NO BULL SELLING

PROVE IT!

2011-06-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

By Hank Trisler

Back when the earth was still cooling and the great beasts roamed, I owned a company called Raintree Realtors, in San Jose. Our people performed well above the average in our area and I was justifiably proud of them.

During a listing presentation one evening, I made a statement that I had made on many prior occasions. I said, "The average listing on the San Jose Real Estate Board takes some 68 days to sell, while my company’s average listing sells in less than 40 days." This was powerhouse selling and sure to impress my prospective client.

The homeowner responded with, "Those are interesting numbers. How did you come up with them?"

I was thereby presented with a whole new set of problems. Those were good numbers, I was sure. I had used them often with no problems. I think I even calculated them out once, but I did not have them in writing. I found myself saying, "Err, Ahh, well now those figures are well known, errr, ahhh."

My prospect, a vice president of sales for a large semiconductor company, was not particularly impressed with my veracity. Oh, I got the listing, but I had to dance like Fred Astaire to do so, and would probably have been better off had he listed with someone else. My client now had me branded as a BSer and used this information to make me suffer each time we talked. He made me prove everything I said for the balance of our relationship. No matter how I tried, I could never re-establish a trust relationship with this man.

I decided then and there to never again say anything I couldn’t prove. I’d love to tell you I’ve been successful in that effort, but it’s just too hard. I have, however, found ways to prove more statements that I had ever believed possible.

A Proof Source Book is a wonderful tool to add credibility when it is needed most. Make a list of those statements you are inclined to say in the course of a sales presentation, then think of a way to offer proof on each statement. Get your proof in writing and put it in your Proof Source Book. The next time you’re challenged, you’ll be able to prove you are indeed a teller of truth.

In the example I offered earlier, I got a printout of a report from our local real estate board showing the average number of days from submission to sale. I then ran the numbers for our company and put a letter in the file verifying the number of days our average listing took to sell.

"You mean you wrote the letter yourself? What kind of proof is that?" you might well ask.

"Good enough," I answer. Clearly, get the best proof you can and verify it by a neutral third party if at all possible. If it isn’t possible, however, write it yourself, or have someone you know write it. As long as it’s true, you can’t be proven wrong and people believe the printed word more readily than the spoken word.

It is not enough to tell the truth. We must tell the truth in a manner that will be believed, which is credibility. A Proof Source Book is a great aid to credibility.

"Wait just a darned minute," you might continue, "I've heard you blathering on about facts don’t matter. Now you want me to compile a whole book full of facts to prove everything I say. ‘Splain this inconsistency."

There is no inconsistency. We do not offer facts to actually prove product/service benefits, but to prove that we are telling the truth. Facts still don’t matter. What matters is the emotional response that offering proof engenders. If the customer feels we can prove what we say, he is more likely to believe us. It’s still an emotional reaction.

Never prove what the customer already believes. I have so often seen this in the real estate bidness. The client says, "What are homes in this area selling for?"

The Realtor replies, "About $800,000."

The client says, "That’s what I thought."

Then the Realtor whips out a Competitive Market Analysis (a form of proof) and proceeds to bore the socks off the client proving that which he already believed.

If the customer believes what you say, don’t waste time proving it, just go on to something else. Offering proof when you are already believed not only wastes time, it actually undermines your credibility.

Weasel Words. There will still always remain things that you believe to be true, but simply cannot be proven. In those instances, cultivate the use of "weasel words," so called because they suck all the meaning out of the words around them like a weasel sucks the yolk out of an egg. Phrases like "could be," "should be," "might be," "about," "around," "approximately," "if I could would you?" "If I would could you?" and "If the good Lord’s willing and the creeks don’t rise," keep you safe from locking yourself in. An old boss of mine told me "If you don’t lock, you can’t lie," and that has always served me well. Liars have short careers in the selling profession. Be prepared to prove whatever you say and if you can’t prove it, don’t let yourself get locked into saying it.

IS MANIPULATION NECESSARY?

2011-06-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

At a recent sales seminar, an attendee innocently asked, "Is manipulation necessary in selling?"

I was eager to respond with my standard answer to such questions: "The principle difference between seduction and rape is salesmanship."

While true, I sensed that this was not the sort of information this serious sales scholar was seeking. It further occurred to me that I wasn't even really crystal-clear about the meaning of "manipulate." I cleverly quick-drew my iPhone and called up the Dictionary app. The following definition jumped out at us.

1. to manage or influence skillfully, especially in an unfair manner: to manipulate people's feelings.

2. to handle, manage, or use, especially with skill, in some process of treatment or performance: to manipulate a large tractor.

3. to adapt or change (accounts, figures, etc.) to suit one's purpose or advantage.

4. Medicine/Medical . to examine or treat by skillful use of the hands, as in palpation, reduction of dislocations, or changing the position of a fetus.

Acting precisely as I'd expect a young, inquisitive student to act, he jumped all over the words, "especially in an unfair manner," like a Duck on a June-bug. He said, "Just as I had suspected. Manipulation is why salespeople have such a bad reputation."

WRONG, young Moose Breath, a bad reputation is earned by bad salespeople manipulating badly. Manipulation, when properly performed is complete undetectable. People only get mad about being manipulated when the manipulator screwed up.

Some people need help in making a good decision that is in their best interests. Some people simply don't know what's good for them. These people, and many others, need to be manipulated to enjoy a better life and that's just what good salespeople do.

A fellow named Herbert J. Taylor was the President of the Chicago Rotary Club in 1932 when he penned the guiding principles of Rotary International. They have come to be known as "The Four-Way Test." Before saying or doing anything involving other people, as yourself these four questions:

Is it the TRUTH?

Is it FAIR to all concerned?

Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIP?

Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

If you can honestly ask and answer these question of yourself, I think the question of manipulation is completely irrelevant. You can manipulate hell out of me, just keep me happy. That's what being a salesperson is all about.

IS THE COLD CALL DEAD?

2011-05-06T16:54:00.000-07:00

By Hank Trisler

There's an interesting conversation going on at Sales Gravy about whether or not cold calling is a waste of time. I joined in, but got so wrapped around my own axle that I feared taking up too much space there. I do not feel so constrained here.

"Cold Calling," for purposes of our discussion is calling someone to whom you have never before spoken and determining whether they might be a prospect for whatever it is you are selling.

There have been volumes written about B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) marketing, Sales 2.0 and Push Marketing. The commonly accepted strategy is that you need to get a web site, a blog and then become involved in Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. You ask questions, answer questions, become an acknowledged expert and people will beat down your door, waving money at you.

This has NOT been my experience.

I've found that when people aren't coming in my door, I have to find a way to get in their door. Cold calling is one of those ways. There are two basic reasons you might want to make cold calls.

1. You might make some money. Someone in your town today found out he got a promotion. He's in the market today for a new car he couldn't afford yesterday. Someone in your town today filed for divorce. There is a house coming on the market that might just list with you. Across town there is a woman who just found out she is great with child. She's a buyer for a home she didn't want yesterday.

The human condition is in a constant state of flux. Only by consistently calling people you don't know, can you possibly hope to reach these people before they stumble in your door, or that of you competitor.

According to the records I've kept over the years, you'll actually get appointments with somewhere between 5% and 7% of the people you actually contact. You might say, "That's a pitiful little number." And I would respond, "Yes, but halitosis is better than no breath at all." If you have another, higher value use of your time, by all means do it. Cold popping can be used to fill up those little cracks of time between appointments that you're currently wasting.

Don't try to make too many. I've heard sales trainers talking about making 50 calls a day until you die. I'd only have about two days to live. That's just too damn many. Let's you and I shoot for 10. If we made 10 more calls than we currently make, that would be about 50 a week, or 200 a month. Are you going to tell me, with a straight face, that you could call 200 people and not find someone who wants to buy? Come on.

2. Cold calling is great practice. Some folks are hesitant to call because they don't know what to say. Some ask me at my seminars, "What do you say when you call someone?" To which I cleverly respond, "Hell, I don't know. It's your call and you've never met the person you're calling. How could you possibly know what to say?"

"Canned pitches" don't work. You can learn your lines flawlessly, but the prospects keep forgetting theirs. The poor babies didn't even know you were going to call. Therein lies the beauty of cold calling; it make you light on your feet. You're going to have to respond and you'd better do it FAST. You don't have to be good, but you have to be fast, at least that's what my wife says.

I learned a method that actually works "on the street," when toiling in the truck department of Courtesy Chevrolet in Seattle, back when the great beasts still roamed. I observed that cold calling wasn't exactly brain surgery. I didn't have to be really good, I just had to make a lot of them. When I called, I needed to determine if I really had a decision maker and, if so, were they interested in what I was selling. I used a directory that gave me the names of owners of five-year-old trucks. I would call a name and say, "Hi, is this Mr. Schwartz?" and he'd say "Yes." Hell of a deal, I'm half way home. I then asked, "Have you bought your new truck yet?" He would then often respond "I ain't buying no trucks, you fool." To which I would respond, "Goodbye."

You'll notice I didn't give him my name. That's because he didn't want to buy. My name is unimportant and giving it out only prevents me from dialing another number. They don't all say "no," however. Some might say, "Odd you called. My old truck just gave up the ghost." Or, "Has my wife been calling truck dealers again?" Or, "Who told you to call me?" That used to throw me. I didn't know how to respond. I thought, "Well I was just sitting here cold popping and I hit on you," to be a bit off-putting, though honest.

