Breathe Darn You!

If someone was helping you learn Sudoku (yeah, I'll admit I have no clue or desire) how many attempts at teaching would you want to them to take...one, two...maybe three?

What if you were choking from a steak at Bones (fancy smancy!)...how many times would you want them beating on your chest?...

Thought so!

Persistence requires that the outcome mean something...it has to matter...it has to be "life or death".

Persistence is an outward show of faith. It is action oriented and not just idle talk. In the Bible, James Chapter 2 says (paraphrased) "One man says he has faith...one man does faith filled action". It concludes - the man with real faith is the one who is doing!

Start doing the right things and keep doing them until you win!

Persistence is Insistence. It becomes a demonstration of conviction. You may be turned away but you are still committed to find a way! LeRoy tells matt about the power of persistence that converts to conviction,

"Once a man is convicted and acts on that conviction, he will be successful in whatever he puts his hands to do".

Persistence obliterates procrastination and demands immediate, direct action. Persistence says "I must have it - it is a necessity". Necessity is the mother of invention and will engage the power of innovation and imagination. Even if you don't know what to do next, if you persist you will find a way.

Persistence requires you pay a price. In Sales Crumbs from the Master's Table Matt forgoes lunch with colleagues looking for a breakthrough. When you need a breakthrough, you may need to "work through" - work through lunches, television shows, afternoon golf, and excuses.

Push against and lean on the Law of Averages...the breakthrough will come!

For all the activities that are the science of the sales process, persistence can't be overdone, or overlooked. You can't make too many sales calls, you can't become too much of an expert in your product, etc.

In the artful side of a sales interaction, there is a difference between persistence and being a nuisance. We all hate pushy sales people...right? Common sense will let you know the difference and when you have crossed the line.

Some sales people use not wanting to be a pest as an excuse for their approach avoidance. If unsure if you are being persistent or a pain remember; when it doubt...go for it! That extra effort could be the difference maker.

I reprimand you to fight and life demands that you fight.  

Hit your dreams right in the chest, repeatedly, commanding...

"Breathe Darn You" ...until the life comes back to them.

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

If At First...

In Sales Crumbs from the Master's Table, Leroy begins a lesson,

"If I could only give you one word that would demonstrate the personal quality that provided me with the greatest results over the years, that word would be persistence.

Persistence.

• It is the key to focusing on your product knowledge until "revelation" on how to sell it comes.

 

• It will help you improve yourself - to endure the arduous tasks of prospecting and business development until success comes.

 

• When your tank of enthusiasm is empty, persistence is your reserve tank - helping you make the next few miles until the breakthrough comes (and persistence ensures that it will come!).

Persistence is the ultimate failsafe against failure.

"It is not over until I win" - Les Brown.

Many people want instant "just add water" success. They don't want to pay the price of achievement or success. Yes, and quite proverbially, Thomas Edison faced almost 10,000 failed attempts...I am so glad he was persistent. If he wasn't, you wouldn't be reading this!

Any of this sound familiar?

"I tried that once and it didn't work!"

"Once bitten, twice shy!"

"That last attempt taught me a lesson...I won't be trying that again!"

Right now, right here, today, what can you do to prove to yourself that you are willing to be persistent and do the uncomfortable things?"

Start a new dialogue in your mind and spoken vocabulary;

"I will not be defeated, I will not give up!"

"I will continue firmly steadily and insistently until my good appears!"

I will do what it takes, to get what I want...as long as it takes until I get what I want!"

The future greatness in your life is not waiting on a "big break" - persistence creates opportunity! It is not reliant on the kindness of strangers - persistence will compel people to your aid.

Your greatest achievements and triumphs will come as a result of a second, third, fourth...ad infinitum attempts.

If at first...

You know what to do...I believe in you...

DON'T YOU DARE GIVE UP!

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Give Your Clients The Value Meal!

Today's selling environment is highly competitive. Readily available information on products just like yours sets the stage for the "burger war" scenario.

The Big Mac versus The Whopper versus...you get the picture (lunch plans?)

We have discussed the parts of the sales process you can't control...your product, the client.

Most certainly, you can't control the competitors product.

So why enter into a "burger war" battle that may undermine your credibility and integrity?

Yes, it may be old school to take the "high road" but in a war of words against another sales person or product, the client is likely looking for a deal where price will become the main and possibly the only differentiator.

That reduces your sale (and your precious invested time) to a commodity. In a commodity sale (where price and availability are all that matter) your physical presence is not an advantage...or even necessary.

