The Top Five Sales Tactics All Salespeople Should Avoid

When someone decides they want to pursue a career in sales—which is as honorable a profession as any other—they also get to decide what kind of a salesperson they want to be. Very few people would purposely choose to become the stereotypical sleazy salesperson, but it can happen if no one ever takes the time to explain the “old school” selling tactics people associate with sleazy salespeople, and why you should avoid them at all costs. Here’s a quick refresher of the top five tactics all salespeople should avoid: 

1. Directly putting down your competitor’s products/services:  Doing this is basically telling your prospect they are ignorant of the world around them. Face it, your prospects have access to the same information you do. Your job isn’t to prove your products/services are better than your competition’s. It’s to show your prospect that your products/services are a perfect fit for them.

2.  Hoping your prospect is as lazy as you are:  I once worked for a VP who always asked, “Did you do your due diligence?" The reality is that there are business owners who don’t do their due diligence with regard to their own company, or with the sales reps they encounter. For the sales rep who gets their foot in the door, it’s a choice. They can do just enough work to get the account, or they can do their own due diligence and become an invaluable resource to the business owner.

3.  Insulting you prospects intelligence: If there’s one trait that’s become synonymous with the sleazy salesperson, it’s the idea that they’re always on the lookout for the easy mark. Never assume that the way someone looks, dresses, or talks is an indication of how well they know their business. Don’t fall into the trap of believing that just because someone’s desk is a mess, you have an edge. Don’t let your assumption about how business savvy a prospect is end up showing the prospect just how un-savvy you are.

4.  Making promises just so you can get the order:  Everybody knows how the “bait and switch” approach to business works. What people don’t understand is how it can still happen in this day and age. Easy. When the order isn’t delivered on time, or as expected, or at the price quoted, it’s always someone else’s fault. These kinds of sales lead to short-term clients. Think about it… if you go to a restaurant and everything about your visit is sub-standard, are you likely to go their again? Over time, short-term clients lead to a short-term career.

5. Talking over your prospect: Yes, you may have a lot of great information to share, but good sales conversations are a two-way street. Talking over your prospect’s questions before they can even ask them forces them to look for answers in what you’re saying. That might have worked in the old west when the “snake oil salesman” sold from his wagon, but many of today’s business owners know more about your products/services than you do! Remember, relevant conversations are building blocks for solid long-term business relationship.

Fortunately, many sales professionals learn not to pursue these tactics early on in their careers. But I can't tell you how many times I’ve wished I hadn’t been present to witness a sales person falling into "old school" selling tactics simply because they didn’t realize that’s what they were doing.

Chances are that the stereotype of the sleazy salesperson will never be eradicated either. Fortunately, as sales professionals, we do get to choose whether to conduct ourselves as part of the solution, or part of the problem.

Alan Luoma: I am a Sales Coach with extensive experience in industrial sales, sales management, new

product development, sales and product training. I work with a great national sustainable packaging company and their exceptional distributors to increase sales. My success has been and is in utilizing the Pareto 80/20 principal in business and life. I have become an expert in seeking out and eliminating behaviors that prevent business people from being successful. I am a member of The National Speakers Association and New England Speakers Association. You can view my profile on LinkedIn, or contact me at Luoma@snet.net 

Ready...Set...Go!

“If you don’t know where you are going, then you can waste a lot of time not getting there.”  I don’t remember where I heard this quote, but it captures the disconnect and lack of focus prevalent in many companies today.  Oftentimes, your senior leadership team believes they are aligned on vision and strategic goals because they can name the top 5 results the company is striving to achieve.   For example, “to increase productivity”; however, when pressed for specific numbers, oftentimes, the leadership team in not aligned.  This is because different goals may be set for minimal performance (3%), actual desired performance (5%), and stretch performance (7%).  When your senior leadership team is asked for a specific number, they may give any one of those three percentages.

