You can’t connect if you have no dots

It’s funny how things line up…

You’re humming along and it seems like everything’s falling into place perfectly…

Until it doesn’t.

Things aren’t lining up for you right now because you stopped putting up your dots.

Dot Days are the days where you’re tired, frustrated, & seems like it’s all for naught…

Nothing’s for nothing.

You Dot Days count….

…not always in immediate results, but they count in grit, persistence, commitment, & resilience.

Your Dot Days are building your infrastructure so when the results come you’re strong enough handle it.

But most people will never see the results…

Because they didn’t put up enough dots…

…they turned back too soon.

Put up so many dots so that it’ll compound & reach tipping point that will eventually spill over into results.

Some days you’ll even have more results than you put up dots.

So on those days where you’re feeling discouraged…

Just put up your dot…

“Today’s my Dot Day…”

One day they’ll all connect.

Stay in The Sales Life 💪

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How to sell to your friends & family

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“Don’t take it personal.” I’ve heard that one a time or 10,000 but didn’t always stay true to it.

I’ve blown deals because I took it personal when a customer came in & tried to bulldoze me or act a jerk.

I’ve blown deals too with friends and family because I did “take it personal…”

Selling to those you know is hard because you get caught up in the relationship & lose sight of the current mission.

Using Molly Fletcher’s book, “A Winner’s Guide to Negotiating,” as a foundation, here are 5 ways to help you to stay the course:

1. Relationships over everything. Never put a deal before a relationship.

2. Process over personal. Your friends came to you because they trust you to provide a service for them. Hit your marks-what questions would you ask if this was the first day you met?

3. 1/2 (maybe even 3/4) of your job is done. Building common ground & trust has already been done- now you have the unique advantage in moving on to determine what your “customer’s” needs are. (process over personal remember)

4. “It’s about the numbers & details.” (Fletcher) Develop the maturity to step out of the relationship to focus on the numbers and details. What number is mutually beneficial to your business and your “customer?” What are the details that surround those numbers?

5. Your friends will gladly pay you a profit. You wouldn’t have friends very long if they had to foot the bill every time you go out with one another. Your friends want you to do well, but they didn’t come to you for friendly advice, they came to you to provide a professional service.

Give your friends & family professional service with a personal touch.

Stay in The Sales Life 💪

It‘s not called First Replier

Million dollar real estate broker Ryan Serhant observed that one reason why you may not be finding success is because you are replying and not responding. In this automated, ever-growing commoditized world, your greatest asset as a sales person is differentiating yourself by responding instead of replying.

In this automated, ever-growing commoditized world, your greatest asset as a sales person is differentiating yourself by responding instead of replying.

We salespeople often reply when the customer we’re currently working with is the cherry to our crap-filled month. Nothing’s been going right & no one is buying, so it’s no surprise this one isn’t either. While everyone around you seems to be swimming in deals, you just so happened to have caught the one picky customer who has NO CLUE what they want; or the customer who seems to be 11 yrs out from buying; or the customer who you just don’t seem to jive with… In defense, we shut down mentally and lay up lame ass replies to their questions & concerns. Replies are words placed in the right order, said at the right time, yet void of any emotion.

We had a customer come in recently who was all busted up. Her life was turned upside down. She left her abusive husband while he left her with bad credit and a repo’d car. Obviously she was an emotional soup-crying, confused, & no idea what to do from here. A tuned out salesperson would’ve pulled her credit & replied with, “Sorry, your credit is too bad I can’t help you,” but a tuned-in salesperson would respond by saying, “Look, your credit has taken some hits, so which family member can we get on the phone right now, to get you back on track? Today is going to be your new birthday!” The responding salesperson aligned with her emotional state & offered a specific course of action.

Think about it…they’re not called First Repliers, they’re called First Responders because they come onto the scene, asses the situation, & work to get you to safety. Customers need that from you. They come in with a range of emotions & need you to asses and respond in a way that aligns with their emotions & the results they need to see. The one they do business with is the one who responds best.

That might as well be you. 😉

I’ll see you in the Sales Life.

⭐️ Catch The Sales Life with Marsh Buice podcast. You can find it on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play

Back in the Sales Lab: “Rarity”

Hear the full episode “Back in the Sales Lab: Rarity” right here. 

