It`s Time For Our Sales Culture To Grow Up!

Transcription

It’s Time For
Our Sales Culture
To Grow Up
How to quickly incre ase
your bottom line by up t o 20%
By
Bruce Bowen
All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of
the author.
© Bruce Bowen
Published by
Bruce Bowen
bruce@softskillsti.com.au
llustrations/Cartoons sourced from Presenter Media presentermedia.com
Cover Design © Dani L Bowen 2012
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ISBN: 978-0-646-58509-3
Acknowledgements
More often than not there are people and influences
behind any project. This case is no exception. I would
like to thank my many colleagues and leaders who have
influenced and added to my library of knowledge, and
who have encouraged me along the way.
A man is fortunate to have a special woman in his life.
I am extremely fortunate to have three.
To my daughters Shelley and Danielle who have put
up with much, yet never doubted their “old man” and
have encouraged, supported, and lent their own skills
and talents to this cause.
To the MOST amazing woman I know. My wife,
friend, partner and soul mate, Jenny. Your belief in
me, your un-ending sacrifice, commitment, and your
tenaciousness all add up to being my immovable rock.
Thank you XXX
3
About the Author
Bruce Bowen has over 30 years’ experience in teaching,
training and as a sales professional. In recent years
Bruce has been researching, developing and validating
the training material that makes his approach to sales
training powerful and effective. Bruce’s personal success
in the sales arena has given him great insight into the
needs and requirements of the sales professional, retail
sales staff and small business owners. Bruce realised
that traditional sales training whilst very important,
was no longer enough for our buying patterns today.
This understanding inspired Bruce to write a unique
and extremely potent training course that combines
three different skill sets that will be outlined in the
following pages.
Having been on both sides of the fence, as a
teacher/trainer, and in the field as a very successful sales
professional, Bruce has a perfect balance of theory and
practice. Having “done it”, Bruce knows how to “teach
it” and his passion and enthusiasm to see others grow
and succeed makes him an extremely effective trainer
and communicator.
5
It’s Time For Our Sales Culture To Grow Up
To have Bruce speak at your function, or to train and develop
your biggest asset - your staff, or to help your small business
get the edge in the markrt place you have always dreamed of;
please go to www.softskillsti.com
6
Chapters
1.
The Void .............................................................9
2.
It’s time to move on ........................................17
3.
So What Now? .................................................25
4.
The 3 Tiered Sales SuiteTM - Pt 1
The “Sales Roadmap”TM ...................................27
5.
The 3 Tiered Sales SuiteTM – Pt 2
“Soft Skills” .......................................................37
6.
“Abundance Of Mind” ....................................51
7.
A few tips for Small Business. .....................75
8.
Dare to Change ................................................85
7
Chapter 1
The Void
The Void
If you’re anything like me, you’ll not be the fastest
reader, so I am typing this slowly ☺
First lets have an extremely brief look at the history of
sales.
It is well recognised that sales is the oldest industry
in the world where everyone is a sales person. We
either sell a product or service, and idea or ourselves.
We can go back almost to the beginning of time with a
particular serpent doing a pretty good sell job on Eve
with that apple.
So why is there the need for a sales process? Is it a
need, or a perceived need? A want; a desire to have
something we do not? A desire to have more? Is it
greed, or necessity? Is it emotional or spiritual, envy
or addiction? Of course, it is all of the above. With the
powerful emotions involved in all of the pre-mentioned,
comes the sales person who could satisfy every one of
them, and with it, the product or service that soothed
the often-burning desire within.
History is full of stories of great salesmanship and those
of, well, less than savoury tactics. We will however
10
The Void
move forward to the modern era and look at what has
perhaps most impacted our sales culture of today.
In the circles of sales and personal development it is
recognised the father of today’s thinking is Napoleon
Hill. His most recognised teachings are found in the 20
million copy best seller “Think and Grow Rich,” published
in 1937. It is still used by the majority of trainers,
teachers and training organisations worldwide. It is the
bible of our industry and a must read for all readers of
this book …….. perhaps finish this one first.
In short, the principles in “Think and Grow Rich”
are based on empowerment, personal growth and
emphasising the attributes of an era when integrity,
courtesy, and ethics were held as imperative building
blocks both for society and one’s own character. They
focus on the thought that if you truly help enough
people get what they want, then you will automatically
get what you want. It also takes the reader on a journey
of responsibility for one self and the empowerment to
think big and achieve.
Another significant author and contributor to our
sales culture as we know it today, is Dale Carnegie
and his book “How to win friends and influence
people.” This is another must read for anyone who
has to communicate with people on any level. Dale
Carnegie explores and expands the important skills of
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communicating and relating to others. He highlights
the need of understanding others and how they think,
act and process information and emotions. It is not all
about me; there is someone else involved in a 2-way
conversation.
Then came along the master of sales, the consummate
‘closer’ Zig Zigler. If you were exposed to any training
in the late 1970’s and into the 80’s (yes, ok, I’m 50 yrs
old) then the first, second, and third course was Zig
and for dessert along came Tom Hopkins. Both of these
gentlemen are responsible for in one way or another
shaping and training more than half of the world’s
sales force. They were household names, and in almost
all sales staff meetings around the globe you would
hear the words: “Zig says this” and “Tom says that”.
Their teaching became the foundation of how to close
a sale, how to get someone to buy anything, and we
all had a list of 27 ways to do it in our back pocket.
Armed with this list we could knock on any door with
whatever product or service we could get our hands
on and go hammer and tongs at the person in front of
us, and yes, we often walked away with more money
in our pocket than when we arrived.
Do you think this would still work today? Heck
no. And it’s a good thing too. Today’s consumer is
educated more than ever before. They are armed with
more information on the ‘tricks of the trade’ of the sales
12
The Void
person, they are skeptical of “the deal of a life time”
and more often than not can smell the proverbial rat a
mile away. The customer is much more aware of their
rights as a consumer, and now, there is this wonderful
thing called Google. Enough said.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that many
of the skills we learnt from Mr Zigler and Mr Hopkins
are no longer valid. On the contrary, there are some
that will be the support structure for every sales person
in the world. There are however, many, or at least
the interpretation of, that will just not cut it in our
society today.
I recently overheard a Salesman in a jewelry shop who
was assisting a middle-aged couple buy a diamond
ring. As the wife was admiring the enormous rock on
her finger with a likely equally enormous price tag,
the salesman turned to the husband and said, “do you
still love your wife as much today as the day you got
married?”
Now if you are a salesperson of the same ilk, you will
be saying, what’s wrong with that? If you’r not, then
you are probably lining up behind me wanting to take
a swing at him. That sort of sales crap might have got
you somewhere in the 70’s but not today, and it’s not
wanted by the majority of the sales fraternity either.
So why have I brought us to this point?
13
As the heading of the chapter says, there is a widely
reported void In much of today’s sales training. This is
not just my comment; you can open the business pages
of newspapers and magazines across the country and
read reports from HR and sales managers, and even
research and audit companies explaining the shortfalls
of sales training. One research company said a report
showed the overall enquiry rate, to the actual sales
ratio had fallen to 2.4% and that consumer buying
patterns and our sales strategies are simply no longer
on the same page. Now that is quite alarming to say
the least.
