The strongest influence in personal behavior is weighing the consequences of any action.  What are the consequences of answering the phone or returning a voice mail message of any unknown person?  Another factor in determining what we do and don’t is fear.  Combine those two and here is what the prospect is thinking; “I don’t know this person; I don’t know why they are calling; I’m busy; I’m afraid if I answer, I’ll never get that time back; and if I avoid it, it will go away.”  And guess what, you do.  You stop calling.  The prospect was right!

Your prospect thinks they are doing just fine without you.  Your job as a professional salesperson is to create wonder.  No Wonder – No Change.  It will take more than one attempt at a meaningful conversation, with a prospect, via the phone, to create wonder.  Try this; on the first call, leave an engaging message.  After 2-3 days have passed, call them back and don’t leave a message.  They will see you called.  Then call back at different times every 2-3 days.  Now they will start to wonder why you are calling them.  After awhile their curiosity will start to peak, because they erased your first message.  For example, remember a person in a business meeting that stands up and says; “Excuse me, this person has called me three times in the last 10 minutes, and I don’t know who it is.  I should take it.”

As they start to wonder why you are calling, they will start to notice your commitment (See Commitment!) to them.  Here is the punch line – they don’t want to talk to anyone that is not committed to them, their business, or their service and your persistent in connecting with them will demonstrate just that.  There is no other way for you to be tested in the eyes of the prospect.  You have appeared on their radarscope and they are watching you since the first call.  After all, if you stop calling, you are not committed.

When you focus on a niche and find a worthy prospect, based on the information you researched, you want to stick with them.  They are a good fit and worth your commitment.  Your prospect has many duties and activities that are important, but very few they can truly commit to. They want to see if you will make the same commitment.

Here is a technique to try on the 5 to 6 call when you have a chance to leave a message.  It sounds like this, “John (first name of prospect), I figured it out.  You are testing me to see how committed I am to my business, my future, your business, and your future.  Because, you don’t have time to work with someone that is not committed.  Thanks for helping me realize that.  I’ll call you tomorrow to demonstrate my commitment to you and your company.”  And you better call them tomorrow and every other day, because this is your last shot.

Ok, so then you ask, what happens when they don’t call you back after making another 6 attempts.  Here is the message (if it is not the owner or CEO), “I get the feeling your role has changed and you are no longer the person responsible for this [project], I will connect with some one else in the organization to find out who has taken it over.  Please return my call if I’m mistaken.”  Hold on to your hat, because they may be calling you back hot.  Be prepared and focused on the goal; to have a meaningful conversation to see if you are a fit for their growth.

The phone is still the best way to meet new prospects and fill your pipeline.  The bar has been raised with more every day distractions, prospects know more and have more options, but you still know more than they do.  Your commitment is going to build trust, rapport, respect and credibility that will be transferred to value.  Prospects define and buy value.

I peered through the glass like a school boy at a peep show, wondering what is going on inside that I was forbidden to see.  Others inside the store began to look at me and I finally mustered up the guts to pull the door open and walk in.

I stopped as everyone looked at me and said, “I saw the No Solicitors sign.  I’m a salesman.  I sell for a living.  What do you folks do behind the counter?  Are you salespeople?  Can I come in?” 

I was greeted and welcomed to come in.  I started the conversation with the retail store associate (not a salesperson, per their business card), by asking if the door they come in has that ‘No Solicitors’ sign displayed?  They said “yes, same door.”  I asked, “Are you supposed to be selling anything?”  They repeated “yes.”  “Have you ever been written up by HR for violating the sign?” I asked.  They quickly regretted inviting me in.

You may say, “Oh, Scott, you know what that sign means.  They don’t want people coming into the store trying to sell them anything like advertising in a local newspaper, or a girl scout with her father selling cookies or boy scout with his mother selling wreaths.”  Really?  They don’t want to have a conversation with an on-the-go, busy salesperson that needs their service – more than any other career.  They don’t want to talk with a parent that lives in the area that will shortly need a family plan to meet their family’s mobile needs.

Instead they want to prevent the conversation from starting by throwing a shaming and humiliating punch at a career salesperson.  Those are my people!  And I will fight for their honor.

I noticed there was no sign banning guns on the premises.  They will tolerant you bringing in your handgun, but you cannot be admitted if you are a salesperson.  In a time of promoting social tolerance, a career in sales in unwelcome.  The reality is nothing ever happens until a salesperson sells something.

Years ago a local printer called and invited me to meet to discuss working with their sales team to improve sales revenue.  When I arrived, I walked pass the ‘No Soliciting’ sign displayed on the door.