A friend of mine at the time, Cliff Brown of the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, and I met weekly for breakfast at a brain-stormers group where we would exchange ideas and leads. We came up with a method called, "Creative Truth," wherein if the truth isn't readily available, you make some up.

Each week, when we parted company, I'd say, "Cliff, this week I'd like you to speak to 50 people you've never spoken to before and see if they need some life insurance, or estate planning." And he'd say, "OK, and Hank I'd like you to speak with 50 people you don't know and see if they'd like a new car, or truck." And I'd agree and we'd shake hands on it. Then, when someone said, "Who told you to call me?" I'd say, "Cliff Brown." And it was TRUE, because we made it true.

Cold Calling will reduce or eliminate fear of rejection. Paradoxical Therapy tells us to seek out that which we most fear and we'll find out it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it was going to be. The more you call, the quicker and better you'll be and the less you'll fear cold calling. After all, they can't get their hands on you.

You can't possibly lose on a cold call, as you didn't have anything going in. The call is completely under your control. If you talk yourself into a corner and can't think of a thing to say, hang up. That's right, hang up. If you continue to talk when you're in trouble and your brain has shut down, you're bound to say something really stupid. In addition, you're going to really suffer and it's going to be that much more difficult for you to pick up the phone the next time.

Don't worry about being rude. The only time people are offended by being hung up on is if they know they been hung up on. The key to them not knowing is you hang up while you're talking. That's right. They'll know you couldn't have hung up on yourself, so just hang up, right in the middle of. . .

As soon as you've hung up, you'll relax and think of fifty things you could have, should have, would have said and you can call back and say, "As I was saying before we were interrupted. . ." Or, if you don't want to call back, don't. Who cares? Maybe the next one will be nicer.

They central issue is make some calls and talk to some people. Some will. Some won't. So What? Remember that there are now almost TWO BILLION people in China that didn't even know you made a call.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

2011-04-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

I got an email flyer trumpeting the fact that Jeffrey Gitomer, a man I much respect and admire was coming to town for a series of “pump ‘em up” sales meetings. I dropped him an email and invited him to dinner. To my great delight, he accepted.

He was just as intelligent and perceptive as I had thought he would be. We had a spirited conversation about the speaking business, the many people we both knew, the economy and our respective families. It was one of those chats you’d like to have go on forever, as it was just that much fun.

Then an odd thing happened. At about half-past veal parmigiana; the conversation turned to cancer. I have no idea how it happened. I’m almost positive it was nothing I did, but I heard this voice droning on about cancer and I’m relatively sure it was mine. I heard myself tell him about my initial diagnosis, the implantation of plutonium seeds in my prostate, the subsequent re-infestation and how the metastasized cancer now occupied my spine, ribs, hips and some lymph nodes.

What was I thinking?

Was I hoping he’d heal me? Not bloody likely. Jeffrey’s a terrific speaker, but he’s no faith healer. Was I looking for sympathy? Probably a lot closer to the truth. It seemed to be working, too, as he now had a very somber expression.

Spurred by my apparent success with cancer, I went on to tell him about my hip replacement, resulting atrial fibrillation, and resulting congestive heart failure. I explained to him about the chief cause of problems being solutions. By this time his eyes had mostly glazed over and he was nodding slowly, apparently in agreement.

I delivered a lecture on diverticulitis and then, when I got to polymyalgia rheumatica, he commented that that "rheumatica" was the worst kind of "polymyalgia." I thought I sensed just hint of sarcasm.

What was I thinking?

Here’s the really sad thing, at least to me. I knew what I was doing. I could hear and understand myself. I could see the affect all this was having on my companion; I was draining all the enthusiasm and positivity out of him and was powerless to stop. It was like an out-of-body experience where I was looking at this blithering idiot going blah, blah, blah and I was unable to shut him up.

What can I learn from this?

I think we are all drawn to talk about that which is of most interest to us. If our companion happens to be interested in the same thing, terrific. If not, too bad, we’re going to talk about it anyhow. This is the ultimate selfishness and is bound to be corrosive to any relationship. Best we watch our listener and if he puts his face in his plate, he may not be interested. We should immediately seek the earliest opportunity to have a nice hot cup of shut the hell up. I knew that, but next time I’m going to do it.

NEVER tell people your troubles. My dear departed friend, Cavett Robert said, “Never tell your troubles to others. Eighty percent of them don’t care and the other twenty percent will actually be glad.” When you tell people negative things, you’re spreading poisoned soil in their gardens. This is not the most direct path to universal popularity.

Keep your fears to yourself, yet share your courage with others. I’ve had a good opportunity to reflect on my dinner with Jeffrey, and can guarantee you that if I’m ever fortunate enough to play that hand again; my companion will have a far better experience.

A FIGHT STORY

2011-03-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

I’m a lousy patient. The doctors say it; the nurses say it; so it must be true. If there’s anything I hate worse than being in the hospital, it’s trying to get out of the hospital. They lie to you about when you will be released.

When I had a little visit a couple of months ago, they told me I’d be sprung when the doctor released me, about noon. They kept having unforeseen problems and bureaucratic foul ups until I found myself fuming on the edge of the bed at four o’clock. The nurse told me it would be another half hour, while she finished up the discharge documents.

A small something snapped in my primitive brain. I told her that my doctor had released me and that I was ready to go right this minute.

She said I couldn’t leave, as I still had an IV stuck in my arm.

I said she wouldn’t believe how easily that one could be solved and yanked the IV out, thereby spraying blood on the wall until she could fumble up a band aid. I fled the hospital, trailing people shouting what I could and could not do, and waving papers.

Apparently this is not the way most patients leave the hospital, as many of the staff remembered me on my visit last week, even some people I had not yet met.

After a stay of a couple of days, it came time to depart and once again they told me noon. I determined to stay calm and decided what they really meant was four o’clock and mentally prepared myself accordingly.

At four o’clock I was fully dressed, IV still in my arm, but otherwise ready to launch. My excellent nurse, Vince, had been scurrying around preparatory to my departure and told me all was ready as soon as the doctor approved the release.

I was fully prepared to kill Vince when he appeared with a fight story.“You won’t believe what I’ve just gone through for you,” Vince gasped. “Your doctor is in surgery in the basement and I had to go down three floors to get him to sign your release. I took the stairs both ways to save time.” I had this vision of poor, harried Vince scrambling up a stone staircase pursued by fire-breathing reptiles.

“When I got to the operating room, they wouldn’t let me in, as it was a sterile field,” Vince went on, “so I sent him a fax.”

“You can do that?” I asked, totally enthralled.

“Yeah, they have fax machines on both sides of the OR door, just for situations like this. Well, anyway, he had a nurse fax back that he would be out in ten minutes and would sign the release then. Hank, I have to tell you that was the longest ten minutes of my life, as I know how important it is for you to get out of here as soon as humanly possible. I’ll get all of this paperwork processed and have you out of here in 30 minutes. I’m just so glad you waited for me.”

What’s wrong with this picture? He’s keeping me another half hour than the last time when I threw a temper fit, but now I’m all smiles. What’s the difference?

Vince had a good FIGHT STORY. Everybody loves a story and a good story, well-told will be one of your greatest assets in selling.

Vince didn’t tell me about rules. He didn’t tell me what I had to do, he simply told me what he had done for me, and he told it in an interesting manner. I could visualize him dashing down the concrete stairs with my discharge papers clutched in his sweating fist. I could see the look on the surgeon’s face as Vince interrupted his surgery with a fax so he could get my discharge approved.

Vince had become my hero and I couldn’t be mad at my hero. I meekly submitted to his piles of paperwork and stumbled out at a quarter to five.

If you’re selling cars, tell the customer how terrified you are of your sales manager and how hard you’re going to work to get them the best possible deal. No matter how much you’re abused, you will continue to fight for them. Tell your sales manager how tough this customer is and how hard you’ve fought to keep profit in the deal. Well, of course you sell the house. The best salescritters seem to spend nearly as much time and effort selling management as they do the customers.

Selling real estate? Have a good fight story to tell buyers and another to tell sellers. I’m not suggesting that you prevaricate, but rather that you have templates to help you create real fight stories for every occasion.

Spend some time and thought on your fight stories and you’ll not only sell more, but have happier customers in the bargain.

I’d appreciate it if you’d share your best fight story here.

A LEADING QUESTION

2011-02-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

By Hank Trisler

Asking hard questions will make you money by making you more sales.

Open questions often start with "who," "what," "when," "where," "why" or "how" and usually get more informative responses than closed questions, which can often be answered "yes," or "no."

In my effort to avoid stifling creative thought by providing too much in the way of specific questions, I may have withheld some valuable information. This was driven home to me by reading an article by a fellow named Tom Goetschius, whose name I won’t even attempt to pronounce. He gave some specifics, which I thought terrific. He calls them "High Gain" questions, which cause the customer to think on a higher level in order to answer them. We’ve all used some of these, but I think we need to work on incorporating more hard questions into our dealings with people. The salesperson with the greatest number of good questions has a tremendous competitive advantage.

Let’s look at some and see what they might do for us. Why not see how many sub-questions you can create?

Questions for early on.

Where in the sales cycle are you?

Have they just started to look? What have they seen? How did they feel about it?

