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Today begins “Thanksgiving Week” in our nation, so this post will be void of selling-related material and strategies. I want to step back from those activities that are important but not urgent and share my attitude of gratitude.
I am thankful to be an American. It is great to be a citizen of a nation that allows me to proclaim a message like the one I’m publishing today. With all our “warts” Ronald Reagan was right when he said, “America is a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere.” Although being born here was none of my doing, I feel extremely blessed to partake in American exceptionalism.
I am thankful for generations of Robinsons’, originating in Great Britain, who understood they were the handiwork of the Creator. My attitude of gratitude extends back through all those generations who held fast to spiritual truth. This ensured that those embers remained hot and bright for me to experience. The Apostle Paul was certainly correct when he wrote; I couldn’t be surer of my ground—the One I’ve trusted in can take care of what He’s trusted me to do right to the end.
I am thankful for physical health although I’m a heart attack and a prostate cancer survivor. For His purposes I’ve been allowed to survive these events. I am blessed at age 69 to be able to walk 10-12 miles every week as my exercise regimen to stay physically active.
I am thankful for stable mental health and reasonable intelligence, along with the gift of written and oral communication. This is attested to by thousands of salespeople who read my written words or attend my online workshops. I recognize I’m incapable of even drawing a breath by myself, therefore my attitude of gratitude extends to these gifts. I plan to ‘burn out rather than rust out’ as long as I am able.
I am thankful for my wife of 40 years for loving me, even when she doesn’t like me. She is an awesome partner, mother, and grandmother. Three months ago she was diagnosed with uterine/endometrial cancer and is currently receiving chemo following major surgery. I am currently functioning as her caregiver, but she deserves so much better. By the time she finishes her treatment and Christmas rolls around, my attitude of gratitude will certainly be evident through her renewed health. I can’t wait to see her sweet smile return once again.
I am thankful for my children, now adults with families of their own. They are all physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy, for which I take no credit. All four, ages 35 to 45, have earned college degrees and hold responsible occupations. To turn out as well as they have is proof once again that grace has been at work. I sure am thankful and proud of who they have become and the families they have built.
I am thankful for my six grandchildren, Alexandra, Cameron, Cade, Colton, Jackson, and Emery, ranging from age 16 to 5. If I had known they were going to be so much fun, I would have skipped the kids and had them first! My attitude of gratitude definitely applies for their physical, mental, and emotional characteristics.
I am thankful for solid finances. Over 35 years ago a mentor taught me the principles of financial independence. Because of this and my awesome spouse, we are completely debt free. This enables us to give generously to causes and organizations we believe in, while maintaining ample resources for our retirement.
I am thankful for my role as a semi-retired sales training coach and author. I very much enjoy working with salespeople and passing on tips, techniques, and attitudes I’ve learned over the past 45 years. There is a solid feeling of accomplishment to witness improvement in the performance of those I coach.
I am thankful for my spiritual life. When all is said and done this is the only aspect of life that will endure. I’m fortunate for my exposure to many mature Christians who have modeled a true relationship with God rather than just “religion without reality.” I responded to what I experienced by placing my trust in Him and His promises, which are available to all who will believe and trust in Him. As a result I am confident in spending eternity with Him when He decides my life here on earth is finished.
What are you thankful for? Try sneaking off to a quiet place for a few minutes this week and think about the things that will trigger your attitude of gratitude. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Riches and glory come from You, You’re ruler over all. You hold strength and power in the palm of Your hand to build up and strengthen all. And here we are, O God, our God, giving thanks to You, praising Your splendid name. 1 Chronicles 29:12-13
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————Berta is Thankful for Me! ————
“I appreciate the knowledge and advice you share that inspires me to improve.” Berta Britton, CIC Personal Lines, East Ellijay, Ga. Look HERE to help you understand what she means
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©2018 Robinson Training Solutions, LLC
From time to time, everybody puts off doing things because they “don’t feel like doing them.” Over the Christmas holidays you promised yourself you would start exercising as soon as the ball dropped. Then you committed to getting a jump on your taxes as soon as the W-2’s arrived, rather than doing an all-nighter alongside a stale pizza and a bitter pot of strong coffee in mid-April. But you didn’t do either one, along with many other chores and projects on your radar screen.