We as consumers have moved on from the culture of the
1970’s and 1980’s. We have evolved into the consumer
that we are today with our extra savvy awareness,
our clever searching out skills and with all the other
things the ‘WWW.’ has educated us with. Our sales
approach has not. Sure, there have been sales courses
with different colours and fancy names added, they
have been wrapped up in bright shiny paper and make
us shout in the mirror and jump up and down and do
what ever else. What you will find, however, is that
underneath many of them they are still the same content
that we had 30 years ago. They have not changed with
the times, which is why the reports are coming out that
“today’s sales training simply does not last.” Sure there
is the initial boost in excitement and enthusiasm and
the sales figures even increase……………for a while.
14
The Void
But it does not take long for the effects to fade and the
status quo is returned.
Again, do not get me wrong. I am not saying that the
content is no good or not relevant, much of it is. It is
however lacking elements that are consistent with our
evolving culture and thinking. Okay, I am saying that
some things should just be left behind. What are they I
hear you say? Read on dear friend, all will be revealed
a few pages on.
15
We need to bring
our sales culture
into this century.
16
Chapter 2
It’s time to move on
First, let’s try and paint a picture or at least sketch out
some of the goings on in the 1970’s and 80’s that are
relevant to this chapter. The baby boomers and the
early gen X’s will relate well and understand this. As for
the rest, well you have just inherited the sales culture
from this era so this may give you a small insight as to
why we are facing the sales void we are now in.
It is indeed time to move on. Actually it is long
overdue. Not only have we evolved and been educated
as consumers, society and much of what is important
to us has changed. We have had massive generational
change. How on earth does a baby boomer even try to
understand the gen Y? And what about the Builders,
also called Matures, that came before the Boomers. For
them trying to communicate to the Gen Y’s must be
like talking to Aliens.
Now before any of my Gen Y readers get upset, I am
not saying that you are wrong or implying any other
negative inference. I’m just saying your thinking and
what is important to you is different from Gen X, who
are different from the Boomers, etc, etc.
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The world is getting smaller and our global knowledge
base is now doubling every decade. In the 1970’s if
you travelled overseas you were considered by many
to be extremely wealthy and at least, very fortunate,
and/or were among the elite of society. Today kids
are traveling while still at school, and when they leave
school, on goes the backpack and off they go into the
wild blue yonder and turn back up on the doorstep
when their money has run out.
Can you see a picture of change forming in front of
you?
As sales people, we not only need to come to terms with
these changes, but also the need to fully understand
the massive change in the cultural diversities and the
integration of a plethora of ideas, tolerances, tastes
and approaches to doing business. We are now truly
multicultural.
I can remember as a kid on a special occasion going
out for dinner as a family. It was the local restaurant
or steak house, serving 3 varieties of beef, 2 chicken
and veal for the expensive taste. If we were really
daring, and completely stepped out of our comfort
zone, we would visit the only Chinese restaurant in
town. Now that was not only special (fried rice, No 62
- sorry, couldn’t resist) but it was really stretching the
cultural borders and anyone who did was considered
19
rather game and adventurous. Today I can walk for 10
minutes in any direction and eat at one of 14 Chinese,
Thai, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, French, Nepalese,
and other restaurants.
Thank goodness these wonderful people had the
courage and intestinal fortitude to emigrate to this
fabulous country, or we would still be eating meat and
3 veg, six nights a week.
This cultural change means many things, and has many
ramifications to it, but I will try and keep it relevant to
sales. Not only as a sales person do we now have to be
at least a little aware of cultural differences in how we
serve each customer, but the opposite is true as well.
When I go shopping, I can be served by people
representing 15 different ethnic groups in the space of
an hour. So how does that make me feel as a consumer?
Are my traditional Aussie cultural buying needs and
habits being met? Can I shop with the same approach,
the same tactics on my side of the fence? This is all a
bit strange.
All of a sudden I am out of my comfort zone, I have
to adjust to a different style, a different approach, a
different way of thinking, a whole different thought
process towards what I want and how I am going to
get it with my game plan. After all, I am the customer
here, and I’m always right, right?
20
So if that’s the conundrum of the customer, how must
the sales person be feeling? And more than likely they
haven’t had any training! They got the job, were trained
in all things I.T., occupational health and safety, food
standards, fire drills, how to mop a floor, use a cash
register and one of those things you swipe your card
through that sucks all your money out. But rarely sales
training, or god forbid, customer service. They were
just pointed in the right direction and simply told,
“there is the customer, go get ‘em tiger.”
They are just trying to do the best they can, with
whatever skills they have. They are trying to deal
with all this cultural stuff and work with the sales
culture they have inherited, trying to make sense of
the confusion written all over the customer’s face. Oh,
and also have to handle the aggressive and sometimes
abusive ones. We could of course train them how to do
this, but that would cost money, so they will eventually
sort it out by themselves…………………won’t they?
The truth is, many of these aggressive and abusive
customers are just incredibly frustrated. They are trying
to deal with all this change without any real structure,
boundaries or guidelines, just like the rest of us.
Back in the 80’s and early 90’s we were told that as
a country we Aussies had grown up, apparently. We
were big boys and girls now and can stand on our
21
own two feet. Complete with our own strengths and
weaknesses, with our own idiosyncrasies, and idioms.
Independent of the rest of the world and we really
don’t need Charlie or mummy now. So does that mean
we can think for ourselves and make our own decisions
as to what is good for us as well? Surely we know what
is best for us. We have even won a few gold medals
along the way.
So why have we left our sales culture the same?
So just how big is this void thing?
We have established that much of our sales culture,
as well as the origins of our sales skill set is still back
in the 70’s with Zig Ziglar and Tom Hopkins. This is
in fact the beginning of the enormous void in sales
training. Way back then, the sales culture may have
been fine and acceptable for that era and the American
cultural influence of sales on our society was accepted
and may have even been relevant. Today it is not quite
the same.
It is important we keep the sales culture relevant to our
societies culture and let it evolve as we do, culturally,
and generationally.
So let’s move on from the old era of sales and leave
behind what is no longer relevant but indeed keep all
the good things from Ziglar and Hopkins; the skills that
22
are relevant to sales and fit with our culture. These are
the skills that indeed have no time limits or expiry date,
and should form part of every salesperson’s tool kit.
The sales problem is now 2 fold. We have evolved
as consumers, and now we have stripped back the
conventional sales approach of the last 30 years.
In fact what we do have is a fantastic opportunity and
a starting point to rebuild the sales approach to be
exactly what is required for this point in time, and for
our wonderful culture.
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24
Chapter 3
So What Now?
25
So What Now?
With all the changes
this country has gone through,
It is time for our sales culture
to grow up, and catch up.
26
Chapter 4
The 3 Tiered
Sales SuiteTM - Pt 1
The Sales Road MapTM
27
The Sales Roadmap TM
Before we start I need to briefly explain what the
“3 Tiered Sales SuiteTM”is.
We have realised the great big hole, the void in the
approach to traditional sales and sales training. The 3
Tiered Sales SuiteTM fills this hole. I start with the basics
of sales training as we know it. I then add 2 extra skill
sets which not just fill the void, but complement and
inter-relate with the first tier, and each other. We now
have 3 skill sets all interactive in every way, which now
takes the customer on a simple but co-driven journey
with the sales person to a mutual end.
The sales suite has variations for different applications.
The sales professional in a high end industry, the retail
sales person, and small business. It is in fact a “suite”
of sales suite’s.
