The Salesman.com Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFNyQUXDlL4&feature=youtu.be Tom Hopkins is a sales training legend. Since 1976, Tom Hopkins International has been dedicated to providing the finest sales training strategies and techniques to individuals and companies alike. On this episode of The Salesman Podcast Tom shares 4 ways you can deal with a potential customer saying “no” to your sales pitch. Resources: TomHopkins.com Book: When Buyers Say No: Essential Strategies for Keeping a Sale Moving Forward

The everyday sales pitch is boring. Running through features, hitting on target metrics, going through product slide after product slide after produ… Truth be told, the everyday sales pitch sucks. And your buyers think so too. But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can deliver a powerful, effective message while driving engagement, stirring emotions, and generating real buying intent. And it’s all thanks to storytelling in business. In this guide, I’ll show you how to incorporate compelling stories during your sales pitch using a simple five-point framework. I’ll also cover why business storytelling drives serious selling success, pro tips for how to tell a good story, and three goals every sales story should have. Now, let’s dive into this potent sales technique Why Storytelling in Business Just Plain Works If there’s one thing that unites all humans, it’s that no one likes change. It can be scary. And adapting to it takes work. So, why should you go through the necessary changes to bring storytelling into your processes? As it turns out, there are four reasons in particular why a business story just plain works. A) Engaging on a Fundamental Level First and foremost, a compelling story is engaging. And not just “meh” engaging. But engaging on a fundamental, biological level. See, we’ve been hard-wired for thousands, even tens of thousands of years to pass on important information via storytelling. In fact, some of the earliest evidence of stories come from cave drawings in France that go back as far as 30,000 years. Studies have shown that how character-driven a story is can predict how much people are willing to donate to charitable causes. A message wrapped in a well-constructed story is more likely to be understood (and even recalled weeks later). And even our conception of ourselves, our own identity, is built on a storytelling foundation. Humans are storytellers and story-listeners. And when you incorporate that nature into your selling process, you’re tapping into that biological underpinning. B) Taps Into Emotions Logic is an important aspect of any sale. If you can’t make the numbers, the buyer isn’t going to bother giving you a try. Hey, it’s just business. But sales is about emotion too. Sometimes it’s even more important than logic. Emotion is the driving factor behind decision-making. It’s the excitement, the trust, the gravitational pull that causes buyers to say, “Yes! I want this.” And logic, while important, is more about justifying that purchase decision. When you’re telling your great story to prospects, you’re helping them feel the same ups and downs as your “characters” or past buyers. And as a result, you’re priming their emotions to make a purchase decision. “Fundamentally, we make decisions emotionally, and if all we're doing is spouting features and benefits, we're really engaging the logical part of the brain. The logical part of the brain does not make decisions. But analyses and captures information to weigh pros and cons, but decisions are made emotionally. And what stories do is they tap into the emotional center of the listener, and that's where the decisions are made.” – Interview with Adrian Davis, President & CEO of Whetstone Inc. C) Lets the Buyer Feel Like the Hero In the same vein as the last point, when your buyer feels the emotions of your narrative’s hero, they start feeling like the hero themselves. And that is key to driving real action. Unfortunately, a lot of sales reps don’t get this point until far later in their careers. They try to make themselves look like the hero—the rep who knows it all, who has all the expert knowledge, and who has helped countless others. But the truth is, the buyer does not care about you. On a human-to-human level, of course they do. But when they’re faced with serious change (switching vendors, putting their reputation on the line, etc.), they need to feel the jubilation that comes from being the reason for a massive business success. And it’s up to you to help them feel that way. “I think most of us want to come in as salespeople, and I sell all the time, so I'm no different, and we want to be the hero. Well, I’ve got bad news, we're not the hero, we need to make our customer the hero.” – Interview with Ken Rutsky, Consultant, Speaker, Mentor, & Author D) A Subtle Way to Boast Success Last but not least, a story is a way to hint (just hint) at your own success. Without straying too far from the real hero of the story—the buyer—telling a story about a past client lets you say, “Hey, I’ve helped plenty of people like you. See?” As we all know, social proof is the undisputed king of tools for building trust. But if you bombard prospects with testimonials and case studies right off the bat, they’re only going to head for the hills. They’re just not at that stage of the buyer’s journey yet. But when you tell a story that really connects with your prospects, you’re helping them understand the problem, explore the solution, and see that yo

Times have changed for B2B salespeople. Not too long ago, buyers used to do light research on a solution before reaching out to a sales rep for more detailed information. These interactions helped educate buyers about the product. But they also gave salespeople all the power when it came to controlling the buyer's journey. These days, however, the buyer's journey is in the hands of the buyer. Pricing, product features, case studies—these sales assets (and many more) are typically all available online. And buyers now move through 70% of the buyer's journey on their own, not at the urging of a sales rep. So, how do you navigate this new B2B selling landscape? And how do you determine what your own buyer's journey is for your ideal customers? That's exactly what this guide examines. Inside, we'll be defining the buyer's journey, explaining how it's changed over the years (and what that means for you), and detailing what you need to consider when redefining your buyer's journey. What Is the Buyer's Journey? As a quick refresher, let's outline exactly what a buyer journey is. Also known as a customer journey or purchase cycle, a buyer's journey is essentially how your buyers go from being unaware of their problem to deciding to purchase your solution. As you know, buyers don't wake up one day and make purchase decisions on a whim (especially true in the B2B world). Instead, buyers need to first recognize they have a problem, learn more about it, and research the best solutions before deciding on a solution. The length of a buyer's journey tends to depend on the level of risk involved. For pricier solutions, the buyer's journey is longer. Buyers need to do more research to justify their purchase. And they'll need more convincing to jump onboard. For less expensive solutions, the opposite is true. With less at stake, buyers feel more comfortable making quick decisions. As a buyer progresses through different stages of the customer journey, they'll have different concerns that need addressing before moving to the next stage. And it's your job as a successful sales rep to meet those needs every step of the way. For example if your buyer is already at the consideration stage because they've consumed someone elses inbound marketing efforts then their buying process is nearly complete and it's going to be difficult to win business from them. Alternatively, if you're prospecting a slightly different buyer persona and they're still in the research and decision process then you've still got a chance to solve a pain point or two and influence their purchase process. Breaking Down the Buyer's Journey Stages So, what are the buyer's journey stages? First, let's take a closer look. No Awareness – This stage is when the buyer doesn't even know they have a problem. That can mean they're entirely unaware of it in the first place, or (more likely) they don't understand that a current inefficiency can actually be fixed. Awareness stage – This is when the buyer acknowledges the problem exists and seeks out more information about it. A buyer in this stage will respond to content types that examine their problem and shed light on why this problem exists in the first place. Exploring Solutions – Now that your buyer fully understands the problem they're dealing with, they're going to start researching solutions. What types of solutions are out there on the market? And which type will fix their problem? Comparing Vendors – This is when buyers get into the nitty-gritty. After determining the solution type, it's time to drill down into how the vendors stack up against one another. Which has the most valuable features? How do they compare on price? And what services will align best with their business? Purchase Decision – The final stage of the B2B buyer's journey is making a purchase decision. This stage is when buyers have settled on a solution but still need a bit of a push over the edge. They need reinforcement that they're doing the right thing. And they need reassurance that this solution is right for them. Then Vs. Now – What's Changed in the B2B Buyer's Journey? While the stages of the B2B buyer's journey haven't changed, the sales rep's role in that journey certainly has. And that's all thanks to an increasingly digitalized sales cycle. According to HubSpot, a whopping 77% of purchasers won't talk to a salesperson until they've done their own research. And that was in 2015. These days, the numbers are even higher. Decision-makers are relying on their research to learn more about their problems and possible solutions than ever before. They're leaning into marketing automation and search engine results pages to educate them rather than calls with sales reps. As a result, sales reps like you need to understand the difference between the old buyer journey and the new buyer journey and then tailor your sales process accordingly. The Old Buyer Journey In the old days, the sales rep would shoulder most of the burden to ushering potential

You’ve got a job interview for your dream sales job. You have the experience and a track record of success. The only thing between you and your offer letter is your (hopefully) future sales manager. Impress them with your exceptional selling skills and expertise, and you’ve got the job. But the question is: how? This Salesman.org sales plan template guide will show you how to put together a winning 30-60-90 day sales plan to impress your sales manager with your sales knowledge and expertise and nab your dream sales position. What Is a 30-60-90 Day Sales Plan? A 30-60-90 day sales plan outlines the measurable goals for your first three months on the job. Think of it as your personal value proposition that shows your superiors you’re a self-starter and helps you be laser-focused on achieving results. It expands on what success looks like in the first 30, 60, and 90 days, respectively. The idea here is to lay out your clear-cut plans for measuring a successful transition and keeping everyone focused in the right direction. Why Do You Need a 30, 60, 90 Day Plan? Your dream sales job is also somebody else’s dream job. This means you have to stand out in your interview and make sure the hiring manager can see what a great addition you can be to the organization. The only way to do this effectively is to create a sales plan that shows your vision of the future of the sales territory or customers you’ll be taking over. It should outline your interaction with your sales team, sales strategies, sales cycle, target audience and revenue goals. Each aspect of your 30-60-90 day sales plan should detail a specific focus, your priorities and goals, and a plan for measuring success. Getting this right will help you maximize your progression into a new role by identifying potential partners to sell two and establishing a general framework for success. Here’s are the biggest benefits of developing a 30-60-90 day plan: Creates a clear focus for your first 90 days on the job, boosting your productivity and maximizing results Ensures your goals are set properly in your 30-60-60 day plan, letting you integrate quickly and smoothly into the organization Proves you’re capable of self-management and achieving goals and are an employee worthy of development. If you bring in a well-thought-out plan into a job interview, you’ll have an advantage over other under-prepared candidates, significantly improving your chances of getting hired. Other Scenarios Where Having a 30-60-90 Day Sales Plan Makes Sense Putting together a 30-60-90 days sales plan takes time and effort, but the good news is you don’t have to do it often. When you write a sales plan it becomes a sales tool that can be used over and over. Besides the interview process, you can also use your sales plan for the following circumstances: Scenario 1: First Week on the Job You got a brand-new job—or maybe you’ve earned an internal promotion. Regardless of the circumstance, you should create a 30-60-90 days sales plan within the first week on the job. Doing this will demonstrate your commitment to your new role and give you a well-defined plan to ensure you’re off to a good start. Scenario 2: New Territory Management Assignments If your company follows the territory management approach, creating a 30 60 90 day plan for new sales territory is a no-brainer. Your plan should clearly define geographic boundaries for territories you’re responsible for and the metrics you’ll use to evaluate territory performance. It should include any new business goals, changes in the company mission or types of sales that you'll be making. Steps To Create a Winning 30-60-90 Day Sales Plan Template Next, let’s understand how you can draft an effective 30 60 90 day sales strategy plan. Step 1: Know Who You’re Creating the Plan For You should know who you’re making the plan for. This involves thinking from the perspectives of two stakeholders: your team and you. A) Align Your Plan With Your Organization’s Goals Understand your sales team’s priorities and goals and align your sales plan with them. For a job interview, try to connect with a salesperson already working with the company on LinkedIn. Strike a polite conversation and ask them what goals they’re being pushed towards corporately. If you’re new on the job or handling a new territory, speak to your sales manager and ask them about goals that matter most to the organization. Find out current revenue targets, sales and marketing initiatives and any strategies and tactics that are working for the sales team. B) Identify Your Own Priorities What are your current priorities and personal goals? Do you want to earn more money? Or do you want to focus on building now to set up your territory for even bigger successes? Maybe you want to position yourself as a legendary adviser for all things sales. You must identify your own priorities before you start building your 30 60 90 day plan. This will give you a clearer perspective on how to approach things and

Chris Smith is a sales and marketing expert, USA Today bestselling author and co-founder of Curaytor. On this episode of the Salesman Podcast Chris shares how software and what tools modern, internet based B2B sales professionals really need to close business in their marketplaces. Resources: Curaytor.com Book: Chris on Linkedin @Chris_Smth Book: The Conversion Code: Capture Internet Leads, Create Quality Appointments, Close More Sales

Most people think the best sales reps are selfish, that they only think about closing a deal from THEIR side, not the buyer’s. They’re focused on the sales funnel, not the buying process. But it turns out the most successful reps put 90% of their energy into understanding WHY buyers make a purchase. They focus on what’s known as the buyer’s journey. Because doing so makes nurturing a deal and closing 10X easier. And guess what, you can do the same too. What Is the Buyer’s Journey? Basically, the buyer’s journey is how your buyers go from being unaware of their problem to deciding to purchase your solution. Most sales professionals break the journey down into five stages: 1. No Awareness No Awareness where the buyer doesn’t even understand they have a problem. 2. Awareness Awareness where they’ve acknowledged the problem exists and are seeking more information about it. 3. Exploring Solutions Exploring Solutions where the buyer is trying to find the right product to solve their problem. 4. Comparing Vendors Comparing Vendors where they are weighing the pros and cons of different solutions. 5. Purchase Decision And Purchase Decision where, you guessed it… they decide to purchase a particular solution. Now, as they move through these five stages, they’ll interact with touch points that push them forward to the next stage. Touch points could be content like articles, case studies, and testimonials, but they’ll also be initial conversations with sales reps, demos, and sales calls. How Has the Buyer’s Journey Changed? How the buyer’s journey has changed recently. Here’s what the old buyer’s journey looked like: About 40% of the journey was covered by content the buyer would consume on their own. After that, sales would get involved and help guide the buyer through the remaining 60%. But these days, the buyer’s journey looks more like this: Nowadays sales reps are typically only involved in the final 20% of the journey—a huge change from the model of the past. This model has only gotten even more hands-off since the rise of COVID. In fact, a study from McKinsey found that 70-80% of B2B decisionmakers now prefer remote or digital self-service models vs. traditional models. This shift spells out three distinct changes for sales professionals like you: 1. The Sales Cycle Is Longer Than Ever The sales cycle is longer than ever, which means more in-depth sales cadences and customer lifetime value are incredibly important. 2. Content Needs to Be More Strategic Two, content needs to be more strategic. B2B buyers now consume at least 13 pieces of content before making a buying decision. As a result, your content needs to be specifically tailored for the buyer’s journey stage they’re currently in (more on that in just a bit). 3. “Education First, Salesmanship Second” And finally, you need to adopt an “education first, salesmanship second” mindset to be successful in this new world of sales. Longer relationships, a complicated journey, and fewer sales rep touch points mean buyers will focus more on the value you provide, not the charm you exude. Mapping Your Buyer’s Journey Now, the question is how can you change up your buyer’s journey to create a sales cycle tailored to this new reality? This is where the Buyer’s Journey Framework from the Selling Made Simple Academy comes in. The first step is to understand how your own customers are actually moving through the buyer’s journey. And that takes plotting out five factors. 1. Which Step Do You Meet Them? Which step do you meet them? If it’s earlier in the cycle, you may want to consider shifting your personal touch points to later in the journey. Rather than having a sales conversation with prospects in the No Awareness stage, better to leave things to a well-crafted piece of educational content. Now it’s worth mentioning that every industry will be different. So don’t be afraid to experiment with different methods in yours. But the key is to not rely on old models where you may close a deal during your first conversation. Instead, know when to step back and let the buyer take the lead. 2. Where Have They Been? Factor number two is knowing where the prospect has been. Which stages have they been through already? What kind of content are they consuming on a regular basis? Where are you seeing the most engagement? A robust CRM is golden here so be sure to equip yourself with tools like HubSpot as soon as possible. 3. What Pain Are They In? Next up, what pain are they in? There are usually specific pain points for each stage of the buyer’s journey. Knowing which pain points match up with which is essential for delivering the right messaging. Here are some examples of possible pain points for each stage. No Awareness I know my business can be run more efficiently, but I don’t know how. Awareness There is a gap in our processes that I need to understand better. Exploring Solutions We don’t know which solution types will solve our problem. Comparing Vendors Which product offers th

Let’s face it—most cold emails suck. Cheesy openers, misleading subject lines, body copy that drawls on and on. It’s no wonder why the response rate for them is often less than 2%. But the most frustrating thing about it is cold emails don’t HAVE to suck! Because there’s a simple, 4-step structure you can follow to make any email stand out in any industry for any customer… Today we’re hitting on a subject that should be near and dear to any sales professional, cold email. We’ll be covering one of my favorite Selling Made Simple Academy processes, The Strategic Cold Email Framework. It’s made up of just 4 short steps: Get Attention Demonstrate the Need Earn Their Trust Call to Action Now, I love this framework because it’s just so versatile. You can apply it to any industry, from textiles and candy bars to professional services, luxury goods, and enterprise-level software. And like I said, it comes directly from the Selling Made Simple Academy. We won’t be able to cover it as in-depth here, of course. But it’ll be a great overview so you can at least get some actionable strategies you can start using today. And at the end, we’ll put it all together and share a template you can start using today. 1) Get Attention In the increasingly busy and crowded world of email, if you can’t stand out from the rest right off the bat, your cold email is going straight to the trash. Buyers won’t even bother opening them. So, which subject lines get opened rather than sent to junk? A. Direct Subject Lines Direct subject lines like “The world’s fastest CRM tool – 20% off today” B. News Subject Lines News subject lines like “Law [X] has moved on. Has your insurance followed?” C. How-to Subject Lines How-to subject lines like “How to reduce your advertising spend in 14 days” D. Question Subject Lines And question subject lines like “Is [X] costing you more to operate than it should?” 2) Demonstrate the Need Once you’ve got their attention, it’s time to demonstrate the need. What can you offer? And why should they devote their time to listening to you? One of the best ways to do this is by using the reality gap method. This method involves three steps. A. Current Reality Outline their current reality, typically by highlighting a problem they’re dealing with today. Next… B. Desired Future Reality Show their desired future reality once that problem is solved. And last… C. Reality Bridge Build the reality bridge by providing the steps they need to take to get them from where they are now to where they could be—i.e., use the solution YOU are offering. Here’s what that might look like in practice:   Hi [NAME], I recently worked with [NAME], he is in the [INDUSTRY] like you. Traditional salespeople had failed [NAME]. Here is his story – [LINK TO INSIGHT POST] He went from zero motivation, to proactively racing to get to his desk each morning to prospect. All by implementing proven frameworks to relieve the pressure of choice from his job. Does it make sense to jump on a quick call to see if you can use these frameworks too? Cheers, Will   3) Earn Their Trust Earning the buyer’s trust. Social proof is the name of the game here. What kinds of success stories have you had with past clients? What amazing ROI did you achieve that lines up with what you can offer this prospect? Try to include social proof directly in the body copy. For instance, when building out a reality gap, use quantitative results from people in similar companies, preferably ones the prospect will recognize. But if you really want to see your open and clickthrough rates explode, use a referral. A referral is without a doubt the most effective piece of social proof in your arsenal. So if you have a colleague in common, be sure to leverage their name right in the subject line. Another trick you can use is to include links to testimonials in your email signature. It’s an easy way to point prospects to even more social proof without seeming overtly spammy. 4) Call to Action And the final step of the Strategic Cold Email Framework is the call to action. At the end of the email, just ask this: “Does it make sense to jump on a quick call to… [achieve a result]?” Simple. Don’t mix up your messaging by having multiple CTAs. Don’t overcomplicate things with a lot of fluff. Just ask the question. Bam. Pulling It All Together Now, what does this look like when we put it all together? Well here’s the cold email template I mentioned earlier that has all four elements in one winning email.   Subject: Referral from [NAME] at [COMPANY]: Should we connect? Message: Hi [NAME], I was chatting with [NAME] last week, and he said [INDUSTRY] is tough at the moment. I told him that we help [INDUSTRY] salespeople close more sales in just 28 days, guaranteed! He was a little shocked… That is a bold statement, right? Well, we have helped [RELEVANT COMPANY] increase their sales by X% in the past few months. [NAME] their sales manager is dancing on tables right now. Does it make sense

Many businesses organize their sales teams into territories based on geography, demographics, or other criteria. Your company has also decided to jump on the sales territory management bandwagon to ensure better outcomes. But how can you ensure you continue hitting your monthly sales quota under this new arrangement? Your experience and your prospect's willingness to buy your product affect your success, but one thing is sure you cannot simply… wing your sales territory management. You need a territory management plan—a solid one at that. This Salesman.org guide will lay out the basics of sales territory management and help ensure you direct your time and energy on activities that have the most impact. What Is Territory Management? A sales territory is a customer group or geographic area over which either an individual sales reps or a sales team has responsibility. Each territory is defined based on specific factors, such as its history, geography, or sales potential—sometimes a combination of these factors. The ultimate aim of managing sales territories this way is to maximize sales and profits while efficiently allocating resources. Sales territories have to be balanced. Otherwise, bad things can happen to performance: If your territory is being under-serviced, you and your team can spread too thinly, resulting in inadequate activity levels. As a result, you'll seek out a few leads, identify fewer prospects, and generate lower revenue. If your territory is being over-serviced, you'll have little work and too many team members to service a smaller area. This will increase costs and overall prices, which will ultimately lead to reduced sales. If you want to get the most value from your prospects, you need to get your territory management right. And the best way to get this? Have a solid territory management plan. 5 Easy Steps To Create an Effective Sales Territory Plan Below, we've created a step-by-step rundown to help you create a winning enterprise territory management plan template and set yourself up for sales success. Step 1: Familiarize Yourself With Your Target Territory The first step when managing a sales territory is to analyze your current and potential customers thoroughly. Think about what your customers have in common, including: Their location Their purchasing behavior, i.e, the product or offering they buy from your business The pain points your product or offering solves for them The events that cause them to buy—or not to buy—your product Also, figure out the needs of the market that are not currently being fulfilled. This analysis will tell you how to position your products or services uniquely, giving you an edge over your competition. Step 2: Do a Self-analysis Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses and your capacity to win business from your new prospects. This will help you develop a territory plan that plays to your strengths while improving any weak areas. Besides your capabilities, you should also consider your organization's resources and think of ways to utilize them efficiently on your sales patch. Step 3: Set Measurable Goals Using the information collected from Step 1 and Step 2, develop goals you want to achieve from implementing your territory management. The goals you could measure include: Total income generated per month Number of calls every week Total sales closed every month The ratio of leads to sales closed every month After identifying your territory management goals, it can be valuable to document them to remain top of mind. There are a few ways you can do this: Goal Statement: Your goal statement should address what you plan to achieve and what is at stake in your sales territory. When you put your goals on paper, it becomes concrete. Instead of wondering about objectives, you know what you want to achieve from which activity. Key Milestones and Deadlines: With a roadmap for approaching your prospects, you will close sales and achieve your goals faster. Break down your plan into smaller milestones to make your road to success clear. For instance, if you want to close $100,000 of new business this year, you can track progress by breaking your plan down into smaller milestones, such as $15,000 by Month 2, $32,000 by Month 3, and so on. Measurable Metrics: You'll need clearly defined KPIs to ensure your business goals are met in an efficient mannor. To get started on the right track, consider metrics like total sales created, leads contacted, and leads closed. Choose metrics that give you insight into productivity and can help track your progress against those goals effectively. Your goals must be realistic and simultaneously push you to improve and grow to meet your sales targets. Step 4: Chalk Out Your Territory Action Plan Creating the plan is where all the action begins! Generally, your sales manager will create a map for you to prevent any overlap between different territories and sales reps. Your job is to ensure you visit all opportunities within you

