How Can I?

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You’re a competent sales consultant, right?

Given current economic circumstances, your results aren’t too bad, right?

Why bother to put a lot of time and effort into self improvement?

If you believe the pundits, the road to wealth is investment.

If you look at it from the perspective of investing in assets to increase your wealth it starts to look a little different.

Other than a house and a car, the only asset anyone has to produce income is their skills, knowledge and ability that they can offer to someone in return for income.

It is common knowledge that the better the asset the more people will pay for it. It is no different when you consider your skills, knowledge and ability. These are the assets you posses, so the higher the level of your skills, knowledge and abilities the higher price you can receive.

Value is relative. That is value can only be measured when you compare it with something. For example, in the case of a sales consultant their value is measured in terms of the finite results they produce. That is compared to the expected outcomes agreed upon, your KPIs.

Take a moment and reflect on how frequently you exceed your KPIs. Do you consistently exceed them? Or have they become the ceiling of your results?

I do not believe there is an individual on the planet who cannot improve in some aspect of their life. I’d be very interested to meet such a person.

If I am correct then it is logical to assume that each and every sales consultant in the company is capable of significant improvement in performance.

That is not to say that our consultants are not trying, or coasting, not at all.

Recently we had a discussion on expectations and how limiting, or liberating they can be.

Let’s go one step further and look at how you can invest in ourselves to produce a better you.

Think back to the time when mobile telephones were built like bricks. All you could do was either take or make a single call. Look at them today. The range of applications is mind boggling.

It is said the shelf life of a new computer model is about three months before an improved model is on the market. The rate of change in life is constantly accelerating and we need to be growing and expanding just to keep up.

So, investment in your skills, knowledge and abilities is vital if you are to realize your potential and live the successful life you want.

How do you do it?

Let’s look at it from the perspective of your professional life, although the same principles apply to your personal universe.

The very best professionals in any activity have a very thorough grasp of the basics of the activity and they continually revise the basics as well as look for the latest developments in their craft.

I recently sent an email to all consultants offering three e-books on selling skills. I am not surprised at the identity of those who responded.

It is no coincidence that those who responded are already producing good results, in spite of the difficult economic times we are facing.

This ties in completely in the level of expectation we have. If your attitude is, “near enough is good enough” then you have already lost the battle. I cannot emphasize enough that your expectations are what you create for your future. It is rare to exceed what you expect.

Even when you exceed your expectations, how strong is the urge to downplay the results and assign the cause to something other than yourself? “I was just lucky,” “Good fortune,” “It just fell into place.” All these statements go to undermine your strength as they deny the fact that any success is usually the result of YOUR effort, creativity, determination and courage.

Accept credit for what you can, and have achieved. Recognise however, that by tomorrow, today’s success will be history. Continuous effort, creation and action are the only paths to continuing success. To be able to do more you must know more and you can’t know more unless you take every opportunity to learn and develop.

It is human nature to want stability and predictability in our lives. But doing the same old things each and every day will never stretch you and bring about development. It is only when you step into the unknown, open your mind to new experiences, knowledge and viewpoints that you develop.

Unless each week, each day, each moment is a journey to continuous improvement, you will fall behind. It is far easier to be in front of the game than forever trying to catch up.

So, how do you start on the road to continuous improvement? You look at the successful people around you. Ask them what they do and how they do it.

It is a fact that if a successful person does something and you do the same thing, you will be successful. You may not do quite as well as the successful person, but that is only because you haven’t yet got the experience of doing the successful action.

You read books, listen to cds, read industry journals, you listen to your peers. It doesn’t mean that everything you read and hear will necessarily be beneficial, or applicable to your particular circumstance. But constant exposure to new information, viewpoints and experiences will have a cumulative effect and you will become far more professional in every way if you seek to learn.

We are unique individuals, and will put our own spin on whatever we try to do. That will produce a variation in the result and you must be prepared to do something new quite badly at first.

With practice, you will improve and, if you persist, learning from every mistake, you will master any skill, knowledge or ability.

• Ask questions.
• Read books.
• Observe successful people.
• Be prepared to try.
• Persist and you will succeed.

Have you ever wondered why it is that you find some activities easy to do and you have great skill in that area? Conversely, have you ever been frustrated at being weak at some things. Not seeming to ‘get it’ and failing or not performing well?

Why is it that some people are skillful in some areas and apparently ‘stupid’ in others?

It’s all to do with the fact that we are unique individuals and we all have skills somewhere. What determines our natural ability includes our experiences and the decisions we make about them.

