{"id":1705,"date":"2013-01-24T11:07:49","date_gmt":"2013-01-24T17:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/?p=1705"},"modified":"2013-01-24T11:07:49","modified_gmt":"2013-01-24T17:07:49","slug":"smile-wave-and-make-the-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/2013\/01\/24\/smile-wave-and-make-the-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"Smile, Wave, and Make the Sale."},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a pretty good salesman. One of my strengths is in knowing how to tip the odds in my favor. In other words, I will use every advantage to ensure that a prospect sees the value in doing business with us.
\nI\u2019m also realistic. As good as I am, I\u2019m not the best salesperson in the company. Our factory (and our people) are. When I can convince a prospect to come visit us in Milwaukee, my job is very easy.
\nPeople walk through our facility and they are amazed at what they see. How do I know? Because they say things like, \u201cWow! It\u2019s way bigger than I thought\u2026\u201d or, \u201cThis place is cleaner than any other facility we\u2019ve visited\u2026\u201d or, \u201cI\u2019ve never seen dyno\u2019s like that before!\u201d
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\nOur prospects\u2019 attitudes also change during the 30 minutes or so that they spend on the tour. They walk in to our building a little apprehensive, a little hesitant, a little skeptical, just like you might feel if you were looking at a used car you were thinking about buying. But by the time they walk out of the tour, our prospects are in love.
\nAt that point, all I have to do is ask for their first order. It\u2019s amazing. In the field, my closing ratio is better than average, but here at our plant \u2013 well, that\u2019s a different story. I\u2019d bet that we\u2019ve closed 90% or more over the years. That means that 90% of the visitors we\u2019ve had will do business with us.
\nUnderstand that it\u2019s not just the factory. It\u2019s the people.<\/strong>
\nSeveral years ago, I visited a transmission parts distributor in the middle-of-nowhere Louisiana. It was an old, dirty building. The parking lot was gravel. Their delivery trucks were 20 years old. But, their people were unbelievable. Every single person in that warehouse smiled and said hello to me when I walked by. Some of them asked me questions like, \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d and \u201cHow is your day going?\u201d and \u201cWould you like to see something really cool?\u201d
\nI couldn\u2019t believe how nice and how friendly everyone was. I left with a smile and decided to do business with them right away.
\nImagine if every visitor that came through your doors got a smile or a hello or a wave from every employee. They\u2019d be blown away! And they\u2019d buy like crazy.
\nSometimes you won\u2019t know if it\u2019s a customer, a prospect, a vendor, a partner, a competitor, a delivery person, or whatever. The reality is that it doesn\u2019t matter. Treat everyone the same\u2026like gold<\/strong>.
\nHere are a few tips to get you started, but you should do whatever feels natural to you:<\/p>\n