Legend has it that the 4th Earl of Sandwich placed his meat between two pieces of bread because it allowed him to continue playing cards while eating without getting his cards sticky from his greasy hands -- hence the name "sandwich."

If you will pardon the pun, if your advertising sales are not a sandwich you are missing the bread and butter of the sales process.

Each of the most popular sandwich making salads (tuna, chicken salad, egg and ham, etc.) can be served on a bed of lettuce, a salad, or between slices of bread, a sandwich.

The salad is the heart of the sales meal. Within the salad, you have mixed all the facts and benefits that make the meal. You are pitching the best ingredient you can muster. You have seasoned to the prospects taste. You have added the mayo of your personality to bind it all together. You've added bits of pickled testimonials, diced onion stories, and the salt and pepper of evidence. You have tossed together the best of all possible sales salads.

At the risk of pushing the analogy too far, the Earl of Sandwich's motive for bread was to keep his hands clean. He knew he needed to eat, but he didn't want to interrupt what he was doing. If you consider the fact that your prospective client is also more interested in what she or he is doing, than eating what you are serving. It makes sense to present your "sales salad" in bread as a sandwich. This way they can partake without getting their hands greasy.

Now, let's look at the bread. The two slices of bread needed to create a sandwich, represent the before and end of the sales process. The bottom slice is the foundation, the preparation you have made. The marvelous thing about selling today is that most of your prospects have been kind enough to post everything we need to know about them on the internet. It used to be that doing a detailed, "customer needs analysis," was the vital portion of the sale cycle. Today, investigating all the available information on the web is the first step.

This first slice of bread is the critical piece of the sales sandwich. Here's why:

•Preparation Prepares You - remember as a kid the days you really did your homework. You were ready for class. You couldn't wait for the teacher to call on you. Oh, those might have been rare days, but you remember them. Your confidence was high. You were proud. You were ready. Selling is no different. When you are well prepared for a sales call, you exude confidence, a certainty of demeanor that breaks down resistance.

•Confirming answers is better than asking questions - How much more powerful is it to say, "My research tells me you have been in business for 15 years. Is that right?" or, "How long have you been in business?" Obviously, the answer is the first. It tells the prospect you have researched her business. You've taken the time to prepare. You are serious. You are a pro.

•The little time it takes makes a big difference - The world is full of advertising sales people. Why? Because, there is a lot of advertising to be sold. You're second most important task is to differentiate yourself from you own competition. (You decide what the first most important task is.***) The first slice of bread is what few, if any, of your competitors do. It takes a few minutes, may be ten, to make you ten times better than the others.

•People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Show them you care, by showing what you know. Among Dale Carnegie's Human Relations principles is, "Talk in terms of the other person's interest." Your first slice of bread will put you on the road of a professionally caring relationship with your client. It is what make business worth doing. It is what builds lasting business and life long friends.

Now, if I have convinced you to put a slice of bread down, then go ahead and spread out the presentation salad. Put it on thick. Give 'em their monies worth.

Now let's top it off with the other slice of bread --closing. Yes, I said "closing." You simply ask for the order. As in, "Can we go ahead and start?" Asking for the order is critical. Everybody talks about it, but few do it. Failing to do so makes it an opened faced sandwich and hard to eat. If your purpose is to close a sale, then go ahead and close the sale. Asking is not being pushy. Asking is being professional. Selling is what you do, so do it! Ask for the order. Top off the sandwich with another slice of bread.

Thinking of the sales process as a sandwich provides a solid diet of quality sale calls. The fact is that having great sandwich filler is important, but serving it between two slices of fresh bread is what makes for the most rewarding sandwich.

Eat Fresh!

* Most important, get results for your client.