reasons he got that good is because he practices harder than anyone else. He knows that if he wants to stay on top, he has to keep practicing everyday and so should you.It really isn't that hard to be extremely successful in selling. Stay relentlessly positive, study everything you can about how to sell better, prepare in advance for the objections you know you're going to get, and practice, practice, practice. That's a proven strategy for sales success!

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rv sales training keeping your customers

It's that time of year when our presentation skills should be perfected, refined, and designed to capture our customers attention and keep it.Most presentations flop out of the gate because they fail to answer the key question on the minds of listeners: Why should I care?What's the most important message you want to leave your customer with-and why should they care? Every customer instinctively wants to know one thing: What's in it for me?The greatest public speakers are those who work at making their addresses both interesting and that relates to the customer.Make yourself interesting from the start. You can't afford to have your customer lose interest in those first few moments.You liteally have just a few seconds to make a lasting impression-from as little as two seconds to 90 seconds, depending on which study you cite. Regardless of the exact time, it's fast.Given that fact, it's important that you make a strong, emotional connection with your customers with your first few words. And those first few words should grab your customers by getting them involved with the content of your presentation.Give your customers a reason to care:I remember as a young sales person being taught to walk up to my motor homes and pound my fist, hard against the side walls of the coach demonstrating my construction quality. (Don't try this at home).The thunderous noise certainly got my customers attention. Was it the side wall construction they were concerned about? Maybe yes, maybe no.My objective was to do something different and interrupt the pattern that they were about to get the same presentation they got down the street.Another sales person I worked with went right out, and without a word, climbed up the ladder and began jumping up and down on the roof. (Don't try that at home either).Customers attention; He had it. Now they were listening and we could go to work focusing our presentation on what was important to the customer, confident in the fact they were paying attention, maybe to see what goofy thing I would do next.Make sure this animated silliness does not continue throughout your presentation or you will lose credibility.Make a positive impression on your customers by giving them a reason to care about your message. Let them know that the next 20 or 30 minutes will be valuable for them.The goal of most presentations is to lead the customer to some sort of action: buying an RV or scheduling a follow-up call or appointment to learn more. The more memorable the message, the easier it is to act upon.Be sure to focus on what is important to your customer by asking high quality questions.After making sure the customer is in budget by using the choice technique word tracks, say something like, "There certainly is a lot about this RV I could tell you but let me ask you this... What is important to you?You should have acquired usable info during an initial interview if possible.
Be prepared. They just might tell you how to sell them!Be sure to use proper trial closing techniques and word tracks at the appropriate moments to make sure you are still on the right unit before continuing to the next step of your presentation.Uncover hidden objections as you proceed to make the transition to the write up an easier one.Make your message memorable by grabbing the attention of your customer right out of the gate. Give them a reason to care about what you have to say.Now Go Sell Something!

