• Everyone says Small Businesses will save the economy? But who’s saving Small Business?

  You and me…and here’s how

  Hire and buy from Small Businesses every Thursday.

> March 27, 2012

What My Dogs Have Taught Me About Sales

I look down. There she is, making eye contact. Intense eye contact. She wants something, and she’s asking for it. It doesn’t matter if I’ve said “I don’t think so” before. This time is brand new. She asks for what she wants.

Dogs, like kids, are the best sales people. We can learn a lot from them.

And, she’s trained a sales staff. She has team. Chili has taught the puppy her sales technique. Frankly, when I look back, every dog knows how to ask for what they want. Dogs are the best sales people on the planet—right up there with kids.

Finally realizing I was in the presence of a sales genius, I started watching Chili very closely. Here’s what I learned from her.

• Sometimes…most of the time…you will ask for the “sale” more than once. Sometimes the customer doesn’t realize right away how much saying “yes” is the right answer.
• Warming up the customer prior to selling them anything, particularly when it’s genuine attention, turns a stranger into a friend into a customer into a loyal customer. Chili and Jasper sit in my lap and lick my face to show their genuine interest in me. You don’t have to go that far.
• When you are meeting your Ideal Customer in person, eye contact is a good thing. It’s engaging and personal.
• Sometimes “no” doesn’t mean no. It means “no, not now.” It’s your job to return and ask again.
• She has a very short term memory. When I say “no, not now” she has no sense of rejection. It isn’t about her. She’s confident when she returns to ask again.
• She’s effectively taught the rest of her “sales staff”—Jasper in this case—in her methodology and often achieves “sales” through his efforts. And she gets a commission on his sales.

If you have a dog, you know what I mean. They, like kids, are highly effective sales people. They carry no sense they are pestering us when they ask. They have no qualms about returning, again and again, to engage us. They are patient in their efforts.

They usually make the sale, don’t they?

I encourage you to watch your dog, and adopt some of their techniques. Imagine if you were as successful in your sales efforts as they are.

You can be, of course. It’s just practice.

Go forth and do great things,

Martha Hanlon and Chris Williams