Displaying items by tag: Zig Ziglar

Wednesday, 09 December 2009 00:00

Is It A Problem - Or An Opportunity?

Zig Ziglar

Randy Males is a furniture salesman.  In furniture stores the salespeople alternate with their "ups."  (They take turns serving customers as they come in the store or "come up".)  One day a fellow salesperson, muttering under his breath, said, "I can't sell people like that!"  Randy asked what the problem was and the salesman told him that the man was blind and deaf and the wife was almost completely blind and deaf.  The salesman emphatically stated that he would not waste his time trying to sell them and he would not allow them to be counted as his "up."  Randy asked if it would be o.k. if he talked with the couple.  The response was, "Yes, if you want to waste your time."

Published in Articles
Wednesday, 02 December 2009 00:00

Got A Problem?

Zig Ziglar

Find A Problem!  Many years ago Dr. Karl Meninger of the world-famed Meninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, was asked the question: "What would you do if you feared that a nervous breakdown was coming on?"  Without hesitation Dr. Meninger said, "I would find somebody with a bigger problem and get involved with helping him solve his problem; in the process I would forget about my own."

Published in Articles
Wednesday, 25 November 2009 00:00

Find A Need And Fill It

Zig Ziglar

When I was in the Seventh grade I was on the boxing team and later I boxed while in the Navy.  I don't want to sound boastful, but it's a matter of record that the worst I ever finished was second.  I finally quit boxing because of my hands - the referee kept stepping on them!  As a boxer, the coach would always instruct us in the early part of the fight to feel our opponent out, probe and discover his weakness, and then exploit that weakness.  The same basic procedure is followed in all athletic endeavors.

Published in Articles
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 00:00

Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Doing Poorly

Zig Ziglar

Chances are superb that when you saw the heading of this article you did a double-take and thought to yourself, "That is ridiculous!"  But, let us think together and I believe you will agree that the observation is correct.  Look at it this way: If you were to quit any endeavor because you did miserably on the first try, your life would be infinitely poorer.  Think of it this way: When you watch sports professionals, whether golf, tennis or any other sport, play near-perfect games, you probably stand in amazement.  What you're watching is an individual who has literally hit thousands of golf balls, or tennis balls, many of them poorly, and has taken hundreds of lessons from teaching pros to improve his or her game.  They understood from the beginning that if they were going to play good golf or tennis, they would play a lot of poor games along the way.

Published in Articles
Wednesday, 11 November 2009 00:00

Christopher Columbus Was a Salesman

Zig Ziglar

Many people do not realize the important role that sales people have played in AmericaAmerica was discovered by a salesman.  Christopher Columbus was looking for India and missed it by about 10,000 miles.  Fortunately, he was a better salesman than he was a navigator!

If you question his sales credentials, consider this: He was an Italian in Spain with only one prospect to call on.  If he missed the sale, he would have to swim home.  That's pressure selling.  Once aboard ship, he really had to "sell" in order to sail.  Those sailors were going to throw him overboard and he kept saying, "It's just around the corner or over the horizon, let's sail one more day!"  Then came that exciting call from the lookout, "Land ho!" and the most profitable sales call in history came to a close.

Published in Articles
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 00:00

Goals

zig_new

K.I.S.S.  When I started my sales career, one of the first things we were taught was to "Keep It Simple, Salesman."  Communicate in such a way that your message is unmistakably clear.  If the message is not clear, the prospect ends up confused and confused people seldom take action.

This advice can be followed in any field of endeavor.  For example, in marathon running today we utilize sports psychologists, computerized training regimens, and running shoes that are "state-of-the-art."  Perhaps all of that is necessary if you want to win the big race.  I'm not denying that these things help, but Toshihiko Seko didn't need them to win the Boston Marathon.

Published in Articles
Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:00

He's A Typical Salesman

zig_newI'm certain you've heard that phrase used many times.  Almost without exception it refers to an outgoing, personable, gregarious individual who is a veritable chatterbox.  In reality, that stereotype no longer fits the sales profession, if it ever did.  Actually, there is no such thing as a "typical sales person."  Sixteen-year-olds can be exceptionally good at selling and 80+year-olds can be sharp and effective.  They come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and they can be either male or female.

Published in Articles