Would you please describe the circumstances that lead to you coming in here today?
What do you hope will happen here today?
What do you think will happen here today?

I spoke with a fine gentleman just last week. When I asked him what he hoped would happen, he said that he hoped I’d be able to help him help his people sell better. Does that tell me a bit about his positive frame of mind?

When asked what he thought was going to happen, he said that he thought we were going to make a deal. We already had.

Out of all the (fill in the blank) you could have gone to, why did you choose us today?

I sold Chevrolets in the sixties with a guy named Ernie Mann. He asked this of every customer and was the top salesman in our store. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll hear.

If you could communicate with me the most important rule about dealing with you, in one word, what would that word be?
What would surprise you the most about what might happen here today?
What is the most serious mistake salespeople have made in dealing with you?
What’s the one thing you really hope does NOT happen here today?
What part of your present situation do you hope I can improve today?

As we progress.

People treat us the way we have trained them to treat us. The more we listen to our customers, the more they will talk to us and the better we can help them. We can also progress from easy questions to harder questions. Remember, long questions tend to get us longer answers.

What would you list as your top three priorities?
What’s the one thing you want to accomplish before your race is run?
How have your priorities changed in the past five years?
How do you think they might change in the next five?
What is the one experience you really hope your family has a chance to share together?
What significance has (fill in the blank) had in your life up to now?
What is the one thing you would like to do that you’re not doing now?
If you could change just one thing about your (sales force, home, car, process) what would that be?

Out of the need-finding phase and into the
presentation of benefits. Don’t tell--ask and listen.

How do you think this might improve your_______?
How would you see yourself using this feature?
What’s the one thing you like best about this?
I can’t quite read you on this point. How does it appeal to you?
I sense that you’re pleased with this feature. How do you think it will benefit you?
Tell me how you really feel about this.
When you looked this over, what did you notice first? Why was that?
I sense that you’re unsure about this. Why is that?
What do you specifically like the most?
How many possible ways can you think of to use this?
When you consider the next few years, what’s the most important part of this program?

In search of commitment. The questions get harder, and harder to ask.

How would your life change if you decided to do this today?
What would be the worst-case scenario if you decided to do this today?
What do you fear the most about going ahead with this today?
What part of the program makes you feel most uncomfortable?
What is the one major way in which this program differs from what you are presently doing?
How will you know when you have found the right solution for your _______?
If you thought that this _____ was really the best for you, what is the major obstacle standing in the way of you owning it?
What are you spending your money on that has a higher priority than______?

If you send out 100 letters soliciting business and no one replies, that’s not too bad.

If you make 100 telephone calls and no one wants to talk to you, that’s worse. The rejection factor is mounting.

If you make 100 face-to-face presentations and no one buys, the rejection is pretty tough to deal with and if you go home and your spouse has moved, it’s nearly unbearable.

The higher the potential for rejection gets, the closer we are to a payoff. When you’re finding it tough to ask a question, it’s a fair bet the customer is finding it tough to answer it.

Press on, keep asking questions and your sales will continue to improve.

PAVAROTTI AND THE YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS

2011-01-30T12:36:00.000-08:00

By Guest Blogger, Jim Craven

Just as the large white limousine pulled up in front of 22 Wesley Terrace, in West Bradford, Fred Wilson, a 65 year old retired weaver opened the front door of his little two up and two down terrace house and stepped onto the pavement. He watched as the driver opened the rear door of the car and a somewhat portly gentleman eased himself out.

The gentleman concerned was dressed in white tie and tails. But then he should have been, as he had left St. George’s Hall immediately after his concert, to keep an appointment that had been arranged some months ago. A great gourmand was he and having been made aware that there was a regional delicacy that he had hitherto not tried, he instructed his agents to find him a place where he could taste the best Yorkshire Puddings ever made.

After much research by his aides it was universally agreed that Minnie Wilson, wife of the aforementioned Fred made the best Yorkshire puddings ever tasted and the appropriate arrangements had been made for the gentleman to partake of a late dinner at the home of Minnie and Fred.

Pavarotti walked towards Fred and smiled as he said ‘You must be Signor Wilson. I am very pleased to meet you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for inviting me to your home’. ‘Nice to meet you Mr. Pavarotti’ said Fred. “Come inside and meet the Missus’.

Fred led the way through the tiny front room into an equally tiny kitchen. ‘Minnie’ he said. ‘Here’s that Mr. Pavarotti fella that sings’. Minnie, somewhat diminutive in height and rather rotund turned round and smiled at her guest. She put out her hand and Pavarotti took it in his and kissed it gently. ‘Grazzi Signora, how nice to meet you thank you for inviting me into your home’. He handed her an elegant little bag which contained two bottles of excellent wine. One white and the other red, both from his native Italy. ‘Perhaps you would accept this little gift to accompany our meal tonight.

Fred looked at the wine and turning to Pavarotti said ‘nay lad it’s very kind of thee, there’s nowt like a glass of good wine, but tha can only drink a drop of Tetley’s bitter with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Pavarotti inclined his head ‘I bow to your superior knowledge, but perhaps you will keep the wine for another occasion’.

Pavarotti and Fred sat down at the little table in the kitchen and Fred poured two large glasses of Tetley’s bitter. Pavarotti took a sip and tried hard not to grimace. It was not to his liking. Fortunately for him, at that very moment Minnie placed a plate in front of him on which rested a very large Yorkshire pudding. It was golden brown, stood two inches high on the plate and was covered in a light but delightfully aromatic gravy. Pavarotti looked up at her and said ‘Signora, what is this? ‘Yorkshire pudding she replied’ with a look of disbelief on her face ‘what does tha think it is?’

‘Signora, I thought that in England, a pudding was something which followed the main course in a meal’. ‘Not in this county lad” she said. ‘Tha’s in Yorkshire now and tha eats thi Yorkshire pudding first’.

Pavarotti took a mouthful of his Yorkshire pudding and then another one. He smiled at his hosts who were watching somewhat anxiously and said ‘bella’ and proceeded to eat the remainder with great relish. Minnie gave him another pudding which was dispatched with the same appreciation as the first one. He then took a furtive sip of his pint of Tetley’s bitter, which tasted somewhat better than it did on his first encounter.

Minnie removed the plates and then placed fresh ones on the table, all heaped with thick slices of roast beef, which was crisp on the outside and slightly underdone in the middle. There were some fluffy roast potatoes, carrots and brussel sprouts. A jug of gravy was set in the middle of the table. Fred handed Pavarotti a jar of horseradish sauce. Pavarotti took a sniff at it and smiled as he said ‘I don’t care what this tastes like, but it is surely a remedy for blocked sinuses’. He nevertheless placed a heap on the side of his plate, having first watched Fred do the same. He demolished his food rather quickly and took frequent sips from his glass of beer. He took little persuading to accept a further plate full of food and his glass of beer which now tasted like the nectar of the gods was almost empty.

Minnie finally produced a home made apple pie which was served with lashings of ice cream. Her guest patted his stomach and said ‘I wonder if I have room for this’ and of course he had.

The table was cleared. Pavarotti stood up and removed his napkin from inside his collar. He placed his hands on Minnie’s shoulders and kissed her on both cheeks. ‘Signora’ he said ‘that was the nicest meal I have eaten for a long time.

They moved into the front parlour after the dishes had been washed. Pavarotti had volunteered to help, but he was not permitted to do so. ‘Women’s work’ said Fred.

Fred poured Pavarotti a glass of an inexpensive and rather revolting port. ‘So tha’s a singer’ he said as he handed a glass to him. ‘How about singing for thi supper then? Pavarotti smiled and said ‘of course Signor” I would be delighted.

‘How about ‘The sun has got his hat on’ then said Fred. ‘Sorry’ said his guest, ‘I am not familiar with that’. ‘Well, does tha know ‘Brother Bertie Went Away’ or ‘If you were the only girl in the world?’

‘Sorry Signor’ said Pavarotti, ‘neither of those are in my repertoire. I could however sing you the aria ‘Una Furtiva Lagrima’. Fred thought for a moment and then said ‘Naw, If you are going to sing something from L’Elisir D’amore, I would rather hear ‘Quanto e bella, quanto e cara’. Pavarotti gave him a piercing look and said ‘Signor, you have been making the micky of me?’. ‘Just a little bit’ he replied. My wife and I may live in humble surroundings, but we do appreciate good singing and we love your voice.

Pavarotti stood in front of the fireplace, filled his lungs with air and proceeded to sing Fred’s favourite aria. He followed on with pieces from Verdi, Rossini, Handel and Mozart and concluded with the beautiful Donaudy song ‘Vaghissima Sembianza’. When he had finished, he bowed to his hosts who applauded him, as did many of their neighbours who, having heard the source of the delightful singing, crowded round the front door and window of 22 Wesley Terrace, West Bradford.

Pavarotti said ‘I must leave, I am due in New York tomorrow. Thank you for your company, thank you for your hospitality and thank you for the Yorkshire puddings. Perhaps you will come to New York as my guests next month when I am performing at the Metropolitan Opera. I will arrange for your tickets to be sent to you in the next few days.

Hank Note: Jim Craven is a Yorkshireman transplanted to New Zealand, where I met him. I thought you'd enjoy this charming little tale of his.