• Do you know you possess the #1 skill needed today?
  • Don’t be so quick to be envious of those on your Instagram feed…if you’d only realize that you possess the #1 skill in the world.
• What is the #1 skill in the world? Communication
  • The kind of communication I’m talking about is the ability to express and transmute your ideas onto others.
  • Anything we need to know is one Siri command away; but what is a rarity is the one who can articulate and bring an idea to life-so rich, so vibrant that the customer sees what you see!

And YOU possess the #1 skill.

Just saying the words, “I’m a salesperson,” make others cringe, yet you have the ability to embrace the hostility, discover your customer’s concerns, and by the time you are finished, they’re singing your praises. 

• That’s why I say Selling is an Art.

• Customer’s don’t really hate your profession…they’re actually mystified on how you can create magic right in front of their faces-no slight of hand, no mirror or special lighting…just art.
• When retired NBA legend Kobe Bryant first walked into the animation studios, he was blown away how an artist can start with only a few unrecognizable lines and 20 shadings and lines later, the artist brings his character to life.
• (Parents teach your children the art of communication.)
  • Where everyone else is hiding behind a text message, you be the one to stand boldly and communicate your art before a live audience. That is an art!
• In his new book, Carmine Gallo says the art of communication will make you “indestructible” because no matter what happens in your life, you’ll have the ability to get back up, dust off, and keep communicating. (That’s why I love sales.)

Share your thoughts with me from the podcast.

Subscribe to The Sales Life w/ Marsh Buice podcast where we make a point in minutes not hours. Check it out on iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.

 

Many graduate…few educate

Well the season is upon us. The cards are coming in the mail and the envelopes are slid underneath your keyboard the minute you step out of your office for coffee. Some of the kids you watched grow while others you barely even know are graduating high school or college.  A few know where they’re heading but most don’t… & 10, 15, 20 years later many still are trying to figure it out.  They don’t know, hell we didn’t either, because we graduated, but were never educated. Graduation is a way of passing, but Education is a way of Life. We graduated by memorization… we kissed up a little, pulled some all nighters, & wrote 7 paragraphs of answers on sliver of paper…we memorized which blanks to fill in, boxes to check, & chapters to read, but damn, nobody taught us about Life…

Education isn’t about what school you got into…clubs you were sworn into, or team you ended up on- that’s just resume material…that’s the shit they write about in your eulogy…

I’m talking about education…

The word educate comes from the Latin word Educo which means to draw out or develop from within. It’s got nothing to do with what’s out there… it’s what’s developed and drawn out from right in here… from within and you, my friend, are in charge of your own education… not Sally Mae, not Stafford… not Mom and Dad…not Grandma’s trust fund…it’s all on Y-O-U.  It’s free to obtain and priceless once achieved. 

Education isn’t about what’s on your business card or title you hold…that shit comes and goes-one minute you’re in and the next minute you’re bounced out.

Now you’d think education is all about memorizing and if that really is the case, then we’ve got that down to a science. Oh how we’ve mastered the art of memorizing. We took memorizing from Mr. Green &  Coach Lewis’s classes and we still memorize to this day. We’re quick memorize all of the mishaps, mistakes, upset, fights, rejections, embarrassing moments, hurtful words, and disparaging actions. We lock in and endlessly play back all of the bullshit moments in our lives decades after holding up that diploma. It’s not about what you’ve done without, it’s what you’ve developed within. There’s too much free and available  to you to just sit there and rote memorization.

You’ve got to take the spice that Life has handed you & make your own secret sauce…Life’s given you ingredients now you make your own recipe. It’s taking what’s been done to what you must do and the first thing you must do is get your ass out there & stop playing so damn limited.  Where you are in not who you are…it’s just a point on Life’s map. Utilize all of the resources available to you and push forward…get a library card. listen to podcasts, start with TED Talks on YouTube…and ask. Ask people who are where you want to be. I ask all of the time… I ask my customers the how’s, why’s, what’s of their lives. And I never feel like I’m prying-you’re not. People devote most of their lives to a certain field so why would they be bothered about sharing what they do and why they do it. Bring the gas of questions to their spark of knowledge and watch that shit blow up.

So congratulate those who are graduating, but mentor others and yourself to forever be educating…developing & drawing out the vastness from within. Graduating has a shelf life…education is your Life. 

