Ian Dickson – Performance Coach

Today I want to share your some tips from a great book Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale.

Even if you are not directly involved in sales in your day to role, you may be surpised to read we are actually involved in selling  nearly every day. We are constantly selling ourselves, whether that be formally or informally, at work or at home, we are constantly vying for attention, understanding or priority. Even as a buyer we are selling… Consider this – In every single sales meeting a sale takes place. Either they sold you YES, or you sold them NO. So, understanding the sale and what makes people good at selling is a learned behaviour. Knowing some of the secrets to closing a sale might help you in both the work place and in life generally…. Enjoy.

Key Concepts:

1. By asking questions, there is no way you can get unhappy with me about the answers you give to those questions
2. There are five basic reasons people will not buy from you.  These are:  no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, and no trust.
3. People buy what they want when they want it more than they want the money it costs.
4. You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.
5. You must believe in what you are doing, that you are interested in serving your client and that you do feel you are offering the best product or service at the best price which will do the most for your client and their needs.
6. The prospect is persuaded more by the depth of your conviction than he is by the height of your logic.
7. I am glad you are concerned about the price….because that’s one of our most attractive advantages.  Would you agree that, as a practical matter, a product is worth what it can do for you and not what you have to pay for it? Our company has the choice between providing coaching as cheaply as possible and selling it as a get by service, or providing coaching that teaches you how to create long-lasting results, profits and growth.
8. Selling is essentially a transference of feeling….believers are closers…c stands for conviction.
9. A calm, confident, positive, reassuring salesperson working from a base of honesty and integrity is the most effective tool to calm the fear of the prospect and get the sale.
10. Take the reason why he could not buy and use it as the reason why he must buy.
11. Move to the prospect’s side of the table, identify the problem, get involved in the solution, and your closing percentage will increase.
12. Your business is never really good or bad out there.  Your business is either good or bad right between your own two ears.
13. Improve your self-image and you will improve your sales performance.
14. The high performer is sensitive to the value of the customer’s time and is able to spend more quality time in front of the customer because he spends more quality time planning strategy and preparing for the call.
15. The high performer is able and willing to explain service drawbacks, builds relationships and provides a valuable service.
16. Professionals are counsellors who identify the prospect’s needs and then fill those needs through his services.
17. Since your integrity is the most important factor in building customer loyalty and career stability, the practicality of a totally honest relationship becomes even more obvious.
18. Have a booster week….a total-effort week during which you give your maximum effort from early in the morning until late at night.
19. Positive mental preparation in advance will help absorb the impact of dealing with negative experiences.
20. You build your mental reserve by reading the good books, by listening to motivational and sales training recordings and attending professional training sessions.
21. Build your reserves, get your thinking right, get your spiritual values in order, get your body in good physical condition, and you will have the key steps toward building an exciting and successful career.
22. People believe more of what they see than what they hear. – use testimonials
23. Logic makes people think, but it is emotion that makes then act.
24. Use emotion and logic in a presentation, chances are excellent you will end up with a sale and a happy customer for the future
25. High performers – involve others by soliciting opinions, sharing information and establishing trust relationships inside the organization…they are total, well-balanced people with integrity who are knowledgeable and aggressively caring in their creative approach to solving problems….He is so other-people conscious he never lets his ego hinder his efforts…is inspirational and motivational….he believe in his ability to make the sale on a specific call…the professional is the one who has an assured competence in a particular field or occupation.  It is a quality performance….school is never out for him….he studies his prospects…
26. He know his prospects will make their decision based on what they understand and believe so he undersells, keeps it simple and makes it believable
27. He is a thinker, but he clearly understands it is better to emulate genius than to create mediocrity, so he evaluates materials and procedures on the basis of results. Tests and measures.
28. The professional possesses conviction, concern, confidence, and courage.  His confidence is strong that he can persuade the prospect to take action, and his courage enables him to ask the prospect to take action now for his own best interests.
29. In the final analysis he understands that his career will depend on what he does with what he knows, not just on what he knows.
30. Drop a note to all prospects and clients at least once a month
31. The professional is skilled at communicating and reading the prospect’s communications back to him.
32. When you are talking with a prospect, please remember that in most cases he’s delighted to give you pertinent information if you will just ask for it!
33. Always think as a seller and a buyer
34. If there are any objections, it is infinitely better to bring them out early so you can deal with them as part of the presentation rather than at the end of the interview.
35. Don’t argue, get defensive, or try to justify the price.  Quietly and with an almost casual confidence put the ball back in their court.  I.e.  Is it too much?  What do you think would be a fair difference to give in exchange for increasing your profits?
36. The best way to get a prospect to make a favourable new decision is to make him happy with an old decision.
37. Break down costs and frame with similar costs per month or values
38. You make the sale when the prospect understands that it will cost more to do nothing about the problem than to do something about it.
39. Do you carry the marble?  Do you carry the baseball? Or do you carry the beach ball?
40. Words that sell: your clients name, understand, proven, health, easy, guarantee, money, safety, save, new, love, discovery, right, results, truth, comfort, proud, profit, deserve, happy, trust, value, fun, vital, security, your, advantage, positive, and benefits.