Original :: rv sales training keeping your customers

rv sales training the importance of

With lighter than normal floor traffic, selling and follow up skills have never been more important to our success in RV sales. Everyone who's been to my classes knows my mantra; "They're Gonna Buy. They're Gonna Buy Today. They're Gonna Buy From Me. They're Qualified, and They Can Afford It". As always, there is NO REASON to not have this Mindset with every customer that comes on the lot, until THEY prove otherwise. If however, they don't "Buy Today" then we go into "Follow Up" mode.With sales and pricing competition getting fierce, proper phone skills become critical to getting the customer back to the store. Once a customer returns, closing ratios jump dramatically. Even more reason toget good on the phones.Here's some tips to help you out with your next phone calls.1. Always leave a message.Most everyone has caller id today. If you call your customer, get voicemail or an answering machine, and don't leave a message, they know it was your dealership (you) that called. This sends a negative message to the customer that perhaps they were just another customer on your to do list, as opposed to someone of value and importance. This could reinforce a customers potentially negative perception of us as salespeople. We often don't leave a message for the simple reason we don't know what to say, panic, and hang up. The solution is preparation. One of two things is going to happen when you make the call. Someone will either answer or you'll get voicemail. That's about it, so just be prepared for both before making the call. "This is what I'm going to say if they answer, and this is what I'm going to say if they don't answer." Be prepared and don't hang up. Give your customer service, and value.2. Call sooner rather than later.If your customer leaves the dealership without buying, and you have their information, do not leave it for later to call and tell them thank you. It should be the first thing you do when they leave. Just a courtesy message to tell them thank you for visiting your dealership and taking the time to look at your products. Make yourself available to answer any questions that may have come up after they left. Don't try to sell anything. Make sure you leave your name, dealership, and the product they were looking at, at least once if not twice to reinforce who you are. They more than likely stopped somewhere else either before or after your dealership and you need to set yourself apart. If you put off this step till "later", it won't happen till you start your follow up, which may be a day or two.3. Don't over qualify the customer before making the follow up call.I always say, "You don't know, what you don't know". You can't read the customers mind and have no idea what is going through their mind after leaving your dealership. If you just go off your "feelings" about the customer, you are making a mistake. I've seen countless customers perform "miracles" after leaving the dealership to get the RV you got them excited about. If you're not their when this "miracle" occurs, someone else may get the deal.4. When the customer answers, ask if you caught them at a good time.There's nothing worse for any of use than a salesperson endlessly yapping away when we have other things happening at that particular moment. If they are in the middle of something they aren't pro-actively listening to ANYTHING you are saying. I call it the "Baby on the hip syndrome". She's got a baby on the hip, something boiling over on the stove, the cat's thrown up on the carpet, the dog's barking at the UPS driver ringing the doorbell and here you are looking for an appointment. You are now public enemy number one. If it is a bad time, and you asked, they will be more receptive to you following up at a more appropriate time.5. Always stay positive on the phone, even if the call does not go your way.You may have caught the customer when they are focused on something else and they may not give you the responses you're looking for. Keep smiling!! It's not over, till it's over. Stay upbeat and positive no matter what. Be the salesperson that someone is happy to talk to, when the time is right. Negative attitudes on the phone are poor customer service and in today's RV market that may be all you have.Now Go Sell Something!

Original :: rv sales training the importance of

increase your sales and longterm

Whether you are in real estate, insurance, network marketing, or any other sales related industry, knowing why a customer buys is critical. How can such various sales industries be addressed simultaneously? Because ALL customers--regardless of what they are buying--have a common thread. According to The New Conceptual Selling by Robert B. Miller and Stephen E. Heiman, "People buy for their own reasons, not for yours." This sounds like common sense, but it is a concept overlooked by most salespeople.In the first chapter of The New Conceptual Selling, Miller and Heiman expand on this idea and demonstrate how salespeople can improve their sales and long-term profitability by keeping this inind. In traditional sales, the salesperson is initiates the transaction, does most of the talking, and is responsible for the outcome. However, in today's high tech, global internet market, customers are well educated and have more purchasing options. In order to survive in this highly competitive field, salespeople need to engage customers as their partners in each sale and include them in the process. This will give salespeople a higher chance of ending the transaction in a win-win solution for both parties.In order to improve your client relationships and enhance your sales, stop selling--in the traditional sense--and start listening. It is crucial to know your customers' reasons for buying before diving into a product pitch. It is essential to know what solutions they desire before attempting to offer any. Traditional sales methods of "performing" for customers--explaining detailed product information, statistics, analyzes, graphs, and charts; keeping the dialogue going, filling any awkward silences; keeping them on the right track (yours), and quickly fielding any objections--are growing obsolete.Search out a customer's true needs--instead of pushing the product you need to sell. Focus on truly satisfying a customer rather than doing whatever it takes to make a sale. Remember that every customer is unique with unique reasons for purchasing your solution. Don't expect to use the same script with every customer and lead each of them to signing on the dotted line. Try a new approach instead of just doing more of the old one. Positive thinking won't always be enough. Sometimes you will have to learn, grow, and change yourself in order to change your results.In order to incorporate these customer-engaging ideas, according to Miller and Heiman your sales calls should include three phases: getting information, giving information and getting a commitment. In the first phase, getting information, find out as much as you can about your customer's situation. Find out why they are dissatisfied with their current situation, what solution they have in mind, what else they have tried to resolve or fix the problem and any other details that will help you understand where they are coming from. Then in the second phase, giving information, you can tailor your product or solution knowledge to how it will apply to this particular individual. You do not need to give them every last detail you know about your product, only the information pertinent to them and their situation. Finally in the third phase, getting a commitment, you can help your customer make the best possible choice for their situation.It is important to note you will not always have the solution they need! Sometimes you will have to admit that your product or solution is not what they are searching for. It is always best to admit this up front, rather than down the road. As salespeople, we all have a customer that was more work than they were worth, at least one customer we wish we had never sold to. While difficult to pass up a sale, if it isn't in the customer's best interest, it probably won't be in your best interest in the long term either.Applying these techniques will make for happier customers up front, but it will also increase your long-term profitability. These customers are more than just customers. They are now your partners in this sale. They will come back for repeat business, give good referrals and through their networks, can increase your sales exponentially. An unsatisfied customer can do exactly the opposite.Look for my next article which will detail how customers make buying decisions.

