Professional Sales Techniques

A Five Step Sales Process: For Success:FULL Sales

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:37:55 PDT

By Kevin J. Barrett

It is interesting!, that if there is anything that you want to get, or if there is anything you need in this life, then it will probably involve someone else’s help in getting it. This is true no matter who we are and what we do, It is particularly important if you are in “Sales”. No matter what you do, the ability to develop and maintain rapport with a large range of people with varying backgrounds will allow you to get what you want most of the time. Having rapport with someone will allow you to do most anything. In the sales process probably the most important skill to develop is the skill of “establishing rapport”.

The basis of rapport is that when people are like each other, they tend to like each other. We tend to associate and relate to people better when they are, similar to us. When people are not like each other, they tend to not like each other. A successful Sales professional needs, to he able to expand the range of people they will be able to relate to. It is important to remember that the “Sales Process”, is really the process of “communications”.

Each person is 100% responsible for their own communication, and the true meaning of communications is the response you get from that communication. Your response equals your meaning and all meaning iscontext (process or structure) dependent. This means that the words we use require context for meaning. (Alfred Korzyhski, General Semantics, 1933). If you are not getting the response you want, It is up to you to find a way of communicating what you want in a manner that will obtain the response you want. This means increase rapport. It is not the fault of the other person. This is one of the hardest concepts for people to accept. It is so much easier to blame the other person for not understanding.

When it comes to communications and establishing rapport it is important to remember that 93% of the meaning (response) in the communication process takes place on an unconscious level. Only 7% is based on objective words or at a conscious level, while 38% is based on the tone of voice and 55% is based on physiology, which is by an large unconscious.(Robert Birdwistle, University of Pennsylvania,Kinesthetics and Communications. 1970).

Have you heard the saying; “Buyers are Liars”? I don’t believe Buyers are liars. I believe it is up to the Sales Professional to polish their communication skills and “sensory acuity” to obtain the responses they want, and to assist their clients in “Buying and owning” what they want. Helping them achieve what they want. People do not like to be sold, but they love “Buying and Owning”. It is the “Sales Professional’s” responsibility to assist people in “Buying and Owning”.

What often happens in life is that we associate with people who are most like us. If people are not like us we move away from them. This can limit our life experiences. In sales, this can limit the number of prospects in which we can relate effectively with and in turn limit those where we can have successful sales outcomes. I believe that successful living is really Success: Full Living, and successful sales is reallySuccess: Full Sale.

One of our goals in life is to be able to achieve and have what we want. To do this it requires that we have the help and support of others. To gain the help and support of others we need to be able to establish rapport with them so that they want to willingly help us. The greater range of people we are able to relate with improves the scope in which we will be able to have Success: Full Living or as we say in sales,Success: Full Sales.

The following is a five step sales process that can quadruple your Success: Full Sales. It outlines a proactive approach that will enhance your ability to dynamically adjust and control the sales and communication process so that it is exactly matched to the client. Everyone is different and once we can determine the various strategies people use we can assist them in achieving what they want in their life. The following is based on an N.L.P. communications model. To learn more about these strategies and models contact Kevin Barrett at www.kjbarrett.com

1. Establish Rapport: Remember, people who are like each other tend to like each other. Match and Mirror the other person, their:

• Physiology

• Tone of voice

• Representational system

• Breathing

• Key words

2. Ask Questions: The questions you ask are directly related to the business of the person who you are interviewing. Talk their language. Ask questions in the language of their business.

• “For what purpose.....”

• Discover client’s internal representations (fear or pleasure, moving toward this or away from things, etc), desired states.

• Meta Model

• Discover their internal strategies and anchor their needed to those states

• Discover Meta Programs and Values.

3. Find a Need: Establish need - establish value. No need? Stop here. Find another client. There are plenty of clients to work with that have needs.

• Anchor it - Anchor it (Need)

• Conditional close

• Tag questions.

4. Link the their Need or their Value to your Product or Service:

• Conditional close (“Is it fair enough....)

• “What would happen if…

• “Compared to.. . .“ (Contrast Frame)

• Because “ I agree with you because….)

• Agreement Frame

• Fire Anchors that supports them

• Use strategies and language patterns

5. Close:Ask for the order. Chain anchors to:
Handle Objections

• If no: (go to #3)

• If yes: Future pace. Fire! The reassurance anchors. Get referrals

Resistance to your message almost always indicates lack of support. If that happens at any point, build more rapport. Remember there is no such thing as uncooperative buyers or clients, only inflexible sales people. In 1930 Norbert Weiner, in his book Cybernetics, came up with the Law of Requisite Variety, which means that the system/person with the most flexibility of behaviour will control the process or system. The Sales Professional with the most flexibility of behaviour will have the most Success: Full Sales.

This is a very effective outline in achieving Success:Full Sales

The Truth About Testimonials.

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:15:58 PDT

Who is the easiest person in the world to sell to? That's an easy question to answer, yet one most business owners, unfortunately never ask themselves.

You see...the easiest person to sell to is one you've sold to before. It's someone who already trusts you, someone who's already had a "Wow" experience with your company. Tony Alessandra called this creating "Moments of Magic" for your customers. Usually, it's someone who is willing to give you a testimonial...if you ask for it. But, you have to ask for it!

