Dan Evans has a routine — and he’s sticking to it.

The sales superstar, who has been a Realtor for seven years, wakes up each morning with a plan. Motivational moment? Check. Watch sales DVDs while getting ready? Check. Practice “sales speak”? Check. Look at his laminated list of short- and long-term goals? You better believe it.

“The reason I’ve been successful is my focus on the positive,” says Evans, who works at Summit Realty in Orem. “I look at my list of goals every morning. It’s really motivating.”

For Evans, the key to sales success is positivity, honesty, having a mentor, being accountable and never becoming complacent.

“And don’t forget never-ending charm and zany ties,” he says.

Well, if you ever run out of zany ties, here are some how-to tips to becoming a sales superstar. Plus, we’ve included a how-to section for sales’ cool cousin: public relations.

SALES

HOW TO MAKE A COLD CALL
Cold calling a potential client can be … how do you say? … a bit icy. But as with any exercise of will, you need to “warm up.”

“The two biggest challenges of cold calling include getting past gate keepers and/or getting through voicemail,” says Larry Maxfield, CEO of Access Development and a sales pro for more than 30 years.

To get past the gatekeeper, Maxfield recommends the following:

1. Give as little information as possible.
“Giving your sales pitch to a gatekeeper will kill you every time. They will quickly make the decision that your message is inappropriate for their boss and they’ll ax you,” Maxfield says.

2. Be mysterious.
“It’s important to have a certain mystique wrapped with confidence and void of arrogance when calling a gatekeeper,” he says. “With this tone and demeanor, you will be more successful at scheduling a call with the decision maker.”

3. Befriend the gatekeepers.
“Forming a relationship with the gatekeeper pays off in the long run as you attempt to establish a relationship with their boss,” Maxfield says. “Rather than blowing them off, engage them in the conversation. Not treating the gatekeeper well will inhibit your ability to work with the decision maker long term. Find a way to treat the gatekeeper with respect while still giving as little information as possible. Realize the decision maker will ask their gatekeeper’s opinion of you.”

4. Don’t make false assumptions.
“When sales people leave voicemail after voicemail, they eventually assume they are being blown off when, in fact, the decision maker is getting more calls a day than they can actually return,” he says. “Assume they are interested but don’t have time to follow up. Acting offended that they haven’t returned your calls will ruin the long-term relationship.”

5. Have a positive attitude.
“Staying positive rather than acting annoyed will benefit you and develop a long-term relationship,” Maxfield says. “Some people go so far as to put mirrors or funny pictures in their office that actually cause them to smile and have the right attitude — you can hear a positive attitude in your voice.”

HOW TO MAKE A STELLAR SALES PRESENTATION
This is your moment.

The appointment has been made, the right people are in the mix and you’ve got a set time to make your case.

Here are six steps to “knock it out of the park,” as they say.

1. “Be cordial and friendly, but business-focused at all times,” says Rich Rusick, senior VP of sales at Provo-based VitalSmarts, a team that won the title of “Best Sales Team in America” from The American Business Awards.

2. “Take a few minutes to learn about the decision maker’s job and responsibilities,” Rusick says.

3. “Double check to see if times have changed since you set up the meeting,” he says. “If your client invites others to attend the meeting, make sure to introduce yourself and learn their names. Also find out why they’re attending and what interests they have relative to the business.”

4. “Initiate the dialogue. You want to create a dialogue — not make a pitch,” Rusick says.

5. “Transition. Prepare a question or situation that will allow the decision maker to take a lead roll in the discussion,” he says.

6. “Bottom line: Tell the buyer what’s in it for him. Don’t talk about features, flashy gimmicks, or use techno-jargon. Let the buyer know right up front what’s in it for him and how that will benefit his business,” Maxfield says. “Ironically, the very best sales presentations are not made with PowerPoint or all kinds of gadgetry. It’s a person who can sit down with a couple of visuals either on a white board or pad of paper and close without beating around the bush.”

HOW TO HELP A CUSTOMER OVERCOME STICKER SHOCK
Sticker shock? If you’ve done your job, there should be no such thing.

“Sticker shock occurs when the value isn’t in equilibrium with what the client perceives they’re getting out of your product or service,” Maxfield says. “Sticker shock is actually a function of a poor sales presentation. If you’ve built the value into your sales presentation, the price will match their perceived value.”

HOW TO PRICE NEGOTIATE
So the client is sold — but he isn’t quite sold on the price yet. Maxfield shares how to negotiate a win-win.