Original :: increase your sales and longterm

rv sales training generating rv sales

When preparing this article I came across this anonymous quote:
"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It know it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle...when the sun comes up, you'd better be running." I think I've seen it before, but considering where we are in the RV business today it seemed to fit.So, what about this "money lying in the streets of the RV business"? Well, it comes from my personal observations in travelling the country training RV sales people and managers over the last 4 years. Some ofs just "aren't running when the sun comes up". At the end of every class, I ask everyone what they got of training today. There usually is always one who says, "I realized today that I need to work harder". Eureka! (I found it!).This isn't that hard if....if we step back and take an objective look at what we do everyday. The actual actions that we take, realizing that high quality action produces high quality results.How to have a 13 and 1/2 month year.If your year was longer would you make more money year to date? Of course. Short of discovering time travel, where can you pick up more time? Several weeks ago I told you we all wake up with the same thing; 1440 minutes that look us in the eye and say "What are you going to do with me?" The reality of the RV business, at least for salespeople, is that most of us only work 2-3 hours per day, tops. I know because that's what I did when I was on the line. You may be the exception, however, I work with a lot of salespeople across the country and it isn't any different no matter where you are.So what do you do with the other 6-8 hours per day? Would you be willing to accept a raise in income in exchange for some of that down time? Just work 1 more hour per day. That's it. Don't ADD it to your day, just WORK another hour of that 6-8 you don't do anything. Why is that such a big deal? Just do the math.1 hour per day of productive work x 5 days a week = 5 hours per week.
5 hours per week x 4 weeks a month = 20 hours per month.
20 hours per month x 12 months per year = 240 hours per year.
240 hours / 40 hours a week = 6 weeks.
6 weeks of productivity every year. Let that sink in a minute.....
That's how you get 13 1/2 months out of a year.Why is this so important? Look at what we actually do in RV sales today.
If we're actually working 3 hours a day x 5 days a week = 15 hours per week.
15 hours x 4 weeks x 12 months = 720 hours per year.
Actual "full time" jobs = 2000 hours per year.Yes, I know you probably work longer on weekends and when you have good floor traffic, but take your actual working with a fresh up out of the equation and you will understand what I'm talking about. It's the rest of our time we need to look at. If you show me what you do with your "spare" time in the RV business, I'll show you what you're going to make next year.You see sometimes it's not what you're doing, it's what your not doing. I know from first hand experience that it is easy to do nothing in RV sales or any type of commission sales. Remember that pain/pleasure thing we talked about last time? It applies here in a huge way because it affects your income and your ability to take care of yourself and your family.Bottom line, work harder. This takes Self-Discipline, one of the 35 keys to being a Top Producer in the RV business. It also takes a daily written plan of action, another key. It takes alot of things we teach in our RV sales training classes. You've heard, "The harder I work, the luckier I get". LUCK = Laboring Under Correct Knowledge. With emphasis on laboring.When you can you start with your new found productivity? How about right now?
How about 20 minutes on product knowledge, 20 minutes on selling skills and 20 minutes on a positive mental attitude. Mix it up depending on your experience level. Do part of it yourself, and get your teammates involved in part of it.Is there any reason you can't WORK another hour today? You don't have to come in earlier, or stay later. Just come to work to work. If you throw 240 hours of focused effort at anything, you will improve and get results. You will feel better, make more, which will make you feel better, which will make you more.... you get the picture. Unlike many other sales trainers out there today, I spent many years on the line selling RV's. I felt best and made more when I was busy doing something.Just Sell On Purpose and like the lion in Africa, wake up tomorrow, kill something, and eat it.

