Bill Guertin | 800 Pound Gorilla Blog on SalesGravy.com

As a sports ticket sales rep, you’re used to hearing ridiculous and off-the-wall excuses from your customers as to why they’re not interested.  One of the most airtight and hard-to-fight objections, however, is the budget issue.

This objection takes several forms.  A prospect may say anything like, “It’s not in the budget,” “My budget’s been cut,” or “I just don’t have anything left in the budget”.

These are actually three VERY different objections, and need be handled differently!  Let’s take each one separately and break it down:

“It’s not in the budget.”

-          Here are some ways we can address this on a call:

o   “That’s all right.  No one budgets for ideas they don’t have yet.  That’s why I called today.”

o   “I hear that a lot… and once my customers get around the budget issue and see what positive things come from these seats, the budget is never an issue again.”

o   “Probably not.  A lot of companies haven’t figured out the value of seats like these, so they don’t budget ahead for them.  It’s a good thing we’re talking today!”

o   “That’s OK.  I’m sure you’ve had good ideas that have come up that weren’t in the budget that were able to get done somehow.  Right?”

“My budget’s been cut.”

-          Many budget cuts have been forced upon managers from their higher-ups, and they have to deal with the problems it has created all day long.  Here are some suggestions on how you can respond to a budget cut:

o   “Wow… I imagine that’s caused a lot of headaches for you.  What sorts of things have you had to do without?”  (Find out what has changed in their work life, and then address those things that your product can help them solve positively, cheaply, and effectively.)

o   “That’s tough.  Was it across the board, or did some things have to go completely?”  (Learn a little more about what had to go, and you’ll see where the company’s priorities lie.)

o   “That’s pretty common.  It sounds like more work for you!  Do you ever get out yourself to see a game?”  (If they’re the decision-maker, a well-placed comp game might overcome any budget issues if they enjoy themselves.)

“I just don’t have anything left in the budget.”

-          This means there’s money there, but it’s been apportioned to others.  All we have to do is figure out whether or not the money can be RE-apportioned:

o   “I understand.  When does your fiscal year start?”  (Find out when their 12-month calendar starts.  Some companies run on a “calendar year”, Jan-Dec; others start their fiscal year at different times.)

o   “So if there WERE budget left, you’d consider these seats?  Do I hear you correctly?”   (Get their buy-in on the “if” part!)

o   “Let me ask this: is your budget actually SPENT, or is it just sectioned off until the need comes up?  If something came up that was more cost-effective than what you originally budgeted, could you look at it?”  (You’re suggesting that what you have is more cost-effective and potentially a better buy than what they’re currently lined up to spend their money on.  Press on to see if the money’s actually gone, or just placed in different buckets waiting to be spent!)

Don’t let the budget be your arch-enemy!  Stick with it, keep the conversation alive, and you’ll have a much greater chance of success.

BONUS: There’s another objection we’re hearing a lot today, and it has to do with being able to justify buying our tickets after just laying off employees.  I’ve got several suggestions for answering that challenge in my latest Sports Ticket Sales Newsletter; just click this link to access it:   http://tinyurl.com/lbldtm

Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of blue-chip clients includes the ticket sales departments of dozens of teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer.  He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How to Dominate Your Market.  Subscribe to his Newsletter at www.The800PoundGorilla.com.

You’re going out on a date.  A first date.  You don’t know your new friend’s tastes, budget, or anything about them, but you do know that you’ve decided to start off your evening by going out to eat.

You hit “Restaurant Row” in your city, and as you approach the many choices for eating out, a hundred different things go through your mind:

-          What does he/she like to eat?

-          Do I have enough money to go to the expensive place?

-          Do I want to get messy?

-          What am I hungry for?

-          Will the atmosphere be right?   Will it be too loud to talk?

-          Are we appropriately dressed?

-          Am I going to run into someone I don’t want to see?

-          Do they have enough parking, or are we going to have to walk a long way?

It’s a little snapshot of time, but in that moment, you’ll make a mutual decision based on lots of little things… and all those influences add up to the choice you’ll make in that moment.

