Sales Blog for Sales and Sales Management

By now, you sales people and sales managers may or may not have seen the video or read the book 'The Secret'.  The Secret isn't just for sales or selling or sales management, but its application is a great fit.  However, if you have read enough self-help stuff in the past, then The Secret isn't much of a secret. But that does not invalidate the content or message. 

My post today isn't about the secret.  This post is about one of the series of questions asked by attendees at the recent BISA managers meeting held last December in California.  Bob Grieb asked me to speak on the 5 Crucial Factors for Sales Success and, as part of the presentation, I asked attendees to submit questions.  Today's question is from Lou George from M&T Investment Group.   Lou isn't asking for 'the secret' but his question is close: 

"In your opinion, what is the single biggest motivator for top sales people?"

Lou, the secret is, well, The Secret.  What do you mean, Tony?  What I mean is that the basis for "the secret" is realizing what you want in life; making those wants, dreams, desires, goals non-negotiable; creating a plan to goals into accomplished goals; and finally, being aware that there are abundant resources available that will help you achieve your goals.

That, in my opinion, is what motivates the top producers:  their own personal goals that they have made non-negotiable.

As my good friend, Tim Mackey, taught me years ago- "People strive for freedom: freedom of time and freedom of choice."  What 'buys' people that freedom is money.  Money is the resource that buys us the freedom.

So, it isn't a complex compensation package with rich incentives.  By and large, if you look at top producers that are independent, what motivates them is the dream of being successful with all that that implies and provides in terms of freedom.

If you want to become a top producer, if you want to manage your top producers to another level, if you want those that are just below the top to producer better, then follow these steps:

1. Create an environment where people have the chance to dream
2. Help them build a plan around those dreams
3. Provide access to resources to help the dreams come true.
   

Hope this helps Lou.

"Sales vows? Tony, what are you kidding? I've read your exploits about roller skating and selling. I tolerated your stories about ‘if sales people could fly'. Sales vows? Okay, I'll bite."

Thanks.

Yesterday, Linda and I attended the wedding of her cousin's daughter, Kristen. During the ceremony when the priest was providing guidance to what helps a marriage thrive, grow and last, Father Wayne talked about several things but these three hit me as very applicable to sales and selling:

Thank you,forgive me and I love you.

1. Thank you: Anytime you get the chance to tell a prospect or client "thank you", tell them "thank you". Though you've earned the right to be with them, they still have the option to tell you "no" so thank them. Though you did what you needed to do to sell them, they could have still told you "no", so thank them. And when they bring you a problem you would rather avoid or make excuses for, thank them. This leads us very well to "forgive me".

2. Forgive me: Instead of saying, "I'm sorry we messed this up", ask them to forgive you for the mistake. No, you can tie the two together- "I'm sorry; I ask that you forgive me."- but now it is up to the client or prospect to offer the olive branch with forgiveness. Saying "I'm sorry" is an attempt to sweep the event under the rug and hope they forget it. I'm sure you've been in situations in a store or airport where something has gone wrong and the representative says they are sorry. I'm also sure that it does nothing to solve the problem and usually it sounds like something they've been trained to say. It is meaningless most of the time. "Forgive me" on the other hand is a great deal more sincere and it acknowledges that your client now has the power and option to determine what happens next. I promise you it will make them feel better and they will look at you differently.

3. I love you: Well, I admit this is a bit of a stretch for some of you and for others this will make perfect sense. I truly love and care about my clients. I tell them in the very beginning of the relationship that if something is keeping them awake at night, it will keep me awake at night. If something is bothering them, I want it to bother me. Nobody they can hire will care more about their success than I do. When you love someone there is no blame, there is no bitterness, noone boasts, envy doesn't exist and pride fullness is non-existent. This is how relationships, business and personal are supposed to be. Love your clients.

The reception was great. There was lots of laughing, dancing, singing, remembering of weddings past and guessing as to whom is next to walk down the aisle. One of the great moments was when two couples on the floor continued to dance. One couple had been married for 57 years, the other for 61. I imagine that many times they executed the trilogy of "thank you, forgive me and I love you". Imagine having those types of long lasting relationships with your clients.

Last Thursday,  Linda's cousin, Fred Costa, Jr., was laid to rest next to his mom in a cemetery on the west side of Cincinnati;  he was 41.  Fred was running in the NYC Marathon when he collapsed at mile marker 22.  Ironically, or thankfully, there was a picture taken of him as he passed mile marker 20.  His arms were raised, energizer bunny ears on his head and smile on his face.  This was his tenth marathon and his first NYC.  Fred was not a salesman in the traditional sense, but I would find out over a two week period that Fred did indeed sell.