Tony also said, "The very best time to ask for a testimony or a referral is when the sale is made."

Here are 4 quickfire ways to build your store of testimonials like crazy:

Use industry endorsements and/or respected experts

Put together user groups

Create a feedback form on your website

Ask directly, and then help your clients write the testimonial

One of my favorite ways to get testimonials is a trick I learned from my friend, Clate Mask at Infusionsoft. When a customer tells you something great about your product or service, ask this golden question, "Can I quote you on that?" Then write up their quote, email it to them for their approval, and voila! You've got a great testimonial!

Why are testimonials so powerful? Because, what someone else says about you is much more believable than what you say about yourself. If you're talking about your own business, you're bound to say how good it is. Everyone expects it, and no one really believes it. But if someone else raves about your business...then it's a whole different ball game.

So, if you don't have testimonials...you need them fast!

The Instant Gratification of an Autoresponder

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:34:00 PDT

As you are very much aware, consumers today are eager to receive fast, efficient service. Whether it is the fault of the Internet, a characteristic of the rising generation, or some other reason, swift responses to customers and prospects has become an absolute must for small business owners.

An autoresponder is the perfect solution for small business owners who have more to do than simply respond to inquiries all day. The benefits of an autoresponder are clear.

1. They give your customers and prospects a swift response. Just because you don't have time to answer an email right away doesn't mean you won't get to it later. Give your customer the immediate response they are looking for without having to stop what you're doing.

2. They inform your customers and prospects of your absence. Feel like taking a vacation? An autoresponder is the perfect way to redirect your contacts to someone who can meet their needs, or lets them know when you'll be back. Customers will excuse absences. They are less likely to accept no response at all.

3. They can answer some of your prospects and customers questions for you. What are the most common questions your contacts ask you about your products or services? Often times, an autoresponder can take care of the mundane task of repeatedly answering the same questions.

4. They let customers and prospects know when a payment has been received. Do you sell online? Whenever your contacts make an online payment, your autoresponder can let them know that their credit card was successfully processed. (Which of course eases any concerns.)

With an autoresponder, YOU decide when to get back to your customers and prospects...but you get to respond on their timetable.

Use the Magic Word!

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:44:55 PDT

When it comes to marketing, "free" is one of the most powerful, most overused, and most wrongly used words in the English language. You see, when most people want to use this word in their marketing, they'll write it in big, bold letters, slap it in the headline, and wait for it to work its magic.

Make no mistake... "free" is an extremely powerful word, but if you don't know how to wield it with precision and skill, you're in for a nasty surprise! It's a little bit like the difference between a scalpel and a machete. Both are extremely sharp and powerful tools... but you must have the right skills to use them safely and effectively.

One of the best places to use the word "free' in your marketing... is when you use it to offer your customers and prospects a free report.

So, what is a free report? A free report is exactly what it says: a free source of useful information you give your prospects. You see, you are an expert in your industry, and there are things you know that your contacts can certainly benefit from. Offering a free report is an excellent way to:

Build your relationship with your customers and prospects
Give your customers and prospects value
Bring in leads (when you offer your free report as a download)
Keep your name in front of your prospects
Educate your prospects about your services

There is NO doubt about it: the value you get from giving a paper-and-ink report returns a value far out of proportion to its cost!

The advantage of giving away information is this: because you are the expert and because you've done your contacts a favor (by giving them something of value), they are going to feel comfortable with you and indebted to you. And, that will drive more sales!

Measure Your Marketing: What You Can Track

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:46:55 PDT

Several months ago, you were sent an email about the difference between marketing and advertising. Hopefully you took that message to heart. After all,one of the greatest benefits of marketing is the ability to measure your efforts. And, for a business owner, this is a valuable ability.

You see, when you measure your marketing efforts… and then take the time to make the appropriate changes, you are going to see the results in the increased number of sales.

A few months ago I attended a seminar, where Jay Conrad Levinson (Father of Guerrilla Marketing) spoke, I was actually able to get some quality one-on-one time with him. One of the things that he stressed during his presentation, was“So many businesses STOP marketing when they do not see immediate results.”… “It takes a little bit of time to determine if the advertizing and marketing you are doing is working!!!!”

You will never know what is working with out MEASURING!!!!!

Early in my career I worked briefly learning from Dr. Deming, (Father of Total Quality Management and the primary reason of the Re-Birth of Japan in the early 50’s) He used this phrase and it has has stuck with me for many years…“If you can’t measure it, you can’t change it., If you don’t measure it, you will never change. Know what to measure and use it to change for the better.”

In fact, this last point is one of the primary reasons, people and businesses keep doing the same thing over and over again. They can’t measure the results they are getting back… Interesting.

So how can you measure your marketing efforts? Well, good tracking and measuring is going to take a combination of Internet know-how and automated, marketing systems. But, between the two, you can easily track and measure:

Lead sources
Email open rates
Email opt-in rates
Email links
User interactions
Promotion responses
And, of course your resulting sales!

When you are able to SEE what is working, your marketing will become more specific, targeted, and successful. Even with a stellar marketing campaign, there is always room for improvement. Measuring your results gives you the chance to keep getting better, and bring in more and more sales.