Lets move on. We can take 2 approaches here. We can
reinvent the wheel, and start over, or we can take all the
good bits form our predecessors and what is needed to
fill the void and paste it together. Perhaps a bit of both
is required.
28
In my time as a sales professional, I was always hungry
to learn. My behavioral style is one that likes to win, to
be the best (I can see my past colleagues nodding their
heads). My sales managers soon learnt that it only took
a carrot or a prize to be offered and I was there. Head
down, bum up and I was off and running. What that
also meant was that I was keen to learn new skills, new
and better ways of doing things. Faster, bigger, better,
stronger. All the things that would get me that prize on
offer. You know the type of person; there is always one
in every organisation.
The result of this hunger to succeed, was that I developed
a sales strategy that was producing fantastic results.
Although I have to admit, as much of it happened by
accident as it did by careful design.
Most sales people start out their sales career with
their first sales job and undertake some form of sales
training. Some is in-house by the sales manager or
training and development manager, some companies
send their staff to a seminar or two. This training
period generally lasts anywhere from one to six weeks.
So now the training is done and the sales professional
is let loose on an unsuspecting world.
How many sales people actually revisit their own
training and their ‘sales roadmap’TM? Most are still
doing the same things they did when they first started.
29
If they started in January of 1975, then it is likely they
are doing the same things now and have not evolved
their skill set a great deal.
Perhaps a brief description of what the sales roadmap is,
is required at this point. The “Sales Roadmap”TM is the
map of the journey a sales person takes their customer.
It has a beginning which we generally call qualifying.
This is simply to find out where the potential customer
is in the buying process. Are they ready now, or just
looking for ideas. Perhaps they are looking for someone
else. This is to find out how best to serve the customer.
Then comes a series of questions to find out the nitty
gritty. All of the details and customers needs and wants
so we can provide the best fit for our range of products
and services. After questions back and forth we then
try and come to mutual agreement with the customer
and shake hands on the transaction. This is of course
a simplified version, and there are sometimes many
stops and starts which need to be well sign posted for
the customer so they understand and agree with the
journey.
It dawned on me that my “Sales Roadmap”TM was
evolving and I was becoming more efficient. I was
providing my product and service to more people, in
less time and with healthy profit margins.
30
I was saying and doing things when face to face with
customers that had me saying to myself, “where
the heck did that come from” but it worked and the
customer was happy.
This process continued for a number of years to the
point where I had my career sales ratio down to 1
in 2.3
Today for the majority of professional sales people,
the ratio is 1:4 to 1:5 A very good sales person will have
a ratio under 1:4 and the top of the class will have one
under 1:3
I mention what mine was not to boast, but to explain
the power of this thing that had evolved.
So why was it working so well?
Over the past few years I have been stripping back my
“Sales Roadmap”TM, analysing, testing and validating
all the components so I could get it to a point where I
could document it, and teach it to others. One of my
other behavior styles or character traits is that I love
to teach.
“There is nothing more exhilarating than to see the face
light up as a delegate has a revelation of understanding
and gains new self-belief.”
Bruce Bowen
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What I had done was combine different skill sets
which were not just complimentary to, but were also
interactive with each other. What had happened was,
that a lot of this learning I had done, and much of it was
stuff I had picked up 20 years ago and was embedded
deep in my subconscious, was just coming out.
There were bits of information I learnt from being
involved in this particular group, and some more
from that organisation at a completely different time
and place and had no relevance to the other stuff I had
learnt….. or at least at the time I didn’t think so. There
was a principle from this book and something from
that book or cassette tape (Gen Y’s ask your parents
what that is) a bit from that video given to me from
some bloke I can’t even remember.
As I was developing my “Sales Roadmap”TM and
realising the gaps and voids left by the traditional sales
training, stuff was literally just coming out of my head
and filling those voids. Even more surprising was not
only did it make sense, it actually worked.
There were three fundamental skill sets.
First were the basics of sales. All that good stuff from Mr
Ziglar and Mr Hopkins. From qualifying the customer,
finding what their needs are, meeting the benefits of
my product and service to their requirements, isolating
any objections, right through to closing the sale.
32
Actually I hate the term closing . No one should be
“closed”- nor do I appreciate being closed. I think if
we’re all honest we would say we feel the same. The
words negotiating, satisfying the need, solving the
problem and mutually winning are all much more
fitting terms for the way we buy today.
So in order to start a new sales culture that is fitting with
the ethos of this book, we will from here on refer to it as
“the agreement” The most important part of this skill
set is having a clear and defined “Sales Roadmap”TM It is
the journey that you and your customer go on together.
Notice I said “go on together” It is not one that you take
the customer on. It is not you doing all the driving and
steering. Besides, that is far too much hard work. Is it not
better to have the customer do some of the steering and
feel they have driven themselves to the final destination?
Now that takes a whole new skill set.
Actually that is exactly what I am on about in this
book, and the workings of it will be unfolded for you
shortly.
Your sales roadmap needs to have all the stops planned
out with clear direction and well sign posted. It needs to
be flexible to add or delete a stop or two depending on
the customer. Remember there is always more than one
route to take on any journey.
33
I have asked many sales people to explain their sales
roadmap for me and I am amazed at how many either
don’t have one or can not give it to me simply and
clearly. If you do not have a sales roadmap in place
that you can explain clearly in less than one minute,
then I fear you are missing many sales opportunities.
If you don’t know, how can the customer know where
they are going and have any confidence and trust in
you, their co-driver.
A rally driver relies on the navigator to give the correct
information, the right sign posts at the right time.
Then the driver has the confidence to make the driving
decisions.
Being organized and professional is part of the
roadmap.
Please have enough respect for your customers to do
that. Have respect for everyone’s time, respect for the
sales process and for yourself.
There are many sales roadmap formulas out there and
they can be easily found if you do the research. Mine
is a 5 part plan and I like to keep it simple. It is not
one that I have consciously copied from anyone, it is
the one that has evolved over time. Feel free to use it.
Although without detailed explanation it won’t make
complete sense.
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Here it is:
Preparation
Qualify
Face to Face
After the Call
Sharpen The Axe
Is that it I hear you say?
Yep, that’s it. What makes it work is the different skill
sets and the way they all work together.
It is not the purpose of this book to teach you the
traditional sales skills. I am going to assume you have at
least the basics, like qualifying the customer, and basic
agreement skills. That being said this is the first skill set
in the “3 Tiered Sales Suite”TM
Sales Skills
35
Chapter 5
The 3 Tiered
Sales SuiteTM – Pt 2
Soft Skills
37
Soft Skills
Interpersonal skills, communication skills, relationship
skills. These are known as “soft skills”
Lets have a look at a few definitions of “soft skills”
Soft skills are:
•
The character traits and interpersonal skills
that enable us to deliver our knowledge and
occupational skills with purpose and success.
•
Behavioral competencies. Also known as
Interpersonal Skills, or people skills, they include
proficiencies such as communication skills, conflict
resolution and negotiation, personal effectiveness,
creative problem solving, strategic thinking, team
building, influencing skills and selling skills, to
name a few.
•
They lead to great customer service, and a
customer who has received great customer service
will keep coming back and tell others of their good
experience.
•
An important part of their individual contribution
to the success of an organization. Particularly
38
those organizations dealing with customers faceto-face are generally more successful, if they train
their staff to use these skills.
•
Occupational Skills or Hard Skills might get you in
the front door, but it is the Soft Skills that will get
you the business.