In the spring of 1967, shortly before I graduated from high school, Dad acquired the Biscayne. If that doesn’t ring a bell with you, you’re probably just too young. The Biscayne was the low-end model of the Chevrolet nameplate. This one was a 1963, stripped down, 3-speed on the column model in baby-poop brown.
possess the skills. If that’s the case, show them a picture of what it should look like; that’s what leaders do. Afterward, conduct some test driving with the rep and chances are their confidence will quickly increase, unless it doesn’t. If it doesn’t move following that, then look into the attitude side of the issue.
Victor Borge, a renowned 20th century Danish comedian (affectionately known as the “Clown Prince of Denmark”) was famous for saying, “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”
Every year about this time I encourage outside salespeople by discussing and reminding them of the dozens of creative selling sources and prospecting methods available to them. These are all designed to help sales folks become armed and dangerous with resources to help remain productive during the lean lead months. Today I want to look into some behind the scenes logistics to help make that happen.
Finally, if you maintain a commercial customer list it will be easy and convenient to stop by and place some flyers detailing employee discounts in the break areas or near the time clock. Do this for any commercial customers that are in the footprint of where you are working that day. Make sure to explain to the owner or manager that this is a FREE benefit for his employees, for being a customer. You will eventually get some phone calls as some of these employees develop a need for some of your services at their homes.
You know it seems like everybody grows up with the feeling they are special and different. During the 1960’s my generation watched Art Linkletter ask children what they wanted to be when they grew up on a TV show called, “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” In the 1990’s my kids watched Bill Cosby do a remake of that same show, and the answers were always zany and varied across the board, everything from President of the U.S., to Hollywood movie star, to Olympic gold medalist, to astronaut, to Super Bowl MVP quarterback.
The fourth principle he shared was that you must realize that you can change. Your friends, relatives and maybe even spouse may not believe in you, but if you believe in you, nothing else matters. Ever heard of these “losers?”…
7 – Tinkering – 20% of salespeople produce 80% of the sales. Therefore, be very careful who you listen to and insulate yourself from the non-producers. Do you really think the losers in your office want you to succeed? Stop tinkering with the turkeys in the barnyard and start flying with the eagles overhead.
Questions are your best friends – When your prospect says they really want to buy, but can’t because of (whatever), simply verify it by responding with some version of “If that wasn’t an issue would you proceed?” If that is truthful they will simply agree. If there is something else, they will bring up the additional objection. Either way you have isolated an honest concern you can respond to.
Now before you dis the above suggestion, let me explain how I came up with these numbers. I’m visualizing a rep who receives one company lead per day and generates another lead per day personally. That would generate 10 points. Secondly I’m expecting this rep will complete two proposals per day, generating another 20 points. And finally, since “Selling is like shaving; if you don’t do a little every day you will soon become a bum,” let’s say this rep closes one sale per day, for an additional 15 points, totaling 45 points for the week.
In today’s post, I want to remind salespeople to never give up, by sharing some ideas to ensure that never happens. Anybody can quit, and frankly most people do. If this were not so, the winners circle would be a lot bigger, and far more crowded. Therefore by simply hanging on and refusing to give up, you dramatically increase your chances of winning.
A friend of mine, who is also involved in sales training in the Midwest, told me that recently she and her husband were shopping for a graduation gift for their favorite niece. They found an attractive ladies’ sport watch and decided to buy it. After telling the store salesperson they wanted the watch, the clerk violated a selling no-no. He volunteered a 30% discount although they didn’t ask for one, and had already told him they wanted the item.