This scenario is just like what your customer goes through when you call them about your product or service for sale.  A hundred different influences are acting upon your customer’s thought process at that moment in time, bringing them to a “snap judgment” – a quick conclusion about your offer:

-          They may have just ushered a bad sales rep out of their building

-          They may have just learned that their best client has dumped them for a competitor

-          They may have bill payment problems, shipment problems, or personnel issues

-          They may just have ended a “gloom-and-doom” meeting, a “come-to-Jesus” meeting, an insufferable budget meeting, etc.

-          They may have personal issues at home that are weighing heavy on them

-          They may be overwhelmed by all they have to get done in their day

-          They may have someone in their office that’s out sick, and everyone has to cover

-          They may be hiring new people, training new people, or re-educating their current staff on new tasks, and it may be frustrating and time-consuming

-          They may have learned about something that the company is considering that could impact them negatively

Just because they react negatively to you doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in your product!  Depending on the way their day is going, your product could literally be the FURTHEST thing from their mind at that moment.  They may not want to tie up their brain for something like your product, but it may very well be something they WILL be interested in talking about at the right time.

Don’t give up.

Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of blue-chip clients includes the ticket sales departments of dozens of teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer.  He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and his second book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How to Dominate Your Market, will be published this fall by John Wiley & Sons.  Subscribe to his Sports Ticket Sales Newsletter at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.

We all know who Bertha is.

She’s the ever-present Gatekeeper… the evil lord of the Decision-Maker’s precious  appointment book, telephone, and front door.  She eats unsuspecting sales reps for breakfast.  She’s been around the block, and knows what you’re up to.  You’re a Salesperson, and as far as she’s concerned, you’re the enemy.  She’s made up her mind; her boss’ office is the end zone, and she’s the entire Steelers front line.

When Bertha asks, “What is this regarding?”, we all know where she’s going.  She wants to get to the bottom of why you want to waste her boss’ time, and if she doesn’t get a satisfactory answer, you’re getting flushed like last night’s Taco Bell.

As a professional sales rep, it’s critical that you answer Bertha quickly and confidently. One hesitation – just one hint that leads her to believe you’re tentative, nervous, or don’t know your stuff – and you’re toast.  So Rule #1 of getting past Bertha is: Be Ready For Bertha.  Don’t count on your last-minute, off-the-cuff wit to pull you through; you must be prepared for questions like “What’s This Regarding?” and answer them with confidence.

(NOTE: Want to know my best responses to the question, “What’s This Regarding?”  Just E-mail me at bill@The800PoundGorilla.com with the words “BERTHA” in the subject line, and I’ll send ‘em right to you.)

Rule #2 is: Play Her Game.  This is her turf.  In order for you to win, she has to believe that SHE’S in control.  You won’t beat Bertha; your best bet is to win her over, which leads us to:

Rule #3: Treat Bertha Like She’s The Decision-Maker. You don’t know how much the Decision-Maker counts on Bertha to help him or her decide what to do.  Many bosses ask their assistants what they think about certain vendors or product lines.  They often ask their assistants questions like: “What’d you think of that person that just walked out the door?”  Most every Bertha has an opinion, and even though they may not take their advice, they listen to their responses, and it does influence the Decision-Makers’ thinking.

One of the other things to consider is that Bertha may actually be a better prospect for what you’re selling than the Decision-Maker… in which case you’re better off getting to know her in the first place.

In many of the sales training programs I conduct, I’ll ask one or more of the executive assistants that work at their own company to come into our class.  I conduct a brief interview with them, Oprah-style, and ask them what sorts of things impress them from the many salespeople that call them in their role as gatekeeper for their boss.  I’ll also ask them to tell the group what really gets them angry, and tell a story or two about someone that really blew it with them on the phone, and will now NEVER get through to the boss, no matter what.  We’ve heard some pretty amazing stories!

I also ask them, “What single piece of advice would you give to your sales reps here in the room when they’re dealing with gatekeepers like you?”  Here are the four boiled-down responses that are most common:

-          Recognize them as someone with a brain, not as something to “get past” in order to achieve their objective.

-          Speak to them as a human being.

-          Don’t lie to them.  (They eventually find out, and it’s not pretty!)

-          Give them respect and courtesy.