Deb Calvert is the President of People First Productivity Solutions, offering sales training, coaching, and leadership development programs. Deb also leads the Stop Selling & Start Leading® movement and founded The Sales Experts Channel. In this episode of The Salesman Podcast, Deb explains how we can use selling questions to remain in control of the sales conversation. You'll learn: .adwrapper { overflow:hidden; transition: background 0.3s, border 0.3s, border-radius 0.3s, box-shadow 0.3s; padding:20px; margin-bottom: 0px;background-color: #FEE6E6;border-radius:20px; margin-bottom:20px; } .adwrapper div { padding: 8px; } #adone { float:left; margin-right:5px; width:430px; } #adtwo { overflow:hidden; } @media screen and (max-width: 400px) { #adone { float: none; margin-right:0; width:auto; border:0; width:100%; } } Sponsored by: Free SalesCode assessment Learn your strengths and weaknesses in an instant. Taken by over 10,000+ of your competitors. Don't get left behind. Take the free assessment Featured on this episode: Host - Will Barron Founder of Salesman.org Guest - Deb Calvert President of People First Productivity Solutions Resources: Deb on LinkedIn PeopleFirstPS.com Book: DISCOVER Questions Get You Connected: for professional sellers Book: Stop Selling and Start Leading: How to Make Extraordinary Sales Happen Book: Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations TheSalesExpertsChannel.com Transcript Will Barron: Coming up on today's episode of the Salesman podcast.   Deb Calvert: Your role as being a leader in any sales conversation. The word origin of lead is guide. So you are the guide. What buyers really want is to be inspired and to be led. If you be as a leader, you become perceived as a leader, and leaders, they operate in the realm of something that's of interest to others.   Will Barron: Hello, Sales Nation. My name is will Barron, and I'm the host of the Salesman podcast. The world's most downloaded B2B sales show. And on today's episode, we have the legend that is Deb Calvert. She is the author of Discover Questions. One of the only sales specific books that I recommend to you guys, Sales Nation, and to anyone else who wants to learn how to sell as well. And we'll get into questions on this episode, how to use questions to stay in control of the sale, no matter what stunts your buyers are trying to pull on you. Everything that we talk about is available in the show note to this episode over at salesman.org. And with that, let's jump right into it.   Who Between the Buyer and the Salesperson Should be in Control of the Sales Conversation? · [01:21]   Will Barron: Conversations is what I want to talk about in this episode. We're going to look at how we can put ourselves, to use your words, in the driving seat of sales conversations moving forward. But let's get right back to basics here for someone who's perhaps relatively new to sales, whose job is it to control and drive a sales conversation forward? Is it the salesperson or is it that we should be listening to the buyer and we should just be sucking up to them and doing whatever they say and letting them be in control of the whole sales process?   “Let's use this metaphor. Imagine being in a car and someone's in the driver's seat and that should be the salesperson, but I think that the buyer should be metaphorically the navigator they should absolutely be involved and you should be very closely listening to them. But before you can even get those roles worked out, you've got to make sure that you're both going to the same place.” – Deb Calvert · [01:40]   Deb Calvert: Well, yes, we should listen to the buyer, but let's use that metaphor. So imagine being in a car and someone's in the driver's seat and that should be the salesperson, but I think that the buyer should be metaphorically the navigator they should absolutely be involved and you should be very closely listening to them. But before you can even get those roles worked out, you've got to make sure that you're both going to the same place. So knowing that destination, you want your buyer to be in the car with you. But here's the thing that I see. And I guess this is really why this conversation is so important. I see a lot of sellers who are thinking that it would be rude or presumptuous to get into the driver's seat, and so instead they end up driving around aimlessly, looking, hoping somebody's going to want to get in the car with them.   Deb Calvert: So that implies first of all, that like it or not, you're in the driver's seat, but are you going to get a buyer in there with you? And the only way you do that in fact is ironically, by making sure it's clear that you're in the buyer's seat to you and to your buyer. You already are there, but making sure that your buyer is going to get into the car with you, that's what this is really all about. And the only way you get them there, just like an Uber driver, is by making sure

In just seven years, the SaaS industry has grown from $31.5 billion to an astounding $171.9 billion. And by 2024, it’s on track to reach $369.4 billion! For sales reps like you, the writing on the walls is this—no matter what you sell today, you’ll be selling SaaS in your next sales role. And that my friends is a good thing. Today we’re talking about why, and what you can do to take advantage of this massive sales industry shift. Let’s get real here. The job you have right now? You probably won’t have it forever. Businesses go under. Goals and needs change. And salary objectives shift. That’s okay! The average person will change their job five to seven times during their working life. What matters, though, is how prepared you are for that next job. And as a sales professional, it’s incredibly likely that your next position is going to be in an SaaS company. So in order to make that transition as smooth as possible, you owe it to yourself to find out what this industry is all about. And most importantly, what does working in it mean for you? Alrighty, so starting out, let’s hit a basic question… 1. What Is SaaS? Well, SaaS is short for “software as a service.” Basically, it’s a model where businesses license software to customers in exchange for a subscription, be it monthly, yearly, or any other timeframe. These businesses also “deliver” the software in a sense by hosting it over an internet connection. As a result, customers don’t have to install via a CD, have a tech crew come in and set up their system, or engage in any other cumbersome physical onboarding. Connection is on-demand. And with just a few clicks, customers can start using the product for their business. Think of apps like Dropbox, HubSpot, or cloud-based Microsoft Office 365 Okay so the question is… 2. Why Will You Be Selling It Well to put it simply, companies across the world are making the shift to this model because it offers some very real and very lucrative benefits. For instance… A) It Brings In More Revenue It brings in more revenue. And it brings in more consistent revenue. See, an SaaS model is built on recurring subscriptions. If a customer doesn’t cancel their subscription, they’ll be billed again for the next cycle. And that means the default is staying a customer. Compare that to the traditional model. The default after a purchase is nothing. Because it takes work for that customer to buy again. So as long as an SaaS company is keeping its buyers happy, those customers won’t go through the hassle of canceling. And given our tendency toward the path of least resistance, that often means an SaaS company will bring in more money over time compared to traditional models. Plus, that revenue is consistent, making it easier to plan ahead. B) Allows for Automatic Upsells Allows for automatic upsells. SaaS products typically have multiple tiers to choose from. The more you pay, the more functionality and features you gain access to. So as an SaaS customer’s needs grow and expand, they can seamlessly choose to upgrade to a new tier. No searching for a new provider. No going through a whole new lengthy sales cycle. Instead, they can make the switch with just the click of a button. Easy as that. C) Higher Business Valuations Higher business valuations. Now, there are two components to this idea. First, SaaS is expanding. Remember what I said before? About SaaS growing 5X over the last seven years? And nearly 12X from 2015 to 2024? That means the future is SaaS. And businesses are valuated according to that trend. Secondly, and this might be above our heads as just knuckle-dragging salespeople. But we sell what drives a company’s shareholder value. The easier it is for US to sell, the better a company is going to fare. And the more it’s going to be worth. 3. Why This Shift Is Great Why is this shift great for you as a sales professional? What does all this mean for on-the-ground benefits? Well, first and foremost, there’s… A) Long-Term Residual Commissions Long-term residual commissions. If your mouth isn’t watering already at the thought here, it should be. Many SaaS businesses reward their salespeople with commissions that continue over the course of a customer’s relationship with the product. So if a client stays subscribed for, say, 10 years, you will continually earn a commission for that lifetime. Just imagine, a single sale can lead to a decade of recurring payouts. Sounds like heaven! The only trick here is that the better you sell them on your product, the more likely they’ll be to stick around. So it’s still worth putting in the effort up front and focusing on your skills. B) An Easier Closing Cycle For SaaS products, most customers get the majority of their info from automated funnels. Ebooks, case studies, how-tos, in-depth articles—this is where your clients will dive deep into what your product can do AND what they can do with it. As a result, you don’t have to do as much selling as with traditional models. On top of that, imp

We all know the stereotype of the dodgy used car salesman. But contrary to popular belief, sales isn't about tricking people into buying. Instead, it's about giving customers the solution to their problem (whether they know they have the problem or not). The tricky part for salespeople is finding out if their solution is a good fit for their buyer's needs. Is that buyer actually struggling with a problem you can solve? Do their needs align with what you can provide? Are they equipped with the resources to use your solution correctly? Discovery calls are designed to provide this invaluable information and more. With this discovery info, you can better qualify leads, craft the perfect sales pitch and close more deals. This guide will help you uncover your buyer's actual needs and home in on their underlying business problem with a simple step-by-step sales process. We'll be looking at nine open-ended discovery questions along with 12 powerful follow-up questions. What Are Discovery Questions? Discovery questions are the questions you ask sales leads during a discovery call. Of course, you've likely already learned a bit about the prospect before jumping on the phone. But your discovery call will help you fill in the details about their situation and create a clearer picture of their needs. The answers to your discovery questions let you determine several things. If your product offering can solve the needs of a sales lead. If you can deliver your product within the buyer's constraints (i.e., timeline, budget, etc.). The best way to pitch your product. If the prospect's answers line up well during your discovery call, then they'll move on to the next phase of the sales process. If not, you can redirect them through another nurturing campaign. Or they'll drop out from your sales funnel entirely. So, what makes a sales discovery question effective at uncovering your sales lead's genuine business problems? Principles of Great Sales Discovery Questions The types of discovery questions (and how you ask them) determine the quality of the information you extract on your call. With the right discovery call questions, you can get to the heart of your prospect's needs. The wrong one? You may lose the buyer's trust and sink the deal entirely. So, what do great sales discovery calls look like? They're Open-Ended – Avoiding “yes or no's” gets the sales lead talking and lets them avoid feeling “trapped” into an answer. They're Informed – Do your research beforehand. Novice-level questions torpedo your credibility in an instant. But informed ones prove you're a professional worthy of trust. They Move the Needle – Each question you ask should always take you one step closer to qualifying or disqualifying. They allow sales reps to dig deeper and move the entire sales process forward. There's value in building rapport, but time is precious. So don't waste it on filler. Try to keep questions in line with proven frameworks like MEDDPICC. They're Ripe for Follow-Up Questions – A discovery call should be a conversation, not an interrogation for your prospect. They should add value to the potential buyer. Asking relevant follow-up questions lets you naturally uncover pain points and hints for creating a perfectly catered sales pitch. Plus, it helps build rapport which will help your deals close faster. 9 Qualifying Discovery Questions for Sales Asking the right discovery call questions is key to uncovering the information you need to create an irresistible sales pitch. So lets get practical. Below are nine discovery questions you should always use on your discovery calls. You'll also find 12 follow-up questions you can use to extract even more valuable info. 1. “Tell Me About Your Company & Your Role” Once you've broken the ice, it's time for some sales discovery. This question lets the potential buyer take the lead and ease into the conversation at their own pace. Best of all, people love talking about themselves. So they'll often be excited to share. Besides building rapport, you'll also be uncovering hints about the prospective buyer. Hints like do they have decision-making power in this deal? What areas of the business do they oversee? And what difficulties have they been hitting recently? Great Follow-Up Question: “What specific metrics are you responsible for?” – Perfect for aligning your pitch to what's specifically essential to their role. Plus, it may help uncover their decision-making power along the way. 2. “Tell Me About Your Upcoming Goals” This question is an excellent lead-in to get more information specifically related to the prospects business needs. It's a fundamental discovery call question. For example, are they looking for a way to save on costs? Streamline their processes? Boost their customer satisfaction? Plus, the open-endedness of it keeps the conversation moving forward without sounding pushy. Great Follow-Up Question: “What is your timeline

Look, I’m a busy guy. I run a sales training company, produce hours of content each week, run 15-20 weekly training calls, and single-handedly sell 7-figures worth of enterprise level training packages. But I also take my dog on long walks every day. I practice drums each morning for an hour. And my family life is full and fulfilling. It’s true you don’t have time to do it ALL in sales. But if you prioritize your time for maximum productivity like I do, you can still be highly successful in B2B sales while living your best life. Here’s how. 1. Reverse Engineering So much time is wasted on tasks that don’t do a damn thing to help you reach your goals. It’s a problem that comes from having the wrong perspective. Instead of looking forwards to decide what needs to be done to reach your destination, look backwards. Imagine what you want, typically it’s going to be a financial goal. From there, start moving backwards in time. What do you have to do each year that’ll build up to that goal? What about each month? Each day? Say you want to earn an extra $50k this year. Let’s start there. $50k in commissions equals an extra 30 closed deals. For every closed deal, there are 24 discovery calls that don’t work out. Which means you need 750 discovery calls in a year or about 190 per quarter, 63 per month, and around 15 per week. And with those numbers in mind, you’ve got EXACTLY the work you need to do each day to reach your goal. 2. Time Blocking Next up is time blocking. This is one of my favorites. I’ve even talked about it before. Essentially, you need to start scheduling your important tasks. Don’t just have a mental to-do list that you’re crossing off throughout the day. Instead, put all the tasks you need to have done into your calendar. But here’s the most important part—you have to stick to those times. Don’t spend a second more or a second less on the tasks that you schedule. If you waver even just a little from those scheduled times, tasks will start to bleed over into others. And the entire system falls apart. So schedule it. And stick to it like hell. 3. Paper To-Do Keeping a paper list with you at all times makes it easy to add to it and cross things out throughout the day, no matter where you are. Feel free to plug them all into a digital list at the end of the day to keep things organized. I do the same thing with the app Things on iOS. But there’s something so viscerally satisfying about crossing tasks off one by one. 4. Phone Pruning This one’s going to hurt. But trust me, it’s worth it. Get rid of the distractions on your phone. Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn even. If you’re spending non-work time on it, nix it. Now, there are some features out there that make it 10X easier to concentrate while at work. I use the Focus feature on iOS all the time. But eliminating ANY temptation whatsoever is a powerful way to keep your eye on the ball at all times. 5. The Pomodoro Technique This technique is surprisingly effective for how simple it really is. Next time you’ve got a task you don’t want to be doing, say cold calling or updating your CRM, commit yourself to it for 25 minutes. That’s it. And then schedule a five minute break. When you structure your entire day with this technique, something pretty amazing happens—you stop wanting to stop. I’ve found the hardest thing for me is simply getting started on a task. After that part’s over, my momentum usually just keeps me going and going. With this technique, you’re making the biggest barrier (getting started) easier to overcome. After all, it’s just 25 minutes! 6. Parkinson’s Law I like this one a lot because it’s so unintuitive. Parkinson’s Law basically states that the time it takes to finish a task depends on how much time you allot to doing it. So if you’re giving yourself three hours to perform some menial task that should only take one hour, it’s still going to take three hours to do. The moral of the story here is that you should experiment with harsher self-imposed deadlines. Sure what you produce might not be quite as polished, but you’ve now bought yourself time to polish and refine the finished product, rather than being in a rush to finish it last minute. 7. Continuous Structure Technique seven, continuous structure. How often do you find yourself struggling to be productive after a lazy weekend? All the time, right? Well the problem is, you’ve only got one brain. And when your habits and your thoughts are one way at the office and the complete opposite at home, making the switch between the two can be damn difficult. So instead of trying to keep the two separate, try using the same techniques in both. If you find for example that time blocking is doing wonders in the office, try doing it for date night with your partner each week. Fight to protect it like you would a massive client meeting. You may be surprised how well these techniques work in both worlds. 8. The Power of “No” And eight, the power of no. Stop being so nice. Just stop it. Agreeing

Only 19% of sales close, so you can have lots of selling conversations and the best closing skills but still not win new business consistently. That's because there is more to closing a sale than asking for the business. Not all prospects are a good fit for your product or service. And if your potential buyer isn't ready to make a purchase, then your odds of successfully closing the deal is dead. That's why you need to recognize your prospects' buying signals. But this isn't only about identifying when your leads are ready to buy your product or service. These signs occur throughout the buyer's journey. So, you need to watch and listen for buying signals during prospecting calls, discovery calls, demos, and every other prospect engagement. This includes phone calls, emails, social media interactions, data within your sales tools and video calls. But what are buying signals? Definition of the term ‘buying signals' Buying signals are verbal and non-verbal cues, signs, or indicators that tell you when the lead is either ready to buy or interested in moving forward in their buying process. You will often see buying signals from your prospect when a lead schedules a discovery call or when an opportunity responds to an email you've sent requesting additional information. In both cases, the prospect is giving buying signals indicating their interest in moving forward even though they aren't ready to become customers yet, by signing on the dotted line. Buying signals are like road signs, helping you recognize how to proceed with each prospect. A lack of buying signals might even mean not advancing them through the sales process. Why are buying signals essential to recognize? Spotting these buying signals is more critical than ever because sales reps are getting less time with prospects. For example, B2B buyers currently spend only 17% of their time meeting with potential suppliers. And if the prospect is considering multiple solutions, your time with this potential customer drops to as little as 4-5% of the time it takes for them to make a buying decision. This lack of face time with your leads gives you less time to pick up on indicators that the lead is interested in buying or moving forward with the sales process. So, it's essential that you learn to quickly recognize buying signals as they happen so you can respond appropriately. Reading the prospect's buying signals can also save you time by allowing you to disqualify potential customers too. You want to disqualify potential buyers because you don't want to spend precious selling time with prospects who aren't a good fit for your product. They are less likely to close or may take longer to close and are more likely to be dissatisfied or churn. Churn is when a customer cancels their subscription to your product after a short period or chooses not to renew. Ultimately, by spending your time with highly qualified leads who will most benefit from your solution, you significantly increase your close rate. What are buying signals in sales? Buying signals can be verbal or non-verbal, and some are more subtle than others, but with practice, you can learn to recognize all the different buying signals communicated by your prospects. Here are some examples of positive buying signals or signs when a prospect is interested in buying from you: Non-verbal buying signals: Nodding, direct eye contact, and paying attention during your conversation or presentation. This is a sign the lead is interested. If you can't see the other person, listen carefully to determine if they are fully engaged in the conversation. Smiling and appearing excited about your product or service is undoubtedly a positive sign. If you cannot see the person, you can listen for a positive tone in their voice. Involving others on the buying committee in meetings, calls or email communications indicates the prospect is seriously considering taking the next step in the buying process. Responding quickly to email communications shows the prospect is interested in continuing the conversation with you. Quality of email responses is a buying signal, too, since a prospects willingness to provide detailed and timely responses to email inquiries reveals their level of interest in advancing through the buying process. Open Communication buying signals: Openly discussing the needs, challenges, and problems the lead want to solve shows that the prospect is intent on finding out if your product is the best solution. Telling you about problems or issues with their current vendor is a transparent buying signal from your sales lead revealing that they are unhappy with the solution they are using. This enables you to learn more about the potential customer's preferences. Sharing their goals, ideal end-state, or desired results is also an indicator that the prospect wants to give you the information needed to determine if your product or service will meet their needs. Expresses an interest in future communications lik

In this episode of the Salesman Podcast, Andy Whyte dissects each step in the MEDDIC process and explains how B2B sales professionals can leverage the framework to both progress and close more sales. Andy is the author of MEDDIC: The Ultimate Guide and an expert on using MEDDIC in the complex sale You'll learn: .adwrapper { overflow:hidden; transition: background 0.3s, border 0.3s, border-radius 0.3s, box-shadow 0.3s; padding:20px; margin-bottom: 0px;background-color: #FEE6E6;border-radius:20px; margin-bottom:20px; } .adwrapper div { padding: 8px; } #adone { float:left; margin-right:5px; width:430px; } #adtwo { overflow:hidden; } @media screen and (max-width: 400px) { #adone { float: none; margin-right:0; width:auto; border:0; width:100%; } } Sponsored by: Free SalesCode assessment Learn your strengths and weaknesses in an instant. Taken by over 10,000+ of your competitors. Don't get left behind. Take the free assessment Featured on this episode: Host - Will Barron Founder of Salesman.org Guest - Andy Whyte Author: MEDDIC: The Ultimate Guide Resources: Book: MEDDICC: The ultimate guide to staying one step ahead in the complex sale Andy on LinkedIn MEDDICC.com Book: The Challenger Customer: Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results Book: The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation Transcript Will Barron: Coming up on today's episode of the Salesman Podcast.   Andy Whyte: I think the thing is this, a lot of… MEDDICC is probably the most widely used methodology or framework or whatever you want to call it, in enterprise sales. What you find is that everyone has a different word for it. As a salesperson, you really only have one thing, one asset that really is going to dictate how successful you are and that's time.   Andy Whyte: The paper process is the one that will have the biggest impact on whether your deal will close on time when you think it will. Because once you're a vendor of choice, once you're past selling and you're into closing, it's the paper process that takes the time and…   Will Barron: Hello, Sales nation. My name is Will Barron and I'm the host of the Salesman Podcast, the world's most downloaded B2B sales show. On today's episode, we have an absolute legend. We have Andy Whyte. He is the author of the book MEDDICC. You can find at meddicc.com, which is M-E-D-D-I-C-C.com.   Will Barron: On today's episode, unsurprisingly, we're talking about MEDDICC as a framework and how it can help you close more complex and enterprise-level sales. Everything we talk about in this episode is available in the show notes over at salesman.org. With that said, let's jump right into it. Andy, welcome to the Salesmen Podcast.   Andy Whyte: Thank you, Will. It's awesome to be here. As I've mentioned to you before, I'm a big fan. I've been watching the shows. Thank you for having me on.   Andy’s Definition of MEDDICC · [01:30]   Will Barron: I appreciate it. I'm excited to have you on. On this episode, we're going to get into MEDDICC. We're going to hopefully break down the analogy and go through each of these sections the best we can in the time that we have. But Andy, how do you describe MEDDICC? Would you say it's a sales methodology or do you have a better way or a different way of describing what it is?   Andy Whyte: Yeah, great question. I think the thing is this, a lot of… MEDDICC, is probably the most widely used methodology or framework or whatever you want to call it in enterprise sales. What you find is that everyone has a different word for it. I personally, don't really mind what you call it, whether you call it a framework or a methodology. The only caveat I have around that is that one of the beautiful things about MEDDICC is it works with any other sales methodology. It plays very, very nicely.   “At its core MEDDICC is, I would say, a qualification framework. It helps people to qualify, should I be in this deal? And if I should be, what should I be doing to ensure I'm going to win it?” – Andy Whyte · [02:28]   Andy Whyte: In fact, I think it enhances other methodology. Whether you use something like Sandler or Challenger Sale or any one of the many great methodologies that are out there, it kind of can work very well with MEDDICC. But at its core MEDDICC is, I would say, a qualification framework. It helps people to qualify should I be in this deal? And if I should be, what should I be doing to ensure I'm going to win it?   Why is The Sales Qualification Process So Important? · [02:47]   Will Barron: For someone who is perhaps less familiar with a complex sale or high value deal size sale, why is the qualification process so important? Just to set up the rest of our conversation here.   “As a salesperson, you really only have one thing, one asset that really, it's going to dictate how successful you are and that's time. If you are a salesperson who is running around ch

