When I first got Boo, my black Lab, a friend remarked, after watching her chase squirrels up a tree, "Don't worry, that will stop in a couple of years. My dog has figured out he'll never catch one and has given up." Boo will turn eight this year and she still chases squirrels like mad.Today, when I saw her bound out the door and chase a squirrel up the tree, I couldn't help but be reminded me of the sales process. Aren't we forever chasing squirrels up trees to get the deal, and don't some of us give up too soon?Be optimistic and chase those squirrels. Boo keeps charging up the tree because she truly thinks she has a chance of catching a squirrel one day. When we stop calling a difficult-to-reach but strong prospect for our business, are we accepting defeat too easily? The biggest reason for call reluctance in salespeople is fear of repeated failure. Short-term rejection conditions us to stop pursuing the potential client, even though we stand a good chance of winning them over if we persisted. Boo bounces back from rejection, and it doesn't faze her at all. We call her the ultimate optimist. Each time we come back from a walk, she checks her food bowl ? maybe someone put a little treat in it while she was out. What would be wrong with picking up the phone, for the umpteenth time, thinking, "Today is the day I will reach Mr. Decision-Maker!" Studies have shown that our belief in the outcome greatly impacts our efforts. If you think you can, or you think you can't, either way you're probably right.How do you win friends and customers? I believe "people buy you first or they buy nothing at all." So it stands to reason you have to win them over. My dog has more friends than anyone I know. How does she do it? She acts like she is glad to see you, and she is. She wags her tail like crazy, and if you bend over to pet her you'll be greeted with a lick. Most people remark, as she rolls onto her back for you to rub her belly, "Wow, she really likes me!" Boo likes everyone, but the people she greets take it personally and think she really likes them. Dale Carnegie said that you can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. When you call on a prospect, do you talk about your business, your station, and your ratings, or do you ask questions? We're so busy telling, that we forget that people are not interested in anything other than themselves. Do your homework, but don't tell the prospect what you know ? use your information to get them to talk about themselves. And don't fake it, your interest must be genuine or they'll see right through it.Be enthusiastic. Each morning I wake up to Boo greeting me with such joy and enthusiasm you'd think I'd been away for a year, rather than asleep for seven hours. She bounds around the bedroom, slipper in her mouth, and even though I'm not a morning person, I can't help but smile. Enthusiasm is contagious; use it when you call on clients. We all have difficult days, but we shouldn't carry that over to our business interactions. Smile as you enter your client's place of business, and project your welcome with vigor. Sound corny? Well, whenever I walk Boo and we come across an older person sitting alone on a park bench, Boo lifts them up with her enthusiasm. They remark on it all the time. No one wants to be around someone who brings them down; make it your goal to lift up your clients.Earn your clients' loyalty. I'm Boo's master. She loves my sons and husband, of course, but there's no doubt who's her master. She is loyal to me because I earned her loyalty. Unlike the boys, I never cry wolf or lure her to do something with the reward of a treat. I walk her more than anyone else, and I never get mad at her or raise my voice. She knows when I say I'm going to do something, I follow through and do it. When I leave the house I tell her I'm coming back, and she believes me. Your customers want to be loyal too, but often we provide them with an opportunity to turn away. We make promises that we don't deliver on. We forget to follow up and do something that we said we would when we were pursuing them. We neglect them once we've converted them, from prospect to client, and we treat them differently. Boo trusts me implicitly because I have been consistent in my interactions with her. There is no way anyone could win her over or convert her allegiance. How many clients can you say the same about? There is a reason why dogs are our best friends, and I believe we can learn a lot from these wonderful animals and be better salespeople for it too.My friend's dog, Lucy, was just put to sleep and I wrote this blog in her honor.
