Just Looking, Thanks!

I’ve been selling something as long as I can remember. I worked at a retail store in high school where I sold things like $30 jeans (that was a lot back then), and in college I sold drinks to thirsty students (not a difficult sale). I’ve sold integrated marketing services and for over 10 years I have been involved in executive recruiting, which has to rank up there with the most complex of all sales. I’ve learned a lot about sales over the past 15 years and some of the simplest lessons I’ve learned are the most important.

In the world of life insurance, which my family has been involved in for decades, Jack and Garry Kinder operate the best sales training organization in the business. Kinder Brothers International specializes in management training and sales training as it relates to all facets of the selling profession, and in their thirty-year history, they’ve worked with over 300 clients worldwide. Recently Garry Kinder published a book titled 50 Lessons in 50 Years.

Lesson #48 says don’t waste time with those who waste your time.

"Some people are time wasters. I tell young (life insurance) agents if the client says they want to think it over or they want to compare, hand them your business card and ask them to please give you a call once they’ve had a chance to think it over or compare. If they call you, great! If they don’t, you haven’t wasted your time with someone who’s wasting your time."

If you’re in the business of sales long enough you learn to quickly discern the tire kickers. Their motivations may be different but the result is almost always the same. Not only did you not make a sale but also you lost the time and the opportunity to truly be helping someone who needs your product or service.

So how do you discern the tire kickers in your business?