Original :: rv sales training generating rv sales

rv sales training generating rv sales

I remember years ago hearing from a phone trainer from Belgium, in his heavy French accent, "If you live off the floor, you'll die off the floor". He was right. People will RV, and thank goodness there is nothing we can do to stop them. Part of our problem today is that there is not a lot of them coming in the front door. Don't get, or stay, discouraged. Remember the harder we work the luckier we'll get. I know that the sales and money are available to us if we just know where to look.Diggin' for Gold.
California is Gold Country and I enjoy prospecting as a hobby. Unfortunately, I get to use the analogy more than I get to go out actually looking for gold anymore but... Prospecting for god is an art and a science, combined with hard work. You could just pack up your shovel, pan, sluice box and a strong back, head into the hills or a river and start digging. But more than likely you'll end up with a sore back and an empty pan. Or you could do some research first. Discover where gold might actually be. Understand what geological features of the land to look for. Go where gold has already been found. Listen to people who prospect. (Don't ask them where the gold is, they won't tell you. Just let them talk...there's a lesson there.)We do all this, before we even pick up the shovel. You see, I don't mind getting dirty. I just want to do it with a Purpose in mind and maximize my return.So where is the "Gold" in the RV business. Well, like prospectors during the gold rush, many times it's laying right at our feet. 3 key markets to look at are.1. Repeat Business
2. Referral Business
3. Service DriveLet's look at the facts:1. Repeat Business.
Math doesn't lie. If someone bought an RV, there is a good chance at some point they will buy another. The average time for someone to trade in their RV is around 39 months depending on where you are. If you're relatively new to the RV business and you have not built your customer base yet, there are still ways to tap this market.If you have been in the RV business for a couple of years you should be taping this now. If you have been in for several years you should be taking, (or waiting for), very few walk in customers.
Do your own math. Find out how many RV's you have sold during your career. Most sales people don't know. After the deal rolls we maybe, maybe call the customer to make sure they are happy and that's about it. I know as well as you do that it is all about "the deal today" but if I don't continue to stay in contact with my sold customers I have placed my own self imposed limits as to their value to me, and my income.If we work smart, we "create" be backs, not hope we will get one. Customers trading in quickly is not unusual. I've seen it happen the same day. I've seen customers buy and trade 3 units within 6 weeks! Stop thinking that "you would never do that", "you" are not buying anything. "They" are...let them.Find out today how many RV's you have sold at your dealership. Managers, get the sales people the info. If you have been with your dealership for a few years you may be shocked to learn what that number is. Say you sell 5 units a month. That's 60 a year and you've been with your dealership for say, 4 years. That's 240 sold customers. 240 buyers who liked you, believed you, listened to you, and trusted you. Now ask yourself when was the last time you called any of them? It's not about the floor traffic...it's about our attitude and work habits.If you're new to RV sales, get a list of orphan owners. Orphan owners are previously sold customers whos salesperson no longer works for the dealership. How big is that list? At one of my in house training dealers they estimated they had over 30,000. Most with no salesperson attached to them. You work hard for your deals. How would you like to work half as hard for the next one, and make more money?2. Referral Business.
How do you get referrals? ASK
Ask and ye shall receive.
Seek and ye shall find.
