The rubbish of reality television returns in most of its glory this month with American Idol. While many individuals seek out new methods to make fools, all can learn something.

After several years of watching the judges provide feedback to talent, I have noticed something profound, the spontaneity in which talent is unearthed. As my daughter watched the show last week it was interesting to watch the judges quickly dismiss talent. There is something to be learned here.

How many times do selling professionals spend useless hours with prospective customers only to discover:

1-    they are not the buyer

2-    they do not have discretionary power

3-    they are the gatekeeper

4-    they were only fishing for information

Sales professionals need to work quickly and refrain from spending countless hours with individuals that claim power and control and do not have it. Sales professionals need to think like a judge on the show they need to:

1. Review the observed behavior and understand whom they are speaking with
2. Ask provocative questions to understand the persons decision power
3. Ask questions that denote budgets and time
4. Determine immediately if the person is the economic decision maker

Selling today requires more efficiency and sales managers are asking for more productivity Ensuring success requires being prepared for every call and conducting research to denote imperative information on the company and the contact person. Efficiency requires the preparation of questions and knowing what to say after hello. If the judges on the show can work quickly so can you.

There are 7 techniques you can use daily to assist you preparation efforts. Get the 7 Secrets to Sales Preparation by emailing me today. Ask about our Free 30 Minutes “Sales Acceleration Coaching Clinic” to help you gain immediate sales result!

©2009. Drew J. Stevens Ph. D. All rights reserved.

Drew Stevens PhD is one of the worlds leading experts in sales and sales skills. Dr. Drew is the author of six books including Split Second Selling and the soon to be released Ultimate Business Bible. With over 25 years of sales experience and business leader, Dr. Drew has extensive experience in assisting both entrepreneurs and selling professionals to experience higher efficiency and effectiveness. He is also the creator of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Fitness offering tips and techniques that immediately improve selling performance.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 17th, 2010 at 7:38 pm and is filed under sales tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.