Remember Dr. W. Edwards Deming words, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t change it., If you don’t measure it, you will never change. Know what to measure and use it to change for the better.”

Also remember Jay Conrad Levinson’s words, and I will paraphrase here, “Do what you are doing long enough to get good numbers to MEASURE….”

When uncertainty rules… marketing campaigns are nothing more than a shot in the dark! With the ability to measure, track, and tweak, you can become a marketing powerhouse and start adding more money to your bank account!

What is Customer Retention? How does it relate to the Customer Life Cycle?

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 11:29:33 PST

Or Is this really Important for a Small Business Enterprise?

By Kevin Barrett
http://www.kjbarrett.com

This is a very interesting topic…. Trillion’s of Dollars are spent a year on Sales Training… most of that training is focused for getting New Customers….

IIn effect, trying to find new Professional Sales Techniques to gain a "competitive advantage".

It is also interesting that Customer Retention Programs are usually an after thought.

We advocate companies “Developing a Loyalty Ladder” customer base….. rather than a “Revolving Door” sales process. Customer Retention Programs are just as important…. I will even say they are more important than, new customer generation….

Once , customer retention is setup properly it cost very little to maintain, “Open Regular Communications” with your existing customer base and it frees up more resources to expand your sales into new areas…

I wrote an article awhile back on this topic and the full article can be downloaded at the link….

Matching Your Retention Strategies and Customer Life Cycle

It has some very interesting concepts….

I have used some references from Adam Ramshaw a Director at Genroe Pty Ltd… Adam and his company in Australia are experts in this field..

The graphic on Customer Life Cycle was provided with his permission.

I would recommend to everyone checking out there website…. Genroe and I have collaborated in the past and they are exceptionally good at what they do….

After reading the above article, my question is How many of the companies you work with or for that matter your own… company… really factor in to their Sales Plan the Product Life Cycle?… ( it has also been called the “Itch Cycle” of the product, when does the customer start needing the product again, and need to satisfy that desire?)

I believe that this is an important aspect of “Increasing Sales” and it is “Vital” for companies to factor these principles into their “Sales Programs” and “Strategic Plans”…

Every Sales Professional, must consistently explore ways to make regular contact with their “Loyalty Ladder”…..

Kevin Barrett
http://www.kjbarrett.com

To the Sales Professional, What is your Prime Motivator? And How important is it to you?

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 11:19:40 PST

By Kevin Barrett
http://www.kjbarrett.com

A Professional Sales Technique that will make all the difference.

A friend of mine wrote a very interesting and informative article on “Networking”… One of the responses to her article was by a gentlemen that suggested that the “Motivation behind Networking” is also of importance.

This caused me to reflect on the impact and importance for a Sales Professional.

The prime “Motivator” for our networking and for that matter Sales, is very important. I relate this to a “Purpose”, when I am working with companies. A “Purpose”, is your reason for being….

That will most likely be different for each person on this net.

My over all “Purpose”, my reason for being…. Not just for myself but also my company, Is in just a few words:

“To make a positive difference”

That one statement carries through everything I do…. It is my prime “Mover”…..

When working with companies, over the last 20 years I have observed a refinement with companies to further define themselves as a company… this is particularly important for “Start-up” Companies.

We all have that a Business Plan is important, and we have all heard that we need to have a 5 year plan… we have heard words like, “Mission Statements”, “Value Statements”, “Vision” and “Action Plans”… extolled as the “ways and means” for achieving success in business.

In the late 90’s I was involved in a “Change Management” program with the largest insurance companies in Australia. The Program was called “Working from the Inside Out”….

One of the topic’s to be covered, was related to the perceived ineffectiveness of “Business Plans” … These companies had business plans, but they did not think that they were really of any value.

They had put in 5 year plans and because of revolutionary changes in that industry that took place, they found that everything changed… and they were left scrambling…..

A lot of finger pointing in many different directions… The real motivation behind this program, was that “Management wanted to change their employees, so that they would obtain different results.”

The true is you can not change the outside very much with out getting in deep and at the core of things. Hence, the name of the Program.. “Working from the Inside, Out”..

For this desired change to take place a change in “Management” had to take place….

We have all heard and seen the “Pyramid” style structure for “Organizational Charts”, CEO (one) at the Top and individual employees (Many) at the bottom…

What I did, is take that “Organizational Chart” and turn it upside down….

The CEO the (One) holding up the rest of the Organization… the response… Impossible, to achieve… even the mythical Atlas, was not able to hold the world on his shoulders….

My response was.. Let’s take a “Holistic” approach to the structure, much as Deming advocated, in his Total Quality Management program and empower the top the many to be able to function as an integrated unit. This would take much of the weight of the CEO and in effect permit “Atlas to hold up the world”.

You must remember, that this company was hemorrhaging. They were using words like, we have to kill the competition, we have cut out the dead beats, we are at war…. We must win at all cost. Their new “Marketing Campaign” was like a “War Campaign”.

My comment to one of the “Senior Executives” at the time was, and I really don’t remember where I had heard this before, but it came to me as an answer to his “Motivation” for wanting this “Change Management” program… I guess, in a nut shell, they wanted to “Train the Troops” to do battle.

