Recently one of my students told me he learned something. “James, I’ve finally learned how to sell manufacturers.” I asked him what had changed. “I speak to them with a more serious tone.” This student happens to have an outgoing personality and approaches most people with an open, joking style. “James,
Continue reading »Mental and Emotional Preparations of a Closer
Technique is not enough In the movie “Million Dollar Baby” Clint Eastwood plays a hardened boxing trainer. Above his office a sign reads, “Tough is not enough”. “Show me a fighter with nothin’ but heart, and I’ll show you a fighter who is about to take a beating.” His point is that boxing
Continue reading »Fear of the Big Bad Customer
What do we feel for the fearful? We pity them, we feel sorry for them, right? These are not the feelings we want our customers to feel for us. We respect and revere the fearless. Don’t we want our customers to respect us? If we are fearful, our customers will feel
Continue reading »Excitement or Boredom?
In the mid-nineties I was reloading spruce boards in Birmingham and selling them into Atlanta on truck. Life was good. I was making good margins and having a great time. One market started at $495. I bought five cars, shipped them to Birmingham, and sold twenty trucks to Atlanta. I
Continue reading »Call Reluctance Masquerade
Call Reluctance When we think of “Call Reluctance” we picture a salesperson, sweating, fidgeting and hesitating with their finger poised over the numbers on the phone, trembling with fear, unable to make the call. Call Reluctance is real, but it seldom manifests itself in such an obvious way. As professional salespeople we need to
Continue reading »And That’s Exactly Why You Should Buy….
I often ask my classes, “What business are you in?” The sales business, the people business, the relationship business and often the actual industry they are in be it real estate, lumber or car sales. Admittedly, this is a trick question. I tell them, “Those are all subsets of the business we are in. We
Continue reading »When Should We Give the Price?
We give our price to our customers when they ask for it. We must structure our calls so that the customer does ask for our price. Many sellers enter conversations with customers giving them every detail of their (the seller’s) proposal, including price, leaving the customer with nothing left to ask. The customer then says,
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