As an example of what I’m talking about, here’s a response I’ll bet you hear a lot: 
So that is the first and main thing. But there are requirements for your work to be a career:
Instinct – Wayne Gretzky often said, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” A salesperson must possess that level of anticipation and drive and always operate by “the little bit more” principle so they don’t have to be told every move to make, because business moves too quickly to try to teach that skill.
Let me first share this short yarn about “trust” and then I’ll get back into this important topic and discuss the final two types of objections.
No ($) Money
No Urgency
Art Sobczak, a renowned phone sales trainer for the last 35 years, says people often assume that where there’s a pitch, there’s a catch. “If you say, ‘Here is my pitch,’ people will look for something to object to,” he says. “You really shouldn’t even use the word ‘pitch’ outside of baseball. Instead, call it a recommendation. That sends the message to prospects that you want to engage in a conversation and help them.”
At that point, regardless what you are thinking, stop talking and listen to what Glockenspiel says next.
The last bit of advice I’ll give you is very simple, but I think it could make a big difference in your life. Once a week, you should write a note to someone. Not an email. A note on a piece of paper. It will take you exactly 10 minutes. Talk to an adult, let them tell you what a stamp is. You can put the stamp on the envelope. Again, 10 minutes, once a week. I will help you right now by dictating for you the first note you should write. It will say:
A few years ago my wife wanted and needed a new car. She had been talking about a full size SUV rather than another sedan. The good news was that it was early fall and time for the change of model year, meaning a good chance for a deep discount. The bad news was that for the first time in history gasoline was over $4 per gallon. We discussed it and decided a perfect storm had been created for us to go ahead and purchase the vehicle, because we felt that gas prices would come back down to reasonable levels within a few months.
Several months ago I wrote a post about technician selling and received many favorable comments, telling me a lot of subscribers are either service managers or business owners who realize how critical tech sales are in blue collar businesses. This week I’m going to broach that topic again, primarily from the perspective that techs know they are expected to sell, but often they aren’t getting the traction, and results that are expected, even when they work hard at the selling part of their job. If this sounds familiar, take the load off, prop up your feet for a few minutes and look through this list of possible reasons you aren’t hanging “W’s” on the scoreboard. Following each of these suggestions are some comments describing what might possibly be happening:
Are you likable to people? For the 1,000th time, people buy from those they trust and like.
If you didn’t get a chance to read Part I of this post from last week, go read it right now 
After completing your comparison, you might consider putting an exclamation point on your discussion by making a bold statement like one of these; “We charge more because we do more, in every area of the package.” Another attention-getter statement is this one;
I was once told about a very unusual place in Solingen, Germany called Museum Plagiarius. This site supposedly only showcases knockoffs of various items by exhibiting the fakes alongside their authentic counterparts.
You must know how to quickly and surgically point out the crucial differences between companies. Don’t be afraid to state that, “We charge more because we do more, in every area of the package.” 
My (Doug) favorite fast food place to eat is Chick-fil-A. Their food and their service consistently beat the pants off all their competitors. When I’m whizzing down an Interstate highway and it’s lunch time, I’ll go out of my way, passing a dozen of other fast food places to find one of their stores (although they are usually close by major exits). A few weeks ago I stumbled on the article below, which was written by John Eades, CEO of LearnLoft in Charlotte, N.C., and I thought Selling Point readers could glean something from the “leadership lessons” Eades discusses. Here is his article in its entirety.
