“Acorns were good until bread was found”
~ Francis Bacon

I don’t know you personally, but I bet we’d get along great.  I say that because if you are reading this article, we must be kindred spirits.    At some point in our conversation, we’d realize that we’re both sales professionals on the same journey of continual improvement which has become a way of life for us.

As sale professionals we have been asked to believe in something.  To wholeheartedly buy into a product or a service that was created to add value to people’s lives and businesses.  We are then asked to share that belief and passion with everyone we know, and more often, with people we don’t know.  We are asked to put our beliefs on the line for critique, for judgment as to whether THEY (the prospect) feel it is valuable.  Thus, we are also kindred spirits because day in and day out, we put ourselves in a position to be rejected.  That is the life we’ve chosen and we couldn’t imagine it any other way.

Don’t take it personal?  Yeah right!

If you’re like me, one of the first “sales tips” you ever got was to not “take it personally” when people say “no” to us.  How is that possible?  I’ve always struggled with that concept because it goes directly against what I was asked to do.  My beliefs, my convictions, my passions are extremely personal to me, so how am I supposed to not take it personally when someone rejects them?

The truth is, the very best sales people DO take it personally.  It does bother them when people don’t buy or see the value they are presenting.  The best sales professionals are trusted because they are authentic and that authenticity comes from a foundation of actually caring, which is, by definition, a very personal process.

So how are we able to keep going even after taking all this rejection personally?  It’s not because we don’t care, it’s because we have developed effective coping methods to manage the rejection.  We use mantras like SW – SW – SW NEXT (Some will, Some won’t, So what, Next) to help us move forward on to the next call.  We share war stories with other sales professionals as a way of venting and offloading the stress.  At the end of the day, what really keeps us in the game, what really makes it all worth it, is when we make that sale.  At some point in the early part of our career we realized that the positive feeling behind truly solving a problem and making that sale, far outweighs the pain of rejection.  We begin to frame rejection differently.  I know for myself the switch happened when moved from believing rejection was someone saying “no” to me to thinking “obviously they would say ‘no’ at this point because I haven’t presented all the value yet”.  The emphasis moved away from me and onto the presentation and how well I was able to deliver the value message.  Not to mention, our ability to qualify the prospect became better which helped us makes sense as to why someone wouldn’t buy, they weren’t qualified (didn’t have the need or desire or ability to buy) while it improved our conversion ratios.

Personal & Professional Development

Given all that we go through in our profession, is it any surprise that we all gravitate towards personal and professional development?  Why we flood seminar floors and conferences looking for that next competitive advantage both psychologically and technically?  Why we listen to “motivational” programs to keep us on track every day? We do that because we are searching for ways to not only out-sell our competition and stand out, but also for ways to help us cope with the emotional roller coaster that is part of being a sales professional.

Continual improvement is not a new concept.  I first heard it from Tony Robbins when I was 17 years old when he called it his “CANI” principle.  “CANI” stands for Constant And Never-ending Improvement. It’s an acronym that Tony developed almost 20 years ago but he was first influenced by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Dr. Deming is credited as one of the leaders who brought one of the first quality movements to the Japanese back in the 1940’s.  His basic premise was that the secret to helping the Japanese achieve world power and economic success was if every single person and organization commit to constant improvement.  What a great philosophy for all of us!

The Japanese have a single word for “constant and never-ending improvement” and it’s called “Kaizen.” Kaizen is from the Japanese words Kai and Zen where “kai” means change and “zen” means good.  If you’ve ever worked in a manufacturing site, chances are you’ve heard the term “Kaizen Event”.  Now you know what it means.

I can remember the first time I spoke to a group of sales professionals.  After years of working with some of the world’s most challenging workforces and labor unions, I expected the same level of resistance to the concept of change.  Instead, what I found was a group of hungry and eager professionals looking for something new.  They wanted change and wanted it now.

Why Continual Improvement?

