A discussion about sales, sales tips and advice, and about those who land the deal

One of the first things I learned when I got into sales was how important it was to evaluate every sales call.  At first, like most new sales reps, I resisted..."who wants to uncover how badly they did???"  If I wanted to be a critic, I'd be reviewing movies, right?

Over time, I've seen the value in doing it regularly.  And I still do it now that I sell in my everyday business activities.

Telemarketing expert Art Sobczak has a good piece of advice on this subject as well:

It's said that we don't learn nearly as much
performing an activity as we do after it, by
reviewing and analyzing our experience.

You can earn a "graduate degree in selling" by simply
assessing your calls, committing to take
action where improvement is needed, and then
beginning preparation for the next contact
to the same person.

Here's how.

1.Ask, "What did I like about this call?"
Reinforce a deed well done. What gets rewarded,
gets repeated.

2. Ask, "What would I have done differently?"
Keep it positive. Don't ask the destructive
question, "What didn't I like?"

And don't darken your attitude with negative
self-talk like, "I really blew that call."

Instead, be positive and action-oriented.

By pondering what you could have done differently,
you're replaying the call, doing a mental role play,
searching for phrases you'll use next time.

Great advice!  If you aren't doing this now, try it.  You'll see a difference in the way your sell every time you adjust your approach based upon what's working and not working.