9 Ways to Prepare for Summer Sales
by - Tyler Evertsen
“To ensure you get the most from your summer sales experience, it’s vital you take steps beforehand to prepare for what’s to come… I will share 9 ways you can start preparing to make this summer your best!“
Summer Sales Prep
It’s almost that time of year again! No, not Christmas (although I definitely look forward to that as well). I’m referring to something even more exciting and anticipated…
Summer Sales!!
2019 will be my 5th straight year of the infamous summer sales program and I couldn’t be more excited. Many people will talk about how hard summer sales can be and all the things you will give up to do it. However, I’m a firm believer that the benefits gained from this work will far outweigh any sacrifice made. To ensure you get the most from your summer sales experience, it’s vital you take steps beforehand to prepare for what’s to come. With several years under my belt, I will share 9 ways you can start preparing to make this summer your best!
So, without further ado, let’s get into it!
Related Article: The 5 Things That the Top 1% of Salespeople Do To Prepare for Success
Learn the Pitch
Coming into my first year selling, I had done nothing more than talk to my recruiter, sign some papers, and wait until I was to leave for the summer. Terrible mistake! I had no idea what to expect, what knocking doors would be like, and how to present the pitch. In fact, I didn’t even know the pitch at all. After intense role-playing and script memorizing, I finally had the pitch memorized… assuming the person at the door said ALL the right things. Unfortunately, you’ll be hard-pressed to find those people. So, my first 3 days were unsuccessfully spent knocking doors and getting frustrated with people raising concerns I had no idea how to handle. Eventually, I got a sale, but continued to struggle for several more weeks. Had I learned the pitch beforehand, I would have been able to focus on how to overcome objections and improving my presentation so people would be more interested in buying. Learn from my mistakes and make sure you have the pitch completely memorized before you leave for the summer.
Burn your Ships
This story comes from New World explorer, Hernán Cortés. In 1519, Cortés began his conquest to conquer the Aztec Empire, which at the time was one of the most feared and ferocious civilization in the America’s. To this point, there had been previous explorers who had attempted to conquer the Aztec’s but with no success. Upon arriving, Cortés commanded his crew of men to “Burn the ships.” He arrived determined to conquer or die, and was willing to burn any attempt at escape or surrender. As history goes on to tell, Cortés and his men successfully conquered the Aztec’s and went on to shape the course of history.
When it comes to summer sales, prepare by determining you are going to stick it through the summer! Many door-to-door salesman quit after a short time because they didn’t anticipate it being so challenging and they abandon their goals before they ever had a chance to take hold. You must “burn your ships” metaphorically speaking by removing the option of backup plans. This is THE plan, so stick it through and you’ll forever change the course of your life.
Find your Why
Before anyone leaves to do summer sales, they should ask themself this simple question: “Why am I doing this?” I would wager 99% of the people who take on this job will respond with: “For the money.” If that’s your WHY, that’s to be expected. However, I want you to dig a few layers deeper. Too many people leave for the summer with the blanket statement of making some extra cash, but find this WHY to be shallow in its ability produce large rewards. I encourage you to do the following activity to identify your true WHY for doing summer sales.
5 Why’s
Why are you doing Summer Sales? _____(Answer: to…)_____
Why do you want to ____(answer to the question before)___?
Why do you want to ____(answer to the question before)___?
Why do you want to ____(answer to the question before)___?
Why do you want to ____(answer to the question before)___?
By uncovering the reasons why you are really wanting to do summer sales, you will discover a motivation that is deep and powerful. Find your why and you’ll be on your way to a successful summer.
Related Video: Find Fulfillment - Find your Why
Set Goals
Goals serve as landmarks in your journey through life. Summer sales is no different. Before beginning your sales adventure, make sure you’ve taken time to set different goals for yourself. I typically will break down my goals into SUMMER, WEEKLY, and DAILY subsets. The most important goal you will set for yourself is:
How many sales do I want to make?
