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As much as I hate to start an article off with a cliché, many clichés became famous because they’re true – and that is certainly the case when it comes to this clever one-liner about connections and relationships.
While we’re on what bugs me, the other thing that frustrates me is the word ‘relationship’ and how it’s thrown around at nauseam in the business world. Read more
This is the final in a series of seven articles on how to change the dynamic between you and your buyer and the need for NEW RULES in your selling process. In today’s article, we’ll look at the “Dynamic of Checklist Thinking, a super-strategy to execute the sales process.” Does the name Atul Gawande ring a […]
This is the sixth in a series of seven articles outlining the need for NEW RULES in your selling efforts. In this article, we’ll look at the Dynamic of The Unseen.
Sounds a bit mysterious, doesn’t it? Well, it is.
In 1946, Henry Hazlitt wrote a book called “Economics in One Lesson.” (click here to learn more). I suggest you read it if you’re interested in public policy or in human behavior.
Hazlitt’s premise was that economists seldom look at the long term consequence of a government action. For example, if the government spends $1 trillion on make-work programs, it all sounds great on the surface. People go to work. Everyone’s happy. Or, are they? Read more
This is the fifth in a series of seven articles outlining the need for NEW RULES in your selling efforts. In this article, we’ll look at the Dynamic of Value.
Anyone else get annoyed when a company drones on and on about their “value”? You’ve heard all the iterations of this: Value Add. Value Proposition. Value Statement.
Usually it means something like this, “We bring value – and if we talk enough about how much value we bring, then it’s likely you’ll begin to believe it.”
Well, that’s not good enough today.
I’ll share a new way to look at “value” so you can change the rules of the selling game. As I’ve done in each article in this series (click here to read the other articles), my sole aim is to help you change the entire dynamic of the buyer/seller process.
If you do it right, you’ll be the prize that others will seek. Wouldn’t that be nice? Well, it’s possible, if you read this series and begin to ACT. Read more
This is the fourth in a series of seven articles outlining the need for NEW RULES in your selling efforts. In today’s article, we’ll look at the “Dynamic of Process.”
Sales Process: No one term has commanded the attention of so many, yet been implemented by so few.
Every CEO I know talks about ‘sales process,’ but few implement any true strategy. When I go into their companies and ask about their process, my question is answered with dead silence.
Why the silence? Few companies will admit to having a good, psychologically sound sales process. And those sales teams that do have a decent one rarely use it.
Why is that?
This is the third in a series of seven articles outlining the need for NEW RULES in your selling efforts. In this article, we’ll look at the Dynamic of Decisions.
Remember the good ole’ days when you were trained to ask the customer, “Who makes the buying decision on this?” (Or, some version of that.)
Well, that implied something very obvious – but wrong.
That implied that it was THEM (or someone at their company) making the decision, not you.
We also used elaborate metaphors like the Fox, the Champion, the Sponsor, the Hen (OK, maybe not the hen).
Then we would pull out the org chart and have them tell us who would be involved in the decision. And we’d get lied to. (You forgot that part, didn’t you?)
This process must change.
Today, you must alter the “Dynamic of Decision.” Changing this dynamic enables you to reap enormous rewards and stop wasting time with non-qualified prospects. Read more
This is the second in a series of seven articles outlining the need for NEW RULES in your selling efforts. In today’s article, we’ll look at the “Dynamic of Power.”
Who has the power in the sales process? Think about it. Who has it?
If you’re a traditionalist, you’ll say, “The prospect does, because they have the money.” We used to call it ‘The Power of the Pen’ (as in a ‘pen’ that signs the order.)
But not so today. In article one, I told you about the Dynamic of Pursuit.
Here, I want to talk about the Dynamic of Power.
The bottom line: You have the power. Not your prospect.
Now, it may not readily seem like that because you have goals and budgets you need to achieve. You’re constantly thinking, “What do I need to do, or say, to close this business?”
Sorry to be repetitive, but you have the power because you have the solution. Now, it may be that they don’t need your solution urgently. Fair enough. If that’s the case, then you must move on. Do not spend unnecessary time with a prospect who has no pain – or no reason for change.
But, let’s suppose you’re in front of someone who truly does have a problem. Read more
This is the first in a series of seven articles outlining the need for NEW RULES in your selling efforts. In today’s article, we’ll look at the “Dynamic of Pursuit.”
I trained a sales team two months ago. It was our kickoff meeting in advance of a long term ongoing training program (which is currently in place).
In my kick-off meetings, I begin by focusing on changing the dynamic between YOU and the BUYER. I start with is the simple question, “Who is selling whom?”
After I had made my points, a 50-something man stood up and challenged me. “There is no way, in this economy,” he said, “that my customer will EVER sell me. I must always be in selling and closing mode or I won’t get deals. You’re nuts to think that it could be any other way.”
OK. So noted. I later found out this gentleman was struggling. His results were poor. In his manager’s words, “time has passed him by.”
When training teams, I’ve learned that I can’t focus on 1-2 people who disagree. Every minute I spend with a disagree-er, is a moment I can’t spend expanding the thinking of the agree-ers. I must pick my battles and this wasn’t a fight worth fighting in front of the group.
After the program, I called the challenger over to have a word with him. He had calmed a little, so I asked him. “Have you ever had a prospect call you because he had been referred to you, hearing how great you are. Then, he asked a few questions and purchased?” Read more
In his book, Think & Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill describes what a mastermind group is:
Nice, isn’t it? “A friendly alliance.” “Plan and purpose.”
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Last month, in the mastermind group that I’m in, a guy broke down into tears. He was struggling. His business was not doing well. And, this was the first time he actually admitted it to another human being.
While it was awkward, I’ve never seen 9 people jump into service so quickly. Isn’t it interesting that when the truth comes out – when we become “real,” people are always there to help?
Later, he emailed the group, sharing what a massive relief it was to know he had people on his ‘team’ that were in total support. You could feel the relief in his tone.
Below, I’ve listed 5 reasons that you MUST consider joining a mastermind group if you’re truly serious about your professional growth. Read more