The Sales Whisperer®

S Gave No Excuses

thesaleswhisperer — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:12:00 +0000

Success Takes Daily Effort But Excuses Last Forever.

S’s dad was a Mid-West farmer that moved his family like Nomads when he was young. (Excuse 1)

Eventually the family planted roots in a small town with a good Sunday school, which was a good thing. However, being somewhat nomadic and “working class,” little S didn’t get to attend traditional school until the age of 8. (Excuse 2)

After high school S worked as a timekeeper in the railroad industry and was forced to sleep in “hobo camps” up and down the rail line to save money. (Excuse 3)

He bounced around from such “glorious” jobs as clerks and even as a mail room boy only to end up back at the family farm from age 22 to 33. (Excuse 4)

Then war broke out. (Sound familiar?) (Excuse 5)

But S was “blind as a bat” with “coke-bottled-glasses” and wouldn’t be accepted into the military. (Excuse 6) So he memorized the eye chart, passed the vision test and was accepted in service!

After the war, S and his military buddy opened a nice little business that did fine for three years, only to fail in a tough recession. (Excuse 7)

(“QUIT, S! YOU’RE A FAILURE! GO BACK AND LIVE ON THE FAMILY FARM. LIFE IS NOT FAIR. LIFE IS TOO HARD. THESE TOUGH TIMES WILL LAST FOREVER! IT’S FUTILE TO TRUDGE AHEAD!)

But S was a good dude. For 13 years he worked to pay off his debts while also striving to correct the failed government policies he felt contributed to the decline in the economy.

His character and work ethic were recognized and in 1934 S was elected to the U.S. Senate. In 1940 he was re-elected.

In 1944 he was chosen as FDR’s running mate. In 1945 he became the 33rd President of the United States. In 1948 he was elected to his second term.

“S” is more widely known as Harry S Truman. (What most would consider to be a middle initial was, in fact, Truman’s full middle name and he requested that no period be placed after the letter “S” since it was his name.)

Truman had his ups and his downs as President but he ended WWII, fought back North Korea, implemented the Truman Doctrine, helped found NATO and began the desegregation of the military.

Perseverance Takes Effort. Take The Effort.
S did the right thing. He worked hard. He got back up every time he was knocked down. You should, too. You can. Would you like a little help?

If you’re in sales, you’ll persevere “more better” with the help of my “Friend Down Under.” Check him out.

Sam Gave No Excuses

thesaleswhisperer — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:59:03 +0000

Success Takes Daily Effort But Excuses Last Forever.

Sam’s dad was an Ohio tanner. (For you city slickers, that means his dad took animal skins and turned them into leather.) It’s rather hard work today let alone 180 years ago. Suffice it to say, Sam was raised as what the politically correct today would call “working class.” (Excuse 1)

At the age of 17 Sam got into college but they got his name wrong. When he tried to change it they told him to either live by the wrong name in college or go home with his true name.
(Excuse 2)

Sam was middle of the road in college. (Excuse 3)

But he excelled as a horseman.

Upon graduation he joined the Army but instead of being placed – logically – into the cavalry, he was ordered to work in supplies and logistics (yawn!). (Excuse 4)

After a relatively successful 11-year career where he actually saw a little action on the front lines, he got sideways with a superior officer and was forced to resign immediately despite having a wife and two children to support. (Excuse 5)

For seven years he struggled as a farmer, a bill collector and another failed business only to end up, at the age of 38, working as an assistant to his dad. (A whole lotta good that college degree did him!) (Excuse 6)

Then war broke out. (Excuse 7)

(THIS IS WHERE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EXPECTED AND UNDERSTOOD IF SAM HAD GONE ON A DRINKING BINGE AND KILLED HIMSELF. I MEAN, COME ON, HE HAD 7 KILLER EXCUSES TO QUIT, RIGHT? RIGHT?)

But Sam loved his country and fought for her. In fact, he fought so well he was made Commanding General of the United States Army in less than three years.

Four years later he was elected President of the United States. Four years later he was reelected President of the United States.

“Sam” was the nickname Hiram Ulysses Grant was given by his West Point classmates after Thomas Hamer, the Congressman who appointed Grant to West Point, forgot Hiram was his first name. (Wow, a politician making a mistake!? Some things never change.)

Hamer knew that Grant’s mother’s maiden name was Simpson and mistakenly assumed Simpson was Ulysses Grant’s middle name. Therefore, Hamer filled out the application in the name of “Ulysses S. Grant”.

So when “Lyss” showed up at West Point his classmates took the initials of U.S. from “Uncle Sam” and applied it to U.S. Grant, ergo, “Sam.”

