A beginner salesperson knows when he or she has made a sale only after the paperwork is complete. Some sales persons know after the small talk, others know at different intersections throughout the presentation. The beauty of sales is that, as you progress, you will watch yourself slide up the scale and your ability to recognize the sale will continue to grow. Having said that, I have seen countless sales persons prequalify prospects and jump to erroneous conclusions about who IS or IS NOT a sale! A dangerous trap to fall into.

Beware, never predetermine your prospect. Give every potential prospect 100% of your ability and give everyone your best presentation as if it were your last presentation. I was very fortunate, I learned this lesson at a very young age because it happened to me. I went to an expensive car dealership when I was only 24-years-old and I was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. I had the money to buy the top-of-the-line model. I asked a salesman if I could buy this particular car and the salesman just laughed at me. His exact quote, and I will never forget it because it had a profound affect on me…he said and, I quote “Sonny if you can buy the tires I”ll give you the car”! Talk about pre-selecting! I very calmly asked him to introduce me to the newest salesperson on the lot and preceded to pay cash for the car! I took it a step further and brought my partner to the lot and the same rookie salesperson sold him one too!

It is a lesson I never forgot and I hope through this story you will never forget! By not preselecting prospects you will get to enjoy one of the great thrill rides of sales. The ones you think are sales turn out sometimes not to be sales and the ones you think cannot possibly be sales turn out to be your biggest and best sales!

“The Specialist”