It’s been a week.  No new sales.  New contacts and new leads but no sales.  NLP, I  have done while running. And then today, forgot… YIKES, I am doing it now.

My observation:  I have focused on blogging, updating websites, busy work, responding to emails.

These are the time killers.  Waste of TIME.  They feel like they are important but in reality they did not result in new clients or new sales… no new money.

This week’s lesson is all about closing.  Closing the deal.

My goal for the next week is to schedule new consultations with the people that I met at the Biz Expo yesterday.

My plan:

1. Invite people to schedule an appointment via email.

2. Make follow up phone calls to each person.

3. Schedule the appointments (expect the close here)

4. Provide needed resources

5. Sign up new clients.

In addition, I will be doing follow up with folks that we have been direct mailing and creating expert status rapport.

What did you do this week to sell new products or services?

Did you have a plan?  Did the plan work?  What do you need to do to tweak your plan?

Until next week…

NLP-  Neural Linguistic Programming– according to Eileen Strong (from her book: Who Stole My Confidence?)

Neural deals with the power of touch, Linguistics deals with the power of words and Programming is the ability to program yourself to respond to something.

Her NLP recommended exercise addresses sales and spending a minute each day stating powerfully:  ”I choose to be in control, feeling positive and confident when selling, is okay with me.”

The statement repeated 8 times is said with the thumb pressed into one finger at a time until it has been said with the thumb pressed into EACH finger.

Now, this sounds far fetched, perhaps, but I have experienced NLP in the past and have been amazed and impressed by its effectiveness. Learning this new (to me) use of NLP is great.  I am glad to try it and report back on how it has worked.  My plan is to add this exercise to my daily routine and will report back via a post after a couple of weeks to let you know how it worked and what changes I have had in sales.

In our free report and throughout the program we use:

S – Serve customers

E – Expect the sale – Close!

L – Leverage your expertise

L – Lighten your customer’s load – make the decision for them

This is very simple…S.E.L.L. more today!!

Take some time, as I am to check in on each part of the process.

If you haven’t picked up the complimentary report sign up on the right.

Today, other successes — phone calls to prospects went well.

What made the call easier was that I knew it would be received well.  I also knew the prospect was expecting the call.

Two things that I did prior to the call were to send a video email to the individual with very brief intro to the conversation that I was interested in having.  I followed up with a second video email a few days later and received a return call.

More to come!  Be sure to get the report if you didn’t pick it up yet.

All great questions.  But when it comes down to it, fear is one of those root emotions that can be immobilizing.  I know it can for me.  Ways that I have addressed fear in the past were all very physical. In my radio interview last week on BizologyBuzz Radio I talked with Don Spini about his new book: “Sixty Seconds to Yes” he talked about practice. And that to be successful in anything that we do we need to practice. If you are a golfer, you know that it is practice that helps your game. I know that as a runner, the more I run, the better I run. Practice. So, what can I do this week to practice in the area of sales? One is to practice making the calls. That is the hard step, for me. What is the hard step for you in the sales cycle?

Be sure to listen to my interview with Don here.

Here is what is happening.  I have downloaded and read the first lesson S.E.L.L. More!

With each letter representing a step in the process.

I am working my new paradigm:   ”I sell valuable products and services to business owners and leaders that they need and want”

In the Best Year Yet system we work on shifting our limiting beliefs — the things that get in our own way.  You can see that I need to shift this.  Strategies for making the shift are:

1. Read and review the new paradigm.  Make sure that it will work for you.  You want to start integrating new beliefs about yourself and your abilities.
2. Some people post their new paradigm around the house or office, on the car dashboard etc.  You have to determine if this works for you.
3. Practice — take small steps that get you living the new paradigm or belief so that you can see success and start building confidence. This is the step i am working this week.  I am pulling out the list of perspective clients that I am going to be calling and connecting with.

What actions are you taking?

I know that I have been.  It has been the BIGGEST challenge of business ownership.  Coming out of non profits where business was always waiting and we couldn’t serve everyone seeking our services has been a major mindset shift.

The Ultimate Sales Challenge:

I am embarking this month on a challenge.  I am challenging myself.  I’ve just completed my Best Year Yet plan for my business.  It is a plan that I complete each year.  Each year my vision grows and I strategize how to move that vision forward.   But I am challenged and here is my full confession.  I cannot SELL.  Now that would be a limiting paradigm in Best Year Yet terms, and as a coach, I would question a client stating such a negative thing. We would talk about how to shift that limiting belief.  Because that is what it is a belief – the belief in essence creates the reality and the results – no sales.