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Question – Do you honestly have a documented, clearly defined set of goals for your business and an achievable plan to get you there?

I know you understand the value of planning. Unfortunately, in today’s busy business environment, most business owners never manage to put the time aside to get the essential planning done that will enable them to take their business to the level they desire. Because of this, far too many business owners – just like you – end up feeling frustrated and trapped with no end in sight.

So, during 2010 I am going to provide 2-3 afternoon sessions throughout the year where I will help you put together a plan that you can actually take away with you. ON THE DAY….

FIRST ONE  – Friday 26^th March 2010 – 12.00 noon to 16.30

For just £50

I’ll give you ALL this…

• Goals for the next 12 months to aim at.
• A clearly defined plan for the next 90 days.
• A marketing plan to support the delivery of your goals.
• A step by step guide to keeping you on track.
• Some marketing strategies to help you build your profits right away.
• The skills and tools to get more done in less time.
• A list of your top 5 goals for the next 90-Days.
• Help & advice from an award winning performance coach.
• Network with other like-minded business owners.
• Lunch, tea and coffee throughout the afternoon!
• My personal guarantee that if you don’t feel you have had  good value for money I will refund your £50 (no questions asked)

This is a workshop environment, fewer people, more 121 time with the coach and a hands on experience for you and your business plans.

For just £50+VAT you will go away with a clearer understanding of your destination for 2010 and how you plan to get yourself there.

These workshops are designed for smaller groups. Consequently they SELL-OUT fast… So don’t delay book today and reserve your place, before the competition does!….

To book your place today BOOK HERE – OR – Call me on 02392 423218

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Motivational Techniques

Motivation through Challenges

Individuals are motivated when they are working towards personally meaningful goals.  Attainment of those goals must require activity that is increasingly difficult, but attainable.  In other words, people like to be challenged, but they must feel their goals are achievable to stay motivated.  This can be accomplished by:

• Establishing goals that are personally meaningful
• Making those goals possible
• Providing feedback on performance
• Aligning goals with the individual’s self esteem

Motivation through Curiosity

In this concept of self motivation we are talking about providing something in the individual’s environment that arouses their curiosity.  This can be accomplished by presenting the individual with something that connects their present knowledge or skills with a more desirable level – if the person were to engage in a certain activity.  So to motivate someone through curiosity, the environment must stimulate their interest to learn more.

Motivation through Control

Most people like to feel they are in control of their destiny.  They want to feel in control of what happens to them.  To stay motivated, individuals must understand the cause and effect relationship between an action they will take and the result.  To motivate individuals through the use of control you can:

• Make the cause and effect relationship clear by establishing a goal and its reward.
• Allow individuals to believe that the work they do does make a difference.
• Allow individuals to choose what they want to learn and how to go about learning it.

Motivation through Fantasy

Another intrinsic motivating factor comes via fantasy.  That is individuals can use mental images of things and / or situations that are not actually present to motivate themselves.  You can foster motivation through fantasy by helping individuals imagine themselves in situations that are motivating.

For example, if you know that someone is highly motivated by the thought of being in control, then you can talk to them about a future point in time when they might be in charge of a large and important business operation.

Motivation through Competition

Individuals can also be motivated by competition.  That’s because we gain a certain amount of satisfaction by comparing our performance to that of others.  This type of competition can occur naturally as well as artificially.

