Always attempt a 'one call close"

Ok , this one goes out to all my people in Bostone that dared me that I couldn't write something inspiring after havinga big dinner and a few drinks on me ....so without further a due , here it goes.

No matter how big the deal;no matter how complex the solution;no matter how long the historical sales cycle;always pln and prepare to close the sale on call number one. Always attempt to make that first sales call on the highest level decision maker. Always know how much money you are going to make the customer.
Always know the economic consequences to the customer , should they decide not to buy from you.
Always ask for the sale,or for a customer commitment to an action that leads directly to the sale.

it is OK if you don't get the sale on the first call.
One call closes are uncommon,particularly for services that require a significant customer investment.
Bur it is NOT OK to prejudge the customer's buying attitude and to assume a "traditional" long sales cycle,and then to sell the same old way.
Never assume that the way everyone has always sold,and that the way every customer has always bought, is the way it MUST be.
When you show your customer the deficit between their present service and yours , and you put a dollar number to it , they will see that amount going down the sewer monthly, and it tends to shorten the sales cycle, and maybe, just maybe shorten the sales cycle.
My humble opinion bubba.
Now go out and have a great sales day!

Be true to yourself

The first thing we must do in order to fulfill our dreams , our goals and to NOT cheat ourselves by kidding ourselves ....is to be true to Our self.
Be truthful on your achievements , be truthful on your efforts,be truthful on your results , when you fluff the truth all you are doing is cheating yourself , all you are doing when masking the truth is setting yourself up for disaster, own your reality and the results will follow , own your reality and respect will follow , own your reality and your reality will change.

Set goals to get goals, if you don't know where you are going, you will have a hard time getting there, if you do know where are you going , if you have a clear goal,then you can craft a plan to get there.

Before you know what you want though , you must know who you are , take a hard look at yourself , take inventory of your strenghts , take inventory of your weaknesses , make a list of the people you love , make a list of the people that love you. Who are this people? what are the qualities that you most admire of them? which of those qualities do you possess? whne the lights turn off , all you have is you bubba,all you have is you, so why not make you the best? why not do your best? why not be your best?

Being true to yourself is the hardest thing you can ever do , it is the most humbling of experiences , but it is also one of the most powerful experiences, then you must know why you want those goals , every goal must have a purpose , for example : if you want more money , why do you want it? bigger house?better car? college education for your kids? or why do you want to be fit? better health? bigger muscles? bragging rights at the local race club?.....be true to yourself.

Be a rainmaker, (Among american indians) a medicine man who by various rituals seeks to cause rain //(Slang) A sales person ,a lawyer or executive with exceptional ability to create something out of nothing , with exceptional ability to attract...

Is easy to be an ordinary person , it is safe , it requires no practice , no effort , no gumption , to be a rainmaker is difficult , it requires study , training , practice, and professionalism, a rainmaker is professional in all things , rainmakers apply themselves more , they excel , they never ever quit , they never assume , the rain makers do what they do best and go out and make rain.

Remember to study your profession .

You don't become good at sales in a day , yuou get great at sales day by day.

What would your mother say about your sales practices?

The newspaper headlines read, "Inquiry Sought into Sales Practices." Uh oh. Sounds guilty to me. But as is usually the case, the headline is worse than the story. Turns out that the problem stemmed from the fact that high cash incentives were offered for referrals that led to sales. Oh boy, better call out the sales police. What type of punishment should you get for that? The electric chair?

Sales incentives have been around since Eve offered an apple with the purchase of some fig leafs. There is a multi–billion dollar industry built around offering incentives for sales and referrals. Companies (like yours) are going to spend money to get customers. They either spend it on advertising or promotion.

Sales incentives are not the problem –– they're just the symptom. The problem is a real or perceived lack of personal or corporate ethics.

Ethics? Hey, it's a dog eat dog world out there. My competition plays dirty all the time. They steal my customers, they steal my employees. Wah. Wah. Wah. Wake up. The competition can't steal a customer or employee unless there's something wrong or lacking with you. Instead of blaming others, why not take a close look at yourself?

First, take the five part pre–sale IF challenge...

