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Is “The Secret” Really THE Secret?

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Just finished The Secret DVD. Although the book left me a little cool, the DVD was quite good.

Here are my LIKES and DISLIKES and a recommendation. By the way, if you’ve been living in Bahrain the last month, The Secret is the Law of Attraction, which says you attract to things/situations that mirror your feelings and thoughts.

The Secret LIKES
*The production quality of the DVD was outstanding. Other than a few annoying things (like the announcer reading quotes from famous people that you could barely hear–he was whispering–you see, it was a secret), it was worth watching.

* The interviews the producer (Rhonda Byrne) had with other supporting authors (Bob Proctor and Henry Beckwith and others) were well done. Joe Vitale (Dr.) was good as well. (Is that Dick Vitale’s brother? Sure looks like him.)

* The last hour of the program was very good because it addressed the reasons the secret works, which I didn’t think the book addressed well.

The Secret DISLIKES
* I despise this idea that they started this program with the attraction of material things (necklaces, bikes, parking spaces). It seems they’re taking a big idea and dumbing it down for the consumer society.

* They should have told the truth that, sometimes, even though you might think about things, you can’t attract them to you. Because you aren’t mentally/physically or emotionally ready for them. Sometimes God actually stops things from coming into your life–they just aren’t right for you. In other words, what we might hope for might not be right for us.

* They never talked about the Reverse Organizing Mechanism of the mind. (Although they did talk about the vast power of the mind. ) This “organizing phenomena” kicks in when you put an idea (goal) out there. The Universe has a way of helping you recognize situations that will help you accomplish those goals. In a way, the mind “reverse organizes” all the things you need to see to accomplish that goal.

In the video, Jack Canfield had a perfect example when he said he wanted to sell 400,000 books at .25/ea. He was in a store one day and saw National Enquirer and thought that would be a good way to do it. In the next 30 days, he met a writer for the Enquirer which ultimately led him to the goal. Do you think he would have noticed the Enquirer in the store if he had not written the goal down? Probably not.

But they skipped that part of the phenomena.

Recommendation
Ok, so here’s where I think The Secret is good for sales professionals. A good selling strategy has to do with qualifying people who can buy what you have.  In order to execute a sales strategy, you have to have a good idea of what an Ideal Client looks like.

Your Assignment
In the next week, write down your definition of your Ideal Client. We did a podcast on that called The Ideal Client. Be very clear about what that client looks like–how much they buy per year, how they are to work with, how they treat you, what kinds of pains/problems they have which would make them perfect for your solution etc., Look at that list each morning.

And as you come across people you’re tempted to add to your sales funnel, stop and ask if they meet the attributes of the Ideal Client. What you’ll find is that your awareness will become much keener in how you see the market place and you’ll become more discerning about who you pursue.

Now, that’s the REAL Secret!

You’ve Been Given a Gift. Are You Using It?

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I heard a commerical the other night that posed a profound question: “Are you using all of the gifts (talents) that you’ve been given?”

Thoreau said many of us, “live lives of quiet desperation.” To me that means we sort of meander through life–taking what’s given us, but not really exploiting our gifts and talents.

As sales professionals, we have many gifts–the gift of creativity–the gift of being able to touch people with our work–the gift of solving problems–etc. But how many of us really “exploit” those gifts?

One Gift That Stands Above All Others
In sales, one gift we’ve been given, that most of us fail miserably to exploit, is the gift of intuition. That gift is a sixth sense…a  feeling…a notion of what’s not right in the relationships we have with prospects and clients. Yet, how often do we follow that intuition–and act on it? Not often.

I was working with a group of accountants last week and we talked about that very thing–“acting on your intution.” If you feel something isn’t right, you must call it out to the prospect–not in an angry, accusatory way–but in an honest, all-truth-on-the-table way.

I was taught early in my career that when you disregard your feelings and hold them to yourself, you bottle up  your creativity–and your ability to be in the present moment with people. Plus, you “own less of your self.”

I hope you’ll think about your intuition–listen to it–and follow it.

