---
title: "Reflections on Sales from a Boss with a Sales Background"
description: "1. When chatting with clients, salespeople should avoid technical and theoretical topics, focusing instead on current news and weather. Therefore, they must read books and magazines on economics and sales, and especially daily newspapers, to stay informed and avoid appearing ignorant. 2. A salesperson's achievements largely depend on how they spend their four hours in the evening, with the best using that time to organize data, analyze clients, and read for an hour."
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
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published: "2015-07-09"
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# Reflections on Sales from a Boss with a Sales Background

> 1. When chatting with clients, salespeople should avoid technical and theoretical topics, focusing instead on current news and weather. Therefore, they must read books and magazines on economics and sales, and especially daily newspapers, to stay informed and avoid appearing ignorant. 2. A salesperson's achievements largely depend on how they spend their four hours in the evening, with the best using that time to organize data, analyze clients, and read for an hour.

1. **When chatting with clients, which topics should salespeople avoid discussing too much? That is, topics about technology and theory.** What needs to be discussed are topics like today's news, weather, etc. Therefore, salespeople must read more books and magazines on economics and sales in their daily life, and especially must read newspapers every day to understand national and social news and major events. This is often the best topic, so that when we visit clients, we won't be seen as ignorant and shallow.
2. **About the four hours in the evening for salespeople.** A salesperson's achievements largely depend on how they spend those four hours in the evening. The worst salespeople just watch TV, complain, or go out to play. Such salespeople have no future. Average salespeople go out to entertain clients, drinking and chatting. Such salespeople will get orders, but personally, I think it's hard for them to achieve great success. Better salespeople organize data, analyze clients, and make plans in the evening. Such salespeople are good and should have a future. The best salespeople, in my opinion, are those who, after doing the work of a good salesperson, still insist on reading for an hour. I think such salespeople have a bright future and may become bosses later.
3. **About the salesperson themselves.** Many people think that salespeople should ideally be tall and handsome. Salespeople must have good eloquence, be able to talk, and be able to talk convincingly. Salespeople must be able to smoke, always carry cigarettes, and offer them to everyone. Salespeople must be able to drink, whether it's white liquor or beer, and be able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. Actually, I feel these are not important. Personally, I am less than 160cm tall. When I first started in sales, I felt very inferior, and my speech was not fluent, let alone eloquent. I never smoked, and at most I could drink one bottle of beer; more than that, I would get drunk. But diligence can compensate for clumsiness. When I first started in sales, in Huizhou, for the first three months, I took a few clothes and went to my brother's factory in Dongguan for several days at a time. I went from one industrial area to another. In this way, I walked for three months, and I managed to get a few clients, but I also wore out a pair of leather shoes, and my skin turned as black as charcoal. Now I run my own factory. I often tell salespeople that the first three months are not a human life, but after you endure it, it's fine. So the salesperson's office is at the client's place.
**About making phone calls**
After we find clients, the second issue is to think about how to call and make appointments with clients. There are some details here. Just pay attention.
1. Many people encounter this situation when making calls. **The client hangs up before finishing our introduction, saying "no, no" and then hangs up with a bang.** Also, if you say you want to visit, they say they are busy and ask you to fax materials or leave them at the security guard's office. We must never fax materials or leave them at the security booth; it's useless. When I encountered this situation, I was very depressed at first, but later I thought, maybe the purchasing lady was scolded by the boss when she came to work today, so she was unhappy and refused me, or maybe she had a fight with her boyfriend, so she ignored me. It's okay, I'll find you next time. Many of my clients were only met after calling many times. Sometimes it's strange: yesterday the purchasing lady said no, but today if you call again, she will let you bring samples to see her. So the success of business often depends on whether you persist or not.
2. **No matter how skilled your sales techniques are, I think it's better to think about what you're going to say before making a call, rather than just chatting as soon as you pick up the phone.** Because we might forget some of the content we originally wanted to say, and often just after hanging up, we have to call again. That's not good for anyone. For friends who are new to sales, it's best to write it down on paper. This will make the conversation more organized.
3. **I think it's better to make calls standing up.** Because when standing, I feel more focused and serious, and also, when standing, you have more energy, and your voice sounds better. Try it if you don't believe me. No matter how angry you are, it's best to smile when making a call. This makes the atmosphere more relaxed, and the client will feel it. Doing sales is a job that involves being upset, but our clients don't need to share that with you.
4. **We should not wait until we need something from the client to call them.** We should call them often in normal times, chat, and greet them. Until they recognize my voice as soon as they hear it. It's best to make them think of you. Doing business is like falling in love. We can't expect someone to marry us after just one date. Purchasing people are forgetful; we need to constantly remind them.
