Jeffrey Gitomer January 14, 2014
January 14, 2014
By Jeffrey Gitomer
January 14, 2014
All outside salespeople have “windshield time” – the time you spend behindthe wheel, or in some form of transportation, going to and fromappointments.
Windshield time is a critical time both for the anticipation of the sales call and for the aftermath of the sales call.
REALITY CHECK: How are you taking advantage of that valuable time? Here are the options: Waste it. Invest it. Your choice.
Most salespeople have a habit of doing the same thing when they get in thecar. They either listen to their favorite radio station or, perhapsbetter, they listen to something that they can learn from.
What do you listen to?
What should you listen to?
Be prepared to learn and be inspired. All at times, have that ONE CD or that ONE SET of CDs that best resonate with you.
Here are two of my all-time favorites:
1. The Art of Exceptional Living by Jim Rohn. (I carried this set of CDs in my car for a decade, and will listen to it again this year.)
2. The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale. Total inspiration. Listen once a month.
REALTY: Windshield time is your best time to prepare mentally and emotionallybefore the call and review what happened after the call.
I have 7.5 more ideas that I’d like to share with you about windshield time:
IDEA 1: On your way to the call, identify the first two or three questionsyou want to ask your prospect. Voice to text them to yourself. Start the mental preparation for the call. I promise when you generate two orthree questions, you will also generate an idea or two.
IDEA 2: Makeslides for each question before you go inside so that you are certain to ask them. My first slide always reads, “Before we get started, I’d like to ask you a couple of questions.” The second you generate the idea,voice to text yourself the content and then make the slide in the lobbywhen you arrive. (This requires getting there early, not “on time.”)
IDEA 3: Voice to text as you think of other things. This will both ensureyou remember the thoughts and it will clear your mind. I cannot stressenough the importance of ZERO MENTAL CLUTTER before the sale. Get rid of excess thought, no matter how small, so your focus is 100% on thecustomer and the sale.
IDEA 4: Pump it up. Listen to your favoritemusic just before you enter the call. Get happy, get excited, get yourrhythm, put some bounce in your step, get your enthusiasm set on “high.” Music can do all of these things.
IDEA 5: Before the call, mentallyestablish your expected outcome. Think about the detail of it. Expect a“yes” before you start.
IDEA 6: Listen to the recording of your sales presentation as soon as you dare. You’ll laugh and cry. It’s thebiggest reality check of your life, and the best private coachingsession you’ll ever receive.
IDEA 7: Record the “wish-I-woulda –crap-I-shoulda” for a minute or two immediately after it’s over. Takenote of your impression of what happened, good or bad.
IDEA 7.5:Record any promises you made, especially as relates to additional infoyou need to send to the customer as well as deadlines for follow-up.
NOTE: Never actually text while driving. If you don’t have voice to text capability, pull over to the side of the road.
PRE-CALL REALITY: Once you have a few questions prepared, a couple of ideasdocumented, and your favorite rock song playing in your head, yourconfidence level entering the sales call will triple.
POST-CALLREALITY: Once you “download” the after-the-call reality and listen tothe recording, document what you should have done and document whatstill needs to be done so your mind will be fertile for the next call.
BIGGEST IDEA and AHA!: Win or lose the sale? Celebrate that outcome either way. Recognize that proper investment of windshield time will give you ahell of a lot more YES! celebrations.
Jeffrey Gitomer is theauthor of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and TheLittle Red Book of Selling. His best-selling 21.5 Unbreakable Laws ofSelling, is now available as a book and an online course atwww.gitomerVT.com. For public event dates and information about training and seminars visit www.gitomer.com or email Jeffrey personally [email protected].
© 2014 All Rights Reserved. Don’t even think about reproducing this document
without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer. 704/333-1112
January 14, 2014
All outside salespeople have “windshield time” – the time you spend behindthe wheel, or in some form of transportation, going to and fromappointments.
Windshield time is a critical time both for the anticipation of the sales call and for the aftermath of the sales call.
REALITY CHECK: How are you taking advantage of that valuable time? Here are the options: Waste it. Invest it. Your choice.
Most salespeople have a habit of doing the same thing when they get in thecar. They either listen to their favorite radio station or, perhapsbetter, they listen to something that they can learn from.
What do you listen to?
What should you listen to?
Be prepared to learn and be inspired. All at times, have that ONE CD or that ONE SET of CDs that best resonate with you.
Here are two of my all-time favorites:
1. The Art of Exceptional Living by Jim Rohn. (I carried this set of CDs in my car for a decade, and will listen to it again this year.)
2. The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale. Total inspiration. Listen once a month.
REALTY: Windshield time is your best time to prepare mentally and emotionallybefore the call and review what happened after the call.
I have 7.5 more ideas that I’d like to share with you about windshield time:
IDEA 1: On your way to the call, identify the first two or three questionsyou want to ask your prospect. Voice to text them to yourself. Start the mental preparation for the call. I promise when you generate two orthree questions, you will also generate an idea or two.
IDEA 2: Makeslides for each question before you go inside so that you are certain to ask them. My first slide always reads, “Before we get started, I’d like to ask you a couple of questions.” The second you generate the idea,voice to text yourself the content and then make the slide in the lobbywhen you arrive. (This requires getting there early, not “on time.”)
IDEA 3: Voice to text as you think of other things. This will both ensureyou remember the thoughts and it will clear your mind. I cannot stressenough the importance of ZERO MENTAL CLUTTER before the sale. Get rid of excess thought, no matter how small, so your focus is 100% on thecustomer and the sale.
IDEA 4: Pump it up. Listen to your favoritemusic just before you enter the call. Get happy, get excited, get yourrhythm, put some bounce in your step, get your enthusiasm set on “high.” Music can do all of these things.
IDEA 5: Before the call, mentallyestablish your expected outcome. Think about the detail of it. Expect a“yes” before you start.
IDEA 6: Listen to the recording of your sales presentation as soon as you dare. You’ll laugh and cry. It’s thebiggest reality check of your life, and the best private coachingsession you’ll ever receive.
IDEA 7: Record the “wish-I-woulda –crap-I-shoulda” for a minute or two immediately after it’s over. Takenote of your impression of what happened, good or bad.
IDEA 7.5:Record any promises you made, especially as relates to additional infoyou need to send to the customer as well as deadlines for follow-up.
NOTE: Never actually text while driving. If you don’t have voice to text capability, pull over to the side of the road.
PRE-CALL REALITY: Once you have a few questions prepared, a couple of ideasdocumented, and your favorite rock song playing in your head, yourconfidence level entering the sales call will triple.
POST-CALLREALITY: Once you “download” the after-the-call reality and listen tothe recording, document what you should have done and document whatstill needs to be done so your mind will be fertile for the next call.
BIGGEST IDEA and AHA!: Win or lose the sale? Celebrate that outcome either way. Recognize that proper investment of windshield time will give you ahell of a lot more YES! celebrations.
Jeffrey Gitomer is theauthor of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and TheLittle Red Book of Selling. His best-selling 21.5 Unbreakable Laws ofSelling, is now available as a book and an online course atwww.gitomerVT.com. For public event dates and information about training and seminars visit www.gitomer.com or email Jeffrey personally [email protected].
© 2014 All Rights Reserved. Don’t even think about reproducing this document
without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer. 704/333-1112
