If you follow my blog you may have noticed that I rarely refer to someone who has bought from you as a “customer”.  I do this consciously for a very specific reason.  The word customer has a connotation of a one-time sale or event sales.  When someone is your client it is expected that you will look out for them and their interests.  And that, my friend, is exactly what you must do if you aspire to be a top producer.

No matter what service you provide, if you aren’t careful, you can become thick-skinned.  You’ve experienced this, and you know how shocking it is to you that someone simply stops caring and ignores normal human compassion.  If this has happened to you I recommend you either snap yourself out of this lack of empathy for others, or transition into another career.

Top producers appreciate that to earn more sales than their peers they must act as their prospects/clients advocate first.  To make sales a smooth seamless experience enjoyed by you and your prospect you must be able to sit in both chairs.  This is empathy, and to be empathetic to your prospects you must first understand them and their situation.

Never confuse empathy with sympathy.  As their advocate you do need to be empathetic, however, you don’t want to be sympathetic.  When your sympathetic you commiserate with your prospect and that’s doing them a disservice.

They need you to understand them and help them as their advocate.  As their advocate you may have to help them discover what they’ve overlooked in their thought process.  As your prospects become aware that you’re acting as their advocate on their behalf they lose their fear of you as a sales person.  And that means it’s easier for you to do your job helping them to make the best buying decision for them.  It also means you aren’t fighting an adversarial position where your prospects feel like they have to protect themselves from you.

One of the worst things you can do is use your language when talking to prospects and clients. I’ve never heard anyone outside of the financial services industry say they’re worried about their asset management strategies. In fact, outsiders don’t even know what that means.

And therein lies the problem. While you think using your industry jargon demonstrates your expertise, and makes you look and sound professional, what it really does is it puts a barrier between you and the prospect/client. They aren’t sure what you’re talking about so they aren’t sure if you understand what they’re talking about.

This confusion leads to distrust and a lack of confidence in you. The very thing you don’t want to happen. Instead of bringing you closer it’s pushing you apart. Now industry jargon isn’t all bad.

In fact, industry jargon used appropriately in small doses is a fantastic thing. As long as the jargon pertains to the prospect/client. When you know, understand, and use the jargon they use it makes you one of them.

They feel like you understand them. It builds their trust in you and enhances your relationship. So, save your industry jargon for your peers and use the prospect/clients jargon in your marketing communications and selling conversations.

According to a 1982 study by McGraw-Hill you close every 5.1 appointments.  That means your sales success ratio is only 19.6%!  Wow, that translates into a whole lot of activity with very little productivity.

Are you aware that Top Producers close 90%, or better, of the appointments they hold?  While you’re holding 5 appointments to walk away with one new client they’re walking away with at least 4 new clients.  How would it impact your revenue if you were able to close even 30% of your appointments?

Now many of you think these Top Producers hold some kind of magical powers, or that they get all the breaks and have all the luck.  Not true, “no sale” breath.  Here’s what they do have to produce those magical results:

1. they know exactly who they want to get appointments with
2. they know how to get those prospects to reach out to them
3. they proficiently move prospects from strangers to people who know them and eagerly enter their sales funnel
4. they gently help the prospect to make the right buying decision for them, even when the best decision is no sale today
5. they continue to nurture their existing clients making it easy for them to buy more, and tell others about them

There isn’t one thing on that list that you can’t do.  There are several things on that list you don’t know how to do.  Consequently, those things are outside your comfort zone.  But, hey, no professional sales person can succeed entirely inside their comfort zone.  Get started increasing your sales success ratio now by stepping outside that comfort zone and doing what you need to do.

You get it.  People have to need what you’re selling or they won’t buy.  What you don’t get is how to move people from the need to action.

Consequently, you leave yourself open for missed opportunities.  Just imagine comfortably helping people to buy your stuff and doing it efficiently so you not only have money, but you have the time to enjoy the things money buys.  Seem impossible, well it’s not.

Common mistake #1.  You’re so excited about what you do you can’t even imagine a prospect not being interested, therefore, you charge ahead telling the prospect every reason why they simply have to buy and buy now.  Here’s the deal.  When the prospect is satisfied with what they’ve got now even though what you’re offering is hands-down better they won’t buy, end of story.  The harder you push to convince them to your way of thinking the more confirmed they are in their way of thinking.  The reason this happens is we have a need to be right even when we suspect we may be wrong.  Thus the harder you push the harder the prospect pushes back to support their previous decisions because they have to be right.