Fred was a teacher by education and a marathoner by decision.  When his mom, Gloria, fell into a coma several years prior, he decided to run for her, becoming a team member for the Leukemia "Team in Training' to fight cancer.  As I was to learn, Fred was everywhere and everyone loved him, respected him and cared for him dearly.  The Saturday after his collapse, the local Team in Training chapter held a fundraiser run in his honor.  The run would be 4.2 miles; the 4.2 miles that Fred never got a chance to run in NYC.  Obviously, he sold himself, his courage, his goals and his commitment to his other team members and members of his small community.

Fred received his masters at Xavier this year and planned to become a ‘sports' administrator.  He loved sports and he wanted to get involved in the management of sporting events like the olympics, super bowls, conference championships, and running events.  It didn't matter.  He just wanted to be part of the sports world.  In the meantime, he was a teacher at the Prince of Peace school located just outside Hyde Park here in Cincinnati.  The day before his burial, the school gathered in his honor and children at the school read stories, poems and dedications about Coach Costa.  Not a dry eye in the house I understand.  Obviously, Coach Costa sold the kids on the idea that they could achieve what they deeply desired to achieve, what they were committed to and to what they would dedicate themselves.

As we would find out, some of his immediate family, as well as most of his extended family, had no idea the reach that Fred had in this community. At the run in his honor, somewhere between 200 and 250 people showed up to run. The event was covered and broadcast by local networks.  At the viewing on Wednesday, you had to wait in line to get into the funeral home.  The viewing lasted from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. , and on Thursday at church, it was standing room only.  The words spoken by his sisters, one of his teammates in Team in Training, and the priest held the attendance spellbound and silent as they each talked about Fred's contribution to his nieces and nephews, the school and the running community.  None of us had any idea.

For a guy that seemed to be introverted, uneasy in conversation, and seemingly going through life trying to find himself, he sold hundreds of us ,even in his passing, that we were in the midst of a wonderful man whose time on this earth ended way to soon.  Fred, I wish I had known you better. God speed.

I attended my Mom and Dad's memorial service in May.  Today I want to talk about Dad.  When I returned home, I had with me a box of some of my Dad's earthly possessions. He wasn't a wealthy man in material things, but quite a rich man when it came to friends and people that he touched in many ways.  He was as they say ‘old school'.  He believed in the flag, honor, hard work, love, God, and providing for his family the best that he could.  He was a high school drop out, but a man of great intellect and knowledge, not taught in traditional school systems.  In my world of developing and assessing sales people, my guess is that Dad would have been a superstar, and he would have had a long career.  This is what he knew how to do:

• Work hard - he told me time and time again - when all else fails, hard work works.
• Develop relationships - Dad didn't just have people that he met, he had friends. He had life long friends, as was evidenced by the number of people that I had never met who attended his memorial service. And the testimonials I heard validated that Dad was constantly meeting new people and making new relationships.
• Get to the point - Dad could sort through the BS in a hurry and he would call someone on it the moment he heard it or sensed it. He didn't have much tolerance for those who tried to snowball him. With Dad, you told him the truth up front and once you had his trust, only you could lose it and once lost, it was very hard to regain.
• He knew how to communicate what he wanted, and what it was going to take to make the relationship work. He was honored as a man that kept his word, promised a lot and delivered more.
• He was committed to his work, his fun and his family. Day in and day out my Dad did everything possible to succeed and achieve the objectives of the farm that we grew up on. He provided the best possible lifestyle for our family, even putting himself in debt to do so, and made sure that we had moments of complete and fulfilling joy through hunting, fishing and being outdoors.
• His passion for excellence was legendary (not always so pleasant an experience when something wasn't done to his expectations)
• Never made excuses. Rain was not a reason for not getting crops in the barn. It was never too early, too late, too dark or too hot. You worked until the work was done and not a minute before.

As I think about my dad and these qualities,  I'd say that he would have been a fine salesman and a great sales leader.  If you think about his ‘old school' qualities, I think you'll agree that they would serve you well today.

What eventual outcome are you avoiding that you need to face today?

I'm not talking about something as severe as a long term disability for a child long after you as a parent have left the world. I'm talking about those 'opportunities' in your pipeline that really aren't pipeline opportunities but really pipe dreams. You know which ones they are. They are the ones that sound like: "think it over", "we'll get back to you", "haven't had a chance to go over", "looking at another option", "could you show me this option". We've all been there, done that, got the goose egg for a sales paycheck.

Face your future today. Go for the no and get on with your sales life. Go prospect.