How to sell more
By Peter Switzer

People in sales are a special breed. Lots of people can do a pitch, which mainly requires an ability to communicate. That's the easy part.

The tough part is closing the deal and getting the sale, and this takes a special personal trait. Some say it’s courage, others say it’s having a thick hide, while others even suggest it takes a ‘win at all costs’ attitude.

Undoubtedly, there’s a little bit of all of these characteristics in a good seller. Good sellers insist there is an exhilarating buzz from closing the sale. Some say it’s addictive.

What’s really interesting are the lessons from some international sellers – Zig Ziglar and Tom Hopkins. All three do the same thing — they sell the secrets of doing business better.

The small business proprietor should be lining up to listen and learn from the top hands of selling. Ziglar is internationally renowned as a guru of sales. It seemed his ideas on selling were as unforgettable as his name, so when I was offered a chance to do a phone interview with Ziglar, I was in and dialling in a flash.

Here’s what I learned.

My big question for Ziglar was, “What advice would you give someone who reads your books, follows your advice but still winds up with poor progress?”

Like many top motivators, he reeled off one of the most profound observations upon life which gives you something to carry along your own road. He pointed out that the psychiatrist Alfred Adler once defined the quality of hope as “the foundation quality of all change”.

The message is to keep your hopes up, never go negative, and keep working on your game.

My next question was one that has always bugged me: “Can everybody be taught to close a sale?”

Ziglar carefully insisted that everybody can substantially improve the closure strike rate by improving the closure procedure.

To sell well, he maintains, you have to do three things:

1. Have an intimate knowledge of your product or service

2. Have an absolute conviction about the quality of what you’re selling

3. Back it all up with hard work.

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