My Blog

I often get woken up from a sleep with a great idea, or suddenly remembering something I have to do!  I have my iPhone beside the bed so I can record a quick voice note - so handy they are!  This time I got woken up with an idea that's been bugging me for eons!  I have been looking for a way to combat the old "I'm not interested" when making cold calls.  I have used lines like - "so what is it you are not interested in Mr Prospect?"  That's what I call the porcupine comeback, like a hot potato, they throw at me and I throw it straight back.

Finally I have a response that I feel does not manage to get the prospect upset or back them into a corner.  Its so simple, it breaks the ice, it is light-hearted and it de-stresses the situation nicely.  You want to know it? Read more >>>

WOW, this is a huge subject!!  As many opinions as there are sales people!!!  Dress appropriate is the general rule of thumb but what the heck does that actually mean?  To me at its simplest level it means you don't wear a suit and tie to go see a Farmer!!

At a deeper level its all about first impressions and that means so much more that just what you wear.  It comes down to your grooming, i.e hair, nails, shoes, teeth and then even further into your breath, the watch, the pen the sales compendium (laptop, iPad, flip charts etc).  We really only get one chance to make a first impression so here are my notes on minimising any problems here. Read more >>>

Sales is a tough but rewarding role. One that will challenge you from every angle, your tenacity, your will to succeed, your internal strength, your perception of people, your internal motivation and so much more. On the other hand, if you pass these tests the rewards are incredible.

So, two types of sales people, the Hunter and the Farmer, which one are you? The two are about as opposite as night and day! Think about it this way, would you rather answer inbound sales enquiries or go out and talk to people to generate your own enquiries?? Farmers wait for the phone to ring, work in call centres, wait for the fax machine to ring and catch the order before it hits the floor, work in retail where clients walk in or, become client relationship managers.

Hunters usually fend for themselves, generate their own leads, have networks that go where they go, knock on doors, master the phone and email communication tools, ignore rejection and are able to keep plowing on no matter what.

So we have two different animals here.... Read more >>>

How many times have you heard from a prospect something like this - "this all sounds great, just let me get through the Christmas period, in fact why don't you call me mid January".  This one used to get me every time!!!!

Here's what I say when this old gem comes up.Read more >>>

Some people can't tell a lie, others can't tell the truth and unfortunately, most people can't tell the difference. Can you tell when someone is pulling the wool over your eyes?  Your ability to quickly and accurately discern the truth greatly enhances your effectiveness as a coach. Fortunately, having the ability to sort fact from fiction is an important communication skill that can be learned.

Aside from con men and compulsive liars, most people become uncomfortable when telling a lie and transmit their deceitful behaviour through their body language. While they may sound convincing, their gestures speak louder than their words. Consequently, they reveal their deceit non-verbally. While it's not always easy to spot deceptive behaviour, there are many subtle yet discernible clues to the trained eye.Read more >>>

I have recently had the privilege of sitting in on several presentations held by senior economists from the Commonwealth Bank.  I have seen their forward projections, historical data and trends on all aspects of the economy.  One aspect of the presentation is that retail sales are slow or sluggish and this always concerns me especially when the audience is largely made up of retailers!!

I am often asked about the state of the economy as I travel around and present to business owners, I always respond with the same story, one I heard from John McGrath, the real estate mogul from Sydney.  He tells a great story of the time he was invited over to the USA to be the Keynote speaker at a huge Real Estate conference.  The night before the conference got underway they had a social event for attendees and John wanted to mix and mingle with attendees to get a feel for the market before his address the very next day.Read more >>>

I get asked this question every time I present on sales. What's the best way to handle the objection on ....... and it could be price, I need to think about it, timing etc....

The hardest working sales guys and gals get real good at some of the old Tom Hopkins objection handling techniques like, apart from the price, is there anything else stopping you going ahead today? They have a repertoire of objection handling responses up their sleeves to turn the sales situation around in their favour. To me this is the old style sales process and things have moved on since the 70's, 80's and 90's where these tactics may well have worked.Read more >>>

I love being on the end of someone else's sales process, you get to see some amazing new things, some things done really well and of course the worst of it all.  I am trying to buy a triple garage for my property at home and have contacted a bunch of local suppliers including national franchises who specialise in this area.

In doing so I have come to the conclusion that although their sheds are nice looking, their web sites are full of great pics - they have no idea how to sell and have all, without exception, made one of the worst mistakes possible in sales.

