Sales is one of the hardest, most underrated, over insulted professions in the entire world…what’s more, selling is hard even at the best of times, so for those who are in the selling game during a recession such as this one, the goalposts just got moved out of sight! What’s more, consumers – i.e., a salesperson’s customers – just became even more savvy, even less likely to pay book price and even more likely to haggle.
If you moved abroad at any time in the past 10 years and took employment in the likes of real estate, chances are you were in a selling role. Sales of property as well as holiday homes, holidays, commercial space and even sightseeing tours were all incredibly popular jobs for expats over the past decade. They are often roles which require those who speak English and who can communicate with others from the same nation, and they are roles that expats are naturally drawn too as they can be easy to come by.
Now, with the global recession biting hard, such roles are still relatively easy to come by, but earning any salary in the form of commission is nigh on impossible as no one is in a purchasing position! However, a new book entitled “Selling in Tough Times – Secrets to Selling When No One is Buying” could just be an expatriate salesperson’s must have title of the year! Whilst this is not the sort of book we usually review for our readers, this is actually an exceptionally valuable book to consider if you are in the sales game and you do want to get an edge in the toughest market conditions.
The book is written by Tom Hopkins, the American bestselling author of “How to Master the Art of Selling” – a natural precursor to this latest title and just one of 15 books penned by this prolific and very successful salesman and author. Hopkins is well known in the US, yet in the UK and even Europe he has still to make his voice heard. His background is as a salesperson who came from humble beginnings, learned his skills and gained his experience the hard way, and who is today a leading voice on the seminar scene, teaching and training some of the world’s best sales teams in the US.
As it states in his biography on his website: “Tom Hopkins understands both sides of the selling equation. He understands the fears of both buyers and salespeople. Buyers don’t want to be “sold” anything. Salespeople fear failure. The selling skills and strategies that Tom Hopkins teaches today reflect an understanding of how to communicate with buyers so they feel confident in making good decisions about the products and services they own. They also are taught in such a manner as to be entertaining and memorable by the sales professionals who seek them out.”
Unlike his previous inroads into guiding salespeople towards success, this latest title really caught our eye and retained our attention because as the title suggests, it is specifically geared for the very tough economic times that we’re in. It covers everything from the ethics of a salesperson determined to do well even when there are no buyers in the marketplace, to understanding what drives you as an individual to have chosen to stay in sales despite the fact that your role just became so much harder.
Once you have gained the insight necessary into yourself and your role, Hopkins takes time out to examine the position your potential clients are in now. He goes over the essential ground of maintaining your client-base during tough times – then builds on this to show you how you can expand your output through understanding the importance of correctly valuing those you already know in business. Step-by-step the reader is walked through how they can overcome resistance, how they can understand what their would-be buyers are afraid of and how they can beat the competition and gain from the competition!
For those who are in a tight corner but still willing to come out fighting, Hopkins has a valuable chapter on “Methods for Cutting Costs While Continuing to Appear Successful,” and finally, at the end of this hugely valuable, easily accessible book there is a pithy section about training yourself to succeed – before Hopkins hands over the wealth of his knowledge to his readers by offering up all of his own reference material used to put the book together.
This is a well-written, fast-paced book packed out with facts and advice. The information is valuable because it is genuine. What Hopkins tells you is his truth, and it has made him into one of the most successful sales people in America.
As an expatriate, living and working abroad in a foreign land, to then be additionally challenged by the fact that your chosen career suddenly became almost impossible overnight as the world’s economies ground to a halt – this book might just keep you on the right track towards continued success. If you want to find out more, Selling in Tough Times: Secrets to Selling When No One is Buying