Once we get a handle on coping with rejection, we then need to face the reality that we are in a highly competitive world.  Consumers have access to more information than ever before which leads to more options to choose from than ever before.  It is essential that sales professionals become experts in the decision making process consumers go through.  Here is something I ask sales people to keep in mind:

“if you don’t choose a unique value proposition, then your customers will choose it for you.  And they will choose the only thing they know how to measure…price!”

This is to drive home the point that if we are to be successful, then we need to commit to continually improving not only our skills and our message but ourselves as well.  My mother once told me “you are either moving towards something or away from it, there is no standing still in an ever evolving world.”  That struck me very deeply because it made me question everything, every relationship, every action, every endeavor. Was I moving closer to or further from what I really wanted in life?  That applies perfectly to a competitive market place.  There are always new entrants coming in vying for your customers who can legitimately pose a threat to your business.  My good friend and best-selling Author of Mastering the World of Selling said it best when he said, “your best customer, is someone’s best prospect!”  So powerful!  If we aren’t continually getting better, someone else is and it is only a matter of time before they pass us up.

The foundation of improvement is Learning

The good news is we can ALL get better and improve.  That is what makes life so amazing, we can all get better and improve.  This puts learning is at the core of continual improvement.  We need to become experts at learning.  We need to nurture the hunger for learning every day and with every interaction we have.  Learning curves are what typically slow us down in the sales world but they are as long or as short as we want them to be.  If you take three months to give 10 presentations, it will be a long and slow learning curve.  I myself would rather give those initial 10 presentations in 2 days and conduct a review after each one.  Not to mention I’d probably record it for analysis and critique. It’s our choice.

Simple ways to “get better”

Here is a very simple yet actionable list of disciplines to adopt that would ensure continual improvement.  Everything on this list is designed to be simple and easy to implement if you have not done so already.  I believe that it is up to us to make the fundamentals of life unique and exciting.

Reading
We have to read.  If you don’t like to read, then get the audio book.  Our markets are changing, our customers are changing and we need to keep up.  There is so much good information out there today that there really is not excuse for not knowing what to do.  So don’t miss the book that could have saved your career!  Suggested reading:  The Millionaire Real Estate Agent (Gary Keller) & Action Selling (Duane Sparks).

Continuing Education
Take the classes.  They are available everywhere and taught by very smart people.  Even if you don’t like the instructor, challenge yourself to learn at least one new thing that you can implement.  Be driven by your desire to learn and not by how the teacher is or isn’t engaging.  I had THE WORST neuroscience professor ever but my desire to learn about the brain was so strong, that I took all his classes.  I sat through the boring lectures, read the unbearable research studies, it didn’t matter how I got the information, I just wanted it!

Learn how to take effective notes
Surrender to the fact that there is no way you will remember all of it.  There is way too much information coming at us daily that we need to have effective ways of capturing all that information.  I keep a chronological diary of my thoughts, meetings and ideas.  One notebook, not several, ONE!  It is dated with a subject for every entry.  Because of the chronology, it ties directly to my daily calendar which of course has all my meetings in it.  Chronology makes it easy to find notes from every meeting. EVERNOTE is a great tool.

Find good mentors
Stop trying to reinvent the wheel.  There are plenty of highly successful people out there that have walked your path that are willing to share their stories and ideas with you.  Seek your mentors, don’t just wait and hope they arrive.  Be aware of your current “mentors” and what they are teaching you.  We are influenced both positively and negatively every day by the people around us.  Make sure to add value to their lives and remember the biggest gift you can give a mentor is to heed their advice!

Master the Basics!

Goal setting
Your year has not begun unless you have clear goals with a clear action plan.  This is not rocket science and yet it is so often overlooked – what are your goals?

6 Money Making Activities
Make sure that your day is spent in the follow activities – Prospecting, Setting appointments, Presenting Value, Closing, After Care & Getting Referrals.  You can watch a video of me explaining this concept at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqILyyarooY 

Time Mastery
Time is all you have, so spend it wisely.  Get David Allan’s book “Getting Things Done” for a great system.

Commitment to growth and learning
Make it part of your everyday activity. Every sales call, presentation or meeting should always end with an “after call review”.  What you did well and what you need to improve.  Keep is simple.

