Michael Phelps And You

You're not going to get any opening statement ideas,
questioning tips, voice mail suggestions, or closing
lines in this email today.


But you could get something that can have a
tremendous impact on your performance, life, and
income, far beyond any technique I could present.
If you're open to some inspiration and an attitude
adjustment, read on.
I am constantly amazed by, and have tremendous
respect for people who excel at things I could not, or
would not want to do. (Which is really, most things,
now that I think about it. Especially anything involving
tools.)

Architects who design massive structures. The people
who build them. Nurses. School teachers. Most of the
workers on "Dirty Jobs." And certainly, as I have the
TV on in my office while I write this, Olympic athletes.
As I watch the gymnasts glide, bounce, tumble and flip,
I just shake my head.

And Michael Phelps. Are you kidding me? Get this:
He was interviewed the morning after his record-breaking
eighth gold medal and was asked, "So what next?"
He said,

"I don't know...probably try another event, one that I
really haven't worked on."

Here's the most decorated Olympic swimmer ever, owning
more medals than most countries, able to cash in hugely
on his success, and he says he needs to find a new
challenge he can master!

THAT, fellow sales pro, is the kind of attitude rarely found
among most people. Then again, it's not surprising,
since it what makes extraordinarily successful people-
the top 2%-who they are.

The attitude drives the work, which drives the continued
work, which produces the results.
The reason I say that excellence attitude is rare is because
I see the opposite of it so often.

You would think that in sales, a profession that can provide
a lifestyle beyond the reach of most employees performing
regular jobs, you'd have more people going for their own Gold.

Yet, I regularly see and hear about sales reps who are "veterans,"
and have been in sales for x number of years. So does that mean
they are performing at high levels. Quite often, not. Many times
they are coasting. Downhill.

Longevity does not mean excellence. Hey, I have known how
to swim for 40 years. That does not mean I could race in a
competition. In fact, my arms would turn to bungee cords and
I'd probably choke up a lung 50 yards into it.

Many sales reps are not motivated to attend training, invest
in themselves, listen to audios, read books, newsletters or
other online information, practice, or God forbid, put in the
little bit extra time after-hours and weekends to go to the next
level. But it's there for the taking. So few squeeze out every
drop of potential. Or squeeze at all.

Sure, many people would like to make more money. That's
why gambling, the lottery, and get-rich-quick schemes are
so popular. But they are not willing to do the real work that
it takes to actually succeed.

I'm often amused that after training programs I've presented,
and this usually happens at a large national convention with
several hundred people in the audience, someone will come
up to me and say, "You know, I've been in sales a while. I could do what you do."

I always enthusiastically respond, "You should!", knowing full
well that most would never try. Not ashamedly, I can say that
I can make talking before 1000 people look easy, and deliver
solid content in an entertaining, engaging way. What people
do not see is the thousands of hours of work that preceded
that presentation. What drives it is an insatiable desire to get
better and smarter, and the work ethic to make it continue
to happen.

The great news about personal performance is that it is
100% our choice, and responsibility. At any time, anyone
can make the choice to begin going for their own Gold.
Or resuming the quest.

And as the financial guys say, "Past performance is no
guarantee of future results." Meaning that if someone has
been a total screw-up to this point in their life, that has
nothing to do with the positive choices they make moving
forward.

Over the past 25 years in my business, and a few before
that in corporate life, I've learned one thing to especially
hold true and I see it validated every day: your attitude
about sales, and your subsequent actions are a greater
contributor to your success than any other factor.

What are you doing, right now, to in pursuit of
your own Gold?

Do You Use Meaningless Words?

Greetings,

On the phone we have about 10 seconds or less
to capture a listener's attention, break their
preoccupation with whatever they were doing when
you called, and place them in a positive,
receptive frame of mind to share information
with you and listen with an open mind.

Therefore, you don't want to muddy up your call
with wasted words, or meaningless words.


Here are some that are overused, and really are
meaningless when you analyze them.


-"cost-effective," as in, "We provide cost-
effective products."


-"leading," or "premier," as in, "We're the leading
company in this field." According to whom?


-"solution provider," as in, "We're a solution
provider."


-"meet your needs," as in, "I'd like to discuss how
we can meet your needs."


Here's an opening that I'm sure someone, somewhere
is probably using.


