Graphic Media Alliance

Complete Story
 

02/13/2024

Best Sales Advice for a Newbie

Source: Bill Farquharson, The Sales Vault, February 12, 2024

newbie

My wife and I recently had dinner with some good friends and accompanying us was their son, a recent college graduate, and two of his former roommates.

One of those friends was in sales and we got talking. He asked me, “if you could give me one piece of advice; If you could think of one thing I should focus on or learn that would make me successful, what would it be?”

I had a number of responses ready by the time he finished his question:
• “Stay curious. Keep asking that question and others like it.”
• “Network. Build relationships.”
• “Become a student of sales. Continually study your craft. Continually improve.”

Someone else at the table gave their $0.02 worth and it gave me a chance to rethink my initial answer (for the record, I was going to say, “network. Build relationships.”) Here is what I told him:

“Learn how to read people.”

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called, Blink. In it, he talks about “thin slicing,” the act of making quick decisions based on little information. Good salespeople quickly ascertain the personality type of the person they are speaking with—whether they do it consciously or not—in order to determine whether or not they are a good prospect.

It’s a huge time saver.

We all have a target market. Most of the time when you hear that phrase, you think of the size of the company or the type of industry. But it is important to understand we have a personal target market as well.

Watch Bill present this week's sales tip


The Sales Vault, created by Bill Farquharson, is a subscription-based resource and sales community featuring a calendar packed with live workshops, on-demand sales courses, peer-to-peer discussion groups, and 35+ years of sales training content all searchable by sales challenge. Think of it as a sales conference where the seminars and workshops, full of instantly applicable ideas, are ongoing and more programs are added constantly.

The Sales Vault is available on a monthly subscription basis, normally at a no-brainer monthly price of $45/participant, but… GMA members can take advantage of an exclusive offer: FREE membership for 30 days followed by a discounted monthly subscription price of just $40/participant. 

Bill has been a friend of GMA for many years and is, no doubt, known to our members as a top sales trainer and content creator for the graphic arts.

Other Vault resources:

  • NEW: Replays—Insider exclusive recordings of Office Hours sales discussions
  • Downloadable prospecting letters
  • One killer-good intro letter only the bravest of the brave send out
  • A downloadable voicemail script
  • 15 on-demand video sales courses
  • Archived sales content searchable by sales challenge

Check out the Sales Vault!

Printer-Friendly Version



Add-Jet Technologies Webinar

Join GMA and Add-Jet Technologies for a webinar to discuss the services they provide and what they can do for GMA members.

Read More

Women in Print

Join Debbie Nicholson and Americas Printing Association Network for a Brief on Women in Print on May 23.

Read More

Detroit Postal Customer Council Summer Picnic

Register today to enjoy an evening at the ballpark with the Detroit Postal Customer Council on June 7!

Read More

Feds Ban Non-Compete Agreements: A 5-Step Plan for Employers

The federal government took an unprecedented step by finalizing a rule that seeks to ban non-competition agreements between nearly all employers and all workers. While the rule is not slated to take effect until August and is already being challenged in court — which could derail it or kill it altogether — you may not want to wait to start preparing. Here is an overview of the final rule and a five-step plan for you to consider.

Read More

Getting Along with Non-Sales Bosses

Learning to communicate with all personality types is a requirement of the job of sales. That skill pays additional benefits when building relationships with a manager or company president who has never been in sales. In this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip, Bill Farquharson shares some ideas on how to apply selling skills typically used on clients internally.

Read More