Perseverance
The path of a sales professional is not an easy one but nothing valuable in our life ever came easy.  Stay in the game and persevere!

Discipline
Our days are full of distractions and opportunities to make excuses.  Don’t given in and stay the course.  If you have your goals and a clear plan, this becomes a lot easier.

Attitude/Philosophy
Life is a lot easier when we have the right attitude and philosophy about life.  This is a choice so choose the right philosophy.  Your team, your customers and your family will all thank you.

Association
Without a doubt, you will become more like who you spend your time with.  Ask yourself if you are surrounded by the right people.  Will they challenge you and push you to grow or do they enable the behavior leads to failure?

Can you now see why I say, we are kindred spirits?  This is who we are but yet, we sometimes forget.  I truly hope that this article serves as a reminder of the things that initially made you successful.  I hope these words reignite within you that fire for learning and passion for growth that you had when you first started.  The world needs professional salespeople more than ever to keep the economy moving, so let’s take back our market and show the world the value that we can create.  Till next time my friends…

A man yelled frantically into the phone, “My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart!”

“Is this her first child?” the doctor asked.

“No!” the man shouted, “This is her husband!”

I can’t hold it in anymore, I just need to say it straight out: most of us suck at communicating! But yet many of us (me included) think that we are great at it. You’re going to have to forgive my bluntness, but I needed a way to catch your attention amongst all the articles and information written about this abused subject.

Communication is a part of almost every human interaction, which is why we keep hearing that we need to be better communicators. But let me ask you a question, “How well do you communicate?” Most people respond with some sort of positive assessment of their communication while being somewhat open for more learning. Here is another question for you, “What would your significant other, coworkers, children, friends, boss or customers say about your communication effectiveness?” Before you answer, ask yourself this question, “Will they even tell me the truth?” If your immediate answer was, “Of course they would”, then this article is for you.

I have a simple goal and that is to make you paranoid (in a good way) about the effectiveness of your communication with others, and that can only happen when we become aware of what often goes unnoticed. Stay with me and it will all make sense.

The reality of our poor communication, along with what seems to be a collective belief that we are better at it than we really are, is a phenomenon that I have wrestled with for over 15 years. The word/concept of “communication” has been so widely talked about, misunderstood and over-used that it has entered the realm of becoming a cliché. Stanly Kubrick illustrates one of the underlying challenges we face when dealing with clichés:

“Our ability to talk about a subject matter
can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered.”

What he means here is that most of us can “talk” a great game in regards to communication, but when it comes to “walking” it, research and experience show that we stumble not just sometimes, but most of the time.

“The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms.”
-Socrates

Understanding the problem

Before we dive into what needs to change, we must understand the problem better. Webster’s Dictionary defines “communication” as “a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.” Okay, so by that definition, we are communicating all the time. I get it, but it doesn’t help me understand the problem. We need to look further.

I found a definition for “excellent communication” that states “a communication that is managed strategically, meets its objectives, and balances the needs of the organization and the needs of key people with two-way symmetrical communication” (Grunig & Grunig). Though I love that definition, it still doesn’t help me to understand why it is so hard to be (and be perceived) as an effective communicator.

Why is communication so hard?

George Bernard Shaw wisely observed that “the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” When we combine the collective wisdom of Kubrick, Shaw and Socrates, it becomes clear the biggest threat to good communication lies in our perceptions tricking us into feeling that we have communicated effectively or that we have understood clearly. The worst part about this is that our perceptions form our reality – which is to say that if we are not diligent in maintaining a high sense of awareness, we will never know when we communicate poorly.

How do we fix something that we are not even aware of?

First off, let’s remember that the things we take for granted in life (i.e., how we communicate) are often very complex processes when analyzed. For example, anytime we communicate something, there are six checkpoints that our message must pass through before it is fully transmitted. At any of these points, our message can either pass through in its intended form or become distorted.

The Six Checkpoints are:

1. What I want to say
2. What I actually say
3. What the other hears
4. What the other understands
5. What the other wants to say in response
6. What the other actually says in response

The illustration below shows a simple conversation between Bill and John. If at any point the steps in the process break down, there is the potential for a wide range of miscommunication.