1. If you believe you are the best...

2. If you believe your company is the best...

3. If you believe your product is the best...

4. If you believe your service is the best...

5. If you'd feel secure in asking your grandmother to invest or buy...

Then you can recommend anyone to purchase or refer. If you failed to answer yes to the above minimum standards, you must make a plan to get to be the best, or get to a new place of business to build your career.

Second, use the 5–question acid test during the presentation...

1. Is this in the best long–term interest of the customer?

2. Is this in the best long–term interest of my company?

3. Is this in the best long–term interest of my career?

4. If I were the prospect, would I buy?

5. Is it something that would make my mother proud?

These 5 questions are at the heart of ethics in the selling process. They must be asked every time a sale is being proposed.

Third, there's an easy way measure the results of your ethics...

· Can you sell the customer again?

· Has the customer referred you another customer –– without being asked to do so?

Get proof of your ethics, get better, or get out.

I have said it so many times bubba, sell for the relationship NOT for the commission , why do we limit ourselves to one sale when we can have that customer forever , and he will sign with you , re-sign with you , refer you and I can tell you that nobody can sell your service better than you customers .

Think about it baby!

Remember that you don't get good at sales in a day , you get great at sales day by day.

Now go out and have a great sales day!

what do all successful people have in common?

I have met many successful people in my life , I have read about many others , study their traits and habits , the truth is that they are all different , but they all have one constant trait that took me a while to recognize.

LACK OF CYNICISM!

Do you want to play the name game? Name one successful cynic , I bet you can't.

Cynics are quicksand , they are snot , they hang around other Cynics,they like to stay angry, to stay in one place forever, they love to grovel , they complain that every little thing that goes against them its a giant conspiracy,the world is against them.....

Cynics are fake , but to push yourself in the face of harsh times , that's real.

Here's the thing:whatever you do, requires a sincere belief in what you are doing, but also a sincere belief in your own ability.

Cynicism cannot exist in the same space as sincere belief.
Some people may roll their eyes when they see how passionate you are about the things you do , ignore the idiots and non believers.

Philosophy drives actions, actions drive results , results drive life styles.
If you are not happy with your life style,look at your results.....
If you are not happy with your results,look at your actions ....
If you are not happy with your actions,look at your philosophy.

We must take daily inventory of our priorities,what other way do we have to know where are we at?but remember that we must know where we are going before we get there.

Have a great sales day!

Here's a technical one...

Filling your sales pipeline is one thing. Controlling it is another.Have you ever forgot an appointment? Forget to make a follow-up? Not fulfill a promise? Lose a lead? Not record a vital fact? Dropped balls in sales are costly. Loss of credibility, trustworthiness, reputation, and oh yes, lost orders. Real costly.

Contact management -- a 21st century buzz word for keeping in touch, is no longer a luxury -- unless you don't care about losing sales. When you have no contact management program, you're at a loss -- or should I say, you're at a lost. Lost revenue, lost opportunity, lost goodwill, lost market share, (strengthening of competition -- they got the order), lost referral opportunity, lost temper (angry boss), and sometimes -- lost job.

Information is power. But, like all power, it must be harnessed to have any value. How are you controlling yours? If you're like me, it's often the tail wagging the dog. Come on. Admit it. Your information control could be better (or couldn't be worse).

At some point, loss of control leads to loss of sales -- certainly loss of selling opportunities. A missed appointment, a forgotten follow-up, a not (but should have been) written thank you letter, a missed deadline, or even a lost phone number can be expensive -- and lead to sales decay.

You can shrug it off the first few times, but if you let enough decay occur, eventually you will rot (or get fired by someone you think is rotten).

Since 97% of all sales are NOT made in one call, effective prospect follow-up contact and information management is essential if you want to get maximum results -- make the sale. The problem is juggling calendar, prospects, existing customers, follow-up commitments, correspondence, promises made, and a million other details that are essential to the sale.

If you have a program or a system......use it bubba!! It is amazing to me how many sales people that have tons of tools , and tons of information at their disposal , don't use them just because they feel like its a waste of their time.

How much information can you retain in your head? start out with your personal life and personal contacts , family , friends , add phone numbers , addresses ,birthdays , anniversaries ....get it? write it down baby!! and refer to it as many times as you are going in front of a prospect, bring that file with you, record any information.

Stay in front of them , stay positive , stay informed , make them like you , make them trust you and maybe they will buy from you.

Remember to study your profession.

