“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.

“But wait, there’s more…”
Billy Mays

This week the sales world lost one of its great Pitchmen, Billy Mays. His ability to create millions of dollars in sales by pitching common household products landed him on his own Discovery Channel show known as Pitchmen. So what can we learn from Billy that will make us a top Pitchmen or Pitchwomen? Well there are many lessons, but perhaps the biggest one that stands out is Billy’s ability to make common products seem uncommon. To do this, he made his demonstrations fun. They never got stale or boring. He was able to get more done in a two-minute commercial than most “professional” salespeople can get done in 60 minutes.

So this week, pick your favorite product to sell. Then sit down and write a short two-minute commercial on what makes that product so special. It should include

•    An introduction,
o    “Hi, I’m Billy Mays here for What Odor.”
•    Heavy on Benefits
o    “Eliminates Embarrassing Odors with One Spray.”
•    The Secret to How it Works
o    “Non-Toxic, All Natural Formulation of 41 Oils.”
•    Where to Use it
o    Sour Milk, Moldy Rotten Cheese, the Litter Box
•    Wow Examples
o    “Can eliminate a Skunk’s Odor”
•    Call to Action with UREGENCY
o    “Order now and we will add a second bottle.”

By taking time to think like Billy Mays, you will have developed the essential ingredients of what will become your greatest sales presentation. So thanks Billy, for teaching us how passion, energy and an occasional loud voice are essential tools to not only getting prospects interested, but committed.

Why won’t they call me back? I thought we had the deal. I can’t believe they are not interested? If you have ever spoken those words, then chances are you neglected to make your prospect curious enough to need more information and “antsy” enough to need your solution NOW. So how do you create curiosity? First, minimize the number of statements you make in any early sales call. Don’t start your call by telling them what your solution does, but instead ask them a question that gets them “slowly engaged.” For example,

“Would you be interested in learning about a product that has helped similar clients save several hours a week?” Think about it. Who wouldn’t want to save several hours a week (if that’s the benefit of your product)? As a result, you will often get the curious response, “How are you going to do that?” BAM! You have just received an invitation to continue.

So this week, pick your favorite product or service and develop three curiosity building questions that will get your prospects more fully engaged. Then use those to open your prospecting calls. And once you have their ear, keep questioning until you have learned exactly what it’s going to take to help them understand that can’t live without your solution.

There are two ways to be successful. Know a ton of people, and make sure more than a few of those people are well respected and influential. First, make it a habit to know the leaders and influencers in your organization. If you are a company employee and find yourself at a corporate convention where your leaders will also be, find a way to develop a conversation with as many as possible. This means you should NOT spend every free minute and eat every meeting meal with your group of business buddy associates who you already feel most comfortable with. And while they are calling out “Brown Nose!” as you shuffle past them to the leaders table, just give them a wink, knowing that your circle of influence is only 20 minutes from growing larger.

Next, remember not all “movers and shakers” reside in the Executive Suite. In fact, the most influential people often lack the fancy business card title but own the “street credibility” necessary to get things done. Don’t overlook them. In fact, go out of your way to help THEM increase their network and watch how the favor someday gets repaid.

Your next influence tip is to hone your speaking skills and USE THEM outside your company. Why? Because people in leadership positions often have to deliver both formal and informal “speeches.” And the ones who get to the top most quickly are often those can deliver a “talk” with poise and confidence.

And this is a skill that, when owned, is perhaps your single biggest weapon to increase your professional perception.  So find an area of expertise that you feel you know well. Then develop a 20-30 presentation on that topic. Practice it, rehearse it, and drill it until you impress even yourself. Then find a place to use. This could be a company meeting, an industry event, a Chamber of Commerce meeting, Rotary Club, or any number of organizations looking for an expert.

Lastly, spread the word on the web. Sign up for a Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter account, and as you keep learning, keep the world informed about who and what you know. And as you find new ways to share valuable information with others, you will find that you have become an irreplaceable asset in THEIR rise to the top. And when you become irreplaceable, you become unbeatable in business.

To listen to Brian’s radio interview on “how to increase your circle of networking influence” with Sheryl Nicholson, author of two Chicken Soup for the Soul books, go to www.preciseselling.com/Radioaccess.htm. Brian is author of the book, 20 Days to the Top-How the PRECISE Selling Formula Will Make You Your Company’s Top Sales Performer in 20 Days or Less. To learn more, go to www.preciseselling.com.

Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.
-WALT DISNEY

Spring Break is here and a ton of folks will be heading to Disney World for the “experience.” In fact, about 44,000 people each day or about 16 million people each year will trek to Orlando. An even more impressive number is that almost 80% are REPEAT customers. So what did Walt Disney create that that we too can create in our own businesses? The two words that come to mind are FUN and REFERRALS. And what can those two words do for your business?

• Fun is innovation, creativity, and adrenaline. It produces productivity, loyalty and morale. Fun creates communication, teamwork and reduces conflict. Fun creates a profitable culture, increased sales and retained customers and employees. And fun fulfills our basic human need to be happy. So with all these benefits of FUN, why don’t more salespeople and companies use it? Some have.

Companies like Disney and Southwest airlines have harnessed the power of FUN to create loyal and repeat customers, and so can you.  But you have to schedule time to think of ways to add fun to your job. For 15 minutes each week, step away from email, get off the voicemail, and put your creative energy to work by thinking of innovative ways to create a customer experience. Then go do it. Do it just for the fun of it, or do it only because it works! Either way, a company or a salesperson that doesn’t “bring it” better be prepared to lose business to the competitors that do.

• Referrals- Surprise people with a fun customer experience (internal and external) and they will tell their friends. But don’t just stop at fun. If you are making your customers smile while providing big value, you need to ASK them for referrals. It’s a nice little game of give and take. I make you smile…you give me the name of three friends who would also like positively outrageous service.

So this week, find ways to add fun to your customer’s day. By doing so, you will have earned the right to ask for referrals. Make it a habit, and you will learn just how fun it is to cash your commission check, build a top performing team, and bury the competition. Let the fun begin!

This week, Brian interviewed author T Scott Gross on his weekly radio show. Scott wrote the book “Positively Outrageous Customer Service,” and shares tips on how you can use FUN to get to the TOP.   Go to www.preciseselling.com/Radioaccess.htm to listen to the interview. To find out more about Brian’s sales and leadership programs, visit him at www.preciseselling.com or email Brian at bsullivan@preciseselling.com.