Brigantine Media

“Remember, whether you believe you can or whether you believe you can’t — you’re right!”
— Feargal Quinn, CEO, Superquinn Supermarkets, Ireland

TOO MANY SALESPEOPLE FACED with a specific problem shrug their shoulders and say, “It can’t be done.” Wrong decision. Think in terms of how it CAN be done. Ignore the traditional excuses. Remember Winston Churchill’s speech he gave to the students at the Harrow School in October 1941. Here it is:

“Never give up. Never. Never. Never. Never.”

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Murray Raphel travels the world speaking about marketing for retailing, direct marketing, financial/insurance groups and the food industry. He is the author of several books including “Selling Rules!”, “Speaking Rules!”, and “Tough Selling for Tough Times.”

For more information about Murray and his books, visit www.brigantinemedia.com.

Tom the tie salesman was an annual visitor to our store. The problem: his selections were all polyester fabrics. All our ties were made of natural fabrics: cotton, silk, wool. So we never bought anything from Tom. One day, when he appeared, I said, ‘Tom, you know we don’t carry polyester ties. When are you going to stop coming to see us?”

His answer: “It depends on which one of us dies first.”

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McGraw-Hill did a survey on how many calls a salesperson had to make to a new prospect to achieve the initial sale. The answer: four.

Many salespeople give up after the first try. Or second. Or third. Rejection is difficult to accept. And then a competitor appears on the scene the fourth time and makes the sale because the first salesman did not persevere.

President Calvin Coolidge said it best:

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.

Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

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Murray Raphel travels the world speaking about marketing for retailing, direct marketing, financial/insurance groups and the food industry. He is the author of several books including “Selling Rules!”, “Speaking Rules!”, and “Tough Selling for Tough Times.”

For more information about Murray and his books, visit www.brigantinemedia.com.