Reap What You Sow
by Joe Bonura, CSP

Jolly Green Giants

Last week, as I drove past a twelve-acre cornfield, strangely located in the middle of a suburban area of Louisville, I noticed that the tops of the giant green corn stalks were waving gently in the breeze. I remembered that two months earlier the field had been empty and desolate. My mind always reverts to comparing everything I see to a sales lesson.

Selling Is A Process

I immediately drove to a local plant nursery and purchased a package of seed corn. After reading the directions on the package, I realized that growing corn and growing sales follow the same process.

Find The Right Soil

First you must find fertile soil. Ask yourself these questions:

• What industry do you wish to cultivate?
• Who, in that industry, can use your product or service?

 

Prepare The Soil

Next, you must prepare the soil. Research information about the industry and specific companies within the industry. Get your shovel and begin digging. This procedure is especially helpful to sales people who have been in sales for a long time and find themselves complacent.

Start Plowing The Field

Plow the field into neat rows of prospects to call on—Make up a complete list of all potential clients in that business.

Plant the crop by setting time aside to make the calls. Every call is a seed planted. The more seeds you plant, the better the results will be because some seeds will be blown away, some will take root but wither and die, and others will survive and become clients.

Feed And Water

Fertilize the crop (the client) that you have planted by setting your next appointment before leaving their place of business. Send them a thank-you note for giving you the opportunity to visit with them. Follow-up with additional information on your company and call to confirm receipt of the information. Send them an e-mail directing them to a Web site concerning their business that you feel they might find interesting. Send them a FAX reminding them of your appointment.

A Contact A Day Keeps Competition Away

By keeping in touch, you will be like a scarecrow in the field keeping the competition away, while at the same time, drawing attention to you and your product or service.

Don't Kill The Crop

Be patient. When I was a youngster, I planted carrot seeds, and as soon as I saw the green tops emerge from the ground, I pulled them up every day to see if they were carrots yet. I didn’t get to see full-grown carrots because I had destroyed the plants before they had a chance to grow.

Harvest Time

Next, you harvest the crop. Each corn stalk will have at least two to three ears of corn; each ear of corn will have many more corn seeds. Similarly, every closed deal can lead to more leads. Ask for a lead from every client you close. Eventually, you will make fewer cold calls, and most of your calls will be recommendations or warm calls.

The Time To Plant

In selling, you must plant and harvest all year long. So why not don those overalls and begin your sales garden today!

Click this link to See Joe's live video on YouTube.com on one of the most important gifts that you can give . . . A Smile

REPRINT info:
Joe Bonura would be pleased for you to reprint the article text free of charge (non-exclusively), but asks that you include his name and contact information:

Joe Bonura
Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc.
Website: www.bonura.com
407 Landis Lakes Court
Louisville, KY  40245
(800) 444-3340 toll free
(502) 244-0087 phone
E-mail: sales@bonura.com

About Joe Bonura

His background is unique. Joe owned and operated a highly successful advertising agency for 18 years. During that time, he found his advertising campaigns were more effective when he educated his clients in the areas of sales and service. He conducted training seminars for his clients as added value. Word spread that Joe was a quality speaker and more and more people asked him to speak. The demand became so high that he sold the agency to three of his associates to start his own speaking and consulting company, Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc.

Joe is past President of the Kentucky Speakers Association and a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a prestigious designation earned by only 8% of the 3,600 member National Speakers Association. Joe presently serves on the board of directors of NSA.

He is author of the audio learning systems "Three-Dimensional Selling®" and "Turning Customer Satisfaction Into Customer Excitement®." He is author of the book Throw the Rabbit—The Ultimate Approach to Three-Dimensional Selling.

Click here TO ENGAGE JOE BONURA FOR A TRAINING SEMINAR AT YOUR COMPANY