A Fascinating Introduction Into The Mindset Of A Winning Salesman.
A fascinating introduction into the mindset of a winning salesman.
Quit selling. It doesn’t work and no-one likes it.
Change the definition to “helping people buy.” Help them with their needs, opportunities and problems. If you do this they’ll buy from you.
The top five per cent of salespeople share the same special sauce. They help people even if it means recommending someone else. 30% of the leads that come into my business we hand to other organisations.
Take a call that comes in from a firm asking for help redesigning their compensation plan.
Can I do this? Yes. Have I done this before? Yes.
But there are people out there who do it better than me. They deserve the client’s business. A year later, that same client will call up again and say “I want you to come in to teach my salespeople.”
That’s my wheelhouse.
To take it to another level, think of it this way – how can I make this person more successful? The more you operate with this mindset, the more clients will open their arms.
Sports teams are run better than most businesses.
It doesn’t matter the sport – no coach would put his players on the field without a playbook. No coach would send them out there without the systems and processes they need to perform or the necessary preparation and practice.
When someone asks me to teach their salespeople, I say: “Perfect. The best way I can do that is by understanding how you sell. Send me the playbook that you use to teach your sales team how to sell.”
98/100 businesses couldn’t send me any playbook – they didn’t have one. Each individual salesperson was selling things their own way. This is the mainstream approach to selling – the maverick approach.
Build the playbook, practice the playbook, and enjoy success.
The secret to success is maximising your high payoff activities – HPAs. We all get 168 hours each week, but the top performers utilise them better than the rest. Everything that doesn’t qualify as a HPA is outsourced. This could be delegating to someone within the company, outside the company, or simply deciding to quit doing that shit!
Everyday I’m confronted with opportunities. I say to myself: “This is a grand life that you’re leading – don’t fuck it up!” I push away opportunities that don’t qualify as HPAs on a daily basis. You must take it upon yourself to prioritise.
50% or more of successful selling has nothing to do with price, service, systems or processes. It has to do with getting up in the morning and resolving to kick ass today.
You can teach people systems and processes, but not how to get up in the morning and want to chew raw meat off a bone.
It is imperative to do what you said you were going to do whether you want to or not.
When I was running Iron Mans all over the world, I would arrive in a new city at eleven at night, and after speaking and travelling all day my training plan would tell me that I have to run for an hour and bike for two.
I’d then find myself in the hotel gym at two in the morning on a stationary bike – a pain in the ass at any hour. But in that empty gym I’d have a conversation with myself that went something like this:
Take a look around. No one is here – they’re all in bed. Then I realised that in two months time those same people won’t be crossing the finish line for an Iron Man and I will.