•
The personality-specific skills that determine
the success of a person as a leader, a negotiator,
a mentor, a mediator, an influencer and a
communicator.
•
Soft Skills are what matter most in dealing with
the day to day running of a company.
•
Your knowledge and qualifications are why people
might talk with you; the Soft Skills are why they
will do business with you.
•
It is the Soft Skills that will have the biggest impact
on your success.
These are amongst the principles and skills associated
with the writings of Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie.
I can not possibly go into all of their subject matter, and
not all of it relates directly to The 3 Tiered Sales Suite TM.
Besides you can read it yourself. I just needed to mention
at this point that that Napoleon Hill in particular is the
foundation of the personal development era that we
39
hear so much about today. Nearly all of it goes back to
his teachings.
Hopefully you now have a clearer picture of the soft
skills.
We all know as sales people that the first thing a
customer buys is not what we have to offer. It is of
course us.
We are told that our subconscious mind takes in
information through our 5 physical senses at the rate of
10,000,000 bytes per minute. That is 166,666 per second.
We are also told that we make up our mind about
someone, or judge them, size them up, in 4 seconds.
That equates to over 666,000 bytes of information
about a person. So if someone is going to buy us first
before they buy our product or service, how important
are those first 4 seconds? To put it in an even more
powerful context, lets have a look at communication
style effectiveness.
We communicate in three main ways. By words, by
tonality of what we say, and by body language. Which
do you think we use the most? It is in fact by words,
unless your Italian and then it is by hands. I’m allowed
to say that as some of my closest friends are Italian and
they gave me the ok. What is the most powerful way of
communicating? Here are the figures;
40
Words
Tonality
Body Language
7%
38%
55%
(using Albert Mehrabrin’s communication model
1967)
Surprised!
Most sales and HR managers in the past, when looking
for gun sales people have searched for the great talker.
You know the ones. They can tell you everything there
is to know about the product, it’s features, it’s benefits,
all the variations and applications. They certainly do
not lack in confidence and can talk the dial off a two
bob watch.
In fact the best sales person is a great listener and
knows what questions to ask, and how to talk not just
with their mouth .
Why do words have only 7% effectiveness and body
language 55%?
When you talk, the listener has one sense to take in the
information. With body language, the eyes see, there is
the sense of touch involved with good body language
control. The ears hear all the movement, and believe it or
not, even the sense of smell gets involved as a memory
sense. Let me explain.
41
Think about a very special time in the past when a
meaningful event happened. Not just think about it,
relive it, get involved emotionally with it and experience
it all over again. You not only see it in your mind, but
you can re-experience it complete with the smells and
tastes, the sounds and emotions of that moment.
When the subconscious mind is allowed to get involved
there is an entire memory bank of information that has
been activated.
The subconscious mind of the person you are talking
to is analyzing every little movement of your body
language. The tilt of the head, the dilation of the pupils,
the lean of the body, the way we sit in a chair. Are our
legs and arms crossed or open? Is there a frown on
our forehead, or a squint of the eye? Perhaps a raised
eyebrow, or a fidget with the hand or fingers. A tug on
the earlobe, a scratch of the chin. The list of giveaways
and indicators to the subconscious mind who has been
programmed for years is endless.
You might think you are being very clever with a little
white lie about a product, or when you stretch the
truth just a bit. The customers subconscious however
knows exactly what is going on, your body language
just told them.
Getting back to those first 4 seconds. Can you see how
important they are? Your customer is going to make up
42
their mind about you very quickly, so you had better
be on top of your game. Is your shirt ironed, are your
shoes clean, is your collar straight. Is the diary in your
hand in good nick, is your bag clean, fresh and give the
picture that you are keen, organized and professional.
Not old ragged and tired looking.
You mean
Absolutely.
this
stuff
can
make
a
difference.
An important part of the soft skills equation is building
rapport.
People who are like each other, tend to like each other.
43
People who are not like each other, tend to not like each
other.
So if someone is going to do business with you, they
need to like you. That begs the question, how do you
get to be like them, for them to like you? That is worth
repeating.
How do you be like them, for them to like you?
Rapport. It is finding something in common. It is
responsiveness to each other.
Learning how to build rapport, is more important than
learning how to get agreement. IT is the beginning
agreement.
The next crucial soft skill is the art of listening. No, I
mean really listening. Men, get your wives, girlfriends
or mothers to explain it to you. Try this exercise. Ask
a female close to you how they are going, how they
are really feeling……..then shut up. Don’t speak unless
they ask you a question. See how long you last, then
44
ask yourself how well you might be listening to your
customers.
How many times when you are talking to a customer
and they ask a question or say something, and you
are already thinking of an answer before they have
finished?
You have probably missed a crucial point that is valuable
to your customer. It may be very small and seem
insignificant to you, but if you miss it and do not address it,
you have lost their business. As sales people we get stuck
in to our routine. The process we have done a thousand
times before, saying the same lines over and over, because
it worked once, or twice or even more. It does not work
with every customer and with just the slightest change to
our approach could have got the business.
How well do we really listen to our customers?
The point about something working for some customers
and not all of them brings me to the next crucial soft
skill.
Understanding who you are talking to.
The biggest single mistake sales people make is to
relate to people the way they are. We have all heard
the saying,
Do unto others as I would have them do unto me.
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Now I’m sure the person who wrote this had all of the
best intentions and we probably know what they were
trying to get at. Unfortunately there could not be a
bigger misconception to be found. It should read;
Do unto others the way they want to be done unto.
What right have I got to say how other people want
to be treated? Would I not be in a better position if I
actually found out how they want to be treated?
Behavior styles and the ability to understand and read
these styles is probably the most important single aspect
of my sales roadmap. There are a few systems of behavior
analysis out there, I have seen them all and I certainly
have my preferred system.
I could not possibly do this subject justice in the few pages
I have available to me but I will attempt to give you the
basic understanding.
There are 4 behavior styles. Some refer to them as
personality types when in fact they are not. Personality
is primarily something that we acquire and develop
mainly due to our environment and surroundings, and
our experiences and influences in life. Behavior style is
something we are born with.
Firstly understanding who you are and how you think,
how you process information, what your inherent
strengths and weaknesses are, what motivates you
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into action, what your fears are and how you react to
situations, is one of the most insightful experiences
you can have.
To be able to understand and recognise these traits
in others will put hundreds of thousands of dollars
in your pocket. Oh, and you will build meaningful
relationships that will last a lifetime.
For example;
If you are talking to a person who has a dominant,
driving, decisive type of behavior, you would not
waffle on. Give them the facts, be short sharp and
shiny, do not exaggerate, nor try and make up their
mind for them. They will make up their mind quickly
and not waste your time. Do you know the type?
On the other side of the behavior style is the person
who loves to talk. They are socialites, love to tell
stories, and generally it will be about them. They
will be colourful in attire with exuberant jewelry that
makes a statement. They are the ones around the water
fountain at the office and will be talking to everyone at
every opportunity.
Let this person talk. Ask a question, preferably about
them and then shut up. You could well be there for
an hour before you get around to business, but guess
what? They have had their needs met and now they
will be more than happy to give you their business.
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I remember a time when I was trying to gain the business
in a particular industry. This industry had shut out
suppliers like the one I represented for over thirty years
on a national level. Everything was done internally. I
had a breakthrough in just getting an appointment with
a decision maker in this industry. When the appointment
came I spent the first five minutes ascertaining their
behavior style. They were the one I have just described.
