re: Salesmen of the OT...regardless of industry, what has been your biggest success factor?

My philosophy:

If I can make a friend, I can make a sale.

Now, that includes: Showing up, asking about things my guys are working on to see if I could be of any help, etc, but it really boils down to actually caring about the guys I sell to. If you give a shite about the people you sell to, the rest falls into place pretty easily.

For reference, I sell stuff to plants all over the state.

A few random pointers from a 45-year career:

All customers have problems, so learn their business thoroughly, and help them solve their problems. You'll be a star.

Know your own product and your own company inside and out, top to bottom, start to finish, so you can help identify problems, and create opportunities to be useful and help solve them. Study everything until you know it cold. This won't happen overnight.

Don't be a pest, but stay in regular contact, and ALWAYS be there for them when they need you. When making a call, be on time and never overstay your welcome.

That said, the three most important things in sales are: follow-up, follow-up, and follow-up.

Customer service is everything. It will separate you from mediocre salespeople. So go the extra mile, and over-deliver.

ALWAYS KEEP YOUR WORD..!!

IF YOU EARN YOUR CUSTOMERS' TRUST, YOU WILL EARN THEIR RESPECT, AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES WILL FOLLOW.

NEVER MISS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE YOUR CUSTOMER LOOK GOOD.

Never, ever, lie or otherwise be dishonest. Don't make promises you cannot keep.

Never cover up. Own your mistakes.

ALWAYS treat anything your customer tells you as confidential. No exceptions.

Charge a fair price, but never gouge. Know your numbers thoroughly so you can give competitive pricing while maintaining your margin. Also so you will know when someone is being unreasonable when they beat you down on price. Respect is a two-way street.

Always be a professional. Be well groomed, nicely and appropriately dressed, and as fit as possible. Use no gratuitous profanity or any disrespectful or pejorative terms. Speak clearly using proper English and simple declarative sentences with no jargon or buzzwords. Wear nice shoes. If you must wear a fragrance, apply the minimum amount possible, using only your left hand. There is nothing worse than transferring bad cologne when shaking hands. Your car should be clean and well maintained. An older vehicle in perfectly maintained condition says more about you than the latest thing that you just went out and wrote a check for. Keep the 911 in the garage until the weekend.

As soon as you can afford it, buy a few custom shirts. A properly fitted collar, with a properly tied tie, is the picture frame for the face. The correct sleeve length, and a jacket (even an inexpensive one) that has been fitted, works wonders.

Never wear a flashy $20,000 wristwatch or gaudy jewelry. If you want to wear a Rolex, get a stainless Datejust, Explorer or Submariner depending if you are small, medium or large, and get the Oyster band and not the Jubilee. It's more substantial. And don't wear anything new; get one with some patina. You don't want to look like you just splurged with your last commission check, and the older watch will create the impression that you have been successful for a while. A Patek Aquanaut is $50K and no one will know what it is, unless they know, which can be very cool.

When taking your customer to lunch or dinner, drink strictly in moderation and only when you already have something in your stomach. Be unfailingly courteous to the wait staff, order modestly, and tip well but not excessively.

Treat your own staff with the same respect and courtesy. You will need them so you aren't wasting time in the office when you could be out talking to customers. Besides, it's the right thing to do. Regularly bringing a couple of dozen hot donuts or other treats to the office staff never hurts. Be equally kind to your client's office staff, and keep your eyes to yourself.

Never act inappropriately when entertaining a customer or client. The waitress you are hitting-on may be his neighbor's daughter. You never know. Even if not, it's bad form. And for God's sake, stay away from casinos, strip clubs, and anything after 10PM.

Have fun, all you want, but never do anything with a client he won't be able to tell everyone about (including his wife) the next day. Plus which, you never want to have anything held over your head in exchange for having to lower your price.

When entertaining, never talk business unless necessary, or planned. Get to know your customer, let them talk about their family, their history, their interests. Ask questions that get them talking about themselves. ONLY at the END of the lunch, dinner or event, do you bring up the follow-up, along the lines of, "Jim, it was great getting to know you. Thanks for such a nice time, and I'll call you on Monday about that thing".

You don't want it to be a chore for your customer to be around you, so above all, remember the golden rule.

You want to be conservative, dependable, solid, and authoritative. When people think of someone who embodies the best representation of your particular business or industry, you want them to think of you. This is the recipe for long-term success in any field.

Remember, it's the little things that tell you the big things about people, so pay attention to the little things, both across the table and on your side. This is not some boomer's take on what works in sales -- it's 100,000 years of human evolution in action. People can sniff-out a phony, a weasel, or a liar a mile away.

So, if you haven't figured out by now, sales isn't just about products and services, it's mainly about interpersonal relationships and creating a dynamic where people want to deal with you, and seek you out, because you are both pleasant to work with, and can help solve their problems and make their own lives easier and more profitable.

I hope this is helpful.

I write copy…

Deliver the promise of the headline and write in a clear, concise and simple manner. I try to keep it on a 5th grade level… among other principles.

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The donut and boudin sales people who think they can just take everyone fishing or golfing don’t go far because that doesn’t separate you from the pack.

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Easy now.......

You hook me up with that you don't even have to put prices on the quotes.

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Personal connection.

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To me this is very important. Retired after 34 years in sales and getting to really know your customer is key.

In Alabama talk a little football, get customer to brag about his kids , then talk business.

In person meeting and follow up with emails. Do not be a pest.

Tell the truth, even if it may be perceived as negative. Doesn’t matter if quality, delivery, etc..

Clients don’t have to trust you to do business with you, However if you give them a reason not to trust you…. It is over.

Honesty.

I had the receptionist give a Code Blue over the intercom when certain sales reps were walking in. You could hear the doors shut almost in unison.

Sales is not a subject that is taught in school. Therefore, I’ve read every book and/or listened to every audiobook I could in the subject and self taught myself many principles that have led to success.