I watch sales people expend more energy on clients that they have already discovered are "playing the cart against the horse" and only looking to be a hard negotiator.

Am I saying walk away from these sales? No!

I am saying your strongest, sustainable sales approach is to focus on taking the features of YOUR product and aligning them with the uncovered and discovered needs - creating benefits that bring YOUR product to life.  

Value is expected in this day and age and price pressure is real. You have to become more innovative in demonstrating the tangible (and sometimes intangible) strengths of your product so price isn't the easy (and only) objection.

In Sales Crumbs from the Master's Table, LeRoy is giving Matt a lesson on value and creating an memorable buying experience. As a conversation on golf ensues, Matt recounts how the price of Gatorade changes based on the environment (golfers will feel me!);

• $.99 for 32oz at the grocery store
• $1.69 for 32oz at the gas station
• $3.00 for 20oz at the local golf course
• $5.00 plus tip for 20oz at fancy course!

"Then I suppose you show your displeasure by not drinking Gatorade in those higher priced environments, right?" queried LeRoy already knowing the answer.

 

Matt shook his head and started laughing and answered, "No, call us crazy, but we still buy it."   

 

 "I will tell you why...the answer is value"

 

LeRoy is right...value is the difference maker...

Always give your clients the Value Meal!!!

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Why Not Give Them The Hand?

From yesterday...rather than fighting for the upper hand, why not "give" your clients the hand?

In this age of information, it is safe to say that consumers have access to your product;

• If they want to see it in action (click!) - YouTube...
• If they want to see how others review it (click!) - Amazon...
• If they want to order it (click) - on your company's website a "live" person is ready to "Chat". Yes, you may even be competing against your marketing department for sales!

Ah, but you have a distinct advantage - you are able to bring the product to life! Give it a name and a face - making the purchase an experience.

How do you give your clients "the hand"?

You let them control as much of the buying experience as possible. As we said previously, they know "The Secret" and if you are too pushy, talkative or persuasive, they don't have reveal it. You lose!

Remember the Relaxing and Relating phases of the sales interaction? What if during these phases, you begin to ask a few simple questions that allow the prospective client to have "the hand"?

"Before I begin to show you my product, what do you know about it already?"

"Have you seen it in action on YouTube or checked out reviews on the web?"

"Do you have any friends that have experiences with our product?"

While it seems counterintuitive, you aren't really giving up control when you allow them to "add their voice" to the proceedings.

What will happen when they chance to talk?

They will express their needs/wants/desires and yes, their concerns. They will tell you "The Secret". You need these secrets to hit the hot buttons and overcome objections...right?

You also have two ears and one mouth, you should use them proportionately.

Ultimately, they will run out of facts, concern.  With l the elements of "what-why-how" on the table, the product expert (that's you!) can begin Releasing the solution.

Now, it's your turn;

"Thanks for all the great insight, I love that you are knowledgeable about my product. There are a few additional things I would like to show you that I think will make this perfect for the situation you have outlined."

Sometimes, you get more by giving first...

Go ahead...Give them The Hand!

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Can I Get A Hand?

Most sales people assume they have the upper hand when it comes to the product.

Stands to reason, you know the product better than anyone...right?

You live your product 24 hours a day...you breathe it...it is your lifeline to revenue/income and the fulfillment of your "what's" in life. The product is the smooth stone in your sling...

You better know it!

Less than half a century ago (the stone ages!), the salesperson would take their demo kit and pitch book and "own the stage". In a sales monologue (never coming up for air!) they would present their product, dazzle prospective clients with its fine array of features, and then close with an "incredible deal".

Not so easy today...is it?

A standard sales transaction is more like a wrestling match.

The combatants use Knowledge and Gold as the weapons of the contest.

To the salesperson, Knowledge is Power, or so we want to believe. From the clients standpoint, "He who has the Gold (money) makes the rules".

As a result, clients do their best to get all the knowledge they can before talking to you (the internet is great, isn't it?). Sales people try to make their solutions complicated so that the clients need them, and the battle is on for the "upper hand".

I love Seinfeld.

There is an episode where George Costanza talks about "the hand". He is referring to the upper-hand that allows him to control a relationship.  He famously laments,

"I have no power. Why should she have the upper hand? Once in my life, I would like the upper hand. I have no hand. No hand at all. She has the hand...I have no hand".

Rather than wrestling for the upper hand...there is a better way...tomorrow.

Until then, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Clients Know The Secret!

Your clients are keeping a secret from you!