Personal filters

Let’s assume that Bill is an excellent communicator and can translate what he “wants” to say into what he “actually” says. That information still has to pass through John’s (the listener’s) “personal filters.” These filters form an invisible barrier that can distort even a seemingly clear message from Bill. Common filters include the emotional state, cultural background, situational context, personal beliefs, and stress level of the listener. These filters will influence the perception and interpretation of Bill’s message, resulting in either a clear communication or a distorted one. The effect our personal filters can have on a message can be seen clearly among sports fans. We’ve all seen a referee make a certain call, and then watched how the fan whose team benefited argues that it was “fair” and “the right call”, while the fan whose team was penalized derides the call as a “horrible” one. Here you have two people receiving the exact same message, yet having completely opposite interpretations and subsequent reactions. All due to personal filters.

Types of Personal Filters

• Emotion: We are always in an emotional state – joyful, anxious, upset, expectant, excited – to name a few. Our emotional state will influence our reaction to the message. When we are upset or anxious, it is much harder to receive new ideas. Conversely, when we are joyful or expectant, and look forward to hearing what someone has to say, we listen better and are more likely to accept reasonable ideas if they are presented well.
• Culture: Personal history, country, state or cities of origin and upbringing have an enormous impact on our filters. Language and accent differences can confuse understanding of difficult concepts, as well as the interpretation of events, tone, facial expressions and the like. When formulating important messages, it is important to consider cultures, customs, and histories that are different from our own.
• Situational Context: Recent experiences and environmental factors also influence the way we receive messages. Unlike emotions, situational context involves elements that are external to the listener. This includes how the message is presented and what was said or done previously. For example, a room that is too noisy, dark, cold, or uncomfortable will distract the listener’s attention.
• Personal Beliefs: In life, everything we experience is related to previous experiences. When we understand an idea or concept, it is because we are relating it to our past learning, making truly new experiences a rarity. We have core beliefs about our lives that guide the way we listen, perceive, and interpret what we hear. Being aware of our listener’s personal beliefs, we need to select our words carefully and craft presentations and communications capable of touching our listeners on a deeper emotional level, which is where the most effective communication is achieved.
• Stress Level: Under stress, our brain becomes highly selective as to what it decides to let in to our perception. This phenomenon, while vital to protect us from physical danger, can make it difficult to listen and accurately interpret what is being said. Similar to the stressed husband in the opening anecdote of this article, we may completely misinterpret the question.

Words are NOT enough!

Most of us took English classes in school where we learned how to use words to communicate. But how many of us took classes on voice inflection and body language? Chances are you didn’t, unless you were part of the speech team or drama class. That question is important as we look at a powerful study done by Albert Mehrabian. His research illustrated that, in face-to-face communication, we impact people not only by the words we use, but also through the tone of our voice and our body language. The breakdown was as follows:

7%       What we say – WORDS
38%     How we say it – TONE of our voice
55%     What we do – BODY LANGUAGE (facial expressions)

Though Mehrabian’s model is often oversimplified, and can be misinterpreted when taken out of context, it is nevertheless one of the most widely referenced statistics in communications and carries a powerful message: 93% of the impact we make on others has nothing to do with words.

This short video gives a demonstration of how each channel of communication makes a different impact.

What can we do?

In the above illustration, we demonstrated that the listener does not always hear the intended message of the speaker due to personal filters. Although it is impossible to remove these filters completely, we can mitigate their influence. Here is an analogy from the world of mathematics that may help. How do we know that 2 times 3 equals 6? Because we can “check our math” by dividing 3 into 6, which gives us 2. So how can we check our “communication math” to make sure our message got through?

