My trigger for reading this book was going into the 'commercial mindset' 4-part mentoring sessions with James Cook, in addition to the formal training sessions our department managers went into.
Brian summarises the approach to selling as a mindset that goes beyond the collection of techniques or the art of personality selling. Though Brian places this as a selling guide, the principles are the foundation for success in any walk of life. If you don't have time for the full book, perhaps the best chapter to read would be the last chapter where he lays out his philosophy for success.
Here is the free audiobook on YouTube. You can find a free copy in Audible too.
For paucity of time, I have relied on two summaries of the book to produce mine. I am grateful for their prior work
The key chapters are
Chapter 1: The Inner Game of Selling
Self-concept is more of like self-belief. It is the way you think about yourself. For a salesperson to excel in his field, a positive self-concept is a key. Tracy says that “Successful people control their inner dialogues,” So, to be successful having successful thoughts is crucial.
“The top 20% of salespeople make 80% of the money, and the rest 80% at the bottom only derives 20% of the money from customers.”
Habits which successful sales people possess - Importance of working on small things consistently and improving skills by small increments - by self-learning and by getting mentoring
Do the small things consistently, over and over again. Remember that you have to be a little bit better and different in each of the key result areas of selling for it to accumulate into an extraordinary difference in income.
Small increments of skill or ability can give you the winning edge. Once you develop a small lead, it continues to grow.
Decide to be like the top salespeople in the country. Make it a point to do something differently. Get into the habit of repeating excellent selling activities bit by bit. If you do it consistently, you will definitely improve continuously.
It is what’s going on on the inside of the minds of top salespeople. The success and failure in selling – all mental. If you develop these psychological qualities they then form the foundation for your own personal sales success.
Use more of your potential. The average person in general never uses more than 10% of his potential. The 90% or more is left untapped.
No one is better or smarter than you. If they’re performing better, it just means they have discovered the cause-and-effect relationships in selling success before you have.
Do not hesitate to approach the top people because they are usually willing to help other people who want to succeed.
Your Self-concept is a bundle of beliefs you have about yourself. It is the operating system that determines everything you say, think, feel and do. There is a direct relationship between self-concept and your performance and effectiveness:
How you perform on the outside is consistent with your self-concept.
Improvement begins when you alter and improve your self-concept, your inner programming.
Mini self-concepts, determine your effectiveness and performance in each area of your life.
4 Steps to building self-esteem, which will improve your personality and increase your effectiveness. Do these steps:
Positive Self-Talk
Affirmative visualization
Personal motivation
Individual training
The skills required to be a great salesman are not hard to acquire.
Prospecting- It includes identifying the needs, demands and wants of the potential clients.
Building Rapport- Get information by prospects by asking them the right defined questions. It helps you to build rapport with the customer, thereby making it easy for you to identify his needs.
Presenting- As it goes, ‘The first impression is the last impression.’ So make impactful sale presentations and make an excellent first impression.
Handling Objections- Respond persuasively to any of the objections and learn to distinguish facts from opinions clearly.
Closing the sale- Don’t restrict yourself. Use different methods for closing a sale and focus on building a long-term collaboration with your customers.
Resales and referrals- Ultimately focus on getting referrals to acquire new customers and on resales to boost your sales and revenue.
Chapter 2: Setting And Achieving Sales Goals
Finding your goal, writing it down and then visualising how it look and feel are the first 3 steps to a fullfilling life and career
Top salespeople are extremely goal oriented. That goal orientation is associated with high levels of success and achievement. The highest paid people know in advance how much they are going to earn. After all, you are not going to hit the target you can’t see. So the act of writing your goals increases the likelihood of achieving them by 1000%. And even if you do not achieve your goals, it is still better than not having any goal.
The final step in setting sales goals is to determine the specific activities in which you must engage to achieve your desired sales level – the number of calls, appointments, presentations and callbacks. But the most important part of planning your activities is knowing that the sales activities are controllable.
Once you have programmed a goal into your subconscious mind, it takes a power on its own. It alerts you of opportunities and possibilities around you. By programming your subconscious mind with clear goals, you gain access to the 90% of your potential that lies beneath the surface, deep in your subconscious mind.
In your personal journal, make a list of all the things that would be, have and do if you were earning vastly more money than you are earning today (Note: the longer, the greater your level of motivation and determination).
If you have 50 or 100 reasons for increasing your sales and your income, you will become virtually unstoppable. And the more you want it, the more that you will do whatever it takes to achieve it. Commitment to goal setting has been the number one reason for the success of the top people.
Visualization is the most powerful skill that you can develop. See yourself as absolutely excellent in prospecting, presenting and closing sales. Before going calling your prospect, imagine him responding in a positive and enthusiastic way. See him smiling and engaged in the sales conversation.
When you repeat an affirmation as a command, you activate your mental powers. Every time you repeat these words, you feel happier and more confident. The thing is, the subconscious mind is neutral, you can shape it any way you want.
Chapter 3: Why People Buy
Focus should be on the customer need and identifying the need. Product and its features are secondary, so less talk and more listening to understand the need.
Salespeople dominate the listening and the customer should dominate the talking. Remember that the one who is questioning has control of the conversation.
Every buying decision comes down to specific needs. Everyone has certain basic human needs that serve as motivation to take buying action.
Identify which need is the right one to appeal to and choose the one based on your offering. Convince your prospect that your product or service will meet the requirements in the best possible way.
Sound so convincing that to fulfill their needs, there is nothing better in the market than your product.
Primary Customer Needs
Money- Emphasize on their benefits and tell them the return on investment in monetary forms. I
Security- It is a fundamental need. Having sufficient money gives a sense of security to people.