As I teach in every sales training program I conduct with teams across the nation:  Sales is a game – play to win!

Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of blue-chip clients includes the ticket sales departments of dozens of teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer.  He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and his second book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How to Dominate Your Market, will be published this fall by John Wiley & Sons.  Subscribe to his Sports Ticket Sales Newsletter at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.

It’s been called the ultimate prize in sports: six NBA teams have a final chance to make their best presentation to the most talked-about potential employee on the planet.

LeBron James, arguably one of the most talented basketball players in NBA history, will be officially courted tomorow by six hand-picked teams. The winner will enjoy an abundance of positive karma, including ticket sales and worldwide legitimacy as an 800-Pound Gorilla — a dominant team — in the NBA.

If you were a member of one of the NBA teams’ negotiators, how would you go about preparing and presenting your “sales pitch” to LeBron?

Here would be my suggestions, which are applicable to any selling situation:

1. Do Your Homework. Money aside, what does LeBron really want? What are his priorities when considering a new team? Is it the head coach? The front office staff? The current players and their ability to win a championship with the addition of his talent? How about the home town and the lifestyle it affords? Find out. Ask around. Not just to LeBron himself, but to those who know him well.

2. Offer Something Unique. Think creatively. What could you offer that would surprise and delight someone like a LeBron James? How about a guarantee of a bronze statue in front of the stadium? A joint venture marketing deal that’s so juicy it’s impossible to pass up?

3. Be Clear About What You Offer, and What You Don’t. As a part of the committee that brought the Chicago Bears’ training camp to my home town of Bourbonnais, IL, I wwas struck by how different the Olivet Nazarene University proposal was from the rival community’s university host. The competition offered them a blank check — literally any kind of parties and events they wanted to throw. No limits. Do what you want to do; we’re behind you all the way. The counter-proposal we offered was much different; it listed the things the Bears would have to abide by in order to come to their campus — No tobacco, alcohol, or swearing. Family-friendly to the max. It was exactly what the Bears were looking for — structure and accountability to family-conscious fans.

That’s what I’d prepared for LeBron… and what you can do in your presentations as well.

– Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company and author of the brand-new book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How To Dominate Your Market, now available from John Wiley & Sons. Find more articles and valuable information at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.

Check out his Sports Ticket Sales Newsletter here: http://tinyurl.com/35sanf4

There is documented proof in the value of having someone in our lives to give us a gentle, continual push in the right direction.

We know we’re supposed to exercise. Some of us do, and many don’t. Only 48% of Americans say they meet what the federal government says is the minimal amount we ought to exercise each day – 30 minutes – and the actual percentage is thought to be much lower than that. Everyone understands that exercise is good for them, but over half of Americans don’t do it.

Stanford University set out to determine what it would take to motivate the average slug to get up off the couch. Their 3-year research study found that after an introductory session to the benefits of regular exercise, those who received regular, continual phone reminders to exercise produced 78% more exercise minutes per week; those that didn’t get the reminder calls after the education increased their exercise level only 28%.

In the May 18th Wall Street Journal story citing the report, author Kevin Helliker notes that there is a “growing body of research that shows that small amounts of social support, ranging from friends who encourage each other by email to occasional meetings with a fitness counselor, can produce large and lasting gains against one of America’s biggest health problems – physical inactivity.”

We in the sales world know that this is also true in our professional lives, don’t we?

We complain about our managers always riding us about this and that. Call reports, activity monitors, blah blah blah. Why do we need all that?  Do they think we’re babies? Do they not think we can think for ourselves? Do we always have to be watched like a hawk just to make sure we’re supposedly doing what we’re supposed to do?

YES.

“When you knew you were going to have to report back on what you had done, it motivated you,” said Ruthanne Lowe, a 66-year-old member of the Stanford research study who was called regularly and quoted in the WSJ article. “I’m doing more exercise than I ever did in my life.”

Want to make more money as an 800-Pound Gorilla salesperson? The one who dominates others, the one who strikes fear in the hearts of the competition, and who turns in monster orders time after time?

Find a real manager… someone who is willing to invest the time to watch over you.  It works.

– Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company and author of the brand-new book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How To Dominate Your Market, now available from John Wiley & Sons. Find more articles and valuable information at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.

