the good news is this most of the mistakes you're making in sales are entirely avoidable
the bad news is you're gonna have to swallow your pride to stop making them
valuable resource that all of us have is time don't want retention issues people don't quit
their jobs they quit their boss try and help others see the best version of themselves
I'm going to talk today about three simple sales mistakes that most of us are making is don't even
realize it I'm going to break it up into three chapters chapter one how are you considering your
career path this is a serious question chapter 2 what does it figure driven by the desire to
help others or the desire to make Commission check big question or we're going to tackle
that together and then number three do you have a strategy for the no this is where we're gonna
get very tactical and I would HIGHLY advise you don't got me some pen in the paper for the third
chapter specifically let's talk about number one why did you take a career in sales do you
have an exit strategy for your career in sales this is something that I hear quite often as I
have coached tens of thousands of sales reps and thousands of sales managers I still hear to this
day this term yeah I'm just gonna be in sales for a while and test the waters and kind of see how
things go the question that I have to those people are kind of a tough one and they really don't like
it when I ask them do you think a pilot would just be testing the waters on flying school or
a dentist's just be testing the water on medical school you have to understand that a career in
sales is actually a really great career to have and if you perceive it as something that isn't
prestigious or Noble then maybe you didn't choose the right career but at the end of the day a
career in sales is actually really awesome and you have to take it extremely seriously you need to
read books you need to subscribe to podcasts you need to seek advice and you need to get your heart
in your head completely in the game in order to be successful that it sounds crazy but the number
one reason salespeople don't succeed in their role is because their part isn't entirely in it there's
this notion that salespeople are slimy and shy Steven yes I do believe that there are still a
ton of people who act that way most of us who have seen wolf of Wall Street or boiler room one too
many times and though you never want to be that type of salesperson in fact those of us who see
those movies as the how-to guide on being in sales should probably start seeing those movies as the
how not to in terms of being in sales you never want to be shy sea or slimy or a liar you want
to be honest forthcoming and have a moral compass when it comes to this thing if you got into sales
with this idea in your mind that there's a backup option for something else or maybe after a year or
two I'll go back to doing whatever it is that I went to school for that unfortunately is not the
right mindset to have as long as you have an out in your mind you're never gonna be fully committed
just like in any relationship you wouldn't get into a marriage just to have somebody else that
you might fall back to one day right at least I hope number two what type of mentality drives you
this is an important question to ask yourself and maybe give yourself a little pop quiz right now
if I'm your client and I'm about to buy something from you we're considering buying something from
you do I perceive this sale as something that's going to help me and potentially my business and
my team or do I perceive this sale as something that's going to help you make additional money
your Commission check it's a really hard question and it's a really important gut check moment
the client senses that you are out to make a commission check they will never buy anything
from you they have a sixth sense for this sort of thing and they will spot a phony right away but
the moment they start realizing that you are out to help them doesn't matter what you're selling
if the client believes that it's going to help their business and your intentions are to help
their business they will give you all the money in the world because they trust you as a consultant a
client needs to feel that you are going to be there for them long term not just that you're
going to sign them up in their credit card or whatever billing information and then just walk
out the door never to be heard from again there's a term that I like to practice and I think it has
helped me earn the respect and the trust of my clients long term and it sounds like this at
the risk of losing your business and then usually follow it up with something that's entirely honest
and yes you might lose their business by saying that statement but as long as you're practicing
and preaching truth then people will respect you a lot more if you start making false promises you're
gonna find yourself in a world of hurt because this client will turn off their campaign and not
only that it will never come back to you so you want to build long and trustworthy relationships
and you want to be honest about what's about to happen next never ever over embellish the
relationship you're about to get into or something asks you a question and you don't know the answer
or the answer that is the truth is not the answer that the client wants to hear tell them it's
possible that they will still buy from you because they're not buying the logical data that you're
selling they're buying the relationship they're about to enter with you the product has little or
nothing to do with why someone is purchasing from you I don't buy people's products i buy people's
advice the stronger they are at giving advice the more honest they are with their advice the more I
