Markita Andrews, at the young age of 13, learned her selling "rules of thumb" when she became a Girl Scouts cookie selling dynamo.  She sold more than $80,000 worth of cookies during her Girl Scouts career!  What motivated Markita to become the greatest "salesgirl"?  DESIRE.  Markita learned that the Scout who sold the most cookies would win an all-expense-paid trip for two around the world.  She desperately wanted to win this trip. 

Markita knew that to win, she had to partner her desire with a sales plan.  She knew that she had to "show up" in front of her prospective customers in professional attire (her Girl Scout uniform) and to ask them to invest in her dream, rather than to buy cookies.  She also learned very quickly how to convert more sales, and according to "How to Win More Sales" by David Rivers, here are 5 ways she was able to do this:

1. She Was Bold. Knocking on doors is one of the most challenging forms of sales. Psychologists’ tell us that our greatest need is acceptance and our greatest fear is rejection. Markita’s ability to face rejection and not take it personally is a winning trait that kept her momentum going.

2. Law of Contrast. Markita employed a wonderful technique. She started with a high dollar amount in order to condition the potential buyers to think big.  Whether they bought higher priced items or lower, they were likely to purchase a product because of options and contrast. Markita was far more successful than her counterparts because she understood this persuasive trigger.

3. Persistence. Since Markita had a strong desire, she was able to focus on it when rejection arouse. Her passion for traveling around the world was greater than any one sale. She instinctively adhered to the idea that (as Jack Canfield would say) “‘No’ is just another word for next.”

4. Humor. After breaking various sales records and reaching somewhat of a celebrity status, Markita was invited to be a guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  During the interview Johnny asked: “What’s the secret to your success?” Markita replied, “I just went to everyone’s house and said, 'Can I have a $30,000 donation for the Girl Scouts?' When they said ‘No,’ I said, ‘Would you at least buy a box of Girl Scout cookies?’"

5. Fan Creation. By letting others know of her dream, Markita created support. She caused people to want to help her because she had a greater purpose. She had a vision of something greater than herself, she not only wanted to experience the world, but she wanted to pay her mom’s way too. This passion resonated with people and created raving fans who were rooting for her.

Markita never lost sight of her vision to win, and she consistently applied these tactics during every sales exchange.  This successful coupling, which could be called her "rules of thumb," helped her to achieve her dream by taking a trip around the world when she sold the record-breaking 3,526 boxes of cookies.  No other Girl Scout has ever sold more cookies than Markita Andrews (>42,000 boxes), and she has sold her story by teaching sales professionals at conventions, when playing lead in a Disney movie about her adventures, and co-authoring a book about selling.

As David Rivers challenges and says:

"So What Should You Do? By employing the persuasive techniques above, you and I are sure to win more sales. You don’t need to be an Ivy league grad to have guts, and you don’t need to be a scholar to have sizzle. What you really need is what Markita has, a PhD in Personality, Performance, and Persistence. The rest is just product knowledge and repetition."

We think you need to find your winning sales combination so you can create your own sales "Rules of Thumb."  Find your passion in what you are selling and create your vision for what you want to accomplish.  Then, employ what Markita has taught us.  Most importantly, do Dale Carnegie's Principle #5 in "How to Win Friends and Influence People"- you must SMILE, and by doing so, your chances of winning the sale or at least creating the foundation for a sale, are greatly increased.