Having found out a personal interest close to their heart,
and their recent activities, I asked the question. How did
it go? (remember those four words) The most important
thing I did then was to shut my mouth. This person
proceeded to tell me in great detail, for 75minutes. I sat
there, and just like Cybil Faulty I answered with, oh
yes, really, I understand, I know what you mean, that’s
fantastic. With every fibre in my body I wanted to say
can we please just get on with what we are here for.
( guess what my behavior style is?)
But fortunately my better judgment prevailed and I
sat smiling and listened intently. Guess what? I got the
business. And it started with four words. It wasn’t a
clever piece of salesmanship; it wasn’t part of my sales
strategy. I simply related to them in the right way.
You see, I could have done unto them the way I want
to be done unto. BUT I did unto to them what they
wanted to be done unto.
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When you are able to recognise a behavior style and
relate to their needs, you will do more business, with
more people, more often and in less time. You will build
relationships that last and you will be the one everyone
else refers to as having the midas touch, the lucky one,
the person that just can’t do anything wrong.
Do unto others the way they want to be done unto.
Although there are other ingredients to the “soft skills”
set, the ones we have discussed are the most powerful
and if you invest the time exploring and developing
these you will be well on your way to a more successful
sales career. You will find whomever you speak with in
you daily activities you will become more productive
and It will be more enjoyable. That is after you add the
third skill set, of course.
The Second Skill Set:
Inter-personal Skills
Sales Skills
49
50
Chapter 6
The 3 Tiered
Sales SuiteTM – Pt 3
Abundance Of Mind
51
Abundance Of Mind
Why is it that some people seem to just do better? Or
are luckier. Have you heard the saying “the harder I
work, the luckier I get”? How can we take 2 people who
have a similar education, a similar back ground, grew
up in the same part of town and even have friends in
common, put them side by side in similar jobs, and one
will out perform the other? They both have 2 arms, 2
legs, 2 eyes, a mouth, a brain, yet one excels in life and
the other does ok.
Have you ever been around people that just grizzle all
the time. They complain about this and that, always the
first one to say it will not work, or it’s too hard. Funny
how this person always has an excuse as to why they
could not succeed. Some even have the excuses all lined
Up, as why they can’t even try. Sound familiar! What is
it like being around this person? Does it encourage you,
inspire you, keep you energized to take on the world?
Then there is the person who mostly has a smile on their
face. Bubbly, confident, they take everything in their
stride, and look forward to the next challenge. If they
fail at a task they just get back on track, stand up strong
and get ready for the next one. Is it any coincidence that
52
they also seem to be the happy ones. They generally
don’t complain and are the first to have something
good to say about anything. Have you noticed that this
person always has others around them, they appear to
be popular. Why wouldn’t they? I know which person
I want to hang around with.
So what is the difference? It’s simple. Attitude. Both
have made a deliberate decision to behave in a certain
way, to have a particular outlook, and to be a certain
type of person. Now there may well be underlying
pressures or controls that influence the choice, but at
the end of the day it still comes down to a personal
decision.
My family like watching “The Biggest Looser” (I could
not possibly admit to enjoying it myself)
What I do like is watching how the contestants deal
with the pressures put on them. One has a distinct
weight and strength advantage over all the others, and
in certain tasks would win by a country mile. But they
don’t. Why not? Attitude, and self-belief. Ahh, now I
have let the second secret out of the bag. We will get
to that later.
So I now have to ask you a question. Which of the 2
people described do you want to be? It’s your choice,
just make it. Decide right now who you want to be and
what outlook you will have.
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I want you to get a piece of paper and a writing stick,
and make a list of the character traits you want to have.
The things that you would like others to say about you.
The type of person that you would really love to be.
Seriously, write the list, you will need it a few pages
on. Go on, put the book down and get the pen and
paper, I’ll wait for you, I promise.
Now I want you to look at each one of these on your
list and give a reason as to why you possibly could
not be like this. You can’t can you? It is a deliberate
choice. Make it and start to become this person. It is
not going to happen in the next 5 minutes as you have
years of behavior patterns to replace. Just make the
decision and each day get 1 millimeter closer to being
that person. Remember, It is not where you start that
counts, It is where you finish.
Abundance of mind. If someone has already achieved
the thing that you want to do, then apart from a medical
condition or physical handicap you can do it as well.
Although a bloke called Kurt Fearnley decided to walk
the Kokoda track, except he couldn’t walk, he does not
have any legs. If any one has the right to make excuses
it is he, but he didn’t. He just made a decision. Google
him, he is an inspiration.
Back on to the bit about others who have already done
it. Search them out, work out what they did, and copy
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them. That’s ok, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Just ……….. that’s right, make the decision.
Ok, we have decided that we want to be a certain way
and do certain things. We have decided to achieve certain
goals, and become a predetermined person. But do you
really think you can? Be honest now, do you really think
you can? or is there that annoying seed of doubt that
hovers in the background ready to pounce the second
you decide that this is the day I’m going to try, and not
just try, but succeed? Doesn’t that make you angry!
Now there is an emotion that also has a decision
attached to it. You can decide to be, or not to be. Isn’t
it funny how the situation and people you are angry
about don’t give a rats about your anger and it does
not affect them in any way what so ever. Your anger
only affects you, and and the people in close proximity.
There is a volume of books to say on this subject but I
will say only this before moving on.
Some time ago scientists did an experiment regarding
this emotion. They strapped a man to a chair, and through
a series of questions and statements and antagonisms,
proceeded to get him angry, extremely angry. At the
point of what we would say “he is about to blow his
top” the scientist drew some of his blood and injected it
into a rat. What do you think happened?
The rat was dead in less than sixty seconds.
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Anger is a poison that left uncontrolled is going to kill
you. Decide to let it go.
Back to that seed of doubt. Lets explore why it is even
there. At some time in your past you have attempted
something, and failed. Now that in itself is fine, we all
fail at things. (failure is simply showing you a way not
to do something. Now you are one step closer to doing
it right)
The problem however, is what you or others said about
the failure. More than likely it was negative, something
like, you idiot, you stupid fool, I knew I would fail, I
just can’t do anything properly. I am a failure and I’ll
never ever be any good at anything. Sound familiar?
Or someone that saw the failure has said this, both to
and about you. At that instant your subconscious mind
has been programmed for you to fail. Each time you try
the same thing, your subconscious mind now instructs
you body and conscious mind to fail. It’s doing exactly
what you have told it to do. The subconscious mind
does not know the difference between fact or fiction, if
it is serious or just a joke. It is simply information that
is going into the computer. Have you ever heard the
saying in computer language, garbage in garbage out?
Your subconscious mind is exactly the same. What you
put in, is gunna come out. Now for some of us that is
plain scary!!
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So what happens is that we set up that vicious circle, that
wheel like the one mice run round and round and round
on. We program the event as a failure, so the next time
we try and do the same thing, we get the result we have
programmed for. This further reinforces our failure and
poor mind set, and sets us up for future failure the next
time you get up enough courage to try again.
We need to get off this cycle of failed attempts. But
how?
Somehow we need to convince ourselves we can
actually do stuff and that we are worthy of success. It
starts in the mind. It is our self talk, our self belief.
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We need to re-program our subconscious mind, start
putting in the good stuff, so the good stuff will come
out.
