The Abundance Muscle
I had a client in today. He’s a guy that has been a pro at the “back of the house” part of the business (the go-to-guy). Matt has a great personality with a desire to sell, so they moved him into sales. He was maintained and grown a few small accounts, but has not gained a “win” of his own.
We have been working together for several months and Matt’s biggest challenge is his “attachment” to winning the deal (even if it isn’t necessarily good business for him and his company). Trust me; I understand the fear that motivates his attachment:
- Fear of disappointing others – Leaders of his company that he has great respect and affection for and a need not to disappoint
- Fear of letting down his family – A future for his family that is possible with the additional income that being successful in his sales position can bring
- Fear of disappointing himself – Disappointment in himself after being an “expert” in one area of the business and now being “green” in Sales
Matt’s Big Deal
He’s had a deal that he has been working that is a large piece of business—by anyone’s standards—not just the “new” guys. Matt and his team put together a comprehensive solution—a solution different than any the prospect had seen. A solution to help solve the prospect’s pain. 
Be Intentional! Be Be Intentional!
Lately we’ve been receiving questions around, “How Can I Improve My Sales Cycle?“ Brooke Green answers this question with examples of what it means to have high intent vs. poor strategy in these 4 different situations:
- Networking/Tradeshows
- The First Meeting
- Sent The Proposal and Now You’re Waiting
- Prospecting
What You Know. Who You Are.
There are three fundamental questions we ask with our work when we do executive team alignment. 1) Where are we now? 2) Where do we want to go? 3) What do we need to learn to help us get there?
I work with a client that is going through succession planning and we’ve been talking a lot about those very three questions.
The interesting part of this process was the discussion on, “What do we need to learn?” As leaders, they were most concerned with their ability to lead people to new and greater heights.
Thus, the discussion turned to the difference between “inspirational skills” and “instructional skills.” As part of the analysis, I encouraged them to ask the staff what they would miss most about the current CEO. I bet them that the answers that came back would not be about how he rocks in accounting or production planning (the “instructional skillset”).
No, the answers centered around what a great and inspirational HUMAN BEING he is.
Where was the plan to develop those skills in the GAP analysis? Nowhere to be found.
So why is that?
Embrace The Ultimate “Money” Question
I’ve seen salespeople avoid having the money conversation entirely, or jump right into lowering their price at the first sign of discomfort from the prospect.
Please remember: It’s never about money! It’s about their belief they have a problem, they want to invest money to fix it and that you are the lucky dog that gets to help them do that. When you brush past their money questions, or discount your value because it’s easier than educating the prospect, you’re screwed—trust lost, your value depleted, conversation over.
I Hate Colding Calling
I hate the term “cold call”. In fact, I think it should be stricken from our vocabulary. What I love is the idea of educating your marketplace; sometimes that is to companies that do not know you.
If you understand your value, and truly believe it, you should feel obligated to educate your marketplace. This slight twist in thinking will do wonders for your productivity. This makes the “act” about them and not YOU.
What Happens When The Prospect Tries To Derail You?
In this episode, sales trainer Brooke Green relays a story of how she – the actual sales chick – almost allowed the prospect to drag her off track in a big sales cycle. She’ll share with you sales lessons she learned, how she righted the ship and what she did to get the sales process back on track.
Also, Bryan Neale shares with you his sales-God-meditation thoughts about the topic of ‘market abundance’ and how that impacts your sales attitude.
You won’t want to miss this.
And Bill? He’s relegated once more to the mere “introducer” role, a role he doesn’t seem happy about.
Don’t Think ME. Think YOU.
What happens when you become attached to the outcome?
1. You are unable to take risks
2. You are unable to do the right thing for your prospect or client
3. You sell yourself short, trivializing your value in the process
4. You default to using someone else’s process even though yours has been proven effective.
How do you get out of it? Simple. Change thought. Thinking must change from “how will this effect me?” to “how can I contribute to the well being of another (prospect/client)?” Have you heard the saying, “when you’re depressed, go help someone else”? It’s true. So one way to “get out of yourself” is to help someone else. In sales, that usually means the prospect.