Here are some tips for effective communication:

• Ask Clarifying Questions. In addition to indicating interest and attention, such questions help to clarify meaning and may unearth multiple messages. For example: “I’m not sure I understand?”…”What was it you just said?”…”What do you mean by…?”
• Paraphrase. Do not assume you understand what was said. Use paraphrasing to test out what you heard and show your depth of understanding. For example: “Do you mean that…?”
• Repeat Back What You Heard. In stressful situations, avoid over paraphrasing. Come as close to a verbatim repetition as you can and ALWAYS ASK “Am I correct?” Make sure to give them a chance to respond “yes” or “no.” We have done this exercise with over 75,000 people, and almost all of them were shocked by how often the answer was “NO”. One of the most common reactions was, “I never knew just how hard it is to really listen.”
• Perception Checking. Remember that people also communicate feelings through language. A perception check should not express approval or disapproval of the other’s feelings, but rather should convey how you understand the feelings. For example: Jim: “I get the impression that you are bored. Am I correct?” Bill: “No, it’s very hot in here and I’m uncomfortable. That’s why I keep moving around.”
• Active, Attentive Listening. This type of listening takes practice and is an essential communication skill. Perfect practice of active listening involves being responsive through facial expression, eye contact and obvious interest. Words such as “I see”, “yes” and “please go on,” demonstrate your keen attention.

Well-chosen language, said in the right way and with body language that is congruent, can touch the heart and soul, find a common ground, tear down walls of division, foster powerful new relationships and move people to take action. Language that ignores another person’s emotional state, culture, current life situations, and personal beliefs will miss its mark. Instead of building trust, it can distance us from those we care about and those whom we need to influence.

I know that I was hard on you (and myself) earlier, so I will leave you with some good news. You have the answers, capability and the tools to be an outstanding communicator. In fact, you’ve had them all along, and the best part, they’re all free! Things like good eye contact, active listening, being sensitive to other’s stress level and background are all things that you know to be important. Perhaps they have become so familiar that we may have lost sight of their value and subsequently stopped using them. Now it is time to remind ourselves of the importance of these fundamentals and to apply them. Doing so will make the difference between winning and losing a sale, landing the job and not getting a call back, or getting through to your children about the importance of saying “NO” to drugs versus having them ignore you. I hope this message causes you to be at least a little bit paranoid about your communication—paranoid enough to slow down, think before we speak, and listen before we respond.

I am ready for the challenge…are you?

N: The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.

“The true measure of leadership is influence…nothing more, nothing less.”

– John Maxwell

Imagine a leader giving a great speech that earned a standing ovation or a leader running an amazing meeting with rave reviews. Now imagine that after the speech and meeting no one changed their behavior, no one did anything different and everything went back to exactly how it was before. Would you say that the speech or meeting resulted in success? The bottom line is that leadership is about influencing behavior change therefore; there can be no leadership without influence. Influence is the how of leadership, which requires leaders to have high-level skills in the art and science of influence.

Managers also use influence, of course, because only a fraction of managerial work can actually be accomplished through control and the use of authority. The aim of both managers and leaders is to accomplish an organization’s goals. Managers do it through plans, organization, processes, task assignments, measurements, and so on, but they must also direct people and manage their performance. It is impossible to manage people solely through command-and-control methods. People are human beings, not machines, mechanical parts, or assembly lines. They respond best when they are treated with the respect due human beings. People work best when they have a voice in how the work is done, and remain loyal and engaged when they feel valued, trusted, well informed, and cared for. That’s why the best managers also lead through the social and emotional approaches to influencing, not just the rational approaches.

Leaders lead by mobilizing people around a compelling vision of the future, by inspiring them to follow in the leader’s footsteps. They show what’s possible and motivate people to make those possibilities real. They energize and focus people on how to fulfill their dreams, give them a sense of purpose, and leave them with a profound sense of accomplishment when the work is done. Leaders lead by modeling ways of thinking or acting and by encouraging new ways of looking at situations, and by so doing they give people the words and the courage to make those new ways their own. The best leaders are teachers, mentors, and role models–and they accomplish the vast majority of their work through influence, not authority.