My comment, “I recall seeing a young girl in a war torn setting. The village had just been bombed out, smoke was still, rising from the ruins and devastation. A reporter on the ground was asking this young girl, what she wanted to BE, when she grew up?”

This young child’s response?..... “I want to be alive”

I asked the “Senior Executive” if he wanted to “Do Battle” or have is “Company alive” and well…..

To be alive and well, they needed to change how they were doing things…

One of the reasons that their 5 year plan had not “Seen” the change in their industry coming was because they did not take a large enough View…… They were looking too locally and not Globally….

So… I changed the Business Planning Model, from their current planning model, which was:

Mission Statement
Goals
Strategies
Action Plan

We included several new areas and their planning process became:

Global View (or Purpose)
Values
Vision or Business Overview
Mission Statement
Goals
Strategies
Action Plan

We started at the top…. And worked down…….

We also found that there needed to be something to link this purpose or global view with the “Vision” and this is called the “Values”.

These Values and Beliefs are important for making change. It is just as important for companies. Once this was in alignment with our “Purpose”, things started to move forward, move forward at a fast pace.

There are many companies that are following this the Visionary Model, (which does not include the Global View or Purpose perspective)

James Collins and Jerry Porras, wrote a book called “Built to Last” were they studied Visionary Companies and tracked their success over the last 100 years. Exceptionally good reading…. These companies had different values, but they all had a “Strong Governing Value”, that impacted their actions and decisions… In effect… in influenced every step of the planning process.

I believe that when companies begin to take an even large starting view (Global Impact and Purpose) and link their “Values” with this model, we will see even greater success at all levels of business, large and small business ventures…

The statistics with companies failing in the first 3 years in business is not improving much….

Back to the original, point of this thread, related to “Networking”…. And integrating Christophe, suggestion that the “Why we network”, is of importance….

I would suggest we explore each of our individual “Purpose Statement” and it will provide some very interesting insights as to ourselves and our businesses…

Be careful however, it could change your “Success Ratio” significantly for the better.

How good are we at handling “Change”? and “What impact do we want to make?”

Kevin Barrett
http://www.kjbarrett.com

What is “The Competitive Advantage” and Why Should I Care?

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 09:47:28 PST

By Kevin J. Barrett
www.kjbarrett.com

Everybody has competition--competition for sales and competition for time, that is why it is important to use effective "Professional Sales Techniques".

When you call someone or make a sales presentation, you are competing against hundreds of other things that are trying to get the attention of that person, things that may look or feel more important than your call, right now.

So how do you get a customer to decide to “buy” from you or even just listen to you? You need a competitive advantage--a reason that makes you more attractive to the customer than your competition. You need an advantage that allows you to ‘speak” in a more persuasive way. That advantage will not be your engineering excellence, your service quality, or your prices. You have only one advantage YOU! The only real “competitive advantage” you can have is a better way to sell YOU, because the customer will always buy you before he/she buys your product. You must shine brighter and more powerfully than your competition, or no one will hear what you have to say.

What is NLP?

Some people sell themselves more effectively than others. They seem to know naturally how to influence and persuade. As much as they might want to believe this ability is part of their personal charm, it is really the result of using a set of skills effectively.

In the 1970’s, a project was begun to identify the skills that enable one person to quickly and consistently persuade another. This collection of skills was eventually called “Neurolinguistic Programming” or NLP. (The name implies the power of the skills: the way the mind or neurology works has an effect on what we say, feel, and think.)

Also, the way we speak to ourselves or others effects how our mind works. Hence, one can “program” the other. If you want proof of this, the next time you are about to hit a golf ball, say to yourself, “I don’t want to hit it in the lake”and watch where the ball goes!

Identifying the skills of NLP was a marvelous accomplishment, but it was not enough. To make NLP truly useful, it was necessary to prove that anyone can learn these skills. This, too, has been accomplished. Anyone who wants to learn to be more effective in “motivating” himself/herself or in persuading others can discover the power of NLP.

NLP has been successful as a guide for therapists (Grinder and others) and a self-help motivator (Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, and others). But sales professionals needed more than self-motivation. They needed NLP to be a real tool to help them sell.

I have been working with adapting NLP skills for sales and marketing professionals since the mid-1980’s. I have worked with these techniques with a wide range of Sales professionals and also with a group of people in Australia that were considered, by most as losers and no hopers, “The Unemployed”. The vast majority these “Unemployed” discovered that by using effective communication techniques they were able to gain active employment. Over 90% of these people found work or started their own businesses after discovering how much more effective they can be with the “Competitive Advantage” of these techniques.

Recently, these NLP techniques have been applied to telemarketing and obtained sales increases of 16-35% by “engineering” scripts through NLP. These NLP techniques can also be applied to inbound customer-service settings to increase problem-solving effectiveness as well as add-on selling opportunities. They are “Highly Effective” in building “On Line Internet Businesses”, by integrating these techniques into Brochures, Web-Pages, Newsletters and e-mails.

How does NLP work?