LIVING IN THE MOMENT

2011-01-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

By Hank Trisler

I attended a conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Rey. You just don't get a better conference venue than the Ritz. The host organization spared not a dime of expense. The rooms were spacious and had a sweeping vista of the harbor. The food at every meal was simply outstanding and the wine flowed like, well, wine.

I learned a lot about software, hardware and the people who have learned to drive them well. I learned that you can always spot an extroverted programmer: He looks at your shoes when he's talking to you.

These people were girded with a panoply of electronic devices; laptop computers over which one could hunch and squint, teeny-tiny cell phones to yank out of ones' pocket and have animated conversations with unseen others. I saw a person deploy both of these devices simultaneously, while he was in a meeting. And texting? Don't get me started.

At the beginning of each session, the facilitator had to ask the crowd to turn off computers and cell phones. What a colossal waste of time and energy. The host had spent untold thousands of dollars to put on a terrific conference. People had traveled thousand of miles to attend a terrific conference, and there the damned fools sat, talking on cell phones. And if there was a problem, what were they going to do about it? If their office was burning, do you think their hose would reach that far? I think not.

Problems come in two varieties: 1) those that will work themselves out by the time you get back and 2) those that will wait for you. If the folks at home can't reach you, they can't share their problems with you and you can focus on what you were supposed to be doing in the first place.

One of the central issues in the selling business is: "What is the best possible use of my time right now?" Once you have determined that, the next task is to stay with that job until it is done and damn the distractions. Wherever you are, be there.

I learned this painful lesson more years ago than I care to divulge. I was attending a full-day seminar entitled "Time Power Squared," being conducted by a sterling fellow named Chris Heagerty. There were about a hundred of us huddled in a room at the Hyatt House, taking notes with abandon. We had each paid $395 for this seminar and that was one heck of a lot of money in those days. It's amazing how avidly you take notes when you pay that much for a seminar. In the morning session I had accumulated eight pages of single-spaced, hand-written notes on a legal length tablet. I was pumped up.

I called my office at the lunch break. Why? I don't know, it was just what I did. Rather like a subliminal message from God: "Hank, call your office." I did it automatically.

My secretary recognized me right off; she was good. "Hank, thank God you called," she said.

I'd been in business long enough to know that calls that begin like that are seldom good news for me. "What's the problem," I asked.

"It's Bob Walker and he's madder than a mashed cat," she said.

"What's he mad about?"

"I don't know, but he said if you don't call him right back, it's all going in the dumper."

"What's going in the dumper?" I pleaded, with a sense of growing doom.

"I dunno, he hung up."

There is an unwritten rule prohibiting any salesperson from going to a pay phone with more than one dime (yes, phone calls cost a dime, then). I got out of line and went to the gift shop for change. When I got back, I asked the other people in the line if I could have my place back. Even though the request was not funny to me, they laughed. I waited, dancing from one foot to the other, while three more people called their offices to get bad news.

I was a man deranged by the time I reached Sylvia, Bob's secretary. "Hank, thank God you called," she said.

"I've been hearing a lot of that this morning," I said. "What's the problem?"

"Bob is just insane. He won't even talk to me. He's been running around all morning, slamming doors and banging file cabinets and yelling, 'I'm gonna get that S.O.B.'"

I was concerned. "Well, let me talk to him. I'm sure we can straighten it out."

"I can't. He's on the other line, yelling at his attorney. I'll put you on hold."

She cut me off.

I rummaged around for another dime and called her back. "Sylvia, you cut me off," I screamed.

She said, "I know and I'm sooo sorry, but I was nervous and my finger slipped off the button and. . ."

"Stop sniveling you twit and let me talk to Bob," I bellowed.

"I can't. He just left. Burned rubber all over the parking lot."

As I mentioned, I had eight pages of notes from the morning session. From the afternoon session, I had nothing but one page of doodles and incredibly filthy words. I was physically at the seminar, but mentally and emotionally I was out trying to solve a problem over which I had absolutely no control. I lost half the $395 I paid for the seminar, but that's okay, I got that back in a week. What mattered is I lost a half-day of my life, which I will never get back and all from failing to heed the advice: "Wherever you are, be there."

Portable electronic appliances aren't the only devices designed to prevent our living in the moment. Take "call waiting," as an example. This is the rudest invention ever devised by man. You are on a call with me and your call waiting clicks in. You excuse yourself to talk to someone not more important than me, but to someone that might have the off chance of being more important than me. If that isn't rude, I don't know what rude is and I'm personally offended.

The past is a canceled check; the future is a promissory note. Only the present is the coin of the realm and the only time you can absolutely count on. Wherever you are, be there.

PROVE IT!

2011-01-17T14:26:00.000-08:00

By Hank Trisler

The homeowner responded with, "Those are interesting numbers. How did you come up with them?"

My prospect, a vice president of sales for a large semiconductor company, was not particularly impressed with my veracity. Oh, I got the listing, but I had to dance like Fred Astaire to do so, and would probably have been better off had he listed with someone else. My client now had me branded as a purveyor of "Ca Ca de Toro," and used this information to make me suffer each time we talked. He made me prove everything I said for the balance of our relationship. No matter how I tried, I could never re-establish a trust relationship with this man.

"You mean you wrote the letter yourself? What kind of proof is that?" you might well ask.

It is not enough to tell the truth. We must tell the truth in a manner that will be believed, which is credibility. A Proof Source Book is a great aid to credibility.

"Wait just a darned minute," you might continue, "Just last month you were blathering on about facts don’t matter. Now you want me to compile a whole book full of facts to prove everything I say. ‘Splain this inconsistency."

Never prove what the customer already believes. I have so often seen this in the real estate bidness. The client says, "What are homes in this area selling for?"

The Realtor replies, "About $800,000."

The client says, "That’s what I thought."

Then the Realtor whips out a Competitive Market Analysis (a form of proof) and proceeds to bore the socks off the client proving that which he already believed.

Weasel Words. There will still always remain things that you believe to be true, but simply cannot be proven. In those instances, cultivate the use of "weasel words," so called because they suck all the meaning out of the words around them like a weasel sucks the yolk out of an egg. Phrases like "could be," "should be," "might be," "about," "around," "approximately," "if I could would you?" "If I would could you?" and "If the good Lord’s willing and the creeks don’t rise," keep you safe from locking yourself in. An old boss of mine told me "If you don’t lock, you can’t lie," and that has always served me well.

Liars have short careers in the selling profession. Be prepared to prove whatever you say and if you can’t prove it, don’t let yourself get locked into saying it.

CRITICISM

2010-12-13T11:10:00.000-08:00

by Hank Trisler

So I missed a shot yesterday morning. It happens in tennis. My partner said, "If you'd move your big, flat feet, your big fat ass might follow them and get you to the ball."

That statement was none the more welcome for being true. I've never learned to gracefully accept criticism and find a lot of people share my view on this. Criticism hurts.

"Constructive Criticism" is an oxymoron. Criticism, by its very nature is destructive. You criticize to destroy the behavior you find offensive.

As managers, salespeople, parents and spouses, we need to correct other people to help them bring their behavior in line with our perceptions of acceptability. The tricky part is doing this without pissing them off so badly they visit physical damage on us. Try this three-step process for delivering criticism and see how it works for you.

START. This is what I'd like to have you do that you are not doing now.

"I'd like to see you meet ten new-to-you people every day."

"I'd like to have you pick up your bedroom every day, after school, before going out to play."

"Please consider moving your feet in the general direction of the ball."

STOP. This is what you are doing now that I'd like to see you stop doing.

"You're production might improve if you stop going to the movies every afternoon with a pint."

"Please stop throwing your clothes on the floor, rather than throwing them in the closet."

"Stop yelling 'YOURS' every time the ball doesn't come directly at you."

CONTINUE. Probably the most important part of the whole sequence. Leave the other party with a feeling of approval and let them know you like them.

"I want to be sure you keep on being a valued member of our team. We need your positive attitude and sense of humor."

"The dedication to your homework is wonderful. Keep on keeping on keeping your grades up." (Kids like this kind of talk.)

"Be sure to keep bringing balls to the game. That's the only reason we let you play."

If you employ the "Start, Stop, Continue" method of delivering criticism, you may well get away with it, but it's still tricky, at best. Most people never learn to do it well. Good luck.

THREE WAYS TO TRAIN

2010-11-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

Knowledge + Attitude + Skills = Behavior

by Hank Trisler

A lot of what passes for training these days is some old dog standing up in front of a group and telling them "How I Done it." It consists of war stories and cute-sounding phrases, most which are largely ineffectual and only partially true. That sort of training is a blast for the trainers, but often bores the learners and seldom does much to change behavior.

"What's that you say? Behavior? My job is to teach 'em how to sell, not change their behavior," one might well say. And one might well be wrong. Our job is not so much to teach people what they don't know, but to help people behave as they don't currently behave. Behavior is comprised of Knowledge, Attitude and Skills, as exemplified in the Pawn Broker's Globes above. (I used to say Pawn Broker's "Balls," but that often brings about tittering, another word almost certain to induce tittering.) Let's examine these three words and how you can use them to improve the results of your training programs.

KNOWLEDGE. If a person isn't performing in a certain way and couldn't if his/her life depended on it, the problem is a lack of knowledge. The best ways to convey knowledge are lecture and reading. Lecture has fallen into disrepute, largely due to its overuse and poor quality. Trainers love lecture, as it's the easiest form of teaching to prepare and deliver. You just jump up and run your jaws. It's also the most fun, from a trainer's point of view.