Do Common Things in an Uncommon Way
Be Driven by Purpose
If you’re familiar with any of my work you know I’m big on advocating for salespeople to perform pre-call preparation before every sales appointment. Today I want to go one step further and discuss crafting a backup plan, because circumstances often change. Football quarterbacks are always prepared with an “audible,” every time they approach the line of scrimmage and see a change in the defense that spoils the play they called in the huddle. And I don’t know anybody that hasn’t heard the line from the Robert Burns’ poem that states, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”
My PLAN B was to ask my wife to grab a blanket as I told her and the kids we would open the doors, toss the blanket over the critter, and grab the blanket bundle and head for the front door, where we would shake the flying squirrel from the blanket and back into the wild. The kids excitedly said, “Awesome,” and my wife, who is an RN, warned me to be very careful because this animal could have rabies. So as my kids each opened one of the glass doors, I lunged forward with the blanket in hand, only to get a blurry glimpse of the creature sailing over my shoulder into the family room. I’m pretty sure the rodent was the only one in the room who didn’t let out a squeal! For the next several minutes we chased this little fellow unsuccessfully through both the family and dining rooms of our house, trying to bag him with the blanket. Finally we got him, but as my wife opened the front door for me to throw the blanket containing this intruder into the front yard, I felt a sharp stick on my left hand. That little joker bit me just as I was evicting him, and BTW the next morning I got a tetanus shot to ensure I wouldn’t morph into a werewolf.
That last night we gathered in a huddle and committed, “Tonight for sure.” We staked out and waited…and waited…and waited. About 2:30am he finally ambled around the corner of our house, scratching and tearing away at the turf, feeding his nasty face with insects from below the sod. When he reached the agreed-upon spot we exercised the PLAN B I described earlier and, believe it or not, the six of us corralled him so that his only “exit” was to duck into the culvert. We knew then it was just a matter of time. We positioned the trash can as described earlier and about a half hour later our “Jericho shout” sent him running through the culvert, out the other end and into the trash can with a dull thud. My son immediately stood the can upright and we immediately began to fill the can with water from the garden hose. When the can became half-full we took turns holding him down underwater with a broom, waiting for him to breathe his last. Seven minutes later he finally stopped moving around and the Robinson’s celebrated.
How many times have we all heard that “timing is everything?” I can certainly attest to that and will give you an example from my past. In 1980 I made a career change into a sales field totally foreign to any of my past employment experience. The reason I did this was due to a personal encounter I had that completely changed my outlook about how I viewed the way I, and most other Americans, purchased their insurance and savings-related products. I was so enamored with how much these concepts improved my financial situation that after aligning my finances this way I decided to go to work for the company that was offering this radical financial approach.
When you answer objections that have yet to surface, since you won’t be put on the spot to address them, you are actually taking them away from the buyer. You should be aware that if you choose to conduct a pre-emptive strike with a particular objection, you’ll need to introduce it into evidence, something like this:
The vast majority of you who are blue collar salespeople in the services industry are in the midst of your busiest season of the year, working like one-armed wallpaper hangers! No one can possibly accuse you of not working hard, as you “swarm” around your sales territory trying to beat the clock and check every box on your schedule. But, as you erratically bounce from one task to the next, are you keeping the main thing the main thing?
In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen Covey says that every task falls into one of four categories or “quadrants.” An urgent matter is usually visible; a ringing phone, your manager standing next to your station in the sales room, or a posted deadline. Urgent matters create pressure on you but may not be important to your big picture. But since importance relates to results, by contributing to your mission, values, and goals, it’s easier to identify.
most important to you look where the sticky notes are posted, which is also where you are spending the most time (which may surprise you). So just like learning to make better eating choices for meals, if given the choice of spending time on a wasteful Quadrant 4 activity, why not choose something from Quadrant 2? If someone asks you to continually solve their Quadrant 3 problems, why not decline and move on to a task in Quadrant 1?
There are times when it is impossible to alter your circumstances, and definitely being enthusiastic and positive is important, but it can’t change the facts or erase history. As an example of this, in today’s post I’ll share a series of personal health events from my own recent past, that are also very applicable to your business life as a salesperson.
2. 
Concentrate fully on the buyer, not faking attention – How do you feel when it appears people have to force themselves to talk with you?
Have you ever asked someone what time it is, and ended up being told how to build a watch? Sounds comical, but some people don’t know how to give brief responses.