Few things strike fear into the heart of sales reps quite like cold calling. Do you know where that fear comes from? A lack of control. The more control we have over any situation, the less afraid we’ll be. Same goes for cold calling. So if you want to eliminate cold calling fears FOR GOOD, you just need a simple process or framework to follow so you know what to do at each step of the call. That’s where control comes from. And that’s what we’re talking about today. The first step of the Cold Calling 101 is… 1. Confirm Confirm you’re speaking to the RIGHT person. And that means the decision maker. You want to be speaking directly with whoever decides whether to buy. Because otherwise, you’ll be dealing with a gatekeeper who then has to go convince their boss to make the purchase. And along the way, your product’s value will likely be diluted. So what does that sound like in practice? “Hi, Will Barron from Salesman.org. Who’s in charge of sales training at X? Scenario 1: “That’s me.” — Move on to the next step Scenario 2: “That’s Barry.” — Now we need to get in touch with Barry. “Ok thanks. Could you connect me with him? Can I tell them that you referred me?” 2. Break This step is all about breaking the prospect out of their status quo, i.e. being comfortable with the solution they’re using right now. So ask them how their current solution is working out. As it turns out, most people will tell you there’s some kind of problem. Things could always be cheaper, faster, more effective. So pop the question, like this: “OK great, how are you training your sales reps right now?” No matter what their response is, it’s important to still move on to the next step. Even if they tell you they’ve already got a solution that’s working great, still push forward to 3. Value This is when you give a short snippet of the value you can offer. Don’t go too crazy on the details here. Just hit the biggest problem and the most important way what you’re selling solves it. One sentence should do the trick. Now remember, you’ve got to push through to this step, regardless of whether they seem pleased or not with their current provider. Buyers will be open to new solutions more often than you might expect. And if they push back, you only have three more sentences to get through (15 seconds max). Now let’s look at what a value statement looks like in practice. “We help salespeople find and close more sales in the next 30 days or your money back.” See? Quick, succinct, and hit’s all the main points. Doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. 4. Tie-In Here’s where you tie in the value of your product to what the prospect is going through. How can you help? What kinds of benefits that matter to THEM can they expect to see from working with you? And more than anything else, why the hell should they care? Here’s what it might look like in our scenarios. Scenario 1: “It seems like you’re not happy with your current sales training solution. Would it make sense to see if we can solve this problem for you?” Scenario 2: “Would it make sense to see if we can turbocharge your current solution so you can train more effective sales reps more quickly?” Once you bridge this gap, you can move on to the all-important final step… 5. Close This is where the rubber meets the road ladies and gentlemen. Where everything you’ve done until now combines into the sweet success of a “yes” or the bitter pill of the “no”. It’s time to make the ask. Now of course the goal here isn’t to make the SALE. Because no one in their right mind is going to agree to buying after a thirty second conversation. Instead, your aim is just to set up a sales meeting. Schedule a call. That’s it. So what does that look like? “Ok great, it looks like we might be able to help. Does it make sense to jump on a quick 10-minute call tomorrow to discuss?” Bam, simple as that. Now the nature of cold calling here means you’re likely to get a “no”, even if you’ve done everything right. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to give up. Instead, give them your contact info and ask for theirs as well. You can then plug them into your nurture sequences so that if something DOES change on their end, you’ll be the ones at the top of their mind. And if you get a “yes” out of it all, well then mark your calendar because you just scored a sales call with a brand new lead. Congrats!

Do you want to become a legend in your industry? How would that affect your sales performance? What would your day look like if you had inbound leads hitting your inbox rather than having to cold call until your fingers bleed from dialing? On this episode of The Salesman Podcast, Shama Hyder shares a bunch of personal branding examples and a step by step process to getting known in your industry Sharma is known as the “Zen Master of Marketing” by Entrepreneur Magazine and the “Millennial Master of the Universe” by Fast Company. You'll learn: .adwrapper { overflow:hidden; transition: background 0.3s, border 0.3s, border-radius 0.3s, box-shadow 0.3s; padding:20px; margin-bottom: 0px;background-color: #FEE6E6;border-radius:20px; margin-bottom:20px; } .adwrapper div { padding: 8px; } #adone { float:left; margin-right:5px; width:430px; } #adtwo { overflow:hidden; } @media screen and (max-width: 400px) { #adone { float: none; margin-right:0; width:auto; border:0; width:100%; } } Sponsored by: Free SalesCode assessment Learn your strengths and weaknesses in an instant. Taken by over 10,000+ of your competitors. Don't get left behind. Take the free assessment Featured on this episode: Host - Will Barron Founder of Salesman.org Guest - Shama Hyder Zen Master of Marketing Resources: FREE SalesSchool Workshop – Start HOT Calling To Remove The Fear And Failure From Cold Calling ShamaHyder.com @Shama Shama on Linkedin Book: The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue Transcript Shama Hyder: So I think as any good salesperson will tell you, especially in the B2B world, relationships are everything. So the first thing that you have to keep in mind, especially with something like personal branding, is that you're going to have to look at the ROI in both quantitative and qualitative ways. It's not necessarily about how many people can you get in front of, it's how are you viewed by that audience? Are you another salesperson? Are you a respected resource? Are you someone they feel looks out and has their best interests in mind?   Will Barron: Hello sales nation, I'm Will Barron, host of the Salesman Podcast. The world's biggest B2B sales show where we help you not just take your target, but really thrive in sales. If you enjoy this content, make sure you click subscribe. And with all that said, let's meet today's guest.   Shama Hyder: Hey, this is Shama Hyder founder and CEO of Zen Media.   Will Barron: In this episode, we're diving into personal brand in sales. Why it's important, how to measure it, how to leverage it the best you possibly can, and the first thing you should do after consuming this content to make a real impact on LinkedIn in front of your potential customers. Let's jump in.   How to Analyze the Size and Depth of Your Personal Brand · [01:12]   Will Barron: Before we dive into the how of building a personal brand. How do we, if we even can, how do we measure our progress with it? Is it the number of Twitter followers we have? Or for a B2B sales professional, is there a better way to measure the personal brand that we have in perhaps within our vertical?   Shama Hyder: So I think as any good salesperson will tell you, especially in the B2B world, relationships are everything. So the first thing that you have to keep in mind, especially with something like personal branding, is that you are going to have to look at the ROI in both quantitative and qualitative ways.   Shama Hyder: So the qualitative is that really important, hard to put numbers on at times, but just as important. So, it's your reputation, it's how someone says, “oh, you are everywhere”, or “I've heard of your company before”. Anybody who's been in sales knows the difference when they call someone and they get hung up on versus, “oh, I've heard of you guys”. And that's the game changer. When someone says, “I've heard of you”, and you have that instant credibility, your reputation precedes you. And I think that's what you're really looking for when you build a brand where you've already have that credibility, you have that respect, and you have that time. So if you get their time and you've got their attention, then you're one step closer to actually closing the sale.   The Benefits of Being Super Specific with the Type of Audience You Want Be In Front Of · [02:27]   Will Barron: I think you just touched on something here and I think you consciously did this of being everywhere. And I think this is the salesperson's biggest competitive advantage versus the marketing team or other development teams in that, my background in medical device sales, there was only 16 urologists here in Yorkshire here in the UK that I needed to be in front of. If they all bought something from me every year, I'd smash my target, which was a couple of million quid. It's not that difficult to be everywhere in front o

“What's my motivation?” .circle-img { border-radius: 50%; -moz-border-radius: 50%; -webkit-border-radius: 50%; -o-border-radius: 50%; } #quote-container-bottom { width:100%; overflow: hidden; margin-top:20px; } #quote-one-bottom { width:10%; float:left; padding:5px; } #quote-two-bottom { width:90%; float:right; padding:3px; } @media only screen and (max-width: 767px) { #quote-one-bottom { display: block; float: none; width: 100%; padding: 0px 0; } #quote-two-bottom { display: block; float: none; width: 100%; padding-bottom:0px; padding-left:0px; padding-right:0px; } } Expert Note: “By a massive long shot, salespeople's biggest pain point is a lack of motivation” Kim Walsh Salesman Podcast Clichéd as it is, this question still resonates today. And not just with actors. But with retail workers, executives, laborers—with everyone. For sales reps, in particular, keeping up their sales motivation day after day is often a struggle. Boredom, anxiety, hopelessness, and downright depression can all be expected in the face of a too-far-off sales goal. And for some, the harder they seem to work, the less they seem to earn. If this sounds all too familiar, don't worry: You're not alone. But luckily, there's a way out. It just takes a bit of strategic work on your part. This guide shows you how to overcome a lack of sales motivation using a proven 5-point framework. And with it, you can boost your numbers, blow past your goals, and achieve more success as a sales rep. The Secret to Sales Motivation (Forget The Stupid Sales Quotes) Sales motivation is a tricky beast. On the one hand, it can inspire you to take on new challenges. On the other hand, it can give you the energy you need to truly test your limits. And it can be the impetus to winning record-level sales. But there's a dark side to motivation, too. If you rely solely on motivation to get things done, you're only setting yourself up for failure. For example, on high motivation days, you may feel bulletproof. You're packing your pipeline full of prospects, piquing the interest of leads, and closing deals like a boss. But on the bad days, you're erasing all of that progress. As a result, you're missing out on perfect closing opportunities, forgetting to follow up, and letting ideal buyers slip through your fingers again and again. So, how do you keep the sales motivation going? How can you wake up energized, enthusiastic, and eager to achieve every day? You can't. Surprised? Don't be. We are all human. We are all prone to having good days and bad ones. And anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you snake oil. Instead, you need discipline. “Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing. That's the Law of Consistency. It doesn't matter how talented you are. It doesn't matter how many opportunities you receive. If you want to grow, consistency is key.” – John C. Maxwell You don't need a sales rep motivation magic pill (because it doesn't exist). Instead, you need a system that takes motivation out of the equation entirely. And you need a way to succeed day in and day out—on the good days and the bad. And that's where the Selling By the Numbers 5-Point Framework comes in. The Selling By the Numbers Framework The Selling By the Numbers Framework is a simple yet effective way to take progressive steps towards meeting your goals every single day. It's numbers-focused, yes. But it's not overly technical. And don't be fooled here—this is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, the Selling By the Numbers Framework is a way of reverse-engineering your goals so you can better understand the steps you need to take to achieve them. The best thing about the Selling By the Numbers Framework helps boost your sales motivation when followed correctly. It'll also improve your performance, focus, help you beat fear and win more business. Here's how. A) Single Path to Success A significant factor in feeling unmotivated in a sales position is not knowing whether the steps you're taking actually lead towards a win. Maybe right now, you're “winging it”—you're reaching out to prospects when it feels right, switching up your cadences on a day-by-day basis, and trying out different approaches whenever you read about them. This attitude to setting goals isn't going to help you crush your performance targets. While there's value in experimentation, this haphazard approach doesn't let you determine what's working and what isn't. And as a result, you're left wondering what you did wrong when you haven't met your quota for the month. The Selling By the Numbers Framework gives you clear, weekly (and even daily) goals so you can quickly know when you're winning and when you're failing. And that clarity will keep you pushing forward. B) Easy to Communicate The framework is also simple to understand and break down for others. But how does that keep you motivated? On the one hand, the simplicity makes it a snap to keep sales managers

A lot of sales reps I work with have been caught in the time/money trap – what they make is DIRECTLY tied to how much they work. But the great thing about sales is you can create a “flywheel” system that SCALES UP your ability to earn without requiring more of your time. And if you put in a bit of effort, your flywheel system will pay off BIG TIME. What Is The Flywheel? Let’s talk about what a flywheel is. Literally speaking, a flywheel is a heavy wheel that, when turned, continues revolving over and over again thanks to its size and momentum. Think of the Price is Right. You know the big, heavy wheel at the end that keeps spinning and spinning? Like that. Now what does this have to do with sales? Well when you first start out in this job, it takes a LOT of effort to get things rolling. Making those first few sales, building up your network from scratch, getting into the groove with your processes—it’s a ton of work. But once you DO start making progress, your flywheel starts spinning on its own momentum. And that means: You can ask for referrals People in the industry already know you before you even reach out Your sales process gets refined and improved You can farm/upsell current customers rather than having to do lots of cold outreach Simply put, everything gets easier. You don’t have to work as hard to see results. And that means less effort for better outcomes. The flywheel does all the work for you. How Do You Get Your Flywheel Moving? How do you get your flywheel moving? And just as importantly, how do you get it moving faster? Well we’ve got three strategies covering just that. And we’ll start with… 1. Impetus As the old saying goes… “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.” Procrastination is wasted time. And the sooner you start doing something, anything for your future, the more that investment is going to pay off. On top of that, it takes a LOT longer than you think to build a successful business or brand—7 to 15 years according to some experts. Do you want to be raking in the spoils of your success when you’re 35 or would you rather be on your way to 60? If you’re looking for low-risk, high-reward things you can start doing TODAY to get things spinning, start spending more time with social selling. Interact with industry experts on LinkedIn. Connect with others you’ve met or talked to over email. Start building insightful, valuable content of your own. But no matter WHAT you do, just do SOMETHING. 2. Focus I’ve seen so many reps fall victim to having too many irons in the fire. It seems like a good idea at first, right? Diversify your approach. Casting a wider net yields more fish. Yada yada. But what they don’t tell you is that you have a limit to the amount of energy you can spend. There are only so many hours in a day. You only have so much work you can do before you snap. And life, at least one worth living, isn’t just about the work. So what you need to be doing is focusing your flywheel. Stop spending time and energy on the tasks that don’t drive results. Don’t send in that RFP for a deal you’re never going to get. Cut out the in-person meetings that you’re always ditched on. Find what ISN’T WORKING. And get rid of it. On the other side of that, double down on what IS working. Find the one channel that’s driving the most sales, whether it’s cold outreach, upselling current customers, targeting inbound leads—whatever. And then hit that channel HARD. Get good at it. Like really good. And spend the majority of your efforts on knocking that channel out of the park. Once you start seeing some really killer success here, only then should you think about getting your other flywheels going. 3. Scale Your time is best spent on the activities that scale your earnings, that multiply your value without multiplying your work. These are the activities that you can perform across your clients without having to deal with any guesswork. For example, how are you following up with first-touch leads? Are you just emailing them randomly whenever they pop into your head? Or are you following a strategic cadence that’s proven effective? The second option is of course going to be the best. When you follow a system, a framework, you don’t have to spend time guessing, hemming and hawing. Instead, you just follow the steps, 1…2…3…4… And because it’s so systematized, you can knock out MORE follow up work in LESS time than if you handled things randomly. The hard part is knowing where to start with cadences. But not to worry, I’ve got you there too. This is one of the starter cadences you’ll find in the Selling Made Simple Academy. Feel free to use it as a jumping off point for your leads too. Day 1 – Connect on LinkedIn Day 3 – Email – Case study for a related business using your product Day 10 – Email – Link to a “how-to” blog post that focuses on a common problem in their industry and how your product can help solve it Day 12 – Call > Voicemail to explain that you’ll send

​In sales, no two scenarios, and neither two customers are alike. So sales professionals have to cut through the clutter and get to the heart of what a client wants. The best way to do this is by asking the right questions—questions that help salespeople build a strong rapport with sales prospects. Following the SPIN sales methodology can be a good step in the direction where you can use sales questions with the most impact, easily overcome objections, and close more sales. What Is SPIN Selling? The SPIN sales technique makes it easier for sales reps to close deals. It identifies the core stages of questioning that a salesperson must go through to convert a prospect. Neil Rackham introduced the sales training methodology in his 1988 book titled SPIN Selling. Based on data collected from 12 years of research and 35,000 sales calls (!), he outlined a framework for developing and timing structured questions sales reps should ask to close a deal. The SPIN acronym represents four categories: Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-Payoff. Here's a breakdown of each category, along with SPIN selling method you can use to learn more about your target customer, build trust, and eventually close the deal. 1) Situation This stage of the sales process is all about gathering information. You ask situation questions during the opening stage of a sale to better understand the prospect's current situation. The purpose here is to understand the prospect and their exact situation (hence the name) and whether it aligns with your offering. Situation Questions: How do you achieve X? What process does your organization use for X? What is your role at the organization? Do you have a person responsible for X on your team? What do you currently use for X? Why did you choose these tools and how often do you use them? Do you have a solid strategy in place for X? 2) Problem The problem stage of your sales call involves identifying pains and problems that the prospect experiences. Questions here are asked during the investigation stage to probe the prospect's frustration and pain points. You want to bring the prospect into an awareness that they have a problem or highlight the problems they need to solve. Once you know the problems and issues, you'll use them later to drive the sale forward. Problem Questions: What's the biggest challenge you face with X? How much time do you spend on X? How much money are you paying for your tools to do X? What are the common points of failure for this process? Are you happy with your current vendor? Is your current product always reliable? How many people are currently working on X in your organization? 3) Implication Implication involves underscoring why the prospect should focus on solving their problems. In addition, these questions highlight the potential impact of the discovered issues and issues that aren't addressed. Your purpose here is to relate the prospect's frustrations with the previous stage's problems when demonstrating the value of your product or offer. Implication Questions: How much money and time did you lose during your last outage? If it wasn't for (challenge), how much time do you think you would have saved? What happened the last time X failed? How does (problem or issue) affect your KPIs? How do your team members feel about your current tool? Are you happy with the efficiency of this process? 4) Need-Payoff This stage is all about leading B2B sales prospects to your desired conclusions on their own instead of you telling them how your product or service can address their pain points. In the closing phase of the sale, you ask the prospect how important or urgent it is for them to solve the problem or issue and hand and tie the light on the benefit of solving it. You want the prospect to consider how valuable a real solution to their pain points would be. Need-Payoff Questions: Do you think your team members would be more productive if they had more time? How can you simplify X? What do you think will make a good tool for your organization? Would your team like a tool that does X, Y, and Z? If you find out that you can double your productivity by switching products, would you? What do you think your team needs to succeed? How productive do you think your organization would become if you gave your team the right tools? Understanding the 4 Main Stages of SPIN Selling Rackham and his team also details the four main stages of the SPIN selling method in his book. Let's take a look to get a better understanding of the sales process methodology. Stage 1: Opening The opening stage involves introducing yourself to your prospect. This should be a warm, polite, and gradual process instead of you immediately rushing into a sales pitch about why your product is the best on the market. Stop talking about your features and benefits. Stop being the traditional sales pest. You don't want to overwhelm or annoy your prospect; focus on establishing rapport and trust. Stage 2: Investigating Once

Being productive is a major pain point in sales. I should know—I used to be lazy, procrastinate, and flake out all the time. But today I run a 7-figure sales training company, produce TONS of quality content, and still have time for coaching calls, hobbies, and a family life. How? I’m tyrannical about how I plan and execute my days. Here’s how I do it. 1. “Does it Make the Boat Go Faster” Only do “what makes the boat go faster.” There was a rowing team in Great Britain that had a big audacious goal—they wanted to win the Olympics in two years. And to achieve that goal, they did something a bit unorthodox. They relentlessly asked themselves, “Does this make the boat go faster?” It wasn’t just equipment they scrutinized. Though they tore that apart too. No, it was training, strategy, mentality, sleep schedules, nutrition, motivation. Everything that came into play was examined and evaluated. And if it didn’t make the boat go faster, guess what? They got rid of it. At the end of two years, they had a completely redesigned team… and a gold medal. If you want to be ultra productive and close more deals, you need to focus on what makes the boat go faster. Prospecting leads to sales. Gossipy emails don’t. Building your network makes the boat go faster. Facebook posts don’t. Get relentless with it. Because if it doesn’t make the boat go faster, you shouldn’t be doing it. 2. Time Block Organization is the heart of productivity. And when it comes to how you complete your mission-critical tasks, it should be no different. That’s where time blocking comes in. Rather than getting to the real impactful tasks whenever you can, start scheduling them directly into your calendar. But be deliberate here. Choose times and windows that you KNOW are realistic and that you can stick to. Because to maximize your productivity, you need to stick to those timelines like your life depended on it. No handling other little tasks while you work on a big one. No spending an extra half an hour of unscheduled time on it. No fudging the numbers. Work on the SINGLE task from start time to finish time. No more, no less. Time blocking requires discipline. A hell of a lot of it. But when you get the system down, you’ll find yourself finishing big tasks faster and fitting more of them into your day. 3. Capture Tasks We’ve all found ourselves realizing something important needs to be done only to forget about it completely by the end of the day. And by the time you realize it, it’s way too late to do anything about it. That’s why it’s so important to have a task-capturing system. Now we at the Selling Made Simple Academy actually have a whole system dedicated to this. It’s called the Bucket Productivity Framework. And if you’re interested in learning more about it, head over to the link in the notes. But for now, here’s a quick overview. You essentially want to capture tasks that come up throughout the day on a pad of paper you keep with you at all times. Then once your day is almost through, take a minute or two to go through your list and define the next steps for each task. This will make it 20X easier to do later. After that, you’re going to organize each task into one of four buckets: Urgent & Important, Not Urgent & Important, Urgent & Not Important, and Not Urgent & Not Important. The Urgent & Important tasks you’ll handle yourself first thing tomorrow. The Not Urgent & Important ones can wait. But for the Urgent & Not Important, you should delegate to someone else. And for the final bucket, Not Urgent & Not Important, just don’t do them. They don’t matter! Again, there’s a lot more to be said about this system. So if you want to learn more, be sure to click over to the full explainer in the show notes. 4. Use the Power of “NO” So much of your productivity losses are tied up in performing meaningless tasks you get assigned by others. A pointless meeting you agreed to attend, a 20-minute coffee break with a colleague when you should be on the phones, an hour-long video call when a simple email would do. There’s so much time wasted on unnecessary engagements, especially when the information you need from it can be covered a simpler, faster way. Worst of all, a lot of the time you don’t even enjoy these engagements! So to recap, you’re: Barely getting anything out of it. Wasting time you could be spending on driving sales. Hating being there anyway. Rather than put yourself through that, get more comfortable saying no. “No” might seem like it’s costing you something when you say it. But the opportunity cost of saying “yes” to something that doesn’t move the boat forward is far higher. 5. Sprint AND Marathon And finally there’s understanding the concept of the sprint AND the marathon. On the sprint side of things, you should always be moving relentlessly towards completing something. Sprint to finish this video. Sprint to create the best YouTube channel for B2B sales reps. Sprint to retire early. Whatever it is you’re doing with your life, alwa