Catch The Sales Life w Marsh Buice podcast…making an impact in less than 10 minutes each day. You can find it on iTunes or your favorite podcast platform.

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.

The Psychology Of A T.O.

One of the hardest things for a new salesperson to grasp is the significance of a T.O.  The reason why new hires are resistant to the T.O. is because of its negative thinking behind the word “T.O.” The only thing good about the word “turnover” is when it has the word apple in front of it. Think about it, if sales were a sporting event, you would be deemed a loser if you “turned the ball over” consistently; but a salesperson is required to “turn over” his customers. When a salesperson is hired, they are taught to be independent and thick-skinned, but are fearful of looking weak when they have to “T.O.” a customer, thinking the meaning of a T.O. is “I’m too weak to do this deal on my own,” thereby becoming resistant to their manager.  As a manager, if you want more consistent T.O.’s, you should change the psychology of a T.O.

·         No vs. Know: I know this may be hard to believe, but occasionally a salesperson will be confronted with a resistive customer, a customer, despite all efforts, is unwilling to pull in the same direction as the salesperson. The customer is not always saying “No” to the salesperson’s efforts, he may be saying, “Know.” “I don’t know you.” “I don’t know what your motives are. “ “I don’t know if this is the right vehicle for me.” “I don’t know enough about your dealership,” may be some of your customer’s concerns.  If you want to be compatible with your customers, think like your customers do and address their “knows.”

·         Be double-minded:  The thinking behind a T.O. is a different mentality for a salesperson versus a manager. To a salesperson, a T.O. should be thought of as “turning the objection.” The customer’s objections range from they don’t have time to not enough money for their trade, or a million other reasons why they need to “come back later.” The manager should think of a T.O. as a “teaching opportunity.” Turning objections over to a manager serves two purposes: The first purpose, the manager has a chance to turn a customer around and help put a deal together. The other purpose of a T.O.  is an opportunity to teach “hands on.” The best form of teaching is by example.  A manager also may be able to pick up on some quirky mistakes made along the way and coach the salesperson at a later time.

·         All-time assist: To use the analogy of basketball, a T.O. is grabbing the rebound and keeping the ball in play granting another opportunity to score (make a sale).  After spending time with a prospect, the salesperson is fearful of going too far and losing a potential sale, which means they don’t go far enough. Timid salesmen have skinny kids; you must exhaust all of your resources in an effort to make a sale. There should never be a time a customer leaves without buying and the salesperson says, “What if I would have…” Leave all of your efforts out on the blacktop. Keep in mind; you cannot lose what you never had. How can you “miss out” on a deal if you never had one in the first place?  What does the commission pay for almost making a sale? When an objection is turned to a manager, who has no emotional attachment, he can assess the situation quickly and take action. Sometimes the customer is on the wrong vehicle, other times it is as little as reinforcing what the salesperson has already said; while other times the customer may not be emotionally compatible with the salesperson so a change of face is needed. A high percentage of missed sales are not due to price, but are lost due to an incompatibility with the salesperson (i.e. appearance, attitude, or lack of knowledge); price was merely a smokescreen. Often, a change of face or different personality can reveal the true objection and thus clear the pathway toward a sale.

·         Strength in numbers:  The Bible says there is strength in numbers; two are better than one. You cannot win a championship alone, it takes teammates;  it’s called The Rolling Stones not The Rolling Stone; surgeons don’t perform open heart surgery alone nor do pilots  fly  747’s to London solo; so why do you insist on selling alone? A T.O. is a joint collaboration of consultants and management in an effort to increase the chances of making a sale.

If you are a salesperson, before you place this article in a discreet white envelop and stick it under your manager’s day planner, remember it is your manager’s job is to equip you with the necessary skills in order to become successful, but it is your job to do the work and turn your dreams into reality.  Put a different way, a coach’s job is to prepare you for the game, but it is your job to take the game winning shot. Players use all of their resources to win as a team, but are inducted into the hall of fame alone. Change the psychology of a T.O. and change your fortunes forever. See you on the Blacktop.

The Jewel Or The Vile?

The word Jade is a heteronym (a word with the same spelling, yet different meanings) that is used in one form or another in the arena of sales. When used as a noun, Jade is a beautiful, expensive gemstone. As a verb, Jade is defined worn out broken down worthless and dull. If the word Jade was used to describe your qualities as a sales professional, would you be described as the noun or the verb?  Obviously, the meanings are significantly different.