feel comfortable in buying something from them because it was never the product that I bought
to begin with it was the relationship that I'm buying I'd like to look back five or 10 years
from now and say I bought something from you and you treated me really well so again another really
interesting but difficult gut check moment do you have relationships that are long lasting with
your clients of the last ten people that bought something from you how many are you in really
good terms with finally the third point is what happens when you hear and know do you actually
have a strategy for the know this completely baffles me still to this day of work in sales
for over 20 years and I still see salespeople who are not prepared for the know which is funny and
borderline crazy to me because it is the most common response and yet we still act surprised
when we hear a note and we certainly act surprised when we hear something like let me think about it
you and your team should have a let me think about it strategy you should have a scripted response or
no and yet we get emotionally involved when we hear and know or let me think about it I still
hear this response to let me think about it well what is it that you have to think about that might
be the single worst response to that objection because all it is telling the customer is that
you haven't heard a thing they've said in the last 20-30 minutes or an hour-long consultation
never ever respond with what is it that you have to think about you should have a strategy for
starters maybe you've presented your client with two or three options during your consultation if
they say let me think about it you have earned the right to ask when you say let me think about
it are you saying which product that I've presented with you are you thinking about
or are you thinking about whether or not this is a good fit your business now at the very least
you presented your client with something else to respond with other than just well I just want to
think about it give them something to help them open their minds to that question let me think
about it as a brush-off time we accept that as the reality but just because it's a brush-off
doesn't mean is the final straw of your campaign there can still be further conversation the other
thing almost all sales people are not doing right now which really pains me in the world of sales
is the complete and utter lack of ownership whenever someone tells me no I take a little
breath I paused for about two seconds and then I have to accept the fact that I didn't do the job
I thought I was doing on this particular pitch my demo on consultation if I set an appointment
with someone and they agreed to that appointment and they showed up to that appointment there is
something within that client that is interested in my products if they say no or let me think
about it and the end of that pitch then it's not their fault it's my fault and I have to
take ownership there so there are a few questions that you can ask when you hear and know or let me
think about it start by saying hey I feel like there's something that I might have left on the
table maybe you can give me some feedback I feel like you took this at all today because you were
hoping to get something good out of it if the answer is no it's certainly not your fault it's
mine but help me get better in my role so that I know exactly what it is that was missing for you
that's a really hard thing to say to somebody isn't it do you know why because it requires
you swallowing your pride for a moment I said at the beginning of this video the majority of the
problems that we face in sales are not strategic they have to do with swallowing our pride if you
approach a conversation from an emotional standpoint we're going to fail emotionally
if you're going to approach a conversation from a tactical strategic standpoint you'll close a
lot more sales and finally even if you do still hear the bell and you've asked for clarification
on what is it they have to think about in terms of the product or the time line if you actually
went out and got specifics and then you still ask the feedback on things that you could be
doing better and you can even say hey most people that I talk to about this products end up being
really excited about it you're not excited about the product again that's not your fault it's mine
and I would like to understand what it is that's missing Green say it just like that with a smile
on your face be genuine and see the feedback if you're vacant and seeking feedback again the
client will see right through you and they will see you as somebody who's pulled me out to make
a commission check and then your sale is dead but even if all those things fall in place and none of
them end up getting you the sale just because the call ended today or the consultation or the demo
ended today doesn't mean that sale ended forever leave yourself out ask for permission or someone's
blessing to continue to pursue them and ask it just like that hey is it okay if I continue to pay
attention to your accounts is it okay if something comes up on your account that is intriguing to me
and potentially you do you mind if I give you a call again to educate you on that no one's gonna
say no to that because your intentions are to help and it's not threatening to them in any way
now if something exciting does happen on their account and you are paying attention to it give
them a call a few days later or a few weeks later but never just close out this opportunity with an
absolute no there is no such thing as an absolute no there's only a temporary no hi there if you
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