What 4th Graders Can Teach You About Sales

by: Jim Meisenheimer


Manatee County in South West Florida has an annual program called Teach Project.

The purpose of this program are: to illustrate the importance of first impressions, to explore the relationship between education and employment, to provide a dialogue between students and adults in a different career.

They invited 140 volunteers to spend one hour with all fourth graders in the county. When class begins, each student was given 3 x 5 card. They were asked to write answers to the following questions.



How old do you think I?

How many children do I have?

What kind of car I drive?

What kind of pets do I have?

What type of fast food that I like?

What kind of education I have?

What job should I do?

This is what I learned from fourth grade children.

The first impression is very influential. I look and act their age influenced how I think. The first impression is very important if your sales people.

Even my first impression, giving the class 30 information sufficient to answer all seven questions. Although not all students are guessing correctly.

Here are some of their observations. There is no gray hair. Thin. Speak clearly. Well-dressed. Looks professional. Like children. There are no wrinkles. Tall. Hair combed. Good posture.

While some of their comments are flattering, especially when they guessed my age, I'm just plain surprised by their observation because they were only fourth graders.

Imagine then what sales prospects or customers think and observe about you during the sales call. Gosh!

One student said she thought I was driving a Prius because of his father. Another student thought the Burger King fast-food favorite of mine, because it was her favorite.

Half the class thought I was a teacher because I spoke to them in their classrooms.

Some students do I tell what type of dog, what kind of car I drive, my favorite fast food, the kind of education I have, and I am a student a complete surprise even to guess that I am a professional speaker.

All this from a first impression. This reminds me once again that we are all walking billboards. We must pay more attention to what we want we say about our billboards.

Questions to ponder.

> = What is the first impression you make?

=> How can you change / improve your first impression?

=> What do you want your personal billboard to say about you?

I end the program by giving them the words of 10 two-letter.

"If it should, it's up to me!"

I also remind students that nothing in life is POSSIBLE!

It's amazing what you can learn even from a fourth grader - when you take the blinders off.

Sales tip - remember, the sale of the little things mean everything!

Talking about the "Little Things" I recorded a CD not too long ago "75 Little Things You Can Do To Grow Your Business."

If you need some ideas for your own personal billboard, you may find some here. http://tinyurl.com/75-little-things

Here is another tip for you to consider selling. Now more than ever you need to focus on continuous improvement. You can avoid complacency by keeping your learning with a bucket full of new ideas.








Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/marketing/article_5775.shtml