Remember why you were first hired as a sales professional? You were hired because you convinced the sales manager that you were a gem. You dressed in your best clothing, ornamented in your best jewelry and truly looked the part. Although your sales manager may have viewed you as a little rough on the edges, he or she bought off what you were selling thinking that you could be polished and crafted in order to bring out the best qualities you have to offer. With high self-esteem and grandiose expectations, you hit the lot with aspirations to be a game-changer, the best salesperson that dealership has ever seen. In your mind, you know there is no other salesperson compared to you; a jewel surrounded in a case full of ordinary stones.

No one can fully prepare you for the rejection you must face in order to be successful in sales. In a short amount of time, what was once an expensive gem begins to lose its luster. Because of the insurmountable amounts of rejection, we become tired, worn-out, dull, weary; simply we become the verb, Jaded. We begin to look at customers as a liability and no longer an asset.  As it is written, “Seek and ye shall find.” At one time you looked at each customer as a treasure chest, now they are looked upon as a toxic dump; the waste, the by-product from another dealer’s lot. We begin to ask questions such as, “What’s your beacon score/ what kinda payment do you want?” or “What do you owe on your car?” in an effort to circumcise our efforts out on the lot. We ask these detrimental kinds of questions and decide if we should date this customer or treat them like a one night stand. We’ve resigned the position of being an image consultant, no longer motorvating our customers to upgrade their transportation image and instead accepted a professorship position giving our customers the Rules of the Lot and lecture them on how they need to buy a car.

Jade is noted by its tremendous strength and beauty. It comes in many different colors and in many ways is as strong as steel. Jade is mined and sold in large chunks; the buyer is gambling because he has no idea the quality of Jade inside of the rock. You were hired because your manager took the gamble and viewed you as a gem among rocks. You possess a unique combination of magnificence as well as strength, but it must be worked, tried, and chiseled in order to showcase its brilliance. The sales profession is a kind of metamorphic activity that only time and hard work can distinguish the best from the rest. It takes many years for a rock to become a gem, but only seconds of the wrong perspective and wrong thought for a gem to be reduced to a mere rock. Never lose your radiance.

Selling with your H.E.A.D.

We have often heard the mantra in sales, “like attracts like,” but few of us take the time to understand how this translates to our career in sales. In order for a customer to buy from you, they must first be able to relate to you. Chameleons thrive in sales because they have the ability to become likeable with their clients. The way they become likeable is by mirroring their customer’s personalities. This doesn’t mean you have to lose your flair or be someone you are not; it only means you need to minimize the traits that could potentially be a turnoff to your customers and accentuate the personalities that they can relate to, giving you an advantage in closing more sales. When become “one of them,” your customers will be able to relate; when they relate, they buy. Instead of using a “one size fits all” approach to sales, try using your H.E.A.D.

Hard-driver: This person has a dominate personality; they have more of a steam-roller, bottom-line straight- to-the point kind of personality. Hint: Get to the point with this kind of person; the fluff he can do without.

Expressive: There is no doubt what this person is feeling; they are expressive, use a lot of gesturing, and can be loud at times. Hint: Be visual with this kind of person, create a lot of hype and WOW factor with this kind of person. The bigger the show the more appreciative they are.

Analytical: I like to call these kinds of people “propeller heads.” Like Dragnet, it’s all about the facts. They show little emotion, very pragmatic, and if they have a sense of humor, you won’t see it. Hint: You better know your product knowledge. They will often ask questions already knowing the answer; they are testing not only your knowledge, but also your integrity.

Do-gooder: The Do-gooder wants to please everyone. They are the life of the party, likeable, amiable, and go with the flow. Hint: These personalities are very easy to get along with, but a word of caution; they will throw likeable stalls at you, giving you the impression that you have something, just not today. When you follow up with them, they purchased somewhere else, but they “appreciate all you did!”

Remember most of what you say is unsaid; it is done non-verbally. Sometimes we are so busy selling that we become blind to their responses and what is being said through their body language. Instead of using a “canned” personality with all of your customers bringing you mixed results, try adopting the H.E.A.D. method- adapting to their personality and begin to see more consistent results and close more deals.