When I mentioned my concern about the impact that sign has on salespeople, they took it down and sales began to increase.  The company culture needs to change in order for the behaviors to change.  Sales focused companies should embrace the persistence of a salesperson and work to recruit more of them.  And yes, they also hired me.

Sometimes I walk into a business that has the ‘No Soliciting’ sign posted with a hurried demeanor I say, “I came as soon as I saw the sign.  Nobody is selling anything.  Who should I talk to?  Is the president of the company available?  Pardon me, while I call this into to dispatch.  Code 4, on location at XYZ company. No need for backup at this point.”

My next move is to go door-to-door selling ‘No Soliciting’ signs and if they don’t buy one, come back the next day and say, “If you had a sign, I wouldn’t be bothering you.”  Just kidding.  I would never do that.

Sales needs to be adopted, adapted and embraced across the corporate culture AND in our personal lives, as we work to communicate, persuade and convince others to grow and change – no matter our role.  Sales is not limited to just the sales department, just like Customer Service is not limited to just their department.

Remember our beliefs determine our behavior, and our behavior, through action, gives us the results we want.  The belief is “to sell is to serve,” and to serve means we help others to experience a better life.

(Disclaimer: I’m not suggesting or even implying you not shop at a store that has the No Soliciting or No Solicitors sign displayed.  Please patronize them.  You also have the chance to start a conversation with someone you are trying to sell.)

This notion that prospects make their decision on differences is a myth.  Most attributes in a decision are based on more similarities than differences.  In fact, differences infuse more risks for a prospect in making a switch or decision.

I strive to be similar to the most respected trainers in the world.  Imagine the smile on my face when someone says, “Oh, he is a lot like Jack Canfield, Harvey Mackay, Brian Tracy, and Zig Ziglar.”  This is a basic marketing tactic, the law of association – to be associated with a market leader and ‘like’ them.

Listing your selling proposition on what makes your product or service different, causes your solution to be fragmented in a time when prospects want simplicity.  Different does not necessarily mean better.

The sales process starts with bonding and building rapport.  Your goal is to be ‘like’ your prospect, so they feel comfortable with you.  This familiarity permits them to open up with share honest answers to your serious questions.  No trust, and you will hear misleading answers that put your prospect in the best light.

When we shop, we gravitate towards companies that share our beliefs.  If you are “green” you buy from companies that promote their commitment to the environment and use recycled materials.  If you want to support the USA you buy products made in America or you may even give greater consideration and buy from shops in your community.  Some women prefer to work with other women.  All similarities.

We offer recommendations and testimonials for our prospects to review, with the goal and anticipation they will have a similar experience – not different.  In our personal lives and professional careers, we have role models to emulate; to learn and apply how they would solve challenges, so we can have similar results and successes – not different.  We vote for people that appear to closely represent our beliefs.

Differences cause wars.  Look at the Middle East.  Watch the folks in our nation’s Capitol City.  They need to concentrate on similarities.  Christian denominations have more similarities than differences and those common beliefs should be accepted and celebrated more than discounted and debated.

When working with a prospect, work in collaboration against the difference; that is the challenge they are faced with.  Rage war on the problem and align yourself with the same goal as the prospect, to find the best solution with the most value (noticed I didn’t include price – see commodity selling).  This is also a great negotiation technique, when you align yourself on the same side as the solution, so the prospect is not working against you and the problem.

Lastly, I will share with you the question to ask when a prospect inquires, “What makes you different than so and so.”  Reply with, “I don’t want to assume you are going to make your decision on what makes us different or similar to your current supplier.  Let me ask you, when you are making a change, what is most important to you in selecting another provider?”

Now practice your active listening and target your response to the biggest influencing factors in the decision.  Ask them about the process they followed last time, because it is the same process they are going to put you through.  Ask them, who’s involved and about their timeline for implementation.

You may feel tempted to pontificate your differences, but if you do, you risk trading-in or minimizing a critical similarity to the prospect, thereby disqualifying yourself from any future conversations.

Lessons learned: It’s about them; and what they need and want.  Not what you have and offer.  Focus on them and the most important attributes involved in the decision. And you will have a better chance of hitting your target and helping your prospect.

In the fifth inning a pop fly was hit in his direction. He got under it, adjusted his stance, focused on the falling ball but couldn’t hold on to it and dropped it. He grabbed the ball and threw it to second base. The batter was safe.