When there is disagreement within your senior management team, then that will translate to confusion among your leaders and front-line employees alike, resulting in difficulty in setting individual and team goals.  Your employees may not understand the goals assigned to them or the point of managerial decisions. This lack of understanding demotivates employees and leads to a lack of investment in outcomes or your overall company, which makes it difficult to reach even your minimal performance goal.  It is better to set your actual desired performance target (5%) and clearly communicate it to ALL employees, so everyone is on the same page and working toward your desired outcome.

It is critical to understand where you are going as a company, the outcomes you wish to achieve and what the outcome will look like for your company.  Paint a picture of success.  Communicate your vision to your employees along with why they should care and how they can assist to bring about the outcome.

How do you get employees to buy-in and to care?  First and foremost, by respecting your employees.  Believe in them.  Your employees want a say in how the organization is run and have great ideas about how to achieve the outcomes you are trying to achieve.  Front line employees know first-hand how your company operates.  They are the foundation of your company, let them support you.

Secondly, it is critical for employees not only to understand their own role, but the role of the entire organization, including its vision and mission.  When employees know what the outcomes are, their role in achieving them and how they can successfully contribute to those outcomes, they feel valued.  When employees feel their contributions are valued, it is easier to agree with change and they become motivated and invested in your outcomes and your company.

One final point, encourage innovative thinking and risk taking.  If your employees believe they will be punished for making mistakes, then they will not come forward with great ideas that support your outcomes.  Treat mistakes as learning opportunities.  If punished, your employees will protect their own interests, follow their own agenda, and will maintain the status quo – resulting in the same results day in and day out.

Idea Share of the Month!

Management not only changes behavior by their actions, but by their inactions as well.

Frame of Mind Consulting understands the unique DNA of your organization, which is necessary to turn any organization into one capable of leveraging the full idea potential of its employees.  Would you like to drive connectivity and ownership throughout your company?  Contact me at (860) 559-7942 to set up your complimentary consultation during which you will receive some invaluable tips that you can apply to your business right away.

What does a grown man wearing a baby-doll dress have to do with your healthcare? by Michal Klau-Stevens

A few years ago, a critic said something that stuck with me which led me, recently, to an unusual experience. Back when I was president of a national nonprofit organization working to reform maternity care practices, a critic of natural childbirth accused leaders of the reform movement of being insular. She claimed we always heard from the same experts who touted the same studies, and our tunnel vision kept us from viewing the “big picture.” At the time I considered whether she had a point. After all, there was a fairly small pool of experts – the “usual suspects” who published books, appeared in documentaries, and spoke at conferences. Were we operating in a bubble? That critique made me aware of the importance of seeking out other sources of information as a kind of reality check. So earlier this year, when I received an email about The Tenth Annual Transgender Lives: The Intersection of Health and Law Conference being held at the University of Connecticut in April, and saw there were presentations on healthcare advocacy, I was inspired to attend. I was curious what experts who specialize in issues that affect another, very different, population would have to say about healthcare delivery.

I was excited about the prospect of hearing from a whole new group of people who would expand my horizons. For weeks leading up to the conference, I envisioned myself soaking up new information and being re-energized by learning cutting-edge research and ideas. In my mind I pictured myself being totally focused on the speakers in rapt attention.

On the day of the conference I was thrown out of my comfort zone in the parking lot, before I even walked into the building. As I got out of my car, one of the first conference attendees that I saw was a grown man, about 30 years old, wearing a baby-doll dress with a lace bib collar, white eyelet knee socks, mary-jane shoes, with his hair in pigtails. He was carrying a purse over his shoulder. I thought to myself, “Whoa – I guess I’m not in Kansas anymore…” You see, while I envisioned myself at the conference, I had not envisioned anyone else who would be at the conference. I’d been looking forward to learning about healthcare from a new perspective, but didn’t fully anticipate that the perspective would be that of transgender people, who in case you don’t already know, are a bit different from the pregnant women, midwives, and doulas I usually attend conferences with.

