By Terry E Thompson
The podcast currently has 24 episodes available.
Today I want to give you a framework that you can use to improve your performance from wherever you are today.
Simple, Straight forward, yet powerful but you have to take action
Here is a BIG secret you need to know and remember.
People don’t drive results, systems drive results, and people drive systems.
I know you have heard it many times, “we need people to get the results we want'"
If you want the results you have to have good people”. Not true.
Think about it for a moment. You are motivated, talented, eager to help people, yet you don’t quite get the result you want.
I say, fix the system you’re driving and you get the results you want.
“Albert Einstein once said, insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.
I say, “you, working the right system, gets you, the results you want.”
Do it now, or forever hold your peace.
And there you have it. Say motivated.
Having great sales conversations with your prospect is impossible without asking great questions.
For many sales professionals their success or failure is determined by the quality of the conversations they have. Your ability to have a great conversation and get to the root cause of the problem and present a proper solution that close business. Will empower you, and empower the prospect to take immediate action and shorten the sales cycle.
Too many sales professionals leave too many questions unanswered before moving on to the next step in the sales cycle.
Here are 5 questions at a minimum you want to walk out of the meeting with the answer to? Not necessarily in order.
SHOW LINKS:
50 Great Sales Questions
The Art of Asking: Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers
Michael Hyatt’s 7 Suggestions For Asking More Powerful Questions
SPIN Selling, by Neil Rackham
When it comes to attitude and thought process. There are two types of people in this world. The first set wait for opportunity to come to them. They wait for the ship to magically appear. They end up in some job they did not intent to be in. all because they weren’t’ willing to risk it.
The second set of people; these are the ones who find ways to create opportunities for themselves. These people are your startup, sales pros, living the life they want and, envision. The differences between the two is fear.
People who fear for you and people who fear you. Both are people you have to keep an eye on. Because both will get in your way and keep you from realizing your true worth, your true value to the world. These type of people will stop you. But don’t let them.
Many people disagree that anything is possible. They think the truly successful people are there because they were lucky. You can look around, but not at the super wealthy in terms of notoriety or wealth.
But look at the people who are not know. They are just as successful, they started with nothing and build their empire from nothing, and they are doing it.
If you only have $700 dollars, 500 300, 100 you can start your thing and eventually it will lead to building a business that will make you proud.
I want you to think about your dream right now. Envision it.
You have been working toward that dream. Here is what I know. That dream you hold in your mind.
Just don’t stop working on it. But if you keep running towards your dreams, you will survive and thrive.
As you rise for this day, and begin to affirm that this is your day. Remember if you risk, you will grow.
At some point everything is going to go south on you. And you are going to say. This is it. This is how I am.
But during those down moments, that’s where the growth takes place.
I’ll remind you. You were born in the dark, shaped in the dark. You are right here, right now. Fight your way back into the light.
When you fall down, embrace the failure. Get something from it. Allow it to take you to the next level.
Get up.
Get up. Get back up.
Make a declaration to say I am a conqueror. Harvest your will. Look at your dreams and say it is not over. I am going to win.
You will never truly know yourself until tested by adversity.
Look up. Get up. And don’t ever give up.
Talent is not what will punch your ticket. It takes the journey, the scratching the clawing.
What hurts now in the present, is the same thing that will transform your life down the road.
Victory is a product of the fight. Get Up.
In the real world, the one we are living in. You are never entitled to the result.
The biggest favor you can do for yourself is to know that you are going through what every man and woman has gone through if they are going live their potential.
Most people cannot see past it.
But you do.
The best, I am telling you. They look at struggle differently.
The word no is all a part of the process. From Regan, to Obama, to Oprah they all know that.
Find a way, one more call, one more proposal, one more trip, and one more moment.
Then go home and huge the ones you love.
Get Up. Be Undefeatable. Because you are.
And there you have it. Stay Motivated.
SHOW NOTES AND LINKS
What is the worst response you can hear from a potential buyer “no” or “maybe”?