In this episode of The Salesman Podcast, Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett talks about how buyer’s emotions and feelings are formed in the brain, regardless if it’s positive such as happiness, or negative, such as remorse. We cover some sales training nonsense on the topic of influence and Lisa debunks a few more sales myths in this episode. You'll learn: .adwrapper { overflow:hidden; transition: background 0.3s, border 0.3s, border-radius 0.3s, box-shadow 0.3s; padding:20px; margin-bottom: 0px;background-color: #FEE6E6;border-radius:20px; margin-bottom:20px; } .adwrapper div { padding: 8px; } #adone { float:left; margin-right:5px; width:430px; } #adtwo { overflow:hidden; } @media screen and (max-width: 400px) { #adone { float: none; margin-right:0; width:auto; border:0; width:100%; } } Sponsored by: Free SalesCode assessment Learn your strengths and weaknesses in an instant. Taken by over 10,000+ of your competitors. Don't get left behind. Take the free assessment Featured on this episode: Host - Will Barron Founder of Salesman.org Guest - Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett Researcher of Psychiatry & Psychology Resources: LisaFeldmanBarrett.com Book: Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain Book: How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Lisa on LinkedIn Transcript Will Barron: Can we go up on today's episode of the Salesman Podcast?   Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett: Your brain makes emotions, emotions don't happen to you. They are made by your brain for particular situations that you're in. Your brain is always regulating your body. And your body is always sending information back to your brain. And you feel that information from the tug of your lungs, expanding, the rush of your blood through your veins, the feeding of your heart.   Will Barron: Hello, my name is Will Barron and I'm the host of the Salesman Podcast. The world's most downloaded B2B sales show. On today's episode, amazing episode, we have Dr. Lisa, she's the author of How Emotions Are Made. And that's exactly what we're diving into in today's show. We're diving into how the buyer emotions are made in their brain, whether it's happiness, whether it's buys malls, whatever it is. We also dive into how to influence over people's emotions and we call that some of the nonsense that sales trainers have been talking about influencing other people and their emotions over the decades. Lisa dives into that and the book's a whole tonne of it. Everything that we talk about, and this episode is available at the show notes at salesman.org. And with that said, let's jump right into it.   Can Humans Control Their Emotions? · [01:52]   Will Barron: And we're going to talk some science, we're going to talk emotions, and we're going to hopefully be able to discuss where, well I'm going to call buying emotions come from. So that might be happiness. If you buy the right product, it could be the fear of missing out, if there's an offer a deal in place, it could be unfortunately regrets or buyer's remorse. I want to dive into where all these come from, then hopefully how we can help buyers have better buying experiences moving forward. So before the obvious question of where the heck do buying emotions come from? I want to tee things up with asking you, are we in control of our emotions? Because sometimes it seems like I can choose to be happy. I can choose to change my state of mind, but sometimes emotions come in crushing it and hits us like a car crash, I guess, a car wreck. So are we in control of the emotions that we feel?   “Your brain makes emotions, emotions don't happen to you. They are made by your brain for particular situations that you're in. Your brain is automatically constructing emotions out of a set of ingredients. And you have control over seeding your brain with those ingredients to make emotions more automatic in an effortless way, but control in the moment as in stopping feeling one thing and in order to cultivate a different feeling is extremely hard I would say.” – Dr. Lisa Feldman · [02:17]   Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett: Well, that's a really hard question actually. That could be answered in many different ways. I guess the answer would be, yes, you are more in control than maybe you think you are, but that control looks very different than what you think it does. So your brain makes emotions, emotions don't happen to you. They are made by your brain for particular situations that you're in, your brain is automatically constructing emotions out of a set of ingredients. And you have control overseeding your brain with those ingredients to make emotions more automatically in an effortless way, but control in the moment as in stopping feeling one thing and in order to cultivate a different feeling is extremely hard I would say. If you're very physically worked up, you can change the meaning of that worked up feeling and therefore change the emotion, but calming your body down is actually extremely hard to do for anybody. &n

Here you are—another year gone by. And you almost, aaaaaalmost hit your sales goal this time! Just like last year. And the year before that. And the year before that… But this year is going to be different. Maybe it’s the world rapidly changing around you. Or maybe it’s you getting another year older. But this year, it’s time to get serious about setting sales goals and adapting your sales process. And I’ve got just the framework to help. In just eight steps, you can map out where you want to be next year, strategize the steps you need to take to get there, narrow down which goals are a good fit, and more. Ready to go? Let’s hit it. Setting Sales Goals: Why It Works Why should you be setting your own sales goals? And just as importantly, why should you start setting your goals strategically so that you don’t give up on them four months into the year? As it turns out, setting sales goals is one of the easiest low-investment, high-return wins sales reps can make. Here’s why setting your own sales targets is such a game-changer. A) A Clear Path to Success First and foremost, setting sales goals gives you a clear, indisputable path towards achieving massive professional success. We can all agree that if you don’t know where you’re heading, it’s going to be a real pain to get there. And setting well-defined goals lets you plan out your path to success milestone by milestone. What’s more, when you continually improve upon those goals (e.g., “I’m going to close 5% more deals than last year”), you’re creating the impetus you need to keep moving forward. And that means less career stagnation and consistent forward progression. Having a clear path to success is also valuable for sales managers and sales teams too. When you can effectively communicate your sales cycle and where the sales revenue is going to come from, management will get off your back and allow you to get on with your job. B) It Lets You Plan Ahead Setting sales metrics (that are reasonable, mind you) also gives you a better indication of what lies ahead. If, say, you need to close on 12 accounts this quarter, that means you need to aim for four accounts per month. If you’ve only closed two in the first month, that means you’ll have to work extra hard to close five in the other two months. Setting annual sales goals based on numbers rather than more a subjective sales goal like “improving customer lifetime value” enables you to directly track progress too. Added to that, your goals also help identify your busy seasons, your lulls, and when you should focus on other goals like filling your pipeline, streamlining your processes, or even taking a vacation. C) Feel More Fulfilled at Work Last (but certainly not least), setting and achieving your sales objectives boosts your confidence, teaches you self-management, and increases your proficiency on the job. All these perks allow for faster upward mobility which often leads to greater satisfaction. Don’t forget—achieving sales goals is often directly connected to bonuses and raises. And as we all know, compensation has a huge effect on overall job satisfaction. The Setting Sales Goals Framework Now that we’re agreed on why setting sales goals is so important, let’s jump into the how of it all. How do you set sales objectives? Is there a sales goals template you can use? What do I need to do to set me up for success this year? I developed The Setting Sales Goals Framework to answer these questions (and more). With this framework, you can evaluate your priorities, identify areas of improvement, establish impactful goals, and set yourself up for your best year yet. Plus, it’s made up of just eight simple steps. What Did I Achieve Last Year? What Were My Biggest Disappointments Last Year? What Did I Learn Last Year? How Do I Limit Myself & How Can I Stop? What Roles Do I Play in My Life? Which One of These Roles Is My Major Focus for Next Year? What Are My Goals for Each Role? What Are My Top 3 Goals for Next Year? 1. What Did I Achieve Last Year? The process starts with an act hated with a passion by some and absolutely adored by others—bragging. If you achieved something this year, you can do the same this year too. What were your finest moments over the past 12 months? When did you feel unabashedly proud? Or when did you receive praise from a supervisor, coworker, friend, or partner? Start with your professional accomplishments like if you hit your revenue targets and sales activities. But don’t stop there. Reach into your family and social life too. Here are a few questions to get your accomplishment juices flowing. Did you hit your sales target? Did you get closer than you have done in the past? Did you move house? Did you decorate or repair your current home? Did you start a new sales job or get a promotion? How much money did you earn in the last year? Did you pay off a debt? Did you get married? Have a child? Did you get through a rough family patch? Did you finally start to get fit? Are you

In the minds of many reps, competitor buyers are off-limits for prospecting. After all, why waste time with a buyer that’s already entrenched with someone offering a similar product? But as it turns out, competitor buyers are some of the best prospects you can target. They’re more qualified, they’re budget-ready, and they’ve already got a buying process in place for your product. That being said, these leads can be harder to win over, too. They’re more loyal, resistant to change, and they take a bit more convincing on why your product is superior. So, how do you sell to competitor buyers successfully? This guide dives into how to sell against a competitor to bring on their existing clients. Inside, we take a look at a proven four-step framework. And we also investigate why these leads can be so lucrative in the first place (and how they can skyrocket your commissions in no time). Why Sell Into Competitor Accounts? Before we get into how to sell against a competitor, let’s look at why you should consider selling to their buyers in the first place. At first glance, the prospect of selling to your competition’s buyers can seem like a failed cause. Existing customers are loyal. They’re already familiar with your competitor’s products. And they’re resistant to change (the “don’t fix what ain’t broke” mindset). That all adds up to harder sells, wasted time, and fruitless effort… right? But as it turns out, there are plenty of benefits of selling to your competition’s buyers. And once you’ve developed a system for converting them that actually works, you can start to reap those benefits. Potential Benefits (When You Do It Right) So, why go after your competitor’s buyers at all? Below are a few of the biggest benefits of making the leap. They’ve Already Demonstrated Product Interest – One of the hardest parts of bringing new customers on is demonstrating how your solution addresses their pain points. It’s why retaining repeat customers is 5X more valuable compared to finding new buyers, according to Invesp. Existing customers already see the need. And so do your competitor’s buyers. As a result, you don’t have to spend days and weeks explaining your product’s value—they already understand it because they’re already working with a similar product. The Budget Is Settled – In addition to already demonstrating product interest, a competitor’s buyers have already allocated the space in their budget. When there’s already space in the budget, you don’t have to work as hard to justify spending extra. Instead, you can simply swap out your expenses with those of your competitors (if they’re comparable, of course). Their Buying Process Is in Place – Last but not least, your competitor’s buyers know how this all works. They’ve done it before. The approvals, the training, the onboarding, the ongoing support—they get it. And they’re far less likely to be turned off by how extensive the buying process may be. For you, that means an easier sale and less feet dragging along the way. Why It Can Be So Difficult to Pull Off The perks are clear—your competitor’s buyers are more qualified, more price-friendly, and more efficient than bringing on new clients. What’s not to love about that? But there are also some downsides to going this route too. Namely, converting these buyers can be a tough sell. At least in some cases. Here’s why. Loyalty – If a buyer has stuck with a brand for years, you may have trouble overcoming loyalty. Loyalty is a powerful purchasing motivator. InMoment found 77% of consumers say they’ve held relationships with specific brands for 10 years or more. And 61% go out of their way to buy from them. That can make it especially difficult to bring loyal customers over to your side. Lack of Differentiation – Piggybacking on the last point, a buyer isn’t going to make a shift unless there’s an especially compelling reason to do so. How do you address needs better than the competitor? Are you faster? More feature-rich? Do you provide more value for less investment? If you can’t demonstrate why you’re better or even if you’re better, you’ll have little luck in closing a deal. Change Hesitancy – Finally, individuals are change-averse. But businesses and organizations are even more resistant to rocking the boat. Change is scary. And there’s risk involved in working with a new vendor. It’s up to you to show how partnering with your business addresses those risks and provides more potential benefit than the potential detriment of signing on. The Competitive Takeover Framework Now that we understand both the perks and difficulties of acquiring this type of buyer, let’s look at how to sell against competition. How do you convince a loyal customer to come on board when they’re already loyal to another company? The trick is to address unfulfilled needs, establish some buy-in, overcome objections, and drive urgency. The best way I’ve found to do just that is by following what I call The Competitive Takeover Framework. This framewo

Tom Pisello is the current Chief Evangelist for sales enablement at Mediafly. On this episode of the Salesman Podcast, Tom uses data-backed evidence to explain “Do Nothing Deals” and how salespeople can break the status quo to close more of these deals. You'll learn: .adwrapper { overflow:hidden; transition: background 0.3s, border 0.3s, border-radius 0.3s, box-shadow 0.3s; padding:20px; margin-bottom: 0px;background-color: #FEE6E6;border-radius:20px; margin-bottom:20px; } .adwrapper div { padding: 8px; } #adone { float:left; margin-right:5px; width:430px; } #adtwo { overflow:hidden; } @media screen and (max-width: 400px) { #adone { float: none; margin-right:0; width:auto; border:0; width:100%; } } Sponsored by: Free SalesCode assessment Learn your strengths and weaknesses in an instant. Taken by over 10,000+ of your competitors. Don't get left behind. Take the free assessment Featured on this episode: Host - Will Barron Founder of Salesman.org Guest - Tom Pisello Chief Evangelist, Mediafly Resources: Evolved Selling by Tom Pisello EvolvedSelling.com The Transparency Sale by Todd Caponi Virtual Selling by The RAIN Group The Evolvers Podcast Transcript Will Barron: This episode of the show is brought to you from the salesmen.org HubSpot studio. Coming up on today's episode of the Salesman Podcast.   Tom Pisello: Yeah, buyers are looking to make a choice or an improvement in their environment, and a do nothing deal happens when they decide to stick with their status quo. Maybe the investment that's required is so high compared to the change and the benefits they can get, the outcomes they can get, that it's not worthwhile. But one of the important things is that people move away from pain emotionally much more than being attracted to gain.   Will Barron: Hello, sales nation. My name Will Barron, I'm the host of the Salesman Podcast, the world's most downloaded B2B sales show. On today's episode, we have an absolute legend, really enjoyed this conversation, we have Tom Pisello. He is the author of the book Evolved Selling, which you can find on Amazon and everywhere else as well. On today's episode, we're getting into what to do with “do-nothing deals.” So what do nothing deals are, how to break through the status quo and get some more of these closed. And Tom comes at this with tonnes of research and data. And so there's tonnes to go out with this episode, so let's jump right into it. Tom, welcome to the Salesman Podcast.   Tom Pisello: Pleasure to be here, Will. Thank you so much for inviting me.   What are “Do Nothing Deals”? · [01:38]   Will Barron: You're more than welcome. I'm glad to have you on. On today's episode, we're going to get into what to do when we have do nothing deals. Now, to set things up, Tom, before I throw my thoughts into the picture here, what is a do nothing deal? Let's clarify this before we suss out how to deal with the situation.   “Buyers are looking to make a choice or an improvement in their environment. And a do nothing deal happens when they decide to stick with their status quo.” – Tom Pisello · [01:41]   Tom Pisello: Yeah, buyers are looking to make a choice or an improvement in their environment. And a do nothing deal happens when they decide to stick with their status quo, or their business as usual, and really the whole buying decision process that they've been through, all those meetings, all the committees, all the getting it together. All that time and effort from the buyer perspective is all thrown away, obviously your sales time with them is thrown away too, and they decide not to go with you, not to go with a competitor, but just stick with business as usual. Maybe relying on that legacy solution or the broke business processes that they're using today. And so, unfortunately we see too many pipeline opportunities ending with do nothing or as Gartner calls it, no decision.   How to Handle ‘No Deal’ Sales Scenarios · [02:42]   Will Barron: We are clearly biassed here on this podcast. Yourself and I, many companies, many roles within the sales space, and myself, all I do is help sales professionals close more deals, earn more commissions, and crush it in their sales jobs. Are there times when a no deal or a no decision is the appropriate decision for the buyer?   “I think there are times as sellers that we need to be ready to sometimes say, “You know what, no decision or do nothing might be the most appropriate.” – Tom Pisello · [03:38]   Tom Pisello: You know, there could be times where maybe their problem is not that big of a problem. Maybe the legacy solutions and business processes maybe aren't that broke. Maybe the investment that's required is so high compared to the change and the benefits they can get, the outcomes they can get, that it's not worthwhile, or sometimes the organisation just isn't ready for change. And so those are three just quick ones, where it is appropr

Sales is hard. You know it. Your family knows it. And (if you’re lucky) your employer knows it too. And despite the high potential earnings a successful sales career rakes in, the profession isn’t growing as much as other jobs. For many, it all has to do with rejection. Rejection is, of course, a given in this industry. And some reps take it more personally than others. But then there are the standouts. You know the type—they get rejected just like everyone else, sure, but they’re always quick to bounce back. They’re confident and self-assured, but never cocky. And when they speak to prospects, they’ve got this natural magnetism. This ability to instantly ease skepticism and let buyers know, “Hey, you can trust me on this.” What’s the secret? Self-esteem. And with a bit of work, you can cultivate a healthier sense of self-worth by following just a few proven techniques. In this guide, we’re covering how to improve self-esteem using The Increasing Self-Esteem Framework. Inside, we examine three core pillars to promoting self-confidence while looking at 12 proven techniques you can start using today. We’ll also take a closer look at the best benefits of upping your self-worth on the job. Let’s dive in. What Is Self Esteem? Pride, confidence, self-assurance, dignity—there are many words to describe self-esteem. But what does it all mean? Simply put, self-esteem is your general sense of self-worth. It’s how much you value your thoughts, emotions, and actions. And it’s influenced by beliefs about yourself as well as the beliefs you think other people hold about you. Your self-esteem doesn’t just affect your you-focused feelings though. That opinion you hold about your own value permeates through and influences so much more in your life. Self-confidence, whether low or high, affects: How you interact and connect with others. Risks you’re willing to take. Goals you’re driven to make. Motivation and ambition. Decision making. Physical and mental health. And much, much more. Ultimately, your self-confidence affects nearly everything in your life because self-esteem is directly connected to how you move through the world. Having poor self esteem and living your live via a series of negative beliefs can make the challenging and difficult situations that you'll find in a sales role much tougher than they need to be. Self Esteem Stats Low self-esteem and a lack of confidence can be devastating professionally. Here are just a few stats to prove it. Nearly 4 out of 5 women (79%) and more than 3 out of 5 men (62%) experience a lack of confidence in the workplace. (ResumeLab) Low self-esteem workers are 3X as likely to experience high stress on the job and professional burnout. (Do Low Self Esteem by Johnson et al.) Individuals with high self-esteem from blue-collar families earn $7,000 more per year than their less confident peers. In white-collar classes, high self-esteem professionals earn a whopping $28,000 more than their low-confidence peers. (Self-Esteem & Earnings by Francesco Drago) Nearly all employees think confidence is important for a successful job search (99%), believe they perform better on the job when confident (98%), and feel happier at work when they’re more confident (94%). (Indeed) Why Is Self Esteem Important for Salespeople Specifically? Now, self-esteem is integral for a healthy personal life and a successful professional one. That much is clear, and dare I say obvious. But why is it so critical for salespeople in particular? And why is knowing how to improve self-esteem a real game-changer for career-minded reps looking to grow? Well, it turns out there are three reasons in particular: It makes you rejection proof Buyers want to spend time with winners Your confidence rubs off on prospects More positive relationships with customers and colleagues Reduction in negative habits A) Self-Confidence Makes You Rejection-Proof In the world of sales, you’re bound to get rejected at some point. That’s just the nature of the business. And in reality, your product isn’t going to be a fit for 9 out of 10 prospects you talk to. But what defines an effective sales rep isn’t so much how many times they get rejected. Instead, it’s how they respond to that rejection. Do they lose motivation because of a “no”? Do they lose faith in their proven processes? And do they see that negative response as a judgment on their own abilities and worth as a sales professional? Or… Do they let that rejection roll off their back? Do they continue to power through each day? And do they tell themselves, “Hey, it’s just business”? A healthy amount of self-confidence makes it easier to recover from rejection and get back on the horse. And given how sales and rejection go hand-in-hand, getting this benefit alone is worth a small fortune in this business. “If you look at it from the point of where do you get the confidence and the motivation to go out there and to be successful, you have to address the individual's fear of being rejected

You just can’t compare regular job interviews to sales job interviews. Because in sales, it’s way harder to get a measure on your skills from just one conversation. So if you want to nail that interview, you’ve got to show up READY to demonstrate what you can do. Here’s how. Why Sales Interviews Are Different Why are sales interviews different? What makes it so tough for… Employers to find sales professionals who are actually worth hiring and… Sales professionals to prove they’ve got the right stuff? It all comes down to this—sales skills are damn tough to verify. On the one hand, if you don’t have a verified background in the business, employers can’t look at your experience to see if you’re any good. And if you’re a veteran, who knows if your CV is true to life? Sure, employers can call your old bosses. But most companies are scared of saying anything negative in referrals these days. They might even be legally barred from it. 3 Steps to Demonstrating Your Skills Because you’re an unknown either way, you need to demonstrate your skills in the interview itself. And there are three fool-proof ways to do that. Number one… 1. A 30/60/90 Day Plan Three core benefits here: It shows you’re serious and you’re capable of self-management. It creates a clear focus for your first 90 days on the job, which should lead to greater productivity. And it ensures your goals are properly aligned with the organization. This plan doesn’t have to be super complicated. But it does have to be strategic. And it does have to show you’ve put lots of thought into what it’ll take for you to be successful. For each section, you need to include 3 to 5 goals, each followed by two essential statements… To complete this goal, I will – Then outline the steps you’ll need to take to achieve the goal. And two I will have success if – Pointing out the metrics you’ll measure to determine if you’ve succeeded with that goal. Don’t worry, this is all easier than it sounds. And if you want to learn more about how to create your 30/60/90 day plan, I’ve created a whole video on the topic that we’ve linked to at the end of this guide. For now, let’s move on to the next way to nail your interview… 2. Handling Objections Like a Pro If the hiring manager knows what they’re doing, they’ll put you under a little pressure over something to see how you handle it. Maybe they’ll ask about a gap in your work history. The point here is to see how you respond to pushback. Because as any rep knows, there are always going to be buyer objections. What matters is how you solve those objections. That’s where the Objection Handling Framework comes in… 1. Listen to the Issue Step 1, listen to the issue. This one might be the most important. Because before you can solve any objection, you need to be sure you understand it. So shut up and listen. 2. Repeat It Back Step 2, repeat it back. This will show the hiring manager that you’ve truly heard what they said and aren’t just regurgitating some pre-planned answer. 3. Solve the Issue Solve the issue. If it’s a work history gap, clearly explain the gap—maybe you were focusing on building your skills, earning a new degree, or looking for the RIGHT job. No matter what your answer is, be sure it hits the key points the hiring manager asked about. 4. Confirm It’s Solved And finally, confirm it’s solved. Otherwise, your response was all for nothing. Now, there’s a lot more to objection handling than we’ve covered here. So be sure to check out the full video on the subject that we’ve linked to at the end of this guide. 3. Killing It With Closing Closing is one of the most important sales skills you can have. If you don’t know how to ask for the sale, you’ll never get it, simple as that. So now it’s time to show the hiring manager you’ve got what it takes to close. How? By closing on the job. Use the Closing Framework here… 1. “Does it make sense to…” One, ask the magic question, “Does it make sense to connect on Monday if I’m a good fit?” This question is great because it shows you’re interested, you’re assertive, and you know what it takes to close. But beyond that, it also identifies any issues holding the hiring manager back. For example, if they say no, you can follow up with step #2… 2. “What do we need to move forward?” “What do we need to move forward?” At this stage, you can clearly identify any roadblocks or outstanding questions that are holding you back from securing the job. Need more clarification on work history gaps? No problem, let’s talk about it. Still unclear about what my responsibilities were at my last employer? Let’s dive into it. With this system, you’re showing you’re a closer. And you’re showing you’re ready to tackle any obstacles head-on. And that’s exactly what a hiring manager wants to see.

