Most of us like an occasional pat on the back. If we score the winning point in basketball, get a business promotion, or are elected to office—we want to be recognized for our accomplishment. It's only natural. If you are named your company's leading salesperson, aren't you pleased when your colleagues come up and congratulate you? Don't you bask in the admiring glances of your spouse, parent, close friend or children? After all, what good is achievement if there is nobody around to recognize it? But has it ever occurred to you that others might like the same kind of treatment? Have you ever thought of being on the giving end of praise instead of the receiving? Opportunities Galore There are many opportunities for a salesperson to bestow praise. From the time they leave their home in the morning until they arrive back home at night, there are countless times when they can improve somebody's day by complementing them. If the clerk at a store does a good job serving you, why not tell them so? Next time they may do an even better one. If a receptionist gives you a cordial welcome tell them how much you appreciate their interest. This may get you into the buyer's office that much quicker. If someone in sales support gives you a great idea, give them a word of praise. They will like the feeling of being of value. This will pay real dividends for you.

The best never go it alone. See a successful salesperson? They seek advice and critique from others, and give freely to others on their team. SFI can provide many services to round out and take your sales team up yet another notch. Click to learn more. - Max If you received this from a friend and would like your own subscription, enter your email in the box below.   SFI has free white papers on effective sales pitches and designing top performing sales teams available at our website.

Many salespeople pass up excellent opportunities to praise their prospects and customers. I'm talking about justified praise, not empty fawning. Let's begin with a buyer's appearance. Perhaps they're wearing an especially rich looking suit. Or maybe they have lost weight since you last saw them and now look trim and fit.

There are other areas for compliments. Has the buyer's firm come out with a dramatic new product or has it cracked a sales record? The offices may have been remodeled, giving the place a completely new look. The buyer may have received a promotion. All of these things should be noticed by the salesperson. They are sure to be in the mind of the buyer, and the buyer may resent it if they are not mentioned. On the positive side, a brief compliment from a salesperson can influence their success in getting an order. Buyers don't want to be regarded as mere money machines. They too want to be thought of as individuals.

None of us are perfect and faults are rarely hard to find. If we are honest, we are aware of our own and we can find flaws even in people we admire and respect.

But how about overlooking faults, and searching for the qualities in a person which call for praise? So what if a person doesn't always use the King's English? Are they honest and fair in their dealings? Do they keep their word? Are they pleasant to be with?

These are elements that are more important than whether they end a sentence with a preposition or use a double negative in their speech. Some salespeople are impatient with a buyer for taking a long time to make up their mind on an order. The fact that the person is conscientiously doing their duty never occurs to these salespeople. They see delay as a fault. A better attitude would be to say to the prospect:

"I'm anxious to get the order, but I know you are doing what you think is right.
  I admire you for it."

It never hurts to try and understand the buyer's motives. Perhaps then they'll try and understand yours. If you strip away a fault you will usually find a virtue. Kind thoughts tend to be contagious, and will create a positive response.
 

Ask Max! Max-a-Million, the Sales Expert! What is YOUR sales Challenge? Ask Max the sales questions you want answered. Ask Max.

About Sales Focus Inc. Sales Focus Inc. is a consulting, training and outsourcing company that focuses strictly on sales. We help our clients during these difficult times to take business away from the competition. In down economic times, focused companies will not only survive, but also thrive! We offer cost containment and profit enhancement solutions. Profit enhancement is a different mindset than cost cutting. Cost cutting means doing less of something; profit enhancement implies doing more of something that will boost the bottom line. We represent the concept of focused profit enhancement solutions. Sales Focus is driven towards a single goal: "Generating Immediate Revenue for our Clients!" Whether it's implementing our S.O.L.D. Methodology, Developing Specialized Training Programs or Launching an Outsourced Sales Force, we remain focused on the goal of TACTICALLY GENERATING RAPID REVENUE.

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