The key to effective lecture is to see how little of it you can use to convey the bare minimum of knowledge necessary to do the deed. Good lecture is strewn with real world examples and supported with visual aids and written material, from either pass-outs or text books.

The subject of effective lecture has already filled libraries, so I'm not going to bore you with more of it here. The key is to see how little lecture you can get by with and how much learner involvement you can use to supplant the lecture.

ATTITUDES. If the thinking is stinking in your sales force, look to yourself first. Attitudes are caught, not taught. As long as we're slinging platitudes, try, "What you are speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say." Sales critters are like children, in that they will obtain and reflect the attitudes of their leaders. The very best way to get an honest, positive, "can do" attitude in your team is to have and project those qualities yourself.

SKILLS. A tried and true training formula taught me years ago went:

You tell them how.
They tell you how.
You show them how.
They show you how.
You drill for skill.

A truly skillful performance will only occur after it has been repeated often enough to commit it to the unconscious mind. Now, you can do this in the field, which is where a lot of us "old dogs" did our learning, but it's godawful expensive compared to drills you can perform in the classroom.

One of the more effective drills I have found is the three-person instant role play. The group is divided into three-person teams: salesperson, customer and a neutral observer. A problem, or objection is displayed and then the salesperson has sixty seconds to deal with it. At the end of the minute, the observer tells the team what he saw and how it might be improved. Then you change roles and go for the next problem. The key is to do things fast, to avoid boredom and to quicken reaction times. Greater detail and lots more exercises are available in NO BULL SALES MANAGEMENT. Get hold of a copy, it'll make money for you.

Practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent. If you let your people practice flawed techniques, you'll end up with flawed people giving flawed performances. Your weekly sales meeting is a terrific place for practicing for a half hour, or less. It warms the folks up and get's minds moving, in addition to honing skills.

Any thoughts on training that you'd like to share? This would be an excellent place to do so.

MY GREATEST REGRET

2010-10-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

No, it's not a tattoo. That's one of very few things I've not had a run at. Regrets are actually worthless, as you can do nothing about the past. That ship has sailed.

Failure to act is far more regrettable than any mistake you might make. Malcolm Forbes said, "In looking back, I'm far more sorry for the things I didn't do, than the things I shouldn't have done.

My greatest tragedy of omission is I've lost track of the buyer of the first car I ever sold. When I left the automobile bidness, I also left Seattle and couldn't conceive that I'd ever need the names of my customers again. WRONG!

If I had my hand to play over, I'd never again lose track of a customer. No matter what I might be selling, or where I might be selling it. The only way a customer could get out of my files would be to die out of them.

You'll be exactly the same person in ten years as you are today with the exception of the books you read and the people you meet. The books are another story for another day, but the people is the entire point of this rant.

NEVER FORGET A CUSTOMER. NEVER LET A CUSTOMER FORGET YOU.

MOTIVATING SALES CRITTERS

2010-10-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

As a sales trainer, a question I'm sometimes asked is, "Are you one of those motivational speakers?"

The answer is, "Probably not. Motivation occurs internally and is not something one person normally does to another. If I were to motivate your people, what, specifically, would you like me to motivate them to do?"

"Go out and just sell the hell out of my Doogers. Man, we're up to our hips in Doogers and I need my sales critters to make 'em go away, pronto."

Well, I suppose that would be dandy if that's the way it worked, but if you inspire people without some clear direction of what they are to do, they just get all pumped up and run out in the parking lot looking for something to kill. Can't find their car.

Before I begin to design any sales training program, I need the clear answers to four basic questions. When, and only when, the management team and I are in agreement on these questions am I able to help them direct their people. The questions are:

1. What are your people doing well now? The hippocratic oath tells doctors, "If you can do no good, at least do no harm. " Good advice for those of us attempting to increase performance levels.

As a young man, I inherited a sales team heavily reliant on "canned pitches." They had every word memorized and lists of objections with the answers thereto. I HATE canned pitches. I think they sound phony and make one look like the negative perception people hold of salespeople. Accordingly, I banned the use of canned pitches. I told them to go forth and ask intelligent questions and offer logical solutions to the customers, based the their perceived needs.

It was a blood bath. I abolished a system that was working, though not as well as I might have desired, but working nevertheless. Without it, they were lost.

2. What should they be doing better? Let's focus on the specific activities of the sales force. Do they need more prospects? Need to do a better job of need finding? Need better questions? Should they be more persistent in asking for the order?

3. What should they be doing that they are not doing at all? This is fairly straightforward. This is probably what management has been haranguing them about for years. List the desired specific behaviors.

4, Why aren't they doing those things now? Could they do them if their lives depended on it? Pay close attention, as this is where your training exercise is created. If they don't know how to do the desired activities, education is the key. More often, there are other reasons than lack of knowledge. They know how, but they just don't want to do them, or they want to do other things more.

When we have this information in hand, we can go to the next step of program design: how we bring about changes in behavior to improve performance. Stay tuned, because in our next issue we'll discuss knowledge, attitude and skills, which combine to determine behavior.

THEY’RE ALL SUBSERVIENT WHO ONLY STAND AND WAIT

2010-09-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

By Guest Blogger,
Joe Klock, Sr.

   With due apology to John Milton for the above play on his words from “On His Blindness” (his version was “They Also Serve”), I sound the following wake-up call to every American who cares a rat’s ass about our country’s future:

   Regardless of your political affiliation, ideological leaning, or degree of past apathy, you owe it to yourself, your fellow citizens and your descendants to bone up on the issues and show up at the polls on the first Tuesday of November, 2010.

   However, if we (the sheeple) run true to form, a silent majority of eligible voters will stand on the sidelines or sit in the jeering stands while the fate of the nation is shaped by an energized minority which DOES care enough to put power into hands that are either inept, misguided, soiled, greedy, or all of the above.

   Every objective poll, most headlines and the consensus views from water coolers, neighborhood taverns and cocktail party palaver throughout the USA reveals that our elected reprehensibles have dug us into an economic ditch that, metaphorically, would make the Grand Canyon resemble a pothole.

   Partisan pundits of every political stripe, in vigorous exercises of both finger-pointing and finger-giving, can agree on very few things, among them being the passionate posit that it’s the other guys’ fault and only their own guys have the right answers.

   That is to say, they point with pride to the past records and future plans of their anointees, while viewing with alarm those with opposing views.

   The undeodorized truth is that the shape we’re in has been sculpted by those of both parties whom we selected as architects of our current governance and who have proven themselves unable and/or unwilling to shore up its foundation, remedy its faults and formulate workable plans for the future.

   Meanwhile, the road ahead is cluttered with cans that have been kicked down it, such as mountainous debts, unsustainable future commitments and unresolved conflicts between law and order.

   A cynical observer might suggest that a proper slogan for our future generations might be “Give me puberty and give me debt,” but like many other phrases spoken in jest, this one is just too true to be good.

   Arguably sure to vote in November are those who cooked up the witch’s brew of our present condition, plus those who now benefit from the status quo, plus those who hope to do so in the future, plus those who are swayed by sloganeering, plus those who are razzle-dazzled by bloviating broadcasters, plus devotees of fringe fanaticism, plus those who blindly follow the foregoing folk.

   Sadly absent from the polling places in November, unless our Rip Van Winkles are aroused from their apathy, will be that hapless majority among us who will foot the future bills and then punt the problems to our even more hapless begats.

   Now - and only now - is the time to ask every seeker of every office on which you have an opportunity to vote come November, questions like these:
   -What do you see as the problems you will face if and when elected?
   - Exactly how do you plan to combat them?
   -Will your party support this effort?
   - Specifically how?

   Pose your questions by snail-mail, phone or (preferably) in-person buttonholing, and don’t allow yourself to be brushed aside by generalized talking points, references to irrelevant past events and/or personal attacks having nothing to do with the issues.

   Above all, insist on finding out where each candidate stands on balancing future budgets and dealing with present debts, including such “third rail” issues as so-called entitlements that can’t possibly be honored.

   Chances are, you are compelled to wrestle with problems similar those listed above in your everyday life, so why shouldn’t your government?

   Where do you fit in? Thought you’d never ask!

   It has been wisely written and spake that there are three kinds of people in the world: Those who make things happen, those who watch thing happen and those who, after happenings have occurred, haven’t the foggiest idea of why and how they DID happen.

   Come November, you pays your money (in future installments) and takes your choice - or you just stands and waits while others do the choosing.

   If you’re tempted to be a waiter, remember this cynical paraphrase of the Good Book sung by Mordred, bastard son of King Arthur in the musical “Camelot:” It’s not the earth the meek inherit, it’s the dirt.

   Another jest that’s just too true to be good.

Freelance wordworker Joe Klock, Sr. (joeklock@aol.com) winters in Key Largo and Coral Gables, Florida and summers in New Hampshire. More of his "Klockwork" can be found at www.joeklock.com

CRM REVISITED YET AGAIN

2010-09-28T15:39:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

Today I got a note from an old pal. He speaks of being too late for the blog, but it's never too late to express a good idea.

"Hank,

"Your quest for a new CRM got me to thinking that the direction of more reports and features, as commented on your blog, is just so wrong. It is the direction that the non-field folks wanted, and since they approve the budgets, the warriors (that would be sales folks) get crappy goods for CRM.

