“Let’s get back to the basics” is arguably the single dumbest phrase in sales. (Not to be confused with the angriest phrase in sales: “We’re changing the comp plan.”)

When a manager or a leader says, “Let get back to the basics,” what he or she is really saying is, “I have nothing new to say.”

The basics are over. They are dead and gone. No more cold calling, no more overcoming objections, no more tie-down questions, no more closing the sale and no more finding the pain. Those days left somewhere between 1972 and 1992.

You may not know it, and your manager may not know it, but the “basics” are why you still have to sell on price and lose to the lowest bidder.

Instead of “basics,” I refer to “fundamentals,” such as great attitude, deep belief, truth, friendly and helpful people, fast response and error-free delivery.

These fundamentals constitute what every customer expects. If you and your entire company are not masters of the fundamentals, all the rest of this information is worthless.

Beyond the fundamentals are the imperatives of sales and selling. They are the new strategies to employ and new elements of selling that must be mastered in order for you to achieve sales in these times, and for the next decade or two, and they have nothing to do with “the basics.” Without them, you will die an unhappy, slow sales death, griping and blaming others all the way.

1. Be better than your competitors. In everything BUT price.

2. Be different from your competitors. In a way you can prove.

3. Be closer to your customer than your competitors. Relationships rule.

4. Have a value-based offering. In favor of the customer.

5. Have a value-based sales presentation. One that’s delivered in a compelling manner. One that emphasizes what happens after the customer takes ownership: customer profit, productivity and morale.

6. Be prepared with questions and ideas in terms of, and in favor of, the customer. This means less pitch and more engagement.

7. Uncover buying motives. Uncover the real reason a customer wants to buy. You will have converted a selling atmosphere into a buying atmosphere.

8. Meet with the CEO (or actual decision maker) on the first call. This may be the most difficult, yet most rewarding part of the process.

9. Master business social media. Have your own (personal) YouTube channel. Have a business Facebook page where more than 1,000 people like you. Have a LinkedIn account with more than 500 connections and use keywords in your summary. Tweet a value message daily to at least 500 people who follow you on Twitter.

10. Use testimonials and let your present customers (rather than you) overcome your prospective customers’ sales barriers. When you say it about yourself, it’s bragging. When your customers say it about you, it’s proof.

11. Earn referrals rather than waste time making cold calls. Referrals are the highest percentage sales call; cold calls are the lowest.

12. Reputation. Reputation is a combination of: What are you known as? What are you known for? What’s your image? What’s your Google image? What’s your business social media image? What’s the “word of mouth” on you?

13. Become a trusted adviser to all your customers. You EARN this status slowly. When you do, price is no longer an issue.

13.5. Perception. The customers’ perception is your reality. If the customers perceive great value, actual differentiation and trust, then you will win. If they don’t, you will bid or battle price, or both. And even if you win the sale in that environment, you lose.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by email at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2011 Jeffrey H. Gitomer