It’s a Saturday afternoon. The doorbell rings. The dogs bark profusely and rush to the front door. Typically this means Brown has just visited and left a gift at the doorstep. The dogs continue to bark. The front window is open letting in the cool breeze. As I step up to the front door, I notice a shadow. I can’t open the door or my four dogs will rush out. I peak around the window pane and there he is, the millennial sales guy.
Standing about 5’7”, the medium-build, young man who has a huge smile on his face introduces himself and what he does next completely impresses me. I love Millennial’s, and often hear people give them a bad rap for anything work-related (unless it involves high tech). My experience was quite the opposite and it’s worth you taking note because there are excellent tips to follow for your next sales call!
Here are five sales traits you can learn from this Millennial Sales Guy:
- Friendliness. Mishan is his name. He has this friendliness factor about him. He is energetic, happy, and his smile is radiant. He has a nice tone of voice too. The first words out of his mouth were positive and complimentary about my house. By the way, Mishan is selling exterior painting services.
- Enthusiasm. Mishan tells me how much he would love to paint my house. He’s painting one of my neighbors’ houses today, noticed my beautiful house, and saw some of the stucco could use a touch up. Did I mention he is selling paint! He talked about it with a level of enthusiasm reserved for baseball or cheering some other sporting event. I recall a quote my college professor taught in my Sports Marketing class, “Everyone has enthusiasm. Some have it for 30 minutes, some for 30 days, but it’s the man who has it for 30 years who has a successful life.” Edward Butler.
- Entitlement. He acted as though he was entitled to talk to me and I mean this in the most positive way. He was friendly, enthusiastic, and really wanted to paint my house, so shouldn’t he expect to earn a few minutes of my time to share how he can benefit me? When I say entitled, many people think that it means getting something for nothing. That is not the definition I’m using here. He really believed he should have some of my time and I totally wanted to give it to him.
- Persistence. I told Mishan I didn’t have much time to talk with him because I was running out to catch a flight. This didn’t deter him. With his big smile, he asked me very relevant and pertinent questions about my house. How long has it been since it’s been painted? Could he get my phone number to call for an appointment? I told him I wasn’t in need of a paint job, and he offered me a free estimate. He asked questions until I wouldn’t answer any more. He was persistent, yet respectful.
- Excellent Follow Up. Having trained 100s of sales people and read many books on sales, I know the number one reason people lose sales is follow up. Mishan told me what time he would call the next day, and he did. After he set the appointment with my husband for our free estimate, he hand-delivered a packet of what to expect during our visit. If his friendliness, enthusiasm, entitlement, and curiosity weren’t enough, this was the cherry on the top! This packet of information answered questions about his visit, told me why I should choose his company over his competition, and why it was worth hiring them, plus gave me a discount for scheduling service that day.
My husband and I were completely impressed with this young man, and while we have a laundry list of other home repairs with a higher priority, exterior painting has moved up the list. Mishan is an excellent example of creating a buying atmosphere, a terrific representative of one of the greatest generations to walk the Earth, and a great sales guy!
P.S. the deal is still in the works!
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About the author: Jennifer Darling is your Positively Successful Sales Coach. She has worked with 1,000s of businesses in strategic planning to increase their revenue. She provides sales, marketing, personal development and business consulting for small to medium businesses, corporations, nonprofits, and groups. Jennifer possesses 20 years experience for companies such as NBC, CBS, FOX, and Comcast. She holds a Master’s Degree in Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising & Promotion. Learn about upcoming events on her website.
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