Enkele jaren geleden heeft Harvey Mackay de ABCs of Selling geschreven. Ik werd er gisteren op geattendeerd door zijn publicatie van de ABCs of Team Building: "If I said it once, I’ve said it a million times, there is no I in TEAM."

Als verkopen je vak is, ken je Harvey Mackay natuurlijk van zijn bestsellers Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive: Outsell, Outmanage, Outmotivate and Outnegotiate Your Competition en Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty: The Only Networking Book You'll Ever Need.

Onderstaand Mackay's ABCs of Selling:

• Availability for your customers is essential, so they can reach you with questions, concerns or reorders.
• Believe in yourself and your company, or find something else to sell.
• Customers aren't always right, but to keep them, find a way to make them right.
• Deliver more than you promise.
• Education is for life; never stop learning.
• Follow up and follow through. Never leave a customer hanging.
• Goals give you a reason to go to work every day.
• Humanize your selling strategy; learn everything you can about your customers.
• I is the least important letter in selling.
• Join trade organizations and community groups that will help you both professionally and personally.
• Know your competitors and their products as well as you know your own.
• Listen to your customers or they'll talk to someone else.
• Maybe is a customer's worst answer. "No" is better than maybe. Find out what you can do to turn it into a "yes."
• Networking is among the most important skills a salesperson can develop.
• Opportunities are everywhere. Keep your antenna up.
• Price is not the only reason customers buy your product, but it is a good reason.
• Quality never can be sacrificed if you want to keep your customers satisfied.
• Relationships are precious: They take time to develop and are worth every minute you invest in them.
• Service is spelled "serve us" in companies that want to stay in business a long time.
• Trust is central to doing business with anyone. Without it, you have another word that begins with T: trouble.
• Unlimited potential is possible no matter what you sell. You are the only one who can limit your potential.
• Volunteer: You'll probably get more than you give, and there is no shortage of organizations that need your help.
• Winning doesn't necessarily mean beating everyone else. A win-win situation is best.
• X-ray and CAT scan your customers so that you know everything about them.
• You is a word your customers need to hear often, as in "What can I do for you?"
• Zeal is a critical element in your presentations, service and life in general. Let your enthusiasm shine through.