In many cases, leaders and managers are one in the same. The division vice president who leads a team of people to accomplish what they might not have thought possible is also a manager. The manager who oversees a team’s task performance but also looks after the team members’ career planning and coaches them on developing their skills is also a leader. The art of management and leadership is to know when to act as a manager and when to act as a leader, when to use authority and when to use influence, when to ask and when to tell, when to take over and when to let go. In every case, it is crucial for leaders and managers to understand the range of influence techniques they can use, know when and how to use them, build their power bases so that they have the capacity to be Influential and sharpen their skills so that they can influence people effectively. We like to call this Neural Leadership- the art of achieving goals for influence, change and growth through the application of brain research that brings out the best* in people. *Best: creativity, quality, intelligence, generosity, performance.

If Justin Timberlake can “bring sexy back,” then I’m “BRINGING SALES BACK!”

It’s time that we return to the roots of what we really are – salespeople. That’s right, I said it, salespeople. Not Loan Officers, Real Estate Consultants, Account Supervisors, or Business Development Specialists. No matter what we call ourselves, no matter what our title says, at the end of the day, we are salespeople. And it’s time that we bring the pride and professionalism back to the lost and ever so beautiful art of selling.

Okay, now that I got that off my chest, let’s talk about the first challenge in getting

back to “Sales Professionalism.” If I asked you for the first words that come to mind when I say “Car Salesperson,” what would you say? If you are like several thousand other people I have asked, you probably thought of words like, “sleazy, pushy, dishonest,” and you might have even said “con man.” Ouch!

The reality is that what you said about car salespeople is probably a pretty good reflection of how you subconsciously feel about salespeople in general. Sadly, you are not alone. Research shows that most people feel the same way. This fundamental belief means that no matter how great a case one can make for becoming a “sales professional,” no matter how much money someone would offer, nothing will make you feel okay with being pushy, sleazy or dishonest.

So step one is to change our beliefs – our basic feelings – about being in sales. We need to realize again that we are here to solve our clients’ problems, to make our clients’ lives easier and to make a good living doing what we are passionate about. And we can only achieve all those goals if we sell, which means we have to close deals. Though faced with decades of negative stigma, I am confident we can make the necessary changes.

Painting a new picture of a Sales Professional

We’ve all experienced those rare but unforgettable moments of complete and utter surrender to the skills, technique and enthusiasm of a true “Sales Professional.” We entered the scenario totally convinced that we were not going to buy. We even had the conversation in the car on the way over, making a pledge with our spouses that no matter how good it sounded, we weren’t buying! Then about half-way through the presentation you began to rethink your previous assumptions. You looked over at your spouse and shared a look that said “maybe there is something to this.” By the end of presentation, you did not change your mind, but you made a new decision based on new information that made you want to buy what they were selling.

It was masterful: the timing of his questions, the tone of voice, the amazing ability to listen to what you were really asking for. It was like poetry in motion. It seemed like that salesperson could read your mind – and wow – even understood your pain. We were helpless and totally at the mercy of the Sales Professional’s defined process and sequence, and the most fascinating of all, we loved every moment of it! The process was effortless, enjoyable and we even spent more money than what we had originally planned.

Why? Because the level of professionalism made us feel that our needs were safe we could trust this person. We felt comfortable enough to be confident that this process would solve our problem and add value to our lives. You see, we love working with true professionals. We love buying from them because they make our lives easier. Even better, we love referring them because they make us look good. We tell their stories at dinner and we go out of our way to ensure our friends and family use them.

So here are a couple of questions to consider. How many sales people do you know that are that good? My guess is that it’s a low number. Why is that? I believe that the answer lies in the fundamental problem with the sales industry: there are few systems to create true “Sales Professionals.” There are often very few barriers to entry in the field, little real sales training and often poor management systems that fail to hold people accountable. The madness has got to stop!

Defining the problem

As a consultant, over the last decade I have consistently seen the following gaps with many salespeople. I encourage you to use this article as a springboard for discussion with your business partners to delve into ways to improve your business models.

Using marketing as a cop-out to selling
Marketing and selling are both absolutely necessary to build a successful business, but very different. Struggling salespeople tend to prefer marketing because of the simple fact that it reduces the amount of rejection they need to face. Marketing, in its simplest explanation, attracts prospects to call us; while selling forces us to find people to call on and risk rejection on a daily basis.

