Focus on marketing SALES LESSONS
From a sales point of view, I admired Steve Jobs’ ability to release new products that people didn’t even realise they needed until he released them – at which point they became must-buys (and that’s said by the owner of an iPod, iPhone, Macbook Pro and iPad 2). So, what sales lessons can we learn from the legendary Jobs?
Don’t be afraid of being different
Steve Jobs was never afraid to be different and stand out from the crowd. To pursue ways of doing things that other people thought were stupid…until he did them and people stood back and applauded. In a sales context, what aren’t you doing right now because other people think it’s stupid?
Love what you do
One of Steve’s favourite sayings was, ‘love what you do’. My question to you is: do you love what you do? The answer for most sales people, and most people in general, is: ‘Yes – when things are going well’. I’ve always said that sales can be the best job in the world when things are going well, and the worst job in the world when things are going badly. So, for those of you that don’t currently love what you do, you need a more compelling reason or outcome for doing what you do.
Turn your TV off
I remember Steve saying: ‘We think you watch television to switch your brain OFF, and work on your computer when you want to turn your brain ON’. When I ask most salespeople, ‘how much time do you spend on trying to improve your sales or your sales career, compared to the amount of time you spend watching TV?’, guess which one is normally most popular? Most sales people I meet rarely work on their career outside work, and even during work they rarely
What I learned from Steve Jobs
With last month marking the one-year anniversary of the death of Steve Jobs, sales expert Andy Preston explains the sales lessons that can be learned from the master of branding
work on improving it; they just end up doing it.
Create a buying experience
Steve Jobs and Apple were fantastic at creating a “buying experience” every time you bought one of their products. Pretty much anyone who’s bought from Apple will confirm this. An Apple store experience is just that – an experience. The majority of people on the shop floor know exactly how to answer your query, or find someone who does in a minute. Does that have any impact on how many people buy more products from Apple? Of course it does.
“Sales can be the best job in the world when things are going well, and the worst job in the world when things are going badly”
Don’t fear failure
The majority of people have to deal with failure at some point. Therefore most people also have to deal with a fear of failure. One of the things that I do when I work with an individual or sales team, is to look at what failures they’re afraid of. Number one on this list is usually cold calling, or in some cases, any kind of sales calls at all. How many of you or your team are putting off calling a prospect that could be a really good source of income for you, because you feel like you’re not ready? Follow the tips above and watch your sales soar. Contact: www.andypreston.com
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01/11/2012 09:41