When using competition to foster motivation, keep in mind the following:

• Competition is more motivating to some than others
• Losing in a competition de-motivates more than winning motivates
• Competitive spirits can sometimes reduce the likelihood of being helpful to competitors

Motivation through Cooperation

Cooperating with others or the feeling that you can help others is very motivating.  Most individuals feel quite satisfied by helping others achieve their goals.  As was the case with competition, motivation through cooperation can occur naturally or artificially.

When attempting to use cooperating to motivate, keep in mind:

• Cooperation is more important to some individuals than others
• Cooperation is a valuable skill that can be used in many different situations
• Interpersonal skills are important for cooperation

Motivation through Recognition

Finally, individuals are motivated through recognition.  When their accomplishments are recognized by others, then they feel motivated.  You need to make sure that recognition is distinguished from competition.  With recognition you do not compare their achievements to those of others as you might with a competition.

Extrinsic or External Motivation

As previously mentioned, extrinsic or external motivation is the term used to describe external factors that stimulate our internal motivation. The concept of externally motivating someone is not at odds with the fact that motivation comes from within.  The point here is that it is possible to provide others with situations or an external environment that is motivating.

Perhaps the most useful lesson for the leader then becomes how to motivate employees that report directly or indirectly to the leader.  If you understand the intrinsic motivational factors previously described, then a game plan can be developed to foster motivation among employees.

Employee Motivation

Some of the most effective ways for managers and leaders to motivate their staff includes recognition, providing positive performance feedback and by challenging employees to learn new things.  Many new managers make the mistake of introducing de-motivating factors into the workplace such as punishment for mistakes or frequent criticisms.

When followers feel they are being supported and they have the ability to remain in control of their workplace they stay motivated.  Leaders can foster this feeling by allowing employees to take on added responsibility and accountability for making decisions.

But the important thing to keep in mind is that motivation is individual and the degree of motivation achieved through one single strategy will not be the most effective way to motivate all employees.  The most effective way to determine what motivates others is through carefully planned trial and error.

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Sometimes you’re so close to a problem you can’t see how it will ever be solved. This situation is so common, it even has it’s own cliché – “you can’t see the wood for the trees”. Here’s a brainstorming game to help you see things differently, and aid the problem solving process.

Show these shapes to your team, and ask them to individually write down what they can see. You may find descriptions such as; three coloured shapes, or a green circle with a diagonal line, a red hexagon and a yellow thought bubble etc.

Some may have made a small creative leap and seen the top left figure as a green “forbidden” road sign. Others may have taken bigger creative leaps and see a winking, bearded face or an imminent solar eclipse on a cloudy day. It doesn’t matter if you can or can’t see these more outlandish images – there’s no right or wrong answer.

Looking at things in a fresh, new way can trigger a whole train-load of thoughts, and that’s the essence of effective brainstorming.

Get the team to look at the shapes again and see how they describe them differently, second time round.

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R esearch
Visit as many groups as possible that spark your interest. Notice the tone and attitude of the group. Do the people sound supportive of one another? Does the leadership appear competent? Many groups will allow you to visit two times before joining.
I ntention
Ask yourself what your goals are in participating in networking meetings so that you will pick groups that will help you get what you are looking for. It’s important to be clear about you want to achieve from networking, if you don’t how will your contacts know when they come across an opportunity for you?
S trategy
Have a plan on how you will achieve your goals or intentions for networking. Are you there to buy and\or sell? Will you make special offers to the members or their referrals? Plan regular face to face meetings for the newest or most active and regular phone calls and regular emails to your more established contacts.
E levator Pitch
Networking opportunities are everywhere. You have 2 minutes to state what you do plus your three ‘good ats’ ….be ready to say what you are looking for if that’s appropriate. Trust your instincts.
S tand out