Check out his Sports Ticket Sales Newsletter here: http://tinyurl.com/35sanf4

I’m a fan of piano pop.

You’d know what it is if you heard it. It’s taking the piano and bringing it to the foreground of a pop song so that it’s a primary instrument, almost always with a catchy, repeated hook.  Elton John and Billy Joel are two good examples of artists that use the piano as their primary foreground instrument.

A young singer/songwriter named Sara Bareilles came out with a debut album of her original music in the summer of 2007. It was called “Little Voice”, and the lead track from that work, called “Love Song”, captivated the nation and the world.  Her “Love Song” was featured as the theme music on a TV commercial promoting the Comcast cable company’s Rhapsody music service, and from that exposure, her single instantly shot up the charts in the fall of ’07. “Little Voice” was certified Gold (500,000 copies sold) shortly afterward, and her career has been shooting up ever since.

Enter Michael Buble.

Buble has also enjoyed stellar success recently, but in a very different way. The canadian-born crooner pays tribute to the old masters in much of his material, drawing on the big-band sound to recreate the styles of the velvety voices of artists like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. He puts new spins on familiar standards, and occasionally writes a new song or two just for good measure.

Have you heard his latest “new” song?

Listen to “Haven’t Met You Yet”, Buble’s latest original single, next to Sara Bareilles’ “Love Song”, and tell me you don’t notice an eerie similarity.

Bareilles created an ‘original’ sound, and made it popular. Buble took that sound and made it his — something he’s become a master at doing.

Oh, and by the way — there’s nothing wrong with this kind of flattery. Indeed, it’s what 800-Pound Gorillas do very well; read the marketplace, identify what works, and put their unique spin on their own product.

Now… let’s apply that to you. 

The dominant players in your marketplace may have come out with something amazing recently. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take that idea and create something similar that fits the marketplace with your own unique fingerprint.

It’s what the Michael Bubles of the marketplace do all the time. Read what’s happening, find a way to adopt it without copying it altogether, and making it uniquely theirs.

Take a look at what’s going on in your market.  Identify it, re-work it, and become your own 800-Pound Gorilla in that arena.

And for some help in getting you started, why not pick up The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales?  It’s brand-new on Amazon this week, and has several ideas on how you can become the one everyone looks to as the dominant player.  Check it out.

– Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of clients includes the ticket sales departments of professional sports teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer. He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and his brand-new second book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How To Dominate Your Market, is now available from John Wiley & Sons. Find more articles and valuable information at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.

In the last post, I went over 50 of the 100 pieces of advice for Sales Reps.  Here’s Part Two of that list:

51. Get a mentor that isn’t afraid to tell you what you need to hear, rather than what you want to hear.

52. If you need a reason to get out of bed, make it for someone else other than you: the child that will benefit by their parents owning your product because of your sales call, the business that will find a way to keep their best client because of a suggestion you made, etc.

53. If you’re not prepared with at least five solid answers to the “It’s not in the budget” objection, you’ll sell less than you’re capable of selling.

54. Best open-ended answer: “Does that mean you wouldn’t be open to a new idea?”

55. Second-best answer: “Which budget do you mean? Most companies have several.”

56. Thought-provoking answer: “Put the budget aside for a moment. If my product were free, how would you choose to use it?”

57. Smart answer: “Most companies I work with are re-evaluating all their expenses, and figuring out what kind of REAL return they’re getting. What do you do for things like (chalenges that your product solves) right now?”

58. Best reason to keep going: People make snap judgments, and sometimes all it takes is to keep them learning about you and your benefits a little bit longer.

59. If a company just laid off people, they’re still a candidate for your product. Don’t give up too soon!

60. Always acknowledge their painful choice to lay off people before you get into the reasons why it may be the perfect time to get involved in a cost-effective product like yours.

61. Most companies still need to operate and do business, even if they’ve had layoffs recently. Ask if they plan on keeping the doors open, and if so, what their plans are going forward.

62. Get wishy-washy people to tell you Yes or No sooner rather than later!

63. Suggest that phone tag is hard to play, and politely suggest that you’d rather have a Yes or No now, for the benefit of both of you.