The situation is that for years you have been
programming with “garbage” so it is going to take an
equal amount of the right programming to get things
back on a even keel. Remember the bit about where
you start and finish!
I can remember as a kid going to the country and
visiting my uncle’s farm. He had just planted a paddock
of wheat and the ground was freshly tilled and looked
nice and rich and deep brown. A few weeks later we
went to the same paddock and all I could see were
weeds. I asked him what happened to the wheat? He
said it’s ok, soon that’s what we will see. But shouldn’t
we pull out all of the weeds? No, if we do that we will
also pull out the wheat. A few months later I went back
and in front of me was a beautiful, perfectly even crop
of wheat, nothing else in sight. I turned to my uncle
and said, what happened to all the weeds. His reply
was something I will never forget. “They are still there
pal, you just cant see them for all the wheat.” What
had actually happened is that as the wheat grew and
became taller, it blocked the weeds from getting any
sunlight and they just withered away.
That is exactly what we need to do in the reprogramming process. We need to plant so much more
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of the good stuff, that we just can’t see the garbage any
more. It is called the law of saturation. Also note that
energy was not given to pulling out the weeds, the bad
stuff. It was to concentrate on the good. Don’t focus on
the weeds and bad stuff in your life, concentrate on
the good stuff you want, and it will eventually over
run it.
The real power of self belief.
There are plenty of stories about mind over matter,
of great wins against adversity, and the impossible
becoming possible. Here is one of my favorites that not
only is a great feat in itself, but it’s effect is profound.
Ever since time was given a structure and segmented
into even portions that will forever remain constant, eg
hours minutes & seconds, man has been trying to beat
the clock. The pursuit of being better, stronger faster
etc. Why? because we can. When Sir Edmond Hillary
conquered Mt Everest he was asked why he did it. His
reply……because it’s there.
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For over a hundred and fifty years man has set himself
against the clock and tried to run the mile in under 4
minutes. Hundreds tried and failed time and time again.
It was determined that it was impossible and could not
be done. In 1954 Roger Bannister was in full training
and peak condition as an athlete. On the 6th May 1954
Roger Bannister became the first man in history to run
the mile in under 4 minutes. How did he do it? His
training was set in place just like it had always been.
He did the same things physically he had always done.
What did he do differently in May than what he did a
month earlier in April, or March or February?
Simple, he changed his mind set. He said to himself,
this can be done and I’m going to do it. He changed his
self belief. That is where it started.
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But here is what is interesting. In the following month
after the impossible became possible, 30 other people
also ran under 4 minutes. Now just hang on a minute
here. Your telling me that for one hundred and fifty
years no one could do it, and now 30 people did it in 30
days. Yep. What Roger Bannister did was change the
mind set of the entire world. All of a sudden it could
be done. The whole world could now have a self belief
of I can, instead of I can’t. In fact in the next year over
300 people ran a sub 4 minute mile.
What is stopping your self belief? Start asking
yourself
why not?
A personal story.
In a particular discussion with a mentor, I was
encouraged to write this book. When the idea was first
presented to me I said, “you have got to be kidding. I
can’t write a book. I didn’t even do well in English at
school”. How rediculous! me write a book? I argued,
they said you can. I argued some more and had just the
best excuses, and they said, you can. So to keep them
happy I said ok, Ill have it started by Dec 2013.(it was
now Oct 2011) I thought they might forget about it by
then. But something changed. I took my own advice
and changed my own mind set, and my self belief.
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I sold to myself. I put my sales road map together, I
listed all the reasons for writing and the benefits, and I
started to re-program my computer, my subconscious
mind. I changed my self-talk to why not, why couldn’t
I write a book, and then into I can, I can, I can. After
all, some amazing books have been written by people
with no education whatsoever. I don’t need to have a
double degree in English or a doctorate in where to use
a full stop or a semicolon. All I needed was something
valuable to say. You see, it is all about perception, about
self belief. So I changed my perception and self belief,
I sat down at my lap top with a glass of red wine, ok,
a bottle of red wine, and one week later I had finished
my book, this one.
It needed a few tweaks here and there but basically it
was done. (I hope my mentor doesn’t read this, I will
never hear the end of it)
Change your self-belief and see what you can
achieve.
So how DO you change your self-belief? Here are some
tips.
Before we start we need to be reminded that
psychologists tell us it takes 21 days to form a new
habit. Some say 28. I like 21 better, let’s just get it over
with.
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Also it is important to understand that you do not
break a habit, you form a new one. So don’t focus on
the old, focus on the task at hand. Just like the weeds
in the paddock of wheat. No one took them out, they
were overpowered with something new.
Tip No 1.
Start to eliminate all, no, ALL negative talk. Let your
family, friends, and colleagues know what you are
doing and ask them to pick you up when you say
something negative. It is also a good idea to have
something physical attached to this. Perhaps a sintin. Every time you say something negative, in goes a
dollar. This will make you more aware and keeps it in
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the forefront of your mind. After all you can’t go all
that broke in 21 days, can you? The rule is that every
time you blow it, your 21 days starts again, they must
be consecutive. (feel free to tell me how much ends up
in the tin, and how many days it took, I would love to
know.)
Not only watch what happens to you and your life, both
at home and at work, but take note what happens to the
people around you. Look at how they now start relating
to you. Also you will see changes start to occur in their
behavior and how they think and act. You might even
start a new culture in your surroundings.
Tip No 2.
Affirmations. Don’t underestimate the power on an
affirmation. So what is it? There a few rules in having
an affirmation. It must be personal. It must be a positive
statement. It must be present tense, as if you already
are. And it must be said aloud. There are a few invisible
principles or laws at play here. Why do I have to say it
aloud? Can’t I just read it? Nope. The first principle at
play is the law of command. Way back in the beginning
of time as we know it, God said “let there be light”
“let there be this ….” “let there be that” etc etc. It was
spoken into being. That’s why affirmations need to be
spoken out loud, to bring them to life.
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The other law that comes into play is the law of building
faith. In the other end of the Bible, The New Testament.
It says, “faith comes from hearing………..”
Not by reading, watching television, brail, smelling,
face book, texting, or anything else. It is by the spoken
word once again. When you say the affirmation, you
are not only reading it, you are hearing it. This makes
it doubly effective and builds your own faith and self
-belief in what you are saying.
Now you may say this invisible law stuff as a load of
cods wallop, and you simply don’t believe it. That’s ok
and I want you to know I am quite comfortable for you
to feel that way. But let’s look at an obvious invisible
law. Someone could say to me that they do not believe
in the law of gravity. Ok, let’s go up to the roof top of
a 20 story building. They could jump off and declare
all the way down that they do not believe in the law
of gravity. All the way until they hit the ground. Just
because they chose not to believe in it, does not mean
it doesn’t exist.
(please don’t try this, we all know the law works, don’t
we?)
Now it’s time to get that list you wrote down. If you
didn’t, here is your last chance to write one.
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Ok, let’s start at the top and write an affirmation for
each one. Remember it must be present tense, it must
be positive, it must be personal and it must be spoken
in to being.
Here is an example. Say your first on the list is;
I want to be more positive.
Your affirmation might look something like this.
I am a positive person. I always look for the best in
every situation and I contribute something good and
productive whenever I can.
Lets try another.
I would like to be better at what I do
Your affirmation might be;
I am highly organized and professional in my approach
to business. I do what needs to be done, when it needs
to done whether I feel like it or not. I always look for
the best and most effective options in everything I do.