Be memorable.. Have a powerful pitch, be decisive and confident about what you do. Develop a powerful unique selling point (USP) that is quick and easy to communicate. Don’t forget, you want to be remembered when you are not at the meeting too..
H elp Others
This is a really powerful networking tool. By helping others you will help yourself. Members will respect and remember you if you can provide help to them. This can be through leads, referrals or simply offering your advice or services without charge.
I nvolvement
100% participation.. Give 100% and you will get 100%. By being involved in the running of the group you will raise your profile, it will improve your status amongst your peers and ensure members and guests remember you for longer. Volunteer to take supporting roles within the group.
N ext Step
After the meeting remember to take the next step and follow up on the leads and referrals you gather. Unless you have an elephantine memory keep records of your contacts and their business. A great tip is to make a few key notes on the back of their business card. Follow through quickly and efficiently on referrals you are given. When people give you referrals, your actions are a reflection on them. Respect and honour that and your referrals will grow.
E njoy yourself

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As the Hungry Bear (Your Customers) emerges from Recession Hibernation you will notice him behaving differently.

• He’s going to decide somewhat slower and more cautiously.
• He’s going to consider price as a higher priority than before.
• He’s angry about the value of his home, and his investments.
• He will not be doing business the same way anymore.
• He will not be advertising the same way he advertised before.
• He’s online. Checking out your website – and your competitor’s website.
• He’s Tweeting, Face Booking, and Linkedin-ing. (Social media is still a firestorm.)
• He’s blogging about his experiences with you, for the world to read.
• He’s YouTubing about his experiences with you for the world to watch
• He’s Googling, not yellow-paging.
• He’s using his mobile device to nearly everything.

So going to market to attract this new “beast” has changed. You need to make sure you are able to deal with this new breed and new attitude to buying.

• Re assure them you are strong, fit and able to service their needs
• Remind them about your product, service
• Re-enforce the difference between you and the competition
• Make use of ALL the new marketing mediums – Twitter, Linked in, Web, Blogs, Video
• Introduce products or services that reflect their buying needs – keeping your existing range too.
• Be patient, he may take a little longer to decide.
• Bolster up your USP’s and Guarantees to create trust.

Remember “we” are the new consumers too.. Sometimes just looking at our own buying attitudes and feelings will help us to understand what is different about our own customers too.

*Some of the above was inspired by an article by Jeffrey Gitomer and his Caffeine Fix – Always a good read!

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Giving it away! – Delegation

People use many excuses for not delegating. Their reasons are usually unfounded. You’ll get more done through delegation if you assume the opposite of the following statements is true:

• I could do it better myself.
  
• I don’t know if I can trust her to do it.
  
• He isn’t qualified to do it.
  
• She doesn’t want any added responsibilities.
  
• I don’t have the time to show anyone how to do it.
  
• There is no one else to delegate to.
  
• He already has enough to do.
  
• I don’t want to give up this task because I like doing it.
  
• I’m the only person who knows how to do this.
  
• She messed up last time, so I’m not giving her anything else to do.

What To Delegate

• Don’t delegate what you can eliminate. If you shouldn’t be doing an activity, then perhaps you shouldn’t be giving the activity away to others. Eliminate it.
• Delegate routine activities, even though you don’t want to:
  • Fact-finding assignments
    
  • Preparation of rough drafts of reports
    
  • Problem analysis and suggested actions
    
  • Collection of data for reports
    
  • Photocopying, printing, collating
    
  • Data entry
    
• Delegate things that aren’t part of your core competency. For small businesses, these include accounting, web site design, deliveries, hardware upkeep, software help, graphic design, travel arrangements, patenting, legal issues and even HR functions such as payroll.
  
• Some things you can’t delegate: performance reviews, discipline, firing.
  
• Create a plan to delegate. Don’t give out assignments haphazardly.
  
• Invest short term time in training to gain a long term increase in productivity.
  
• Others may end up doing a better job than you can or finding new ways to complete a task.
  
• Delegate, don’t abdicate. Someone else can do the task, but you’re still responsible for the completion of it, and for managing the delegation process.

Delegation Instructions

Make sure the standards and the outcome are clear. What needs to be done, when should it be finished and to what degree of quality or detail?

• Delegate the objective, not the procedure. Outline the desired results, not the methodology.
  
• Ask people to provide progress reports. Set interim deadlines to see how things are going.
  
• Delegate to the right person. Don’t always give tasks to the strongest, most experienced or first available person.
  
• Spread delegation around and give people new experiences as part of their training.
  