Lack of defined job descriptions
This problem is worse in some industries than it is in others, but is widespread enough to warrant a look at. For example, ask 100 Real Estate Agents what their job is, and I would bet that all 100 would say something like “to sell homes.” Or they’ll give the text book answer, “to help my clients.” The challenge with seeing the job as “selling homes” is that getting a client into or out of a home is a “result,” but not a “job.”

Confusing activity with productivity (results)
This is a result of bullet point #2. If people don’t know what their job truly is, then any opportunity can seem like a good way to spend time. They live their work life like a feather in the wind, going in whatever direction the winds of “opportunity” decide to blow. It’s is easy to look “busy” while being broke. Perhaps this statement appears blunt, but the faster we can get real, the sooner we can solve the problem.

No structured, sequenced sales system (workflow)
Not having a predefined, step-by-step process to take prospects from initial meetings to close, salespeople can find themselves not only eating up their time, but even worse their clients’ time. TheSalesBoard.com research showed that 80% of sales people do not understand what the primary purpose of their sales call is. Their research goes on to say that by having a clear “commitment objective” you can cut your sales cycle by 25%. That equates to three extra months of sales time!

No “canned” presentation of value
I have seen many people go into sales calls with out any prepared presentation, resulting in them saying something different at every sales call. You cannot depend on your ability to talk to save your from this one. Every successful salesperson you know has perfected their scripting and presentation. And the true “Sales Professional” can deliver his or her presentation on a napkin just as effectively as using a PowerPoint. The ultimate goal of having a “canned” presentation is to make it sound and feel natural.

NO TRAINING in the Fundamentals of Selling
This was the first thing I noticed years ago. In many industries, because of either a very favorable market or because of a great marketing department, there was no great need for sales skills. Business was so abundant that anyone could make a great income. This was particularly true in the mortgage industry during the early 2000s. I was challenged about this once by an originator who said, “Well I made $250,000 in the ‘Refi’ boom, so I must be a sales professional.”  My response was that a lot of people made $250,000 then. The sales professionals however, made $700,000-$1,000,000 during that time.

Shame to be identified as salespeople
This is at the core of the problem. People who are ashamed to be salespeople don’t engage in the habits of successful salespeople such as closing, driving commitment, countering objections, prospecting, etc. The Resurgence of the Sales Professional is about bringing true skill and pride back to the profession of sales.

Our industry, unfortunately, is full of “order takers” NOT “Sales Professionals.” A good friend and true sales professional, Scott Hardy, defines an “order taker” as someone who “facilitates a transaction that would have happened anyway.” If the transaction would have happened anyway, then wouldn’t a computer suffice to get the job done? Isn’t that what vending machines are for? The world has changed and technology will continue to become more advanced, which is why becoming a “Sales Professional” is becoming more and more crucial to long-term success.

So what makes a “Sales Professional?”

My years of selling and studying successful sales professionals have resulted in the creation of the 7 Pillars of a Sales ProfessionalTM. Professional sales people build a solid foundation in each one of these pillars and grow in each one on a daily basis. They are as follows.

The Fundamentals of Selling

The fundamentals of selling consist of a basic, foundational sales skill set. These include features and benefits, hot buttons, closing, silence after asking for the sale, the law of averages, the 80/20 rule, the six money making activities, open ended questions, etc. It is virtually impossible to build a career as a sales professional with out this foundation. Returning to the fundamentals is the secret to getting out of a selling slump.

The Art of Selling
Anyone can draw a picture of an apple, but an artist draws an apple so beautifully that you might pay to put it on your wall. Learning the fundamentals is a great start and will make a dramatic impact on your sales career and pocket book. Now add learning how to deliver those skills in the same way an artist makes a painting and see your results soar. The art of selling consists of the proper use of voice inflection, body language, presentation skills, timing of questions, use of silence, pace of speech, etc. Research shows that tone of voice and body language make up 93% of the impact we make on other people. Essentially, it’s NOT what you say; it’s HOW you say it that matters.