He had a tough time letting that error go. Jack is one of the better players on the team. He commits to keeping his skills sharp with additional practices in the off season and learning by watching professional MLB players on television.

During the ride home, Jack was silent, though his team won. His father asked him what’s wrong. He just kept repeating he should have caught that pop up in the fifth. He couldn’t forgive himself.

His father reminded him of a last game they played when one of Jack’s teammates, Taylor, missed a pop up, causing the team to lose the game. Jack criticized Taylor all the way home and blamed him for losing the game. “Perhaps the withheld forgiveness that Jack held towards Taylor is the same withheld forgiveness Jack feels towards himself,” his father thought. He shared that thought with his son. Then he thought about it in his own life.

Jack’s father is a salesperson and does quite well. He is one of the top producers in the company. But he is critical of others when they don’t hit their numbers. All the offices compete on a national level, which is how annual bonuses are determined.

Lately, Jack’s father’s numbers are not so hot. He has missed his goal 3 months in a row and he is getting frustrated and it shows in his behavior at the office. He has a negative attitude, carries an outlook of limitations and sticks to himself while in the office.

He realizes he is acting a lot like his son by beating himself up for lack of results. Instead of being supportive when someone makes an error and forgiving them, he withholds forgiveness. He isn’t practicing that same forgiveness he needs when he makes an error. In addition, he presumes the judgment he projects on others is the same judgment being projected on him by them.

He fights this type of thinking because he strives for perfection. And everyone should want to be perfect. But no one is perfect. Expecting “perfect” results, only guarantees a life of consistent disappointment.

Forgive yourself and forget about the past. Stop living with regret. Learn the lessons and apply them to the future. That’s all you can do. Yesterday ended last night – John Maxwell.

Know that most people try to do their best and if they aren’t achieving the expectations you have of them, perhaps you are more committed than they are and you are paying the difference in frustration. Don’t let their standards and your frustration determine your beliefs and behaviors. Don’t judge them.

Lesson Learned: Forgiving ourselves starts with forgiving others. Our projection of judgment will be applied to us in time and that withheld forgiveness of others will be withheld from us. We cannot change and grow without making mistakes. No one is perfect. We are not perfect. Believe in a process of growth and improvement; and celebrate and accept each step towards a goal.

Everyone receives the same amount of time each day – 24 hours – with the choice to spend it as we wish.  Some may disagree with me, but I believe time is our most precious asset.  Once it has passed…it is gone. (At the time of writing this, I’ve been alive 17,112 days, none of them can get back or change.) We can only hope we will be given more time tomorrow, but time plays no favorites.  Below are 7 ways to better manage your time.

1)   What is your time default?  If you do not have something planned, how do spend your time?  What makes a promising career for a student is determined by their study habits and what they do when they are not doing their homework.  As you probably already know, Americans watch more TV or playing video games than any other country.  This is probably the most popular time default for adults and not a good one.  Again, it is your choice. Keep your E:E ratio in mind everyday.  Education to Entertainment.

2)   Watch your vertical speed indicator.  During my flight training I learned the proper climbing and descending rate (vertical speed) is 500 feet per minute (fpm).  This indicator in the cockpit measures vertical speed during a climb.  If your try to climb at a greater rate than 500 fpm, you ‘stall out’ the aircraft because there is no airflow over the wing.  In managing your time, don’t try to do too much at once.  If you do, you risk burn out, like an aircraft stalls out.  Managing the activities on your plate and ask yourself is it important.  If it is important, can I truly commit to it.  Some things are important, but we don’t have the time to commit to them.  Make your investment of time match your values.  Build a life plan before a business plan.  Do it for your family and future.

3)   Firefight approach.  Have a plan of entry and departure.  A firefighter approaches a burning building with a plan.  They do not rush in, throwing caution to the wind, without planning their departure. Make a plan before starting.  You have probably heard the phrase “fail to plan, plan to fail.”  Break down your task into bite size pieces and concentrate on performing the steps in the plan.  Your perception of the project will appear easier when you think of each task separately.  And remember that everything has a beginning and an ending.  The ending may or may not be your choice, but there will be an ending.  Plan for it because it will happen.

4)   Recreation.  Keep your life in balance.  The word recreation comes from re-create. Don’t forget the experiences that formed your attitudes, beliefs and personality during leisure time with hobbies, sports, friends and projects.  I believe we should work hard and play hard.  But work hard comes first.  When we commit to working hard first, we don’t feel guilty playing hard.