If you said maybe. You are right.
Nothing hurts revenue and sales performance in terms of productivity more than the word “maybe”. You see “maybe” can force you to continue to spend time with someone who is never going to buy.
Spending time with someone who is not going to buy from you hurts multiple ways.
It hurts with revenue, profitability, sales performance, and in the end, if you hear the word “maybe” too often it could negatively affect your company and your career.
When I work with sales teams I would typically say, “Shame on us as sales professionals when we hear an objection two or three times, but never create powerful ways to move past it and advance to the next step in the sale process”.
Many of us have heard the same objections year after year. Which means we’ve heard some of the same objections hundreds of times.
In today’s podcast, I am going to give you my secret weapon to handling objections.
So, Let’s get started.
Team music….
Let me say this before we get into my secret weapon to handling objections.
I believe objections can be prevented. Objections’ need to be handled throughout the sale cycle, and the earlier in the sales cycle the better.
But that’s a conversation for another time.
Here’s my idea:
Great sales pros can predict the objections they’re going to hear. It’s not hard, and I am going to show you how to do just that.
The odds are if you have been selling any length of time. You are hearing the same objections repeatedly. If you are new to sales then ask your sales manager this. What are top 5 or 6 objections I am likely to hear, and how they believe you should respond?
In the meantime, here’s my secret weapon to help you accelerate your ability as a sales professional. First of all…
Finding you own voice is critical, and the best way to do that is to practice. Get with another rep who wants to improve or ask your manager to practice objection handling with you for about an hour every week.
So, for today, as you go through your day write down all of the objections you hear. If you already know what they are then list them. Limit it to six.
Here are the common objection categories you can use to come up with your 6 objections:
Not all of these objection categories carry the same weight. Obviously, if you keep hearing “your price is too high” and after you address the concern, you don’t hear back when you follow up, you should resist the urge to address the price concern.
The next step is to deal with your responses: I call it my response model.
With your co-worker or your manager write down as many responses as you can come up with for each objection category.
For example:
Responses might include:
I know you get the idea. So do this exercise with your team. Trust me; it will be one of the most valuable time investments you will ever make.
Next, breakdown the language inside of the objection:
This is a bit more advanced and beyond the basics.
Here’s an example of an objection you’ve likely hears.
This example typically occurs early in the sales process, and if you don’t have an effective response, it can get you stuck or end your call early.
Okay, let’s focus on the words, “we”, “okay”, and “current situation”.
Finding your voice is critical:
Typically, most sales pros know what he or she could say in response and what they wouldn’t or couldn’t say. The key here is to develop a variety of responded when you are working and practicing with your partner or manager.
Finally, here are a few basic rules for handling objections:
Always keep these four rules in mind whenever you get pushback from buyers.
You will want to take some time to yourself to write down your thoughts based on our discussion today.
And there you have it. Stay Motivated.
SHOW NOTES AND LINKS
Hey Guys welcome to another Wednesday.
Today is The Motivated Seller Hump day. The day of maximum hope that maybe, you might make it out of this week alive. A short burst of motivation to help push you over on Wednesday’s.
This Wednesday I want you to think about this. What is your truth?
Your truth is not what anyone, and I do mean anyone else thinks your truth is.
Your truth is what you truly believe, and that’s the truth.
John Lilly, an unparalleled scientific visionary and explorer, once said.
"In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true."
I like that.
I like that, because it means you’re in charge, you call the shots, and you can make whatever you believe to be true. True.
You are going to find that the harder you push to improve yourself, your skills, to move in another direction, to do the things you want to do with your life.
The more obstacles you will face. Most will choose to stay where they are. That may be all right with them. But not for you.
You have the power to overcome. Because you believe in you. And that all you need. Remember. I Am.
You know, when you face hardship, you find out who we really are.
We find out the true nature of ourselves when we face hardships.
I welcome the hardship, I love the challenge. It’s painful but I love the challenge.