Being Liked- Everyone seeks admiration from friends, neighbors, and relatives.
Status And Prestige- Everyone wants to satisfy their ego. People need to feel important and valued to others.
Health And Fitness- People easily get attracted to products and services that enable a healthy lifestyle.
Praise And Recognition- Its all about convincing your prospect that he will achieve greater recognition or status
Power, Influence, And Popularity- Feeling of being influential and popular among others
Leading The Field- To be ahead of the pack, people will buy newest product in the market
Love And Companionship- By making the prospect feel desirable as a companion
Personal Growth- Achieving heights of personal success and self-realization, will motivate to buy.
Personal Transformation- Make the customer a different person in some way, then it drives almost immediate buy
By knowing these 11 consumer needs, you will be able to identify your prospect needs better and sell it in the right way.
Chapter 4: Creativity in Selling
Creativity in selling comes down to how well you align with the needs of the customer - and exploring ways to provide options around the terms of the sales
3 Ways to Stimulate Creativity
Clear Goals
Pressing Problems
Focused Questions
Important Areas for Creativity
Prospecting
Uncovering buying motives
When prospecting, ask the following questions:
What are the five-10 most attractive features of your product?
What specific needs of your prospective customer does your product satisfy?
What does your company offer that other companies don’t?
Four principles of marketing strategy to maximise the return on your sales efforts
1. Specialization- Determine where you will specialize
2. Differentiation- Why are different. Having a competitive advantage over the other
3. Segmentation- Who are the specific customers in the market
4. Concentration- Where you want to focus all your energy and efforts.
Chapter 5: Get More Appointments
Appointments should be sold first, before the product itself, and appointment's positioning should be that of a high-stake conversation - break into it.
Break prospect preoccupation – When you place calls, say, “I need two minutes of your time. Is this a good time to talk?” Only when the prospect confirms they have the time should you launch into your pitch.
Sell the appointment, not the product – Never talk about your product or pricing on the phone unless you can close the deal directly.
Choose your words carefully – Your prospect is likely on the other end of the line looking at their email. Develop an opening line the equivalent of a brick going through their window. Keep it benefit-centered without directly mentioning your product/service.
Always aim to trigger the question/response: “Really, how do you do that?”
Use these to capture the attention of your prospect: There’s something I need to show you. You need to see it personally. Would Tuesday be a convenient time for you?
Do not allow them to sidestep. Make them agree on a time and if they are not available by then, they can message you at your contact info on the Specific Date agreed on.
The first sale is the appointment. This gets you closer to the real sale.
The prospect needs to be sure of these 5 things before he or she agrees:
You have something important to communicate.
He or she is speaking to the right person.
It will be a short visit/talk.
He or she will not be placed under any obligation.
No high pressure will be used.
Begin with a well-structured question that’s interesting or unusual because good questions trigger good responses.
Chapter 6: The Power of Suggestion
Your enthusiasm, association, and presentation should create associations of credibility and trust in your client
1. Be positive and cheerful
2. Practice your selling
3. Dress for success
4. Pleasant surroundings
5. Groom yourself well
6. Upgrade your offices
7. Work from a clean desk
8. Double your productivity
Chapter 7: Making the Sale
The sales process is all about 'closing' - always focus on this outcome and not letting procrastination come in the way
The Approach Close- You use this right at the beginning of the sales presentation. The primary purpose is to get the prospect to agree to decide after you’ve made your presentation.
To overcome this natural resistance at the beginning of the sales conversation, say this. “Mr. Prospect, I’m not here to sell you anything right now. All I’m going to do is show you some of the reasons why people have bought this product and continue to buy it over the years. Listen with an open mind and then make your decision about whether it suits you or not”.
The demonstration close- Another effective closing technique that you can use, right at the beginning, is called the demonstration close. Change the focus of your discussion as per the buying capacity of your prospect. For example- Start the conversation with “Mr. Prospect, if I could show you the very best investment you’ve ever seen, how much you can invest?” The discussion is no longer about whether or not the prospect listens to your presentation. It is about how much he can invest.
Closing approach will be different for different types of buyers
The apathetic buyer- These are the negative kind of people who are never going to buy. Don’t waste your time on them.
The self-actualizing buyer- They know what they want exactly and how much they are willing to pay for it. Make the most out of them. They already have set specifications in mind, so don’t try to sell them anything else.
The analytical buyer- All they care about is details. Be precise and exact with these prospects. They don’t make decisions in a hurry. So slow down your selling approach.
The relater buyer- They like to develop a relationship and when buying their concern is the impact of the product on other people. To make a sale, tell them about other happy customers.
Socialized buyer- This type of prospect is straightforward and right to the point. Kind of a business deal, just put everything on paper, once you make a deal.
Chapter 8: 10 Keys to Success in Selling
This is Brian's wisdom all in one single chapter
Top Salespeople Do What They Love To Do- Love your work and then commit yourself to becoming excellent in your field.
Decide what you want- Set your goals and then determine what price you can pay for it.
Back your Goals With Perseverance- Put your whole heart and soul into achieving your sales career goal.
Commit to lifelong learning- Never stop learning new techniques and new perspectives.
Use your time well- How you use your time determines your standard of living.
Follow the leader- Follow the leaders, not the followers. Do what other successful salespeople in your company do.
Character Is Everything- You can be successful only if people trust you.
Use your Inborn Creativity- Recognise your ability to do more and be more
Practice the golden rule- Think about yourself as a customer, and then use the same approach on your customer.
Pay The Price Of Success- Success as with everything else comes at a price, what is the price you are willing to pay - surely it is prioritising your passion over anything else which distract you
Comments