64. It’s OK to get a No, because then you can move on – and so can your prospect!

65. Don’t criticize someone’s choice of a competitor.

66. Learn what makes each competitor’s product appealing, and ask questions that revolve around what others like about it — and how it might come up short compared to your solution.

67. If someone asks, ‘Are you trying to sell me something?’, they’re playing with you, and they probably expect you to play back if you’re to sell them anything.

68. Have at least 2-3 good responses to this objection. #1 suggestion: “Only if you’re buying!”

69. #2 suggestion: “Only if it makes sense for you.”

70. Warm and fuzzy response: “If you have a good reason to buy, then yes, I can set you up… but I promise not to sell you something you won’t absolutely love. Fair enough?”

71. Quick response: “Yes. Are you in sales too?”

72. Fun suggestion: “Only if you’re buying!”

73. Honest suggestion: “Selling you something is the LAST thing I’ll want to do in our conversation!”

74. If you have a less-than-leading-edge product, get to know the benefits of your company beyond the technology.

75. Ask the prospect, “Besides the technology, what’s the most important thing to you when you consider something like this?” Make 2-3 suggestions as to what it might be, and engage in THAT conversation.

76. Best short response to the ‘Low-Tech’ objection: “Not every user needs the latest and the greatest.  Sometimes the lowest-tech solution is the best solution!”

77. Regardless of the prospect, remind yourself that every sales call is an unwritten script. No one can predict the outcome!

78. If someone already has a different solution to what your product provides that’s NOT one of your competitors, be sure to compliment them on what they’re doing, whatever it is.

79. Remember that your value of money should be left at the door when you’re selling your product or service. You may not ever be in the market for what you sell personally, but the decision to buy is not yours! Lay it out for the customer, and allow him or her to make that decision for themselves.

80. #1 answer to ‘You’re Too Expensive’: “Too expensive as compared to what?”

81. Thinking man’s response: “It’s only expensive if it’s not considered an investment. I have clients that say that if advertising works, it’s an investment. If it doesn’t, it’s very expensive. Wouldn’t you agree?”

82. Once they have agreement to that statement, help them to see how you as their Account Executive can help them realize all the benefits of buying from you.

83. If someone says they need to talk it over with someone, ask if you can talk to them on a 3-way call right then and there.

84. If you hear, ‘I’m not interested’ right away, have 2-3 immediate questions ready to go in an attempt to continue the conversation. Most people are just making snap decisions, and really don’t know enough about what you have to offer to be ‘not interested’ yet!

85. Immediate Question Option #1 for ‘I’m Not Interested’: “I’m not sure if you were aware of this, but…” – and then fill in with something that’s positive that many people wouldn’t know about the product you’re selling.

86. Immediate Question Option #2: “If you don’t mind me asking…” – and then ask something that gets them talking, like “Are you worried about what it might cost?” or “Is there something about our product that you don’t like?”

87. Option #3: “Before you go, can I ask you one more thing?”

88. If you’re lucky enough to get onto the rotation for incoming calls, understand that these are leads the company has spent a great deal of marketing dollars to attract. You must be at your BEST when answering these calls!

89. Look to gain some sort of commitment from your prospect on every call you make. Examples: a firm date and time to talk again, an agreement to do certain things in a period of time, the names and phone numbers of the other persons in the party, etc.

90. Remember that for outbound sales, most salespeople give up after the first two attempts to sell someone. If you stick with it after the second attempt and go on to a third, fourth, and so on, you’ve outlasted almost 75% of your competitors.

91. All top salespeople have goals beyond their current job that allows them to be their very best at the job they’re in today. Have a good number of your goals written out, and have them where you can refer to them often and measure your progress.

92. The best time to sell is between 8am and noon. Decide that you’ll devote as much time as possible to selling in the morning hours; your odds are far greater at that time of day.

93. Stay away from words and phrases like “Honestly”, “To tell you the truth”, “To be honest with you,” and others; it may leave the subconscious impression with your prospect that you’ve been dishonest with them up until that point.

94. In a challenging economy, Return On Investment (ROI) is king. Don’t present any proposal of yours until you find out what ROI means to your prospect, and how it’s being measured.