So, my challenge is to shift this paradigm.  And do it publicly.  Now something that I believe is that when you start talking about your goals and vision (and even your challenges) then people start showing up to help you accomplish the goal or make the shift.

Now, I have a little sales training program.  It’s a program that was written by a sales expert.  I bought it to learn from and I bought a license so that I could share it with others.  The program comes in weekly installments. You can join me on my journey.  Join MoreNewSalesNOW! or you can follow the blog here and watch how I do.  Ultimately, the public posting of actions and successes is what will keep me moving and accountable.

I am working through each installment and am going to blog about my success with each step.  So, if step one is to make cold calls, I will be blogging about my cold calling.  You can add your thoughts to the posts and give me your feedback.  You can share your own successes and challenges.  Join for just $5.00 per week and receive all of the lessons that I am working on.  Come inside and read more about my journey.

You can even join my challenge.  And challenge yourself to increase your sales.  The sales training program has been lowered for the challenge – just $5.00 per week.  You can quit whenever you want – and it only lasts 4 months.

My goal is to sell:

1. Best Year Yet program – for small businesses to 10 businesses
2. Sell 3 Performance Improvement Systems using Best Year Yet to 3 separate companies of 15 or more employees.
3. To Launch the Collaborative Marketing Network with at least 12 members in October.

My challenge is to shift my paradigm “I can’t sell anything”; to my new empowered paradigm:  “I sell valuable products and services to business owners and leaders that they need and want”

 Challenge Time Line

My timeline:  Start Date: September 11, 2011

Finish Date: January 12, 2012

My method:

My Best Year Yet plan and paradigm:  You can create one too: Create Your Own Best Year Yet Plan

And my Sales Training Course:  www.MoreNewSalesNOW.com

Welcome to the Compass Rose Ultimate Sales Challenge.

Sales can be one of the scary things that you as a business owner HAVE to do.  It comes from our own conceptions of sales and what that means and what it looks like.  Do you picture the used car sales person?  Or the door to door sales person?  Do you realize that some of the highest paid people in the world are effective sales people?  Can your business survive if you or someone on your staff does not master this skill?  Sales is typically an essential skill that must be mastered in order to be successful.  These easy to learn sales techniques will assist you in mastering the sales person role within your company, and perhaps even like it!! Learn these easy sales techniques that bring you into alignment and authenticity with your selling, and watch your sales grow with ease.

1. Enthusiasm:

Demonstrate your enthusiasm whenever you are in front of a prospect.  Show your enthusiasm for your business, your product, your service and that in turn translates into confidence.  Enthusiasm is contagious.  If you are compelling enough in your enthusiasm, your prospect will be caught up in the enthusiastic energy. Authenticity here is vital.  Fake enthusiasm will only hurt you.   Be real.

2. Closing:  

Become a Member:  Basic Membership is Just $5.00 Per Month.  Basic Members receive access to full articles and posts.

Sales Training Members called RainMakers receive weekly lessons, action plans and the ultimate sales challenge videos and posts.

If you are a sales person maybe you can relate…

Believe it or not, I’m walkin’ on air and I’m not afraid of NO. Believe it or not, I’m walkin on air. I never thought I could be so free.

I am the Greatest American Hero.

Note: The above reference is to an old TV show that ran from 1981-1983 if you’re not familiar with it, it was terrible, and I loved it! Look it up. What? Yep, you heard me. The sales guy. That guy. That girl. We spend a lot of our time trying to avoid being seen as that guy because it has a negative connotation attached to it thanks in large part to a minority of shady sales people.

So why the Greatest American Hero bit? Because in a way, we are! Okay, I haven’t been a soldier. I haven’t seen military service. AND, I respect our military, our police and our fire fighters. I’m not trying to take anything at all away from real heroes in our country.  But, I also know there are many heroes out there and they can take on many appearances!

What I’m talking about is our way of life. The American way of life is wealthier than any other in history. We LOVE to have things and because we’ve been so successful and industrious why not?  That’s where we come in. The sales “guy” is necessary (and by guy I mean personno, not a gender preference here).

We provide the means for people to properly address the acquisition of wants and needs. Most things that are actively sold fall squarely in the “wants” column. Sure, a lot of it is necessary or important, but not always imperative. Even if it is imperative, the fact that a consumer can readily buy whatever they need at almost any time is amazing and I have come to love that there is a respectable job of serving and selling to people with needs and wants.  If you need to buy what I’m selling I’ll be the Greatest American Hero of that moment for you.