So far I have 4 quotes on my home office desk, they all have their elevation drawings, a list of specifications, a comprehensive list of inclusions and exclusions etc.  What I have noticed is that they are not easy to read and have been set out to look like a spec sheet for a builder rather than a quote for a layman.Read more >>>

Of all the aspects of sales the hardest part is generating leads. I have heard so many sales people say to me, just put me in front of someone and I'll sell them!! they just don't get it, that is sales, without the leads you have no sales.

Questions is - do you generate the lead yourself or outsource it to someone else?Read more >>>

Simple - don't leave your prospects with the option in the first place.  Here is how I set up the appointment right up front, I use an intention statement!

The intention statement is critical to the entire sales process, it outlines what is to take place in the time you have both set aside so that the prospect is clear and it helps to reduce any anxiety that the prospect may have around sales or any fear of a pressure sales environment.   The intention statement is broken into four sections,Read more >>>

One of my closest friends was on the heart transplant list for some considerable  months and was not expected to last another winter.  We received the great news that he had had the transplant and all was going really well.  I spoke with him just 3 days after the op and he was a new man. I have been following his progress and we speak each week - here is what I found so interesting.

Just 2 weeks after the op, so many things had changed, his hearing was improving, his sight was sharpening, his taste was returning and his overall wellbeing was vastly improved.  What he had not realised that for 3 and a half years since he was first diagnosed, his body was slowly shutting down, in fact it was so slow that he had hardly noticed.  This is what I call imperceptible drift.

It was not until he had the new lease of life that he really noticed just how far he had drifted from "normal" operations.

So what does this have to do with business? Read more >>>

I've called thousands of prospects over the years and in that time I have learnt a few tips I thought you might like to see.

1. You have to have a great opening line to grab attention.  I hate it when people ask me - how are you today - it really gives me the shits.  It puts me right into "defensive mode" - what it this person trying to sell me? Make a simple statement like - thanks for taking my call [name], [pause] the reason for my call is.... and make sure you have a great reason to interrupt that persons day. Read more >>>

What on earth would you think if this headline was in fact true!!  Why would he do that? In the Roger Federer Corporation, he is the best s to do that particular job!!  Who would turn up to see someone else hit the ball, it's him we go to see or turn on the TV to watch.

The analogy I am getting to is this: so many times I see small businesses struggling to make sales.  When they started,d the owner was the one out there generating new business, over time he got busy doing stuff and hired a sales guy / gal to step in to do the "hitting" while the owner handled things back in the office!!!!

PEOPLE- STOP DOING THIS!!!! Read more >>>

Thats my take on sales and selling.  Where else are you expected on a daily basis to go out there, call on people who don't know that they need what it is you have to sell, get rejected, hung up on, gate kept, ignored, given every excuse under the sun as to why they cannot afford your product or service, deal with rejection - and still be expected to do it over again the very next day!!!

Well to an average sales person, this is life.  Whether you sell cars, stationery, life insurance or houses, ALL average sales people go through this routine DAILY.  They prospect, cold call, followup leads, answer RFI's and tenders, write proposal and quotes, telemarket, answer queries and even have to make a quota to keep their job.

Still reckon you want to get into sales?? Read more >>>

This is easy when you get it right!  It is tough if you fail to set up the appointment properly.  What you have to remember here is that husband and wives think differently, they are together because of the old saying - opposites attract!  They have different views on life, you and your product / service.  Men generally think logically, women - emotionally.  You need to be able to understand this and sell accordingly.  REMEMBER - sales is defined as "professionally helping others to buy".

Here's what I have figured out over the years, and it remains the same no matter the size of the sale. Read more >>>

In an earlier post, I talked about the power gradient in a sales call.  In short what I am referring to is who holds the power, who looks up to who, who needs who more, who is the one controlling the conversation?

When I talk to sales people I often get asked, " how do I know what question to ask next"?  I know from that question that this is an inexperienced sales person who is more concerned about asking a great question than listening to what is being said by the prospect sitting in front of them. Read more >>>

If leads * sales = profits (assuming of course you are selling with an appropriate margin) then how well-defined is your sales process??

If you look at all the possible sources of leads to your business there will be only two types. They are either proactive leads such as direct mail, telemarketing, radio, TV, newspapers, vehicle signs, neon displays an PR for example. Or we have reactive leads such as word of mouth and to a certain extent referrals.

So lets look at the process for handling leads in your business if for example we delve into telemarketing.  What are the logical steps to generating great leads and then converting them into sales. Read more >>>

Too many times I have lost sales due to not having all the decision makers at the appointment.  This upsets me greatly and just this week I let it happen AGAIN.

When I qualify people either on the phone or somewhere in your sales process it is so important to ensure you have all the DM's available to attend the meeting.  I usually ask something like

"apart from yourself [name] is there anyone else involved in decisions at this level of the business?"

Read more >>>