Supremely Successful Selling: Discovering the Magic Ingredient

Chapter 7

It's a Numbers Game

GET READY. Get set. You're ready to begin.

You will find one of the most difficult steps in making the sale is actually not the face-to-face presentation. And it's not the heart-beats-faster moment when you actually ask for the order.

What's most difficult is getting in front of the buyer. Face to face.

Ah, that's the tough part. It takes steely determination and persistence, unyielding resolve. Difficult situations do not build character. They reveal it. You feel like Sisyphus—you keep pushing that boulder up the steep hill.

But, I've discovered a great truth. If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.

Here's the good news. When you get the face-to-face, you are 85 percent on your way to making the sale. All of our studies indicate this. This is true whether it's in an office, a home, or over the counter.

But here's the rub. Getting the visit is harder than making the sale.

Note, I don't call this an appointment if you are arranging to see someone in their home or office. That may seem like a small matter, not calling it an appointment. But as we know in this business of sales, success is in the details. Inch perfect.

The word appointment has a negative connotation. If you need to have a root canal, you call your dentist for an appointment. Or to see a proctologist, you call for an appointment. (Not for the same problem!)

But a visit, that's quite different, quite pleasant. I call it, the persistent and joyful pursuit ...