Like it or not, experts agree there’s a recession looming on the horizon. And the sales professionals that know how to tweak their strategy accordingly are the ones that will survive, even thrive over the next few years. Here’s how to do it. Today we’re talking about concepts covered in the amazing sales book The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson of the business advisory firm CEB. The Last Recession The last recession of 2008 and 2009. If you were working in the industry at the time, you probably remember how hard it was on sales professionals. Clients jumped ship, prospects were unresponsive and had a death grip on their budgets. And old tried and true strategies just didn’t bring in the same results. And yet, some reps were still able to succeed despite it all. Dixon and Adamson’s business advisory firm CEB surveyed thousands of sales reps from around the world during this period. And they found that those who did succeed had one thing in common… They pushed customers to think and act differently. Building relationships still mattered of course. But what was even more impactful was a rep’s ability to challenge the customer, push back, and take control of the sales conversation. And if you want in on that same success during a recession, here’s what you need to do… The 6-Step Push Back Method It all starts with the 6-Step Push Back Method. With a recession, times are tight. Everything is tight. And more than ever buyers want new ways to solve problems, not easy ways to get rid of their cash. For you, that means you’ll have to push a little harder when you know you can help a prospect in a way that’s different to what they want right now. You have a unique perspective on the customer’s business and communication ability. So it’s up to you to push back and teach prospects about the issue they’re facing. Your solution might not be the solution they’re looking for. But with a bit of education, they’ll realize it’s the solution they actually need. Okay, so how do you push back and teach? 1. The Warm-Up Step one is The Warm-Up. This is where you present your assessment of the key issues facing the customer. And you’ll use past clients and other prospects you’ve been working with as inspiration here. Let them know what you’ve seen with other similar companies. And then, wait for their reaction. 2. Reframing After that we move to reframing. This is where you’ll offer a unique insight about their problem that connects it to a bigger, more substantial problem or opportunity. For instance, a prospect may be looking for a project management tool since their accounting department can never hit deadlines. But if you’re selling an accounting automation program, you might reframe the problem as a software problem, not a time management problem. 3. Rational Drowning Step three is rational drowning. This is where you present the data that builds the case for why your prospect should consider your reframing. How much have other companies you’ve worked with increased their efficiency with your product? The goal is to make the prospect uncomfortable with their current approach and more open to a new one. 4. Emotional Impact Next is emotional impact. This step is about connecting the prospect’s emotions with the problem. Storytelling is a fantastic way to do just that. And in the Selling Made Simple Academy, we’ve got a whole framework dedicated specifically to storytelling. We’ve even done a video on the technique which you can find at the end of this guide. After you’ve connected emotionally, it’s time to show them… 5. A New Way A new way. Talk about the capabilities your customer needs in order to solve this new, reframed problem. Here we’re selling them on the new solution. They have to accept that before we can move on to selling… 6. Your Solution Your solution. This is the final step. And it’s where you’re demonstrating that your solution is the right solution. If you’ve succeeded in each of the five steps up until this point, this final one should be a breeze. So there you have it, the 6-step push back method for selling in a recession. Now there’s one other thing you can do to maximize your selling success during a recession. And that’s… Taking Control Everyone’s priorities are bound to be scattered during this time. And that means nobody will commit to anything because they’re going to feel like it’s one disaster after another hitting their company. If you don’t learn how to take control of the sales process and guide them through it, you’ll be forgotten about for the next latest issue that needs solving. For example, say your prospect brings up the all-too-common issue of price. “Times are tough, budgets are tight. Can you offer a 10% discount?” We’ve all heard it before. But during a recession, you’re going to hear it a lot more. Now one way to deal with this situation is to give in to the conversation. Indulge them, talk to the manager, and see if a discount will work on your end. But what The Chall

As your quarterly deadline creeps ever closer, you begin to have a terrible revelation—you just aren’t going to make it. Not this time. But… why? You haven’t changed a single thing about your sales process. Your cadences are as tight as ever. And your schedule’s already jampacked with cold calling and cold emailing. So, what are you doing wrong? These days, many B2B salespeople find themselves falling behind due to a lack of “social selling”—incorporating relationship building into the sales process. And today, a staggering majority of social selling happens in one place: LinkedIn. This guide shows you how to effectively incorporate LinkedIn lead generation into your routine. Inside you’ll learn the three-part framework you need to use LinkedIn’s potential to its fullest. And with it, you can build a steady and robust pipeline of quality, qualified leads. Best of all, once you get going, the system practically runs itself. Now let’s jump in. The What & Why of LinkedIn If you’re a professional, well, anything then you probably know what LinkedIn is—a social media platform with a twist. Unlike other platforms, the focus is on business. You won’t find piano cats, baby pictures, or “Charlie bit me” videos here. Instead, it’s all about connecting with other professionals, learning business-related tips for success, and growing your career. And as a well-informed salesperson, you can use LinkedIn as a powerful source of leads. As author and sales professional Marcus Sheridan put it in our interview: “As a salesperson, a sales professional, go all-in on LinkedIn. I've watched salespeople's careers and therefore wallets and bank accounts explode because of the way they use LinkedIn.” But why? What makes LinkedIn lead gen so powerful? There are four reasons in particular: It’s huge It’s trusted It’s scalable It “builds trust at scale” Let’s take a closer look at what I mean by each. It’s Huge On the one hand, LinkedIn is a mammoth social media platform. And it’s bigger than most people expect. Sure, sure. Facebook and Instagram and the like are bigger. But LinkedIn still has nearly 800 million members across the globe. Plus, there are millions of businesses with public profiles. Beyond that, the wealth of information you can glean from these profiles is huge too. Past positions and experiences, shared professional connections, branding elements—the list goes on. The benefit here is that there are plenty of opportunities for B2B salespeople on the platform. For example, the enterprising salesperson can use LinkedIn to: Learn about new businesses that have recently entered their industry. Research competitors and their content marketing strategies. Become better acquainted with potential leads. Discover talking points you can use during sales meetings. Ultimately, LinkedIn is big and growing. And the info on it is massive. The Numbers Wondering just how huge LinkedIn is? Check out some of the stats below to get a better idea. LinkedIn has nearly 800 million members in 200 countries and regions worldwide (LinkedIn). LinkedIn has 33 offices, is available in 24 languages, and has 16,000 employees (LinkedIn) More than 57 million companies are listed on LinkedIn, as well as 120,000 schools (LinkedIn). Seventy-seven job applications are submitted via LinkedIn every single second (LinkedIn). It’s Trusted It’s one thing to have access to a massive database of users. It’s another entirely when those users truly trust the content they find on that platform. A lot of that trust comes from the professional aspect of LinkedIn. These are businesspeople interacting with each other—not shiesty scam artists trying to rope new members into their multilevel marketing “opportunity.” It’s also a trusted source of information. Most of the content here is being put out by real professionals with real experience in what they’re talking about. And with that lowered trust barrier, it’s a fantastic place for B2B marketers to engage in content marketing and social marketing. The Numbers B2B marketers and businesses love LinkedIn. And here are some numbers to prove it. An astounding 94% of B2B content marketing happens on LinkedIn (Road Warrior Creative). LinkedIn ranks highest in digital trust among all social media platforms (eMarketer). There are more than 10,000 B2B software Product Pages on LinkedIn (LinkedIn). 96% of B2B content marketers use LinkedIn for organic social marketing (Content Marketing Institute). It’s Scalable It’s true—LinkedIn lead generation can be a slow and frustrating process if you don’t know what you’re doing. And if you aren’t putting in the consistent, strategic work, you’re bound to be frustrated. But when done correctly, it becomes an impressive source of quality leads that rival (and exceed) cold calling and cold emailing. Best of all, once you get going, you don’t have to go out looking for leads—they’ll end up coming to you. The more authority you build, the more likely buyers will be to search you out. To want

When’s the last time your life changed because of a single picture? Well I can tell you I started closing bigger deals, closing them more often, and earning way more commission—all because of this one graph *show on screen*. And today, I’m showing you how it can change your life too. One of the biggest issues we as humans have is understanding time. Don’t get me wrong here—we’ve gotten really good at thinking ahead, learning from the past, and evaluating cause and effect. Hell, it’s why we humans are so damn good at surviving and expanding. But even still, we have a hard time connecting the actions we take today with the results we see way in the future. Today / Future And this can be especially problematic for actions that snowball. That have effects that grow over time. And unfortunately, that disconnect is at the heart of why most salespeople fail to achieve real success. That’s why today we’re talking about the graph that helped me shift out of that path to failure and into my success today. 1. The Graph As you can see, this graph is all about… Memory, Effect, & Time Can you see memory, results, and how the two change over time. Once you perform an action, be it cold prospecting or starting to create content, it’s fresh in your brain. And as time moves on, it drifts out of your consciousness. You forget about it. But the effect of that action actually increases over time. The problem here is that since memory fades, we tend to forget what caused the effects we’re seeing. We forget that we are where we are today precisely because of the actions we took 6 months, 5 years, and even 10 years ago. So for example, we get immediate mouth pleasure after eating fast food. The greasy burger. The salty fries. The refreshing soft drink. It’s delicious stuff! And we understand that. But what we struggle to comprehend is that eating that fast food every day eventually makes us fat. We find excuses to hit the drive-through during the week. We tell ourselves, “Oh, we’ve had a rough day, one cheat meal couldn’t hurt.” But all the while, we’re failing to see that these little “cheats” add up to a larger pattern. And before we know it, we’re 10lbs overweight wondering, “what happened?” Tying It To Sales To tie it back to sales, we’re skipping our prospecting. We’re telling ourselves, “Oh I’ll build up my social selling content later.” And all the while, we’re continually chipping away at the potential success our future holds. What we need to be doing is doing the things now that will improve our lives in 6 months from now. The longer term you can think, act, and stay on track, the more successful you’ll be. An Example I’ve got an example for you. Sam the salesman starts investing starting at 30. He puts a thousand bucks in every few months whenever he’s got some extra dough. And on the down months, he doesn’t contribute a cent. At the ripe old age of 65, he’s looking at a somewhat decent retirement fund. On the other hand, there’s Seth the salesman. He starts putting money in at 30 too. And he puts money into all the same investments as Sam. But instead of doing it sporadically, he contributes the same percentage of his earnings every single month. And thanks to compounding interest, those investments pay off. By retirement age, he’s looking at multimillions—far more than Sam. The key, then, is consistency. It’s developing a plan and sticking with it. And the more you can maintain that consistency, the better the results. Now, it’s important to realize that it isn’t just direct consequences that play a role either. There’s also… 2. Second Order Consequences Second order consequences to consider. These are the snowball effects. The consequences that lead to more consequences. For example, let’s say you buy a big TV rather than investing the cash. No big deal right? Sure you miss out on more investment income later on. But what’s the big deal. Well, there’s also the second order consequences to consider. With that giant TV in your living room, you guilt yourself into using the big slab of glass on the wall. I mean, you paid good money for it after all. So you end up getting sucked into stupid shows and spending hour after hour on bad reality TV and cooking competitions. When instead, you could have been reading those self-improvement books you always said you’d get to. The Snowball Continues But we’re not done yet. Eventually you start getting into the third order consequences. At some point, that bad television starts to get boring and you need more excitement. So you buy an Xbox to go alongside the TV. And even more of your time is sucked up and taken away from investing in your future. As you can see, on a five-year scale, the divergence of buying the TV vs not buying the TV is massive. And a single choice today can lead to a multitude of consequences down the line. 3. Putting It Into Action Putting it all into action. What does this mean for you today? Well let me take a second to turn things around and tell you how th

A few times in life, we come upon a single concept that radically changes the way we interact with the world. And in sales, there’s one concept in particular that’ll change the way you sell forever—The Law of Averages. This concept has taken more average salespeople to top 1% than any other. It might be the most important video that I’ve ever produced. Now, a lot of reps are under the impression that sales is an art. Getting a feel for body language, spotting subtle cues, shifting and re-shifting conversations with prospects. But where a lot of reps get things wrong is forgetting the logic side of things. Following your cadences, hitting that cold call quota, sticking to a plan through thick and thin—that’s the other side of the equation. And if you neglect your numbers, your art is never going to be enough to propel you to real sales success. A) Sales Is a Numbers Game Sales is a numbers game. We’ve heard it all before. And there’s a lot of truth to it. Because when you boil it all down, sales comes down to this: You do a number of activities. Those activities can have an effectiveness on a scale of 1-10. And depending on that effectiveness, they lead to a revenue number at the end of the quarter, and you get paid a commission. It’s as simple as that. And the more you do an activity, the higher those final numbers—that revenue and that commission—will be. More cold calls per day results in more leads. More leads turn into more sales calls. And more sales calls lead to closed deals. Voila, numbers! Now you can tweak that activity. Or you can choose to engage in a different one altogether. But when you get down to the nitty-gritty, the more numbers you put in, the more you get out. B) The Law of Averages The Law of Averages come in? The Law of Averages states that over a long enough period of time, a particular outcome or event will occur at a frequency that’s similar to its probability. Confused? Don’t be. Let’s break it down. Let’s say you’ve got a cold calling success rate of about 2%. And over the course of one day, you make 20 calls with zero success. Right now your success rate is… that’s right, zero percent. Now, over time, your actual rate is going to get closer and closer to the real rate of effectiveness, 2%. So on day two, you make 20 more calls and one is a winner! That brings your rate up to 2.5%. The next day, zero winners again, bringing you down to 1.7%. And the day after that, zero again, putting you at 1.25%. But after the next 20 calls, you bring in a client, which jumps your success rate to 2%—the real effectiveness of the activity. See how on the short-term, the effectiveness jumps around and doesn’t match the true effectiveness of your cold calling? But in the long-term, over the course of five days, it comes out to be 2%. And on an even longer timeline, that activity is going to hover around that same percent effectiveness. Okay, so what does this tell us? Basically if you engage in an activity with some level of effectiveness for long enough, you’re guaranteed some form of success. If your cold emails only have a success rate of 0.001%, you’re bound to hit a winner at some point. As long as you keep trying. Now, you’ve got three ways to make the Law of Averages work for you. First, you can put in more reps. You can send out more emails, make more cold calls, send more outreach messages. But there are only so many hours in the day. Do different stuff. Social selling for example if you’ve never experimented with that. The problem here is that you might have a 0% success rate and so it was a complete waste of time. The better way of using this law to your advantage is by moving the average in your favor. By pushing up your success rate and doing the same stuff, but better. C) Move the Average In Your Favor There are three strategies you can take to get the numbers on your side. Number one is to… 1. Only Spend Time With Qualified Clients SO MUCH time is wasted on unqualified prospects that require tons of work but rarely lead to a closed deal. So, how do you get better at qualifying prospects? You follow the Diagnosis Framework. Whenever you hop on a discovery call, use this eight-step framework to find out if they’re the right buyer for you. Pain – Is your prospect’s problem actually a problem? If it isn’t, they aren’t going to be motivated to solve it. And they’re wasting your time. Time – Does the buyer need a solution this month, this quarter, this year? Be sure your timelines match up. The more urgent the need, the less feet dragging you’ll run into later. Fit – Is your solution actually right for the prospect’s problem? Be honest, will it really help? Return – How much will the buyer have to change to accommodate your solution and start getting a solid value return from their investment? Is it worth the hassle? Process – Are they willing to adapt to your processes? If not, best to cut them loose. Budget – Are the prospect’s financials in a good pl

The average length of a successful cold call that ends in a meeting is just 5:14. That’s it! For unsuccessful ones, it’s around 3:14. But as brief as these encounters usually are, it’s actually the first three seconds that make or break a call. This video covers the rejection-proof cold call one-liner that’s guaranteed to help you book more calls, all in just three seconds. Now for most cold callers, even experienced ones like you, the problem isn’t talking about your value proposition. Or convincing prospects to book an official call with you. Instead, it’s that initial line. That first three seconds. Because a whopping 98% of cold calls end in hangups right off the bat. And if you can get your prospects to listen to you after that, then you’re home free. But you’ve got to choose your words carefully. You’ve got to pique interest, interrupt their thought pattern, and set expectations. And that’s exactly what this opener is so great at doing. 1. The Opener The word-for-word opener you can start using right away. So this one actually comes from my friend, Josh Baun. Josh is an expert when it comes to sales and trains teams on how to beef up their numbers and close more deals. I actually interviewed him on The Salesman Podcast where he talked about this very opener, which he both uses and teaches to his clients. So first up, let’s just take a look at the opener, and then we’ll break it down… .circle-img { border-radius: 50%; -moz-border-radius: 50%; -webkit-border-radius: 50%; -o-border-radius: 50%; } #quote-container-bottom { width:100%; overflow: hidden; margin-top:20px; } #quote-one-bottom { width:10%; float:left; padding:5px; } #quote-two-bottom { width:90%; float:right; padding:3px; } @media only screen and (max-width: 767px) { #quote-one-bottom { display: block; float: none; width: 100%; padding: 0px 0; } #quote-two-bottom { display: block; float: none; width: 100%; padding-bottom:0px; padding-left:0px; padding-right:0px; } } Expert Note: “Hey, Will. My name is Josh. We’ve never spoken before. You have no idea who I am; complete stranger here, but I was hoping you could help me out for a moment. Do you have two minutes?” Josh Braun Salesman Podcast Simple as that. Now, 70 or 80% of the time, you’re going to get a yes. And here’s why… A) Pattern Interrupt First, a pattern interrupt. Most sales reps try to come off too familiar so they can start building rapport. But what this opener openly calls out is the fact that the prospect doesn’t know who you are. In fact, you’re a complete stranger! And that simple tweak lets you stand out from the other cold callers and keep prospects from hanging up. Next… B) Time Commitment Time commitment. You’re setting boundaries here. This isn’t going to be an hour-long conversation. It isn’t even going to be 10 minutes. So when they say yes, they know they aren’t getting roped into a major time waster. Who doesn’t have two minutes? Next up… C) A Favor A favor. You’re asking for help because people are wired to help others. We WANT to help other people. And in fact, when someone does a favor for you, they’re actually more likely to help you in the future! It’s called the Benjamin Franklin Effect, and it’s an amazing sales tool to add to your toolbelt. D) Tone Tone. We’re using a tonality that’s not, “Hey, Will, this is JOSHHHHH! Can YOUUUU help me out for a moment?” You’re calm. Because when you’re calm, you’re less aggressive. You aren’t a threat to run away from. And that makes you more inviting. Again, this simple opener will keep people on the line with you 70 to 80% of the time. But you’re job’s not done yet. Then you have to move on to… 2. The Follow-Up Steps Step one kept them on the line. Now we have to move on to steps two and three. These are simple. See If They’re The Right Person To see if the prospect is even the right person that you need to be speaking with. That looks a little something like this… .circle-img { border-radius: 50%; -moz-border-radius: 50%; -webkit-border-radius: 50%; -o-border-radius: 50%; } #quote-container-bottom { width:100%; overflow: hidden; margin-top:20px; } #quote-one-bottom { width:10%; float:left; padding:5px; } #quote-two-bottom { width:90%; float:right; padding:3px; } @media only screen and (max-width: 767px) { #quote-one-bottom { display: block; float: none; width: 100%; padding: 0px 0; } #quote-two-bottom { display: block; float: none; width: 100%; padding-bottom:0px; padding-left:0px; padding-right:0px; } } Expert Note: “Will, are you still the person that’s involved with getting sponsors for your podcasts? Or is that someone else since you’ve gotten so big?” Josh Braun Salesman Podcast As you can see, this implies that you’ve done a little research—a must for rapport building. Now, one of two things is going to happen there. You’re either going to get a positive or negative response here. “Yes, I’m in charge of that,” or “No, I’m retired.” And don’t you want to know that at the beginning of the call rather than going all the

Want to make it big in sales? Step #1—stop procrastinating. I used to have a huge problem with putting off my tough tasks till later. And my career suffered because of it. But then I learned how to stop procrastinating for good. And today, I’ve built a 7-figure sales training business, run two YouTube channels, and am now more productive than ever. How’d I do it? I killed my lizard brain. The Lizard Brain What is it? Well, this is the part of your brain that’s leftover from your pre-human ancestors. It’s focused only on the now. It doesn’t understand the future or the past. And it just reacts according to your most basic needs. On the other side of things, you’ve also got your “Human” brain. This is the rational side of you. It can use the past to predict the future. It can plan. And it can choose to avoid pleasure now in exchange for greater gains in the future. But for as advanced as the human side is, it doesn’t deal well with abstraction. If it can’t find a clear pathway to completing a task, it gives up control to the lizard brain. And the lizard brain’s go-to method for dealing with a problem is good ol’ fight or flight. The problem is you can’t fight abstract goals like “increase revenue this quarter” or “boost commissions by 10%.” So the lizard brain chooses flight. It runs. It procrastinates. And your human brain finally swoops in to justify all the reasons not to start in the first place. The good news is you aren’t trapped in this cycle. Because… You can kill your lizard brain and stop procrastinating for good. You’ve just got to do a bit of brain hacking to get the job done. And there are four techniques to do just that. 1. Goal Priming When you’re faced with a daunting task like spending hour after hour prospecting, it’s hard to find the motivation to get started. But that’s because you’re focused on the difficulty of the task. So instead, focus on the end result. How will your work pay off? What will your life look like after you’ve achieved your goals? If you’re focused on boosting your commissions but hate cold calling, think about what that extra money will mean for you. What will having an extra $50K a year do for you and your family? What about the career opportunities that will open up as a result? The more you think about the rewards, the less you’ll think about the costs. 2. Overload Reduction Technique two, overload reduction. There is such a thing as having too much choice. It’s called “Choice Overload Bias” And it’s the documented phenomenon of people having a harder time deciding when they have more options. Worth noting is that they’re also less satisfied with their choice when all is said and done. If you find yourself struggling to get a task started, take a step back for a minute. Are you deciding between 3, 4, 5 ways of doing the task? That’s your problem. Instead, limit your options. Cut down your choices. And just get started. Don’t worry too much about making the right choice. You can always pivot later on. What matters here is moving forward. 3. Deconstruction The bigger the goal, the more intimidating it’s going to be. When you’re dealing with something as huge as earning $50K more this year in commissions, it can seem like there’s no way to start making headway. That of course kicks your lizard brain into high gear. And it makes you 10X less likely to ever get started.But here’s a trick. Break your giant goals down into smaller, more achievable milestones. Shooting for $50K extra this year? Okay, that boils down to $12,500 a quarter or about $4,200 extra a month. How many sales does that mean you have to make in a month? And given your current success rate, how many cold emails do you have to send or cold calls do you have to make to get there? Then you can start chipping away at that larger goal day by day. Instead of earning $50K more this year, you just have to spend an extra 30 mins prospecting each day. And that’s a lot easier to swallow. 4. The 5 Minute Rule The last technique we’re talking about is the Five Minute Rule. And it might be the most immediately powerful. See, the hardest part of most tasks is getting started—the initial hump. But if you can get past that, the momentum you build along the way will usually be enough to carry you through to the end. So instead of avoiding that task that takes you 30 minutes to do, commit yourself to just five minutes. Hate cold calling but need it done? Just do five minutes. Can’t stand updating your CRM? Give it five. Always miserable while learning product specs? Cinco minutos mi amigo. Five minutes is all it takes. So at the next sign of procrastination, just commit to five minutes. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you get the motivation to keep it going

Want to get better at selling in two seconds? Easy peasy. Ask potential buyers, “What's stopping you solving this problem for yourself?” You’ll eliminate objections AND set yourself up for an easier close with just one phrase. But hold on—asking the question is only half the battle. To get the right effect, you need to know how to get to the point of asking it. That’s where the real magic happens and that’s what we’re covering in this video. Now, buyers often give objections because they think they can solve whatever problem they have by themselves. They don’t need your help. So why would they buy your solution? But the truth of the matter is, if they could solve their problem on their own, wouldn’t they have done it by now? Instead, something’s missing. Something’s holding them back from solving their own pain points. This, my friends, is what’s known as leverage. If you can get prospects to realize they can’t do it on their own, you’re in a fantastic selling position. AND you’ve also eliminated a slew of sales objections that you would’ve had to deal with later on. But before you can drop this bombshell of a sales question, you’ve got to start by… 1. Properly Qualifying a Prospect Lead qualification is one of the greatest challenges for sales reps. HubSpot found that 34%, over one-third, of reps said lead qualification is the biggest obstacle to hitting their numbers. With the right leads, closing is easier. Prospects are more enthusiastic. And the chances of a busted deal are far slimmer. Now, there are plenty of acronyms for qualifying frameworks out there. Each more complicated and confusing than the last. But when you get down to brass tacks, each focuses on three major questions: What Do They Want? What’s Stopping Them From Achieving This? Can We Help Them Get There? That’s it. Three questions. But how do you get that information out of prospects in the first place? The Selling Made Simple Academy’s Diagnose Framework does a fantastic job of guiding you through how to get those answers. This eight-step model includes everything you need to ask on a discovery call. And whether you’ve gotten a verbal commitment that’ll lock buyers into the deal. The info you learn through this framework ensures you’ll only be working with qualified prospects that are itching to buy. Once you’ve done that, THEN it’s time to move on to step two… 2. Popping The Question The most common objection most reps face is that buyers think they can solve their own business issues themselves. It’s especially common among small to medium-sized businesses because they believe they can save some serious dough by handling it themselves. Once we’ve qualified the prospect, the best way around this objection is to ask them to their face… “You know the issue, you know where you want to go, what’s stopping you from solving this yourself?” The prospect will look you blankly in the face and say one of three things is holding them back… Time Expertise Motivation It all comes down to one or more of those three. That’s it. What’s important here isn’t necessarily that you know which of these three is stopping them. Though as we’ll see in the next step, that knowledge is incredibly useful in closing later on. Instead, the magic here is that the buyer admits they need help. They’re making the need real. Because they’ve stopped, thought about it, and said out loud why they can’t do it themselves. That shift in mindset is powerful. It turns you from a greedy salesperson into someone who’s offering real, true value. You instantly change from a predator—somebody trying to steal their money—to an asset that can solve their problem. And that my friends is huge. So, the prospect has mentally and verbally agreed they need help via time, expertise, or motivation. Now what? Now you have everything you need to close the deal by… 3. Leveraging the Answer Depending on what your prospect said was holding them back—time, expertise, or motivation—you can now structure the rest of your process and closing strategy around that answer.All you have to do is continually circle back to this pain point as you nurture and close on the deal. Don’t have the time to do it yourself? No problem, we can do all the time-intensive work for you. Is expertise the hangup here? We’ve been doing this for decades. Motivation holding you back? Let’s look at the risks of not dealing with the problem. See how that works? The best way you can incorporate this info into your closing strategy is by using the Selling Made Simple Academy’s Storytelling Framework. Let’s take a quick look at what that entails. This framework uses the power of storytelling. People are moved by stories, entranced by them even. And when you weave some skillful storytelling into your closing process, it unites both the logical and emotional sides of the prospect’s brain. Let’s look at the framework. 1. Describe Their Current Reality Describe the buyer’s current reality by pointing to a past client you’ve helped. One

Cold calling’s dead? I don’t think so. 82% of buyers say they accept meetings with reps who cold called. And 57% of C-suite execs preferred way to be contacted. So don’t fall for the hype—cold calling is alive and well. And if you’ve already seen some success with it, here are just a few small tweaks you can make to take things from paying the bills to early retirement. Now before we get started, I want to point out this is not a video for beginners. There are plenty of tutorials on how to get started with cold calling. And this is not one of them. Instead, it’s built for reps who have already built a semi-successful process, but you can’t quite seem to make any progress. You’ve plateaued. And despite your best efforts, your numbers never seem to get better. Sound familiar? Well if so, I’ve got your back with these three strategies. So let’s jump in. 1. Tone Tone. Your tone is a critical part of what types of feelings you’re eliciting in your prospect. From pitch and volume to speed and your own attitude—yes, people can hear smiles—your tone of voice says a lot about you as a person. And one big problem reps face is learning how to hone their voices when cold calling so that buyers aren’t scared off in the first second or two. As it turns out, most buyers don’t respond well to an overexcited sales rep on the line. Their over-enthusiasm comes off as suspicious. And no matter how great your product is, you’re going to scare off prospects when you come in hot with the stereotypical sales rep approach. Instead, try taking a calmer, more relaxed approach. And to do that, you need to… Shift Your Self-Worth Let me tell you what I mean by that. According to sales expert and professional trainer Josh Braun, the tendency to sound overexcited on a call comes from reps wanting the sale too much. And you might be saying, “Will, isn’t wanting the sale a good thing?” And on one level, it is. But what needs to take precedence over wanting the sale is wanting the right buyer. Because truth be told, every prospect isn’t going to be a fit for what you’re selling. Some buyers are going to say no. And that’s okay. .circle-img { border-radius: 50%; -moz-border-radius: 50%; -webkit-border-radius: 50%; -o-border-radius: 50%; } #quote-container-bottom { width:100%; overflow: hidden; margin-top:20px; } #quote-one-bottom { width:10%; float:left; padding:5px; } #quote-two-bottom { width:90%; float:right; padding:3px; } @media only screen and (max-width: 767px) { #quote-one-bottom { display: block; float: none; width: 100%; padding: 0px 0; } #quote-two-bottom { display: block; float: none; width: 100%; padding-bottom:0px; padding-left:0px; padding-right:0px; } } Expert Note: “The trouble salespeople get into is when they attach their self-worth to the outcome. No, one’s rejecting you as a person, they’re just rejecting what you’re saying. And so when you do that, it’s almost like I feel like I’m on a golf course, and I’m calm and I’m swinging the club, and I’m going to the next hole. And there’s a bunch of holes.” Josh Braun Salesman Podcast There are plenty of other prospects out there. And when you find the right one—the one that’s actually a fit for what you’re selling—that’s when the magic really happens. So remember, stay calm. Stay collected. And try to sound as natural on the phone as possible. Now the second tweak involves… 2. Mindset Mindset. And this one isn’t about your mindset like the last one was. Instead, it’s about the prospect’s mindset. What they are thinking. How they are viewing the world. And most importantly, how they are thinking about you. So first of all, most people don’t like to be cold called. Shocker, right? Because they’re busy. They’re managing their staff, they’re on the hunt for new clients, they’re blah blah blah. They’re doing stuff! And your call is an interruption for getting that work done. Now, most sales reps try to ignore that fact. They try to lure prospects into forgetting about it by being personable, by being likeable, and by demonstrating that they have value. But I’ve got news for you here—your prospect will not forget. They may move past it at some point. But the vast majority of people who pick up a cold call are going to be annoyed. And the more you try to schmooze your way into their good graces, the more they’re going to think of you as just another skeezy salesman. So what’s the solution here? How do you break down that stereotype and shift their mindset? Acknowledge the Interruption Call it out. Tell them you understand you’re being an inconvenience rather than trying to push that inconvenience under the rug. This tip comes from Chris Beall, Founder, CEO, and sales psychology expert. Here’s what he says: .circle-img { border-radius: 50%; -moz-border-radius: 50%; -webkit-border-radius: 50%; -o-border-radius: 50%; } #quote-container-bottom { width:100%; overflow: hidden; margin-top:20px; } #quote-one-bottom { width:10%; float:left; padding:5px; } #quote-two-bottom { width:90%; f

Money! We all love it. We all want it. And we all never seem to have enough of it. Sam here tried his hand at sales because of the earning potential. But he quickly dropped out due to the stress. But Walter knew that if you could push through the downsides, you could bring in a massive income. We’re talking MILLIONS. And he also learned the tricks to make earning beefy commissions easier than ever. And that’s what we’re covering today—the risks, the rewards, and the simple steps you can follow to become a sales millionaire. Now, working in sales is no picnic by any means. On the one hand, there’s the rejection. Which sorry to say, is typically a given. The better you get, the less of a problem it becomes, sure. But first starting out, you’re going to get some no’s. On top of that, the cold calling and cold emailing can be monotonous at times. But by and large, the toughest thing about sales is this—you are the one responsible for your pay. If you suck, you sink. And for some, that can be a terrifying prospect. Because if you slack off, you aren’t guaranteed the paycheck you’ve come to depend on. A sales career isn’t a cakewalk. That much is clear. But there are some serious benefits to it too. Benefits that no other career can offer. And today, that’s what we’re talking about. The upsides. The reason why sales is in my opinion, so special. So exciting. And so fulfilling. So let’s jump into it. A) Quickest Way to Make Money It’s the quickest way to make money. There are other careers that may get you to that 7-figure level at some point. But sales is without a doubt the fastest. So, why is that? 1. Product Development’s Done Already The hard work’s done. Your brand’s already spent the time, the money, and the effort to create a working product. And they’ve built connections with vendors, distributors, and regulatory agencies to handle all those sticky logistics. All you have to do is sell it! 2. You Can Stay Mobile You can stay mobile. Sales skills tend to transfer cleanly from one company, market, and even industry to another. If you were killing at company A, you’ll probably kill it at company B too. So once you’ve built up a proven success record, you can easily move on to a more profitable company. Working your way up and up until you’re at an employer and salary that’s a fit for your goals. There aren’t a lot of other positions that allow for this level of mobility. So take advantage. 3. Brand Leverage Brand leverage. One of the great things about sales is you can leverage the social proof of the brand you’re working for. If you’re working with one that’s established, they already have a customer base. They’ve got a market. And they’ve probably got case studies, success stories, and testimonials that you can distribute to potential buyers. If you were to say, start your own business, you’d have to toil away for years to make a name for yourself. But as a rep, that hard work’s already done for you. 4. Inbound Sales Leads Inbound sales leads. In all likelihood, your brand will have a marketing department. And that marketing department will literally feed you leads. That’s their entire purpose—to send qualified buyers to your doorstep. And if they do things right, that means you don’t have to work nearly as hard to get prospects knocking on your door. Alright so let’s get into the second reason sales can be such a great career. B) Least Risky Way to Make Money It’s the least risky way to make money. With other money-making ventures, risk is a serious factor. In many cases, the risks outweigh the earning potential. And if they don’t, it’s usually because the pay isn’t all that great to begin with. You Can Become Unsackable See, every business knows the value of a great sales rep. We are the lead moneymakers, the final step between selling and sold. And there is a direct and easily observable correlation between a bad rep and a good one—good ones bring in more money. That’s why a quality rep is such a secure position. There’s not an iota of confusion about your contribution to the company. So as a rep, you’re likely going to be one of the last employees to go on the chopping block. On top of all that though, your competitors will proactively try to poach you. That means if you do get fired, it’s an easy path to another job. Plus, you can leverage their offers for a raise at your own. It’s also the least risky way to make money because… The Alternative is to Start Your Own Business The alternative is to start your own business. When you boil it down to earning potential and speed of making your first million, creating a business for yourself is the only real alternative to a sales position. And there are some very real downsides here. First you’ve got to develop a product. That can take years and years of brainstorming, rigorous testing, partnering with the right vendors, blah blah blah. You see how this can take forever. But even when you do develop a product, you’ve still got to build awareness around it AN

Question for you—what do a product demo and a candle-lit dinner have in common? As it turns out, more than you might think. See, sales is a lot like dating. If you jump into a sales call by bragging and boasting about your product, your buyer is going to immediately lose interest. But just like in the dating world, there are a few things you can do to make closing much more of a success. And today, we’re talking about three in particular. So we’ve all been out on a nightmare date before, right? Think back—what was so bad about it? In all likelihood, it was that the person on the other side of the table just wouldn’t stop blabbing about themselves. How much they make. What they can bench press. Who they’re friends with. It’s exhausting just talking about it. Or maybe that’s been YOU in the past? But the thing is if you can get the other person talking, feeling good, and sharing what they’re working towards, you’re one thousand percent more likely to build a deep connection. The same goes for saless. So, let’s start with maybe the most impactful step you can take to boost your chances of success, both in love and in sales… Ask, Don’t Tell To be perfectly honest, your buyers don’t really give a shit about your company or your product. They may eventually, sure. But in the initial stages of the sales cycle, the ones that focus on awareness, the key is to turn the focus on them. You’ll have plenty of time to point to all that juicy social proof when it comes to the decision stage. So instead of telling prospects about yourself, ask more questions. Now, there are three very real benefits to taking this approach. 1. You Better Understand Their Problem You better understand their problem. When you’re talking, you’re not listening. And that means you’re not taking in as much info as possible about the problems your prospect is facing. As a result, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to understand their pain points. And an opportunity to find the RIGHT solution for them. 2. You Qualify Them As Ideal Clients You qualify them as ideal clients. The more you learn about a prospect, the more info you can gather about them. What’s their budget? What kind of timeline do they have? Does their problem even match up with your solution? These are all critical questions you need answers to. Because these are the answers that let you know if this client is right for your business or, frankly, if they’re a waste of time. 3. You Connect Their Emotions You connect their emotions. Logic plays an enormous factor in B2B buying decisions. But that doesn’t mean emotion doesn’t come into play too. President and CEO of Whetstone Inc., Adrian Davis, put it to me like this: “Fundamentally, we make decisions emotionally, and if all we're doing is spouting features and benefits, we're really engaging the logical part of the brain. The logical part of the brain does not make decisions. But analyses and captures information to weigh pros and cons, but decisions are made emotionally.” When you get prospects talking about their problems, they get invested emotionally in solving those problems. And that means you’re engaging with them using both sides of the coin—logic and emotion. The #1 Turnoff The number one turnoff. And like I hinted before, this one overlaps pretty well with the dating world. So, what do you think it is? The top turnoff for both sales and dating? Bad Breath No kidding! Now while the worst lingering aroma on your breath while dating is garlic or onions, in sales the worst smell is—commission. Yep, commission breath. It’s sunk countless sales in the past. And if your buyer catches even a whiff of it, they’re bound to leave you high and dry. Commission breath is basically when you come off too needy, too desperate. You NEED that sale. And it’s showing. When a buyer sees that desperation, they’re way less likely to trust you. And they’re way less likely to buy from you. So, how do you kill commission breath? Well, there are three ways in particular. 1. Understand You’re Selling Value Understand you’re selling value. Your product isn’t some throwaway piece of trash. It isn’t some waste of money. And it does in fact have value for businesses. So don’t come into a sale hoping, begging to close. Because after all, the only thing you’re doing here is trading value. 2. Build Your Self-Respect Build your self-respect. Now this one isn’t a quick fix. And confidence doesn’t develop overnight. But what I can say is that we at the Selling Made Simple Academy have a framework dedicated specifically to helping reps like you be more confident and assertive on the job. So if you’re interested, I highly suggest checking that out. 3. Re-Evaluate Your Product Re-evaluate your product. This one’s a tough truth. But it can make the rest of your career far more successful. Ask yourself, is this solution something you can really get behind? Do you really, truly believe it has value? If not, it’s time to start asking yourself some hard questions like,

The fate of your deal rests in the first four seconds of the sales call. That’s it. If you can nail the first 4 seconds, often the deal is as good as yours. Why is that? It’s because of the importance of first impressions… Sales rep Sam, for example, always botched his first impressions. So, even though he was selling a solid product, buyers never stayed interested long enough to hear about it. But Walter knew the importance of a strong first impression. He knew by immediately playing the three specific roles we’re talking about in this video, he’d always win over his prospects. And guess what? If you implement the 3 roles we’re going to cover, you can do the same too. Now, first impressions. They set the foundation for the rest of your sales call. If you come off as a commission-hungry sleaze, good luck earning trust with your buyer. First impressions count. And they form almost instantly, as soon as 33 milliseconds according to some studies. For sales reps like you, they’re even more important than people in an average job. Because your buyers are busy. And in the short time they give you, you need to build up rapport especially quickly. So the question is, how do you do it? How can you win over prospects in the first four seconds of a sales call? It all comes down to playing three key roles. And the first role you need to play is that of… 1. Be the Expert The expert. If you’re coming off unprofessional or unknowledgeable right off the bat, a buyer isn’t going to waste their time listening to anything you have to say. And if they do, they’re probably just waiting for their chance to leave. So how do you prove to them that you do, in fact, know what you’re talking about here? Two words—Social. Proof. Social proof is key to demonstrating your expertise before you ever even get on the call. And there are three specific ways to show that social proof. A) LinkedIn First up is LinkedIn. The LinkedIn platform is fantastic for demoing social proof. Endorsements, testimonials, credentials—buyers can see all of it in just a few clicks. But beyond that, they can also get a look at the thought leadership content you should be creating. So be sure you’ve created a complete profile here. Ask for endorsements. Put out original content regularly. And check in once a day or so to stay active. It doesn’t have to take more than 15 minutes. Now if you’re social selling, buyers coming through the platform should see your page immediately. But if you’re not, I’ve got a tip coming up that’ll boost the odds of your prospects checking out your LinkedIn page. B) Network Network. Who you associate with says a lot about who you are. Are you connected with big names in the industry? Have you worked with top players before? What brands have you sold for and to? A smart buyer will do their homework before setting up a call with you. And they’re sure to check out who you’re connected with, most likely through LinkedIn. But if you’re especially savvy, you’ll have your own website set up that prospects can look through. Here you can house all your thought leadership content as well as your experience, testimonials from clients, and endorsements. So make sure you’re doing the work of collecting this kind of social proof from your clients. Because they can do wonders for trust-building before you hop on the sales call. C) Setup Email Setup Email. This is the sales call confirmation email that buyers will get after booking a time with you. Typically this email will include all the basic info. We’re talking time and date, agenda, and a few words on what else buyers can expect. But this email is the perfect place to include some pieces of social proof to start the trust-building process. A testimonial here. A success stat there. Nothing too over the top. You don’t want to come in too strong. Your signature line is also a great place to include links to your website, testimonials, and LinkedIn profile. And finally, you could even point them to a piece of content you created within the email. 2. Be the Equal The equal. A successful relationship is one that’s built on equality. Each member needs to give and take equally. And if your buyer is the one with all the power, they’ll never give you the respect and consideration you deserve. That’s why you need to be the equal here. A) You Are Serious You are serious. You aren’t some second-rate sales rep that’s pestering prospects into buying. And you aren’t sending hordes of desperate emails or calling five times a day. Nope, you’re a professional. And to make sure that comes through, there are a few things you can do. First, put some effort into your appearance. Clean, smart clothing. Impeccable hygiene—comb that hair. And equipment and a camera background that says, “Hey, I do this for a living. And I take this seriously.” Second, come prepared. Sending out an agenda beforehand is a must. And showing up on time, with all your necessary materials in-hand, is key. And finally, get to the point. A bit o

In sales, the general rule of thumb is, the more complex the product, the longer the sales cycle. And for some complex products, that might be true. But for others, a single phone call is all it takes to get a deal done. I close complex training and consulting packages with some of the brightest companies in the world. And usually, I do it over a single conversation. Yep, I have one phone call with the prospect and then send the invoice. Most salespeople think this is impossible. But with the right step-by-step, single call structure, you too can start closing your deals quicker than ever before. So the business-winning phone call isn’t a sales myth. It isn’t sales folklore. And it isn’t an old wives’ tale. But it is misunderstood. See, you can’t get any old buyer on the phone and close them in a single conversation. No, they have to be the right buyer. And the real trouble, the thing that should take the most effort, the most thought, and the most time is qualification. A survey from HubSpot found that the number one challenge for one out of three sales reps is lead qualification. And it’s true, doing it right is tough. That’s why with the Diagnosis framework we’re going to first discover the pain that the prospect is in, qualify them to see if we should be doing business with them and then close them, in that order. Most salespeople do this over multiple calls, over multiple weeks. This framework will show you how to do this in just one call and then close the prospect at the end. The first step is to understand the buyers… 1. Pain Pain. Is this potential buyer actually in pain right now? Is their problem actually a problem at all? The buyers you want to work with are feeling the hurt from this problem. And as a result, they’re going to be highly motivated to find the right solution. Now, a few qualifying questions to ask that’ll get to the bottom of their pain are… “You booked this call with me today, what led to getting this call booked in?” and… “What’s stopping you from solving this issue yourself?” Both of these questions should help you get to how big this problem really is for the buyer. 2. Time Time. Not all problem and solution timelines are going to line up. And one of your primary concerns when qualifying prospects is what their timeline is for when they need their problem solved. Are they thinking today? This quarter? Or in the next few years? If your buyer doesn’t have urgency, they won’t be compelled to act. And as a result, you’ll likely encounter plenty of feet dragging and time-wasting along the way. Best instead to say you’re not a fit early on. As for qualifying questions here, start with… “Do you have a deadline to solve this?” It’s straightforward, I know. But the answer will give you a clear, no-bullshit timeline that you can work with. 3. Fit Fit. Can you actually fix this buyer’s problem? The truth of the matter is there’s no perfect product or service for everyone. And saying otherwise is just playing into the public’s idea of sales reps being con men. Instead, it’s your job to think of yourself as someone who offers value. And you shouldn’t have to waste time with someone who doesn’t need what you’re selling. Qualifying questions here are for YOU this time, not the buyer. So ask yourself… “Do I have the solution for this buyer’s problem?” and… “Do they really need this solution?” 4. Return Return. There’s a downside to any solution. Buyers need to change vendors, hire new staff, train on novel systems, or fight for a change to the budget. The question is, is the value your solution provides worth that discomfort? How much will they have to change to accommodate it? And when all is said and done, will they look back on the investment as a good purchase or one that ate up too many resources? Going through this calculation upfront is a must during qualification of sales leads For qualifying questions here, try… “How would things be different if we solved this for you?” “What is your motivation to make this happen?” “If we took your business from $X to $X, how would that change things?” These three questions will help you parse out whether your buyer’s willing to put in the effort needed to make this a success. 5. Process Process. As an expert on your product, you know what it takes to make using it a success. But does the buyer know how things are purchased in their organization? Do they know who needs to be involved? What training needs to be done? What process did you need to follow to get the project implemented. You can uncover this by asking… “When your organization has done similar projects in the past, what paperwork process needed to happen?” This will give you a clearer idea of what lies ahead should the buyer be a reasonable fit. 6. Budget Budget. As touchy of a subject as budget can be, it’s absolutely essential that you get a feel for your buyer’s budget before you start working with them. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to lead the call with questions about money. And i

Invisibility, flight, laser eyes… NONE of these superpowers compare to the #1 superpower for sales reps—which is the ability to read minds… Because when you can read your prospect’s mind, you can give them exactly what they’re looking for. And that means more closed deals, better commissions, and a bank account even Bruce Wayne would be jealous of. Today I’m showing you how to become a sales superhero by learning how to read your prospect’s mind. In this video you’re going to learn 6 ways to understand exactly what your prospect is thinking. But before we get into the specifics, let’s talk about verbal language. Language is an amazing tool for connecting and communicating with others. It lets us share ideas, vent frustrations and, solve mutual problems, But even still, Words alone have limitations. And context, history, and individual experience all can change a word’s meaning from one person to the next. Luckily, according to the research, around 70% of our communication doesn’t rely on words. And equally lucky, our brains are equipped with the ability to read nonverbal communication effectively . we can use non verbal communication to understand what someone else is thinking without them ever saying a single word! So, what do you need to do to become a better mind reader? 3 Internal Tactics 1) Establish a Baseline Establish a baseline. This one has its roots deep in the world of science and evidence. Here’s why. When you’re creating an experiment, say you’re testing the effects of a new pain pill, you need to run at least two versions of that experiment. In one of the experiments you actually give the pain reliever to patients. Duh, right? How else could you tell if the drug worked or not? But you also have to run what’s called a “control experiment” too. This is where every variable of the experiment is the same. EXCEPT rather than giving the patients the drug, you don’t. You give them a placebo instead, Why do we also run a control experiment? Because you need something to compare the results of the pain pill against. You need to know how much of the effects are due to the drug itself and how much are due just to the experimental conditions. And when it comes to becoming a mind reader with your prospects, you need to do the same by establishing their baseline. Do they always have a sweaty brow, or just when they’re lying to you? Do they always speak fast, or only when they’re lying that they’re close to doing a deal with the competition and they’ve only come to you for pricing? To get a baseline of your prospect, you first need to get them relaxed. Get them talking about something friendly and unassuming, maybe a hobby or the weather. Then study how they’re acting. This is your baseline. From there, you can look out for changes from this state. Those changes indicate a shift in their mood Say for example you ask a prospect about a competitor, and they change their posture and start talking faster. That may indicate they’re already working with them. If on the other hand they maintain their baseline and casually say they’re not interested in your competition, then they’re probably telling the truth. See how that works? So first and foremost, always establish a baseline to help you spot changes in the emotions or actions of the prospect. 2) Ask Assertive Questions In sales, you need to be clear and assertive with your questions. For example, let’s take our old friends Sam and Walter the sales reps. Sam’s got a problem with assertiveness. And when he tries to close, he asks something like this… “Well, when… er… would you like to get started working with us? I mean if that’s what you choose to do?” What’s the problem here? A Lack of confidence. And importantly, asking TWO questions—are you choosing to work with us and when would you like to get started? There’s a lot to unpack for the prospect here. And it’s no wonder a question like this leads Sam’s buyers to give mixed signals, hedge on their promises, and ultimately back out of the deal. Walter on the other hand is assertive and clear. He asks… “Does it make sense to sign the contracts today?” There’s only one way to go from here—yes or no. This reduces the mindreading that you have to do and it makes the buyers opinions clear for you to read. So take a page from Walter’s book. And last for the internal mind-reading tactics is… 3) Listening to Your Gut There is a lot of science around the truth behind “gut feelings”. In one study from the journal Nature Scientific Reports, Italian scientists filmed a series of short videos of a hand grasping a bottle and either pouring it out or drinking from it. Then, study participants were shown a short 1-second clip of the hand just before it touches the bottle. They were then asked to guess, using their gut feeling, whether the whole video showed the grasper pouring it out or drinking from the bottle. And guess what? Participants guessed right far above the level of mere chance. That shows, scientifically, tha

Sales reps have it rough. Besides the endless slog of cold outreach, when you actually do connect with a buyer, you’re told to suck up to them. Smile, dance, give-in—do anything to win the deal. But what most reps don’t know is that there’s a better way to get what you want from your selling conversations. And best of all, it doesn’t require you to leave your dignity at the door. “The customer is always right.” We’ve all heard the old saying. And unfortunately, a lot of sales professionals have moved through their careers believing that it was true. That the rep who charms, kowtows, and leaves buyers smiling 100% of the time is the one that kills it month after month. But what would you say if I told you this age-old rule was… ready? Shit. It’s shit! It’s just plain wrong. And in fact, bending to a buyer’s will in every single conversation is a surefire way to muck up any sale. Instead, the trick is to be assertive. And if you’re one of the many professionals out there that isn’t as assertive as they should be, never fear. Because today, we’re looking at how to be a more assertive sales rep. Now, before we get into the nitty-gritty of it all, let’s first hit on… Why Assertiveness Is a Must Why assertiveness is a must in sales. There are five main benefits to being assertive in this industry. First… A) It Closes More Deals (Duh) It closes more deals. You don’t get the sale if you don’t ask for the sale. When you lack assertiveness, you lack the confidence you need to push through the awkward yet entirely necessary stages of closing a sale. But as you become more assertive, you’ll find yourself closing more often. B) It Gives You More Authority It gives you more authority. The more authoritative you appear, the more likely buyers will be to listen, value your opinion, and look to you as a trusted expert. Consequently, you’ll find yourself having more influence over not just whether they buy. But also what they buy. C) Communication Improves. Communication also improves. Tiptoeing around an issue may seem like a good way to soften a blow and keep on your buyer’s good side. But in B2B sales especially, being clear and to the point is a better way to communicate. Your buyers will appreciate you saying outright what you think. D) Higher Self-Esteem Assertiveness leads to higher self-esteem. That, in turn, leads to greater job satisfaction, a higher earning potential, and ultimately a happier, healthier home life. Alright, so how do you become more assertive? The Assertiveness Training Framework The Assertiveness Training Framework comes in. Now, if you want to learn more about this framework, be sure to check out the Selling Made Simple Academy. But for today’s purposes, let’s quickly go over the core tenets of this proven framework. 1) Excuses You have the right to offer no reasons or excuses for your behavior. It’s true. Now, you might be tempted to give an excuse for your actions or beliefs. But doing so takes the control out of your own hands. Instead, get used to not giving excuses for your beliefs, actions, or decisions. Don’t get me wrong—you still need to take responsibility if you’re in the wrong. So take ownership and apologize. But if you’re being pressed to say sorry for something you were in the right for, you do not need to offer up any excuses. And in fact, you shouldn’t do so. 2) Choice You have the right to decide if you will (or won’t) find solutions to other people’s problems. You need to learn to say “No” to solving other people’s problems. You are ultimately responsible for your own psychological well-being, happiness, and success in life. And as much as we might want to do good things for one another, we are not responsible for other people and their problems. To master this step, you need to get comfortable with saying “no” more often. So to build this skill up, start saying “no” more. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. 3) Change You have the right to change your mind. We don’t have access to all the evidence, all of the time. And when new evidence comes to light, it’s natural—even more, it’s beneficial—to change your mind in light of that new evidence. This is especially important in a fast-paced business environment like sales. Variables change all the time. And what was a given about a deal or a lead will often flip, turning the knowns on their head. If you are rigid in your responses to these changes, you can’t react as well as you should. And that can lead to blown contracts, angry prospects, and poor performance overall. So don’t be afraid to change your mind. Your buyer might even respect you more for it. Alright so step four of the framework is… 4) Mistakes You have the right to make mistakes. No one is perfect. And no matter how smart, skilled, and charismatic you may be, you’re going to make mistakes. It’s important to remember, though, that everyone else is in the same boat. We all make mistakes. And since everyone does, you shouldn’t have to feel like you need to hide th

There’s a lot of bullshit in old school sales training. Mirroring body language, fake-as-hell urgency, uncomfortably high enthusiasm—this is what they USED to say closed deals. But in modern times, They’re all crap. They simply don’t work. And they’re scaring off your potential buyers. Instead, there are a few surprisingly simple ways you can instantly build rapport WITHOUT coming off as a weirdo. And that’s what we’re talking about in today’s video. Now, before we jump in, let’s talk about the current state of sales. These days, more than ever, your time winning over a buyer is limited. With all the automation in marketing these days, most buyers can get the majority of the info they need from your website or your content funnels. Added to that, most businesses are facing 3X as much competition as they would’ve been just 15 years ago. So when you DO get a buyer on the phone, you’ve got to make your time count. Because if you don’t they’ll have plenty of other options to go with. And that’s where rapport comes in. What Rapport Is & Why It’s Important Essentially, rapport is how much your buyer trusts you. It’s what dictates whether or not they take your advice, listen to what you have to say, and ultimately choose to do business with you. And like most ideas in sales, rapport comes down to a very human, very biological issue—are you part of their tribe or not? Are you on the same side or opposite ones? See, the human brain is wired to keep us close to those we identify with (our tribe) and be skeptical of those we don’t (not our tribe). It’s called in-group/out-group thinking. And it’s this tendency that’s at the root of so many social and political problems today. But to bring it back to sales, the better you are at building rapport, the more your buyer will think of you as part of their tribe. And that makes it 10X easier to close the sale. How to Build Rapid Trust How do you build rapid trust with potential buyers? With such little time available to you, how can you earn the trust of a buyer quickly? Well, technique number one is… A) Great First Impressions Nailing a great first impression. First impressions set the foundation for the rest of your conversation. And for video calls, there are four ways to create a great first impression. First… B) Tidy Up Your Appearance Tidy up your appearance. No one likes working with a slob. And no one trusts one with a deal worth tens of thousands of dollars either. So spend some time looking sharp. But skip the diamond-encrusted jewelry here everyone. The goal is to hit a look that hints at success but doesn’t overdo it. C) Upgrade Your Camera Upgrade your camera. We’re already deep into the age of remote selling. So if your camera’s grainy, shell out the extra hundred bucks or so for a quality camera. Doing so will also make it easier to form a real, human connection. D) Set the Stage Set the stage. Make sure you have adequate lighting and a professional background here. That might mean moving the call to a more secluded area if you’re at home. Or maybe even getting a background screen you could pull down during calls. Now, on the phone, things are a little different. Instead of visuals, we’re talking audio. So to nail your first impression over the phone, first… E) Smile Smile when you’re talking. No kidding here. Try it. People on the other end can tell when you’re smiling. And this tiny change can make a huge impact on whether your buyer decides to keep listening. F) Speak Confidently Speak confidently and assertively. If you’re worried you’re wasting a prospect’s time, they’re going to hear it in your voice. Instead, remember that you’re delivering real value here. Say your piece with confidence. And make sure your voice is loud (but not too loud) and clear as crystal. G) Get to the Point Get to the point. Your prospect’s time is limited. And the more you waste it with fluff and chit-chat, the more they’re going to resent you for it. Simple as that. 2. Drawing Them In Drawing them in with a very biological, very human way of building trust. What is that you ask? Making Eye Contact Eye contact tells your prospect you’re listening. You’re engaged. And you’re ready to help. In fact, we’re so biologically attuned to the importance of eye contact that we can tell when eye contact is just a little bit off. Have you ever noticed someone looking at your hair or ears? That’s just inches away, and yet, you can tell! If you’re uncomfortable making so much eye contact, try looking between the person’s eyes. That’s close enough that they won’t be able to notice. Now for phone calls, that’s a bit harder. So instead… Make Ear Contact Make ear contact. Let the prospect know you’re paying attention by listening more than talking. In fact, the top sales reps spend more time listening than they do talking. You should also regularly repeat your prospect’s concerns with phrases like, “So what I’m hearing you say is…” or “It sounds like you’re saying the problem is…” This helps keep

Nobody wants to buy from a people pleaser. it’s a business killer. Now, we all want to make other people happy. We’re social animals. And caring about the opinions of others is hardwired into our brain. It’s in our DNA. But when you make the happiness of others your primary goal, it can lead to some pretty disastrous consequences. And that goes double, triple, and quadruple for sales reps like you. So, how do you stop being a people pleaser? 5 Problems 5 problems with people pleasing. Why is being a people pleaser such a bad thing in sales anyway? Well first off, it leads to… 1) Wasted Time with Bad Clients Wasted time with bad clients. People pleasers hate confrontation. And that can make it difficult, if not impossible, to cut bad clients loose early on. The result? Tons of wasted time. Tons of wasted effort. And a buyer that sucks all the value out of you possible and then leaves you high and dry. 2) Great Relationships Are Built on Equal Value Great relationships are built on equal value. People pleasers are notorious for being taken advantage of. And that sets the foundation for a wholly unequal relationship. When equal value isn’t brought to the table because of what’s known as covert contracts (more on that in a sec), a buyer won’t think twice about ditching on a deal at the last minute. 3) Finding the WRONG Solution Finding the wrong solution. People pleasers are bad communicators. And as sales reps, it’s our job to connect the right buyers with the right solutions. But since a people pleaser’s so avoidant to conflict, they may end up misleading the wrong buyer to believe the solution can fix their problem rather than risk disappointing them. And that, as you can imagine, can lead to some very serious problems. 4) Inauthenticity Breeds Contempt Inauthenticity breeds contempt. Nobody likes a suck-up. And more importantly in sales, nobody trusts a suck-up. When you can tell someone isn’t acting authentically, the promises they make, the guarantees, the assurances—they don’t mean a thing. And that’s enough to leave buyers heading for the hills. 5) Your Boundaries Will Suffer Your boundaries will suffer. Perhaps the biggest problem with being a people pleaser is that others won’t respect your boundaries. You’ll tell them you need to be out of the office by 5. Yet, they’ll still ask you to stay late to help them finish up their work. And being the people pleaser you are, you’ll agree. The problem here is your own needs will suffer. And that means you’ll be way more likely to burn out sooner. So, how do you stop being a people pleaser? The How to Stop People Pleasing Framework. The How to Stop People Pleasing Framework. This framework has just three simple rules. Yep, three. That’s it. And the first one is perhaps the most important. A) Prioritize Needs If you don’t make your needs a priority, someone else will inevitably come along and take advantage of you. That’s just a fact. And it’s just how we’re wired. That’s why the number one rule of the framework is to take stock of your needs and start prioritizing them. After all, if you’re not in a good place, you won’t be able to help others as effectively. It’s like in those airline safety videos—“Always put on your own mask before helping others during an emergency.” But to do that, it helps to understand one of the most nefarious aspects of being a people pleaser—covert contracts. Covert Contracts Covert contracts are unconscious, unspoken agreements that people pleasers use to interact with everyone around them. A people pleaser’s covert contract might look like this: “I will do X for you, so that you will do Y for me. But I’m not going to tell you what the contract consists of. Instead, I’m going to hope that you understand what I want and I’ll get mad if you don’t deliver on it.” The problem of course is that the contract isn’t agreed upon by both parties. And as a result, a people pleaser will often put in tons of effort only to be snubbed when it comes time to sign on. The challenge, then, is to uncover these covert contracts and take responsibility for getting your own needs met. If you want an exchange in value, you need to be overt about this, especially to a would-be customer. Remember, this is a business transaction, not a personal relationship. You have to understand that having your needs met in business is a part of the game. And being an adult means making your own needs a priority. B) Shift Validation Shift your validation. See, other people are terrible judges of the value of your own work. They have their own lives to worry about. Their goals, their ambitions, and their endless thoughts and emotions are filling their heads every hour of the day. So if they don’t hand out the validation you’re looking for, it may not be because you aren’t worthy of it. But rather, it’s because they’re just concentrated on themselves. If you truly want to be successful, you need to only care about how you judge yourself. When you depend too much on others t

There are few professions that match the high risk, high reward stakes of sales. For some, this is the best way to earning true financial freedom. But for others, it’s never going to be that perfect fit. Today we’re talking about the real pros and cons of working in sales. The euphoric ups, the devastating downs, and everything in between. So if you’re thinking about joining the sales industry or just wondering if this is your right profession, this is the guide for you. Now, let’s face it—not everyone’s cut out for sales. Ambition, confidence, self-discipline, and not to mention plenty of grit—they’re all required if you want to make it in this industry. And even if you do have all the right qualities, long hours, difficult quotas, and a high-stress environment are typically a given. But few other professions carry the enormous benefits of killing it in sales. And if you’re the right type of person, no other career will give you the same fulfillment and control over your on-the-job success. The trick is knowing what to expect in this job beforehand. That way, you can make an informed decision about if this is the right job for you. And that’s what I’m here for. Today we’re looking at the true upsides and downsides of being a sales pro. No lies and half-truths. No BS. And no holds barred. So first off, let’s start with the pros of working in sales. By far one of the biggest benefits is… Pro: It’s the Quickest Way to Become a Millionaire The money. Yep, sales can be lucrative. Incredibly lucrative if you’ve got the talent. And when you do have that talent and, of course, a proven sales system, hitting your quotas and raking in massive commissions isn’t all that difficult. As author and business founder Kent Billingsley told me in our interview: “Sales is one of the professions where you can make an embarrassing amount of money and have so little responsibility.” See, with traditional professions, your salary is capped. Sure, you may get bonuses and raises every few years. But no matter how hard you work, your end-of-year pay doesn’t change much. But with the commissions in sales, your earning potential is unlimited. And best of all, your pay is based on your own abilities. So you are in control here, not your employer. And that’s incredibly empowering. Pro: Much Less Risk Than Starting a Business It’s much less risky than starting a business yourself. Entrepreneurship can be exciting. But it’s also risky. About 20% of new businesses fail during their first two years. 45% go under in less than five years. And just 35% of all businesses survive past ten years. You may make it past that point. But realistically speaking, the odds are against you. When you work in sales, however, there are two threats to your livelihood—getting fired or your employer going under. And both are far less likely to occur than a startup failing. Pro: Easier to Land Clients Than Going Solo It’s easier to bring on new clients compared to if you were running your own business. When you start your own business, you’re starting from ground zero. You’ve got to prove to potential clients that you’re worth trusting. And only then will they entertain the idea of buying from you. That can end up taking years or even decades to do. But if you’re in a sales position at another company, you can “borrow trust” from your organization. You are a representative of a business with a proven track record, a history of clients served, and a reputation of its own. Your own trustworthiness will impact your performance, of course. But it’s ten times easier to close if you’re working for an established brand than if you tried going it alone. Now, the final benefit we’re talking about today is… Pro: Job Security (If You’re Good) Job security… if you know what you’re doing. If you’ve got the skills, you can rest easy knowing you’ll always be employable. Businesses are in dire need of capable sales reps these days. And while new technologies are threatening other professions, buyers will always want to speak with a real person before spending tens of thousands of dollars. Even if you do lose your position, you’ll always be able to quickly find a new one. You just need to make sure you’ve developed the skills necessary to make yourself marketable. Skills like those taught in the Selling Made Simple Academy. Alright, so now that we’ve tackled the perks, let’s look at the difficulties. Now quick heads up, we’re only going to look at a few downsides here. But these negatives can be absolute dealbreakers for certain types of people. So with that, downside number one is… Con: You Have to Learn to Live With Rejection You have to learn to live with rejection. Rejection, sadly, is a given in sales. It just is. So if you’re someone who can’t handle rejection or lets it get under your skin, sales might not be the job for you. But you also have to be able to learn from that rejection. Speaker, author, mentor, and sales legend Harvey J Eisenstadt put it best when he told me

Sales manager pushing you for more cold outreach to hit your quota? Not so fast. If you really want to start killing it, you need to shift away from new clients. And towards the ones you have now with upselling. In fact, done right, upselling your current customers can on average increase your sales revenue by 67%! That’s the difference between Pirus and Porsche at the end of the year when you take home your commission bonus. unanswered emails. And eventually, eventually, all that effort could lead to a new buyer or two. Emphasis on the “could” here. Even still, you’ve got to wade through a lot of crap to get there. But filling your pipeline with new buyers isn’t the only way to do business. In fact, focusing on maximizing value with your existing clients can make your life a hell of a lot easier. And today, we’re talking about using upselling to do just that. Sound good? Then let’s do it. Why Upsell? Why should upsell in the first place? You’ve already clinched the deal. So what’s the point of pushing things even further? Well, there are four benefits in particular here… 1. It’s Easier It’s easier than focusing on new buyers. With new buyers, you’ve got to go through the pains of establishing trust. But with existing ones (or those who have already committed to the sale), that trust is already there. Here’s a stat to prove my point. According to Marketing Metrics, you have just a 5 to 20% probability of successfully selling to a new prospect in most industries. 5 to 20%. If you’re selling to an existing customer though, that probability jumps to 60 to 70%. That’s an enormous increase! So if you want to make your job selling easier, go with the existing customers. Next… 2. It Drives More Revenue It drives more revenue. Customers spend more with the brands they’ve bought from before. To put a number on it, repeat customers spend 67% more on purchases than new customers. That’s two-thirds more! Just think what a 67% increase in earned revenue would mean for your commissions. 3. It Instills Greater Loyalty Upselling also instills greater loyalty. When you’ve already proven you can deliver real value, your past customers are 10X more likely to continue buying from you. After all, why go through all the hassle of finding a new vendor when you’ve already shown you’ve got the right stuff? Now, there are clearly some very real benefits to upselling. But how do you do it? That’s where… The Proven Product Upselling Framework The Proven Product Upselling Framework comes in. This framework is exactly what I teach in the Selling Made Simple Academy. And it’s made up of four steps. I go into these steps in great detail inside the academy. But for today’s video, let’s go through a quick overview of each step so you can start upselling right away. 1. Document Results Step one, gather the numbers. If you want to show a current customer that a new product has value, you’ve got to have the numbers to back it up. When it comes to new vs. current accounts, it’s all about how you treat the status quo. For instance, with new accounts, you want to attack the status quo. Productivity could be better. Efficiency could be better. Bottom-line earnings could be better. But with current accounts, you’re actually attacking and defending the status quo. You’re defending it because you don’t want clients to head to your competitor. And you’re attacking it so you can convince them to upgrade to your premium product. There are a couple of ways you can do both at once. But the best I’ve found is by sending them a value-rich quarterly report. Now, you can check out an example of this quarterly report in the blog post found in the description of this video. But in this report, you should include the following: 1. Your Earned Results Your earned results. 2. Review of Previous Buying Process A quick review of the previous buying process that reconfirms the client did their due diligence choosing you. 3. Sharing of New Industry Insights Sharing of new industry insights to provide extra value. 4. Detailed Competitor Improvements Detailed competitor improvements, highlighting new changes in your industry competitors. 5. Your Own Detailed Improvements Your own detailed improvements, including new features you’ve been developing and how they compare to your competitor’s. 6. howing the Cost of Change A section summarizing the cost of changing considering everything discussed so far. This is also a great place to start introducing your upsell products. 2. Review Changing Needs Highlighting their changing needs. Every business grows. And as it does, needs change. It’s a part of life. But your job is to identify those changing needs and show how your upsell product addresses those needs. It’s time to put your research skills to work here. As the more nuanced and specific you can get, the better. If you can pinpoint some of the biggest pain points and growth opportunities your client is facing, you can leverage them to better sell your premium product. Usi