Use your WHY to motivate you to accomplish these goals. You’ll have hard days and in the end the goals you set will all be based on your WHY. So get out and set goals that allow you to accomplish your end reason for doing summer sales.
Leave Distractions Behind
This last summer I finally was convinced to download the 2018 App sensation, Fortnite! At first it was too complicated for me, but the more I played, the more addicting it became. As the summer developed, I was putting in crazy hours playing Fortnite to get my first W. Although I did eventually get a few wins, retrospectively, I look at the crazy hours I spent playing Fortnite and wonder what else could I have accomplished with that time? I’m not advocating working 24/7 nor removing relaxation and enjoyment from your life. However, there comes a moment when an activity becomes more of a distraction, than a benefit. This is what Fortnite turned into for me. Rather than sporadically playing, I would dedicate large amounts of my free time playing a phone app when I could have accomplished so many other things. Learn from my experiences and prepare for the summer by identifying the distractions you have in your life. Be brutally honest with yourself and recall your why for the summer. Once you’ve found the distractions, remove those types of activities/items in your life that may distract you from being your must productive self.
Invite your Friends to Come
My favorite summers were the ones when I was surrounded by good friends. One simple way you can help prepare make your summer sales experience amazing is to invite your friends and family to tag along with you. This will do several things for you:
You’ll have people you already know and love joining you for your summer experience
You’ll feel more committed to making this experience a good one
Competitions will get fired up as you’re going head-on with your personal friends
Read Books/Articles
CONGRATS, by reading this article you’ve already started prepping for your summer sales experience. You’ll find several other articles here within the Try D2D Sales blog to help you prepare for the summer. In addition to reading these articles I’m a huge fan of educating yourself through books. I love audio books and have a few favorites I would recommend any salesman to consider reading in preparation for the summer:
Door-to-Door Sales: How to Make $100,000 in one Summer by Tyler Evertsen (yes, I wrote this)
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes
Sell or Be Sold by Grant Cardone
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Regardless what you decide to read, study material that helps you in your ultimate desire to accomplish your why with summer sales.
Watch Sales Trainings
I love videos! They can deliver a message that you can remember and visualize far better than any method I know. When I need to learn something, the first place I go is YouTube. You’ll find tons of amazing door-to-door sales tips and tricks there. Whether it’s how to overcome a certain objection, how to get to yes, what to present in your pitch, or how to improve your body language, you’ll find lots of content to help you prepare for your summer sales experience.
Overcome your Doubts
My first summer, I drove from Salt Lake City, UT to Cincinnati, OH with the dream of making $20,000 that summer. My dad was nice enough to accompany me on the 30 hour drive. We talked lots, listened to music, and listened to “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. This whole time I was pumping myself up for what I was sure going to be an amazing experience. By the time we arrived, I was ready to start pounding doors… Or so I thought. Once I dropped my dad off at the airport and started driving back to my lonely apartment, I remember getting the biggest pit in my stomach. “What in the world was I doing here?”, I frantically thought to myself. I started seriously doubting myself and my decision. Flying back to Utah sounded so nice and I immediately was envious of my dad. I got back to my apartment and in silence thought to myself, “Do I really think I can do this?”
If this is your first year starting summer sales, I would be surprised if you don’t experience some form of self-doubt manifest itself before starting your sales experience. I know exactly how it feels to wonder if selling door-to-door is the best thing for you. The good news: You can TOTALLY do it! I had some serious doubts about myself my first summer, but once I finished I realized there is nothing I can’t accomplish if I set my mind to it. I’m still selling door-to-door because I’ve seen first hand the joys and benefits that come from working hard at this job and being rewarded for every effort. Don’t be alarmed if you start doubting your decision to do summer sales, just don’t let those doubts fester inside. Push your doubts aside and trust the system that’s been proven to work.
There you have it. 9 Ways to Prepare for Summer Sales! I hope you take advantage of the opportunity and create tons of fun memories in the process.