10 ideas to help you sell more

This is in no particular order and I believe all of these are vital to selling more.

1. Selling isn't telling. Truth is, we can barely sell anything anymore. Focus on helping your prospects make a great purchase and you will "sell" more.

2. Better marketing leads to more sales. You need to get your name, brand and offering in front of your prospects where they are and when they're there.

3. Know your target client. The more specific you can be in who your right customer is, the more likely you and your marketing efforts will find them.

4. Listen. Listen. Listen. Your prospects will tell you what to sell them and how to sell them. Every time. Most salespeople don't know this because they're too busy flopping their jaws.

5. Make sure you know ALL of the decision makers. Too many times sales people build wonderful relationships with the people who can say "NO" and not with the one who can say "Yes".

6. You miss 100% of the orders you don't ask for. Sorry, but Wayne Gretzky was right about this in Hockey and it's true in sales. Customers have been trained to wait to say yes until you ask for the order.

7. Referrals are the Golden Ticket and you should ask for them early and often. The key to a solid referral program begins with asking for them. Let your clients know when they sign with you that you expect referrals as long as you are delivering on your promise. 

8. Cold calling still works and is a good way to stay sharp. I'm not saying to spend 1/2 of your week doing this dreaded activity, but you should carve out a couple of hours for it. You'll hear some good objections that you can handle and you may even set a few new meetings.

9. Leverage the relationships you have to create the ones you need. That's what networking is all about to me. When you know who your target clients are you can tap into your network to meet those folks.

10. Let NO become you second favorite word. So often we hang on to the "maybes" and "not right nows" or the "think it overs" as if they're really going to happen. They rarely do. Work on getting to the NO and see if you can't turn it to a yes.

What would you add to this list?