"To my current way of thinking, the right direction is to ask, “How do I get this to work with my handheld (iPhone, Blackberry, Droid, etc.)?” I don’t know the answer, but that is the real question. Anything that can’t be done by a sales person with their smart phone is probably generating questionable return.

"My two bits – sorry I didn’t get it into the blog."

Paul

Paul Sakamoto is the CEO of DFT Microsystems, a high tech firm based in Montreal. He's been my customer and friend for over thirty years and I value his opinion highly.

I'm strongly leaning in Paul's direction. My whole system now consists of Outlook kluged together with Word and running on a laptop and my iPhone. I'm pretty much self-contained wherever I go and I don't have to file no steenking reports with anydamnbody.

Of all the systems I heard of, by far the most fascinating to me was that created by Dale Loflin. He has stitched together Android, Gmail, Google documents and some arcane incantations to come up with something that will handle all his correspondence, record keeping and time management and do it all by voice actuation. That, to me, is the ultimate Road Warrior. His whole office is in his hip pocket. I've asked Dale to tell me more about his system, but he hasn't had time to respond, yet.

Is this information something you'd like to have? Have you any systems of which you are particularly fond, especially those of the totally portable variety? Please let me know where your head is by posting a comment below.

CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE

2010-09-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

By Hank Trisler

Terry Buchanan is the sales manager for B&H Australia, a purveyor of computer projection equipment in the state of Victoria, Australia. He runs a five-person sales team and wrote in an e-mail: "The biggest problem I have is keeping everyone focused on achieving consistent results. Too often a person has a great start to the month and, for some reason, seems to start spinning his wheels."

Well, Terry, don't feel like the Lone Ranger. Anyone who has managed a sales team for more than forty-five days has experienced exactly what you're going through.

The selling profession, by its very nature, is a "fowl or feathers" existence. The only managers I have seen who have achieved truly consistent performance have screwed their teams up to the point that no one was selling anything, and you sure don't want that kind of consistency.

The process of long-term strategic planning and the setting of long-term goals are actually counterproductive to sales consistency. Our minds don't seem to comprehend "I will," but only really hook up with "I am." Learning to talk to and program the unconscious mind is, therefore, the key to getting the best out of our people.

Manage activity, not results. The manager counsels with his salesperson and says, "We need to have you sell two million dollars worth of product this year to help us meet our company goals. Two million is your bogie."

The salesperson looks blankly at the manager and nods. He is not thinking about the company goals. He's thinking about his bills, he's thinking about a new car, a suit of clothes and the fact that his wife's washing machine has been making that funny noise again. It is clearly impossible to comprehend precisely what he must do to sell two million dollars worth of product and, frankly, that goal is fairly low on his list of priorities.

Enlightened managers find out what the salesperson wants to accomplish and finds a way to tie that into the company goals. We need be able to convert results (which we cannot control) into activities (which we can influence, if not control). A Sales Activity Calculator appears on page 172 of NO BULL SALES MANAGEMENT and is a fine tool to help you convert results into actions.

If the salesperson clearly understands and believes that when his feet hit the floor in the morning, he needs to make X calls, which will result in Y presentations, which will result in Z sales, the activities necessary to achieve the results are clear, both at the conscious and unconscious levels.

If you don't have a copy of NO BULL SALES MANAGEMENT, you can get one through our website www.nobullselling.com or call, write or e-mail me and I'll send you a copy of the Sales Activity Calculator.

Keep Goals and Contests short. Long-term goals only become real to us during the final days of the period. If you set a contest wherein the person who sells the most product this year will receive an all-expense-paid vacation, most of the work will be done during the first couple of weeks, when the excitement is high, and during the last couple of weeks when the deadline is looming. Worse yet, someone may run off and hide early on and the rest of the team will quit trying as the deed has already been done.

We can learn a lot from General Motors accounting. Each month consists of three ten-day periods. All contests, reports, and incentives are based on these ten-day periods. If you have a good ten days, you get to start all over again to make the next ten even better. Rather like the Mess Sergeant's last meal. If you have a crappy ten days, it is in the past and you get to start all over, fresh and clean.

A variation of Murphy's Law states that, "Any task will expand to completely consume the time allocated for its completion." Keep the time frames short and you'll get the most consistency possible in this inherently inconsistent business.

CURING REMORSE

2010-09-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

You've worked your buns off. You've listened, probed, supported and finally the sale has been made. The contract inked. The taillights blinking as the car rolls out the door. The buyer has been notified that the home of their dreams is at long last theirs. You can now sit back and breathe easy, right?

Not in this world, moose breath. Your buyer who was so hot to trot just two hours ago has now come out of the gas. The ether has dissipated. Your buyer is in the grip of the dread Buyer's Remorse and if you don't do something about it, your deal is going to blow higher than a kite.

Buyer's Remorse is a nearly universal affliction, particularly with big ticket items of high emotional impact. They like it, they want it, they try it on and it fits great, they can't live without it, so they buy it. And they HATE it. What happened?

They went back into the real world and the people who live there have spun their negative magic.

"That's an interesting choice? What did they ever do about that safety recall?"

"Is buying a home now a good thing in view of the economic outlook?"

"You paid HOW much? Did you shop around at all?"

Yes, the people in the real world are almost always eager to tell a new buyer what a dumb deal they just made. And the closer the relationship to the buyer, the more devastating the comments are likely to be. You see the only way you can protect someone is to have them keep things just the way they are. Any time you make a change, you run a risk. Relatives are risk averse.

What to do? Prepare your buyers for the onset of remorse. Explain to them that, though they are deeply in love at this moment, they will be exposed to toxic influences the instant they part company with you. "The people you love the most will cause the most damage, because they care and want to protect you." It's far easier to deal with negative emotions if you understand the cause.

Give them some "Buyer's Remorse Pills." For years we have given our buyers a little bottle, or envelope, containing cinnamon red-hot candies. The package is labeled:

BUYER'S REMORSE PILLS

In the event of nausea caused by the onset of the

dreaded Buyer's Remorse, promptly take two pills and

call me in the morning.

You made a good decision and

nothing has changed but your feelings.

You'll feel better soon.

People have called often and told me how effective the pills had been in the treatment of remorse. When we understand what is happening to us and can laugh about it, the threat and the problems minimize and vanish.

What are your experiences with Remorse and what have you found effective?

THE HUNT FOR CRM (IV)

2010-09-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

WOW! When I started this thread, I had no idea how much interest there was in CRM. I'm delighted and amazed by the quantity and quality of the discussion.

The more I dig into this matter, the deeper is my confusion. Not only is there no clear winner for everyone, I can't even find a clear winner for me. I like some parts of nearly every program, but have yet to find one that meets all my criteria.

Today, I participated in a webinar celebrating the release of a nearly-all-new Sales Nexus, the brainchild of Craig Klein, one of the nicest and brightest guys you'll ever meet. This program is targeted on sales teams of from 5 to 5,000 seats. It competes quite ably with Salesforce.com, who has been the one to beat in the big CRM game. Teams need reports and forecasts and charts and graphs and other stuff that sole practitioners eschew. Sales Nexus provides these in abundance.

Today, they rolled out a new Email Marketing segment of their program that is a solid world-beater. You can set up a campaign to reach a targeted audience of, say, 5,000 warm bodies. It will send out your 5,000 emails (but who won't?) AND notify you when your email is actually opened, AND tell you when the body clicks on the link you so cleverly included. This indicates interest on the part of the body, who is then elevated to prospect and his/her name jumps up on your screen as someone you ought to be talking to. This means that sales critters spend their time talking to people who have at least a passing interest, as opposed to spending all day chasing their tails.

They charge you a flat rate per month depending on the number of users, but regardless of use. You can send 50,000 emails a month and it costs no more. If your people are silly enough not to want to use Sales Nexus, they can continue to use Outlook and it will interface one with the other. This means you don't have to pressure or coerce your people to use your hot new program.

The frosting on the cake is the Sales Mastery Institute, which is a collection point for videos, blogs, articles, webinars and tutorials on anything pertaining to sales. This can be an enormously valuable resource for any sales team and take a little of the load off the training department.

So here's the way I see it from where I sit this afternoon. If I were faced with the task of herding the aggregation of cats that is the typical sales force, I think I'd run for Sales Nexus. If I were me, as a single operator, trying to sell a product or service and seeking to build my personal brand and stand out from the madding crowd, I'd take a long look at Ace of Sales. I don't imagine you'll go very far wrong with either of them.

We don't have to stop talking about this just because I've finished my thread. I'll be delighted to pass along whatever you experience and let you know what I learn. Keep them cards and letters coming, sports fans.

THE HUNT FOR CRM (III)

2010-09-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

You may remember that Dale Loflin wrote eloquently--in comments to the first post in this thread--about a system he kluged together based on GMail and Android. He says it will send and receive email, write letters, do everything but wax your car and do it all by voice activation. There's even a GPS which he claims is superior to that offered by Garmin.

Dale is an extremely intelligent and credible gentleman and I trust him implicitly. I could no more operate a system like his than run a marathon, much less invent and assemble it. If you want to know more about it, write Dale and he'll probably steer you in the right direction. He doesn't sell them for a living, though he probably should.