5)   Rome was not built in a day. When I sold advertising in a weekly publication, I was always working at the next issue, when I should have been working on filling my sales pipeline with more prospects and contacts and not the next issue.  Looking at your selling cycle, keep your pipeline full.  It will make it a lot easier to close sales when you have prospects in your pipeline.

6)   Net gain.  When I feel like I’m moving backwards, I review everything that happens in a day or week and ask myself if it was all worth it.  I take all the good events and bad adversities, add them up, and I better come out with a positive number.  And ‘plus one’ is a positive number.  Keep your “why” in mind. (Read: Define Yourself for more.)

7)   Commitment.  If there is one thing that determines your success or failure in anything and everything you do it is commitment.  If you have it, you own your future.  If you don’t, well, it’s not too late to start. (Read: Commitment! for more.)

Lastly, decide to start.  There is never a bad time to start a good habit.  When you wake up tomorrow, decide to start something new.

Sometimes my audience attendees will say, “My boss told me I should go to this.”  At that moment, they have met their boss’ goal, but chances are that anything in their life will change is low.

Our boss may be in charge of how we spend our time at work, but we are in charge of our commitment no matter where we are, as we are the only ones that can control our commitment.  Our boss cannot control our commitment.

Our time at work is still part of our life.  And when we make a commitment to be the best and do the best, no matter whose time it is, we exercise a high degree of personal integrity that is transferable in every role we will ever play in life.

Can I guess what kind of motivation a person has with no goal or commitment?  None.  There are two types of “sendees” as attendees.  One shows up and enjoys the breakfast and does not say a thing.

The other believes there are no other ways of doing something and the undesirable results they are getting are “just the way it is.”  This close minded attitude guarantees’ they are always right and protects them from having to try something new, which they are not proficient at, which is the complete opposite of the complaining they have done for years.

If we believe nothing can or will ever change, we will be part of change and that change will be someone else’s choice.

I have been alive 17,105 days as I write this today, and every day is special, unique and will never be repeated.  The only way I can guarantee that is if I commit to change and growth – every day.  My life – at this point – is my choice.  Your life is your choice.

Every experience is a chance to confirm and remind yourself of what you already know, give you a different perspective, introduce something new, or test you on your convictions.

Be open to new experiences that do not compromise your values.  Be vulnerable to learning.  This adaptive approach in life will give you a versatile skill set to influence a favorable outcome.

Live a life of learning.

We could learn a lesson from him and apply it to the different roles we play in the game of life as adults, parents, spouses, career-minded employees or entrepreneurs.  We have non-fatal failures and successes every day, and if we don’t, there is not enough activity happening.  The first step is getting outside our comfort zone.

Where are you most comfortable?  How much time do you spend there?  We need to spend more time outside our comfort zone in order to grow and experience more!  A scientist learns from their experiments.  People learn through their experiences.  We need to make more experiences for ourselves. Every experience has an outcome, which brings us closer to understanding and victory.

How we respond to failure is usually an accurate predictor of how likely we are to achieve great success.  The key word here is respond.  Responding is acting with and after intellectual, premeditated, cognitive analysis.  This is not reacting, which is grounded in an emotional, suggestive or defensive -stimulus.  If regret were to be a factor, reacting is going to give you a greater likelihood of wishing you had a “do over” chance.

Since responding is premeditated, let’s come up with a formula, a formula that gives us encouragement to “Reject the Nest” and move outside our comfort zone.   Here is the process:  Try → Fail → Learn → Accomplishment.

Try starts with executing based on little experience.  Trying is a 6-year-old learning to ride a bike.  Later as a 14 year old, playing chicken with the neighbor boys and setting up jumps at the bottom of a steep hill, which I did.  After a few trips over the handlebars and discovering the taste of dirt, I figured a few things out (and wished my parents bought me that computer I wanted).    We just do it, as the adage says.  We may give our actions little thought. Actions based on fixed preconceived notion or an unrealistic imagination.

Later we learn our imagination was different than the unpredicted outcome.  We fail.  We feel like a failure.  And everyone knows it.  In reality, not everyone knows it.  You failed, but are not a failure.  Failure is very accurate feedback from a credible source.  Failure is temporary.  Quitting is permanent.

We may react and quickly repeat the same steps without much thought; exercising an admirable determination.  Maybe it’s on a prospecting call where they hang up on you; you pick up the phone again to make another call to avoid the oncoming sense of discouragement, or quickly hit another golf ball after the first one ended up in the water, only to receive the same result.

It’s common to blame someone else for the outcome.  If we continue to do that, we will never change, insisting that “failure is not our fault.”  In reality we are the only one that can change the outcome.  We are the only one that truly knows what needs to change.