And I do not settle for anything but my best effort.
Are you starting to get the hang of it. Continue through
your list until you have an affirmation for all.
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Daily discipline will see your affirmations come to
reality.
One of the influences that many people allow to destroy
the fulfillment of this process is “what other people think”
Some allow negative comments from others prevent
them from success. I have only this to say. Are these
people going to put food on your table. Are they going
to invest in your future. Will they pay your mortgage.
Of course not. So why on earth would you let any one
else on the planet stop you from your destiny. Who cares
what someone else might think. They can make all the
excuses under the sun why they have not reached their
goals, while you actually do something about making
yours reality.
While we are on the topic of things that prevent us
from achieving, lets tackle the most destructive of all.
The fear of failure.
This can be completely debilitating and stop you from
even getting out of bed. Why am I bringing this up? It
is part of your mind set, your self belief.
A bit of revision is required here. Remember we
spoke about that self-fulfilling prophesy, that wheel
that we need to stop and get off. That is part of this
problem, the fear of failure. It is set up by that previous
programming and reinforced by continual failures. But
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we have stopped that wheel and we have jumped off.
We have broken the pattern and we can now move
forward. To make sure we tie up any loose ends lets
tackle the what if’s.
First we need to understand that every form, level
and application of sales and service world wide is a
numbers game. You are going to win some and you
are going to loose some. I want to repeat that in bold
print. YOU ARE GOING TO LOOSE SOME. Accept it,
it is how the universe works, so don’t take it to heart. It
does not mean you are a failure. It is part of the deal.
I would like to share with you the most important thing
I was fortunate to have learnt in the early stages in my
sales career.
It really is a game of numbers.
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69
Can you go and get a deck of normal playing cards?
Remove the jokers. Give them a good shuffle. Ok, the
cards 2 through to 9 represent people that you speak to
that for what ever reason do not do business with you.
10, J, Q, K, are people that are genuinely interested in
what you have to offer but the timing is not right. The
aces are customers, the ones who buy from you.
Every card represents an appointment, or a person you
speak to about your product or service.
Turn over the first card. Lets say it is a 4. That means no
sale. Do you stop selling, have you failed? Of course not,
you still have a full deck of cards In your hand. Turn
over the next card. It’s a 9. So what do you do, turn over
the next card. A King. Ok were a bit closer. Next card.
It’s a 2. Next card. It’s a 7. Next card. It’s a Jack. Still no
sales. Are you a Failure? NO it’s how the numbers play
out. Keep going. Next card, a 6. Next card, a 3 Next card
an ACE. Yipee a sale. I’m not a failure!
To make sure we have a real good understanding of
this, lets analyze what has just happened. Firstly you
did not stop. Secondly It took 9 cracks at it till your first
success. What if you threw in the towel after 8. You
loose, that’s what. There are 52 cards in every deck,
and there a 4 aces in every deck. That means if you
turn over all the cards you have to make 4 sales. What
would you do if you had turned over 48 cards without
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success? Most people would have quit by now. But we
know what the next 4 cards are.
The lesson here;
Keep turning over the cards, never quit.
If you activate and develop the skills and principles
in this book, you will put yourself in a position where
you are playing with a stacked deck, lots more aces.
I remember a time in my sales career when a colleague
was continually walking in the door after meeting with
clients, with a long face. Each time I saw him he was
more dejected. His shoulders were slumped and the
look of worry and concern grew more obvious every
time he returned back through the door, back to his
desk. On one particular return I said to him, mate
what’s the problem? You look like the world is about
to end. He proceeded to tell me that he has had 17
appointments in a row without success. He had never
been in that position before and just could not work
out what was going wrong.
I opened my draw and pulled out a deck of cards and
started to turn them over.
After I had finished the exercise a smile returned to
his face and self belief seemed to return as well. The
next day he returned grinning from ear to ear. Got
one! I said. He just nodded with contentment. He also
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got the next one, and the next one. He sold the next 5
in a row. So that’s 22 appointments for 5 sales. That’s
quite acceptable isn’t it? He could have stopped at 17
and packed his bags and driven off into the wild blue
yonder to do, whatever it is you do when you quit.
See what happens when you don’t have things in
perspective! What is interesting here is that with each
failed mission his self-belief suffered. Almost to the
point of no return.
Our outcome is directly related to our attitude, and our
self-belief.
It is having the presence of mind to have,
Abundance Of mind.
The Third Skill Set
Abundance of Mind
Inter-personal Skills
Sales Skills
72
So what is “The 3 Tiered Sales Suite”TM about?
It is about having your Sales Road MapTM well structured
and clear enough in your mind that you can describe it
in less than 60 seconds. It is understanding that you are
going on a journey with your client and it’s ok to let
them do some of the driving. It’s about how you relate
to your customer and understanding how you need to
present your information to them. Understanding their
inherent fears and buying style and what makes them
tick. It is about your own mind set, your self belief. It’s
about taking control of your own destiny by taking
control of how you think. It’s understanding I can. It’s
believing I can. It’s knowing it is as good as done, I can.
Enough said?
The 3 Tiered Sales SuiteTM is the 3 skill sets working
together to make the complete sales person. It is the
approach where customers are treated as people, not
just numbers. It is a joint venture where;
73
“IF A CUSTOMER IS RESPECTED
AS A PERSON,
GIVEN ALL THE INFORMATION
ACCORDING TO THEIR PERSONALITY,
AND THEIR NEEDS;
HAS ALL THE GOOD FEELINGS YOUR
PRODUCT OR SERVICE WILL PROVIDE….
THEN GETTING “AGREEMENT” IS OFTEN
NOT REQUIRED”
IT WILL HAPPEN AUTOMATICALLY”
Bruce Bowen
It is a sales culture which is all grown up.
74
Chapter 7
A few tips for
Small Business
75
A few tips for
Small Business
We all know small businesses in his country are doing
it tough. With the ever increasing takeovers by world
wide corporate giants, and the expansion of services
provided at a one stop shop with everything from a
tin of foreign owned and produced pineapple, (which
is distributed smack bang in the middle of a pineapple
growing region) to getting your nails done, a 15min
face lift, ordering some concrete and having your eyes
seen to by an optometrist, that’s right, all in the same
shop.
Add to this the runaway train of internet shopping.
How is a small business supposed to compete for an
ever decreasing disposable dollar.
Generation Y, now also called the C generation, “C”
being for connected, (that’s connected to everything
electronic, and every internet related gadget all at the
same time and having 13 conversations simultaneously)
is also having an effect with completely different
shopping habits. Their definition of communication is
not the one that I learnt at school.
76
A few tips for Small Business
I was just getting the hang of communicating with
teenagers, and now I have to learn to do it with and iphone
in one hand, and ipad in the other, something stuck in
their ears, music still going on in the background and
they are having different conversations with everyone
in the room all at the same time. 10 minutes with my
teenager and I’m ready for a Bex and a good lie down.
Once again it is inevitable for generation and cultural
change and we have to learn to adapt to it.
There is good news however. We have learn’t from
history that everything that is important and valuable
and good, generally does come full circle. We are already
starting to see an increased awareness for the importance
of face to face communication. We thought the art had
all but disappeared and the void was enormous. But this
void has in fact been a good thing. It has highlighted
the importance for human interaction and the need for
inter-relational skills. We are by no means out of the
woods yet and probably still heading towards the eye
of the storm, but we have acknowledged the need. How
long will it take to come the full circle? That is indeed
the 64 thousand dollar question.
