Paula Kearney just spent the weekend selling door to door. She made more than 150 sales.
Paula is 7.
Paula’s success has her so pumped to sell more, her parents have to dampen her enthusiasm with the reality of homework, school, household chores and bedtime. What kind of saleswoman will this kid be when she’s 21?
So, what does this 7year old kid have to do with your sales success? Everything. She’s doing all the things you’re supposed to do and only using one technique to sell: when she asks her closing question, “Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?” she shuts up until the prospect speaks no matter how long it takes. WOW.
On the innocent, non technique side – she’s straight forward, sincere, positive, believes in her product, believes in herself, and she’s friendly. And she’s doing it without prejudging the outcome. She thinks she will be successful and what do you know she is!
Paula is not bashful about showing her success to her prospects. Imagine a 7-year old kid coming to your door, asking you to buy cookies and showing you a list of 150 people who already said yes. You have to buy.
Paula doesn’t take “no” for an answer very easily. “If the doorbell hasn’t been answered by the count of thirteen,” she explains logically, “I bang on the door until I count to thirty.” She has fire and enthusiasm when she introduces herself and asks the closing question. She has an 85% closing ratio.
Paula sold me four boxes at dinner on Sunday, then called me two hours later to tell me I didn’t buy enough. She talked me into four more boxes. I immediately put call blocking on my phone after the commitment. Just kidding!
Sales success breeds other success traits.
Paula is learning something they don’t (but should) teach in school positive attitude, enthusiasm, and determination.
Paula’s experience is not only about selling cookies. It’s about the benefits that this successful venture has given her.
Here are 10.5 benefits of her sales adventure. Equate them to your own benefits from sales success:
- Builds self confidence.
- No fear or prejudgment. Assumes all will buy.
- Accomplishes a goal.
- Helps build interpersonal skills.
- The experience of selling to strangers.
- Learns how to communicate clearly and get to the point fast.
- Learn how to take no and go to the next house thinking yes.
- By treating customers right, it builds the potential for repeat business.
- See how the other half lives. (Makes Paula more thankful for what she’s got at her house.)
- The experience of success.
10.5 Realizes that sales is fun.
I asked Paula for the first weekend’s highlights…
- People are buying a lot.
- Giving the secret thumbsup hand signals back to dad or mom at the curb that a good sale is in progress. (when the prospect isn’t looking)
- Getting to the 100 sale milestone.
- Wasn’t afraid of dogs.
- The cat that followed her half the day.
To get to her goal of 200 boxes by the next weekend, she braved cold weather, rain, and being late for dinner. People felt sorry for her in the rain. Sales actually picked up. One house bought 4 boxes Paula did a reprise of Singing in the Rain down the driveway.
I asked Paula for the second weekend’s highlights…
- I did it.
Her parents, waiting at the street have had several people yell to them, “That’s quite a salesman you’ve got there.”
“Sales-lady,” Paula mumbles under her breath, and heads for the next house.
***
In another part of Charlotte, radio personality and Rose Limousine owner H.A. Thompson reluctantly answered his door the other day to a girl scout cookie salesgirl, and decided to have some good-natured fun. “Why do you want to sell me these cookies?” he challenged. “Because you’re so good looking,” she responded. He bought eight boxes.
It seems there will be no shortage of world class saleswomen in the next generation.
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