There is a common problem I see brewing in sports ticket sales organizations across the nation. It started about 18 months ago, and has been spreading like a virus, bleeding organizations dry. I’m not sure where it started, but I know how it can be stopped.
Here’s the problem: We’re allowing the economy to lull our leadership into expecting less from the salespeople who are paid to make things happen. Our managers are taking the “economy” excuse and letting our sales reps use it as a crutch, and it’s weakening everyone in the process.
If you’re an account rep, I have a few telling questions for you:
Did you achieve your monthly goals for either January or February? If not, what happened?
Tiger Woods delivering his 13-minute speech was finally what hundreds of millions of people were waiting to hear. “I know I have bitterly disappointed all of you,” said Woods. “I have made you question who I am and how I could have done all the things I did. I am embarrassed I have put you in this position. For all that I have done, I am deeply sorry. I have a lot to atone for.”
(This is a guest article by Cabe Flesher)
So you’re not having the kind of success you’d like. Your calls are more difficult, you’re not closing as many sales as you’d planned, your manager is supportive but insists on results. Your check isn’t enough to do the things you want to do.
When someone has decided to call us back before making a buying decision, there’s a good chance (despite all their good intentions) they won’t follow through. It doesn’t make them liars or bad people. It’s just the law of averages. We know people get busy and have other priorities come up in their lives.
Nothing is quite as powerful or as meaningful to a prospect as the benefits of ticket ownership for their children. Talk about the benefits of tickets to them personally, and many will say OK… but talk to them about the benefits related to their children, and suddenly the purchase becomes much more personal and emotional. Parents will often do WAY more for their children than they’ll do for themselves.
I always take the opportunity to reach out to a customer and show off a brand I represent. I won’t lie, I had a college professor that pounded this into my head for a semester. Working in ticket sales a few years later, I searched for ways to capitalize on this point.
You have a prospect who’s genuinely interested. They’re asking all the right questions, and you’re responding perfectly. All seems to be going well, and it looks like you’re about to close the deal.
What’s the strangest thing someone has said to you as they’ve answered a call from you on their cell phone?