It’s a gift you’ve been given.

“She Left The Store–He Got Nothing!”

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I’m a bit crazy these days. I think this business is doing it to me. Why, you ask?

I have this philosophy–call it spiritual or call it practical–but the foundation of the philosophy is that the Universe guarantees the potential for our profound success—just for showing up.

Here’s the story.
I was at my pool retailer this weekend (having problems getting chemicals right–in the 100 degree weather). This retailer also built my pool so I know he has a high ticket sale on the front end ($50-100,000) with low ticket sales on the back end (chemicals).

I’m standing there waiting for my results to be analyzed and a lady walks in asking about pools. The owner (actually the owner’s son) is talking with her. Do you know what buying signals are? Those casual references to problems the prospect wants solved–the deep desire the prospect has to solve her problem? Well, this lady was pitching buying signals right and left at the owner.

He walked her through some of the features (seldom asking any questions about why she was interested or what she was hoping to accomplish with a pool). And the lady says, “This is VERY interesting. We’re going to do something this year. Let me think about it and come back in. OK?”

Being a sales trainer, I’m interested in the interaction–listening to this conversation. I can’t keep quiet. I say, “You know if you want a great pool contractor, this is the guy. He just put our pool in and it’s wonderful.”

She says, “Oh, great. That’s good to know.” And walked out.

I was aghast! A $70,000 sale that walked in the door and walked out and HE HAS NOTHING! Not a name. Not an address. Not a hint at where she is in the cycle. HE HAS NOTHING!

I came to my senses and kept my mouth shut…
As I walked out I thought how often that happens to each of us. Maybe not where a person wants to buy and we won’t let them. But think how often you come across someone–maybe you meet at a friend’s house–or at a civic lunch–and we get nothing from them. No business card. No phone number. Nothing.

And that person is quickly forgotten. Yet that person could be a suspect for what we do–or at the very least, they know others who are. Yet, we let opportunity slip away.

The Lesson
Be “list conscious.” Think like a direct mail company thinks. The list is the thing. That’s all the direct mailer has–a list. If it’s a good list, they get wealthy. If it’s not, they work on building the best list.

You have a list–and your list has the potential to grow everyday–with everyone you meet. So get a “list process” to make sure that everyone you meet gets on your email list, or your Friends & Associates list.

Capture data. It’s the thing that will make you an elite acheiver. While everyone else is sending blind direct mail and making cold calls, you’re harvesting those relationships that began with a brief introduction and ended with a happy client.

“How Do I Start The Sales Process?”

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Question From Blog Reader:

I’m assuming that you mean: “how do I start the process so that I can control it all the way through?” That’s a better question. In this post, I give you several components of how to handle the very first call.

Read more

THE DEATH OF THE DECISION MAKER

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I had a revelation this week that has led me to think about an old “sales 101” rule in a completely different light. If you’ve been a salesperson for longer than 10 minutes, you certainly know rule #1 is to always talk to the decision maker. “Get past the gatekeeper….find the decision maker….”

You’ve heard this in sales training class for decades. But I’ve decided to re-write the rule. Here’s the deal: There is NO SUCH THING AS “A” DECISION MAKER anymore.

Gone are the days of “my way” or “the highway” management and people making decisions at their desk or over a two martini lunch. Without question, virtually every decision made by a purchaser includes input from more than one person. Granted one person may have veto power over the decision, but rest assured that that person is collecting input, opinion and data from others.

Here’s how I’d suggest you change your process given this new vane of thought:

1 -Talk to EVERYONE who will be impacted by the purchase. If you sell dump trucks, don’t just talk to the owner of the construction company, talk to the driver’s who will be using your equipment, talk to the dispatchers, talk to the maintenance people, and talk to the CFO. All of these people will be both involved in the decision to buy your dump trucks AND in the longevity of your relationship.

2 -Stop worrying about hurting people’s feelings. I hear this in our sales training classes a lot. “I don’t want to offend my buyer by going over their head.” That’s like saying, “I don’t want to tell that guy with cancer that I have a cure, because I only deal with his spouse.” INSANE. You’re there to HELP-not to keep everyone’s feelings from being hurt.