Now go out and have a great sales day!!

Is there a secret to selling?

What does it take to become a success?

What’s the secret formula?

Here’s a question that will help you understand, and make you think…

Are you trying to sell or achieve?

Let me give you a few more thinking points:
• If you read The Secret and believe it will work for you, you will lose to someone willing to work for what they want, rather than wait for something they want.
• Achieving success is not about making your quota. Making a sale is just part of achievement.
• You set your own mental attitude and physical readiness to achieve each day.

Here’s the point: If you look at “achievement” as your objective, you will be looking, thinking, and taking action at a higher level.

Here’s my formula:

Healthy + mental peace + focus + action + “help” + love of what you do = achievement

• Healthy body. Overweight means over burdened, and many people are. Your eating choices and your exercise choices are critical to your total strength. When you combine physical strength with mental strength, it becomes achievement strength.

• Healthy mind. Mental peace. Worry and stress are the cause of illness and failure. They occupy the mental space that should be full of ideas and calls to action. All thoughts and thinking are choices. Choose positive.

• Focus. Your mental drive and vision to study, make plans, take action, and stay the course. It’s eye AND mind AND being AND body focused on the prize. Focus is thought based on outcome. Whether good or bad, your focus will determine your results.

• Take action. Nothing happens unless and until you decide to MAKE it happen. Action can be planned, re-action, or spontaneous. Action requires risk and risk tolerance. The more risk tolerance you have, the more action you will take. Fear of rejection prevents action.

• Love of what you do. Think about your biggest achievements. My bet is that those achievements were tied to your passion. Love of what you do is critical to achieving anything. This one element will help you double your success.

Achievement requires action. Even if you win the lottery, you had to take the action to buy a ticket. Achievement is improvement (getting from good to better), and achievement is completion (getting it done). And everyone measures it their own way.

A sale is an achievement – but so is setting an appointment, or discovering the decision maker’s name. Personal achievement.

You decide what achievement means to you. It may be making a big sale, or running a half marathon under 2 hrs. , I have done it many times and will do it again in April. It may be getting a promotion at work, or buying the home of your dreams.

There’s one elusive element of achievement that will lead to the next achievement faster, and with more certainty: celebration! I DID IT!

Celebrate (moderately) every time you achieve. Make celebration a habit, and the next achievement will follow right on its heels.

"Remember that you don't get good at sales in a day , you get great at sales day by day"

Now go and have a great sales day!

Many of you are blaming slower sales on the slumping economy,some on the fact that the year just started , some of you on the fact that the year just ended,or that people are on vacation,or people getting ready for vacation, or people not working on Fridays so they can take a long weekend,but we always make excuses as to why we are not selling.

At the beginning of the year, you were given a big, fat quota. Your company may have softened the lexicon by calling it a "sales plan," or a goal. But the bottom line is: if you don't meet it, you're out.

BIG QUESTION: Are you halfway to your goal? Have you met your monthly objectives (AKA quota)? Are your bosses ranting, "Sell more, sell more, sell more!" (Maybe you should ask them to go out with you and help you make your numbers , I know I will go out with my people)

Well, rather than me chastising you about what you did NOT do -- like your boss is doing -- why don't I give you a few areas that you can look at, so that you might be able to get to the middle of the year ahead of the milestones that were set for you at the beginning ( which was a month ago but everybody expects you to be ahead bubba,including me)


1. Look at your pipeline. How many potential sales do you have versus how many sales do you need? If your closing ratio is three out of ten, your sales goal is $100,000, and your average sale is $30,000, then you need at least twelve solid potential sales (more like fifteen potential sales), in order for you to easily make your goal.

2. Look at your work ethic. Breakfast appointment? Lunch appointment? Three appointments with decision makers a day? The biggest key on the planet to increasing your sales is increasing the number of decision makers that you sit in front of.

3. Earn more referrals. While everybody else is lagging, you should be spending extra time building key relationships. Here's the secret: Most salespeople fail to realize the value of providing value, and converting the value they provide into great referrals. When you visit your customers to build relationships, understand that most of them don't want to see you -- and most of them don't have time for you, UNLESS there's something in it for them. Think about your top ten customers. Think about their two or three biggest needs (whether it involves your product or not). And think about how you may be able to get them information they need, or help them gain greater productivity or profit. That's VALUE - and it has NOTHING to do with value-add (whatever that is).

