As you might remember, I have been attending a GREAT BIG industry conference this week.
The other night, at a reception, I approached one of my favorite clients. I had my trusty sales assistant at my wing.
We were greeted warmly, by Client…who happened to be speaking with Prospect. Client introduced us to Propspect who perfunctorily shook our hands and then turned her back on us and started a new conversation with Client.
I stood next to Client (where I had been before). My wing assistant was a little crowded out by Prospect, and listened politely for a couple of minutes. When it was clear that Prospect was going to keep speaking with Client and ignoring us (I have never met this woman before), I touched Client’s arm and said “I’m going to grab a bite to eat, we’ll catch up later.” Client was gracious and Prospect at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed.
No, I’m not actually going to wait here to engage you in a conversation you do not want to have.
Throughout the conference
From time to time, we would see Prospect (there were a thousand people here, so it wasn’t often) and she always looked just downright snippy.
It’s not about you
About the third time we ran into Prospect with nary a glimpse of recognition, my trusty assistant leaned in and said. “You know. About 99% of the time that someone is nasty to you, it has nothing to do with you, but more about what’s going on with them.”
Left with compassion
When she said this, I immediately had compassion. I’m a pretty happy person and I love meeting new people. I thought, “Hmmmmm….Happy people tend to be really interested in other people. People who make a big fat difference in life seem to truly enjoy engaging.
And then I realized. She might just not be a very happy camper. And I left it alone.
Don’t let the nasties get you down
As I sit in my hotel room, preparing for the last leg of my conference, surrounded by the 20 serious connections I intended to make (and corresponding Thank You notes) and the dozen other REALLY inspiring people I got to know this week, I am reminded to focus on the great stuff I accomplished and let nasty Prospect deal with her own stuff. Which may be pretty serious stuff.
Remember when dating sites first came out? I don’t know if they still do this, but they used to promote this thing they “did”.
Finding your perfect mate…mathematically!
Here’s how it works. You enter answers to a survey. Do you smoke? What is your age? What was your GPA during college? What is your profession? Are you an outdoors person? Do you like to drink pickle juice in the middle of the night, watching TV in your swimsuit?
You know, the usual.
And then, they would run all of this data using an algorithm against all other data – and POW! Your perfect match! We did the math and here he is!
It was always a little hard for me to buy
I found myself deeply suspicious that anyone’s algorithm could take all of this “perfectly” correlated data and find me the right guy.
Unfortunately, this is how most “Sales Training” works
We are trained that if we can capture a bulk of the circumstances; the level of the decision-maker, the industry, the economy, the average length of a sales cycle, the ferocity of the competition, and the number of pixels on our marketing pieces (as a sample set) – and we can put this all into a formula and POW! – we will have the right approach to CLOSE THE DEAL!
To that I say ‘hooey’
Each sales transaction, every one, is a complex and delicate social and psychological transaction. Whether you’re selling your three-year-old on eating his peas, or selling an airplane contract to Boeing. Procurement departments are put in place to keep this complexity out – but that just adds one more element to the mix.
How to use sales training
Here’s what I’ve found to be VERY useful. When I hear something that makes sense, I give it a try. See if it works FOR ME. If it does, I keep it. If it doesn’t, I tweak it or toss it. I don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out what is wrong with me that it does not work.
When I hear something that makes me sick to my stomach, I ask WHY I am being trained that way. There “might” be a good reason. If there isn’t, I scrap it!
When I have worked for a company who insists on a certain way, I found my self-expression in it – or moved on.
There is NO exact formula or mathematical algorithm to sales. It is a constant dance and an unending opportunity for refinement and education. It challenges and fascinates me. And I love it. I have found my voice in it.
I wish the same for you and am willing to help in any way I can (and willing to learn EVEN more than I now know!)
So, let’s keep this community going! It is a beautiful art we pursue!
I’ve gotten to be a bit of a pro at this (at least for myself) and would like to share my favorite tips for making the VERY most of the time and money you are spending to attend:
1) To booth or not to booth I am attending this industry-standard conference as a vendor. But, NEVER as someone with a booth. Know why? I find it’s a waste of money. If the conference will let me attend as a vendor without a booth, I DO IT! I circulate more. Meet WAY more people. And spend less money. Geez, I hope the conference organizers aren’t reading this 🙂 If I MUST have a booth to attend, I work to get myself on as many panels and invited to as many parties as possible.
