Let’s Sale Together - A Guide Filled with Sales Knowledge.

Sales can be defined as “the activity or business of selling products or services” (Business Dictionary). I do not believe this is a good enough definition. I define it as the act of motivating people to buy your goods, services, or ideas. At first, sales (for new salespeople) is very intimidating. Don’t get me wrong, there are some that strut right into this world with ease but that is VERY RARE. To be honest, in my experience, those are the same people that hit a ceiling pretty quickly too. I’ve witnessed people with extremely rough starts skyrocket to epic heights. So if you’re off to a rough start, or a good one remember that keeping an open mind and edu-bah-cating yourself will be the left hook you need to knock down all of your obstacles. Regardless of where you stand with sales, there are PLENTY of steps you can take to get good or get from good to gooder at sales. My goal with this blog is to motivate you while arming you with a few simple tools to add to your kit.

“Before you try to convince anyone else, be sure you are convinced, and if you cannot convince yourself, drop the subject”. John H Patterson (founder of National Cash Register Company, established world's first sales training school)

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Landing that sweet first sale takes more than just dedication. It’s a result of utilizing confidence, research, social interactions, and an attitude of  “f&*# it, I’m going to kill this.”. *cough, also, don’t forget the luck factor.* Luck isn’t a sustainable strategy though. You will need more than that to develop a lucrative career. 

Let’s clear this up. Sales isn’t just about convincing someone to buy something from you. It’s about inspiring peoples behaviours and actions. Sometimes that person is you. Yes, being a good salesperson will help you convince yourself of your own benefits. Did I just melt your mind? Get good at sales, convince yourself you’re awesome, get better at sales, convince yourself you’re even awesomer… Here’s an important note; the people who are the best at sales are truly empathetic and self-aware. So, when you get good at sales and convince yourself you are awesome you will also have the skill to monitor your ego. Success is dope af but if you don’t stay in check you’ll lose it real quick. 

Don’t know where to start? OF COURSE. No one really does. Sales is a beast but I can help you tame it. The best way to get good at sales is by trying. Here’s a few tips and steps to help you achieve your sales goals.

Rapid First Power Tips

1. Breathe: Sound basic? It isn’t! You need to inhale (push your stomach out and fill your lungs), hold for 2 seconds, exhale slowly, then repeat 3 times. Why? Because when you’re anxious your heartbeat picks up and so does your breathing. This is why you feel out of breath when you’re nervous. Taking a moment to get some oxygen into your system will combat short breath. It will also help will tip number 2.
   
   
2. Slow the F Down: Guys/Gals… THIS IS NOT A RACE! I get it, it feels like you just want to get out all of your key points quickly before your prospect can reject you. Reverse the situation; if someone was throwing information at you a million words a second, how would you react? Not well, it would make you anxious and you would want to exit the situation.
   
   
3. Bathe in the Pause: This is directly connected to tip 2. It will help you slow down.
   
   
4. Don’t be a mushmouth: Have you ever had someone come at you a million words per second and you’re like, give me a second to catch my bearings??? Don’t be the million words per second person.
   
   
5. Presearch your Prospect
   
   
6. Ask don’t Tell: Asking great questions will give you so many insights into the needs of your prospect. You can’t truly help your prospect if you don’t know what they require. Listen and respond accordingly.
   
   
7. Rapport More: You’re going to hear me say this a lot “avoid pitching to everyone”. No one likes the person that’s always trying to sell them something. You cannot build deep meaningful relationships like this. The more authentically you give a shit about the people around you, the more you will succeed in your goals.
   
   
8. Build a Persona: This is a tricky one but it works well. When I first started out I was not confident in who I was. I just didn’t believe my voice could be a voice that would influence others. What did I do? I built an alter ego. It was a mix of characters I witnessed in movies. Guess what… it worked. I was no longer connected to my own insecurities and I was able to project the bravado I needed to excel. This is a short term solution and you will see in the next tip a better approach. 
   
   
9. Learn your Voice: I believe authenticity is the super power of great salespeople. However, as you may have noted, in my last tip I basically told you to act like someone else, lol. Well, you aren’t someone else and you can only maintain the lie for so long. You have to find your own voice and truly build confidence in who you are and what you are presenting. This comes from the inside. You need to grow as a person so that you can grow as a professional. Seek advice, talk to experts, ask real questions about yourself so that you can better yourself.
   
   
10. Patience: If you want to build long lasting interaction prepare to spend time nurturing the relationship.
    
    
11. Prepare for Rejection: We all get rejected. Every single one of us. You can go online and find an endless list of successful people sharing stories about their early rejections. Want to know the difference between successful people and wishful thinkers? Successful people are willing to go through the discomfort of rejection over and over again in an effort to achieve their goal.
    
    
12. Who’s the Boss: Understand who the decision maker is so that you’re not wasting your time pitching to the wrong people. Keep in mind the decision maker can also be the person that influences the person that signs off on it. 
    
    
13. Socialize: Your network will affect your net worth. Get out in your community and meet people. Do not pitch everyone you meet… please do not be that person. Ask them questions about themselves and learn what their needs are. Just build friendships. I promise, they will eventually ask about you.
    
    
14. Close Well: The key to closing is asking for the close. “Have we addressed all of your needs? Would you like to move forward?”. Supply the contract and the pen and “sign on the dotted line”.
    
    
15. Promise with Confidence: Not only do you need to appear confident but you need to be confident that you are willing to do whatever it takes to deliver.
    
    
16. Take Notes: You will not remember all of the finer details. That’s just a reality. You will build confidence in your prospect if they see you taking notes and you can use them to follow up with an email after your interactions to keep on the same page.
    
    
17. Do it: This is a job that is truly learned on the battlegrounds. All of these tips will help you get better quicker but will not replace the golden giveback of application. 

Great Quotes to Motivate

• The reason it seems that price is all your customers care about is that you haven't given them anything else to care about. ---- Seth Godin

• Think like a customer. --- Paul Gillin

• To give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity. --- Douglas Adams

• The golden rule for every business man is this: "put yourself in the customer's place" --- orison Swett Marden

• Stop selling, start helping. --- Zig Ziglar
  
  
• Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says "make me feel important." Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life. --- Mary Kay Ash

Famous Sales Gurus

• David Ogilvy
  Created several successful, well-known campaigns, but started as a door to door stove salesman.
  
  
• Joe Girard
  Sold 13,001 vehicles within 15 years. He once sold 18 cars within one single day.
  Source: https://www.salesforce.com/ca/blog/2016/03/careers-of-famous-salespeople.html
  
  
•  Mary Kay Ash
  Creator of Mary Kay Cosmetics, and used tactics different than the normal approach.
  
  
• John Henry Patterson

           Founded the Nation Cash Register Company and the worlds first sales school.

• Zig Zigglar
  Author, salesman, motivational speaker. 

Conclusion

I hope you learned a thing or two in this blog. The number ONE thing I want you to take from this is the absolute need for action. You can read all day but if you don’t get out there and do it, you will not reap the rewards. I also hope that I’ve prepared you for the discomfort of rejection while also motivating you to feel good about facing it. There is solidarity in all of this. The only people that will give you a hard time are people without empathy, people having a shit day, and/or people without the courage to put themselves out there. So, be dope, fall on your face, get back up, do it again and again and again until you have really earned everything you will acquire from the most lucrative profession on planet earth. 

Here’s the million dollar question… what do you want to learn about? I’m always looking for feedback so that I can learn and if you challenge me to research and do a blog on something you’re interested in I will do it. For you, because I love you and like you (my mom used to say this to me; I always love you but I don’t always like you).