by Rick Baker
On Nov 25, 2011
As you can see from my book reviews, I just read a sales book and re-read an old one.
The two books are called:
Stop Whining! Start Selling!
Profit-Producing Strategies for Explosive Sales Results
&
Stop Selling & Do Something Valuable
Stop whining, start selling, stop selling, & do something valuable.
What end's up & what's a salesperson to do?
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Sales.
No end to the sales advice...almost all of which is good advice.
***
Question: Why so much appetite for sales advice?
Answer: Because, for most folks Sales just keep getting tougher and tougher.
***
I am working at creating a simple & fool-proof recipe to help Salespeople.
Here are the primary ingredients in my Sales-Success Recipe:
- A compelling and precise answer to this question: 'Why are you in a Sales role?'
- A definite Purpose...a clear picture of a Career Goal.
- An emphatic commitment to Self-Discipline.
- A commitment to Life-Long Learning...about People.
Footnotes:
- The answer to the question 'Why are you in a Sales role?' is always 'telling'. Few answers cut the mustard. So, we need to keep our eyes and ears open for the answers that do cut the mustard. [All the less-than-acceptable answers signal future failure in the making.]
- Sales must be done 'on Purpose'...it is as simple as that.
- Self-discipline is essential because Sales roles tug at the Salesperson's emotions and emotions pull and shake Salespeople every which way but rarely point them in the successful direction.
- Life-Long Learning about People...remembering, People really do want to buy...buying stuff - well that's a perk enjoyed by most human beings.
by Rick Baker
On Nov 25, 2011
Thought Tweet #355 Knowledge can backfire.
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Selling, for example, has little to do with the technical things you know and/or can talk about. As time goes on, sales people learn more and more about the product/service they sell. Human nature being what it is they cannot resist sharing with prospects all the technical stuff they know. As they do this, they talk too much and listen too little. They educate the customers. The customers applaud. But, your Sales fall off.
by Rick Baker
On Nov 24, 2011
People get bored real quickly these days!
Probably, I have lulled you to sleep already and I have only begun to write.
If you will just hang in a bit more I will try to be quick with this message.
Maybe bullet points will help?
- People get bored real quickly these days!
- So, we need to do special stuff when we want to communicate with them!
The experts say, "You must be evocative". [translation - "You must pluck at people's emotional chords."]
That's the way to get people's attention.
How do you do that?
How do you pluck at people's emotional chords?
Here are some suggestions:
- Be Authentic: If you have a magnetic personality then use it. If you don't have natural charisma then work at improving your personality traits. Pick traits you desire to have then work at incorporating them into your character...I mean - want to improve and then work at it for the rest of your life.
- Be Intentional: Know exactly why you want to pluck at people's emotional chords. Your intent must have more substance than just trying to cram a sale or an idea down somebody's throat. A purely self-serving intent will not succeed.
- Be Colourful: Emotions have little interest in logic. Emotions like shiny objects, fast-moving things, colourful things, sharp sounds, funny things...stimulating things. Emotions like all these types of things but emotions do not like logic.
This is just an introduction.
If your communications are not achieving the results you seek then make some adjustments.
If you think your people are not 'getting it' then make some adjustments.
If you think younger folks don't listen then make some adjustments.
After all...your goals are important!
And...
'Being Evocative' is the new Starting Point!