2) Pre-conference Prep I email my entire list of current pipeline prospects and people I haven’t spoken to in quite some time. I ask them, are you attending the such-and-such conference? I will be there and I would LOVE to meet. This accomplishes a few things. 1 – it gives me credibility as someone who is keeping up-to-speed as a thought leader. 2 – it gives me the chance to set up appointments to meet people face-to-face, which allows for some nice efficiencies. 3 – It gives me a reason to be in touch. 4 – it allows me the opportunity to be a resource to my customers who can’t make it to the event – I touch base with them when I get back about the top 3 things I learned – or with people I’d like to connect them to.
3) Opening the conversation I used to find this to be the hardest thing to do at a conference. What do I say that won’t annoy the daylights out of someone who is there trying to get educated in their field (and avoid vendors, frankly). Now, it’s easy. I simply ask: “What do you most want to get out of this conference?” or “What is the thing you would say has been most valuable about your time here?” This opens the conversation for what THEY care about. Often, I’m able to serve as a resource with some of their key issues. SCORE! (And they’re glad to talk to me because they are talking about themselves. Critical.)
4) Don’t drink I leave the alcohol consumption to the celebration of all my new business when I get home. If I am really going to work the conference to its best advantage, I need all the stamina and sharpness I can get. I go to the parties and join in on the fun, but I keep it straight. This is my business, after all.
5) Bring LOTS of business cards, but leave the presentations at home Conference attendees do NOT want one more thing to drag home with them. I bring plenty of cards, and make sure I get theirs!
6) Carry the Thank You notes and stamps along with me Yep. The hand written Thank You note again. When I am REALLY on my game, I write the cards out before I go to bed. At least I have them on the plane with me for my ride home. I believe people are impressed that they get something personal from me right away on their return.
7) Set a goal I set a goal of how many meaningful connections I am going to make at the conference. Connections that could lead to a sale. My goal for this three day conference is 20 meaningful connections. Obviously, I will make many more connections than that, but I’m talking about the ones that will lead directly to further conversations about working together. I hold myself to my goal and I don’t quit until I’ve made it. It’s a great game!
8) Be a stalker This is only for the VERY accomplished. If I am listening to a keynote or a panelist who is a big deal at their company (my favorites are the Fortune 500 CEOs), this CAN be an ideal time to connect with them. But, I am careful. I MUST have something MEANINGFUL to say that takes about 5 seconds and addresses core issues they just mentioned. I ask them for a CONNECTION at their company, not for THEIR time. These can be magical moments.
9) Love ’em UP! When I get home, I’m quick to put a bullet-point summary of the value I got from the conference. I send this to all my peeps who I did not see at the conference. I become a thought leader and valuable resource! Then, I connect with all the *meaningful connections* to set future action. I do NOT let this wait until sometime next week. I will take off Tuesday afternoon, as a reward- as long as those communications go out ASAP!
10) Balance the drawer and then we’re out! I take care of my finances. It’s never fun, but I challenge myself to finish my expense report and turn it in within two business days. No use carrying balances for the work I have done.
Great! I’m ready to rock ‘n roll! What strategies do YOU use to make the most of your conference time? I can’t wait to hear!
I was working with my business partner the other day, working on our strategy and business planning. A break from the selling to get more focused on the bigger future.
We started to explore some of the “low-hanging” fruit for ways to generate revenue. Things we could start marketing NOW and building a larger income base.
And then it struck me! These were all good ideas. And they could be sold. BUT, I WOULD HATE DOING THEM. Besides, they don’t give us any leverage to scale. They would only be a way to make a little more money in the short term, and they would lock us into commitments and marketing development and product development for at least the next nine months.
Something in the back of my head yelled STOP! (Thank goodness!)
It is OK to demand of my created business that it be fun and that I enjoy doing what we’re doing. I can always get a job that demands me to do stuff I don’t like. Why would I dare bring that into my own creation?
And then I saw, if I am patient and I keep doing the things I love, the money WILL take care of itself. I don’t need to worry about that right now. (Fortunately, I don’t need to worry about that now).
The point is – I realized how quickly I build prisons for myself when I am pursuing the the things I love. I approach my beloved projects with conversations from THE PAST which is exactly where I am moving away FROM!
Today, I will have the courage to envision my ideal future and keep trusting that it is mine to claim!
When you are HOT, you have great attitude! People want to buy from confident, self-possessed, passionate people. That’s HOT!
You do NOT need to look like the woman in this pic (who does, really, look like her?) But, the attitude is there!
She is confident, knows who she is, and is going to make sure that YOU look like a ROCK STAR when you buy her products. (This applies to men, too, BTW!)