Common solution to mistake #1. Rather than challenging their decision sincerely congratulate them on that decision.  Ask questions about why they made that choice, what they like best about it, if there is anything that could make the option they chose even better, etc.  Never forget selling isn’t about telling it’s about asking.

Common mistake #2. You hear problem and you immediately jump to solution.  There are lots of little things that annoy you in life.  Perhaps your car makes an odd little sound as you drive down the road.  Yet that doesn’t mean you have any intentions of actually doing anything about that odd little noise it just bugs you.

Common solution to mistake #2.  Whenever a prospect shares a potential problem with you explore that problem and discover if there are others before you ever go down the path of sharing a solution.  There isn’t a need for a solution until the prospect tells you how important it is to have a solution, and what that solution would be worth to them.

Common mistake #3.  The prospect is hot to buy and hot to buy now, however, you lose them in the process of telling them about your solution.  After listening to you they aren’t so sure they should buy.  What they thought they wanted doesn’t seem like such a good idea now.

Common solution to mistake #3.  Going back to the solution for mistake #2 never forget that telling isn’t selling.  Telling opens the door to all kinds of missed opportunities because you aren’t necessarily talking about what the prospect wants to hear, you confuse the prospect, and the prospect doesn’t need to or want to hear the gory details of how you’re going to make the solution happen they just want to know it will happen.

Do you have the courage to make it in sales?  Fear wraps its ugly talons around the throats and legs of many a sales professional.  You know the actions you want to take, however, the fears you hold keep you from doing what you know you need to do.

It’s so frustrating and it’s killing your sales success.  What do you do?  How do you get courage?

Realize that courage is not something anyone can give you.  Courage isn’t something you either have or don’t have.  It isn’t something you’re either born with or you aren’t.

Courage is a character trait you develop.  Every day you’re given opportunities to develop courage.  You either choose to take advantage of those opportunities or you don’t.

Have you discovered that you’re very brave in some situations, and in others you’re like a frightened little kitten hiding mewing loudly hoping your Mommy cat will come to your rescue?  Revisit the circumstances where you are brave.  Why are you brave in that situation yet not so brave in selling situations?

The difference is found in your long-held beliefs.  Now rather than berating yourself for acting like a coward turn your fears into a positive experience.  Identify the sales situations you fear.

Ask yourself, “how would a brave person act in this situation?”  Notice I didn’t ask you how they felt I asked how they would act.  The courageous may very well “feel” just as fearful as you do in the same situation yet they have the “courage” to act in spite of their fears.

How could you act brave even when you aren’t feeling so brave?  If you took those actions what’s the worst thing that could happen?  What’s the best thing that could happen?

Is the worst thing that could happen so bad you couldn’t recover from it?  If not, then how bad is it to do that very scary thing and see what happens?  Weren’t you afraid at some point of the things you’re so brave about now?  Didn’t you discover that your fears didn’t hold water in that situation?  What if your fears don’t hold water now either?

Employees, vendors/suppliers, associates, and clients all directly impact your ability to succeed.  In a perfect world you serve each other well and enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship.  In reality there are 4 types of people that you must ruthlessly remove from your business life without remorse or hesitation.

Yes, these people may be perfectly likable nice people.  You may enjoy their company outside the business environment.  But that’s the key difference.  These people will inhibit your business success distracting your attention and focus holding you back from where you could be with your business.  It’s like having Darth Vader hunting you down and you’re constantly trying to figure out your next avoidance tactic rather than focusing on your next step for business growth and development.  And you simply do not have time for that in your business.

The 4 types of people you must ruthlessly remove from your business life are:

1. Incompetent people
2. People who have no regard for you time
3. Negative people
4. People who demonstrate a lack of integrity

No matter how much you “think” you like or need these folks, you don’t.  Keeping them around is the equivalent of trying to go swimming with a one ton rock tied to your neck.  You can’t do a good job of taking care of your clients and your business if you allow any of these folks an ounce of your time and attention.

Instead surround yourself with the people you need to thrive.  These are the folks who know how to get things done and do them.  They’re busy people and have no interest in wasting your time or there’s.  They don’t whine, complain, or tell you how things won’t work they ask you; “how can we make it work”?  And most importantly you can’t count on their honesty and trust.