Once I got inside the building, I saw that the baby-doll dress was the most radical outfit in the place. Most of the attendees were much more low-key, although the energy of the environment was different from a birth-related conference, and the culture was different too. When I was given a name tag to fill out, I was asked to put my name and which pronouns I prefer to be called on it. I learned that pronouns are a very big deal in the LGBTQ community. The vendor gallery was filled with organizations that offered STD testing, HIV testing and support, mental health services, and legal support. Bright colored condoms were given out along with the usual pens and water bottles. The bathrooms were non-gendered, and frankly, it was sometimes hard to tell who was a man and who was a woman anyway. Once the stall doors closed, it didn't matter. Everyone was very polite and respectful, though. I did overhear more than one person say that this conference was one of the few places they felt safe using a public bathroom, but that’s another blog post.

While so much of the environment felt different to me, when it came to discussions about healthcare, much was similar to what we discuss about maternity care, and about healthcare in general. While technology and surgical techniques have made incredible advances, they are not foolproof, and there is still much more that remains unknown. It is vital to your well-being and your safety to have someone at your bedside to help advocate for you while you are in the hospital. Access to certain kinds of care is challenging and costly. Sometimes doctors and other caregivers are heroic and champion our needs, and other times care is paternalistic, disrespectful, and traumatic. Being able to use your voice, express your preferences, and have them be respected is an important component of good health outcomes. Minority people, people of color, and other oppressed populations do not get the same quality care that upper-class white cisgender men get. The advocacy skills necessary for getting good care are basically the same, whether you are going into the hospital to have gender-confirming surgery, to have a baby, or because of some other health reason, like cancer, heart disease, or other illness.

I learned a number of new things that day, and also confirmed some things I already knew. Hearing from experts outside the field of maternity care assured me that I’m not being insular or looking at healthcare with tunnel vision. There are serious issues with the way healthcare is delivered in this country, and they affect people in similar ways, regardless of the different reasons why people seek care.  Attending that conference was an unusual experience, which expanded my horizons. It reminded me of the value of moving outside my comfort zone and seeking out other people and places to gain valuable perspective.

And that man in the baby-doll dress? They (yes, that’s the right pronoun) are advocating to make healthcare better for you.

Michal Klau-Stevens is a professional speaker and healthcare consumer advocate. She is a maternity consultant, pregnancy coach, and expert on consumer healthcare care issues, Past President of BirthNetwork National, a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, and mother.  Her website is TheBirthLady.INFO. Find her on LinkedIn and on Facebook at The Birth Lady page!

Muhammad Ali Leaves a Lasting Legacy

by Carolyn Finch

A week ago the news told us of the passing of Muhammad Ali, "the greatest." Yes he was the one who would "fly like a butterfly and sting
like a bee" according to him. I was especially saddened because I have looked at his picture daily for several decades. He had become a tiny part of my life. If you have ever been in one of my workshops or seminars no doubt you heard me tell a story about Muhammad Ali. Not so much a story about his Parkinson's disease, even though that was the hardest fight he ever fought and he won the right to even share that with the world. He changed the way people looked at boxing, politics, personal beliefs and self-motivation.

The stories I shared were about how he painted signs with his dad, took up boxing when his bike was stolen and he wanted to stand up for himself. Maybe you heard the story about how his prize money would be used to send a boy to Sparring Camp or to a private school. He never wanted people to know some of the things he did because underneath his spirit there was a humbleness about him.

i

It was several decades ago when his Parkinson's reflected his shaking and his posture started to change. I saw this myself when I shook his hand and stood with him at Macy's, in Danbury, CT., he was one person I always wanted to meet. I got my wish when he came to Danbury promoting his men's cologne. I stood in line with many people waiting to be in his environment. When I met him he carefully wrote his name while I mentioned to him that I spoke about him in my speeches. He reached out and shook my hand. Note the beautiful expression on his face. He then got up and his photographer and my husband Don took pictures. Since then Muhammad Ali's picture has shared a frame with Zig Ziglar one of my mentors who encouraged me be a Professional Speaker.