You may “feel” less-than-confident when you are selling. We all do. Seriously!
One of my best friends once told me — “You can’t judge a person’s insides by their outsides”…meaning, they may LOOK all put together, but it doesn’t mean they are.
Go find your attitude. Find your passion. Find where YOU are HOT (and it may be that you are the EXPERT who CANNOT be denied! See Mike Kunkle as an example)
I was reading some research today about why people volunteer. I mean volunteering with nonprofits – getting involved with a cause. In every age group, the overwhelming reason that people say they volunteer is that they want to make a difference. It wasn’t a surprise to me. Mostly, I think people are wired to feel they are part of something bigger and that they make someone else’s life better.
It’s the same thing with the greatest salespeople I’ve ever known. They are out to make a real difference – for their customers, their society, their company, their families, themselves.
Here are the top characteristics of a salesperson who is out to make a difference:
1. They understand the big picture of what happens when people buy their products – the jobs it creates, the efficiencies it allows, the satisfaction that is achieved, the industry it improves.
2. They keep themselves educated in their field and their industry, so that they serve as a real resource to their prospective clients – whether they buy or not – because they are committed that people get the right solution.
3. They make sure they have a REASON to call on someone before they pick up the phone or write the email. A REASON that will matter to the person on the receiving end.
4. They stay in communication with customers to make sure that they are up-to-speed on the new things their customers may need, make sure that what they have sold is still working, and to fix issues that might have gone wrong. They are in the relationship for the long-termand interested in the performance of what they sold.
5. They make good on their promises and do whatever it takes to make their customer “whole” when they haven’t delivered EXACTLY how their customer expected them to. THEY take responsibility for the outcome of the sale.
Isn’t selling fun? It is wonderful when I know that I have made a REAL difference for people.
Any of us who have read anything about time management, success principles, and managing activities know this one. Be sure you know how to distinguish between Urgent action items and Important action items.
Urgent items keep the ball in play.
Important items move the ball forward.
What can you move onto your list and do it before 5 pm today that is IMPORTANT and would move the ball forward in YOUR game?
I have been contemplating this a great deal lately. What do I admire? Who do I admire?
I look at Richard Branson (who doesn’t?) and wonder…what do we admire so much about him?
I think I most admire that he seems to live his life without limits.
But, it’s an illusion. I think.
When I look at my own life…what makes me shrink back…is that it *seems* rough when I confront my limits. I am looking for what is comfortable, so I stay away from the “limits”.
Yet, when I GO FOR IT and confront the limits…it is as if they disappear!
Am I living in an illusion of limits?
I watch my dog, unable to cross the boundary of my laptop cord plugged into the wall. It is illogical. He could easily cross over it. In fact, my other two dogs cross over the cord without a thought. Somehow, this one dog has created that crossing over that cord is impossible.
What have I created as impossible that is as simple as crossing over a laptop cord? Do my two dogs look like a “Richard Branson” to my other one dog?
I hope you will join me in this inquiry. What have we created as barriers, in our minds, that aren’t actually barriers?
I am about people getting more comfortable, more alive, more self-expressed with their daily transactions of buying and selling. I am about you loving your life. I am about communication skills that work. I am about people having the resources they need, at their fingertips, to make their lives work better and faster.
I am about cutting through the stigmas that hold us back from being TRULY GREAT!
When people get REAL about their lives, they understand that “selling” exists at least three times a day in their real lives.
I am the person who helps you remember how best to “sell” your three-year-old into sleeping in their own bed.
I am the person who helps you get that job you really want.
I am the person who has your back at eliminating the barriers to you living the life you love through extraordinary and clean communication.
I help you break the rules that hold you back.
I give you permission to go for what you want.
And, you give all of that back to me.
Together, you and I can transform the art of “selling” and make sure EVERYONE has access to the things they want to get in their ONE PRECIOUS LIFE.
Let’s do this together. Let’s ALL become Irreverent Sales Girls (men included)!
Tomorrow I bring out my favorite FOURTH QUARTER sales weapon. My way to Bring It On Home for the end of the year.
My good old tried and true magnetic whiteboard.
I will write the goal I intend to reach on the far right. I will list every deal I have closed underneath and subtract to get me to the number I desire.
Then, I will create a magnet for each and every prospective customer in conversations with me right now. I will divide my whiteboard into Monday _ Tuesday_ Wednesday_Thursday_Friday and I will move my magnets to the last day I interacted with my pipeline peeps!