ACT!, by Sage, is the CRM package most often mentioned by the folks who wrote me. It is without question a very capable, if uninspiring package. The most common complaint was about the customer support, or lack thereof. I downloaded a thirty-day trial package, which claimed it would link with Outlook, but not in the trial package. Same with Word.

I don't want to download a trial package to be told what it will do, I want to see it work. The package further instructed me not to call, as there was no support available on the trial package.

If there's ever a time you need support, it's when you're first using a program. I wrote a scathing email to ACT!, and got a response from a nice lady who promised to call me to address my concerns the following day. She never did.

I uninstalled ACT! with a bit of sadness, as I'd thought it might be the answer to my problem. It even ran on the desktop, as I wanted it to.

My friend, Jeffrey Gitomer, was only one of MANY people writing to tell me about his program, Ace of Sales. It is a bona fide, guaranteed winner. If you want lots of tables, graphs and reports, look elsewhere. If you just want to sell stuff and brand yourself and stand out from the madding crowd, take a good look at Ace of Sales. It will guide you to create email that really packs a punch. It will do ezines, flyers, post cards, letters and greeting cards quickly, easily and professionally. If you can't look good with this program, you're just not good looking.

Ace of Sales runs "in the cloud," which means all your data resides on Jeffrey's servers. This is not nearly as scary as it sounds, as the data is encrypted and safeguarded. Running in the cloud means you can access your information with any computer, anywhere you can log onto the internet. It doesn't handle incoming email, so you still need to run Outlook, or something as an email client. The downside of running in the cloud is that it seems to run a bit slow. So plan ahead.

The real ball-buster for me is that it will not sync with my iPhone. My iPhone is permanently affixed to my body and any program that will not sync with it is a non-starter, in my view.

If you want a program to help you plan a sales campaign and then execute it with style and panache, you're going to have a hard time beating Ace of Sales.

I have a couple more programs that I'm evaluating, so I'll plan to write my final installment tomorrow. If you have any thoughts, comments or questions, now would be an excellent time to flush them out, you should pardon the expression.

THE HUNT FOR CRM (II)

2010-08-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

I had no idea what I was doing when I put out the call for help deciding what CRM package I should employ. I had no idea not only how many CRM packages there were, but how many GOOD CRM packages there are.

I promised you a report on my research and report I will, but I'm just going to hit the high spots (IMHO) and leave it up to you to determine which package delivers the right blend of features for you.

I'm going to tell you a little about one, two or (at the most) three packages a day for the next few days. At the end of that time I hope to have my own decision made, though I know how I'm leaning as we speak. Rather than attempt any rating whatever, I'm just going to tell you about them in the order they came to me.

The first is a really nice little package called Cyrano. This is the brainchild of Scott Zimmerman, who has taken all the grunt work out of Relationship Management. He has even removed the computer. You don't have to enter any data, write any letters or do anyotherdamnthing. You just call his toll-free number and tell his people about your customer, what he/she likes and what should be done in the area of follow up. Scott and his team take it from there. You hang up the phone and go out in search of another live one. This is the individual sales person's dream. If you absolutely detest the idea of employing CRM, Cyrano is one of the first things you should look at. The followup system for those who hate followup. Call Scott Zimmerman at 330-848-0444 x 2 for a pleasant chat.

Highrise is a slick looking program among the many who have chosen to run "in the cloud," rather than on your desktop. For the uninitiated among us, this means that all the data is stored on Highrise's servers, rather than on the box in your office. The big benefit is that it doesn't matter which type of computer (PC, MAC) you use, or even if it's not your computer at all, you can log on to your personal web site and it's just like you were in your office. Prices start at FREE, for which you get precious little, and run up to $150.00 a month for which you get unlimited users and 50,000 contacts. If this isn't enough, you're too big a deal for this homey blog.

There are two to get you started. I'll take a look at some more tomorrow. Meanwhile, please feel free to express any opinions you have in the comments section. Lots of folks are listening in.

THE HUNT FOR CRM

2010-08-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

More years ago than I care to remember, in the dark days of DOS, I stumbled upon a contact manager called TeleMagic. I thought it the most wonderful invention since indoor plumbing and immediately signed up to be a dealer.

I sold TeleMagic at high levels until they decided to come out with a Windows version. It was horrible; slow and buggy. After an extended period of suffering, I took on a package--out of Australia--called Tracker. It ran well on Windows and was a thoroughly adequate contact manager. The Aussies never quite got the hang of marketing in North America, however, and soon ran out of money and lay, smoldering, at the side of the road.

Since I was without product to sell, a friend introduced me to GoldMine. This was the beginning of the transition from Contact Manager to Customer Relationship Manager. It was amazing. It would handle all my correspondence, my appointments, even manage my faxes and emails. I loved it and sold it happily for nearly ten years. Eventually, GoldMine wanted more time from me than I was willing to commit, so I stopped selling it, but remained a happy and devoted user.

Fast forward to a new computer running Windows 7. GoldMine wouldn't run on it. No sweat, I'd just upgrade to the current iteration. I called the home office and was told they wanted $1,100.00 to get me current. ELEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS? Do they think Mom and Dad were cousins? I ought to be able to buy ten contact managers for that kind of bucks.

And so, today, I'm on the hunt for a new Customer Relationship Manager. I've downloaded the demo for ACT!, but found it to be sorely lacking in the demo department. I'm looking for something that works and doesn't require a pilot's license to drive it. I need your help to tell me what you're using and how it's working for you. When I have some data compiled and a decision made, I'll feed back the results for our mutual benefit. Here are the factors I consider important in a CRM package.

An excellent word processor, or integration with Word.
An auto-dialer.
An excellent email client, or integration with Outlook. It needs to be able to do email blasts and hide the names and addresses of the recipients.
Obviously a trick calendar with lots of alarms and ticklers.
Synchronization with iPhone.
Prefer being able to network with one other computer, but not essential.

You'll notice that I have not included reports, as I have no one to read them. I also omit forecasting, as I think it's a joke.

So there you have it. Help me find a CRM solution and I'll share with you the fruits of our investigation. I'm thinking it will be interesting, educational and fun.

IN BUSINESS YOU ARE ALWAYS ON STAGE

2010-08-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

Guest blogger Jeb Blount provides tips on creating a positive impression on your customers by controlling the behaviors you allow them to observe.

In sales, the people who buy from you are watching your every move and making judgments which influence whether or not they will buy from and continue buying from you. Although you may not have ultimate control over what they think, you can take steps to insure that their impression of you is positive.

My brother in law owns a large rental equipment business in Georgia. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur he was a Sales Professional in the computer industry. Because he was in sales he is quick to give the benefit of the doubt to the salespeople who call on him. Recently, over dinner, he told me a story about an insurance agent who made a cold call on him.

This year he bought a new building for his business. Prior to buying this building he had rented. For Brad this was a big move and owning his building is a matter of extreme pride. He even invested in landscaping to make the front of his building look great. He told me how he had personally supervised the landscapers.

A few days after he put in the new landscaping he was standing at the counter looking out at the parking lot through the front windows when he noticed a well dressed lady step out of a late model car holding a briefcase. He said that he instantly knew that it was a salesperson and readied himself for a pitch. But what happened next changed everything. He said the salesperson was holding a cigarette and before walking in his door tossed the unfinished butt into his new landscaping.

Brad told me that when he saw that happen his walls went up. In his words, “after that her chance of selling me anything was zero.” I asked him if he told her what she had done. He said no, “because I really didn’t want to get into a confrontation. I just politely told her that was not interested. The bad thing is that I was actually looking for insurance quotes – but not from her.”

The salesperson walked out of the door clueless. In fact she had probably done this on dozens of occasions with no consequences because no one really cared. However, because she did in on this occasion, with this particular business owner, she missed out on what could have been a big sale.

Now after hearing this story, you are probably thinking, “what a stupid thing to do – I would never do that.” I thought the same thing. In fact, I thought he was making it up until last week when I was sitting in the lobby of one of my clients and observed a salesperson park in the handicap parking spot (because it was close) and then walk through the hedges rather than on the side walk. He walked in the front door, gave the receptionist his card, and sat down next to me. I just shook my head. I bet he repeats this rude, inconsiderate behavior every day and he was clueless that somebody important might be watching.

Again, you may be thinking to yourself, I would never do this and you may be right. But the question you should be asking yourself is what habits you have that could potentially create a negative perception of you with your customers and prospects. It could be your style of dress, a dirty or bent business card, disorganized samples, typos and grammar mistakes in written communication, your table manners at business dinners, a cluttered car, bad breath, talking too much, or behavior that you allow your prospects and customers observe. Think hard, and be honest with yourself. Then begin the process of changing these behaviors.

In sales and business you are always on stage. Everyone from the guys in the guard shacks, to the receptionists, to the decision makers are watching you and based on their perceptions, deciding if they like you or not. Never, ever forget that when it comes to business, employment, and relationships people don’t buy your products, services, resume, experience, or past achievements - People Buy You.

If you want to close more business, advance your career and ultimately earn a higher income it is imperative that you work tirelessly to influence these perceptions; because although, being likeable won’t necessarily guarantee that People Buy You, being unlikeable will almost certainly guarantee that they won’t.