By facing the challenge, I separate myself from anyone else who is unwilling to face the same challenges and hardships.
It’s my opportunity to show others what I am made of. It’s my opportunity to find out what I’m made of.
Everything is constantly evolving and changing. That includes you and me. Nothing is static no matter how solid or how permanent things appear.
When things don’t go your way, they are not losses. They are leads, an opportunity to become what you want to be, and achieve your most difficult goals in life.
Being your best, as a business owner, consultant or sales professional doesn’t always mean you are winning all the contest and awards. Far from it.
Being your best means..
No outside influence is stronger than the intrinsic factors that drive you forward.
Defeats, downfalls, loss of friendships, disgrace, failure, people not truly believing in you.
Remember you are on your way to whatever you believe to be the truth.
Building, life changing, improvement, success, accomplishment, and fortune.
You had a great week last week, or maybe you didn’t. Either way, it won’t matter.
Because you believe in you, and what you believe to be true either is true or becomes true."
What is your truth?
This is Terry E Thompson coming to you each Wednesday; The Motivated Seller’s the best day of the week. The day of maximum hope that maybe, you might make it out of this week alive. And I know you will.
Please share this podcast on Facebook, twitter and subscribe on iTunes.
I hope you enjoyed this episode, thank you guys for being here.
If you did enjoy it, please tell your friends and share this podcast.
This month we’ve had more downloads and new subscribers since we started this podcast in December. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Visit the website at terryethompson.net. If you have not yet signed up for my webinar its today, “COLD CALLING TIPS AND MILLION DOLLAR SALES PROSPECTING SECRETS you may want to do so today. I hope to see you there. Go ahead and sign up. Even if you are not sure, you will be able to make the live event. The recording will be made available to you.
We have a few seats left. Just go to terryethompson.net and click the claim your spot button and you are in.
I want you to stay motivated and have everything you want out of life.
The intrinsic factors that drive You are deep-seated.
Thanks again for being her. I appreciate you so much for listening each week.
And There You Have It. Stay Motivated.
https://www.terryethompson.net
[email protected]
Everyone knows that the United States is now a service based economy.
According to an article in Forbes magazine services, not manufacturing will revive the U.S. workforce.
When people think services, they may at first think of consumer services, as in the hospitality industry. But look under the hood. Think about Apple and IBM as service companies. Many companies large and small are evolving their business model to deliver services in a complex business model.
Two primary reasons for this.
If the person you are working with can experience the quality of the product before the actually purchase. They are much more likely to buy from you.
As business owners, consultants, and sales professionals we need to be able to sell hardware and services, we need to help the customer have a buying experience that says the product is quality. The best way we can do that as owners, consultants and sales professionals is to make sure the buying experience is delightful.
How do you do that?
You do that by the way you sell. Your sales process has to provide a quality experience while giving your customer an opportunity to experience what it would be like to work with you and your organization.
That experience is driven by the sales and marketing team however the delivery of a quality experience comes from you, the person leading the engagement.
Selling something people cannot touch is a huge challenge.
Some say the best way to sell an intangible is to give it away (a sample or a trial) so that it can be fully experienced.
Recently, I worked with a sales rep who was selling outsourced IT services to a small company of 60 employees; remote monitoring, asset management, end user helpdesk, data backup, and recovery.
The company wanted the rep to come in and give them a presentation on what she could do to help them improve their IT systems and maybe lower cost.
I suggested to the sales rep that she not go that route and instead, first have a discovery call on the phone or send them a form to gather a bit of discovery information from the primary stakeholders.
Once the information was gathered, the sales rep at that point engage the potential customer she already have enough information to begin consulting and providing suggestions on how she and her organization could help improve their IT systems and save money.
This one simple act of interjecting a discovery step did two things.
Selling more services requires that you figure out a formal process that turns steps at the beginning of your sales process into a trial service and watch any resistance dissolve.
3 things you need to do immediately.
