“The Specialist” Sales and Management Training Blog

Hi everybody,

I hope everyone had a nice Easter.

As usual I was given the opportunity to watch an up and coming young salesperson when I noticed she was leaving out something very important in a sales presentation of any kind. When you are giving your presentation and someone makes a positive comment it is imperative that you repeat what the prospect says in a different way so that he can hear it himself!

For an example…Lets say that you were showing this prospect a television and you showed them a unique feature involving the graphics and the prospect comments by saying something like, wow, those are great graphics! It is very naive for you to just keep continuing with the rest of you presentation. What you are really doing by ignoring his comment is first, you are talking AT the prospect and not WITH him.

Secondly, you are missing a golden opportunity to reinforce a positive in your presentation. Back to the example. If the prospect had said wow, those are great graphics!, I would have reinforced his statement by adding something like, “I know what you mean John, everybody comments on these graphics, they really love them! It doesn’t have to be exactly like that but the positive statement has to be reinforced! A negative comment is something that I get off of as soon as possible, and try and find quickly the next positive thing to mention.

By the way don’t forget to be nodding your head when you are reinforcing the prospects statement.

“The Specialist”

Happy Easter everybody! No Post today, but will post up tomorrow. Hope everyone had a nice Easter.

“The Specialist”

Hi everybody,

It’s that time again.

I’m sure my loyal readers saw yesterday’s tirade.

Sorry, but I had just about enough with the imposters! Now I have a question that a reader wanted to know the answer to. It was a good question. How can or should you use religion in sales? First off I have a problem USING religion as a tool in anything, much less sales. I have often been asked about my faith by a customer and proudly answer that I am a Christian without going any further. Religion, sex and politics are three subjects that are just not discussed in sales. Before you know what happened the sale is lost. However I have no problem letting a fellow Christian know that I also am a Christian. That is where I try to end it. I have seen some sales persons saying Amen after every comment someone makes. I strongly do not recommend that. In the eyes of “The Specialist” your faith is something deeply personal and should not be forced on unsuspecting customers. Remember, they just came to buy something. It is nice that you are proud of your faith, however there is a time and a place for everything.

Sometimes I feel like the “Dr. Phil” of sales.

This next reader has a friend that is ok in sales but apparently is horrible in social settings. He wants to help his friend. Ironically I know someone just like that. The problem with this person is that he wants attention so badly, he lies and exaggerates everything to the point of absurdity. This person also gives credit to no one and is all about himself. All I can advise this young person to do is stop thinking about himself so much and invest his time making deposits in other people’s lives. See how many people each day you can make feel better about themselves. Then shut up about it and make another deposit in someone else’s life. I will guarantee you one thing for certain…If you start making deposits in other people’s lives on a daily basis you will be amazed how big your own account will grow.

Happy Easter!

“The Specialist”

I’ve had it!

Recently I have been doing some interview work for a major corporation and I have been exposed to more “Pretend Sales persons” than I have ever seen! Does anybody out there know what being a REAL salesperson entails? My goodness, people think that because they are handed a lead and told exactly where to go and have a customer waiting for them with their tongue hanging out because that’s where they get their supplies that they are a great salesperson. That’s like saying the mailman is a great salesman! News flash, he’s the only option! When you are the only option for someone, or your audience is held captive on a boat, or is trapped and can’t go anywhere, or is obligated to give you “x” number of minutes because you have an appointment with them does not make you a great salesperson!

As all truly great sales professionals know, you have to know how to PROSPECT. HELLO! A great sales professional is 100% self contained! I have just witnessed alleged sales persons one after another tell me how they were the greatest sales persons on this planet only to find out they are sales CRIPPLES! Without a captive audience or a LEAD to go to they are frightened PRETENDERS!

A true professional salesperson is a lot more than a “Story Teller”. Let’s not confuse the two. It is almost laughable to me as I watch these pretenders crumble one after the other when they say “you want me to go in there without them knowing who I am”? HELLO, YES I do! That is what a true professional salesperson is expected to do. Believe it or not a true professional can actually PROSPECT and TELL a GREAT STORY!!

For all you young potential great sales persons don’t fall for a job that is going to cripple you for life! You see if you do not know how to prospect your success is always going to be limited to how many leads someone can generate for you. Think about it, you are forever at the mercy of the people giving you your leads. They control your income and eventually your lifestyle!