"Ms. Prospect, Josh Verbose with E-Commerce
Applications. We're the premier solution provider of
cost-effective e-commerce systems. We help companies by
facilitating their migration into electronic marketing
by leveraging their options to meet their e-commerce
needs."


Huh?


I actually received a call similar to this. Not only
did the guy's monotone sound like he just arose out
of bed with a stinging hangover, he slurred the
unemotional pronunciation of words:


"Art, this is Joe Collins with Data International.
We're the most respected provider of data funneling
(or something like that--I had never heard the term
before). We work with the IBM's, AT&T's..." and the guy
went on for at least 90 seconds, nonstop, with his
droning. I was not a prospect, and even if I were,
I wouldn't have been interested based on this opening.


Here are a couple of fundamental ideas to keep in mind
before and during your calls.


-Know who you're talking to, both company and position-
wise. This guy was clearly in the wrong place. To
avoid wasted time, energy, and resistance he could
have simply said to my assistant, "I want to be sure
that what I have would be of some interest for your
company. Please tell me ...", followed by some
qualifying questions.


-Use clear terminology to quickly create interest.
Let me say this again: you have just several seconds
to create interest at the beginning of a call. You
do this by alluding to what you might be able to do
for them, and then asking a question. So be simple
with the hint of the result you could possibly
provide. For example,


"Art, depending on how you're using your existing
list of customers, we might have a way to help you
get two or three times the amount of repeat business
you're doing now. I'd like to ask a few questions
to see if it would make sense for us to speak further."


Along the same lines, avoid stilted words when
simpler ones will do. An article in Sales and Marketing
Management magazine suggested ...


"use" instead of "utilize"

"talk" instead of "have a dialogue"

"help" instead of "facilitate"


Examine your own language, both in your openings, and
in all parts of your call. Are you creating resistance
instead of interest? If so, change it today.

Sell At Your Full Price, Avoid Giving Away Profits

Greetings!

It's an age-old dilemma: salespeople dropping
their price at the first sign of resistance, or request for a
better price. And the ones who do it, who cave in to price
statements and questions, give away pure profit. Usually,
needlessly. But perhaps they don't have the confidence
or know-how to avoid it.
As I mentioned last week, a workshop I presented at
the National Speaker's Association national convention
was, "Selling at Full Fee: How to Ask for Your Price and
Get It." Here are some of the ideas we discussed...concepts
you can use as well to avoid giving away profit.
Raise your value, in their mind, or the cost of the problem,
higher than your price. It's quite simple, if a buyer perceives
their potential return as higher than your price, then price is
not an issue to rational people. Ask questions to get them
to attach dollar figures to pains or problems.

"What does that cost you?"

"How much extra time does that take?"

Delay discussing price until you have established value.
If asked early about price, respond with something like,
"So I can give you the best price for your situation, let
me ask a few questions..."

State your price with unwavering conviction. If you hem
and haw, that indicates you are not firm with your price
and it's open to negotiation. Say your price with the
same confident tone of voice you would use if someone
asked you in which city you live.
Price comments are not price objections. When someone
says, "Wow, that's more than what I expected to pay,"
they are NOT saying they will not buy. You do not even
need to respond. However, many sales reps offer to cut
price at this point.
Have a quick response to "Do you discount?" How about,
"No, that's the price." Or, if they ask, "Can you do any
better on price?", say, "That's the price." Simple. Most
good buyers will always ask for a better price because
they have nothing to lose. And they often succeed.
Qualify for money. I do not like asking about budgets,
since it can kill a sale when they say their budget has
been spent. If they want something badly enough, they
normally can find the money for it, if you are talking at
the right level. Sometimes, however, you need to learn
if you are even in the same ballpark. In my business,
we say, "He is one of the most experienced, in-demand,
and therefore highest-priced trainers in this field. That's
not a reason for us to stop talking, is it?"
Help them find the money. In some cases, perhaps
the money might be tight. Then ask about the past:
"What have you done before when you wanted something
that would give a return on your investment, but did not
have the funds available?"

Avoiding the Stupid Questions

Greetings,

Once again I've got a sales observation for
you from the street. The street
is Broadway. Times Square. New York City.

I'm here attending, and also speaking at the
yearly convention for the National Speakers
Association. (Next week I'll share some of
the ideas I presented, which were on How to
Sell at Full Price.)

