Southwestern Sales Talk

Here is some great stuff from the Southwestern Company’s Matt Atchison.  Matt is a District Sales Manager, and is one of the best salespeople and sales trainers in recent history.  Here is part one of several on the nature of rejection, and how to handle objections from Mrs. Jones. 

Rejection is going to play some tricks on you and your emotional state this summer.  I am going to do my best to prepare you for what you may or may not experience this summer.  Ultimately, rejection will build confidence within you.  But you will have to get your knees skinned up a bit for that confidence to set in.

We knock on about 60-80 doors a day in our job to get in our 30 plus demos.  Sometimes you will not find people at home, other times you will accidentally approach a non-prospect.  And there will be times that you are not able to demo a prospect because of certain circumstances or rejection.  The nature of our job requires us to positively deal with rejection on a daily basis.  You will hear many “no’s” this summer.  You will hear many versions of “no”.  It is your attitude about these “no’s” that will determine how successful you will be able to be this summer in our sales program.  In fact, every year the number one student in our program is usually also the student that hears the most “no’s” out of anyone.  It’s because they are working so hard and seeing so many people that they work through the most people with the most efficiency.  Remember that with each “no” that you hear, you are one closer to your next “yes”. 

We do hear a large number of “no’s” and that may frustrate you at times.  However, the most difficult aspect of rejection is NOT in the number of “no’s” that you will hear.  It is in how those “no’s” can affect your attitude and your belief.  The way in which rejection is delivered is the most dangerous.  It will cause you to lose hope in your day, your job, your product, and ultimately your success.  Let me take you through some examples of the daily rejections that you will hear and how to understand them.  UNDERSTANDING rejection is the key to beating it.  And of course a positive attitude.

Routine Objections:

“We have the internet.  It does everything.”  You will hear this objection in two separate parts of our job:  1) Before they know what the product does.  2) After you’ve shown the product.  Either place it will likely frustrate you at times.  Here’s what you need to understand.  Our products serve an entirely different purpose than that of the internet.  How realistic is it for a student to get quick , step by step math help on an algebra word problem on the internet?  Or help balancing a chemical equation?  The internet is unbeatable when it comes to research for papers, reports, or projects.  Our Volume Libraries are not for research.  They are for the other 80% that kids do nightly.  Our books teach the key processes that kids must understand to do their homework, tests, and quizzes.  It is vital that you learn enough about your product to understand the VALUE of having a set of homework study guides available for kids’ quick use.  The more you know about your product, the less you will be bothered by this objection.  Some people worship the internet.  Good news is that most don’t.  Become convicted in the differing purposes between our products and the internet and you will hear less of this objection too.

“We don’t have the money.”  This objection can be a very tricky one.  Most of the time people mean “I don’t want to spend my money on your books.”  This just means that they are not sold on the idea or value of what you are selling.  They probably have the money but in their mind they don’t have the ‘extra’ money to spend on something they don’t desire.   Very rarely do people not actually have the money to purchase our products, but here’s what’s so dangerous.  They will get you to believe them.  And when you have 20 people a day telling you detailed stories on why nobody has money that can take a toll on your outlook and attitude.  Here is a mindtrick that rejection plays.  This objection has been the downfall of many SW students in the last 150 years.  It’s a bogus one though.  I have sold books in virtually every kind of economic demographic.   Both rich and poor.  I broke the 2^nd year record in one of the poorest areas of New York.  And I hear the money objection just as much in both territories.  Our group was up 60% in sales from 2008 to 2009 in the worst economy since the Great Depression.  SW has had some of its best years during down economies and that’s because the value of education is always core in America.  People always have money.  Kids always have homework.  Don’t make this costly excuse, find a way.  P.S.  If you can tell that a family really has no money at all, then don’t waste time with them.  Find somebody that does.

“We don’t have time to spend with you.”  This one can feel personal, but remember it’s not.  One of the challenges of our job is learning humility and showing respect.  Oftentimes you may feel like people look down on you because you are knocking on their door selling something.  But remember that what you are doing is a great thing.  I understood in my mind that I signed up for a job where I was going to be judged 30+ times a day.  Sometimes this job feels like a blue collar job.  We work hard and experience lots of rejection and sometimes that’s not glamorous.  But trust me that you are learning white collar skills.  It’s a trade off that most youth are not willing to take.  But you are, and being different is good.  Everyone wants to be successful after college.  Most won’t be because they are not willing to pay the price. 

Congrats on having the ambition and toughness to be different.  Trust me:  Do the job right and treat people with respect and the growth in your emotional intelligence and communication skills will be priceless!

More from Matt’s article on rejection and objections next week!  Share your comments below.

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