3 -Make it part of your process from Day 1: Be sure to tell new prospects the first time you meet them, that you’ll be talking to several people in their organization as you attempt to offer them a viable solution. You won’t get nearly as much resistance if you tell them upfront you’re going to talk to their boss than if you wait until it’s too late.

The death of “the decision maker” is upon us.

Your Prospect is Not Your Enemy!

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We really waste a lot of energy sometimes, don’t we? In a profession that relies on our mind to do the heavy lifting, we certainly fail to think about things in the right way. One example of that is “who we see as the enemy. Read more

Blog Authors

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We love to hear from our readers. If you’d like to contact our authors privately to suggest story ideas or critique their writing, here is their information:

Bill Caskey: mailto:[email protected]

Bill is a sales development leader and experimenter. His ideas about selling are convictions about life, money and meaning. He has coached sales professionals and executives for over 20 years. And his philosophies and strategies have fueled explosive growth in sales and profits for clients.  Click here to learn more about Bill Caskey.

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“How Can I Regain Control of a Sales Process That’s Out of Control?”

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I got this question from one of my clients last week. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is a common problem for sales professionals–especially in complex (long) selling cycles.

Let’s start at the top. You are in sales to solve problems. The solving of your customer’s problems will pay you GOBS of money (more money than merely ‘selling them stuff’ will). You must recall that there is a natural order to life in sales.

Problem. The Process. Then Product.

When you begin a process, the customer problem should be at the top of the agenda. Every time you meet with your prospect, you start with “can we review the pain?” (Maybe not those exact words, but you get the idea).

The reader’s conundrum comes later in the sales process when things drag down–momentum gets lost. Here’s the revelation: The velocity is lost because the original problem has worked it’s way down the priority list. It’s nowhere on an agenda. It’s not top of mind anymore.

In fact, I’ve seen sales processes that get bogged down–and when I ask the seller, ‘when’s the last time your reviewed the customer’s problem?’ they say, “not since the first call.”

Hmmmmm. Something odd going on here.

The main reason you’re going through all of this work is not even talked about anymore???!!! Lesson: You must keep going back to the original reason–the primary purpose of the sale. Revisit the pain, often.

They Won’t. You Must.

But the prospect won’t do this on his/her own. You’ve got to do it. So that was my answer–unglamorous as it was. No cool, one-liner. I didn’t even resurrect the late 60’s sales move of, “if I could show you a way, would you buy today?” Just plain talk about what’s really happening.

==We’re going to be doing more ‘ask the coach’ in our blog. So fire up your fingers and pose your toughest challenge (or email us).

The Missing Link in Sales Training (shhhh….it’s a secret)

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We get asked often, “How are you different than other sales trainers?” Good question. My answer includes the Missing Link in Sales Training. For 18 years we’ve kept it a secret. Now it’s time to share. Here’s the answer: 

Most sales training programs focus on two aspects of the sale’s process: saying and doing. Traditional sales training teaches us what to say and what to do. If you need more sales, make more calls. If you’re not closing enough business, try the Pending Event Close. The problem with these approaches is that they miss the one fundamental element that will exponentially increase the return on sales training investments.

That fundamental element is training sales people to THINK differently. Most sales trainers have it backwards. They teach the words and behaviors first (or only). The flaw here is that if the rep’s thinking is obscured, no word, behavior or process will ever work.

Example.
You as CEO or sales manager say: “Our sales people need to get in front of more CEO’s at our prospects.” You tell them to do it (behavior) and you give them some tips on what to say.
Problem: YOUR SALES PEOPLE ARE FRIGHTENED TO CALL CEO’S. THEY ARE INTIMIDATED. THEY FEEL INADEQUATE.

Your sales training program had better work on that problem first. For a sales training program to be successful, its content must be heavy with thought- changing strategies.

If you change how you think, the words and behaviors take care of themselves.