Ringing The Register
Editors note: The following is an excerpt from Jeffrey’s latest book, The Patterson Principles of Selling. Next week, we’ll announce a special offer if you purchase this book on Amazon.com on MAY 10th only. One hundred and twenty years after John Patterson created the demand for a receipt, salespeople around the world still live by the basic Patterson premise of “ringing the register.” More interesting is the fact that I almost overlooked this premise, and were it not for a dinner with my friend, Pat Hazell, this AHA! would not have been included. I showed Pat my book in progress, The Patterson Principles of Selling, as he toured our studio and office, and I told him a little bit about Patterson. As we discussed the book, he asked if there was a chapter in it called “Ringing the Register.” And I just sat there thinking to myself, cha-ching, there isn’t, but there will be. Ringing the Register Ringing the register is THE most fundamental aspect of a salesperson’s process. If you do everything in the sales cycle, but you fail to ring the register, then you have failed as a salesperson. The register, and its accompanying receipt (aka the order), is the measure by which sales success or failure is determined. You can throw any argument at me. You can throw any excuse at me. You can throw any sob story at me, but the fundamental question remains. Did you ring the register? Did you make the sale? And so the goal remains the same. Every company has its own way of doing business, so your company’s vision may be different from mine. Your company mission may be different from mine. Your company’s product may be different from mine. Your company’s service may be different from mine. The way you conduct your business may be different from mine. But we all have the same goal. Ring the register. Make the sale. Regardless of John Patterson’s intention or vision, 120 years later the processes that he created or inspired others to create- calling the prospect a probable purchaser; the first sales training manual; the first quota system (yeah, you have Patterson to thank for your quotas); sales territories; an emphasis on testimonial advertising and selling; the training of salespeople in a boot camp; the reward to salespeople for a job well done; the celebration of victory on an annual basis; and of course, the receipt (arguably still the most powerful document in our economic society)-these incredible leadership actions and principles still cast a shadow and are still at the core of business success, as well as every salesperson’s success. Every time a register rings, a salesperson gets his or her wings. And so I challenge you to go back and begin with principle one: Think! And day by day, principle by principle, master each of these strategies and calls to action. And as you move toward your success and fulfillment, understand that the goal will always remain: Ring the register, baby. Ring the register. Cha-Ching!
Free Gitbit… Want the bare-bones list of the 32.5 Patterson Principles of Selling? Just go to www.gitomer.com; register if you’re a first time user, and enter the word PATTERSON in the GitBit box. Special upcoming offer. Buy Jeffrey’s new book The Patterson Principles of Selling on MAY 10th at Amazon and you’ll be gifted over $1000 worth of e-books, reports, articles, etc. Check next week’s ezine for details. Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Patterson Principles of Selling, is President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer. He gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on selling and customer service. He can be reached by phone: 704/333-1112 or e-mail: salesman@gitomer.com
c2004 – All rights reserved o Don’t even think about reproducing this document or it’s contents without the written approval of Jeffrey Gitomer or Buy Gitomer o 704/333-1112 o salesman@gitomer.com