It’s time to clear the decks and shine the ship mate.  Who do you need to amicably separate from your business sphere?  Who do you need to bring into your business sphere?  And, oh, just checking but make sure you aren’t one of “those” people yourself and someone else is asking how they can eradicate you from their business life.

Well, if you’re trying to sell your services you most certainly are hoping you can influence the prospect to choose to buy and buy from you.  Yet, the way most salespeople are “trained” to sell doesn’t influence people it AFFRONTS them.  Not a good way to start a relationship with someone.

There are a lot of misconceptions about influence and persuasion.  A “presentation” or “pitch” isn’t a reliable means of either influencing or persuading a prospect.  For the very reason that “presentations” and “pitches” are focused on something your prospect doesn’t care about one whit.  You and your product/service.

Prospects only care about themselves and what they want.  Simple enough.  So if you want to influence and persuade a prospect there are two simple changes you can make in how you approach sales.

First understand that your ability to absorb, understand, and recall information about the prospect increases your power of influence.  Actually the way I just stated that was wimpy and understated.  It doesn’t just increase your influence it super-charges your influence like gasoline added to a fire.

Put yourself in the prospect’s chair.  Aren’t you flattered when someone hangs on your every word and remembers the exact details of what you’ve said was important, how you approach the decision making process, or the challenges you face?  Duh!

The hands-down most powerfully effective tool of persuasion is….drum roll please…  Questions, sincere questions, relevant questions, engaging questions, questions asked for the sheer purpose of understanding.  Questions allow the prospect to persuade themselves making you the king of persuasion.

So, why don’t more salespeople ask questions?  Because it’s harder for you to ask questions than it is to practice “telling selling”.  You have to break the habit of talking, you have to pay attention, and you have to want to understand the prospect’s point of view.  I didn’t say you have to agree with their point of view.  You have to understand why they want what they want, why that’s important enough to do something about, and whats keeping them from making a buying decision now.

Nuff said;-)

A Top Producer is a Top Producer not only because of their skills and knowledge, but because of the way they think.  Top Producers have a mindset that enables them to be Top Producers.  When you aren’t where you want to be, and you think you’re doing everything you should be doing, yet you aren’t getting the results you should be it’s time to look inside.

The mindset that’s holding you back is one based on fears.  You are:

• Afraid to stretch yourself and get introduced to the people you need to know
• Afraid to take action so you procrastinate
• Afraid to go all out and fully commit so you’re indifferent
• Afraid to make decisions quickly and stick with them
• Afraid to be overly ambitious because you think that’s just setting yourself up for failure
• Afraid to rely on yourself
• Afraid to take the first initiative to make things happen
• Afraid to be enthusiastic about yourself and what you do
• Afraid to practice self-control and self-discipline

Before you quickly dismiss any of those fears ask yourself how and when you’ve demonstrated those fears.  If you  think you  harbor none of them you aren’t being completely honest with yourself.  We all hold one or more of those fears on occasions.  The difference is whether you allow yourself to cater to your fears, or you take action to overcome them.

Fears are nothing more than self-learned habits of thought.  They started in childhood.  Some of your fears are valid and healthy.  However, the ones that are hurting your sales success aren’t valid.  They’re based on false ideas that you haven’t challenged yourself to question.

To remove these false fears you first have to ask yourself why you hold that fear.  What has led you to believe the fear you hold?  Is that fear valid for you today, and if so, what evidence do you have to support it’s validity?  If the fear isn’t valid how can you prove to yourself it isn’t?  What would you stand to gain if you could remove that fear?  What do you stand to lose if you continue to allow a false fear to dominate your behaviors?

It all comes down to behaviors, so what behaviors can you develop that demonstrate your accurate beliefs?  Substitute your new behaviors for the old behaviors until they become automatic and replace the old ones.  Instead of holding yourself back you’re now propelling yourself forward.  And you’ll have one less thing standing between you and the sales success you deserve.

Top Producers are tremendously effective in sales because of their superior questioning and listening skills.  The good news is that anyone can learn these questioning and listening skills.  Plus these skills have been proven to work in all service industries.  The more effective you are using these skills the easier it is for you to sell and sell a lot.

The bad news is that it’s not easy to learn these skills.  I guess that’s kind of the duh factor because everyone will do anything that’s easy, but few have the persistence to work at something that’s hard for them.  Just a month or so ago all those membership gyms were bursting with eager new members who were going to get fit and healthy by joining the gym.  Well, about a week into it those new members don’t have much to show for their efforts accept sore muscles, and they start rationalizing why they don’t have time to go to the gym until they just give up and quit.

