Sell Like Hell Sales Training Morsels -- #79 THERE ARE DIFFERENCES

THERE ARE DIFFERENCES:

REPUTATION, REFERENCE AND REFERRAL

 

DAVID RUBINSTEIN

EDITED BY

JIM OLSON

 The most efficient Sellers want to “work easy.”  How do I generate the best results with the least amount of effort? How do I leverage existing business to generate incremental business?

In my years of work with experienced and rookie Sellers, there continues to be confusion surrounding references and referrals. And now entering the mix is “reputation.”

REPUTATION – People talk about people. Our reputation is built without even knowing about it. In many ways, we’re the innocent bystanders as people come to conclusions about us. Reputations precede us at every business stop we make and can be good news - or bad news. When the phone rings and on the other end of the line is someone we don’t know but wants to know if we can help, that’s a function of a good reputation. Sometimes we’ll hear that they “got our name from John who used you in the past.”  Or, they might not even know the source of what was being said about us. Remember, reputations are established by someone else’s perception of what, and how, we do what we do.

REFERENCES – This is a “passive” way of using existing clients to generate new business. We might have procured written testimonials about the quality of our work. Or, we receive permission to “use their names” while seeking new business opportunities. We have their “word” about us in our pocket to use whenever it makes sense.

REFERRALS – In my experience, fewer than 5% of Sellers ask for referrals and even then the effort is limited to obtaining names and contact information. Asking for referrals (correctly) is the most powerful way to obtain business – if given the opportunity, our folks will open doors and “tee it up” for us. You may recall from Morsel #4 that we can be much more assertive when asking for help from our clients. Try this Protocol:

Who do you know that might be interested in (my service/what I sell)?

When will you be talking to them next?

How comfortable would you be in finding out from (prospect) what interest they have in talking to me about (my service/what I sell)?

When should follow-up with you?

By working diligently to establish a positive reputation along with utilizing references and referrals, we become more efficient in our sales and grow business in the simplest and easiest manners.

What do you think?

Good Selling to you!

SLH Sales System Morsels are meant exclusively for non-commercial use by the recipient. No modifications of any kind may be made without the written permission of the SLH Sales System.

SLH SALES TRAINING MORSEL #78

DAVID RUBINSTEIN

EDITED BY

JIM OLSON

WHAT I LEARNED WHILE WATCHING THE “WOLF OF WALL STREET”

AND

“THE SHARK TANK”

For years, decades, centuries, and perhaps millennia, tons of Sellers has been confronted with the “sell me this pen” dilemma. Whether veteran or rookie, whether on your first job interview or your 30th, or at a party, someone will put you to this particular test. It makes me wonder why this exercise is an indicator of how good we are but it’s out there – even in the movie, “The Wolf of Wall Street” and on the TV show, “The Shark Tank.” 

Early in the movie, Leonardo DiCaprio said to one of his cohorts “sell me this pen.” This dim bulb was having a really difficult time with the task but a colleague at the table simply said, “sign your name.” It’s as simple as “supply and demand.”

Similarly, I was watching “Shark Tank” when, lo and behold, a Sales Trainer appeared looking for an investor. The panelists, including Mark Cuban, began the grilling and I actually felt sympathy for the guy as he was being eaten alive – they are sharks! At that point, Cuban pulled out the “sell me this pen” thing.

As most Sellers are “tellers,” what happens next is predictable. This guy proceeds to describe the pen as if it was sculpted from the world’s finest marble, making a concerted effort to try to convince, persuade and cajole Mark Cuban to buy the pen. No deal and he quietly wimped – I mean, limped – off the stage.

What would have happened if instead of “telling,” we were to “ask” when confronted with this dilemma? If you are presented with this scenario, switch to “ask mode.” For example...

• “If I told you that you can have $1,000,000 and all you have to do is sign your name right here within the next 20 seconds, what would you be willing to pay for this pen?

Boom. It’s just that simple.

What do you think?

Good Selling to you!

SLH Sales System Morsels are meant exclusively for non-commercial use by the recipient. No modifications of any kind may be made without the written permission of the SLH Sales System.

 

Sell Like Hell Sales Training Morsel #77

CHANGE, PART 2

DAVID RUBINSTEIN

EDITED BY

JIM OLSON

 

People change for two (2) reasons -- they are either forced to or they see an upside in doing so. Unfortunately, history and battlefields are littered with the results of the former.

 

Here’s to looking for reasons to change – they are all around. It’s just that it can be so difficult. The easier route is to continue what we’re doing – the path of least resistance. But, what are the odds we’re doing what needs to be done in the most efficient and logical manner?

 

There are three (3) steps in change:

          * Intellectual – We are presented with an idea and say, “Hmmm!"

          * Trial – We owe it our company, Managers and ourselves to make an attempt at something different.

           *  Expectations – Unfortunately, if we don’t get the results we want (almost) immediately, we revert to what we’ve always done. See, “path of least resistance.”

I was talking to a young Seller the other day and he told me that he’s been changing the way he sells. He acknowledged that it’s hard but he’s making progress. All was good – then, he killed the buzz. He said he’d gotten comfortable with his changes and that he was satisfied with things. I implored him to immediately get “uncomfortable” again.

Being uncomfortable is the way it’s supposed to feel when changes are being made. Most importantly, know that eventually repetition conquers uncomfortableness. When you have a chance, pick up “Outliers,” a wonderful book by Malcolm Gladwell, wherein he postulates that it takes 10,000 hours of repetition to master an activity.

 

I even took some of  his (and my own) advice the other day. I practiced the weakest part of my golf game, chipping. I hit more than seventy (70) chips – first time ever, I mean it! As a result, I felt really uncomfortable doing it. The good news is that I’m almost there -- just 9,999 hours to go to master that 15 yard chip.

What do you think?

Good Selling to you!

SLH Sales System Morsels are meant exclusively for non-commercial use by the recipient. No modifications of any kind may be made without the written permission of the SLH Sales System.