Karma For Karma’s Sake
Recently (like right this second) I’ve been experiencing some strongly tied karmic moments. You likely know what Karma is. It’s energy, vibe, voodoo, mojo, juice-call it what you want, I believe in it and as a professional sales person, you should too.
Blaise Pascal said:
“If you believe in God and God does not exist, little harm is done. If you don’t believe in God and God does exist, much harm is done.”
This was the quote that sold my highly logical “prove it to me” male brain on the belief in Karma. You KNOW you’ve had it happen to you. Think of a song you haven’t heard since sixth grade and two days later it plays on Pandora. Think of a person you haven’t seen in two years and you randomly run into them in a coffee shop you seldom go to. (Both things that happened to me in the last 2 months.)
Here are some very simple Karmic behaviors that I have found to pay huge dividends in the world of sales:
1. ALWAYS LOOK TO CONNECT OTHER PEOPLE.
The more you connect others, the more positive outcomes you have a hand in, and the more opportunity will find you. You should make at least one connection a week minimum.
Why Saying “It’s Really All About Price” Is Career Suicide For Any Salesperson
Logic is your enemy here. Think how many times you say or think, “This deal is all about price.”
Every time you say that, think that and believe that you endorse the idea that having a sales person involved in a deal adds absolutely NO value.
The more you convince yourself of this idea (and tell your sales manager or CEO), the more they should be thinking of firing the sales staff and hiring customer service reps at $15/hour to take orders from their online catalog.
When it’s all about price, it ain’t about you. Low price = no need for sales people.
Proceed with caution.
The Four Most Annoying Habits of Salespeople
Below is a list of habits millions of sales people do that annoy the hell out of most other human beings. If you partake in any of these, please stop. If you don’t, let’s keep it that way.
1. YOU TALK TOO MUCH AND DON’T THINK YOU DO.
In the movie When Harry Met Sally, Harry Burns said to Sally Albright, “You’re the worst kind; you’re high maintenance but you think you’re low maintenance.” I can’t tell you how many new clients have talked for 20 straight minutes on the importance of being a good listener.
My advice: Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet.
2. OVERLY ENTHUSIASTIC.
Here’s a conversation at national sales meeting between two territory managers who haven’t seen each other in a while:
- “Bobby Z whasssup dog? Still killin’ it in Hotlanta?”
- “Dude we killed it this year, up 28%! How are things on the left coast?”
- “Same bro numbers this morning had us up 32″
- “…Great! Fantastic! I’m finer than a frogs hair split three ways!”
My advice: You annoy the hell out of people if your energy is too high. Relax bro. Watch the two bulls on a hill story in the movie Colors with Sean Penn…just walk down.
How To Become An Expert In Your Industry
What separates the expert seller from everyone else? Can you really position yourself as an expert in your niche? And what benefits will you derive from that? In this episode, Bryan Neale reviews the many types of sales people so that you can see where you fit. Then he gives some ideas on how you can immediately become an expert in your world.
How To Demonstrate Your Value BEFORE You Sell
This week’s episode is loaded with new ideas on social media, the myths of selling, and how to “be” the value instead of “talking about being” the value.
Brooke Green starts us off with a transaction she had with a client who was focused on ‘getting the prospect to be interested.’ Always, a losing proposition.
Then, Bryan Neale talks about sales behavior–and the myth that if I do more activity, I will see more results. And, he addresses some things to do instead.
And Bill Caskey takes a question from a client who writes, “How do I use social media to grow my business? I’m LinkedIn to thousands but it’s doing me no good.”
In the Sales Process, Slow Down To Speed Up
Ever wonder whether your buyer knows what you’re going to ask them before you ask?
In this episode, Bill, Bryan and Brooke deal with the issues of how you find the customer problem…and the realization that if you slow down and ask the “right” questions, you can actually speed up the sales cycle.
In the “Mailbag” segment, Bryan tackles an email we get often, “How do I handle being a new sales rep? Can you give me some advice on getting a quick start?”
How Salespeople Can Differentiate Themselves
We get asked this question almost daily in our sales training business: HOW CAN I DIFFERENTIATE MYSELF? Let’s spend a little time looking at the bigger picture.
Step 1: Stop Behaving Like a Salesperson
Find 20 strangers and ask them to do word association. You say a word, and they say the first thing that comes to mind. The word: SALESPERSON.
95% of the responses you’ll get will be negative: PUSHY, ANNOYING, SLIMY, SLICK, etc. So the first step in differentiating yourself is to STOP BEHAVING LIKE, SPEAKING LIKE AND THINKING LIKE any sort of salesperson.
Step 2: Develop 2 Stories
Express your value with STORIES. The “elevator pitch” is OUT. The 30-second commercial is as up to date as an 8-track tape player. Time to find your voice in the new century.
You need to develop 2 stories: 1) your personal story and 2) your company story. We’re not talking about your biographical history. We’re talking about why you do what you do—your philosophy with new customers. Stating your intent. Sharing what you’ve learned. The Story is in and a necessity when it comes to differentiating yourself in the sales process.
Step 3: Keep Features/Functions/Benefits Out of the Conversation
Here’s the deal. NO ONE CARES ABOUT WHAT IT DOES. THEY ONLY CARE IF IT MAKES THEIR LIFE BETTER. Salespeople are still addicted to specs, attributes, features, functionality, etc. No one cares…how is my life better off with you and your product in it than out of it? That’s it.
Step 4: Stop Trying
Stop trying to DIFFERENTIATE. Trying to differentiate from a competitor immediately puts you in a very bad place. It puts you on the defensive. When you’re on the defensive, you turn your attention to the COMPETITOR and away from the CUSTOMER. If you really want to differentiate yourself, stop trying to. Just focus on helping the person across the table.
4 small ideas that will dramatically and positively impact your effectiveness in the sales process.
