“The Specialist” Sales and Management Training Blog

Hi everybody,

Today’s post is inspired by a true story. I am going to do a comparison of two sales people headed in completely different directions.

Last week I encountered a 35-year-old male that had been hired by a corporation to run a retail store for them with hopes that he would overcome his drinking problems and regain his form of 12 years ago and regain the magic that made him successful in the past. At the same time this company took a chance on a very young hip hop style man that had tattoos and a lot of street credibility. Very similar to the artist known as M&M. The funny thing about these two opposites is that at 35-years-old this particular person still takes no responsibility for his actions and, despite chance after ridiculous chance, is still pointing fingers at everyone else!

On the other hand, I’ll just call him M&M, has coined a phrase that he daily lives by. He constantly is saying that losers have excuses and winners have solutions. Needless to say, the 35-year-old has once again crashed and burned and blamed everyone else. What he fails to realize is that when you point your finger at someone else there are always 3 fingers pointing back at you! The young M&M has turned into a tremendous asset to his company and is a joy to work with. The ironic part of this bizarre story is that the 35-year-old HIRED the young M&M! It just shows you that no matter who you are or what your background is if you assume responsibility for your actions there is no limit to your accomplishments.

Remember, when you are not accomplishing what you set out to do, if you point your finger at others and always think that YOU got the short end of the stick there are ALWAYS 3 fingers pointing back at you! Life is about choices and as you can see we all have the same choices! It’s just a matter of what you do with these choices!

“The Specialist”

Hi everybody,

I hate the fact that you had to wait all weekend for the answer to my pretend scenario but if you remember about a month ago I mentioned that because of the preparation that goes into the radio show I would no longer do posts on weekends.

So lets cut to the chase and see how we can solve the question of dropping the price during a sale and still try and save face! If you remember, “The Specialist” specifically stated that he did not like doing that. Having said that, a reader who calls himself “sucker free” informed us that the technique he used was especially effective as long as he had established a tremendous rapport with the customer. What he would do was use something like a bonding situation whereas maybe they were both from the same state or something similar.

I believe that at all cost you avoid that situation. What I do is spend my time reading my customer to the point that BEFORE I ever quote a price I have evaluated the customer to the maximum extent and try NEVER to be in that position. On the few times I have been forced into this situation I find something DIFFERENT in the way I frame the product, perhaps by acknowledging that because I notice something different about the way he is going to use his product maybe we can save him some money on the price by approaching it this way. By doing this I am showing the client a genuine interest in his or her business and am actually showing a lot of creativity in order to save him or her some money.

I WILL NOT EVER drop the price because of some special bonding situation or because I want to do something special for the person. The customer hears that line every day of the week and they know you say that to everyone…there goes your sincerity! Most of the time there also goes your deal because the client then becomes greedy and knows you will do anything for the sale! I hope this helps. Try it, you’ll like the results, I guarantee it! More importantly, you will still leave with your pride and dignity.

By the way some of you missed a great seminar! I hope you enjoy listening to the radio show and don’t forget to sign up for the FREE newsletter and get the members’ discounts!

“The Specialist”

Hello everyone,

I hope you have been enjoying the new format for our posts as well as the new additions on our strangeratthedoor.com website. From the response, I feel very gratified so many of you have signed up for our FREE newsletter and the e-mails I have been getting show me that you are enjoying the radio show.

Thanks again to all of you, without you none of this would be possible. Now to the post for tonight. I have seen many sales persons get into a very bad habit of dropping the price they intend to charge the customer so they can get the sale. There is a right way and a wrong way to do this IF and I really mean IF you find it necessary. “The Specialist” does not like doing this. First off, you lose a tremendous amount of control in the sale.

Secondly, how do you explain your obvious lack of sincerity now that you are not giving the customer the best price you should have given him in the first place? Instead of telling you the best way to handle this very awkward position you have found yourself in I would rather see what you the readers come up with and tell me all the different techniques you have come up with. After your input “The Specialist” will give you the ultimate way of handling this situation.

I leave you tonight with an interesting challenge…What say you?

Hi everybody,

I have another good but simple one for you tonight.

I will almost be willing to guarantee you that 90% of all sales people, maybe even higher, have NOT read in it’s entirety the paperwork they are asking their customers to sign! I personally have seen deal after deal lost by unprepared salespersons when by chance the customer glances at the paperwork and their eyes just happen to land on a specific paragraph and the salesperson has no clue what it means. Sometimes the salesperson is lucky and they can BS their way past it, others are not so fortunate.

A professional salesperson is prepared.

When I mention in earlier posts about “Product Knowledge”, I am not just limiting myself to the product. You must remember that you have worked very hard to gain a rapport and then you have given a tremendous presentation, why would you let something at the very end blow the sale?

The reason is simple…It’s boring and you don’t think it’s an important part of the sale. I assure you it is a very important part of the sale! In sales you have plenty of down time in between sales, it is during that time that you should make a point to read every word of the paperwork and if you don’t understand what some of it means ask your manager.

If it makes you one extra sale a year by being informed and not being caught off guard then you just gave yourself a raise!

“The Specialist”

Hello everybody,

I want to discuss with you one of the most unpopular but frequently used management styles in business today. “The Heavy Handed Manager”!

I see this quite frequently and recently I had an opportunity to go into a business and explain how the NEW leadership would conduct business. It was very disheartening to hear the disbelief and relief in the employees’ comments as I explained to each one of them individually that, instead of the threat of being fired or the threat of being “Written Up” for the smallest of infractions, that “The Specialist” would be spending his time catching them doing something RIGHT!

Furthermore, when I explained to them that I really didn’t care whether they sold anything or not they were stunned. To the person, they wondered what “The Specialist” could possibly expect from them. Then I procerded to inform them that all I wanted them to do was have a blast with the job and make some new friends. I just wanted them to have fun and, while they were letting the customer get to know them, go ahead and show them the products.

The lesson here is that as a manager if you apply pressure on your sales staff to sell you are creating a bad work environment. Encourage them to have fun and let them be themselves, the sales WILL COME! I Guarantee It!! Not only will your staff be happier but they will also be more productive.

“The Specialist”