Here’s an interesting observation. Have you noticed you seem to like those activities that you are good at and tend to avoid those you do not like? Those activities you do not like are, co-incidentally those you have less competence at.

Whether you like something because you are good at it or are good at it because you like it is not important. What is important is to recognize that the relationship exists.

If you think of something you are really good at you will find you tend to feel a certain way. Think for a moment and recreate the way you feel. What is the feeling like?

Observe your level of confidence about the activity? Yes, that’s right, you have a high level of certainty. What is that certainty based on? It’s based on previous successful actions.

When you do something successfully what were you thinking at the time? It varies according to the individual and the activity, but be assured, you will find that your were learning or realizing something as you went along.

The main reason we have a low level of ability in any area is that, firstly, we have in place a negative decision regarding the likelihood of success. This negative decision is the result of past negative experience.

The end result of past failure is often confusion and confusion is the result of unknowns. In other words there is something to learn that you did not learn.

Skill in any area of life operates on a gradient scale. The more you know the more you can do, the less you know the greater the difficulty and so your application of the skill suffers.

What is the answer? How can you get over the negatives that face you? The answer is quite simple. If you are having difficulty in an area of your life and you feel negative or unsure of whether you can succeed, recognize that you simply have a learning opportunity.

THERE IS SOMETHING TO KNOW YOU DON’T CURRENTLY KNOW. – THAT’S ALL THAT IS PREVENTING YOU FROM SUCCESS.

So, how do you address this? Whenever you need to learn you must:

ASK QUESTIONS

Go to someone who is successful in the area you are struggling with and ask them how they do it.

So many of us are unwilling to say, “I don’t know.” Please recognize that until you do you cannot progress in improving your skill, knowledge or ability.

The only thing standing in your way of improving your ability is you.

The pathway to increasing your ability in any area is as follows.

OBSERVE

Look realistically at the results of your actions.

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF

The only one you will fool is yourself.

BE PREPARED TO ADMIT YOU DON’T KNOW

The first step to understanding is this recognition.

ASK QUESTIONS

Be prepared to learn from others.

TRY A DIFFERENT WAY

Try things and be prepared to fail. When you do, try something else until you find what works for you.

RECOGNISE THAT FAILURE IS AN EVENT –
IT IS NOT YOU

Failure is simply the opportunity to do things better next time

ABOVE ALL – PERSIST

The difference between a champion and an also ran is that the champion never gives up.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP

Recession?

Over the last week there have been a number of economic indicators that have flown in the face of all the doom and gloom that has been suffocating us of late.

Unemployment had been expected to soar last month. What happened? It dropped in almost every state of Australia. We have been running at a trade surplus for February and March.

Housing approvals are up. Retail sales are up.
Economists are calling the results “rogue figures.” In English that simply means the outcomes are different to their opinions and so must be wrong in some way.

Last week we looked at perception and reality. In the case above, the estimates of the ‘economists’ are perceptions and the outcomes are reality.

When you have a recession you expect housing demand to drop, unemployment to soar, overseas trade to run at a deficit and retail spending to plunge.

In Forbes magazine, one of the most respected financial publications in the US, there was an article this week with the headline “The Recession is over.”

As in Australia, they pointed to a number of economic indicators that had ‘turned around’ and signs of the beginnings of a return of confidence and economic activity were evident.

That is not to say there will not be difficult times ahead and that we can now relax and we will see a return of the ‘good old days.”

What it does mean is that we are picking ourselves up, in spite of the doomsday predictors and the future is looking more positive than for some time.

Perception is a powerful force and we can put it to work for us all. How do we do that?

Let me tell you something interesting. The more agreement there is in terms of perception the greater chance it will become reality.

Therefore, what we can do is see all the positives in the services we offer and gain client’s agreement on those positives.

Did you know that every dollar that is spent in the economy can mean up to twenty dollars of wealth creation?

It’s called the accelerator effect. Here’s how it works.
You buy something for ten dollars
The seller makes one dollar profit
The nine dollars goes into wages, inventory costs etc
The worker buys food with his share of the nine dollars, say five dollars
The company buys more stock, say three dollars
The government gets one dollar in tax

Each of the recipients of money then spends it with similar outcomes. In our restricted example ten dollars becomes twenty dollars and that’s just the start of the process.

So, the confidence to spend one dollar is where it all starts. How a recession comes about is simply the unwillingness to spend, which shrinks the level of economic activity and so it goes.

The single most important driver of economic activity is CONFIDENCE.

Another way of saying confidence is certainty. Certainty comes from what you perceive; in other words, PERCEPTION.

