It’s not about just you

I had a salesperson that I just couldn’t seem to get her to work with more customers- being she was new, I would repeatedly emphasize to her to work with more customers, but when they would come in, she’d usually fall back & let another salesperson Up (catch) them. I couldn’t figure it out..she knew her product, she was technically sound, & she was used to competing against the boys because she came from a male dominated industry …so what was it? When asked, she responded, “Marsh, I don’t have a huge need- the other salespeople around me have to struggle to make a sale in order to pay rent & car notes- I don’t have a huge need so I don’t need to make much.” Leaning back I asked her, “So what’s your end game…” to that she told me that she planned on being in the car business a long time. “Then if that’s the case, you’re not doing yourself much good- here’s why…

First, you can’t teach what you don’t know & you’ll never know until you first do. In his biography, Arnold Schwarzenegger said the 3 keys to him becoming a 7x Mr Olympia, successful businessman, & one of the highest paid actors at the time in Hollywood were reps, reps, reps.”

Reps weatherproof your career. You’ve got to work with hundreds of experiences, objections, scenarios, & obstacles while fading & maneuvering through thousands of rejections not only so that you can learn, but so that you can pay it forward and help others succeed who are starting out as well. Reps also give your customers the needed assurances that you can help them with their current situation because you’ve helped other customers maneuver through similar circumstances as well.

“This brings me to my 2nd point,” I told her, “When you’re not working with enough customers, not only do you not possess enough of the necessary skills that they desire & deserve, but not working with enough customers means that you’re OK with them buying from an inferior salesperson- if you say that you’re here to help customers, then you’ve got to follow through with actions to those words.”

“Which brings me to my 3rd point,” I quipped, “Do you have kids?” She told me that she had a boy and a girl- Mason & Madison…”Do you want them to do well in life,” I asked knowing she’d say yes. “If you want them to do well, then be their teacher- set the example because they can’t be what they don’t see. The reason why so many struggle as adults today is because, no one played the part…no one showed them the pattern… no one chalked the outline, nor showed them what they could be because no one helped them see…no one showed them more so they’ve accepted less.”

You must do well…you must reach beyond your comfort zone…you must dig deep and get back up…you must set audacious goals & kick the door in when Life tries to slam it in your face…you must reach higher because this isn’t just about you.

It’s way bigger than that…

….but first you’ve got to set the bar.

I’ll see you on the Blacktop.

Manage now, market later

There’s a proverbial saying that when it comes to the car business, “There is no tomorrow,” which means your best opportunity to make a sale is the customer seated in front of you, right now. I remember my first month in the business, I literally had a notebook full of names and notes of customers who promised me they would be back-15 years later, I’m starting to think that those customers aren’t coming back.

Many sales consultants are single minded; some consultants focus only on today’s customer, but the minute the customer decides not buy from them right here, right now, it’s as if the agents from Men in Black swooped in and wiped any memory of that customer from the salesperson’s mind (unless of course they come back and buy from another salesperson, then they remember them). Other sales consultants have the right here, right now mindset as well, except they are so terrified of asking for the customer’s business, right now, that they set the customer up on the eternal appointment system hoping some day they can work something out.

Most of us sell the way we like to be sold; some of us are impulsive while others of us plan the day, date, and time we will buy a pack of gum. Great salespeople are bi-polar and have the duality of mindsets; they have a Manage now and market later mindset. If these salespeople were investment bankers they would take a short term (manage) and long -term (marketing) approach. The short-term approach is riskier and pays a large dividend because of the risk; a long-term approach is less risky and takes a longer time from to realize actual gains.

In the short term, salespeople manage their opportunity by discovering their customer’s needs-accentuate their wants, and create the sense of urgency (hype) that now is the best time to buy.  After exhausting every possible avenue, that salesperson then shifts into a long-term (marketing) mindset and begins to market to the customer. It’s not the customer’s job to remember his name- it’s the salesperson’s obligation to make sure the customer never forgets it. In order to become unforgettable, this salesperson begins a long-term marketing approach by immediately sending his customer an email (or video) thanking him for his time as well as highlighting today’s meeting.  (Note: even if the customer was rude and nasty, send the email anyway. This is your opportunity to change the way they think about salespeople). Marketing is a long-tem approach, which involves utilizing phone, text, as well as emailing of articles of interest, both personal (focused on the customer’s hobbies, favorite sports teams, charitable organizations, etc) and professional (i.e. reviews, comparisons, as well as offering alternative new and used models).