They were two very different people but both messengers of the belief that doing for others first is doing for yourself as well. At one time Muhammad Ali was the most recognized American in the world. He believed and achieved. He was opinionated but aren't we all? What lessons he taught us! What stamina he had,even when he burned his arm during the lighting of the Olympic flame from the torch carried around the world. Nobody really knew about his burn. It was because he kept his arm straight at his side to avoid the shaking from Parkinson's. Thanks for being you Muhammad Ali and showing us all it's okay to fight for what you believe in. I'll be seeing you right there on my desk but do rest in peace.

                                                           

                                                 Body Language and Communication LifeStyle Expert
                                                      Professional Speaker-Health and Wellness Coach-Author

                                     Carolyn will put a spark in your next meeting!   Call now                                       Carolyn@carolynfinch.com  203 405 3972   203 512 4798 

      

DRIVING YOUR BOAT...

Living in the past is awesome ONLY when done with gratitude.

Living in the past is self-sabotage when done with blame, anger, disappointment, feelings of inferiority, failure, fear, jealousy - you get the drift (PUN INTENDED)...

Wayne Dyer, who we lost last summer, used the analogy in his presentations and writings of being on a boat. Picture yourself looking off the back into the water at the wake.  In his words, three questions come to mind:

"First, you ask yourself, What is the wake? The answer is that the wake is nothing more than the trail left behind.

The second question is, What is driving the ship? The answer is that the Present Moment Energy that you are generating through the engine is driving the ship.

Finally, you ask yourself the most important question: Is it possible for the wake to drive the ship? The answer is NO, of course, for the wake is just a trail that is left behind. It can never drive the boat!"

He prompts you to imagine that the boat is your life, and the wake is all the things that have happened in the past. Is it dominated by blame, anger, disappointment, feelings of inferiority, failure, fear, jealousy, and such? He then states that "most people live with the illusion that their wakes are “driving” their lives—which is absolutely impossible. In order to nourish your soul, you must be able to “get out of the wake.”

Putting things in perspective, you can't change your negative past so let the control you let it have on you drift away... The Present Moment is the only thing you have control of - you own your actions AND reactions...

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Your Present Moment Energy (positive or negative - it's always your choice) fuels the engine that drives your boat. Leave the "wake" behind and fuel your boat with Gratitude and Positive Energy... Enjoy the Ride!!

UPCOMING EVENT:

June 23: 7:30 - 9:30 AM: Join Eric Lopkin and myself for the "SUCCESS SHOWCASE": Professional & Personal Development - Networking Fun - Interactive Exercises!

A big crowd is expected. Click HERE for more information and to register. Click HERE for a flyer. CLICK HERE for a SHORT VIDEO PROMOTION of OUR EVENT

ABOUT CHIP:

Chip, the Happiness and Success GPS, is a speaker, trainer, facilitator, consultant and NETWORKING EXPERT. Everything I do is customized for the group or business I that am working with so let's brainstorm - call me anytime at 860-673-4006 - coffee's on me!

Start with Why part 3

 Simon Sinek repeatedly says throughout his book, Start with Why that people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. And WHY you do it is your root cause or root belief that is buried in your inner soul and background. It’s who you are and what you stand for. It’s demonstrated by everything you have done in your life and everything you are going to do from this moment on. Your WHY is basically your authenticity and what other people can expect to get from you when they deal with you.

            “Unfortunately” says Sinek, “most of us aren’t very good at digging deep enough within ourselves to truly find our WHY, and for the few that do innately understand their WHY, even fewer are capable of expressing their WHY to others. Thus, the general population doesn’t know what they stand for and aren’t loyal to them or their brand, as evidence of the customers quickly leaving one brand for another that is having a sale.

            Sinek says that these difficulties in getting others whose brand is our brand and who are what we are to understand our WHY and becoming loyal to us is not our fault because expressing ourselves is rooted in our biology. Sometimes it’s tough to be just a mere mortal.