The point of all this is to realise that not all of what we
know, and the way we have done things in the past, is
lost. Also it highlights the importance and value of the
soft skills.
77
78
This is the area where small business can have an
immediate impact and improvement on their bottom
line without having to increase their advertising
spend.
Let me explain.
Take a closer look at the numbers game I explained
with the deck of cards. This time I will use a different
picture.
Every business already has a number of people
through their doors or enquire about their products
and services.
These numbers are broken down into groups.
To help with the illustration we will pick a total number
of people that you come in contact with in any given
week, say, 50.
Of that 50 people, 20 are just window shopping and
wasting some time. They are not going to spend money
with you. The next group, say 15 of them, who are just
getting ideas for their next door neighbors, sisters, 2nd
cousins, boyfriends, gold fish. Nor are these going to
spend their money. The last group, 15 of them, are
genuine spenders and interested in what you have
to offer. Of these, you sell to 1. Now the numbers of
course will differ for every business, but the groups
79
will be similar and this pattern Is a fair representation
of most small businesses.
The group we will focus on is the last 15. The ones that
are willing to part with their money.
In particular we will look at the 14 that you did not sell
to. Unfortunately we have not sat with these people to
ask why they did not buy. If we did, the reasons would
look something like this.
•
I didn’t really relate to the staff that well
•
The staff did not seem all that interested in
helping me
•
They didn’t show me any other options.
•
I was after a better deal
•
I needed it gift wrapped
•
I waited 4-5 minutes for service and walked out
in frustration
•
The music was far too loud and annoying.
•
The assistant was too busy playing on her phone
•
I was treated like a number
•
It wasn’t a very warm and friendly place to
shop====
•
etc
80
Do these sound familiar?
It is interesting that when I talk to small business
owners about customer service, they generally know
what annoys them about the way they are treated and
have an expectation of what they want when they go
shopping. When careful scrutiny takes place about their
own level of service, they often find they are making
the same mistakes and do the things they don’t like.
Why do we do this?
Once again it comes back to what has been programmed.
We have become accustomed to such poor levels of
customer service for so long, that this image has been
embedded in our subconscious and that is what comes
out. We need to re-program and start a new culture.
Have you ever had the fortune to travel to South
East Asia? Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam,
Malaysia etc. If you have, what was the level of
customer service there? For many of these people, you
represent their next meal. They smile at you, they stand
when you enter, they ask you questions and show you
everything in the shop. They will always give you a
better deal and although part of the barter process is
a game, they will do any thing to get your business.
Now I know some of them can be in your face a bit and
quite overwhelming. It’s just how much your business
means to them. Wouldn’t you rather that than being
81
completely ignored and get no service at all, when the
place you are in has exactly what you want?
How would you treat a customer if it meant you
having dinner tonight or not? What would happen if
we mentally put ourselves in that situation the next
time we serve someone?
So now we have 2 things that will help improve your
bottom line, good service and good soft skills.
The soft skills we have talked about in previous chapters
can and will increase your sales. Learning these skills
will enable you meet the customers behavior needs not
just the product needs. You will recognise the buying
signals the customers are giving you. Being able to
answer customers in the right manner you will have
them buying from you. You will be able to become like
your customer and have them like you, and buy from
you.
Only half of the process is having the right product.
The other half is having the right relationship.
Why is it that most businesses when they start out
get the legal side of things sorted, they attend to the
accountant, make sure the bank manager is on side, the
telephone system is in and a nice new Computer? All
the stationary has the company logo and all the little
details are taken care of. Some even organise smart
82
uniforms for their staff. The sign writing is done and
the premises look a million dollars.
But most businesses do not get adequate sales training
or up skilling for their staff or even themselves for
that matter. These are the people that are going to be
looking after the most important part of your business,
your customers. . Does it not then make sense to skill
them every way possible so they can do the job you
expect them to do, and do it with efficiency, and an
excellence both you and they are proud of. We have all
heard it said; “people are a companies biggest asset”
So why then do we leave it to chance, hold our breath
and just hope they perform and do the right thing with
our customers?
We would not want to have to go to the doctor and have
just anyone off the street attend to us. So why then do
we allow just anyone to attend to our customers?
83
Soft Skills will have you
selling to more people,
more often and build better
relationships—
which promotes
repeat business
84
Chapter 8
Dare to Change
85
Dare to Change
It has been 30 years or so since there has been any real
significant change in the sales culture in Australia. We
are creatures of habit and keep doing the same old,
same old, for no real reason. Sometimes even when we
know it is not working we find it more comfortable to
do what we know.
It’s a bit like the man on a street corner under a street
light at night time looking for a lost wrist watch. Along
comes a friend and helps him look. A few minutes
later another joins the search party. After an hour and
a dozen people now searching, one of the party asks,
are you sure you lost it here? The owner of the watch
replied, no I actually lost it over there a bit, but the
light is much better over here.
If we want different results we need to be doing
something different.
With all of the changes of society, generations and
culture that we have gone through, our sales culture
has to change and keep up.
The benefits for both the consumer and the business,
are far too big to be ignored. The consumer will shop
86
Dare to Change
with more confidence, more trust and will more likely
to be a repeat customer. For the business it means more
business and a healthier bottom line. For the sales
person it means more money in their pocket and more
spare time to the things that are really important to
them, as they will be more efficient. It means working
smarter, with better long term relationships. The
customer is happier, the business owner is happier and
the sales staff are happier. Who looses here?
Let’s embrace all the good things that cultural and
generational change has to offer, but at the same time
keep hold of all the valuable things from the previous
generations and cultures. If we meld these together
and fill the voids on both sides, imagine the power and
fruitfulness of what we would now have.
Revisiting the principles of the founding father of
personal development, Napolean Hill, with the
integrity, ethics, and honesty, and courtesy of business
from the builders and baby boomers, with the
exuberance, freshness and boldness, without fear, and
the technical savvy of the current generations, I have
no doubt the result would be:
87
“A Sales Culture
that is all grown up”
88
Help Is Available!!
The Soft Skills Training Institue has dedicated sales
training programs to suit your exact needs. The 3 Tiered
Sales SuiteTM is not just a suite of skill sets carefully
mixed together for your success. It is a suite, of sales
suites. There are three variations of this program
specifically to service;
•
The Sales Professional
•
Retail Sales Staff
•
Small Business Operators
One of the keys to our training programs is that we can
customise them for any industry, and to suit your exact
needs.
To know more about the Soft Skills Training Institute
please go to www.softskillsti.com.au
I am passionate about training people for success, and
this book has only scratched the surface, to give you a
taste of what can be done for you and your business.
If you would like to speak to me to see how together
we can transform your sales staff and improve your
89
bottom line, how to stack your deck of cards and play
with lots more aces,
Please email admin@softskillsti.com.au
To kick start your new sales success, I would like to help
you out, so here is a gift for you. To use and activate
this voucher, email us and quote the following code.
XJS-0700
90
I trust this book has inspired you
to say I can, and take the next
step in improving your bottom
line, and your sales culture.
Kind Regards
Bruce Bowen
91
Notes
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92
Notes
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93
Notes
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94

It`s Time For Our Sales Culture To Grow Up!

Transcription

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