Now there are certain individuals who happen to be wired to be good listeners and questioners.  Of course, those folks are a rare breed.  Everyone else has to work at it to develop these skills.  And they aren’t skills you just pick up from reading a book, attending a seminar or workshop, or from following a Top Producer around.  According to Neil Rackham the author of SPIN Selling you need a coach to learn these skills.

The good news is you can learn the skills it takes to be a Top Producer and you can shorten your learning curve.  The bad news is many salespeople will proclaim they can’t afford to work with a coach.  Well let me share a story with you about my friend, Bob, the roofer.

Bob, was called by the homeowner Tim to estimate the cost of repairing his roof.  Bob met with Tim on the agreed upon time and day, and assessed the damages and cost of the repair.  When Bob told Tim his investment Tim caught his breath and said, “that much?”

Tim proceeded to share with Bob a series of hardships the family was going through.  Tim had an auto accident totaling his car, and in the accident his wife was injured and had to stay in the hospital for a week.  He knew his out of pocket expenses were going to be over $10,000, and to top it all off he had just been right sized from his job and his wife still on the mend wouldn’t be able to return to work for another month.  He just didn’t have the money to pay that much to fix his roof right now.

Bob asks, “When do you think it’ll rain next?   Tim shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, “I don’t know.”

Bob asks, “How much water do you think soaked into your insulation when it rained last time?”  Tim responds, “hmmm, I guessed I never went into the attic and checked.”

Bob, “How long do you think it will take for the mold and mildew to spread into the rafters and sheet rock in the ceiling?”  Tim doesn’t say anything but he’s starting to look sick.

Bob, “I don’t want to upset you Tim, but when that mold spreads how much do you think it will cost to have that cleaned up?”  Tim, “I don’t know, do you?”

Bob, “Well, a good friend of mine is an insurance agent and he was just telling me about a family who couldn’t even sell their home because their homeowners insurance had tripled after they had mold damage cleaned up.”  Bob continues, “Tim given all the financial stress your already under if this problem escalates it could financially wipe you out.  Would it make sense to repair your roof now before you have more water damage leading to structural repairs and mold clean-up, and huge homeowners premiums, and even a property that you can’t sell?”  Tim with a look of horror on his face, “Wow, Bob, you’re right I have to do this.  I’ll have to pull some money out of savings and maybe get a small loan and deal with the other bills as they come.”

Now Bob is a Top Producer.  Bob didn’t just want the sale so he could put money in his bank.  He wanted to protect Tim from consequences he hadn’t even considered.  So now I have to ask you, if can’t invest in yourself so you can get where you want to be now how will you ever be able to do it when your sales continue to lag and the bills continue to pile up? 

A professional sales person is commission based and/or they own their business.  The buck starts and stops with you, and you need to make sure your head is in the game to win.  Now many business owners/sales professionals are former employees and that can lead to problems inhibiting your current success.

Employees mistakenly think time alone increases their value.  Here’s what I mean by that.  Employees have a strong propensity of thinking that just because they happened to consistently show up and do the job they’re paid to do for another year that it means they deserve a raise.  Hog wash!  And that thinking won’t work for you either.  Most employees don’t have 30 years experience they’ve had the same experience 30 times, and that doesn’t make them anymore valuable to the company or your customers.

Your value is not based on the amount of time you’ve spent doing something.   Someone who has never done a job can be more valuable than the person who’s been doing the job for 30 years because they bring more personal value to the work.  Your personal value determines your value as a sales professional/business owner.

Each year you should set goals for increasing your personal value to the business.  And that means more than just attending a seminar.  It means not just learning a new idea, but implementing actions that generate more value.  How might you increase your personal value?  Well, you could:

• develop your expertise in a specific body of knowledge and skill set
• become recognized as an expert by your peers
• develop new skills or improve your existing skills
• increase your productivity
• focus more on doing the right things and doing the right things right, and less on just doing a lot of things
• plan your success rather than hoping good things will happen
• expand your center of influence

And more…  The point is the success that got you where you are today will not be enough to get you where you want to be tomorrow.  So, if you aren’t moving forward you’re moving backward.  And unlike an employee no one is going to give you an unearned raise just because you think you deserve one.  So bolster your entrepreneurial spirit and pick at least one way you’ll increase your value and get yourself a raise!