So, how's YOUR conviction? Just the other day, our 9 year old, Rachel said to me: "Mommy, did you know that this girl in my class, Lyndsey, woke up to go to the bathroom, and when she was finished, found that a tic was on her leg?"  Since it is winter in Atlanta, I was puzzled and said, "That's odd. Does she have pets?" Rachel paused and then said: "I don't know. But...she has a brother with a LOT of hair!"

In this situation, even though I was dubious, Rachel had conviction that Lyndsey really DID find a tic on her leg, after peeing, in the middle of the night, during the coldest month of the year. So what does this have to do with you? (Do you have a brother with a lot of hair???)

Well, if  you are selling something (products, services, ideas, job offers, relationships and more), you'd better have conviction or you won't reach your goals.

For example, salespeople, after hearing that the customer "won't pay those prices", will say, without conviction, I might add: "Oh, well, we make allowances sometimes. I'll go to my boss and see what he says about adjusting the margin." What type of conviction is that?

 First of all, the sales rep has now said that he doesn't have the authority to make price adjustments.  He's also just told the customer that their prices are jacked up to make allowances for customers who ask for a better deal. He's also not convincing that  the customer's request can happen. If I were the customer, I'd either beat up the rep over price every time I need his services, or, I'd talk to the boss myself! Where was his conviction that his service is better than the competition when he's cutting prices?

 It's amazing to me how eager salespeople are to adjust prices. The law, and I do mean THE LAW, to get a better price from a supplier. Buyers are trained to ask and if they aren't trained, will ask anyway. The great salespeople will find ways to eliminate the price objection. Some adjust quantities, delivery methods, make service substitutions, etc. Others get creative by uncovering what their service is worth to the customer if they DON'T buy.

 For example, recently one of my sales associates and I were talking to the founder and president of a software firm. The president was adamant that she dislikes having salespeople. That they aren't productive. They haven't worked out at her company to develop new accounts. Now, do they need sales training from SalesPEAK? One would immediately think, yes, however, they only have two people selling...so do they?

 Actually, they have 50 employees, and a happy established client base. Each of their employees talks with their clients regularly. We have proposed that we train, not just their two salespeople, but their entire team, because after all, everyone there touches customers regularly. The conviction is there that we can develop their existing staff to take their client list to the next level.

Now, what does the investment look like to train their entire staff? A whole lot less than it "costs" to hire two salespeople on a base with benefits. What if we can (and will!) provide the training necessary for their company employees at a fraction of the cost to hire two new reps? All of a sudden our fee is a bargain. (And we haven't sacrificed margins!)

The conviction is there. The sale will come. Same with you. Keep your conviction stable and your creativity flexible. If you do, you'll have the best sales year in 2007 than you've ever had before!