By now you must realize that we are in the midst of summarizing the twelve chapters of Art Williams’ inspirational book, All You Can Do Is All You Can Do. This is too good to miss so catch up with us by going back and reading the Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 before jumping in on this post.
In this chapter Art Williams shares some sage advice that many salespeople overlook. You can possess great desire, a big dream, have a crusade along with a great attitude; but still fail. How? By not understanding human nature.
You absolutely have to believe in the goodness of people, and most folks don’t. They have been disappointed and hurt by others to the point that they simply believe everybody’s out to get them. Those beliefs just won’t work if you plan to build a large customer base.
Remember that most people feel the same way you do, including your customers and other salespeople. That simply means that everybody is wary of everybody else. The only way that will change is for you to begin to understand people and treat them the way you want to be treated.
Art says one of the best kept secrets is praise. When results are noticed and praised, people work much harder. Whether you realize it or not, adults are no different than kids. Everybody wants love and praise. Business studies continually reveal that people want more from a job that just money. That’s why it’s so important to “catch people doing something right.” Additionally when you give praise, always do it in public. If you really want your praise to be meaningful, give some memento of recognition.
More than once as a sales manager, I (Doug) was in situations where I had no budget for recognition. I Applied Art’s principle by buying a sack full of assorted candy bars, choosing those where the name held some sales significance. Whoppers, Payday, Mars bars; all these can be used for a great recognition moment for a sales accomplishment. You see it’s not what you give someone that’s important, but what you say about them when you give it. A carton of Whoppers malted milk balls coupled with a heartfelt thank you and a verbal reiteration of their “whopper” accomplishment in front of peers, can have the same effect as a plaque costing 40X more.
You can never get too important or make too much money that you don’t want to be praised and appreciated. Whether it’s an overnight stay at a nice hotel or simply a note saying, “You’re doing a great job, keep it up”; people love recognition.
There is another side of praise. Just as people will do almost anything to be praised, they notice when they don’t get it. When people perform poorly, instead of criticizing, just praise somebody else. There is only one comment Art Williams makes about criticism…don’t. Withholding praise is 10X more powerful than criticizing.
——————Doug Says…——————
“There are only two things that are consistent from client to client regarding sales training. Everybody wants effective and relevant training that will light a fire under the sales team and increase sales, but nobody wants to pay much for it.” As a blue collar sales coach, Doug understands both concerns and is committed to offering common sense economical sales training and coaching alternatives that will more than exceed expectations. Take a look at them here.
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To wrap up, here are some of Art’s principles for helping people become a master motivator like him:
Praise people for everything; attitude, ideas, as well as sales. Nothing is too small.- Use peoples’ first names. That in itself is strong motivation and is a form of recognition.
- Make sure everyone hears your praise.
- Have fun with praise and be creative, even with a small recognition budget.
- Use approval, not criticism to get results. Commend the ones doing it right and the others will get the idea and get on the bus.
- Applaud people when they are hurting to telegraph to them that they’re special.
- Praise must always be sincere because everybody can smell a phony a mile away.
- Newsflash! Don’t forget to complement at home. Make your spouse and kids feel special.
- Don’t stop praising, because everybody travels at a different rate of speed and may need to hear more of it than others.
When all is said and done, it’s not really the products and services of your company that win for you. It’s the people that win. So treat people good and they’ll respond with a new kind of commitment and enthusiasm that can be the tide that lifts all boats.
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