At the most fundamental level, NLP skills help you make the other person feel comfortable and trust you. This process can be as simple as matching your verbal speed to mirror your customer. It can also be as complex as recognizing attitude biases or language preferences. By learning to talk the way your customer thinks or talks, you truly begin to “speak their language”. When people are comfortable with one another and are no longer competing or posturing for power, the process of rapport happens automatically, even over the phone. In the typical selling or survey interaction, rapport is hard to achieve. By knowing how to make the other person feel comfortable with you, you are gaining the advantage.

NLP skills can also be used to help a person mentally rehearse buying from you. NLP can direct the action of others in a subtle but effective way. By making what was once called “subliminal suggestions’, It is possible to help a person think BUY before you even offer a trial close. You can also command a person to TALK to you when conducting telemarketing, RECOMMEND you when you are presenting to a non-decision maker, or CALL you when you are leaving a message on voice mail.

Where can NLP be useful to me?

NLP skills are valuable for influencing anyone anywhere. Whether through mail, on the phone, face-to-face, or in a group presentation, NLP skills get results. You can get a person to listen to you. You can leave voice mail messages that get a response. You can get more information from a secretary or gatekeeper, and you can help people remember and feel good about your company even though you are making only a survey call for information. Any time or place you want to be persuasive, there are several NLP skills that are available to you.

NLP will give you a Competitive Advantage in:

• Direct face- to-face selling
• Client interviews to get information
• Selection interviews for hiring
• Voice-mail messages so they are answered or remembered
• Survey calls to generate interest
• Cold-call interviews with prospects
• Letters, memos, or conversations to influence
• Direct mail or brochures to create interest
• Phone solicitation or telemarketing
• Formal presentations to sell an idea
• Handouts to help keep a prospect interested

Do I need to be an expert on NLP to be effective?

It is not necessary to know why or how NLP works. It is only necessary to have the courage and perseverance to try the skills.

Therefore, you can enjoy the results of NLP without even being particularly good at using the skills. NLP skills get positive results even when you are still learning how to be smoother or more elegant in their use! Some practice is necessary for most of the skills, and a lot of practice is needed for a few of the skills. Like any skill, the more you practice, the better you get. But once you see what happens when you try one or more of the skills in The Competitive Advantage, you will be hooked. You will not need someone to talk you into practicing.

Do you need to use NLP techniques all of the time? No. You only use them consciously when you need them. When do you need them? When you are not happy with what is happening. As you learn to notice when an interaction is not going smoothly, you will see when to apply one of the NLP skills. When things are going well, you do not need to think about NLP.

Discover the power of NLP
Give yourself the power of the real Competitive
Advantage -- YOU

“The Competitive Advantage” is a program developed to apply NLP to selling and marketing. It is about selling yourself and your product or service. It is not about motivation or self-help. “The Competitive Advantage” gives you the tools to sell yourself in any setting to any audience. Contact Kevin Barrett at kevinjbarrett@kjbarrett.com for information on “The Competitive Advantage” program for you and your company.

Remember--most sales people have a good grasp of their product and how to talk about it. See the difference when you learn how to effectively use these people skills to sell it.

I would like to close by saying that in the past many of these skills have been used to manipulate people into choosing their products. Those that used these techniques in that way were not adhering to one of the fundamental principles of N.L.P., which is that it must be used with Integrity and in an ecological manner. We profess in using these techniques to build and strengthen long-term relationships with your clients and customers.

When used in this manner it builds an effective loyalty ladder for long lasting repeat business and the ability to create a strong REFERRAL BUSINESS. Many companies use “Telemarketing”, e-mails, and written brochures as a means of generating initial leads. When N.L.P. techniques and “Script Engineering” techniques are used for Sales Presentations, Telephone Communications and all forms of written communications the results are incredible. However, by not taking the next step they are often only maintaining a “Revolving Door” business and not truly developing a “Loyalty Ladder”. When this technology is used at every step of the “Sales Process” a self-generating Referral Business is the natural by product. Everyone WINS and the cost of sales reduces proportionally to the increase of customer satisfactions. Now……

All of these benefits and more will be yours, “just for the asking”.

You will be able to assist your customers and clients in making the best possible decision and your business will enjoy and experience the “Competitive Advantage”.

For further information and training in how to effectively anchor these into successful behavioural strategies please contact Kevin Barrett at kevinjbarrett@kjbarrett.com.

Kevin Barrett is a Business & Training Consultant, N.L.P. Practitioner and Silva Method Lecturer. If you would like to subscribe to receive more Free “Tips and Strategies” visit www.kjbarrett.com

Can a good Salesperson, Sell almost anything?

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 11:48:47 PST

Professional Sales Techniques

“Can a good Salesmen, Sell almost anything”….

Well, I have personally found that I had to change the “Wording” for me to become effective and the wording I use….

Is “A good Salesperson can assist people “Buying & Owning” almost anything”

The last statement is based on the people wanting to Buy & Own and having a “Need”… to “Buy & Own”… The salespersons responsibility is to find the need and assist.

No Need, No Sale…. No Need to Sell….

If there is a NEED…

Then all the Salesperson, needs to do is develop Rapport and Establish Trust…

That is a bit of an over simplification, but it is what I have found that works “Head and Shoulders” above the rest… and it is very easy to learn….

Strangely, I have found that were there is the least amount of Trust between Vendor and Buyer, is in the area of Real Estate…..

