Sales Training Tactics

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”

Frederick Keonig (German Inventor)

What would you do if somebody handed you $100,000 today and said you can spend it on anything you want? What would you spend that money on? And how much happiness would that $100,000 bring you? Now what if somebody handed you 100,000 hours of time and said you can spend that time doing anything you want? What would you do with it? How much happiness would that time bring? Most would say that the hours would be a greater gift than the cash. Because the happiness the cash brings is quickly forgotten while the memories created in time stick around forever.

The good news is you have been given this gift. And what you choose to do with the gift will determine its value. So this week, make every moment count. At work, appreciate more fully the customers who give you their business, the co-workers who make your day easier and the friends and family who make your life happier. In short…slow down. Because time is only a gift if you take time to fully appreciate the moments that just past and the ones that will soon come.

If your body says one thing and your words another, your customer will believe your body.
-Brian Sullivan

What does your body say when you are trying to convince others that you are worthy of their respect, interested in what they are saying and confident enough to get the job done. One study at UCLA indicated that up to 93 percent of communication effectiveness is determined by nonverbal cues.  Which means you need “body control” to be a top performing influencer of others.

To convince others to follow you, be aware of the following:

•Posture- When presenting your solution to a customer or leading your team of associates, sit up tall or stand up straight.  Your shoulders should be up and outward. This shows confidence in your message.

•Movements- Move smoothly and deliberately. Don’t fidget, tap your feet, clear your throat or rub your nose.  This shows nervousness and uncertainty.

•Eyes-Maintain good eye contact. Looking away tells others that you may be hiding something.

•Head position- Keep your head straight when you want to show others you believe in what you are saying. To lighten the mood or show you are listening, you can tilt your head slightly to either side.

•Arms-Keep your arms by your side rather than folding. Folding is a defensive position that restricts others from sharing their true feelings. If want the truth, your body should invite it.

So this week, let your body do the talking.  And while it speaks the language of a confident leader, you will find more people believing that you are the person they need to follow.

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches.”
-Napoleon Hill

If you are like me, the first time you heard this was when your Mom or Dad said, “You can do anything you want, once you put your mind to it!” But did you ever really believe it? Whether you did or not doesn’t matter. What does matter is your willingness now to give it a shot. Seriously! And it starts by not letting anybody around you determine how successful you will be. Think about it. Are some people born to be “bosses” and others the employees? Are some pre-disposed to being a top performer and others meant to be average? Are some born lucky and others SOL? The answer is NO. Nobody controls how far you will go in your career.

So this week, take 15 minutes in your office and ask yourself, “Am I reaching my potential?” Then ask whether it is you or others that are limiting you. If it is others, do NOT let them have any power over your thoughts. While they project negativity, stay focused, knowing that they have no control over your career or your life. Only you do. It’s time to put your greatest performance weapon to work, in ways you never have. Because once you understand the power of your mind, you will realize that you have been given the same gifts that make the world’s top performers who they are.

“If you want to be famous in business, do your job so well that everybody wants to tell a friend about you.”
-Brian Sullivan

Let’s get something straight. Nobody…I mean NOBODY likes to make cold calls. That’s because well over 90% of the cold calls we make lead to rejection. And that rejection leaves us feeling as we are somehow less human than we were before the cold call. While many of our professions rely on us reaching out to new prospects, who says those new prospects have to be ice cold? Because they don’t! In fact, if you do your job exceedingly well for current customers, then make it a habit to ASK for their help in growing your business, your days of getting kicked to the curb should be greatly limited or eliminated all together.

So this week, identify 10 current customers who love you and your company. Then ask each one of them this question, “Can I ask you for a favor? I am trying to grow my business,  and I trust your opinion. Do you know of three or four friends or associates who could use the type of service/value that I have been providing?” Then don’t look shocked when they actually give you some names. Hey, if you get three referred leads from each of those ten customers, you just created 30 new warm and cozy leads. Then go spend your sales time prospecting with that list…a list that carries a much higher percentage of success than that frigid one staring you in the face right now.

“Our lives are made in these small hours, these little wonders, these twists and turns of fate. Time falls away, but these small hours still remain.”
Rob Thomas-musician

What challenges are driving you nuts at work? What customers have you lost? What things do you feel you have absolutely no control over? Good news is…it doesn’t really matter. While your career is an important part of your existence, it is only an “activity” sandwiched in-between the most important part of your life…which are the “small hours” spent with the most important people in your life…when you are NOT working.

This realization struck me again after arriving home from a spring break with my family. As I sat in my office viewing pictures from the trip, assembling my cheesy vacation video dubbed with sappy music, I once again realized WHY we all work so hard. It’s for them. And because they are so important, we owe it to them to do everything we can to be the best at what we do. Will we ever be the best? I don’t know. But remembering that everything starts and ends with the ones we love will continue to provide the fuel we need to never stop improving, learning, and caring for everybody we touch throughout the day.

So this week, take 15 minutes in your office and pull out that old photo album, or spend some time with the digital pictures on your computer. You will feel emotions you haven’t felt in a while. But by remembering “these small hours,” you will be reminded of why your life is so special.

To view the video of some of Brian Sullivan’s “Small Hours,” watch this YouTube Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVoR3YyeTAg Brian is the President of PRECISE Selling, a sales and leadership development company. To learn more, go to www.preciseselling.com.