            Let’s take The Golden Circle that looks like a dart board with the bull’s eye in the middle and pull it out into a three dimensional figure so that now it resembles the shape of the human brain. The bull’s eye WHY has become the center of the brain and now represents our more primitive prehistoric limbic brain. The outer layer now consist of our newer neocortex brain. Our newer outer neocortex brain is where our language develop center resides. Thus, most of us usually have no problem saying in words WHAT we do. However, with our WHY residing in our older inner primitive limbic brain that has no capabilities for language it becomes very difficult for us to put our WHY into words. That’s why us humans love symbols, logos and pictures to tell the world our story and WHY we do what we do. The HOW part of the brain resides somewhere in the middle of these two brains and thus the ability to put our HOW in words is a bit easier than our limbic brain WHY but still somewhat fuzzier than our neocortex brain WHAT.

            Some of us will actually try to put words to WHY we do what we do, but those words or reasons, are often wrong, and we don’t even know it. Remember, our WHY centered primitive limbic brain doesn’t have language capabilities. Thus, once again our difficulties in expressing our WHY is rooted in our biology of being human, which means it’s not our fault that we struggle with telling ourselves, as well as others our WHY. However, regardless of whose fault it is, it is still our own responsibility to take charge of our lives and improve in our WHY area. If we do, us mere mortals, who are also amazing humans can eventually develop our own human success story in both pictures and words that will draw others to us from far, faraway places.

            Next month I will talk to you about a man who was pretty good at figuring out his WHY and expressing it to others.

Dan is an award-winning teen leadership author, speaker and educator. You can find out more about Dan at: www.GranddaddysSecrets.com

The Motivation Manifesto Part 3

   

      Last month we talked about the Brendon Burchard's first 5 Declarations of his Motivation Manifesto. This month we will finish up with his last four Declarations.

           Now for Declaration 6 of Not Breaking Integrity. Always remember that the world will bombard us with opportunities to be small and catty, but freedom and victory belongs to those who remain strong and true despite temptation.

            Furthermore, remember that there is no integrity without clarity. Be clear on the character you want to possess. Sadly, when we don’t take the time to define our character or our identity, then we become a slave to impulse and mimicry that will lead to a break in integrity, which will eventually kill our personal freedom and personal success.

            Declaration 7: Amplify Love! Love is our origin and our final destination. Nothing more need be said, right? However, I think I will say a few more things here about love because we need to know during those hard times in our lives that love was never absent from our lives, we just simply allowed our awareness of it to diminish. Furthermore, remember that all breakthroughs in life are merely through higher energy- in most cases, that of love.

            Declaration 8:  Inspire Greatness. Brendon Burchard says that we must have the courage to ask, “Am I living a truly great life?”

            Listen, billions want the world to improve, we all want something to give to, to believe in, to fight for. Here is our chance. Like Gandhi said, ‘We must become the change that we want to see.” Be that change and others will follow you all the way to that state of living a truly great life.

            Finally, Declaration 9 of Slow Time.  We are not supposed to miss this moment. We need to slow it all down so we can feel it once more, enjoy it once more, and live it once more. The bottom line is that life is finite. And too many people have found out the hard way that life will randomly, and all too soon, be taken away… To combat this finiteness we need to heighten our senses to everything around us so that life will slow down to an enjoyable peaceful pace that causes us to feel free, alive, and finally the master of our own destiny; regardless, of how long we walk upright on this planet that we’re all sharing.

            In closing, once again Brendon Burchard has written another fabulous book that causes us to eagerly turn each page so we can quickly see what awesome, thought-provoking thing he’ll say next. It’s a great book that will help all of us live a higher quality life, as well as remind us of all the sacrifices that those who have gone before us have made. Good reading my friend.

Dan Blanchard is an award-winning author, speaker, educator; a parenting expert, and a certified life-coach!

www.GranddaddysSecrets.com