Many salespeople feel like a failure when they aren’t able to “close” the customer today. Remember, it’s not what your customers did that matters-it’s what you did not do that counts. Maximize the moments with your customers and exhaust every opportunity you have today. When that doesn’t work (odds are it won’t) shift into a long-term marketing approach and make yourself positively unforgettable. 

I’ll see you next time on the blacktop. 

Stop looking for the hole in one

Statistics reveal the average golfer has a 1 in 12,000 chance of hitting a hole in one; the statistics can’t be much better for a salesperson looking for a lay down. You know the customer who comes in with the Sealy Mattress strapped to their back looking for an anything goes kind of deal. If you are hoping to win a brand new Chevy Silverado, take a gamble and buy a ticket at the chance. If you are seeking a successful sales career, manage the round, not the hole. It takes 25 days to make a month, not one deal. Too often we become sidelined, crippled, or burned out due to one lousy deal. When you can manage your emotions, you can manage your game.

Golf is a game of strategy; I should know, I am an expert on Wii’s Tiger Wood’s Golf.  Like the game of golf, a sale requires you to make adjustments to overcome mistakes. Yes, you will have a car that doesn’t start; yes, you will have one with the check engine light on; yes, you will have a “jumper” who leaps to the death of a sale as soon as you show him the initial figures. We all have experienced those moments, those blow-up holes; the difference between the Joes and the Pros is what do you do after that? Do you pick up the clubs and throw them into the pond; do you javelin your driver into the sand trap just before storming off of the course…or do you look at your circumstances and strategize how to get back into the game. 

In your bag you have a variety of clubs that will get you back into your game. Your sales career, your month, nor your day, will repair itself. It will take the right perspective, administration of your bag, and your management of the entire game to get you back on track.

Step onto the T-box and drive yourself to success-driving your knowledge and expertise of your product into an experience your customers will not forget.  From there, you’ll end up in a great position on the fairway, because you have committed yourself to hours of education and practice, rehearsing over and over until you got your presentation perfect. Grab your would of confidence and expertly show what your product would do if your customers make the decision to buy it; and don’t worry when you find yourself in the rough-everbody does. Remember, nobody said it was going to be easy, but with your iron-will you will wedge your way out of any tough moment and land onto the green ready for the putt. As the great Arnold Palmer said, “Putting is like wisdom..partly a natural gift and partly the accumulation of experience;” you are blessed with immense talent; the battle scars of experience have kneaded you into the sales warrior you are today.  A sale, like the game of golf, is played on a very narrow course-between your ears; it is more mental than physical.  Think your entire game month through; manage your emotions, focus on the effort and the results will always follow. I’ve got next game.

Managing The “I” In T.E.A.M.

 

Teamwork is crucial for the viability of a business. Slogans have been barked from summer camp to corporate retreats shouting the mantra of Teamwork. Sales, like sports, are intertwined with “I” and “Team.” They are literally Siamese Twins- almost indistinguishable. No team can win consistently without each team member preparing and executing to the best of his or her ability. No “I’s” can sustain long-term success without the aid of their teammates. In the competitive world of sales, there are many peaks and valleys. It takes effective teamwork to not only celebrate the peaks but also manage the valleys. This is where a coach- I mean manager comes into play. In order to build an effective team, each member must feel they are joined at the hip to the overall success of an organization. In the 1999 book titled First, Break All The Rules, Marcus Buckingham wrote one of the keys to having a successful business is for employees to feel they have significance. When teammates- I mean employees feel that what they do each day has a direct consequence on the overall outcome of the business, they are more apt to give maximum effort. In short, what they do matters.

In the profession of sales, the lines of I and Team quickly get blurred because it is like being an entrepreneur (I) inside of an organization (Team), essentially being two businesses in one. As a “sales representative,” she is selling herself to her clients all the while representing her endorsed product. An effective manager is able to celebrate individualistic efforts, at the same time build and manage an effective T.E.A.M. By:

• Tell
• Each
• A
• Mission 

What is the mission for a sales organization? To identify and satisfy a customer’s problems profitably while personally maintaining the ethics and integrity of the business she represents. When a manager can effectively communicate this belief, a TEAM is birthed.