95. Get a few back issues of a trade publication of your best prospects’ industry; you’ll learn the language of their industry quickly, what their current concerns are, and the potential solutions that are being talked about among their peers.

96. Understand that people will be judging you, but you don’t have the right to judge them. This is the challenge of serving others greatly. Accept it with reverence, and do your best to be AT your best, regardless of what your opinion of your customer might be.

97. People will be judging you in many ways; by your physical appearance, your personal hygiene, your eye contact, the way you carry yourself, your tone of voice, and a dozen other measures. Do your best to represent your organization by paying close attention to the “basics”.

98. In today’s selling, there is no substitute for doing that needs to be done in order to succeed. Your good looks, your Ivy League Phi Beta Kappa, your charming wit, even your blue-chip Rolodex won’t bail you out. Do The Work.

99. Continually ask yourself this question throughout the day: “What’s the best use of my time right now to put myself in a position to succeed?”

100. When you get to the management level – and you WILL if you follow the 99 pieces of advice above — sales training experts from the outside can help your sales team accomplish more than you could ever do on your own. I consider it a privilege to help those in professional selling to succeed, and you’re welcome to call or E-mail me anytime and ask about how I can help you… at (815) 932-5878 or bill@The800PoundGorilla.com.

– Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of clients includes the ticket sales departments of professional sports teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer. He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and his second book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales, is due this fall from John Wiley & Sons. Find more articles and valuable information at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.

As a ticket sales consultant to all the major sports leagues in the US, including the NBA, NFL, NHL, and Major League Baseball, I see lots of reps that struggle with the basics.  Most of the ticket sales reps’ day is spent on the phones, contacting 75, 100, up to 125 people a day asking for them to consider buying season tickets, group plans, or other seating inventory.

You may not have that many calls to make each day, but I believe you can learn a lot from these pieces of advice in your quest to become a dominant player — an 800-Pound Gorilla — in your chosen business category.  Just adapt these basics to your product or service.   (My thanks to Lewis Howes of www.SportsNetworker.com, who originally asked me to put this piece together for the Sports Ticket industry.)

1. Ask yourself, “Why do I want to be in sales?” If it’s only because you want to make as much money as possible, consider that you may have wanted the job for the wrong reason.

2. Be in love with success for your clients as much as you are in love with success for you. Don’t take the job because you wanted to make money, or to see your name next to your company’s logo on a business card.  Revel in your clients’ victories in using your product, and make that your goal. 

3. Understand that you’ll have all kinds of people you’ll need to interact with effectively, including some that you wouldn’t want to necessarily hang out with. Look past your own personal bias, and treat everyone the same: Like Gold.

4. Learn enough about your products to be dangerous, then start selling. You’ll learn more in those first 100 calls about what you need to study further than anything your literature will ever tell you.

5. Don’t get “Analysis Paralysis” – thinking that you have to study everything about every nuance of the product before you can get out and sell it.  Good is better than perfect, so take action with an eye on improving and getting better each time.

6. Study successful people you admire in your office that have been there for a while. Listen to how they do what they do, and borrow what you can reasonably incorporate into your own style.

7. Read books and publications that give you a taste of others’ selling styles; try several things, and begin to create your own style based on the success of others. (For starters, go to www.The800PoundGorilla.com and click on Free Resources.)

8. Do NOT take someone else’s entire selling style and try to force it into your body! Learn from others, then adapt it and make it your own.

9. Be confident that every phone call has the potential to result in a sale. There are no “throwaway” calls! Be at your best on every one, whether it’s the first or the fiftieth of the day.

10. Remember that every single phone call you make is to your next potential employer. If you’re any good at all, you’ll get a lot of job offers from your prospects. How many offers will you receive? The better you become at selling, the more you’ll get. (It’s a great barometer of how well you’re doing!)

11. Be nice and get along with as many people as possible in your office; you’ll need every one of them at one time or another in your career with the team.

12. Learn where the problem areas are in your product or service, so that you can talk intelligently with your customers about the negatives and how they can be overcome.

13. Learn the positives about every product you carry.  Believe that “every product is good for someone”, and be able to sell each one on its merits to the right customers.