Get enough people agreeing on something and it becomes REALITY.

Reality is a solid, concrete outcome.

So,

BE POSITIVE

GAIN AGREEMENT ON POSITIVES

INCREASE YOU CLIENT’S CERTAINTY BY BEING CERTAIN YOURSELF.

Remember, you get what you focus on.

Focus on avoiding failure and you will create failure.

Focus on finding ways to increase the positives in your life and you will prosper.

Not buying

One of the most misunderstood and feared aspects of life is rejection. No one wants to be rejected. It feels terrible. It feels like failure. It feels as if we are being judged as not good enough.

Think back to a time when you were rejected. Was it a positive time in your life? The answer is no. Rejection implies that we are a failure, particularly if we really wanted to be part of whatever we were reaching for. To be rejected is so closely related in our minds to failure that we will do almost anything to avoid it.

Therein lies the problem. Whenever you try to avoid a negative you first attract it in order to know what to avoid. This is a self-defeating action. You will attract and achieve what you focus on. Focus on negatives and you will achieve negatives, always. So, the question remains, how do you deal with rejection so that the outcome is positive?

You focus on the positive. So you need to look at what you really want. That is connection and a good relationship. Rather than trying to avoid rejection you must look at establishing rapport, gaining agreement and good communication.

Almost no one really understands what rejection is. If we are to successfully deal with rejection we must fully understand it. To understand rejection we must define it, we must recognise its origin and the implications of rejection whenever we experience it.

In order to understand anything we must learn and to learn we must question. First question:

What is rejection?

Rejection is:

Non acceptance of a circumstance, communication or person.

Second question:

Why does rejection occur?

The major reasons rejection occurs are, the person rejecting can see no benefit to themselves from the circumstance, communication or person or they see another alternative that is better for them. They either

• Misunderstand
• Regard it as unimportant
• Regard it as not relevant
• Don’t like it or the person
• It is not real to them
• It conflicts with their personal values
• They don’t want it

In summary whatever they are rejecting does not match their needs and wants as they perceive them. In life we focus on satisfying our needs and wants. How do we decide on what our needs and wants are? That’s an interesting question that could take hours to analyse. One useful way to look at it is that we adopt a viewpoint on everything we come in contact with in our lives.

If we are experiencing whatever it is for the first time we must learn about it in order to make sense of it and fit it into our body of knowledge. During the learning process we develop an attitude regarding whatever it is and then we behave consistent with our attitude.

One logical context to look at this is in terms of SURVIVAL. That is, we look at things in terms of benefit or otherwise to our personal survival in the first instance. We then evaluate whatever it is with a broader frame of reference, still using survival as the criteria. Does it benefit the survival of our loved ones, friends, society in general or mankind as a whole? Thus we arrive at a conclusion regarding whether it is a benefit or whether it satisfies our needs and wants.

Having developed an attitude our behaviour develops as a logical outcome of viewpoint and attitude. We will always behave in a manner that promotes our survival and is in line with what we believe to be true, our viewpoint.

Rejection is a two way street. Either you are being rejected or you are rejecting. Now, I have stated earlier that the feeling you get when you are rejected is mainly negative as it represents a loss, or failure.

We need to look at the action of rejection very carefully. In order to really understand rejection we must also look at the corollary of rejection, and that is acceptance. Whenever we make a choice we both accept and reject simultaneously.

We choose to buy a particular item of clothing at a department store. As we choose we also reject those items we examine and fail to buy. Does that make the items not chosen inferior to the item we purchase? No, it simply means we selected one that was most appropriate to our PERCEIVED NEEDS AND WANTS.

It may be that we didn’t like the item not chosen, or that we thought it was inferior to what we did eventually choose. But the important fact remains, we chose according to…

OUR VIEWPOINT

Our viewpoint is simply that which we believe is true for us. In other words, it is our reality. It is not necessarily the same reality that others see, it is just the way we see things.

Every day we are faced with choices we must make. Now, it is not possible to make a choice without rejecting some alternative. It is also not possible to live without making choices. Therefore acceptance and rejection are a natural and essential function of life and living.

Now, in order to establish any connection it is necessary to develop rapport, a relationship of some kind. That means establishing agreement in some fashion. For example, when we first meet someone we, depending on the circumstances, seek to establish a measure of agreement. That is, we share a common reality. If we start out disagreeing it is unlikely either person will accept the other. That means rejection. It is neither bad or good. It simply means an absence of shared reality, or agreement.