In order to do that, you might picture yourself on an elevator as the door opens and your boss steps in and asks, “Nate, where are we on landing the Nebula account?” Realizing he is only going up two floors to his office, which only takes about fifteen seconds, you must respond surgically. “Sir, I met with the economic buyer yesterday, and she committed to a final decision by close of business Tuesday, and I feel really good about our chances.” As your boss walks out of the elevator and the doors are closing, he says, “Good report, email me the minute we know their decision.”
with emails, snail mailings, internet article links, even a drop-by. To remain professional, just ensure that each connection educates, informs or adds insight.
My dad bought our first house in 1955, the year I started school. Until that time we lived in several different rentals, including my grandmother’s basement.
Being a good sales talker certainly doesn’t make you a better communicator, but empathy and understanding will. This is especially important considering that many of today’s buyers want to stay 180⁰ away from hard-selling, fast-talking reps, making it even more difficult for you to avoid being castigated as one of them. That’s why, in order to completely understand others, you must proactively turn your back on your emotions and identify and focus on your prospects or buyers and their circumstances.
Several years ago Lanorris, an experienced blue collar sales inspector with a large national company, shared with me his account of responding to a lead in the small town of Americus, Ga., where a frantic homeowner had a face-to-face encounter with swarming termites. Like most folks in that situation he called three companies to come and provide estimates. Although Lanorris says he conducted a thorough inspection and assessment, and gave a complete presentation of his offering; the homeowner didn’t buy from Lanorris, but rather from a small, one-branch business with much cheaper prices.
I’ve just got to share another piece from 
I keep a daily list of every task I want to accomplish. When I complete each task, I cross it out (or change its color on my screen) to “signal” that I have accomplished it. This little gesture is like a tiny shot of endorphins. It picks me up and gives me energy to attack my next objective.
Regardless whether you make your living as an inside salesperson, a selling admin, an upselling service tech, a call center sales rep, or an outside residential or commercial seller; proficiency on the telephone is as critical to you as air and water. Phone skills are vital for proposal follow-up, appointment setting, prospecting, and who knows, maybe one day you’ll even field an inbound call from somebody who you gave a business card to.
Request
Because your job as a salesperson is repetitive when it comes to prospecting, over time you can easily become stuck in a number of comfort zones related to attitudes, techniques, behavior, and performance. If you have read my book, 
Have you been listening to the “elder statesmen” in your sales room who have informed you that with very few office leads during the off season that it’s just not possible to sell as much as during the “on” season? Has that become your belief and therefore one of your comfort zones?
It’s pretty incredible how often you hear managers complaining about their best employees leaving, and they really do have something to complain about—few things are as costly and disruptive as good people walking out the door.
They hire and promote the wrong people. Good, hard-working employees want to work with like-minded professionals. When managers don’t do the hard work of hiring good people, it’s a major de-motivator for those stuck working alongside them. Promoting the wrong people is even worse. When you work your tail off only to get passed over for a promotion that’s given to someone who glad-handed their way to the top, it’s a massive insult. No wonder it makes good people leave.
While riding with a sales rep one day during some free style drop-in prospecting visits, I decided to turn our time together into a teachable moment. Upon leaving the office, I told the guy when we stopped for lunch that day he should expect me to administer a pop quiz about our touches that morning. He agreed but had a, what’s this all about look on his face.
Here are some verbal signals to recognize, coupled with examples of how they may sound coming from a buyer:
On the other end of the spectrum, here are some non-verbal hints to watch for, which often signal buyer intentions.
Who hasn’t watched Miracle on 34th Street at least once during the Christmas season? Here’s the quick and dirty…Kris Kringle was indignant to find that the person assigned to play Santa at Macy’s was intoxicated. When Kris complains to the event director, she fires that guy and persuades Kris to take his place. He does such a fine job that he is hired to be the Santa for Macy’s flagship New York City store on 34th Street.