One of the great things about the sales profession is the freedom to make as much as YOU want. When you are crippled by leads that are doled out to you someone else is controlling your income! Don’t fall for it. Not only are they controlling your income, but they can put you out of business any time they want by cutting off your lead supply. Not to mention they weaken your sales ability by making you dependent on the very lead for you and your family’s very existence. Hogwash, take control of your own destiny and become a master prospector AND a great story teller. Then and only then can you have the peace of mind of a great professional salesperson! That’s my take and I’m sticking to it!

“The Specialist”

Hi everybody,

I have run across this situation in a number of work forces around the country.

It seems like in a lot of work forces there is a tremendous amount of gossip and backbiting. In order to build a cohesive work force one of the most important things to address is GOSSIP and INFIGHTING. The way I see it is if you cannot say something nice about the people or persons you work with you should find another place to work. In any organization

I am involved with I eliminate that problem immediately. It is a cancer to any operation and will completely destroy your operation. I teach all the people in my organization what I learned as a Rotarian. It is called the 4 way test!

First, you must ask yourself, Is It True? If you haven’t heard all sides of the story how do you know whether it’s true or not? Second, Is It Necessary? By you repeating the story that may be true or not is it really necessary to talk about? Third, Is It Fair? If you are repeating something that you are not sure is true or not, (even if it is true), if the other party is not present to defend themselves, is it necessary to spread the story? Fourth and finally, will It Build Goodwill and Better Friendships?

If you check what you are about to say with the 4 way test I assure you 90% of all the gossip in your organization will disappear! I was recently meeting with a manager and her crew when in front of her 3 new people she proceeded to excitedly tell me about this security guard that was a murderer. She repeated a story that she heard without any regard to the truth. She did not know whether it was true or not. My gosh, the person had not even been to court yet! Since know one knew this security guard it was really not necessary to repeat this garbage. It certainly was not fair to him or his family, and I assure you if the security guard heard her say this it certainly will not build good will and better friendships! It FAILED the 4 way test!

When this becomes a habit in your life your sales and management skills will greatly improve because YOUR character will improve! Not only will your prospects sense this about you but so will your STAFF! When one is selling themselves to a prospect or as a leader part of the closing process is sincerity, (one of the 8 basics). In order for the prospect to believe in you they must TRUST you! If I have someone on my staff that after several reminders about the damage that gossip does and continues to repeat or say things about people that do not pass the 4 way test it is obvious to me they have an agenda and it is not something that I will allow my organization to go through.

“The Specialist”

Hi everybody,

What we are going to talk about is nurturing young managers.

A common mistake made by small and large businesses is the inability to nurture young managers. This is for advanced managers. When in any business we stumble on that self starter that excels in our business, we have a tendency to think automatically think they can become a good manager. What most of us forget is the amount of time and training we invested in developing their expertise to the point in which they have achieved above average results. Doesn’t it stand to reason that an equal amount of time should also be invested in their new position of management?

Think about it…What was the new employee like when you first hired them? They more than likely knew little or nothing about your profession. When that person is promoted into management, you MUST flash back in your memory and realize even though you are familiar with this person, once again they are brand new in THIS part of your profession which is management. So many corporations make this critical mistake and the end result is, for no fault of the employee, they fail to live up to the expectations and feel like a failure for letting their employer down. Worst, the employer gets frustrated and believes the employee just isn’t cut out for management.

The corporations need to realize that the cost of starting completely from scratch with a new employee is staggering, not to mention the amount of great talent that slips through their grasp.

The golden rule for people in a position of authority is to remember how long it took them to become where they are? More importantly, how many people and how much training did it take for them to reach that plateau? Before you advanced managers pass judgment on other people’s management potential, ask yourself, how much time have I invested in their management training?

“The Specialist”

Hi everybody,

I have a great story to share with you this evening.

A keynote speaker was asked to speak at a real estate convention in Pittsburgh, Pa. during the time of the closing down of the steel mill industry in Pittsburgh. The outlook was bleak as almost everyone had lost their job. When this gentleman arrived at the convention he found a completely negative group of agents that were just completely devastated.