Perseverance Takes Effort. Take The Effort.
Sam got back up every time he was knocked down, right up to the day he died. You should, too. You can. Would you like a little help?

If you’re in sales, you’ll persevere “more better” with the help of my “Friend Down Under.” Check him out.

The New Plan

thesaleswhisperer — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:36:55 +0000

Let’s put the seniors in jail, and the criminals in a nursing home.

This way the seniors would have access to showers, hobbies, and walks, they’d receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc. and they’d receive money instead of paying it out.

They would have constant video monitoring, so they could be helped instantly if they fell, or needed assistance.

Bedding would be washed twice a week, and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.A guard would check on them every 20 minutes, and bring their meals and snacks to their cell.

They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.

They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counseling, pool, and education.

Simple clothing, shoes, slippers, PJ’s and legal aid would be free, on request.

Private, secure rooms for all, with an exercise outdoor yard with gardens.

Each senior could have a P.C. a T.V. radio and daily phone calls.

There would be a board of directors to hear complaints and the guards would have a code of conduct that would be strictly adhered to.

The “criminals” would get cold food, be left all alone and unsupervised, lights off at 8pm, and showers once a week. Live in a tiny room, and pay $5000.00 per month and have no hope of ever getting out. Justice for all.

Wise Words on Money Matters

thesaleswhisperer — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:52:48 +0000

“Money when considered as the fruit of many years’ industry, as the reward of labor, sweat and toil, is not to be sported with, or trusted to, the airy bubble of paper currency.” Thomas Paine (1757-1809)

Disciplined Optimism

thesaleswhisperer — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 05:02:11 +0000

I’m reading “Conquer The Chaos,” the new book by Infusionsoft founders Clate Mask and Scott Martineau.

Chapter 5 is called Disciplined Optimism, which is right up my alley! I’ve been a competitor my entire life and I was always the quiet one in the corner mentally rehearsing my roles and responsibilities, thinking through the plays, the opponents and how I would crush them as soon as the whistle blew.

Meanwhile, there was always one or two or five who would hoop and holler, shout and jump and run around high-fiving everyone, slapping them on the backside and getting themselves psyched-up (I guess). These were the same guys that would hang their head down low as soon as the opponent busted through for a big gain or scored early or laid a shoulder into one of our guys for a good hit.

Back then I couldn’t distance myself from these yay-hoo’s because they were on my team. Today I can and I do put quite a bit of distance between myself and the crazy-happies.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not some “half-empty” kind of guy wandering around thinking the sky is falling. Quite the contrary. Things are great on the other end of this computer screen and have actually never been better. They are really good for me now because of Disciplined Optimism that has given me the strength and the fortitude to prepare for and persevere through the rough times that have befallen us today and will last for many years to come.

In Conquer the Chaos Clate and Scott refer to the Stockdale Paradox, a name given to Admiral James Stockdale by Jim Collins, author of Good to Great. Stockdale spent seven years as a prisoner of war during Vietnam and won a Medal of Honor for his efforts resisting the North Vietnamese communists.

As Collins was interviewing Stockdale he asked him who were the P.O.W.s that didn’t make it home from the Hanoi Hilton. “Oh, that’s easy,” said Stockdale, “the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.”

Stockdale concluded with, “This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be” (Collins 2001, 84-86) (Mask, Martineau, 2010, 81-81).

What brutal facts have you been ignoring? Are sales trending down? Is competition up? Are sales cycles growing longer? Are your salespeople making more excuses than appointments? Are you not generating enough leads from your website, trade shows, ads, etc? Are you wasting money on marketing that is not producing a measurable, positive ROI?

Contrary to what my good friend Dione at Impact Marketing will tell you, I’m not a pessimist. I just call ‘em like I see ‘em. You and I can prevail in the end if we focus on our current reality.

If you need a little boost in that area check out what my sales mentor, Steve Clark, has to offer. Tell him Wes sent you and he’ll give you a little extra goodie bag when you enroll in his Inner Circle. But don’t bring it weak and don’t get in his kitchen if you can’t stand the heat because he doesn’t sugar coat a dang thing. You’ll grow or you’ll go!

Book Review: SNAP Selling by Jill Konrath

thesaleswhisperer — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:14:40 +0000

One of the perks of being online and in the sales and marketing training/consulting world is I get to correspond with other professionals in the same field that are out there helping other sales professionals and entrepreneurs make things happen faster, with less stress, higher margins and more fun.

Jill Konrath’s assistant was gracious enough to contact me a couple of weeks ago about reviewing Jill’s new book, “SNAP Selling: Speed Up Sales and Win More Business With Today’s Frazzled Customers.”