Somewhat similar to Mexico, which I wrote
about a couple of weeks ago, Times Square
is a sales scientist's Disneyland. Here,
pretty much anything that you can attend, or
goes on you or in you (products, food, services,
events, and humans) can be bought, or, uh,
rented, up and down Broadway.

You have the street vendors, set up on
their makeshift tables and rolling carts,
the closet-sized stores, the huge international
brand stores like Gap, and others, all lit up
by blocks and blocks of five-story tall
animated HD TV screens.

Every day is like you see on TV on New Year's
Eve when they drop the ball, just with
fewer bodies. But there still are thousands
milling about at all hours.

Some of those people on the sidewalks are the
ones I was most interested in. You can't step
more than a few feet without someone stuffing
some type of promotion in your hands: bus and
boat tours, reduced-price theatre tickets,
adult attractions, and more.

Then they try to engage you in a conversation
to sell you on their event.

One guy with a handful of coupons (for a
comedy club) had an approach, that, at first
I thought was brilliant. Then I realized it
was not good at all. It caused resistance.

He would make eye contact, smile, and then say,
"You like to watch comedy, don't you?"

I thought, "Wow, what a great question! Everyone
but the biggest dorks like comedy. Of course
people have to say YES."

Thoughts raced through my mind of writing
a Tip about asking questions that people
must answer the way you want, since there really
isn't any other logical answer.

But, as I stopped and observed--and apparently
was clogging up foot-traffic, evidenced by the
number of times I was called various names for
body parts--it struck me that this was not a
good question or method at all to engage people
in this situation.

Some passersby ignored him. He'd yell, "It's
OK to say yes!" Others said yes, but then
kept walking, trying to avoid eye contact or
conversation. Others would decline in a smart-ass
way, saying something like they were allergic to
comedy--ironically proving it by their lame
attempt to perform it.

I realized that this question actually caused
a natural reaction: resistance to being sold.

We all possess it. As so many of us teaching
this stuff say, everyone likes to buy, but no
one likes to be sold.

So, when faced with a situation where we feel
that we're about to be pitched, and are not
in a frame of mind where we are looking for
something, the natural defense shield rises.

When I went to the dentist a few weeks ago
with excruciating tooth pain, I WANTED his
recommendation and was ready to buy. When I
was walking through the shopping mall the
same day I avoided the guy in the kiosk
who tried to grab me and pitch some herbal
nutritional supplement. In the first situation
I was buying, in the other I was being sold.

Anyway, this got me thinking about the concept
of what I call "Are you stupid?" sales questions
and statements.

These are similar to the comedy-guy's question,
in that it forces a person to answer the way
the questioner wants, otherwise it makes the
person feel stupid if he does not respond
in that way. And, of course, that is not
conducive to selling, instead putting the person
on the defensive.

There are many variations. You've probably
heard, and maybe have been taught some. And they
all should be avoided.

For example,

Stupid Question: "Of course you want to save
money, don't you?"

What is really heard: "Of course you don't want
to be stupid, do you?"


Stupid Question: "If I could show you a way to
save money, of course you'd want that, wouldn't you?"

What is really heard: "If I could show you
a way to avoid being stupid, of course
you'd want that, wouldn't you?"


Stupid Question: "What, don't you want to save
money?"

What is really heard: "Are you stupid?"


Stupid Question: "You like to save money, right?"

What is really heard: "You like not being stupid,
right?"


Stupid Question: "How important is money to you?"

What is really heard: "How important is it to you to
not be stupid?"


Stupid Question: "Now I know you're a person who
wants to save money, right?"

What is really heard: "Now I know you're a person
who's not stupid, right?"


I could go on and on. You might remember
one I mentioned in a previous Tip. While
picking up some books at Barnes & Noble,
the clerk asked if I wanted their discount
frequent buyer card, and I declined.

He then said, "What, don't you like to save
money?"

What I really heard:

"What, don't you like not being stupid?"


The main point here is that using stupid
questions is, well, stupid.

What to do instead? Go back and look at how
these stupid questions are used. Come up
with alternatives to accomplish your goal.

For example, if we're trying to point out
someone will save money, we need a series
of questions to help us, and them, see the
problem, the costs of the problem, and the
result of the solution. (Go back and check
past Tips for a more in-depth discussion).

Because, of course you don't want to use
stupid questions, do you?
(Oooopps! There's one!)