The "secret"? - What they need, why they need it and how they will buy.

Do you recognize that "what-why-how" from a previous Sales Crumb? They are the ingredients to achieving a goal, but are also powerful ingredients of the sales process.

When mixed by the skillful hand of a sharing/caring sales professional (yes...that's you!), they generate a white heat of desire. That desire is what causes the prospective client to take action...to buy!

If you have read Sales Crumbs from the Master's Table, then you will remember LeRoy's lesson to Matt on how to get "The Secret" from a client. He taught Matt that to get people to express what-why-how you must engage the process of Relaxing, Relating, and Releasing.

Relaxing puts you and the client at ease. Face it, they know you are there to sell them something, so the classic "divide and conquer" positions and authoritative postures may not be necessary. For the moment, in the opening, selling is secondary...relaxing is primary.

Relating is facilitated in an atmosphere of Relaxation. Dialogue becomes a two way street...natural, un-choreographed - using your Authentic Sales Voice. It exposes mutual interest and commonalities - chemistry/rapport. In the era of Facebook, the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" is actually more like 2 degrees.

The world is smaller and we are closer than we have ever been and it is easier to establish the "ties that bind".

In this interplay, there will be a logical time to Release your solutions - your products. Yes, there will still be objections and clarifications of their specific needs to address, but at this stage of the process, they will gladly receive what you are offering (sharing to continue the metaphor!).

When done masterfully, the prospective client doesn't have to divulge "The Secret" through coaxing or coercion.

They will gladly express them in an open dialogue of sharing.

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Do You Really Care?

Yesterday's Sales Crumb made it clear...in its essence, sales is sharing. We share time, energy, and resources hoping for an good outcome. No guarantees, only a possibility. We increase that possibility based on our approach...how we share.

Sales is also caring. You have to care about your clients. You have to care that they get what they truly need/desire. You have to care about them more than you care about the outcome and how it impacts you.

Remember: The Mission before the Commission!

So it goes back to the quote I have heard 1,000 times (only a slight exaggeration!) and I am sure you have as well. Whether your old school sales training or your grand-parents...

"No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care"

Theodore Roosevelt

Darn cliché is still right...putting yesterday's Sales Crumbs and today's together -

How you share shows how you care!

Remember my sisters and the candy story from yesterday? At the most generous times they would hand me the bag of candy and say "Reach in and take what you like".

Stunning!

That type of sharing demonstrates the generosity of the giver but also requires the right intention of the receiver. It shows the giver cares about the needs/desires of the receiver and is willing to "let it all hang out". That process requires trust - that process creates a relationship!

In sales, what is the ultimate approach to sharing and caring?

Let them take what they want/need/desire - it is a process of uncovering, discovering the clients preferred delivery style, and guiding them to "take what they need" from the bag of your solutions and products.  All the while using your Authentic Sales Voice and genuinely caring.

Chemistry and rapport can start that process, but only when you share and care can you close the deal.

Do you really care?

Then show them!

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

How You Share Shows How You Care!

How do you share?

HOW you share is as important (or even more important) as IF you share.

As kids, when one of us was fortunate enough to have candy (and it was always my sisters!), it revealed a lot about the sharing technique. See if you recognize any of these scenarios;

Take what I give you - "The red ones are my favorites, but I am not too fond of the yellow ones...but I'll eat them. Here, take these." This is the type of sharing where what you want is not a consideration. That means black licorice! Who eats that anyway?

Ever had a sales person just throw something on the counter and sneer, "This is all we have left...you want it or not?"

You're lucky I'm giving you any - It is no longer someone celebrating with you over a joyous event (yes, I danced when I got candy!) it is them tolerating you - making you feel guilty/unworthy.

Ever walk into a high end department store and the sales person ignores you and then makes you feel guilty/unworthy for being there because they think you can't afford it?

I am only sharing because momma made me! When someone has to be compelled to share or are sharing begrudgingly, it shuts down the "serving" component...lack of service.

Ever had a sales person doing another task, and the store manager gives them the "eye" to come help you. They huff and then walk over to ask, "Do you need any help or are you just looking?"

How do you react if the sharing part of the sales process is less than ideal?

As a rebellious, proud brother of two sisters, depending on how they were sharing my reaction would have been,

"If that is the way you are giving...I ain't taking!"

Though I might want it, or in the case of candy - need it - I would turn it down. Sales are lost in much the same way!

Tomorrow, we look at the right way to share...

      Until then, I wish you Money, Power, Success!