Under The Big Top P.T. Barnum was more than master of the show; he may very well have been the greatest salesman on earth.

Quick: Name your favorite sales guru. Zig Ziglar? Tom Hopkins?How about P.T. Barnum? Well, Barnum wouldn't be my first choiceeither, but Houston consultant Joe Vitale says he should be on thetop of any serious businessperson's list. "He was a mastershowman, for sure," says Vitale, who teaches a sales andmarketing course based on the 19th century entrepreneur'sbusiness philosophy. "But he was also a really greatsalesman."

Vitale, author of There's a Customer Born EveryMinute (Amacom), says that once you get past the image ofBarnum as a well-dressed carny, you'll likely find asalesperson who was far ahead of his time. "Barnum had greatrespect for the customer," says Vitale. "Long before itwas popular, he believed it was a key to beingsuccessful."

Notes Vitale, Barnum had other ideas on how to sell that are asimportant today as they were more than 100 years ago. Amongthem:

• Don't play it safe. Too many salespeople areconservative, says Vitale, something Barnum clearly wasn't. Beoriginal. Say something daring, and back it up. "Everybodysays they guarantee their product. So what?," says Vitale."Instead, issue a challenge. Say something like `Not only dowe guarantee it, but if it does break, we'll also fix it or getyou a new one within 72 hours and install it for free.'That's going out on a limb, but it's also sayingsomething."

• It doesn't hurt to be a showman. For example, saysVitale, Barnum used an elephant to plow the yard of his Connecticuthouse, which was situated near railroad tracks. Every time a trainpassed by on its way to New York, passengers saw an ad forBarnum.

• Give people more than their money's worth. Barnumtraveled the globe to find exotic acts, yet he kept his pricesreasonable. His six-story show in New York housed more than half amillion exhibits, and a 25-cent ticket allowed people to stay thereall day. (This was in the mid-1850s, when weekly salaries werecommonly $4 to $5.)

• Don't accept rejection. This doesn't mean thatyou should keep bothering someone who has decided not to buy fromyou; rather, you should reevaluate the customer's needs, yourproduct and your sales pitch. Devise a new reason for the prospectto make the purchase. "Every setback Barnum had in life heviewed as a challenge he would overcome," says Vitale.

• Give customers the information they need. It sounds likean obvious point to make, but it's worth repeating: Don'tjust pitch your product to prospects; instead, tell them how youcan solve their problems or fulfill their needs. Salespeople spendtoo much time talking without giving customers the kind ofinformation they really want.

• Look for customers everywhere. Think of newapplications, look for new territories or just make more cold callsto expand your business. "Barnum thought the planet earth washis customer base," says Vitale. "He never thought therewas a limit to who could buy from him."

• Cross-sell. Always think of ways to team up whatyou're selling with another product or service. Similarly, lookto cross-promote with noncompeting businesses. Once, says Vitale,Barnum convinced a hat manufacturer to bid for a ticket for a newact. The bid reached hundreds of dollars and resulted in morepublicity than either one of them could buy.

• Make customers feel good about themselves. It's notenough to get the sale; you have to make the customer feel good toget repeat business and ensure word-of-mouth recommendations.

Bill Kelley is an Arcadia, California, business writer andformer editor of Sales and Marketing Managementmagazine.

Web Site

http://www.internationalworkz.com

By Robert McGarvey

Think the Web could be your gateway to selling internationally?Maybe so--thousands of small businesses are finding success abroad.A good place to gather pointers on using the Net to crossinternational borders is InternationalWorkz, which promises todeliver "a global eBusiness toolkit," including pointerson how to customize your site to serve foreign markets. You'llalso find information on currency conversion, security and fraud,taxes and duties, and more.

Contact Source

Joe Vitale, fax: (281) 999-1313, joe@mrfire.com