4. Look at how you're spending your early mornings and your late evenings. Your ability to invest that time to read in the morning, and prepare in the evening, could be that extra edge that you need to make the marginal sale. The hot sale.

Yes, it's hot outside,or cold outside , or nice in San Diego, Yes, there's a tendency to be a bit lazy. Yes, it's easy to complain that things are slow. Selling has no season, unless you're in retail. And even then, the reason Christmas is so important to retailers is because they don't do a great job in the other eleven months, and "need Christmas."

The season for sales is today and tomorrow -- regardless of the temperature, regardless of vacation, and regardless of other people's sense of urgency.

Review your last months. Break down your numbers month by month. Then break them down week by week. It's real easy to make a graph of it. I wonder if there's a pattern in your sales. I wonder if you push as hard at the beginning of the month as you do at the end of the month. I wonder if you even know what your sales patterns are.

If you're looking to have a great second half, if you're looking to get a sales award or get to the president's club, or be the number one salesperson on your team -- now is the time to double your intensity. Now is the time to dig in and make big sales while your competition is sleeping. While your competition is slacking off. While your competition is whining about how slow things are.

Or, you could just slack off like they do. Start at ten, quit at four. Take off Fridays. You know, "It's summer."

My recommendation is: Turn on the air conditioning, and turn up the heat - of your sales intensity. It's summertime in your mind- and the selling is easy baby!!

Most companies start their fiscal year on September so we are almost half way through, make the commitment to "FINISH STRONG" , use your selling hours wisely.

Remember that you don't get good at sales in a day,you get great at sales day by day"

Now go out and have a great sales day!

Can't close the sale? Who's fault is it?

Are you blaming the prospect when you can't close? Are you telling the boss it's the prospect's fault that you can't set an appointment, or they won't see you now?

After years of selling, and many conversations with hundreds of sales people , one truth remains – – I have yet to hear one salesperson say "The prospect wouldn't buy and it was my fault." or "The prospect wouldn't give me an appointment and it was my fault."

You say, "But Art you don't understand, my situation is different."

You know what I call that? Bullshitto ,the only thing different about your situation is, you'd rather blame someone else than yourself.

If your prospect is constantly telling you...

"Why don't you call back in two weeks?"

"We haven't had a chance to discuss it, call back in three days?"

"Yeah, we're still interested, but it's been real crazy here and...."

"I have to get together with my partner."

"I'm not ready to buy yet."

It ain't their fault, it's yours bubba!

The key is to accept responsibility for no sale yet and ask questions to get the prospect to tell you more about why he is not deciding. He has not said no, so obviously you have just not answered his questions.

People are worrying about, thinking about or acting on their stuff. You're worrying about, thinking about or acting on your stuff. Prospects could care less about your stuff unless they perceive the need or a benefit to themselves. (selfish but true)

When a prospect says "I'll know by Thursday at 1:00pm." It becomes a benchmark time and date for the salesperson – a deadline. When you come to understand that the date and time commitment means virtually nothing to the prospect, you're on your way to accepting responsibility as a salesperson.

When you follow up the next time – take a proactive stance to hold them to what they said – If they're going to decide by Tuesday – ask "Could I drop by Wednesday at 10:00am to get the good news in person?"

At some point, after you have been through the close several times with the

prospect, – you have to realize that you have very little to lose. You may have to be real direct and ask them if they are going to buy or not. You can't keep wining and dining them for the next year. It's not worth the time or effort.

Well, what if they are just the kind of person that hates to say no? Be up front with them but be understanding as well. You still need to ask the questions to find out why they are postponing the decision.

You must be willing to take a risk to get to the true objection. If you don't think the sale will be made anyway, take more risk. Use tough sales or no sales as learning experiences. See how far you can go to get the truth.

When the sale is over and you have lost, be willing to accept the responsibility for the process, hold your head high and move on to help the next prospect.

The real truths hurt...are you ready for all six of them?

1. You haven't created enough need.

2. You haven't uncovered the real objection.

3. You haven't created enough urgency.

4. You haven't convinced him of the benefits of ownership.

5. You haven't built enough trust.

6. You haven't built enough confidence...Have you?

What to do? (and not do)

· Don't blame it on the prospect.

