Stressed!

I am going to take a moment and share a personal story with you about my first sales call.

I had just started with this great publishing company, fresh out of college, and was happier than pig in... well you know. I was thrilled to work there, and thought it was my dream job. I digress.

The week prior to me leaving for my sales trip was spent on the phone trying to make connections, and desperately attempting to get appointments. Finally a principal in Lima Ohio agreed to meet with me. My boss was impressed, only a few weeks on the job and I had a face-to-face.

The night before the appointment I spent tossing and turning in bed, reorganizing my materials, and going over in minutia what I was going to say. The principal I was meeting with sounded well versed in "education speak" and I was still wet behind the ears.

I showed up to the appointment about 10 minutes early, the secretary said he would be out shortly. 15 minutes later he emerged from his office and didn't apologize for making me wait. I went into my pitch and he leafed through my books. Halfway through he stopped me and said "I have heard all this before, so what makes you so special?"

I froze. I didn't know how to answer that question.

Well, "me" I said.

"If something goes wrong, you call me. You need more books, you call me. I can take care of whatever you need--not some nameless faceless person on the other end of an 800 number. Thats how we operate, and that is why I joined this company." I was honest with him, even though it sounded arrogant.

The Selling Point: We all get nervous from time to time. In fact one way to tell your nervous is if your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth. But we are all human and we all make mistakes. Be personable in your approach, and most importantly be honest. Customers can smell B.S. a mile away.

And just to finish the story, that principal later sent in a $5,000 purchase order. Not the biggest sale I closed, but definitely one of the most rewarding.