I get a ton of e-mails asking me to solve sales dilemmas. Here are a few that may relate to your job, your life and, most important, your sales thought process right now:

I just started working for a company that has a unique way of doing car service. They supplied me with an iPad to do my presentations with. The problem is that many places I go don’t have open Internet that I can tap into, or they have it but won’t let me use it. I asked my boss about providing me with a 3G account for the iPad, but his response was that right now the company cannot afford it. I’m so cash-strapped that I cannot afford to personally pay for it. I’ve also asked if the online materials could be made available offline, but that is falling on deaf ears as well. How I can overcome this obstacle?

Think about this for a second. Someone is willing to spend $500+ to buy you an iPad, but won’t spend $30 a month to let you use it. It doesn’t make sense to me. There’s gotta be something else in the equation that you’re not talking about. If the boss gives you a tool to make sales and the tool doesn’t work, then the tool is worthless.

Schedule another meeting. Make your boss a guarantee that you will make enough sales each week to cover the cost of 3G, or you will pay for it out of your own pocket. That’s an offer that’s fair to everyone.

We provide transportation services for meetings and events. Many of my clients choose us and pre-plan with us via e-mail, etc. Once they are in town for the event, the actual services are happening. Then they leave. How do I get a video testimonial? I would feel awkward asking for it while they are here when the service has just started.

You have no choice but to feel awkward. Take pictures of people getting out of the car and e-mail those shots to them. Everyone feels great getting out of a limo. Turn your little camera around, put it on video, and ask them how they liked the ride.

The main people you have to ask are the people who hired you. They may not be the ones riding in the car. But if you don’t do it at the event, it won’t happen.

I am an in-branch mortgage loan officer for a bank and get 98 percent of my leads from customers who walk into the branch. People will listen to what I say, seem to establish brief rapport with me, get a quote, and then leave the branch saying they want to “shop around” to compare pricing and get back to me. I’ve tried multiple ways to retain these customers, and nothing seems to click. I’ve tried getting an e-mail address from them to be able to e-mail an estimate of my closing costs showing just how low our fees are compared with the competition. I’ve tried selling the benefits of having a “banking relationship” versus just finding some low-cost shop on the Internet that’s selling low rates. Being at a bank, I am somewhat restricted as to what rate I can offer. It is very depressing knowing that out of 50 people who sit with me, I’m only able to convert maybe five of those into loans. In the brief time I have with these people, how can I get past the rate issue and convert more of these “warm” leads into loans?

Here are three things you can do right now: 1. Create a chart that lists the rates and services of all other mortgage providers in your city. When someone says they want to shop around, tell them you’ve already done the shopping for them and give them the list. 2. Focus more on bank relationship than rate. Show them how much their rate can change by paying their mortgage every two weeks instead of every month. 3. Get a few video testimonials from people who bought your mortgage in spite of the rate, and let them give their reasons for why they did it.

Do these three things, and I guarantee your closing rate will double.

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