14. Use positive language for each product.  You may have a blockbuster product, but there are others you carry that may be just as valuable to someone.  Know the positive words to use to describe each of the products, and USE them with your prospects!

15. Don’t assume that just because you have contacts in a community, you can sell them without asking for the order. It’s great that others know you, but until and unless you ASK them to buy, they probably won’t.

16. Know what’s different about the product or service you represent compared to every other related product or service in town.

17. What qualifies you to be the #1 choice in your community? Learn and know what you’ve done in the past that makes you the prospect’s best choice to work with.

18. Sales is helping people get what they want, so that you can get what you want. Don’t complicate it any more than you have to!

19. People need salespeople in their lives, whether they like to admit it or not. Don’t let anyone talk you out of the profession. Nothing happens in this country – or ANY country – until a sale is made!

20. You’re going to have to help people make decisions about buying. Don’t be afraid to tell them what you’d do if it were YOUR money!

21. Some people are going to beat you up before they buy. That’s part of your job; to absorb the negative, listen to what they have to say, acknowledge their concerns, and then ask them to buy.

22. People enjoy buying from someone they like. Be likeable!

23. Help others to feel as though they can count on you to stand behind their purchase. Let them know you’ll be there to help them every step of the way, both during the season and beyond.

24. Many of us secretly want someone to give us permission to buy. As a sales professional, you should constantly give your clients the satisfaction of knowing that their choice of your seats will be the right choice. Give them the permission they’re looking for to buy!

25. Think about this: Why should someone deal with you instead of your Website? What do you bring to the buying experience that your team’s Website can’t?

26. Companies don’t need any more vendors; what they really want today are those who are willing to become partners in their success. Find out what your customers are looking to achieve, and help them get there with the benefits of your product.

27. Habits are formed through constant repetition each day. Get into positive habits on the job from Day One — # of prospecting calls, paperwork accuracy, less time jawboning with co-workers, etc.

28. You have 10 seconds or less to impress someone enough to continue to want to listen to you. If you sound disinterested, unprepared, or wishy-washy, you won’t get past “Hello, my name is…”.

29. Read into an audio recorder as if you were on the first 10 seconds of a phone call, then play it back. You’ll never understand how good (or bad) you sound until you hear it for yourself.

30. Be as prepared to leave a great Voice Mail message as you would be prepared to discuss a potential sale with a prospect. Since over 70% of the phone calls we make result in a voice mail, shouldn’t you be EXTRA-prepared to leave a message that begs to be returned?

31. Here’s a test: Leave yourself a phone message on your voice mail at home at the beginning of the day, then listen to it when you return home. Would you return your own message?

32. If you have scripts or phrases you want to memorize, read them into a digital recorder and listen to them on your iPod as you jog around, work out, or drive to and from the office. If you memorize the phrases, they’ll come out of your mouth at just the right time, with just the right amount of conviction.

33. If you’re not listening to yourself on an iPod or CD in your car, listen to something inspirational on the way in before work. The news won’t cut it. Choose something that will inspire you to be at your best that day.

34. Hang out with positive, successful people. If you have negative friends that bring you down with them, drop ‘em and get new ones. Your career is at stake.

35. Before you even pick up the phone, be sure you have all the information you need in front of you.

36. Make sure your mind is in a singular place when you’re calling. Daydreaming about that hot date later that night isn’t going to sell you any tickets right now.

37. When you finally reach your prospect, ask if it’s a good time to talk. Phrases like, “Did I catch you at a good time?” or “Do you have a moment?” are two examples. If you launch into your pitch right away, your tone screams “Salesperson” right away.

38. Open the conversation strong by asking a question that the dozens of salespeople before you aren’t asking.

39. Learn to vividly “paint the picture” of what the ownership experience is like for those who own and use your  product, in a way they’ll respond to favorably.

40. Some of the best “trigger words” you can use to begin to paint the picture are: “Imagine… How do you think…?” “Just think…” “Picture this…”, and “Here’s what I see…”.

41. Storytelling is a powerful means of selling ideas. Learn success stories of groups, individuals and businesses that have used your product successfully, and tell those stories to others who are experiencing similar challenges.