If we encounter rejection in our professional lives it doesn’t mean you are a failure. It means you have not yet achieved sufficient agreement to be able to share viewpoints and, ultimately, behaviour.

The question is; what can we do about it?
Let’s look at it logically. I know you have heard it all before and familiarity breeds contempt. Bear with me.

Obviously you have to BE THERE. We all know what that means, but few of us are able to achieve it for more than a few minutes at a time. Why is that?

So many of us are so busy with self talk that we scarcely have time to really look at and listen to the other person. We are busy working out what we are going to say next rather than simply being there and placing all our attention on the other person. It’s as if we are afraid we will forget what we want to, or need to say, so we ‘hold it in our minds’ and wait our opportunity to get it out.

Every time you do that you miss an opportunity to really find out what the other person’s viewpoint really is. So many times we try to impress with our viewpoint before we know the other person’s viewpoint.

Remember, nothing will change in the other person’s universe until their viewpoint changes and it will not change unless they have an opportunity to communicate and look at their viewpoint. It is really all about them.

Just a word on why being almost totally absorbed in the other person reduces rejection and promotes good relationships. It is  your subtext. If you are absorbed in the other person you will physically and emotionally reflect this. You may not necessarily be completely aware of it, but it will happen.

The other person will pick it up and feel good about. In effect you are saying to the other person, “You are the centre of the universe and I am vitally interested in you and what you have to say.” They will feel accepted and important. If they feel that way they are loath to reject you.

In effect you are allowing the other person to be as they are. Another word to describe it is tolerance. As people always look for equilibrium they will tend to reciprocate your attitude and accept you.

Life is a two way street and if you make life pleasant for others, it will come back. This obviously applies to all life, not just your professional duties.

In the present economic times people are facing possible rejection in many aspects of their lives, so any time you reduce that you are doing the other person a favour and enhancing your own chances of having a positive experience, both personally and professionally.

One of the biggest challenges all salespeople face is what I call “Pretence of Knowledge.” So many salespeople ‘know’ what the customer wants and so they present, present, present, at the first opportunity and then wonder why they walk away empty handed.

A great deal of misinformation is out and about regarding sales. Personal interaction, be it in life in general or sales specifically is an evolving and dynamic process. What was acceptable some years ago is simply just not appropriate any more. That is not to say that the basic fundamentals of selling have changed, just the context in which we sell.

It used to be that buyers knew very little about what they wanted to buy and the salesperson was the expert. This lead to many manipulative practices and much bitter experience for buyers. Have you ever been ripped off? How did you feel? I rest my case.

These days people are very well informed and, in most cases, know at least as much as the salesperson. So we come to the age of relationship selling. Develop rapport and get the prospect to trust you and Bob’s your uncle. Not so fast.

Certainly develop rapport, it’s critical because people will buy from a salesperson with credibility. But credibility must be earned. Funnily it’s not earned by you talking, or convincing, or presenting.

It’s by BEING INTERESTED IN THE CLIENT. JUST HIM.

You cannot satisfy a prospect’s needs and wants unless you know them. Often they don’t really know their needs and wants. They have some vague idea that they need to do something, but they’re not sure what. Most people make buying decisions on the basis of feelings rather than rational, analytical decisions.

So, what’s the tip?:

ASK QUESTIONS.  ASK QUESTIONS.   ASK QUESTIONS.

You cannot learn unless you ask questions. Questions direct focus and when you direct the prospect’s focus they will unearth their needs, rather than wants and then you can match what you are offering to what they need.

The other, vital aspect of the equation is to LISTEN. LISTEN AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS UPON IT.

Beacuse, if you job supports your living, then listening is the single most important action you can do.

So, to sell successfully it must be all about them, ask questions, listen attentively and you will find, if your interest is genuine, selling becomes helping a friend get what they want AND need.

Live Well,

Olle Lind

We all know what sales is about, don’t we? Well, when I see the efforts of many sales people I begin to doubt they really understand the true purpose of sales. You see, it can be viewed in so many ways and the purposes from each viewpoint may seem to be at odds.

For example, the sales person may see what they do as reaching quota to hold onto their job, or as a means to increase commission and enhance their survival. Some customers may even see the sales effort as a threat to their survival. You know, if the sales person wins, everyone else loses.

Voltaire

Maybe we should, as the renowned French Philosopher Voltaire was so fond of doing, define our terms to reach a common understanding, Once this is achieved, then some sense may be made of the subject. Let’s look at the term ‘Sales.’

It could be termed “A method of exchanging goods and services for money or kind where both parties achieve a particular benefit that is balanced.”

