Diana Long

No matter which business you are in, we’ve all got something in common! Whether you are a doctor,coach, consultant, web designer or real estate agent….we are all sales people.

Some of you might disagree. You see yourself as the provider of a wonderful service or product.

Most people just don’t like the word “Sales”. In fact, they cringe when they hear it and they certainly wouldn’t describe themselves as a salesperson!

But guess what? The truth is we are all in “sales.” Any time that you are trying to influence someone to agree with you, or get them interested in what you have to offer, you are in sales.

Children are  naturally excellent at sales. My daughter was an excellent salesperson a few years ago when she “influenced” us to buy new puppy that we didn’t know we needed! (We already had one wonderful dog.)

Whether it’s to endorse a presidential candidate, product, package or service that you have, you will need to let the marketplace know that you have it.

I am, by nature, a “quiet” person and “hard selling” is just not a match to my personality. Not to mention that most people absolutely detest a hard sell, don’t they? I know I do.

Nancy Marmolejo,  a publicist in LA, taught me a valuable lesson about “selling”, which Nancy calls “sharing your medicine.” Nancy says that each of us has a unique skill set, which we offer through our businesses. She asked us, “If you knew someone who was very sick and you alone had the cure, would you be shy or resistant to letting this person know you had their medicine, their solution? Of course not, right? Then why are business owners reluctant to sell, when we have the medicine that people need and want?”

I recently came across some interesting facts about sales. The statistics speak for themselves. In order for you to get your message across, now more than ever, consistency and persistency is key!

* 48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect
* 25% of sales people make a second contact and stop
* 12% of sales people only make three contacts and stop
* Only 10% of sales people make more than three contacts
* 2% of sales are made on the first contact
* 3% of sales are made on the second contact
* 5% of sales are made on the third contact
* 10% of sales are made on the fourth contact
* 80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact

Wow, these are sobering, yet inspiring, statistics, aren’t they? Each stat clearly shows us the path to success is consistency in your marketing strategy. Once or twice is just not enough.

Let the world know what you have to offer. Your products and services are exactly the “right medicine” for your potential clients.  Get the word out and don’t forget to be consistent with your efforts!