42. Many prospects feel guilty, frightened, nervous, or any combination of emotions when making a buying decision; as a professional salesperson, learn how to help people say Yes to you by giving them “permission” to buy.

43. If your prospect begins to try to sell YOU something, politely tell them that you’d be happy to consider their offer, once you’ve been allowed to finish what you’re calling them about.

44. Gatekeepers can be your best friends, if you’re sincere about wanting to get to know them and prove it by taking good notes, asking questions that matter to them, and bringing up those conversation points each time you call.

45. Be prepared to answer the question, “Can I tell him/her what your call is regarding?” They’re listening for you to stumble, so that they have a reason to deny you access to the decision-maker.

46. If you communicate to the gatekeeper that you have something “new” to share with the decision-maker, she is more likely to let you through.

47. If you can’t get through the gatekeeper, try to find someone else at the company that can help you get you to him/her.

48. Have a list of questions or cheat sheet you can look at and refer to often when you finally have a prospect on the phone.

49. Best response to gatekeeper’s ‘What This Regarding?’: “It’s a business matter of a personal nature.”

50. Second-best response for Sports Ticket reps: “It’s about his/her Season Tickets with the (team). Are you a fan too?”

Which do you think are the most important?   I’ll have the other 50 items in next week’s post.   Let me know your thoughts at bill@The800PoundGorilla.com, or add some Pieces of Advice of your own. 

– Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of clients includes the ticket sales departments of professional sports teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer. He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and his second book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales, is due this fall from John Wiley & Sons. Find more articles and valuable information at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.

Hungry? Let’s go get something to eat, you and me.

We’ve not met yet, but that’s OK. We both need to eat, and we’re both hungry. We don’t know anything about each other’s tastes, budget, or anything else, but we know we’re both starving.

So here we are at “Restaurant Row”, with all kinds of places to eat lined up one next to the other. You don’t want to presuppose that the place I like would be a place that you like… and you don’t know me very well. What kinds of things are going through your mind right now?

- What does Bill like to eat?
- Do I have enough money to go to the expensive place?
- Do I want to get messy?
- What am I hungry for?
- Will the atmosphere be right? Will it be too loud to talk?
- Are we appropriately dressed?
- Do they have enough parking, or are we going to have to walk a long way?

It’s a little snapshot of time, but in that moment, you’ll make a decision based on a hundred little things. Malcolm Gladwell illustrates this phenomenon brilliantly in his book, “Blink”: All those little influences you’ve been storing up your whole life about restaurants, food, social preferences and more are adding up to the choice you’ll make in one singular moment — our choice of restaurants.

This scenario is just like what your customer goes through when you first contact them about your product or service. A hundred different influences are acting upon your customer’s thought process at that moment in time, bringing them to a “snap judgment” – a quick conclusion about your offer — affected by their past as well as their current state of mind:

- They may have just ushered a bad sales rep out of their building
- They may have just learned that their best client has dumped them for a competitor
- They may have bill payment problems, shipment problems, or personnel issues
- They may just have ended a “gloom-and-doom” meeting, a “come-to-Jesus” meeting, an insufferable budget meeting, etc.
- They may have personal issues at home that are weighing heavy on them
- They may be overwhelmed by all they have to get done in their day
- They may have someone in their office that’s out sick, and everyone has to cover
- They may be hiring new people, training new people, or re-educating their current staff on new tasks, and it may be frustrating and time-consuming
- They may have learned about something that the company is considering that could impact them negatively… and on and on.

We as sales reps have no way of knowing what influences are at work at any one time. However, just because they react negatively to you doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in your product! Depending on the way their day is going, your product could literally be the FURTHEST thing from their mind at that moment.

The truth is, they may not want to think about it now, but it may very well be something they WILL be interested in talking about at the right time.

Don’t give up.  One of the fundamental attributes of 800-Pound Gorillas (dominant players) is their understanding of this phenomenon, and that “no” simply means “not at this particular moment.”

And just for the record, at this particular moment, I’m thinking Chinese.

– Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of clients includes the ticket sales departments of professional sports teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer. He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and his second book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales, is due this fall from John Wiley & Sons. Find more articles and valuable information at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.