· Don't moan about what the prospect's excuse is.

· Figure out what the true objection is.

· Figure out a solution for that objection.

· Try your best to overcome it to make the sale this time.

· AND be sure you prevent that objection from reoccurring the next time.

The burden is on you baby!!
If you want to sell professionally, get real about who is at fault when a sale isn't made. Get a mirror. Get responsible.

Remember that you don't get good at sales in a day , you get great at sales day by day.
Now go out and have a great sales day!

On Sales Activity...

There is a joke that my mentor tells all the time ,he said that in his first ever sales job his boss said one time , "Steve you only had 8 activities today , you have to increase that , the following day the boss looked at his activity and said: wow Steve look at you 23 activities way to go ,and Steve replied ; Bryan , I would have had a lot more but a bunch of people slowed me down by asking what I was selling"

Yes sales is a numbers game , smart numbers bubba!! not just numbers , we only have a certain number of "prime time selling hours" why not spending them in front of people who could say YES to you? Why do we waste our time peddling when we could be consulting? A big joke is the sales person that drives to the $30 stop appointment and on his way up there passes up 3 or 4 $500 dollar stops, now that's a joke and that it's a fact We've ALL done it (not you of course).

So what do we need to do to get in front of people that could say YES? simple answer? Ask the customers that you have sold to help you get in front of one customer just like them , afraid to go back? that only means that you did not make a friend r connection , you just made a commission and those can only take you so far , I have always said that if you sell for the commission you make some money , if you sale for the relationship you will make a fortune baby!

So starting today:

* STOP PEDDLING You are a sales professional ,not a tupperware rep.

* START MAKING FRIENDS You must foster relationships with your customers

* STOP WASTING YOUR TIME You are the owner of your time , stop spending it,invest it.

* STOP MAKING EXCUSES I have heard so many , but never a good one.

* TAKE RESPONSIBILITY You are the architect of your own destiny , start building.

* GET CREATIVE If you are not , read a book there are plenty ...trust me.

* GET BETTER Study your profession , learn every day something new.

* RECORD YOURSELF Making a presentation , it will scare you , but it works.

And more important , be friendly , be professional , be prepared , be enthusiastic , be positive....FRIENDLY SELLS , if you are not frindly get out of sales and go work at the Post Office ...they love rude people there.

Remember that you don't get good at sales in a day , you get great at sales day by day.
Now go out and have a great sales day!!

On Persistence...

How long does it take for you to give up on a customer? 1 call? 2 , 3 ? do you have what it takes to stay on track and get to YES ? it takes at least 7 NO's to get to a YES , and it does not mean that the prospect will say no 7 times it just means that it takes at least 7 exposures to a prospect to get him or her to give you an order or sign your agreement , all the prospect is telling you is:

"You Have Not Sold Me Yet"

What do you do ? you say (with a dumb voice) thank you for thinking about us , I hope we could be of assistance in the future could I could I leave my literature ? But you're quitting , You Are Q u i t t i n g...

Do you remember when you were a kid? how did persistence help you when you wanted something? when you wanted to do something? you persevered and you got your way pretty much every time , so why do we stop doing that when our business cards were printed?

I look at my dog Louie and boy does he get his way , every time he wants something he will let you know about it , he will pester you until he gets it , please don't think that I am suggesting for you to beg or for you to whine, that is not my intention , what I am trying to do is for you to understand that in order to get your way you must be persistent.

You must stay in front of your customer CAUTION;you must have a message of value every time that you make contact , you can't just call and say ( again with a dumb voice) I , I was just calling to see if you have made a decision , or I was just calling to see if you had time to look over my proposal....Do you really think that they made a decision and just forgot to call you? come on bubba !! You are better than that aren't you?

So what are you doing to be different than your competition? what are you doing tonight that will prepare you to be succesful tomorrow morning? wnat an idea? How many new objections have you heard lately? I can tell you that not many , they are all the same , no money , not the right time , economy sucks , I love my service and blah blah blah...Why don't you think about 10 more objections and the answers to ALL of them? that way you can have the answer when a prospect gives you that line.

I can tell you that there are plenty of sales people that take their career serious and you better hope they are not working for your competition.

Remember that you don't get good at sales in a day , you get great at sales day by day...

Now go out and have a great sales day !