Ahhh….but salesmanship comes with a price. A human ego. We think we’re great, and we’re right most of the time. Problem is, there are a lot of us, and we can’t sell every potential customer every time. (If you remember the show I’m referencing that guy fell down A LOT!)

So the hero has to fall, and fall often. This part of sales is what drives most people out of the profession. Its hard to hear “NO”. How do we deal with it? I know that it scares the … out of me!

Here are a few tips for dealing with the sales “NO”

Play the numbers game. Sales is a numbers game. How many times have you heard that? Hundreds? If you’ve been in sales very long, it would have to be in the hundreds. Do you know why its said so often? Because its true. Don’t fight it, the numbers don’t lie. The more times you ask for the business, make a presentation, etc. the more you’ll sell.

Obviously certain people close a higher number of the sales attempts than others but as a general rule, if you make more sales calls, you’ll sell more.

This also means you’ll hear “No” more. “No” to the pitch. “No you cannot make the pitch”.  ”No, we don’t even want to see you. No no no no no no no.”

Guess what!

Become a Member:  Basic Membership is Just $5.00 Per Month.  Basic Members receive access to full articles and posts.

Sales Training Members called RainMakers receive weekly lessons, action plans and the ultimate sales challenge videos and posts.

5 Top Tips for Selling More — With Ease…

Do you see yourself as a good sales person, an average sales person or a failing sales person?

No matter where you fall on the “sales scale” you most likely are trying to improve.  Even the best sales people are working to increase their sales and sell more than they did last week or last month or last year. Basically, now matter how we are doing we still want more! The thing with sales is that even when you have the greatest day of your life, the next day you are back at zero, until you close that next sale. So, how do you improve?

You start at square one, right?

One, is the best and worst thing about sales. Best, the goal is totally measurable.  You can easily calculate exactly what you need to do in order to achieve your sales goal.  To do this your way backwards from the goal to what you need to do to accomplish it.  Do you need to make 100 calls per day to acquire one new client?  Or do you need to talk with 10 new people to find that one new customer?  Know your numbers!  On the other hand, it is the worst because each day you are back to zero and climbing that mountain again to reach the top.

Constant Improvement is the name of the game.  Everyone is behind us, wanting to see us keep rising up.  Our employer, the owners, managers and even our peers, each want us to excel.  Training, coaching, books, self study, all lead to new skills, but when it comes down to it, it is just you and the prospect.

With everything that is being provided to us, with everything that we are reaching out for ourselves in our constant improvement program, how is it possible to not close the sale, to not add new clients, to not make the mark? Several factors weigh in – we (ourselves) have become bored, complacent, and not action focused.

As time passes we fall into a trap of selling and we forget to Serve the client.  The selling trap doesn’t feel good to the client and results in poor results. We have made a MAJOR MISTAKE. We cannot use the same technique and strategy with every prospect or client. Each is unique and has unique situations that we need to address in our sales process.

There are 5 Top Strategies that you should be doing if you want to consistently attain MORE NEW SALES, NOW!….

1. SERVE your customers: 

This step is critical.  First you need to listen.  Hear what your customers are saying and in that find what they need and want.  It is by careful listening that you can discern this critical information. Whatever you sell, your customers want to know that you are going to serve them, that you will solve their problems/their pain. Your solution will make things easier, better, more productive, and as a result life is more enjoyable. Staying focused on the customer, their pain, their problem and not on your own needs of a sale will in the long run benefit you with More New Sales, NOW.

2. You are the EXPERT!:

Don’t forget that you are the expert that knows more about your products and services than the prospective customer does.  Be up on all facets of your product or service.  Don’t miss the sale because you didn’t know!!! Your expertise, your knowledge is powerful.

3. Guide them to the DECISION–

Through your conversation you have heard their needs and come to agreement with them on what is needed.  It is time for a decision.  You can now guide them to the deicision.  Write up what you have agreed to, and give it to them.  Let them say No!

4.CLOSE with Total Confidence:

The bottom line is that in order to have a new customer you have to close the sale. Occasionally, you might find that a customer that comes to you and there is essentially no close but for the most part, you have close the sale.. If you skip this critical step then you are letting sales go.  And they are going somewhere.  If you are doing your job, listening, being the expert, making the calls, serving your customers, then you should be closing.  You are in a competitive marketplace and other solutions will work client.  If you opt to use a “soft close”: “Let me know if this will work for you.” you are putting the ball totally back in their court and after they have told you that they need you. Your competitor is trying to make the same sale and instead of going at it softly they say “From what you have said, it sounds like we’ve found what you are looking for. I can have your product/service delivered/installed/completed by next Tuesday. I’ll begin the necessary arrangements.” They are ready for “Yes” and not scared of “No”.  But saying “no” to this type of strategy is harder.