“Combine groups of items or features into several pricing alternatives (i.e. into packages A, B, C). Give the buyer alternatives and help him identify what he values and where his budget lies. This gives you the capacity to take things off the table (features, benefits or product) and tailor the offering to meet the buyer’s specific needs. If you go in with a one-size-fits-all price, then it’s a no-win situation for either party,” he says.

HOW TO DEAL WITH AN ANGRY CLIENT
There’s nothing worse than having an angry client. But as much as you want to ignore the problem and let it fade away into nothingness (good luck with that) — facing the problem straight on is the only way to go.

Here are two tips for winning over a frustrated customer.

Listen, Listen, Listen.
“The first step is to listen and then sincerely restate the client’s concern. If the client is really angry, use key phrases that will open the conversation rather than shut it down. Ask questions that go beyond yes/no answers. Use phrases like: ‘I share your concerns,’ ‘Help me understand more about this issue,’ ‘This is also a concern to us, and I want to help you get to the bottom of this,’” Maxfield says.

List, list, list.
“Get a top-level list of all of their concerns. Before you start drilling into any one concern try to get them to list all of their issues,” Maxfield says. “Often, in the first complaint they are just blowing smoke. Stating all of their issues helps them sort out their emotions and categorize them into degrees of seriousness. When you hear all of their issues at once, you can more quickly get to the root of the problem and find the solution.”

HOW TO CLOSE A SALE
“How to close a sale” may be a more open-ended question than we thought.

“Closing is not a big deal. It is the natural conclusion at the end of the call. There is a sales audiotape out there called ‘1,001 Ways to Close the Sale,’ and I find it amazing to hear all of the interesting approaches and cute phrases in it,” says Peter Watkins, who works at Prosper Inc. in Provo and previously worked at Outsell Consulting. “After trying a variety of them, I’ve become convinced the importance of ‘closing’ has been exaggerated over the years.”

Instead, focus on the front-end of things.

“The truth is, whether or not a sale closes is determined by how well you execute the call. If you blow it in the beginning or the middle, no high-powered closing technique will save you at the end,” he says. “Understand that closing, properly done, actually opens the door to a satisfied customer who will want to do more business with your company and refer business to you as well.”

Maxfield agrees and says the closing is simply a natural outcome of a good presentation. But he also offers another piece of advice:

“Be open-minded. A close doesn’t have to happen at a certain time. The close should come whenever the buyer is ready to make a commitment,” he says. “Waiting too long to make a close can really anger the buyer if you drag out the presentation.”

PUBLIC RELATIONS

HOW TO ‘DO’ PUBLIC RELATIONS
Make no mistake — public relations takes great forethought and skill. Below, Susan Richards from Utah Valley Public Relations Society of America shares seven ways to elevate your PR strategy.

1. PR is all about relationships. The outlets have changed, but you still have to build a working relationship with editors and outlets.

2. Know as much as possible about your audience, especially with the media. Add value to what they are doing and figure out how you can help them do their job.

3. Be able to measure what you have done and articulate how it adds to the bottom line.

4. With the proliferation of social media, don’t forget that self publishing can be valuable — don’t just let other people write about your organization. Be part of the conversation.

5. Contributing to the community and encouraging top executives to do the same can buy a lot of goodwill and good publicity.

6. Good writing is still very important. Know your target audience and write so they will understand.

7. Smart PR isn’t about getting fawning coverage. It’s about company executives being quoted regularly as experts in the publications read by potential customers.

HOW TO ‘NOT DO’ PUBLIC RELATIONS
Conducting your PR strategy in the wrong way can be more detrimental than doing nothing at all. Here are five “don’ts,” courtesy Utah Valley PRSA’s Noelle Bates.

1. Don’t think that putting out a press release means you are doing PR. It is just the beginning. You still have to figure out how to get people to care.

2. Don’t assume that all news is newsworthy to editors. Learn to think like an editor.

3. Don’t lose site of the ultimate goal for your organization. The minute you do is the minute you become irrelevant.

4. Don’t bad mouth the competition. Focus your communications on what makes your organization unique and valuable.

5. Don’t spin the truth. Honesty is always the best policy and it will never come back and bite you later. You don’t have to air all your dirty laundry in public, but you have to tell the truth.

HOW TO MAKE A BIG PR SPLASH WITH A SMALL BUDGET
You don’t have to make the big bucks to have big PR success. Richards shares the following tips to make the most of your PR.

1. Depending on the audience, social networking is a very inexpensive way of spreading your message. There are no hard costs — just time and effort. Make it more effective by finding out where your target audiences are going for information, and then spend your time there.

2. Word of mouth is the most effective way to spread your message, so get your customers talking for you. Get customer quotes and success stories and distribute them widely.

3. Get involved in the community and use the free community resources and outlets to spread your message.

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