Close Without Selling

W. Clement Stone started life on the south side of Chicago, losing his father at the age of three, and hawking newspapers while his mother worked as a dressmaker. His was not an easy path. Early on he found innovative ways to hawk his newspapers. Rather than standing on street corners, he convinced local restaurants to let him sell to their patrons. Soon enough he had his on newsstand and when he was 16 he moved to Detroit to sell casualty insurance for his mother. While Stone was charismatic with charm for days, he knew that not all of his employees had his skills. So he began teaching them how to close without selling through using case studies.  He was a firm believer in helping others out of the gutter to reach their success as well. The most notable example is Og Mandino, but he was also responsible for Jack Canfield finding his place in the business world.  Stone learned at an early age that human beings do not like being sold to. We love to buy, but we do not love to be sold. Instead of selling, he started his deals on the path to closure by using storytelling techniques. The three key insights you’ll learn in this  episode are:  What closing is defined as and how it’s different than selling. Why closing sales is the most lucrative skill in business to learn. How to close more sales without becoming a salesperson. Storytelling is the key to selling with becoming a salesperson. The best stories to share? Case studies. Are you using them in your business?  In This Episode:  [04:35] - Learn the three key insights for this episode. [06:19] - Alex shares the story of W. Clement Stone, a true rags to riches story. [09:36] - How Stone helped Og Mandino, the publisher of Success Magazine, regain his life. [10:51] - What happened when Stone learned how to close without selling through case studies. [12:38] - Hear the epilogue to Stone’s story. [14:01] - What’s the difference between closing and selling?  [16:14] - Why you should be using case studies in your sales presentations. [18:21] - The Alexism is, “What type of pilot would you trust to fly with most? The one who loves to fly or the one who loves to land?” [19:16] - Hear a quick review of the key insights in this episode:  What closing is defined as and how it’s different than selling. Why closing sales is the most lucrative skill in business to learn. How to close more sales without becoming a salesperson. [20:07] - If you’ve already given Alex a review, write down your biggest takeaway from this episode on an index card. If you haven’t, though, please use that Aha! moment as your review for the show at this link! [21:47] - In honor of this episode, Alex gives listeners a final gift. You can get a completely free copy of his book Alexisms by going to this link! You will also get free access to his $497 VBT e-Course!   Links and Resources:  Alex Mandossian Alex Mandossian Fan on Facebook Alex’s Friday Live events MarketingOnline.com Marketing Online 4-Part Video Training Series Alex Mandossian on YouTube Alexisms by Alex Mandossian All Selling Aside on iTunes Alex Mandossian’s free live Friday show Horatio Alger AwardOg Mandino Jack CanfieldThink and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill