Supremely Successful Selling: Discovering the Magic Ingredient

Chapter 16

There Are No Shortcuts to Anyplace Worth Going

I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU a system that ensures your success. It really works. Mark this page. When you finish the book, you'll want to come back to this chapter.

This is going to take a little extra time on your part. Keep in mind that winners are those who make a practice of doing the things losers won't take time to do. You are going to be a winner.

Here's what I do before every sales call I make. Every visit. I suggest you do it, also. I want you to embrace this design like your chalice, and consider these steps as some sort of a sacred sacrament.

I make a lot of contacts and calls. I follow the same pattern I'm about to describe on every visit. I've discovered that if I do this faithfully, I'm properly prepared. Even if the visit doesn't go according to plan (and they often don't), I know I'll not miss an opportunity.

Typically, I do all of this on a 4 × 6 card. That just seems to work for me. When I mentioned this at a recent seminar, one of my students told me I was 20 years behind the times.

“Haven't you heard about computers?” she chided. I told her I was making progress. In the past, I had been using 3 × 5 cards.

But of course, choose whatever works for you. Use your BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad, or whatever. I like 4 × 6 cards because I can pull them quickly in and out of my pocket.

I carry the cards with me. I always take one last-minute look before I ring the doorbell or am at the desk of the receptionist. Everything ...