Having been married for well over 30 years, I live by the mantra that “I don’t care about being right, I want to be happy.” And I know that when my honey isn’t happy, nobody is happy at our house!
If the problem is left unresolved, the customer will surely find your competition, so remember that the customer’s perception is your reality. You will be amazed at the unexpected sales that can occur when you begin to approach customers with “heartburn” this way. Determine today to stop avoiding and deflecting customer complaints as you work daily in the office. Realize that the extra few minutes and effort that it will take to resolve problems will come back to you tenfold in new sales and referrals, not to mention feeling better about yourself because you are now part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
The following dialogue occurred between a former customer support rep and a new customer:
5. Help Customers
Now that you’re caught up, today let’s look at seven helpful telephone techniques:
In today’s world it’s not unusual to get calls from people whose primary language is not English, which takes longer on the telephone, so consider these ideas:
I heard about an irate patient who called the pathology group, demanding that that they explain every lab test on her statement. “Of course,” said the nurse’s assistant. She pulled up her bill and started: “Number one, urinalysis …” The patient immediately interrupted her saying: “I’m a what?”
Received this message recently from Tony Iverson, Salt Lake City, UT. “Doug, I finally accomplished something in 2016 that I’ve been striving for since I went into sales. At the end of November I surpassed the $100,000 earnings mark, and you have a part in that through your years of teaching me…THANK YOU! I am ranked number 23 of all sales people at Rollins and number 8 in my category! My friend you’re very special to me!” 
After hearing these results, it’s easy to see why the buying public dislikes the tactics of many sales reps. I use the term question fatigue as a descriptive way to visualize how easily confused and frustrated buyers can become when they are hit with these staccato bursts, without adequate time to think and respond.
Would you rather tell your crew your hunting saga of how you tracked a gray squirrel and blasted him out of a pine tree with a .22 rifle, or would you prefer to recount your big game hunting trip to Colorado, where you stalked and bagged a 1000 lb., 6½ ft. tall elk with your Browning BLR ’81? OK, that’s a rhetorical question, so quit scratching your head, Bucky. Likewise salespeople always want to recount the BIG sale because who doesn’t want to have a “Donald Trump moment” as often as possible?
Additionally, you certainly realize you’re not the only game in town, and that there will be proposals from other providers. That said, you will be better served by not asking which competitors are in the hunt, but rather focusing on all the options the buyer may be considering. This is the best way to ensure closing the door on the competition, by offering everything the client wants to evaluate, thereby demonstrating a concise understanding of the prospect and avoiding incorrect assumptions.
Mind control is the result of self-discipline and habit. You either control your mind or it controls you. There is no half-way compromise. The most practical of all methods for controlling the mind is the habit of keeping it busy with a definite purpose, backed by a definite plan. Study the record of any man who achieves noteworthy success, and you will observe that he has control over his own mind, moreover, that he exercises that control and directs it toward the attainment of definite objectives. Without this control, success is not possible.
IF I were not so fat . . .
It seems to me that the beginning of a new year is a great time for salespeople to be reminded how fatal negative influences are, along with how to avoid them. To accomplish this I’m reaching back eighty years ago to Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich.
Doubting Thomas’s scoffed scornfully when Henry Ford tried out his first crudely built automobile on the streets of Detroit. Some said the thing never would become practical. Others said no one would pay money for such a contraption.
What’s your game… HVAC service tech, Pest Control/Termite specialist, Lube Store technician, or Lawn Care applicator? Common sense says service folks like these, and all manner of technicians in dozens of similar professions like these, should be the world’s best sales people simply because they are trusted by the customers they serve.
At the beginning of 2006 I began a gig as the sales coach for one multi-state division of a large environmental services company. One of my assignments was to improve technician sales. Of course we conducted regular sales training each month, but more importantly we reinforced the understanding of the two concepts discussed in this post. Here is a recap of our accomplishments, from the inception of the project in January 2006 to where we were four years down the road, at the end of 2009.