Kevin Barrett

Professional Sales Techniques

Physical, Mental or Cyber harassment can close down your business

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 11:37:27 PST

By Kevin Barrett http://www.kjbarrett.com

This topic may seem a little out of place on a Blog for Professional Sales Techniques, however, I think it is an important topic that should be brought up for review….

So…. Here it goes…. And after reading this I think you will agree it may actually be a very appropriate topic to be included as a Professional Sales Technique…

When I was training the Unemployed… I found that many of the participants were subjected to a Power/Control scenario… So often we think of abuse in terms of Physical or Sexual abuse….

I came across a project called the Duluth Project… from Duluth Minnesota…

There are two wheels that they use

One the Power/Control

http://www.duluth-model.org/documents/PhyVio.pdf

And the other is called the equity Wheel

http://www.duluth-model.org/documents/NonVio.pdf

I asked those in the group to look at the wheel not only from the standpoint of violence/abuse but also from the standpoint of the work place…. I think if we make the same transposition we can also see the abuses that can take place in the Work place… Sexual harassment is just one of the aspects of a more profound deep seat problem…

I then started to train Corporate client and used these wheels... I did not purposely change the wording, but I talked through the change of wording as it related to the work place... It was a very powerful technique...

They could easily say I do not use abuse but when confronted with scenario's in the work place that were similar to the wheels the recognition of the problem became, self evident....

I had senior executive say Oh my God, that's what I am doing to my wife or partner... or I used money as a means of controlling my employee...

Very interesting and very powerful recognition and changes took place.

Today I was speaking with a friend.. where her boss has been making comments, non supportive comments, and also using bullying tactics to, I am sure in his mind to motive the employee to give more to the company….

i.e. If you were really committed to this company you would come in during your off time and spend an hour or two helping out….

She put in for another job with in the organization, and she was told no, she had not proven herself by doing the above…

Now, she is a single mother, with an 8 year old son… and I have first hand experience on the High level of job performance she has been providing for this boss…

And it is not only I but everyone that has had anything to do with her in her position… they have all spoke with the highest compliments…

Now something is out of line here….. I download these wheels again…. And it confirms what can be termed as Abuse… not physical or sexual… but abuse of power… in the work place…

Now I have intervened and I have recommend work place mediation… I really don’t think the boss understands what he is doing…

And I believe once people are aware of another way of doing things they should be given that opportunity to make that shift…

And my friend can continue, work at something she is very good at and she also loves doing… except for this situation…

I would suggest that all business entrepreneurs and Sales Professionals become familiar with the Duluth Project Wheels and use them as a tool to improve their management and communications skills….

With education maybe we can make the workplace and cyberspace a safer work environment to be in……

I really hope we can make a difference with this problem….

An continue to have more Success:FULL Sales….

Kevin Barrett
http://www.kjbarrett.com

The Game of Networking… Is it really a Game?

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 11:35:56 PST

And Can a Professional Sales Person use this Technique to have more Success:FULL Sales?

By Kevin Barrett http://www.kjbarrett.com

I had a question posed to me today…. That inferred that “Networking” was really a “Game” and you need to know the rules of the Game to play it…

Or in the words of Kenny Rogers’ song, “The Gambler”…. “If you are gonna play the game boy, you gotta learn to play it right…..”

So is networking a “Game”?…

And is “Sales” a Game”?

I would tend to agree with that term, but not so much from the word itself, but from the emotion that is invoked from the participation in the act of Networking and Sales.

A “Game” is “Participation”, the act of playing.

I have spent most of my life traveling for business making connections world wide and developing friends on a Global basis.

Some of these connections have lasted a week, some have lasted a life time.

ALL have had a meaningful impact on my life and those that I have interacted with during those “Connections”.

The emotion that drives me in this “Game”, is “Excitement”… another word that covers the feeling is “Enthusiasm”….

It is the same feeling I experienced on each and every trip I ever made… “Who am I going to meet?” and “What great things will we accomplish, together?”

I also find that I have two distinct networks…. One is my close sphere, friends that I am in daily contact… friends and family where we share a deeper bonding….this sphere has a deeper involvement… and it is one where I can more readily see a positive impact from the relationship. (This can be on-line and off-line)

The other sphere are “Connections” that are there… occasional but none the less important.

In business, I teach companies that they are to develop what I call a “Loyalty Ladder” of Customers, not just a “Revolving Door” type business. To develop this “Loyalty Ladder”… they must have “Open” regular communications with their customers.

The same hold true for “Networking” and developing the “Connections”….

My challenge is this, “How, Kevin can you maintain “Open” Regular communications to nurture these “Connections”?.
How do I come to grips with maintaining this growing “Network” of “Connections” that I would like to grow into “Friends”?

In a Communications Model, derived from the field of NLP… out of the millions of bits of information that we are processing at any one point in time….

We are only able to be consciously aware of 7 +/- 2 bits of information.

The rest is handled below our conscious level of awareness.

I use the analogy of our Conscious Mind and Unconscious Mind, as a means of describing my growing Network….

I have 7 +/- 2 connections that I can concentrate on at one time… I guess these are the intense, in depth relationships…..

