If you have a job as a sales person, what do you think the most important goal would be? If you answered "selling," you would actually be wrong. Stop scratching your head and thinking that this sounds stupid. There is a huge difference between what the most important goal is and what the end goal is supposed to be.

One end result of any salesperson's job is definitely to make sales. That is very obvious. If you don't make sales, you don't make money. If you don't make money, then you will be fired (if you are employed) or you'll be failing miserably if you are self employed.

In order to make sales, you have to forget about selling for the moment and focus on the customers. Learn what they need and find the best way to fill those needs. You're in a room full of people. You have just completed a demonstration of your fantastic Tupperware containers. So how do you cope with 10 people all at once?

The answer is simple. Don't worry about coping or selling at this point. You have products right in front of your audience that are of high quality. You've just explained their benefits and features. Now your guests have the chance to examine the merchandise up close.

You've also explained the other important element of this presentation. Anyone in this room could be doing exactly the same as what you've just done. They can set themselves up in business the same way you did. They could stand up in front of a group of interested people and present this great range of products and offer this opportunity for people in their audience to do the same thing.

Out of the group of 10 that you have in the room with you, people would normally fall into one of 3 categories. The first is someone that will definitely buy from you because they always support their friends and probably have a houseful of things they have bought over the years, but don't ever use.

The second group is the ones who come along with arms folded and closed body language, knowing that they won't spend a cent. The third group is the ones with a genuine interest who may or may not make a purchase. Any of these people could also become interested in running their own business as well.

Whilst you were doing your presentation, you should have been watching the audience and trying to work out who fits into each of these categories. That information can help you once you're finished. However, don't prejudge people. Anyone can change their mind, depending on what you do because, whether you realize it or not, they're looking to see how successful you are. This is especially important to them if they are thinking of doing the same thing. You'll be their mentor and they have to determine if they believe you can handle the job.

So now you're asking yourself "how should I best spend my time and help all these people?" So you don't miss out on any potential sales, ask if anyone is in a rush to leave. Someone may need to get home to a babysitter, go to work or have some other time commitment. Deal with those people first. Also remember to give them a business card to take with them. They may decide later that they want to buy something, but were too rushed today. No business card means a sale walks out the door.

Then simply deal with questions as they arise. Show the products, catalogues and prices to people who are interested. Make notes if you need to. Always ask people for referrals. If you are running a home based business, referrals are gold. You don't have to go hunting for them. Give a business card to everybody there. It's called "word of mouth advertising" and money can't buy it.

If there's anyone wanting to become involved themselves, save them until last or organize another time to discuss that further with them. That's naturally going to take more time than selling the products.

After everyone has left your house, you'll sit down and then one simple thought will dawn on you. You didn't worry about making sales. You didn't stress about your bills or your goals or anything. You just did your job. You helped the people in the room get the best they could from what you showed them. Then you count your money, look at the pile of referrals and realize that you actually did achieve your goal for that day. It's not that hard, is it?

Tags: goal setting, goal setting secrets, home based business, make more money, sales tips

posted by Chris Simpson