Several years ago, I sold insurance for the duck, going to business leaders and asking them to sign up. That’s right, Aflac (insert funny comment here about how you know the silly commercials, make the duck sound, etc.) It was a tough job. So tough I quit after a few months. But I did learn a lot about selling and marketing that really impressed me:

1. Confidence is key – People say dogs can smell fear. If you are afraid, they will react and try to subdue you. Prospects can also smell your fear. We had to cold call business owners often with Aflac, and if we went into it with no confidence, the owner could knock us down with a simple “I’m not interested”. Learn to expect objections and rebuttal them. Listen to selling and positive thinking masters like Zig Ziglar and have a mentor you can talk to when you’re having a low confidence day. Keep things positive at all times.

2. Personality! – Business owners are busy, and they see numerous salespeople all day long. So if you are boring, monotone, mediocre or grey, they will flick you out the door faster than a piece of dirt on their collar. You have to be different in a way that works for you. That may be wearing an interesting accesory, having a business card that sets you apart, a crazy opening line that makes people wake up and go “huh”? Anything that makes them remember you and brings positive vibes. Aflac ran these crazy duck commercials (they may still, I haven’t watched American TV in years) with this distinctive character (similar to the Gecko ads for Geico). When we got to the face-to-face selling with customers, we would ask what they knew about Aflac. 99% of people said “that duck!”. And then they’d do the goofy duck call sound. And we’d laugh like it was the most clever thing in the world, and we’d never heard it before. We knew not to bash the image, even by rolling our eyes. We had a household image, and that is worth gold. They knew us, we were familiar and trustworthy.

3. Value and distinction – Once you’ve got their attention, are you full of air, or do you have something different to offer? The great thing with the duck was that we had a great product to sell. We had great personal service, saving money, and helping people in our arsenal. Mascots, logos and slogans grab attention, but you sell on the details and value. If you don’t have value and distinction, you must work on this now to be successful. Otherwise you’re back to mediocre, regardless of what a nice web design or mascot you have.

4. People want to help – a little psychology lesson: Most people respond well to “Can you help me?”. It’s deeply imprinted in us (especially if we’re Southerners!) to help other people when they’re in need. Whether you need names, contacts, or the best time to call back, it is a fantastic way to get information.

5. Talk about them: people love to talk about themselves. Ask your potential customer about their needs, wants and dreams. How long has he been in business? What are his goals? How are the kids? Asking open-ended questions that can not be answered with yes or no is a great way to get your client talking. The more they say, the easier you can find a solution that works for them and prepare for any objections (if you haven’t already done so, sit down right now and come up with rebuttals for any possible objections: I can’t afford it, I don’t have time, I’m not interested. They all can be rebutted if you know what you’re doing and you have a good product). And listen! Don’t zone out or check your watch while your client is talking, even if he or she is boring. They are talking about everyone’s favorite subject, themselves.

6. Get the buyer to say “yes”. Ask questions you know will get a yes: Do you want to save money? Are you tired of things that don’t work? Do you think this is a good idea? Great! Then you are a perfect fit for this program. Yes, yes, yes, yes…it’s a pattern. It becomes harder to say no with each repetition.

7. Handling rejections – When you’ve done all you can, and it is an obvious, absolute no, it can be disheartening. Everyone hates rejection, even on a small scale. It’s worse when you’re on commission and having trouble paying the bills. Keep in mind that this person is rejecting your product or your message. It is not necessarily a rejection of YOU. We said with Aflac that everyone needs it. It’s just sometimes not the right time. When you have a failed sale, analyze the situation. Should you have rebutted one more time? Or did you put too much pressure on them? Are there holes in your product that you can fix? Listen to what the customer said, the why of the no. It may be a situation you can foresee and fix in the future.

8. Selling is only the beginning. Especially in service industries like insurance or products that require maintenance, the buying and selling part of the sale are just the beginning. You now are responsible for a customer relationship. Like any relationship, this requires time, thoughtfulness, and communication. Tune in to your customers’ needs and give them the service they need. Remember that satisfied customers are more likely to buy again. So keep the relationship maintained. My parents’ auto property insurance agent sends them Christmas and birthday cards. It’s a small town and he also remembers their names and is sure to say hi if he sees them. And it’s a relationship they are loyal to. They recommend his company to everyone, and when they need a new policy he’s the first they turn to.

8. Referrals - My boss at Aflac taught me how to never have to make a cold call. It’s simple – referrals. The great thing about referrals is that your best ones can come from people who rejected you! If you’re new to selling, start with people you know – friends, family, teachers, schoolmates. Ask them who they know that could use your product. Every time you sell, every time you get a rejection, every time you meet a new contact ask who they know. You’ll be surprised where it can lead you.

9. Set goals for yourself, and track your progress – One of our first activities as new recruits was to sit down and write goals for ourselves. Where we want to be in a year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years. What kind of car we want to drive, what kind of house. The income we want to have. These were our dreams that we set in front of us as a motivator everyday. Some people even carry around a picture of their dream car, or Hawaii, to remind themselves of what all their hard work is for. Then we figured out how many sales we needed for that much money, how many contracts for that many sales, and how many calls we needed for those. That was our short-term goal that we could look at and track each week, each day. We could always push ourselves to try a little harder, make one more call before the day ended. Tracking our efforts versus our goals was a great way to stay on track and stay motivated. Setting goals works for any area of your life, and meditating on your life goals is a great way to start a morning.

Do you have sales and marketing tips that have helped you? A favorite motivator or mentor? Tell me about it in the comments below.