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be studying it with pen, highlighter and note pad (as I always do) and I’ll let you know what I think about it.

It’s a thick 297 pages but if I am going to judge a book by its cover my initial impression is quite positive.

Good Selling.

I’m So Proud Of My Cousin, Owner of Alphabotz!

thesaleswhisperer — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:59:15 +0000

See what Kelly and Randy Barton and their partner, Nicole Sigsby are up to over at Alphabotz and why they’re winning so many awards!

Increase Your ROE (Return On Email) Free Webinar

thesaleswhisperer — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:00:55 +0000

Do You Really Understand Email Marketing
And How It Can Help You Grow Your Business?

I recently stumbled on an article that challenged what I thought I knew about email marketing.

The article suggested that our (small business owners) perception of marketing is completely flawed. We decide what our customers and prospects want to receive from us based off our own experience. We think, “Would I like to receive an email like that?” and then send it – or not – based on our own feelings. (Or based on a desperate need to make a few sales.)

But here’s the thing…we are not typical consumers. We’re business owners. And that means our judgment of how to use email marketing is completely clouded.

So how do you effectively use email marketing if you’re thinking like you and not like your target market?

I’m curious about that myself.

So I am inviting you to attend a webinar I’m planning on joining. The webinar will be:

Increase your ROE (Return on Email)
Wednesday, July 28th
1:00 pm ET / 10:00 am PT

In this webinar, you will discover:

The secret to creating an email marketing strategy that works for YOUR business
How to get your subscribers to read your emails (and anticipate getting them)
One business owner’s strategy to increasing sales by 80%
The 3 email marketing campaigns your business can’t survive without

The webinar is completely free.

365 Ways To Double Your Sales – 16

thesaleswhisperer — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:50:08 +0000

Set Mutually Agreed Upon Agendas – 6

Phew! Money is not an issue (or at least you’re pricing is in the ballpark.) Now you can relax (a bit) and have a person to person discussion vs. a sales servant to all-powerful-omnipotent-dude-thinking-of-buying-from-you-if-you-act-right-and-beg-and-discount-your-stuff-85% discussion!

What that means is that you need to now find out their top criteria and time frame for making a decision. This has always been a tricky part for sales people I’ve trained because they don’t want to insult the person with whom they are speaking (why they are talking to a “seemore” is the topic of another blog post) so they let the prospect drive the discussion.

Now that you are following an agenda it is time for you to ask something along the lines of,

“Mr. Prospect, What are your top 3 non-negotiable criteria when..

selecting a new vendor / partner?

evaluating new hardware / software?

considering making a change to this process?”

Followed by…

“Mr. Prospect, When you are evaluating new options / vendors / solutions can you walk me through the process you follow?

Is there a steering or evaluation committee?

Is legal involved?

Do you have outside consultants such as attorneys, CPAs, partners, spouse, etc. you run things by and let them kick it around?

Yes?

How often do you meet with them?

Will they be involved in our future meetings if we decide there is a fit?

Will you share their contact information with me if we decide to move forward?”

You can take control of the sales process if you simply follow a system and have the courage to ask a few questions up front. If you listen (which means you are asking good questions prepared in advance) the prospect will tell you exactly what they want and how much they will pay and when and how they’ll buy it.

If you’d like a little private sales coaching that can turn your selling world around in as little as 30 minutes a month check out my professional sales training offered under the Pre-Paid Sales Training program. It’s a month-to-month private training program that will help you get sales results fast.

The 16 Biggest Networking Mistakes Professionals Make That Can Derail Their Career

thesaleswhisperer — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:09:33 +0000

Join us Thursday, July 8th, at 2 PM PT as Jim Dryburgh, the President of The Balanced WorkLife Company, helps us all identify and overcome “The 16 Biggest Networking Mistakes Professionals Make That Can Derail Their Career.”

A little about Jim:
It is my goal to help the best get better. I do just that by using my extensive experience in executive coaching and development, business strategy, communications and change programs to lead them to developing unstoppable confidence in everything they take on.
As the President of The Balanced WorkLife Company, I help the executives of mid- to large-sized organizations to strike the perfect balance between and within their jobs, careers and personal lives at the same time they are achieving their ultimate goals.
Although my roots are in science with degrees in physics, chemistry and mathematics, I am a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst and Certified Professional Values Analyst, and a member of the International Coach Federation.
My business acumen starts with 25 years at IBM in a variety of technical, marketing and senior management positions. My final position there was as the Practice Leader for the Business Transformation consulting practice.
I live at The Retreat in Scottsdale with my wife and business partner Lori, our dog Keeley and our cat, Tasha.