The others are there, just below the surface…… to be accessed when required…. Either by me or by the other party.

So much more is below the surface than above the surface.

I also know that when a connection is formed, with in us as a human, the stronger the emotional attachment associated with that connection, the easier it will be to access that in the future….

So, with “Networking”, I am aware that to have this “Connection” be meaningful, I must be the one to form a strong link…. Not the other person…. Although the strongest connections, are when each person takes care of their end of the link…..

For example, I have not had “Open” regular communications with people over the last so many years…. And when we catch up…. It is like no time has passed… we pick up where we left off…

Developing a Global network takes active involvement to develop… it takes a commitment to the “Long Term”….

And most importantly, when do I listen and respond to the urging of my Unconscious Network to make a Conscious connection again…. Just to say hello….

In business, I recommend effective use of emailing to maintain "Open Regular" communications with clients and customers...

These can be "Automated" and "Personalized" at the same time... and I have been using a product called Mailloop 6.0 Pro to accomplish this.... The product is truly amazing at keeping in contact with my sphere network, just below the surface.... (click on this link for more information Mailoop 6.0 Pro)

In addition in it is important to recognize that every connection is meaningful and can be profound.

The importance of this was etched into my mind… no my spirit…. At a very young age…

When I was growing up every summer vacation my family would go camping at a State Park in Finger Lakes region of New York State. Always a lot of fun.

When I got to High School age, it was also fun… there was always the opportunity to meet girls from all over the country….

In my 2nd year of High School, I invited a Football buddy of mine Mike.. to come along..

Every night we would invite all of the people we had met to my family's campsite and we would Sing around the campfire…. Good memories…

There was a particular girl, whose name was Mary… everyone was calling her “Crazy Mary”… She was an attractive girl, and was always by herself and had a sad look in her eyes….

My friend Mike and I were walking along the beach and as we passed Mary some other people were shouting there is “Crazy Mary”…

Well, I followed Mary back to the Cabin, she and her mother were staying in and started talking to her…. She was a nice girl… just very lonely and sad…. I then asked her mother if it was ok if Mary came up to our campsite that night to sing along with us…

Mike my friend and I would walk her up and walk her home…. Mary had a great time, and I remember that the group of us…. 6 or 7 of us… were singing all the way back to Mary’s cabin…. Yes there was a full moon that night…

That was the last I ever saw of Mary…

4 months later I received a call from Mary’s mother… to thank me for what I had done for Mary… I don’t know all the details, but Mary’s mother told me Mary had tried to commit suicide, before going on that camping trip… she had been having trouble fitting into a new school, and not feeling very good about herself…

That one night, with us, changed her perspective on herself and about life…

The interesting part is I don’t know what caused me to follow Mary back and talk to her and her mother… I was usually a pretty shy person… maybe it was the sadness in her eyes or the pain I saw….

But I did and I moved out of my comfort zone and “Connected”….

It taught me, that every “Connection” is important…. And we may never know the impact that “Connection” might have….

Our responsibility is to make it a positive one… no matter how brief….

Hopefully, it provides a different perspective on the “Game” of “Networking”…

And how we can turn this into an effective “Professional Sales Technique”.

Or is this just the “Game of Life” we are talking about?

Kevin Barrett
http://www.kjbarrett.com

As a Sales Professional, How do you know you have become an “Expert”?

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 11:34:11 PST

By: Kevin Barrett http://www.kjbarrett.com

Or, Do we ever really become an “Expert”… at anything?

This question was posed to me awhile back.

I listened and contemplated the myriad of answers.

The answers ranged from the old standards like, “An expert is anyone that is 60 miles away from home.” I guess that answer is derived from a “Prophet is rarely ever accepted in their home town.”

Others commented that an “Expert” knows their area of expertise intimately.

Well, my take on this is that the world is changing at a very fast pace. When I was in Research and Development, the “Development Window” (Time from idea conception to commercialization) was 7 years.

Today, that “Development Window” is for the most part 18 months, and shrinking.

So, How does this impact the Sales Professional?

Notice, I have used the word “Professional”. Small distinction from Sales Person, but the power of that word is this…..as a “Professional” we tend to treat our careers as a true “Profession”. A sales person tends to treat their career as, well, I guess, like an employee. A True Professional takes the Responsibility, the lead, for their development.

I guess that means we are continually BE coming, that professional. BE coming, that “Expert”

An expert…..Strives for personal and professional excellence. To be the best they can be for others, you must first be the best they can be for themselves (Remember, we are the most important person in our world.)

They become a master of attitude, a master of goals, a master of belief in themselves, a master of achievement actions, and seek a daily dose of what’s new. From the school of N.L.P., comes the four levels of learning.

• Unconscious Incompetence - You don’t know, you don’t know. If you have never seen a car, you would not know you did not know how to drive a car.

• Conscious Incompetence - You know, you don’t know. Now you have seen a car for the first time, you know you don’t know how to drive the car.

• Conscious Competence - If you concentrate on what you are doing, you can do it. You are learning to drive now and as long as you remember to put in the clutch and watch the road etc. you can drive.

• Unconscious Competence - You do not have to think about what you are doing, you can do it. It is like being on automatic pilot. You can now drive, listen to the radio, carry on a conversation and still stop at a red light. (most times!)