 The Psychology of Selling
All sales people face the same psychological challenges of facing rejection, insecurity, fear, call reluctance and procrastination. These are not logical problems but rather problems of emotional self-regulation. Pure will power can sometimes be sufficient, but when we fail to overcome these challenges it may be due to taking a purely logical approach (better time management) to solve emotional problems (lack of impulse control). The psychology of selling consists of coping strategies and tools to deal with the realities of being a salesperson and creates the proper mindset and winning beliefs of a “Sales Professional.” This is a complex topic, which is why it is so difficult to master.

The Science of Selling
This pillar is exciting because it offers the opportunity to take a giant leap forward in generating results if applied correctly. By using key scientific methodologies understanding the role the human brain plays in making buying decisions, the Sales Professional can experience vast improvements in closing ratios and speed the trust-building process with clients and referral partners. Plus, the results can be achieved on purpose every time by following the scientific process/methodology, versus crossing fingers and hoping that the gift of gab or instinct will get you by.

A Defined Sales Process
Sales professionals know exactly what their job is on a daily basis. They know what their objective is on every sales call and are comfortable driving the sales process forward because they are crystal clear on what step is next. Their clients find it easy to do business with them because they reduce the number of decisions the client needs to make, allowing them to focus on their business. The foundation of a defined sales process is made up of what I call the Six Money Making Activities: Prospecting, Setting Appointments, Presenting Value, Closing, After Care/Follow-up, and Referrals.

Advanced Selling Strategies
Advanced Selling Strategies consist of creating leverage and compression, preemptive selling to eliminate all objections before they come up, and consultative selling. In essence, here you begin moving from $25/hr. activity to $2,500/hr. activity.

A LEAN Sales Accountability System
All of the first six pillars are, fundamentally, subject matter and skills that can be learned and honed by committed sales professionals. However, the key to bringing them all together and turning them into more income, is a lean system that ensures all the right things happen, at the right time, every time, with minimal wasted effort and maximum benefit both to the customer and to the sales professional. These principles are ones that have been applied for years and with great success in the manufacturing world, but have yet to really break through to the service world. Essentially, this would apply a “Toyota-like” approach to your business, leading to tremendous efficiency and quality gains.

Such a system should keep track of every one of your contacts as well as your current lead pipeline and then drive each lead through the Defined Sales Process (Pillar 5) that you created to take advantage of best practices. Contact management and CRM systems can be helpful here, but a lean workflow automation solution is the way to get it done right. Such a system brings accountability to how you are handling the leads in your pipeline and whether you are moving them through your Defined Sales Process at a pace and conversion ratio that ensures that you are consistently making money.

With competition high and unskilled salespeople lowering their prices on a daily basis, Sales Professionals need to streamline their business, focus on highest payoff activities and still deliver more value than competitors. By defining your sales process and accountability system, you then can focus on creating the life and business you’ve always dreamed of.

A Foundation of Integrity

I purposefully waited until the end to talk about the importance of integrity in the world of selling. Bottom line, we are fighting against the negative stigma because of the previous lack of integrity in our profession. Stanley Kubrick is quoted as saying, “If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered.”

Given all the general press, business publications, self-help books, research data and market analysis over the last decade, it is possible we have mastered the talk about integrity, but progress on the practical, applied “how” of integrity continues to confound even the best business leaders, managers and employees. There is much to be done to move the integrity rhetoric into a common business practice.

In conclusion I would like to call on you all to join me in bringing pride, integrity and professionalism back to the world of selling. Take pride in being a salesperson. Continue to educate yourself in your chosen profession. Go back to why you sell what you sell, and be willing to act on the customer care that you feel for your clients. Care enough to be unreasonable when they don’t understand the value of what you are offering and ask again for the sale. Your customers need the value you are offering.

I hope that the fire of pride and passion has been re ignited inside of you. The world needs salespeople of integrity to sell the right things to the right people at the right time. I look forward to seeing you all out there in the trenches as we lead the Resurgence of the Sales Professional! Now go make some sales calls and make us proud!