The New Rules Of Selling

How To Start the First Call

Bill had a coaching session with a client recently, who was struggling with how to start the first call. He decided to record that session and break it down on this week’s episode of The 2X Podcast.

The first call is one of the most important things to get right in the sales process. This is where you set the stage between you and the prospect.

Bill gives you several tips on how to start the conversation and how to engage your prospect.

Also mentioned in this podcast:

 

7 Skills Every Sales Person Must Master

I often get asked the question, “What do I need to be good at to succeed in sales?” It’s not always the easiest question to answer but there are certain skills that separate high achievers from the low.

On this week’s 2X Podcast, I’ll give you the 7 Skills You Must Master if you want to excel in sales. I’ve compiled this list of 7 over the past 25 years of working with clients.

Author Daniel Pink has one of the most famous TED Talks of all time on Motivation. In that talk, he discusses how competency is one of the highest motivators of all. ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation

If you want to download a self-assessment that goes along with this episode, go to www.billcaskey.com/99download and get your FREE Copy!

Also mentioned in this podcast:

 

How Jason Doubled His Income

“We can easily forgive a child when they’re afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” -Plato Share on X

I started my sales career in living in constant fear.

Why would anyone buy something from me ?

How was I to communicate properly to get people to buy?

How was I to create personal wealth in a profession I knew little about?

What if I failed? Then what?

Relate?

I find most sales professionals do.

The problem is never “what” we sell. Or, “who our market is.” Or, “What the price is.”

It’s deeper than that.

And in this article, I will share with you how one of my clients doubled his income in a matter of 120 days.

I share this not to exert my will on you. Whether you follow this process is your call, not mine.

I share it because I find that when a framework appears, it’s a helluva lot easier to make changes and get results.

I’ve read blogs like this before where the author never gives up the gold. That will NOT happen here. My aim is to help you see what is possible in your world, even if you might not.

I’ve been training sales teams for over 30 years…7500 training session…over 2000 coaching sessions…900 podcasts…and a book, Same Game New Rules, one that many companies use as their text book for new and counter-intuitive training.

And one thing I always find…we all want more.

It’s just the way we humans are built. If we are fully human, we express it by wanting to realize our potential on this planet.

But while we all want more…often, it feels out of our reach.

We find ourselves saying, “Well yes, Bill can do that, but I can’t.” Or, “Well, easy for Jason…he has a (built in advantage) but I don’t have that.”

Yes you do. And we’ll get to that.

Today, I will share with you the story of Jason and how he used our sales philosophy and methodology to significantly grow his business quickly.

He came to me struggling in his sales territory. No, he wasn’t about to get fired – but he was the classic underachiever. On the surface he looked like he could be a killer. But the results were never there. And he was becoming frustrated.

Sales philosophy jason case studyJason was 35 years old with a new wife and a new house. He’d been in his current position for 5 years. He was a pretty good sales person -always in the middle of the pack. But…he knew he could do better.

His manager was always telling him, “Hey Jason, you can crush this thing. You have tons of opportunity in your territory. What’s going on?”

Ever have someone tell you that?

Or have you ever told yourself that? (That might be more painful).

Those conversations shamed him – they certainly didn’t inspire him. He needed a plan and a way of thinking – a philosophy – which he wasn’t getting. He was not a real ambitious bloak – not a trained killer. He’d always been average – earning about $80,000/year. BUT, he knew there was more.

One thing you should know about Jason: A born sales person he was not. Not sure anyone is – but there is a worldview that there IS such a thing.

There is NOT.

And, worse, he started to question himself if sales was even the right profession. Not a good place to be.

As I said at the top, I questioned myself almost every day when I began in sales.

“Is this what I really want to do?”

“Will this get me to my goals?”

“Am I cut out for this?”

Just like me, Jason began to doubt himself and his skills. He lost confidence in his ability and his natural talent.

We call this the “doubt spiral.” And it’s ugly.

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” Share on X

As a coach, if I can’t get the “doubt” turned around, there is almost no hope for high achievement. It will continue to be the same, day after day, year after year.

I want to share how we turned it around. I say “we” because it was both of us.

RESULTS

So in the 6 months I worked with him, here were his results:

  • Tripled his average monthly appointment count.
  • Went from a closing rate of 10% to 65%.
  • Monthly income went up 3x.
  • And the biggest result was his confidence level – hard to measure, but hard to be without.

Finding Help To Tame The Demons

The Process: Sales Philosophy, Methodology, & Process.

As he got down on himself, a friend suggested he find someone to help him…a coach…a peer group…somewhere to acquire the right skills and the right attitudes.

He began to research online. He found a mastermind / learning group I run and set up an appointment with me where he shared his plight.

He was very specific and very open, the first step to getting help and creating change.
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Three Tips That Will Improve Your Mindset Right Now

I’ve heard many authors say that once they write a book, they never look at it again. That is definitely not me. I wrote Same Game New Rules over 12 years ago, but I still refer to it when I want to create content for a blog or to offer people useful advice.

I often find myself referring back to Chapter 20 in Same Games New Rules. This chapter is one of my favorites because I discuss the laws of money. It is vital that you understand the laws of money if you want to improve your work ethic and your mindset.

Law #1: The less you care about money, the more you’ll make.

When you become needy of money or business, you push away the very people who can help you. If you approach your client with more interest in solving problems than getting money, and the client is someone you can and want to help, you’ll automatically attract more business and money to you than you ever thought possible.

Law # 2: Push your clients too hard and their money will leave with them.

Your goal should be to create an environment in which your client pulls you along. The optimum strategy is to have your prospect selling you on why he needs you. On your first call, simply lay out your intent with a non-threatening, servant-like attitude.

During this time, resist the temptation to close the deal. Even when you know you can help, continue to explore options with your client, allowing him to pull you along. Never get more excited than your prospect.

Law #3 If you trap your clients, they’ll run.

When you pursue a sale in the traditional way, you, in essence, stand over your client, trapping them so that it is nowhere for them to go but out the door. Your goal should always be to leave your client an escape hatch.

If you have found these tips useful, click the button below to check out the full version of Same Games New Rules.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SAME GAME NEW RULES

When Deals Drag On, You Must Change The Game

I had a call today from a client who was struggling to keep a deal moving.

That’s not unusual if you’ve been in sales for longer than…say…3 hours, is it?

What was unusual is the prospect always agreed to see James when he called, BUT nothing moved.

Lots of social visits – but no movement. Been there?

And James was getting fatigued.

He had to keep telling his manager that the deal was still alive. But his manager was growing skeptical, as he should have been.

What He Did

With a little of my guidance, but most of all his ‘detachment’, he made the move. Here’s what he told his prospect: Read more

When You Detach You Dictate The Process

Every sales person we’ve met has trouble controlling the sales process.

It’s not wonder – the amateur seller gets so needy they can’t help but attach themselves to the sale. And you know the problem with that….if you don’t, LISTEN to this episode where Bill lays out the “Rules of Detachment Boulevard.”

Check out the 2X Quick Start at http://www.the2xgroup.com/quickstart, especially if you’re interested in joining Bill’s 2X peer group.

Also mentioned in this podcast:

Can a checklist save your life?

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 […]

What an Economist Can Teach Us About Selling

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

The MOST Overused Term in Business Today

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