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Seize the Opportunity

Guest articles > Seize the Opportunity

by: Daniel Milstein

In sales, it is important to always seize the opportunity. That is why ABC--Always Be Closing-is one of my favorite phrases, a motto that I live by and one of the prime reasons I have been successful as a salesman.

I never turn off my selling mindset. I'm always ready to engage a friend, colleague, or stranger in conversations that will lead to a sale. I am especially interested in pursuing the unexpected sales opportunities, the type that some overlook and the more enterprising salespeople embrace.

On one occasion, I was at a Detroit Red Wings game when I overheard a nearby seatmate talk about the interest rates and the difficulty her cousin had in finding a mortgage. What an easy opening! 'I currently have five clients (hockey players) skating out there on the ice, and I advise your cousin to use the best to help with her mortgage,' I said. At a different game I casually announced, 'That is my client (a premier hockey player) who just scored.' Of course, it prompted a few people to ask: 'What do you do?' That was my cue for a brief sales introduction.

One of our salespeople at Gold Star experienced an impromptu opportunity at his daughter's ballet recital. Tim naturally applauded loudly at his young ballerina's performance, and then joined other parents who gathered in the lobby for a brief intermission. As he stood in line for a soda, he began talking to another father. 'Amazing what they have done, isn't it?' Tim commented. 'Absolutely,' the other father commented. 'I can't believe they can twirl around like that and never lose their balance.' Tim said that it reminded him of how he felt when he was in his office, moving back and forth among papers and files while on the phone with a client. 'That sounds like a tough job,' the other father remarked and then asked the all-important question. 'So, what do you do for a living?' Tim had a receptive audience as he explained his profession. Within a few days, he was refinancing his new acquaintance's home and eventually handled loans for 10 of the man's friends and neighbors, all because he had realized the potential of a brief encounter at his daughter's recital.

Never lose sight of a sales opportunity. If you're at a sporting event, walking down the beach, or at a party, any interaction can turn into a sale; the best salesman realize this and seize the opportunity.

Daniel Milstein is the bestselling author of ABC of Sales. For more information, visit: http://amzn.to/ABCARTICLES.

Contributor: Daniel Milstein

Published here on: 13-Jul-14

Classification: Sales

Website: http://amzn.to/ABCARTICLES