Knock and the door shall be answered.I don't make this stuff up! It never ceases to amaze me what people will do if you ask. So who do you ask for referrals from? Everybody. When do you ask for referrals? All the time.I run a web video production company as well as my sales training company. It started from me doing my own personal videos for training and marketing purposes. A friend of mine in a different industry saw what I was doing and asked me to do some work for him. Not only did I take the job, but I did it for free. I owed this man, for many reasons. He's one of my mentors. Someone I would trust with anything or anyone.This type of human association is worth more than all the gold in the world. More on mentors another time but suffice to say this person did not come into my life by accident. It felt good to repay his guidance with hard work, a good product and good service.He has since sent so much business my way I can barely keep up. He has put our business on the map. Now the clients he has referred to us, have begun sending us referrals as well. We don't have to look for any clients. We do good work, provide a good service, provide tremendous value, and they just keep coming. I am a firm believer in referrals. I spoke at the RV Dealers Association Convention this year, because of referrals.You see it doesn't matter if your customer buys from you or not, or if they qualify or not. None of these have anything to do with asking for referrals. If they buy, tell them thank you, and ask them for referrals. If they don't buy, tell them thank you for coming, and ask for referrals. If they can't buy, tell them your sorry, and ask for referrals.I've been in the RV business for a long time so here's a little truth. I don't care what other trainers have told you. I remember going to classes and they would talk about asking for referrals and tell me most everyone would give me a referral. I remember thinking, what planet are you on? Most people will not give you a referral. Get over it.I come from the RV sales line and did very well and I know most people won't cough up a name and number, period. Setting unrealistic and unachievable goals is foolish. Your job is to ASK EVERYONE. The right way. Some will, some won't, so what, next. The few you will get will be worth all the no's you will ever get.Referrals have a higher closing ratio ( 6 times the walk in customer ) and usually decent gross profits as well. A warm relationship, an appointment coming in, beats a fresh up any day of the week. It is usually not just an easier sale, but a more pleasant experience for you and the customer alike.I personally know a salesperson who sells 5+ motorhomes per month without taking any ups because of repeat and referrals alone. He got in one dealership and stayed there.3. Service Drive
This is an untapped gold mine. If you have a service department talk to your sales or service manager and ask how many customers come through the drive in a month.Depending on the size of your dealership and how long the dealership has been in business, it is not unusual for me to hear numbers like 200-400 per month. Yours maybe more or less but that is not the point. The point is who is out there. Qualified buyers, that's who's out there.Figure out, realistically, how many customers you could touch in the service department per month. As an individual salesperson, taking out the weekends, then your week days you are off. You have about 2-3 days per week to do this. Go meet 1-2 people each day. You have the time. I know it, you know it. Take action and watch what happens.Let's say you meet 5 new people per week. Remember, all you need to do is offer someone a cup of coffee and start a conversation with open ended questions. That's 20 opportunities per month or 240 opportunities a year you got because you stayed away from the updesk, got off the internet, stopped texting your buddy (who doesn't pay your bills) etc. If I gave you 240 more opportunities, qualified RV owners, do you think you would make a larger income? The closing ratio on these types of customers is high but let's say that it was typical of a walk in customer, 10%. That's 24 deals per year.Now you do the math. How much is your average voucher times 24? Probably between $8,000 and $25,000 per year. And that is just the service drive. We didn't even count the money from repeat and referral business. We do this in our sales training classes in more detailIf you know what you are doing in RV sales you could make a living and rarely take an up. Work smart and eliminate the frustration. The RV business, regardless of our present temporary economic condition, is a great business that will allow you to take care of yourself and your family, if you Sell On Purpose. If you focus and take action, you just got a big raise.May the bottom of your pan.... always be yellow. (That means filled with gold for you city folk ;)Now Go Sell Something!

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