5. SERVE customers – (Didn’t we talk about this one?).

Now it is time to REALLY SERVE your new customer.  Over deliver, exceed expectations.  By serving your new customer you will build a tremendous relationship that will continue to provide you with repeat business, referrals and new leads.  A well served customer can be worth millions.

Now is the time to take action, don’t hesitate, you have customers you need to SERVE, today? You have new sales to CLOSE? And you have new DECISIONS to make?

Take action today and connect with your clients and prospects.  It is the first step in Making More New Sales, NOW!

Maybe for a musician or a cubicle worker, but for the sales guy…Monday’s are generally stormy. Especially after the close of a sales cycle. You know the feeling I’m talking about? You’re at your desk, or in your car, or in your sales area. You’ve had the Monday morning meeting, everyone’s ready to sell more, sell fast, sell now. You’ve been congratulated on last cycle’s performance (hopefully)…

And here you sit. What do you do? Here is a common story of “that” day …

Okay Danny, boss wants you to keep it up. You did well last month, but you need to do even better now. The bar has been raised, and here you are again starting from scratch. Who to call? Who can I sell? I spent all of last week finalizing as many sales as I could, calling on all of my potential clients, eliminating the non-buyers and closing those I could. I’m out of options. Hmmm…the guys are all going out for coffee…maybe I’ll tackle this after lunch…or tomorrow

Pause….

What!? It’s the end of the week already, and I don’t have squat to show for my “effort” this week. I hate starting over! Last week a hero, now struggling to keep my manager satisfied. What happened?

If you’re like me, this has happened to you too many times. It can be so hard to rebound after the end of a grueling sales cycle. But you know what? It doesn’t have to be. Here are a few tips to keep you productive, even when starting at zero!

1. Don’t start the new week with a pile of administrative, non-productive garbage.

Do it Friday afternoon or Sunday evening. A good friend of mine is a regional manager for a large successful office machines company, and this is one of his “tricks of the trade”. If you start Monday with 2 hours of paperwork to do, it’ll end up monopolizing your entire day. Sure, you can justify it because it has to be done, but the fact remains that you’re not selling while you do it, so you’re in essence spinning your wheels and going nowhere. Spend a little time on Friday, or even Sunday, getting through the mundane administrivia, and you can start Monday actually ready to sell!

2. Sell something! Okay, I know it’s not that simple.

My point is, you need to be selling. So get on the phone, get in the car, make contact with clients. Once you’re going, it’s easier to keep momentum and continue the activity that will lead to more sales. Don’t sit and email, and wait for response. The key here is to be moving, talking to actual clients or prospects. Even if you spend all day Monday being rejected and told NO…you’ve accomplished something. You’ve set a standard. Sales is a numbers game, so even the no’s are necessary to get to the yes’s! Plus, just like anything else, continuing is easier than starting. You get paid to talk…so get out there and do it. Heck, why not start the week with your most difficult prospect…grease the wheels a little, you never know what an ambitious Monday can yield.

3. If you’re truly exhausted, take a break. Just not Monday morning. Get to work, it will energize you!

Knock off a little early on Monday afternoon. Or if you need to see clients during the late afternoon because of their schedule, go fill what I call “The Minutes Between” with something you are interested in. I like guitar stores. My buddy Larry likes used record stores. Steve likes mochas and our local outdoor gear store. It could be anything. So it’s 2pm, you have an appointment at 2:45. You’ve started today very well. Out of the office early, out selling all day. A little weary, you need a break. So go to the coffee shop and check email, browse online for a new phone, gps, shirt, tennis racquet, 3-wood, etc. Stop at your favorite local retailer and strike up a conversation. You never know, he or she could end up being a client. If not, you’ve rested, enjoyed a small part of your day that was just for you, and are now ready to get back to work.

4. Tag team! Use a friend, colleague, boss, to make you better.

Whether it’s sharing a sale, or accepting a challenge, use those around you to help you be more productive. I’ve used my colleagues on countless occasions as sounding boards and personal continuing education. Everybody is different. Maybe the way they communicate is what your client needs. Don’t be afraid to share the effort or the glory. Ask your boss to come with you, or be on the call with you. Usually if he’s positioned above you in the hierarchy of your business, it’s because he’s been successful at the level you are at right now. USE HIM!