Most salespeople barely hit quota. And I admit, that used to be me too. It wasn’t until I started doing one very unexpected thing that my income started to explode… I got unreasonable. And today’s video is all about why you too need to start acting a little less reasonably. Now, I’m 35. I’ve lived a solid ⅓ of my life already. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned over my career in sales, it’s that you don’t have time to waste if you want to reach any reasonable level of success. Like, none. No kidding. Success at anything, anything, takes a decade at a minimum. Tough to hear, right? It’s sad but it’s true. And the longer you commit to doing the same thing everyone else is doing, following the same rules, living up to the same expectations, and being the same unremarkable, everyday sales rep, the less time you have to become truly successful. If you want to bust out from the pack, you’ve got to be different. You’ve got to defy the norms holding everyone else back. And you’ve got to start being unreasonable. Today we’re talking about 5 ways to start busting expectations and living a little less reasonably. And once you do follow them, you can thank me a decade from now when you’ve become the person you always dreamed of being. 1) Get Busy Get busy. This one’s a tough one to swallow. But as hard as it is to hear it, you’re going to have to work harder. Yeah yeah, there’s the typical 9 to 5. And a lot of people—the majority of people—clock out and forget about their job. That’s the reasonable approach. But if you want any chance of wild success, you’ve got to put in the hours. Now don’t worry—eventually you’ll be able to cut back. After you’ve built a solid foundation for yourself. But in the beginning, you need time to test what works. To see what doesn’t. And to find your process and path to success. So buckle up. No one ever said success was easy. 2) Get Lazy Threw you for a loop there, didn’t I? “Will, isn’t that the exact opposite of what you just said?” Well hold on a sec. After you put in the work, it’s time to get strategically lazy. As soon as you start seeing results, the next step is to double down on the pieces that give you the best results. Find the 20% of effort that is getting you 80% of the results and double down. Are 95% of leads coming from emails 5 and 6 of your 3-month outreach? Chop off the rest and build out from those. Are 4 out of 5 of your clients just one business sector? Start putting all your efforts there instead. And once you’ve started seeing your results level off, it’s time to restart the process. Find the 20% within that, and then the 20% in that, again and again. The more you refine, the more you can start making tiny changes and seeing huge results. 3) Get Mean Now, you’ve heard the saying “You are the average of the 5 people that you spend the most time with”? Well, there’s science to back this up too. Did you know most people earn between +/- 20% of what their parents earn? Or that with the right people in your circle, you’re scientifically proven to have more self-control, make wiser investments, and even feel less stress? Your social and professional circle matters. It matters a hell of a lot. And if you want to be successful, you need to ditch people who aren’t progressing at the same speed you are. Yep, they’ll probably be pissed. Yep, they’ll say you’re being unreasonable. And they’re right—you are. But that’s a good thing. 4) Get Zen Get zen. No matter what your spiritual leanings are, there’s something incredibly valuable behind the Buddhist way of living. And that’s minimalism. The better you are at incorporating minimalism, the more successful you’re going to be. Now I’m not saying you should live in a white room with a mattress on the floor and no cutlery… Instead think about this definition of minimalism – #container-bottom { width:100%; overflow: hidden; margin-top:20px; } #one-bottom { width:10%; float:left; padding:5px; } #two-bottom { width:90%; float:right; padding:3px; } @media only screen and (max-width: 767px) { #one-bottom { display: block; float: none; width: 100%; padding: 0px 0; } #two-bottom { display: block; float: none; width: 100%; padding-bottom:0px; padding-left:0px; padding-right:0px; } } Expert Note: “Remove anything that doesn’t help you become the person that you want to be” Will Barron Founder of Salesman.org I did this recently. I stopped recording This Week In Sales, the weekly podcast that I did with sales legend Victor Antonio. It was a great idea at first. But eventually, I realized it wasn’t helping me live the life I wanted to live. So even though I enjoyed doing it, Victor and I decided it was time to call it a day. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time. Doing so has freed up a massive amount of time and headspace for me to take on exciting new projects. And I regret nothing. 5) Get Strong Not physically strong. Though there are definitely benefits to that too. But rather, socially strong. Mentally strong. By

64% of sales professionals are scared of picking up the phone and calling prospects cold. And if you’re like so many other reps out there, you’re not a fan of cold calling either. But in today’s video, we’re looking at why cold calling has reps shaking in their boots. And most importantly, how you can kick that fear right where the sun don’t shine. Now, like I said, nearly 2 out of 3 reps hate cold calling—64% in fact according to our SalesCode Assessment. But what’s really going on here? Why is this simple practice so damn scary? Well, it all boils down to biology. As social animals, we’re built to crave the approval of our peers. And if we don’t get that approval and are rejected, it’s painful. No really, we feel rejection in the same exact spot of the brain that process physical pain. And as anyone who’s cold called knows, rejection happens quite a bit. So it makes sense we’d be anxious about it. Now, the trick is finding ways to overcome that biological fear of rejection. Ways of rewiring the brain to make cold calling less scary. And that’s exactly what we’re talking about today. With these four techniques, you can say so long to cold calling fears. And start finding more buyers so you can close more deals. It’s as simple as that. 1) Make Fear Your Friend We all get nervous sometimes. Whether we’re jumping out of a plane or just trying a new restaurant, a little bit of anxiety is natural when facing the unknown. It’s what you do with that fear that makes a difference. One thing I’ve found incredibly helpful for overcoming fear is immerse myself in it. You know, really feel the sensations it causes. The racing heart, the sweaty palms. Once that’s done, it’s time for a bit of mental gymnastics. Instead of thinking of these sensations as fear, I relabel them as excitement. See, biologically, fear and excitement are incredibly similar. They both are meant to prepare your body and mind for action. And the symptoms—rush of adrenaline, increased heart rate—are the same. So instead of seeing this as fear, flip it. Think of it as excitement. And then use that reframing to help you act. This will let you stay consistent with your cold calling. And who knows, you may even start looking forward to it! 2) Rethink Your Coping Behaviors Now, this one comes directly from our Social Anxiety Framework from the Selling Made Simple Academy. So if you want an even deeper dive, be sure to head to Salesman.org and get signed up. But just as a brief overview, if you want to eliminate cold calling anxiety, you need to start with your coping behaviors. To explain, anxiety is caused by getting caught in a cycle, a loop. First, there’s an inciting event that triggers your anxiety response. Then you use ineffective coping behaviors to treat that anxiety. Maybe you hide in the bathroom to avoid cold calling. Or you pick up the phone and pretend to dial numbers. No matter what that coping behavior is, it eventually has consequences. You fall behind on your numbers. Your boss finds out. Whatever. And once that happens, your anxiety sparks up again, restarting the whole cycle over again. But you can in fact break this cycle. All you have to do is change your coping behaviors. There are two coping behaviors I’ve found are super helpful. A) Shift Your Attention Shifting your attention. When you’re anxious, the more focused you are on your inward feelings, the worse things get. So next time you feel yourself starting to panic, try shifting your focus to something else. Concentrate on your environment around you. What do you see? What do you smell and hear? Think about the people you’re interacting with. What are they thinking and feeling? The more you take the spotlight off yourself, the calmer you’ll be. B) Get Curious Getting curious. Whenever I feel anxiety starting to creep in, I consciously force myself to get extremely curious. When you force yourself to be incredibly curious, there is little processing room or overhead left in your brain for it to focus inward on your own anxiety. And so, rather than getting caught up in your own thoughts, you become completely immersed in the person in front of you. How can you give them value, help them through a situation, or better your relationship? What are the pain points they’re experiencing right now? How would solving them help? Best of all, getting curious makes you feel better and lets your buyer know you’re focused on them. And typically, they’ll appreciate the attention. 3) The Bodybuilder Mindset Sales is a numbers game. And getting good at sales is too. The more you commit to doing the hard work, putting in those reps, the easier things will get. It’ll be tough at first, I know. Just like your first day ever in the gym is going to leave you crushed. But every time after that, you’re going to be stronger than the day before. So instead of giving up after a bad call, commit to getting the reps done. 40, 70, 100 calls—whatever. Just make sure you do it every day. You’ll find your groo

I hate to break it to you, but if your leads aren’t buying, the problem isn’t with them. It’s with you. In today’s video, we’re looking at 5 reasons your leads just won’t bite. And 5 things you can do to fix it. Now, one of the most important lessons you’re ever going to learn in this business is the value of self-sufficiency. Best-selling author Nina Purewal told me once… “One of the big things in sales is you can't control how people are going to react to you. You can only control what you put out there.” SP #697 – Let That Sh*t Go And Reduce Your Sales Stress Nina Purewal You’re going to run into a lot of different people over the course of your career. Some of them will be a match. And some of them won’t. But for those that are and still aren’t buying, the problem is you. Agh, hurts doesn’t it? Well don’t worry—there are steps you can take to fix those problems. And that’s what we’re looking at today. 5 reasons people aren’t buying from you and 5 solutions. So let’s start with a big one… 1. They’re Only Halfway There Now, in B2B sales, a lot of the decision making depends on logic. Does this product meet our requirements? Is the price within our budget? Can we implement on our schedule? But if you’re only appealing to the logic side of things, you’re missing out on a super valuable opportunity. Because in reality, most sales actually start with emotion. The buyer makes an emotional commitment to buy first and then justifies with logic. Maybe that emotion is that they want to be respected by their colleagues. Or they’re looking for ways to catch the eye of the C-suite. No matter what they’re after, the emotion, the feel, comes first. And when you appeal to that emotional side, you’re setting yourself up for a win. But there’s more. If you’re only using logic in your pitches, it actually makes it easier for the buyer to dismiss taking action. “We’ll circle back to this next year once the economy settles down,” they’ll say. But if you can attach emotion to the purchase too, it’s like tying down a boat with two ropes instead of one. Once the storm comes, you’ll be less likely to lose it to sea. So be sure you’re hitting those emotional pain points too, not just the logical ones. 2. They’re Unqualified A hard truth of sales is that most of the leads you talk to just aren’t qualified. Sure, they’ll give you their time. Maybe they’ve even come through your funnel as an inbound lead so you think they’re a fit. But once you get several steps into the sales process, you’ll realize that every interaction up till now has been a huge waste of time. It’s frustrating, I know. But if you do a bit more work qualifying upfront, you can avoid that hassle altogether. Now, the Selling Made Simple Academy’s Sales Diagnosis Framework explores how to cover all your bases while qualifying leads. So if you’re interested, I’d suggest enrolling today. But as a quick overview, you need to be assessing leads for: Pain. Are they in pain? Is their issue actually a problem? Time. What’s their timeline? Are they thinking today? This quarter? Or in the next few years? Fit. Are they a fit for what you’re selling? Can you really fix this buyer’s problem? Return. Does the value of your solution outweigh the difficulties of implementing it? Will they see a reasonable return? Process. Is your buyer willing to adapt to your process? Will they put in the time, say, training to get the most value out of your product? Budget. Can they afford it? Champion. Is there someone else that you should be talking to that will champion this deal? And last… Agreement. Did they give you their verbal commitment to work together if you can solve their problem? Again, if you’re interested in learning more about this framework, head to Salesman.org today and enroll. 3. They Don’t Trust You Simple question for you here—if you got a phone call one day and surprise! It was you on the other end pitching your product, would you trust yourself? I mean really trust yourself? There’s a lot of hot air and shady tactics in some circles of sales. And if you’re using exaggeration or outright lies with your buyers, that needs to stop today. Because that kind of crap is devastating your trust value. But if not, the problem might just be that you don’t have enough social proof on your side. So to build up that trust, there are a few things you can do. A) Borrow Trust Borrow trust from your company. Provide buyers with case studies, testimonials, and endorsements your company’s earned in the past. B) Bolster Your Reputation Bolster your reputation by building an expansive professional network. And start producing valuable thought leadership content. C) Share Insights Share insights rather than cold spamming. People respond to value, not pestering. If you can do all that, you’ll be 10X more likely to win the trust of your buyers. 4. They’re Being Held Back They’re being held back by the most notorious barriers to implementation ever—the status quo. Sometimes the burden of g

Don’t know what you’re doing in sales? You’ll be living paycheck to paycheck. Knocking it out of the park? You could earn your first million in just a few years time. So what separates the two? Well, it turns out it’s just five simple strategies. Yep, just five! And those five strategies are exactly what we’re talking about today. Now, maybe my favorite thing about being in the sales industry is your earning potential is directly tied to your abilities. If you rock at what you do, you can literally make millions in this career. But if you’re not so great, well… it can really be tough to make a decent living. If you find yourself in the latter camp, don’t worry—all hope’s not lost. There are some very simple changes you can make to massively boost your chances of success in this industry. And today, we’re talking about five of the best ones I’ve found. So listen up, stay tuned, and get ready to take your selling power to the next level. 1) Have a Simple Sales Process Feeling overwhelmed every day? Lost? Like you’re working your butt off but never really going anywhere? It’s because you don’t have an effective and defined sales process. Now, I’ve covered what a winning sales process looks like in videos before. But just as a quick overview, your sales process should look something like this: A) Understand the Market You’re never going to get anywhere if you don’t understand your buyers and your solution. And that means… Honing your value proposition and tailoring it to your ideal buyer. Understanding your buyer’s journey. And nailing down the numbers. Sales is a numbers game. And the better you are at tracking and playing to those numbers, the more money you’ll stand to make. B) Get in Front of Buyers Get in front of buyers. What methods are you using to get in touch with prospects? If you’re doing things right, your outreach should include not just cold email and cold calling, but also a healthy dose of social selling on platforms like LinkedIn. You’ll also need to fine-tune your sales cadences so you’re reaching out to buyers at the right time and keeping them interested. C) Explain the Value Explaining the value. The best outreach campaigns in the world won’t do a thing if you can’t effectively communicate your product’s value. That means mastering your discovery call, delivering effective demos, upselling and closing like a pro, and knowing how to takeover competitor clients. And that leads us neatly into selling strategy number 2… 2) Become a Master Implementer Knowing how to sell doesn’t—excuse the French—mean a damn thing if you don’t implement it. High performers are master implementers. They have the skills, mindset, and traits needed to kill it day in and day out. And if you don’t cultivate those traits yourself, it’s going to be tough to get a leg up in this business. Wondering how you stack up? Take our Sales Code Assessment to see if you’ve got what it takes or if you need a bit of work. 3) Simplify EVERYTHING Humans are naturally drawn to the path of least resistance. But for some reason, we don’t apply that inclination to our sales processes. And that means we’re working harder than we need to be. So instead of falling into that trap, find the 20% of your sales process that delivers 80% of the results. And once you do, cut the rest of it. Let me show you what I mean. If the majority of your sales leads are coming from just one channel, double down on that channel and ignore the others. If two of your emails in your 30-day sales cadence lead to most of your calls booked, get rid of everything else. The more you simplify your process, the more time you can spend on closing deals and bringing in more, better prospects. Alright so the next strategy I hinted at earlier. It addresses a major myth that’s continually holding sales reps back from achieving killer numbers and crushing their quotas month after month. 4) The 20-Mile March Now, does this sound like you? Last month you were king of the world when it came to your numbers. But this month, you’re behind. Way behind. So you make up for the dip by hitting it hard. You’re prospecting like crazy. You’re sending hundreds of emails a day. And you’re cold calling so much your ears are starting to hurt from being pressed against the phone for so long. Each month is a new battle. And the rollercoaster ups and downs never seem to stop. Sound familiar? If so, don’t worry, we’ve all been there. But the truth of the matter is sales doesn’t have to be like that. Bit of a shocker, huh? Instead, you can follow what’s known as the 20 Mile March concept. This concept, created by business authors Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, centers on consistency. In their book, they found that the leading enterprises, the ones that performed ten times better, than the competition, valued consistency above all else. And the more consistent you can be in sales, think prospecting every single day from 8 to 10, the more successful you’re bound to be. The secret isn’t innovatio

Leads are the lifeblood of any business. And if you’re in sales, bringing them in isn’t just important. It’s your whole job! But what is B2B lead generation and why is it so essential? We’re tackling all that and more today. And be sure to stick around because we’re also going to talk about how you can finally stop chasing those leads and bring them to your door instead. Leads come in, they learn about your products, and you show them why what you have to offer is the perfect solution to their problems. But bringing those leads in is easier said than done. In fact, HubSpot found that a whopping 61% of sales professionals think lead generation is their biggest challenge. Bigger than staying motivated. Bigger than beating out the competition. And bigger even than closing—yep, seriously. What Is B2B Lead Generation? Essentially, B2B lead generation is a business’s ability to identify and attract customers that are a good fit for the products or services. These businesses sell primarily to other businesses rather than consumers—hence the B2B. Qualify Leads One, qualify leads. Because not everyone is going to be a good fit for what you’re selling. And… Drive Action Get those leads to take action and start moving them through the sales process. Now that leads us up to the next question… Where Does Lead Gen Fit in the Sales Funnel? As you might’ve already guessed, lead generation starts at the very tip top of the sales funnel. If you don’t know, the sales funnel looks a bit like this: Prospects move through awareness, discovery, evaluation, and intent before making a purchase decision. And as they move through each stage, they learn more about their problem, your solutions, and how they’ll help your prospect better their business. Now funnels will differ slightly among industries, with some stages being longer or shorter than others. But when it comes to lead generation, it’s always at the very very top. Your company reaches out to leads, qualify them, and guide them through the other stages of the funnel. Makes sense, right? For many companies, marketing handles a lot of the outreach. But if you’re a savvy and success-minded sales rep, you need to be engaging in plenty of lead generation yourself too. Okay okay, but important question here… Why Is B2B Lead Generation Important? Why do you need to be adding to your workload by reaching out to new leads? Can’t marketing handle it? Well, there are two big benefits to making lead gen a priority in your daily to-do task list. It Generates New Leads Duh—it generates new leads. In addition to the leads sent to you by marketing, you’re adding a new stream of potential sales. It fills your funnel and gives you a better chance at hitting your targets and making more money. Another incredibly important benefit is that… It Gives You Control It puts the control in your hands. You are in control of the sales process. You are the driver of whether you’re coming out ahead this month or falling behind. And you get to make sure your prospects are getting the attention, information, and guidance they need throughout the buyer’s journey rather than relying on someone else to create a good first impression. The power is in your hands. And that alone is reason enough to start your own B2B lead generation efforts. Now let’s talk a bit about terminology. SQl vs. MQL—What’s the Difference? If you’ve spent any time in sales you’ve likely heard the terms “SQL” and “MQL” thrown around before. So SQL vs. MQL, what’s the difference? Marketing Qualified Leads These are the leads that marketing has flagged as going through the initial stages of qualification. Maybe they downloaded a content offer or reached out to the marketing team. Basically, they’ve showed a little bit of interest in what it is you’re selling. And as such, they haven’t yet gone through all the necessary qualification standards to determine if they’re a perfect fit for your company. Sales Qualified Leads Sales qualified leads. These are leads your sales team has determined are worth pursuing. And they’re typically a bit better qualified for the products or services you’re selling. That’s because you or another rep has confirmed that they’re interested, or at least gotten more buy-in than a simple download or a question sent to marketing. SQLs are the ideal. And when you as a sales rep engage in B2B lead gen, your goal is to create more SQLs—individuals that are a good fit for your products, have shown interest, and are likely to end their journey by buying your product. So the question is… How Do We Create SQL’s? How do we create SQL’s? What can we do to fill our pipeline with leads that are more qualified, more likely to buy, and less likely to eat up all our time? Well, there are two ways. We Qualify MQL’s One, we qualify MQL’s. Taking MQLs on hook line and sinker without further qualification is a recipe for disaster. While some qualification has already taken place, it often isn’t enough to determine if a lead is actually

You can’t expect to get far in sales if you aren’t at least a little skilled at crafting cold emails. So, what gets your prospects to click? How do you create subject lines that consistently earn solid open rates? And what do you need to include in your body copy to drive action? That’s exactly what we’re talking about today—how to cold email clients. And along the way, we’ll look at some of the best cold email templates I’ve used with spectacular results. Now, email—it’s how business gets done these days. Of course, cold calling still has a place in any sales rep’s cadences. And social selling is on the up and up, especially if you’re particularly savvy on platforms like LinkedIn. The problem is, effective cold emails are notoriously hard to craft. With the massive amount of junk mail, spam, and otherwise useless crap that fills our inboxes every day, it can be tough to make sure your email stands out from the crowd. So, what does it take to craft cold emails that earn opens and drive action? What does a great cold email look like? And what are some winning templates you can start using today? Don’t worry—we’re covering all this and more right now. 1: Get Their Attention Perhaps the most important step of any cold email outreach campaign is to first get your prospect’s attention with a great subject line. Now, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do this. On the one hand, you can get your market’s attention through gimmicks. Stupid things. Extreme things. These can grab the eye of your buyer. But this tactic comes with the tradeoff of reducing confidence in your abilities as a solution provider—no one wants to buy from a clown. The other technique is to grab attention while still remaining professional. This, of course, takes a bit more tact to pull off correctly. But when done well, it accomplishes the dual effect of building both intrigue and trust. So what are some subject line structures that get attention while still maintaining trust? Well, there are four in particular that I use… A) Direct Subject Lines Direct headlines state the sales proposition directly. No wordplay. No hidden meanings. And no fancy bits stuck on the end. Just straight-to-the-point zero BS. A direct subject line might look like this: “The world’s fastest CRM tool – 20% off today” B) News Subject Lines This is a great option if you have an update about your product or service. It could be the introduction of a new product, a change in the law or legislation that affects your customers using your product, or something else newsworthy that’s along these lines. It could even be industry news like a company merger or emerging competitor. A winning news subject line looks as simple as this: “X law has moved on. Have you?” C) “How To” Subject Lines The words “how-to” are magic in email subject lines. “How to” headlines offer the promise of solid information, sound advice, and solutions to problems. And prospects find them especially clickworthy when they talk about a problem they’re facing at the moment. This subject line might look like this: “How to reduce your ad spend in 14 days” D) Question Subject Lines Careful here— To be effective, question headlines must include a question that the person receiving the email will either empathize with or would love to see answered. A solid one may be: “Is [X] costing you more than it should?” Now that you’ve got them opening your email, it’s time to build the emails body. 2: Story email structure How can you actually help? What can you offer to solve your buyer’s problems? And why should they spend their valuable time hearing what you have to say? Whereas the attention-getter mainly happens in the subject line, this step of the framework should be handled in the body of your cold email. It takes a bit longer to really flesh out, so a mere seven words—the ideal subject line length—isn’t going to do this step justice. Now, one of the best ways to demonstrate that need is by using… The Story Telling Framework The goal of the story telling framework is to… Highly their Current Reality – Acknowledge where the prospect is now. Show their Future Reality – Show them where they could be. Give the Reality Bridge – Identify the steps they need to take to get there, a.k.a. the “Reality Bridge.” Here’s what that might look like in practice. Hi [NAME], I recently worked with [NAME], he is in the [INDUSTRY] like you. Traditional salespeople had failed [NAME]. Here is his story – [LINK TO INSIGHT POST] He went from zero motivation, to proactively racing to get to his desk each morning to prospect. All by implementing proven frameworks to relieve the pressure of choice from his job. Does it make sense to jump on a quick call to see if you can use these frameworks too? Cheers, Will Current reality / Desired future reality / Reality bridge See how that all works? Here we have the current reality, the desired future reality, and the reality bridge, all within just a few lines. It’s simple