• Obtain feedback from employees to ensure they feel they’re being treated appropriately. A simple “How’s it going with that new project?” might be all that’s needed.
  
• Be sure to delegate the authority along with the responsibility. Don’t make people come back to you for too many minor approvals.
  
• Trust people to do well and don’t look over their shoulders or check up with them along the way, unless they ask.
  
• Be prepared to trade short term errors for long term results.
  
• When you finish giving instructions, the last thing to ask is, “What else do you need to get started?” They’ll tell you.

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Create a great vision statement
The easiest way to write a vision statement is to ask questions.
You can use some of these and make up your own.

• What important problems do you solve?
• What unique market position do you control?
• What is your geographic coverage? Are you local? National? International?
• What value does your enterprise create in the world?
• Is that value provided to: consumers, governments, kids, small businesses, giant corporations, humanity?
• Is your organization a corporation? A loose alliance? A strategic partnership? A virtual company?
• What form is it?
• Who owns the company – you? Partners? Outside investors? The public?
• How big is your organization?
• How many people work at/for your company?
• What kind of people are they?
• What role do you play daily?
• How much revenue and/or profit do you generate?
• What does the press say about your company?
• Are you leading edge / bleeding edge / innovative or just a cash cow?
• Where are your headquarters?
• Where are your remote offices?
• What is special about working for/at your company?
• How is your company growing? Sales? New product/service lines? Acquisition?
• How would you describe your company culture?
• What do your customers say about your company?
• What is your company known for?
• How do you redefine the industry you are in?
• What is the future of your company?

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Do you know where you are going in your business for 2010?

• Do you know where you will end up at the end of 2010?
• Do you have some destinations planned?
• Do you know how to set some realistic goals for your business?
• How are you planning to take advantage of the recession recovery in 2010?
• After all, if you don’t know where you are going how will you know if you have got there!

Your journey from where you are to where you want to be – STARTS HERE!!!

Why don’t you come along to this FREE event and pick up some tips and ideas to help make 2010 a great year for you and your business

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Is it different from selling a product? YES!

How important is it that your services are easy to sell? Wouldn’t it be even better if they were easy to buy?

Why is selling a service so different from selling a product? In some ways, the principles should be the same. The objective is to get the prospect to agree that the way to solve their problem is to use your product or service.

• The element of trust: It’s never possible to know exactly what will be received until the service has been given
• The sales person as part of the service: The product sales person can never be part of his or her product. The product has its own dimensions and specifications which are self contained and unique. But a sales person selling a service is often part of the ‘package’ – especially if it is you, selling your own service.
• A service can’t be stored: You can’t make it in advance and stock it for selling later. And each time you deliver a service, it’s going to be slightly different.

So, how can you make the process of selling a service that much more effective? Here are a few quick ideas for you to experiment with, adapt and adopt

1. Make the Intangible Tangible: Services are intangible–you can’t see them, touch them, take them out of the box or demonstrate them. Yet this is exactly what you need to do to make them easier for your customers to buy them. So how do you accomplish this?

The answer is to “productize” your service. Make it tangible. Think like a product manager. Here are four different techniques you can use to package your service to act more like a product:

• Turn your service into a product.
• Package your different service levels.
• Combine your services and create a new offering.
• Package your process.

Each of these techniques will help you create a distinct (tangible) advantage over other service providers and make your services easier to buy.

2. Use testimonials: These can be concrete evidence that your service has worked for other people. And if your existing satisfied customers don’t volunteer testimonials, ask for them. You’ll seldom get a refusal.

3. Make your service offering  different: Product manufacturers try to make their products different from their competitors. It’s even more important to show how your service offers something different. And make sure that the differences are ones which are important to the prospect.

4. Don’t sell your time: If you are selling a time-based service, try not to sell it on the basis of so many hours worked. Sell it on so much per solution or project. This way, you remove the fear barrier that you might be trying to spin the project out  and you’ll be offering a firm outcome for a fixed price.

What all these techniques have in common is the opportunity for you to present all the value you deliver. Often, we make assumptions that our customers understand everything we do for them. But this just isn’t the case: You need to pull out every piece of value you provide over the course of a project and present that to the client in order for them to completely understand what a terrific job you’re doing for them.

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