After giving it some thought, we review and reflect on the failure.  We look at the areas we had an influence and search for options, and just like the scientist who learns from the failed experiment, we take responsibility for the results.  We debrief and when given another chance or opportunity, we apply a new approach, outlook, behavior, or attitude.  We learn from failure more than from the successes in life.  When we own our failures, we also own our successes, without guilt.

I cannot express enough how important this step of being accountable and learning from failure is in the process.  In the roles we play in life, we will make mistakes and fail within each.  When marriages end and one blames the other, without reflection on themselves, they are doomed to repeat the same experience only to receive the same outcome.  No learning, just repeating.

After we reflect on our experiences, we take responsibility in the areas we can control and improve, and after we implement a new method; our odds of success increase and we achieve the goal.  Success is and can only be defined by you in the role you play.  This process can be applied to all roles, with you in charge of the results.

We cannot get a ‘”yes”’ until we try, and risk getting a “no.”  We cannot fail if we never try.  Success starts with “try.”

The marketplace changes every day with new experiences.  Your prospect’s buying process evolves when their needs become reality, and if you don’t grow and change with them, you will be left behind.  Your competition may have started the conversation with a prospect before they invited you to participate by submitting your proposal.  Once you submit yours, the prospect feels comfortable going with your competitor, because your sales skills were a little rusty in presenting your company as the winning solution provider.

Companies and organizations that invite new resources from outside create a culture of growth.  This simulation helps the sales team stay moving and active; because they learn new tools and techniques and discard ineffective traditions, so they can keep up with the marketplace.  They practice the Sea of Galilee philosophy.

Traditional companies that don’t evolve implement the Dead Sea philosophy.  Nothing can live in the Dead Sea.  There is nothing flowing in or out.

When you invest in adding and evolving your sales skills and learning new ways for better results, your outlook will be more positive, you will prospect more, you will be more confident, you will qualify better, you will shorten the sales cycles, you will go after bigger prospects and make more money.

The Dead Sea culture has a sales process that has not evolved in relation to the prospects buying process.  In today’s marketplace it is leveraged against you, while adding favor to the competition.  In this case, not training a sales team actually costs money in sales revenue, when they cannot compete.  Zig Ziglar said it best, “The only thing worse than training employees and losing them is not training them and keeping them.”

If your company does not have a Sea of Galilee culture, you can start your own.  Consider how much time you spend every month on your education versus your entertainment.  Are they equal?  Which is greater?

Constant change and consistent growth will get you out of your comfort zone.  Remember: Nothing changes on the outside (sales results), until something changes on the inside (knowledge, beliefs, skills).  New experiences are like new experiments – an improved outcome every time.  Learn something new, and try it.  Don’t stay in the Dead Sea.  Your prospects don’t live there either.

When you know who your ideal prospect is, your sales cycles will be shorter, the closing ratio will be higher and because of your defined niche and specialization, you will be able to justify your price.

In some cases the fit may be right with your prospect, but the timing is not.  Your lead nurturing program will continue to market to these prospects, keeping your name and brand in the minds of your future clients and probable purchasers.

When you have a defined universe of prospects, you can have a smaller offering list, making it easier to service your customers.  This advantage can be used to compete with other companies that have not committed to a specific industry or demographic.  Your specialized knowledge will add value to your clients, which will translate into customer loyalty and increased retention.

As a salesperson you can coach your networking partners to think of you when they hear specific words.  For instance, you’re in a networking group and you are introducing yourself and say, “We work with families with teenage drivers with a not-so-perfect driving record.”  That’s a picture others can understand and it’s easy for them to remember.  They hear ‘teenage driver’ and think of you.

This also works with clients.  There are 5 outcomes of every sales call (http://mnsales.com/5-outcomes/), and one of them is a referral.  When clients know what words to listen for in their interaction with others, they can bird dog leads for you – AND give a testimonial – BONUS!

And because you have a niche product list, you don’t have to learn a wide variety of product knowledge.  As a business owner, you don’t need to increase your price to cover research and product development, keeping you competitive in your targeted demographics.

When price is a factor in the marketplace, you will win more proposals when you focus on your target and specialty.  Salespeople will be more effective on uncovering needs, be more confident on asking for the sale, which will translate into more prospecting and pipeline management for future growth.

Keeping your prospect in sync with your service will increase your success.  You will know who you are, know what you offer, and know what to ask for with greater focus and confidence.

What questions do you ask a prospect that give you the best insight into their challenges or the sales process?