I believe there is a fifth level of learning, which I have called:

• Super-conscious Competence - You are now able to link up to other areas in your Unconscious Competency data base and create NEW creative responses. That response is the perfect response for any given situation.

Those who operate at this level are the true “Masters of Life” and the true “Masters of their Professions”.

This is the Level that truly denotes BE coming an “Expert”.

The expert does not always know all the answers, but they are able to take, what they do know, and come up with the perfect….. quantum response… from their information “Data Base”…

Taking what you know as well as “Breathing” (Unconscious Competency) and being able to “Breath New Life” (Super Conscious Competency) into someone… that can not breath on their own…. And save their life.

Under that perspective, I guess, I will forever BE coming an Expert… as I continue to learn and add to my Unconscious Competence “Data Base”

This is what a true “Sales Professional” does. They learn “Professional Sales Techniques” place them into their “Unconscious Competency” data base, and “Create” new creative, quantum solutions, from the Fifth State of Competency… Super Conscious Competence.

Kevin Barrett
http://www.kjbarrett.com

Are Sales people really Entrepreneurs? Or Are Entrepreneurs really Sales people?

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barrett) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 11:32:36 PST

………Or who really cares and does it really matter?

By Kevin Barrett http://www.kjbarrett.com

This past weekend I attended a marketing seminar, specifically related to the Internet… It was put on by IMC Internet Marketing Center, Derek Gehl. Derek brought quite a few of his staff…

I have used the “Insiders Secrets to Marketing you business on the internet”, by Cory Rudl for around 5 years. I recently purchased the new version again, my original copy is over in Australia… and it has changed a bit in the last 5 years… actually very good information… but it has to be turned into knowledge and then we must use it to create something…. Information is not much use, until we use… it.

Some background… when I was in Australia, I was the Marketing Director for a start-up Dot Com company, and we were setting up a fully online educational institute, affiliated with three Australian Universities. We were offering Undergraduate, graduate and advanced degree programs… along with Certificate programs…

This was in the late 90’s, and at that time I “googled”, Internet marketing sales… I know this was before google… but google is such a nice word…. And it is so much easier to say than “I performed a search of the internet to find information related to a topic that I was interested in that had the key words, Internet, marketing and sales”

After, obtaining information from a relatively unknown, young person… a non-traditional marketer… this Dot Com company had in 3 months over 150 students signed up for our Executive MBA (Entrepreneurship)

There were very few Universities in Australia that had that many MBA, students in their programs…

Well, needless to say, It reconfirmed my belief in the power of the Internet… and the impact on Sales and Marketing…

I should point out that I have been using the internet, long before it was called the Internet… I worked for 3M, and I was uploading my reports to our mainframe computer from around the world, using the telephone lines… The platform we used was the Defense Departments and piggy backed off that…

It evolved from there, so I have been using this for a very long time….

A year or so later I met this Internet Guru at a seminar in Sydney…. His name Cory Rudl…

Well, I have been using Cory’s techniques for a long time and they really do work….

Back to the Topic at hand….

Are Sales people really Entrepreneurs? Or Are Entrepreneurs really Sales people?

Somewhere in the early part of the seminar Derek Gehl asked the question:

Who of you are in Sales?

I raised my hand… and out of 300 some odd people, there were not to many more hands that went up…..

It’s interesting… people say that I am an owner, a business person, a marketer an entrepreneur…….

But people really hate to say that they are in sales or a sales person…It seems to be a dirty word… and I guess, Sell is a “Four Letter word”.

The truth is we are all in SALES.

Many years ago, when I was struggling with this perception of a Sales Person, one of my mentors, who was a Senior Vice President of 3M, told me

“that if we were ever going to succeed as a company…. And continue to be creative, innovative and become truly entrepreneurial (This was in the early 80’s)

We needed to stay close and learn from the most creative and entrepreneurial asset we have in this company….. The Salesman”. Today, he would have said “The Salesperson”.

I never forgot that…. The salesperson, is the connect, the nexus, to the market place.

Now, Ben the Vice President, went out into the field with the sales people… and became known as quite a good sales person…

“The best Sales Person in the Organization… Has to be the Chief Executive Officer…” quote Harvey Mackay, author and CEO Mackay Envelopes.

Interesting!

I wrote the following article almost 10 years ago, and it has been published it in several different forms.. This form was targeted towards the Sales Professional, but in reality it was put together as part of a “Pocket Guide for the Entrepreneur”

Feel free to read and download this article….

12 Faces of the New Millennium (a Pocket Guide for the Entrepreneur)

So in summary…

There is no difference in the characteristics of being a Success:FULL Sales person and being a Success:FULL Entrepreneur….

A company like 3M has known this little published SECRET, for many, many years…

And have consistently been one of the most innovative, creative and Entrepreneurial Companies in the world…

If it has worked for 3M, it can work for us….

What we think about we become…. What we think about ourselves we become…..

Perceptions are important… and perceptions about ourselves are even more important.

And that is why….

We need to care…… This small change in our thoughts as to who we are, will have a profound effect on our success.

Not only in our respective business, but also on our Success:FULL Sales….

Kevin Barrett

http://www.kjbarrett.com