I guarantee that if you’ll get busy early Monday morning, using these four tips or even your own personal wisdom, you’ll start the next sales cycle with as little of the “Stormy Monday’s” as possible! Plus, when you’re busy, you don’t have time to brood over the zero’s currently on the board, or time to revel in last cycle’s successes.

An old tennis coach invented a word in 1990 to motivate the tennis team. The team had won their regional championship in west Texas for seven straight years, and  needed to stay focused. The Coach made the team t-shirts with the word JAMODI on them. He told the team that he would tell them what it meant if and when they won regionals again. So they did it. Turns out…it’s Just A Matter Of Doing It!!! So JAMODI, get busy, stay active, and SELL MORE!!!

JAMODI

Does making a sales call make your stomach turn? Do you find yourself all willy nilly? Have you tried, just once – asking that one key question and making the sale? Right now, I am going to show you how to get yourself out of the willy nilly’s and ask the question.

First, what do you sell? Are you clear on that? Maybe you sell carpeting, or autos or insurance or money. BUT, that is NOT what you SELL. Get clear on that right now. You do not sell the product!

You sell solutions to customers. You have to KNOW what your customer needs and wants. What is their pain point?

Some industries are highly regulated and have significant limitations on how they can sell. It adds to the learning curve, how to sell within your guidelines and industry regulations, but it is totally possible.

If you are like many sales people, then you know your product. You know it inside out, upside down and sideways. You know every feature. But when you are going through all of this with your potential client what you are forgetting is – what do they want to know, what do they care about. Jeffrey Fox (2000), in his book How to Become a Rainmaker, shares a story that illustrates just this. A wine dealer wanted to get his line of wines into a fine New York restaurant. The chef and owner only sold expensive French wines and these were inexpensive local wines. What the Rainmaker did was to sell the fact that customers were requesting the wines from the waiters AND, that by adding them the owner would benefit by more than 200 per week.

The sales person was actually selling money, not wine. Know what you are selling. Are you selling increased revenue, or safety or future income when you retire? What do you sell?

Sales people are very smart and know every feature and benefit of their product but if they get stuck in all of the nitty gritty details of the product or service most likely you are losing the sale. How? You have missed your opportunity to find out WHAT the customer wants to know. You have missed your chance to ASK the question. Once you have thrown up all of your info, the customer has already turned you off and moved on. You cannot recover. What you have done is over-talked and that has talked you right out of the sale!!

Stop yourself right at the very beginning and ask the question. You need information, you need to know what the customer wants, what they need and what is important to them, what do they care about?

There are three great strategies for asking questions and resulting in more sales.

1. Be Probing – It doesn’t sound good but it is a very important strategy. If you have been in sales and participated in hours of sales training, then you know this strategy – or do you? Has it become mundane for you? This can be where you skip right into your info jabber, instead of sitting back and slowly asking and listening.

• Being an active listener and prober can be your make or break moment.
• Don’t try to come back to this step, start here. It is the hardest thing to do.
• What we are all most comfortable with is sharing our info, showing we know our stuff. We think that will get them to buy, but no one is buying if they think that you do not understand their needs/wants/cares and if you don’t take the time to listen. This is how you get to the bottom line.

2. Hear Each Objection and Restate It: – by doing this you are able to increase your understanding and further clarify their wants.

• Simple, and yet baffles many. By re-stating objections you can also reframe them. But, don’t be patronizing, or act like you weren’t listening. Clarify what their concerns really are.
• When objections occur, listen to it and find a place where you can agree.
• When there is an objection, handle it. Handle it with an agreement, understanding, by restating the objection and showing your understanding with how you agree. When you can agree with the objection and then share your solution, you have made progress.

3. Be the Solution – Solve the customer’s problems. You need to offer solutions. DO NOT make excuses. DO NOT talk down your competition. This is about THEM and what YOU have to offer.

• You never want to put the competition down. Your customer has probably worked with them and is trying to figure out WHY to switch. You don’t gain respect by putting them down. It insults your customer.
• You gain your edge by providing the solution, and demonstrating your real world answer to their problem. Don’t brush past it, ignore it, or downplay its importance. If the customer has an objection…offer a real solution.
• Learn with each sales call. Take notes and figure out what each customer is looking for. Your task is to help your customer by offering solutions. When you listen, and hear their objections and address them through solutions you build trust and customers let down their guard and engage.

Making the sale is about learning what customers want and need, listening, dealing with objections and then ASKING for the sale. This last step is critical because many, many sales people fail here. They just don’t ASK, and the sale is lost at the last minute.

Learn HOW to Ask for the sale and more in our More New Sales NOW! Membership — 12 Weeks to Increased Sales.