“The one advantage of playing with fire…is that no one ever gets singed. It is the people who don’t know how to play with it who get burned up.”
-Oscar Wilde

Did you watch the Super Bowl this year? Well of course you did! Well, at least you had it on the tube, right? In fact, you might have been having too much fun to watch the actual game but when those commercials came on you immediately became glued to the set, right? And why is it that viewers are more interested in those commercials than on any normal viewing day? It’s because most of them get a reaction out of you and usually that reaction is a laugh or a smile. In fact, 86% of commercials played during the Super Bowl contain some sort of humor or fun message. Why, you ask? It’s because FUN WORKS! The sponsors realize that if they can get those muscles around your face to move in a positive way, there is a chance you will make a move for your wallet in a way that’s positive for them.

So what about you? Do you have a Super Bowl commercial mentality? If not, it’s time to step it up. While you might not control the advertising budget at your company, you DO control the amount of fun and laughter you bring to your customers and prospects. So this week, think of something creative you can to do light up your sales territory. Become a commercial on every call. And while your competition is busy being “professional” (aka boring), your risky creativity will take the customer mentally away from work, and off to a happy place that makes them want to spend their money with you. And don’t be surprised if your competition is burned up by your results.

You are not judged by what you have but rather by what you give.
-Brian Sullivan

Are you rich? And if so, how do you define rich? Is rich determined by the type of car you drive or the watch you wear? While there are many interpretations of the word “rich,” remember that your value is not determined by what you have but instead by what you give. So if you want to become richer than you are right now, all you have to do is give more of your time, talent and treasure to others.

So this week, take 15 minutes to make a list that contains at least these three categories: Work, Community/Church, Home.  Then under each column, list your special talents that you can offer in a greater way. Then go put those talents to work. It might mean taking on an additional project at work, perhaps volunteering to help coach a kid’s team, or maybe skipping that fancy dinner and giving a few extra bucks to a charity in need. Whatever your “give” is, just remember that each time you give of yourself, you are making a deposit in your own account. And as that account fattens, you grow richer everyday.

Have you ever sat at a table with a group of leaders, big time customers, or amazing people and wondered what the heck you were doing here? You know what I mean, don’t you? You look around and feel that these folks MUST be smarter, more talented and more deserving than you of the success they achieved. Well here is this week’s lesson. STOP thinking that you don’t belong…because you do! Just remember that every top performer in business, sports and life at one time felt as if they were in over their head. And they will tell you that they didn’t so much have to convince others they belonged, they had to convince themselves.

So this week, it’s time to shed any doubt you may have that you are worthy of the success you have or will create. There are only two things that will make you worthy of being among the best…your knowledge and skill. And you have total control over how much of that you have. Might you have to “fake it till you make it?” Sure! But make sure whenever your opportunity to shine presents itself, your posture, body language and attitude tells those top performers that you are ready for the big time. And when you get that sick pit in your stomach that tells you that this is your chance, remember…THIS IS YOUR MOMENT!

To increase your performance by 15%, give 15% more effort.
-Brian Sullivan

Let’s not overcomplicate this. In sales, there are only two ways to get better results. The first is to make more sales calls. The second is to perform better on each call.  So how many prospecting calls do you make each week? And as an FYI, “It depends,” is NOT an acceptable answer. Because those that say, “It depends,” or “I am not really sure,” have lost control over their sales territory and as a result, are at the mercy of whatever voicemail and email are telling them to do. The top performer, on the other hand, sets a call objective number and let’s that number drive the workweek. If he or she wants to increase their sales by 15% or more, they realize it means they may have to make 15 more calls. They then let that number haunt them. They don’t start the weekend until they made the last call.

Another way 15% more effort can create 15% greater performance is by investing in improving your sales, communication and leadership skills. Buy a sales book, attend a seminar, seek out top performers in your company and grill them! By increasing your knowledge and skill by 15% or more, you will become 15% more valuable to your customers, your company and your future.

Winners are only judged in loser’s circles.
-Brian Sullivan

Recently, as I prepared to speak at a company seminar, I looked around the room as salespeople walked in to find their seat at one of the 25 round tables. I wondered how these salespeople would choose which seat was best for them. Just a few minutes before my speech, I asked the sales manager to identify who in the room were the A, B and C players based on attitude and performance. Sure enough, they seemed to be huddled in groups throughout the room…finding comfort in like-minded performers.

As expected, throughout the day the table full of As and Bs participated in the learning more actively than the Cs. The Cs (when not enthusiastically sharing their tired story about how hung over they were from the night before) were sitting in the back, and at times rolling their eyes while the As offered their own advice and sales experience.

So what about you? Are you and A, B or C? And regardless of what you are right now, what do you want to be? If you want to be a C, it’s easy. You just have to believe you know all you need to know, what has worked in the past will continue to work, and that your sales peers who are constantly honing their knowledge and skill are nothing more than corporate butt-kissers.

And if you want to an A, then stop hanging around Cs. They are poisoning you. Grab a salad and shimmy up to a top performer or leader at your next sales meeting. Then grill them with questions about what you can do to mimic their success. And while your buddies from of the back of the room judge your motive, give them a wink, knowing that you will be delivering their performance review someday.