That sounds pretty reasonable, wouldn’t you agree?

Aha, there I go, selling to you. How? By eliciting agreement. A sale is achieved by achieving a continuing and growing number of agreements. If you look further you see that the agreements must enhance the survival of both parties. Once achieved, you have an exchange that both parties are happy with.

How does this translate into a sales tip?

EASY

All you have to focus on when you approach a prospective client is that your concern must be to provide a benefit that is recognised by the prospect as such. That’s all.

If you focus on how whatever you are selling provides a benefit for the client, and make sure you receive fair exchange, you will sell.

People are intuitive beings and they will pick up on any lack of ethics or uncertainty on your part. People buy from people they trust, not necessarily those they like. If you honestly believe in your product you will sell. If you do not you will find ways to fail.

Be honest, firstly with yourself, then in all your dealings and you will be successful. The degree of your success will depend on you.

Live well,

Ollie Lind

Much of the work I do with Sales people revolves around the use of the telephone. We have all  heard the telemarketers who are poorly trained. It is obvious they are reading from a script. They sound like a machine and their responses to questions can be laughable.

I am a great believer in the unspoken messages we all send. I call it subtext. It is a powerful medium that, if understood and used ethically, can be very beneficial to both the sales consultant and the prospect. Now,  when you are on the telephone you are at something of a disadvantage as opposed to a face to face meeting. When you are in front of the prospect you have many opportunities to make a positive impression. Over the telephone you have only your voice.

I have noticed over the years that the greatest barriers any sales person faces is the negative opinion a person has of themselves. That actually applies to people in general. Well, how do you overcome the butterflies in the stomach when faced with trying to get an appointment with someone you have never met, who doesn’t know you and, to all intents and purposes, doesn’t want to.

What I tell my people is that, firstly, they have the right to exist in the situation. As a sales consultant they are entitled to ask for information and an appointment. After all, they are simply trying to help the prospect. The second thing I say is that they, as people, are very acceptable and they should simply be themselves on the telephone.

How can you do that when you don’t know the person and are unsure of the reception you will receive? My answer to that is to tell them to simply act as they would when conversing with a friend. What is the first thing you do when you see a friend; you smile. A positive response that sets the tone for the subsequent conversation. The important thing to recognise here is the effect a smile has on your voice. Somehow your voice reflects what is happening inside you and communicates this to the other party.

Often you only need one word from your significant other over the telephone to know something is wrong. The voice betrays it. Well, if you smile when you speak with a prospect it conveys a positive impression and invites a positive response. I recognise that a smile alone will not win you the appointment, but a positive start to any communication will set you on the path to success.

If you don’t believe me, just try speaking on the telephone with a scowl on your face and then replace it with a smile. The difference in response from the other end is magical.

Live well,

Ollie Lind

It has been a while since I last posted anything on the blog. I have had an eventful few weeks running sales boot camps. This is where I take, in this latest case, young, inexperienced people and introduce them to the exciting world of sales. I say exciting because it is, or can be if you approach it with the right viewpoints and attitude.

Build rapport in face to face sales

Yet there are more ex sales people than anything else. Why is this so? Well, the greatest challenge facing most people is making friends, facing new people and developing rapport. Why is this? Because life didn’t come with an instruction book and most people learn by the hit and miss method. Try something, if it doesn’t work, try something else. If that doesn’t work, give up.

I’m joking, I’m joking. The one thing you should never ever do is give up. By all means vary your approach, but keep trying. How often do we see two competitors battling it out on the sports field. Very often one individual is obviously more talented that the other, and yet so often the underdog wins. Why? He doesn’t know how to give up.

I believe that tenacity is the greatest single attribute any individual can possess. it will overcome any shortfall in talent or skill. Then, if you combine it with the ability to learn, you have the makings of a champion.

I have spent a lot of time training sales people with a deal of success. What I will do is issue a Sales Tip of the Week each week for the foreseeable future. I won’t give you some rehashed, tired old quote from another source, I will give you conclusions I have reached as a result of training courses I have run and results my people have achieved.

Here is the first SALES TIP OF THE WEEK:

DEVELOPING RAPPORT IN A FACE TO FACE SITUATION

Find something about the other person you can like or admire. Just be aware of it. You do not have to comment on it, or compliment the person on it. Just be aware of the favourable feature whenever you are speaking with them. Your admiration will communicate and the other person will feel better and not know why. We communicate on many levels and simply being well disposed towards another shines through.

Try it with anyone you meet. life will be smoother and easier. it’s like magic.

Live well,

Ollie Lind