Jeb Blount is the CEO of SalesGravy.com, the world’s largest sales career website. A respected thought leader on sales and sales leadership, he is author of three books, People Buy You: The Real Secret to what Matters Most in Business, Sales Guy’s 7 Rules for Outselling the Recession, and Power Principles. He is the author of more than 100 articles on sales and sales leadership and the host of the top rated Sales Guy Podcast. When you buy Jeb’s new book, People Buy You, today, you’ll also receive thousands of dollars worth of bonus gifts from sales growth leaders – learn more at www.PeopleBuyYou.com.

FRAZZLED BUYERS

2010-06-21T16:48:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

Your buyers may well be too busy for you. They had thought their lives would be a little easier by now, but no such luck. They were rather pleased when they survived the round of layoffs last year, but now they find themselves doing not only all the work they had, but all the work foisted off on them by demise of their departed compatriots. They're just flat buried.

And they can't even depend on technology to save them. They thought new computers would cut the work load. FAT CHANCE. The learning curve is so steep on all these new toys that they spend most of their time just trying to learn how to do what used to be easy with the old stuff.

And then there's social networking. The boss wants them to tune into Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and God only knows what else. The idea is to learn from others in a social setting and thereby extend their reach. These folks are stretched so thin they're about to burst and it doesn't look like it's going to get better soon.

Now along come you, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed salesperson seeking a "relationship." Here's the bad news. Your buyers don't want more relationships, they want more time and less hassle. If you can add value and do it in such a way that the decisions are quick and easy for your customer, you have a chance, but we all know that's easier said than done.

Hope is riding over the hill. Jill Konrath, author of Amazon Best Seller Selling to Big Companies, has written another goodie. Snap Selling sets forth four specific rules for successfully dealing with the frazzled buyers we encounter today:

.Keep it simple
Be INvaluable
Be aligned with the customer
Raise prioities

Well, fair enough, but just how do we go about achieving those objectives? That's what the book is about, pilgrim. Jill writes in a clear, straightforward, no-nonsense style that conveys the information in a readable, understandable and enjoyable manner. If you've experienced any problems getting your fair share of your customer's mind, get Snap Selling just as fast as you can. When you click on this link, you'll get a whole lot of free stuff, too, but the real deal is the competitive edge you'll get from the book. Don't miss it.

Is Relationship Selling Dead?

2010-05-31T17:41:00.000-07:00

By Guest Blogger, Jill Konrath, author of SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies

It sure feels that way today! You rarely reach your prospects on the phone and when you do, they quickly brush you off. When you’re in meetings, they want you to get right to the point.

Sometimes they’re so busy multi-tasking, that you’re not even sure if they’re paying attention. Even your long-term customers fail to return your calls for months, making you wonder what you did wrong.

Welcome to the new normal! Your prospects are suffering from Frazzled Customer Syndrome, a debilitating condition brought on by increased expectations, excessive workloads, unrealistic deadlines and fewer resources.They’re good people who are doing their very best to survive in a frenetic workplace. Their calendars are overflowing, they’re constantly falling behind and they feel powerless to stop the escalating demands on their time.

The truth is, they don’t need another “relationship.” They barely get to see their best friends anymore. They even eat lunch at their desk everyday so they can get more done. It’s all work, work, work. New relationships are a low priority.

But you want a relationship! Of course you do. You’re a relationship seller. Your best customers love you. They value your work. They refer others to you. And, you love them back even more and take great care of them. Working with people like this feeds your soul – and pays well too!

Wanting to replicate these strong relationships is natural. But establishing that great connection can be a real challenge when dealing with stressed out people who seem more intent on pushing you away than inviting you in.

Here’s the good news! Underneath all that rude, brusque behavior are normal human beings who desperately want relationships with people who they can trust to help them achieve their goals.
That person could be you. But first, you need to understand what’s going on in their mind in order to create the connection you want.

What Your Prospects Think.

Whenever you deal with frazzled prospects their brains immediately start firing off alert signals: “Warning. Pay attention. Salesperson.” While you may not see yourself that way, they do and that’s what matters.
They evaluate your voicemails, emails and initial conversation to determine if having a more in-depth conversation with you is worthwhile. They make lightning-quick decisions to allow you access to them based on these criteria:

Is this aligned with what I need to accomplish?
How big a priority is it? What’s the urgency?
Does this person provide value?
How simple is it? Will it take lots of effort?

Unless you can convey all this very quickly, you won’t get your foot in the door. But it doesn’t stop there. To retain or grow a relationship, you have to keep your focus on these decision-criteria at all times too.

Relationship selling today goes far beyond the warm fuzzy feelings that you get from working with people you like and vice versa. It’s about creating partnerships where you’re a contributing team member, working towards your client’s short- and long-term success objectives.

SNAP Rules Change the Game

You need to follow the new SNAP Rules to be successful with the “new” relationship selling. Here they are:

Rule 1: Keep It Simple
Your goal is to ensure maximum simplicity in everything you do. That’s going to require you to look at all aspects of your interactions with your prospects to see where complexity can be eliminated or minimized.

When you keep it simple, you make it easier for your them to buy from you.

Rule 2: Be iNvaluable
Today’s crazy-busy prospects want to work with sellers who “know their stuff” and bring them fresh ideas on a regular basis. Perhaps you’ve never even seen that as your role. But today it’s essential to turn yourself into the competitive differentiator.

When you become invaluable, people choose you over competitors, are less price conscious, and remain loyal.

Rule 3: Always Align
This is all about relevance and risk. At the onset of your relationship, clients need to see an immediate connection between what you do and what they’re trying to achieve. As they move through their decision-making process, they need to know that the alignment extends into core beliefs they value in the people they work with.

When you’re aligned with their critical business objectives and core beliefs, clients want to work with you.

Rule 4: Raise Priorities
It’s an absolute imperative to work with frazzled prospects on their priority projects. With their limited capacity, that’s all they can currently focus on. Because your prospect’s priorities are constantly shifting, you need to be alert to what’s going on in their organization.

When you raise priorities, your sales process goes much faster and you get the business with less competition.

Relationship selling isn’t dead. In fact, it’s more alive than ever before. You still need to connect with your prospects on a personal level, but it’s no longer sufficient.

You have to earn the right to have a relationship with them first.

They want your expertise focused on their priority business objectives, issues and challenges. They want you to continually bring them fresh ideas and provocative insights. They’re looking for you to simplify the complex and make their life easy.When you do this, they’ll be friends forever.
—-
Want to learn more about the new rules of selling to crazy-busy prospects? To get four FREE sales-accelerating tools and download two chapters of SNAP Selling, visit www.SnapSelling.com or email jill@snapselling.com

IS PASSION NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS?

2010-05-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

by Hank Trisler

A number of years ago I began a correspond-
ence with Howard, a young man who had bought No Bull Selling and wrote for clarification on some issues. I've enjoyed our little chats, as Howard often asks thought-provoking questions.

Recently, the company for which Howard had been working shut down his sales office and gave him the Rubber Key. This gives him an opportunity for a career adjustment and Howard is facing that opportunity with characteristic introspection. Appearing below is a message he sent me this afternoon. I'm hoping you will give him some important insights and enlighten me, as well.

Hank,

Many super successful people say that you should follow your passion when selecting your career. Here are a few examples:

"If you want to make a lot of money go to Wall Street. More importantly though, do what you would do for free. Having passion for what you do is the most important thing. I love what I do." - Warren Buffett

"I'm a firm believer that you need to love what you're doing to be successful at it. Passion is a must for great success." - Donald Trump

"This life lesson, which first clicked for me at age twenty-eight and has continued to show up at various crossroads since that time, is that there is no Plan B for passion. Do what you love and love what you do. Plan A has to come first. Besides, Plan B sucks!" - Chris Gardner

On the other hand, you have someone like Larry Winget who says:

"Passion is a load of crap. I know many passionate people. They are passionately stupid, passionately wrong and passionately incompetent. Passion and success have about as much to do with each other as gravy and Raisin Bran. But this is the trash being dumped on us by the ill-informed motivational idiots who know little about true success but are quick to tell you how to achieve it. No business ever makes it based on passion. No successful business person every made it to the top based on passion."

Wow, talk about opposite extremes! What do you make of that? Who's right? In my job search, should I only accept a position if I'm "passionate" about it, or should I accept a "good" job when I find one and focus on making a living for my family? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Howard

Now, I don't know Larry Winget, but he strikes me as a brass-bound idiot. I can think of few outlooks as bleak as facing a long life doing something about which I feel no passion.

What do you think?

NO BULL SELLING

PROVE IT!

IS MANIPULATION NECESSARY?

ma·nip·u·late

IS THE COLD CALL DEAD?

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

A FIGHT STORY

A LEADING QUESTION

PAVAROTTI AND THE YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS

LIVING IN THE MOMENT

PROVE IT!

CRITICISM

THREE WAYS TO TRAIN

MY GREATEST REGRET

MOTIVATING SALES CRITTERS

THEY’RE ALL SUBSERVIENT WHO ONLY STAND AND WAIT

CRM REVISITED YET AGAIN

CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE

CURING REMORSE

THE HUNT FOR CRM (IV)

THE HUNT FOR CRM (III)

THE HUNT FOR CRM (II)

THE HUNT FOR CRM

IN BUSINESS YOU ARE ALWAYS ON STAGE

FRAZZLED BUYERS

Is Relationship Selling Dead?

What Your Prospects Think.

SNAP Rules Change the Game

IS PASSION NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS?