The New ABCs of Selling:
Always Be Closing Is Dead
As I update and enhance The A.B.C.D.E. Sales & Marketing Systemâ„¢, I came across the old ABCs of Selling, which, unfortunately, have been around for decades.
*Warning: Strong language in this video, so do not play it around children or if you are not a fan of potty-mouth movies.
In a nutshell, it comes from the 1992 movie, "Glengarry Glen Ross," which was a Broadway play before that.
Its mantra, uttered by Alec Baldwin as Blake, was "Always be closing!"
Well, that's fine in the world of wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am transactional selling, but it's no good for meaningful, sizeable, consultative, relational selling.
Here are the new ABCs of selling, in no particular order:
Always Be Consistent: Consistency beats frantic cramming and rushing every day of the week
Always Be Congruent: It's similar to being consistent, but it's different. I'll write more on that later.
Always Be Courteous: Yes, customers and prospects and receptionists and gate agents and dog catchers and cops and doctors and nurses and in-laws can be a-holes, but you don't have to stoop to their level.
Always Be Concise: If you're yap yapping all the time, you're not learning from the prospect, which means you're not earning from the prospect.
Always Be Curious: Things are never obvious nor how they appear nor do you know the meaning the prospect places on it...so ask.
Action Begets Confidence: "I'll make more calls when I feel better." No, make more calls and you'll feel better.
Always Be Composed: See Courteous. They go hand in hand.
Always Be In Control/Controlling: Similar to being composed, but different. It's showing up with an agenda and goal and purpose for every interaction with your prospect and steering the conversation in that direction. Always Be Controlling/in Control of your mind, your emotions, etc. But let others be.
Always Be Conscious: Lots of zombies walking around and keyboard jockeying as they are lulled to sleep with pot, p0rn, and playoffs. Be awake.
Always Be Conscientious: Put everyone else first and you'll come out ahead. See things from their perspective.
Always Be Certain/Confident (in your process): See Control and Action.
Always Be (not) Comfortable: See Conscious. By forcing yourself to remain awake and aware, you'll know the forces attacking you and standing in your way, so you will prepare yourself to handle them, which means you'll do the uncomfortable things to remain strong and vigilant and up for the fight.
Always Be Calling: Your #1 job as a sales professional is to prospect.
Always Be Compassionate: See Courteous and Conscientious. Great salespeople have great empathy.
Always Be Conscripting: Get others to join your cause and support you. Get your manager and VP and CEO to work for you. Get your peers to work for you. Get your prospects to work for you. Sounds crazy, I know...but it's only crazy because you haven't seen behind the curtain.
Always Be Compelling: People are zombies (pot, p0rn, and playoffs, remember?) So you'd better command attention.
Always Be Craving: Excellence, success, growth.
Always Break Crutches: One good excuse can last you a lifetime, "I have ADHD...My parents had an ugly divorce...I had an ugly divorce...I'm a recovering alcoholic...I'm fat...I'm pale...I wear glasses...I didn't go to college." Okay. Good enough. Go join the Mediocre Majority. Success takes daily effort.
Always Break the China: (Always Bull China) Be that bull in a China shop. Get stuff done. Be bold. Move fast. Break things. Ask for forgiveness instead of permission.
Always Be Caring: See Conscientious and Compassionate.
Always Build Callouses: See (not) Comfortable. Life is hard. Sales is hard. Become tough. Stay tough.
Always Be Calloused: Not calloused toward others. See above. Get thick skin. Be tough.
Always Be Comfortable: In your own skin. Know yourself, but strive to be better tomorrow than you were today.
Always Be Clean: Nobody likes a stinky salesperson. This includes your language.
Always Be Crass: With anything that distracts you. Shut it down with the quickness.
Always Be Crushing: Goals, fear, uncertainty, doubt, your competition.
Always Be Competitive/Competing: Everyone loves a winner. Selling is a zero-sum game. Be 1% better or lose 100% of the commission.
Always Be Championing: Others. Share the spotlight. Boost others. See Conscripting.
Always Be Critical: Of yourself, your systems, your processes. Strive for continuous improvement.
Always Build Clarity: A confused mind says no.
Always Be Creating: God spoke the universe into existence. You can do the same. Create your own reality by creating more content, creating an environment conducive to growth.
Always Be Calm: See Composed. Nobody is impressed by a ranting and raving and raging a-hole, even if you're right.
Authority Becomes Clarity: When everyone looks up to you, they listen, they see, they understand, they heed, they move ahead because they are confident.
Always Be Convicting/Convicted: Have the courage of your convictions. Close yourself to your cause.
Always Be Courageous: See Convicting. Jump into the deep end. Burn your ships.
Assassinate Before Calling: Ha. Okay. This is a big of a stretch...or is it? We have a lot of fears, uncertainty, and doubt that freezes us in our tracks. Kill your procrastination and fear and get going. See Courageous.
Always Be Clear: See Always Build Clarity.
Always Be Communicating: Arguments and fights and returns and lawsuits and divorces spring from miscommunication. See Always Be Clear.
Always Be Careful: Yes, move fast, be bold, and break things, but only things that must be broken. Ideally, be like a ninja. Sneak in, win the deal, go home with the money before the competition even knows you're in the running.
Always Be Crazy: See Convicted. Sell yourself first. Go make things happen. Do what the Mediocre Majority would never dream of doing.
Always Be Care-less: Yes, care-less about what others think, A) because few do think, B) even fewer think well, C) even fewer think about you, D) even if they do, if they won't die for you, don't let them live for you.
Always Be Conversational: See Curious and Concise and Communicating and Caring.
Always Be Connecting: Who do you know and who knows you? Grow both daily.
Always Be Commanding: Attention, respect. See Compelling.
Asking Builds Connections: See Connecting and Curious and Communicating. Ask better questions. When you ask you use your ear to learn and earn.
Asking Builds Clarity: Remember, a confused mind says no. You're not asking for yourself as much as you're allowing and enabling your prospect to hear themselves answer clearly what is going on, how bad it is, and how much they want and need help.
Asking Builds Cash: A confident mind says yes.
If you'd like more advice like this daily, please join my Inner Circle:
Market like you mean it.
Now go sell something.
~Wes