I am not suggesting that this will happen overnight. These considerable benefits will transform your business. The steps I’ve outlined will help to speed the process and boost companies’ profits.
And there you have it. Stay Motivated.
5 Time Management Tips for Sales Success
There is no challenge in the professional world more prolific than that of our overstuffed workdays. We start every day knowing we are not going to get it all done. This does not mean you give up the day. It means we focus our time is a key strategic decision. Here are 5 time management tips for improved productivity and sales effectiveness:
SHOW NOTES AND LINKS
Here are my notes from the book in the form of some cheese size bites:
Bottom line:
This book offers some great lessons about leadership:
Please share this podcast on Facebook, your friends and subscribe on iTunes.
And there you have it. Stay Motivated.
SHOW NOTES AND LINKS
[Believe In Yourself] Hump Day Wednesday
It’s Wednesday, the best day of the week.
Just maybe Monday and Tuesday were difficult days for you, or maybe you handled them just fine. Today, Well It’s Wednesday, The Motivated Seller Hump day. The day of maximum hope that maybe, you might make it out of this week alive. A short burst of motivation to help push you over on Wednesday’s.
This Wednesday I want you to think of believing in yourself. Do you really believe in yourself?
Today I want to give you 10 actions I want you to take to start believing in yourself.
But first.
Evaluate where you are, what got you there, what brought you to this point in your life?
Did you learn anything, or are you learning the same things over and over and over again?
The difference between greatness and average is just a hair. An average person can do great things. Great people are average people who believe in themselves.
Believing in yourself is the most powerful thing you can do. So believe in yourself.
Take the responsibility for your life, right now.
This is hard, easy is not an option.
Once you believe you are something, really believe it. You embody it.
If you woke up from a long sleep, and you didn’t remember what you did before. And you were told by someone you trust, that you were ranked as one of the top sales professionals in your company. In fact, you were told you were THE top sales professional in your company for 10 years running, and they want you back now to pick up where you left off.
Do you think you would act differently and hold yourself differently? Conduct yourself differently, and have a different self-concept of who you are?
Being successful in life is all about having the proper belief system in who you are.
Truly believing that you are someone unique. Something special in your field.
Believing inside of you, that you Are the best closer of business in the world, the best cold caller in the world, the best at handling objections in the world.
The only force more powerful than fear is belief, and belief in yourself can overcome fear.
You see, hoping is not good enough; you have to be it now. I want you to add two words to your self-talk every day. The first word is “I” and the second word is “AM” I Am the best closer in the world, I Am the best cold caller in the world, I Am the best at handling objections in the whole wide world. Embody it.
Your demeanor will be totally different. The way you walk, the way you talk, how you feel towards others and the smile on your face will be infectious.
You’ll be more persuasive, more likeable, more willing to go the extra mile. You’ll be more real, more relatable.
I’m talking about more than just having a positive attitude. I talking about really believing in yourself.
That you can accomplish what you want in life. Because when you overcome your limits, you do it for everyone.
How you handle negative thoughts in that moment is the difference that makes a difference. And it’s what separates you from the masses.
Here are ten actions I want you to begin to start believing in yourself and living a life of joy and enthusiasm.
Trust in yourself that you are greater than the moment. Because you are.
This is Terry E Thompson coming to you each Wednesday, The Motivated Seller the best day of the week. The day of maximum hope that maybe, you might make it out of this week alive.
Tuesday is the day before hump day; Thursday is one day after hump day. Except Friday is WOOOH! FREEDOM Day! Saturday is Mostly Recovery day, and Sunday is Pre Dooms day.
Please share this podcast on Facebook, your friends and subscribe on iTunes.
And there you have it. Stay Motivated.
There is a Free Webinar on March 16th and 30th on Cold Calling. The 16th is filled to capacity but we still have seats open for the 30th. I hope you will join us. Just go to terryethompson.net and claim your spot.
SHOW NOTES AND LINKS
Free 30-Day Trial at www.audibletrial.com/Terry
The podcast currently has 24 episodes available.