When he was getting ready to seat himself, he was worried about sitting around all those negative people. All of a sudden this very cheerful lady invited him to sit next to her. Unlike everyone else she was extremely cheerful. The keynote speaker, taken aback asked the nice lady why she was so happy and cheerful when everyone else was complaining about no sales because no one had jobs. She went on to tell him that in all the years she had been selling real estate she was having her biggest year ever. Wondering out loud the speaker asked how that could possibly be when no one had jobs.

The cheerful lady went on to tell him that in all her years of selling, it was the first time all the husbands WERE HOME! They couldn’t use the excuse that they had to work! She had turned a potential negative and turned it into a positive by seeing the entire picture, not the obvious one that everyone else was focused on. Needless to say the keynote speaker changed his planned speech and used her story to elevate the crowd into another dimension. This applies to all of you when you by into excuses for failure. When one door closes there is always another one that opens. You just have to SEE IT.

A lot of those families had lifetime savings tucked away but never had the time to purchase a home. Now because of one lady that had positive thinking, they not only had the time but also had the money, and ended up with their dream home! Analyze this post and see how it applies to your business! THEN APPLY IT!

“The Specialist”

Hi everybody,

It has been an interesting day.

I watched a young man learning how to give a presentation in his chosen field of sales and what struck me was what inspired this post. Rather than talk about the two types of commitments, verbal and non-verbal commitments, I prefer to discuss the verbal strength in commitments.

Too many times new sales persons are very meek in their pursuit of the commitments. A commitment should always be asked in a statement form. Even though it is most of the time a question, the question has to be in the form of a question/statement. Almost to the point that the prospect would feel almost ridiculous if he didn’t agree. I always come at the prospect from strength. I would rather have a strong NO! than a weak YES!

If you practice getting strong commitments you will find that your orders will be that much stronger. In your social life you would never take a weak commitment from the opposite sex and prepare an elaborate evening. I am sure that you would be in store for many disappointing nights.

Once again, if we apply these philosophies in our social life, why can’t we use them in our professional life? I get strong commitments from my children, employees, as well as co-workers and people I manage. Especially prospects I sell. The prospect is a mirror of yourself. If they see weakness, they will give back weakness, hence your order is just perfect for the winds of change. Try it.

I gave this young man this tip tonight and immediately he saw results! Prior to my visit he had 3 of his last 10 sales change their mind. Someone stronger than himself or the salesperson changed his mind for him because he had NOT been committed strongly to the sale. The order I saw him sell on this night won’t change their mind regardless of what happens. Because of the strength of the sales person’s commitments, the prospect committed that much stronger. Amazing how things work.

“The Specialist”

Hi everyone,

Tonight we are going to talk about ethics in management.

This is a very broad subject because there is so much ground to cover. I am just going to hit on a couple of things that I hear from prospective employees. These seem to be obstacles that the average person runs into on a daily basis in the work force.

A common complaint from people applying for jobs is that often the employer misleads the person applying for the job, promising things that either do not exist or are just plain lies intended to lure the person to accept the position only to find that after they are employed those benefits or promises really do not exist. I have heard countless stories of a new hire being told a job description only to find out that after they are hired the description of the job changes dramatically, with a lot of extra work or things that are just not appealing.

If these things were told upfront, perhaps the person would not have taken the position. Another great one is the 90 day evaluation period. A lot of employers either never get around to the evaluation or conveniently keep putting it off until they are forced by the employee to do it. Of course the reason for the delay by the employer is to put off any chance of having to give the promised raise if the evaluation is good. I hear about these tactics constantly, and the misguided employers fail to realize the damage they are doing long term to their own company, but also to the image of all companies hiring people.

Companies that allow or participate in these practices are not only immoral but are grossly unethical! It is very important when hiring someone that they have a clear understanding of ALL their responsibilities as well as being reassured that, if and when an evaluation is promised, it takes place. These new hires are really at the employer’s mercy. They have families to feed and I am sure bills to pay. I have found through experience that if you are specific in outlining the responsibilities, as well as how they can expect to advance, you end up with a much happier employee. It is your responsibility to establish that you are a company of your word. If you are on the side of truth and fairness you will find that your staff will go to the wall for you.

In summarizing, it comes down to this…as an employer, SAY WHAT YOU MEAN and MEAN WHAT YOU SAY!

“The Specialist”