**Initial client visits**
1. **Preparation and planning before sales calls must not be neglected or underestimated; being prepared is the key to success.** Prepare samples, catalogs, pens, notebooks, etc. Before meeting the client, think about the opening remarks, questions to ask, what to say, and possible answers. Usually, materials related to the company's products, instructions, advertisements, etc., must be studied and memorized, and also collect competitors' advertisements, promotional materials, instructions, etc., to research and analyze, so as to "know yourself and know your enemy," and truly achieve that.
2. **Be punctual for appointments** — Being late means "I don't respect your time." There is no excuse for being late. If you cannot avoid being late, you must call ahead before the agreed time to apologize. I believe leaving early is the only way to avoid being late.
3. **Clothes don't make the man, but 90% of the first impression comes from clothing.** Etiquette, appearance, speech, and manners are the source of good or bad impressions in interpersonal interactions. Sales representatives must put more effort into these areas. I don't like my salespeople wearing red or green T-shirts to meet my clients. At the very least, I require a shirt. Also, the briefcase must be leather.
4. **We cannot close a deal with every client we visit; you should strive to visit more clients to increase the percentage of closed deals.** When visiting clients, we should believe in the principle "even if you fall, grab a handful of sand." This means sales representatives should not return empty-handed. Even if the client you visit has no immediate need and cannot close a deal, you should find a way to get them to introduce a new client to you.
5. **For clients, always pay attention to topics they like and their hobbies.** If they like something, talk more about it. Pay attention to their every move. Then you can cater to their preferences. The result of the conversation is not important; the atmosphere of the process is important. When we chat with purchasing people, we often pay too much attention to the content and always say there's no topic. Actually, we should pay attention to the process and atmosphere of our conversation. If we have a pleasant and harmonious chat one day, our relationship will become closer. Many days later, we often forget what we talked about, only remembering that we had a good chat that day. Actually, purchasing people are the same. We give them price lists for prices, quality approval documents for quality, and we stamp and sign delivery schedules and send them back. So we just need to talk about things outside of business, preferably about topics they are interested in.
**How to maintain clients**
1. **Salespeople should fish, not cast a net.** The most effective and comfortable way to do business is to use the fishing method. Just like when we first chase a girl, do we chase several girls at the same time and hope one succeeds? We usually pick one and pursue her persistently until success. That's how I do business. I will choose an industry, for example, if I want to do the earphone industry, I will pick about 3 companies in the industry and seriously attack them until I get in, and then the rest will be easy. In this way, when you occupy 80% of the market share in the earphone industry, we then move to another industry and replicate it. It's like fishing: aim for the big ones, catch them one by one, very comfortable. Be bold, careful, and thick-skinned. When we were young, chasing girls, the older ones told us the experience: bold, careful, and thick-skinned. Actually, doing business is like chasing girls.
2. **It is estimated that 80% of business is completed due to personal relationships.** Now competition is fierce. With the same quality, same price, same service, etc., to compete with competitors, you can only rely on personal relationships. If you treat clients more attentively than competitors and make friends with them, who can take your orders? So where you spend your time, you get results. So personal relationships are a treasure.
3. **Be enthusiastic; enthusiasm can infect clients.** Maybe many of our salespeople are very enthusiastic at the beginning, but when you achieve certain results, you become a seasoned veteran and lose your former enthusiasm. Sometimes you feel that orders are not as easy to get. You may lose a deal due to excessive enthusiasm, but you will lose a hundred deals due to insufficient enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is far more infectious than sweet talk.
**About closing deals**
1. **Many salespeople, when they start doing business, often have a lot of drive. They find clients, recommend products, quote prices, and then don't know what to do, often wasting all their previous efforts.** Actually, you should keep following up, keep asking, until there is a result. The crying child gets the milk. Just like if a child doesn't cry, how do we know he is hungry? So we need to ask the client to buy. However, 80% of salespeople do not ask the client for the order.
2. **If the deal is not closed in time, the salesperson should immediately schedule the next meeting date with the client.** If you can't schedule the next meeting when you are face-to-face with the client, it will be even harder to meet this client in the future.
3. My feeling is that in business, you must persist in tracking, tracking, and tracking again. If you need to contact the client 5 to 10 times to complete a business task, then you must endure to the 10th time at all costs. Listen for buying signals—if you are listening attentively, when the client has decided to buy, they usually give you hints. Listening is more important than speaking.
Doing business is: **a series of activities carried out with the goal of closing deals. Although closing deals is not everything, without closing deals, there is nothing.**
**Source: Huangpu Camp**
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