We need both “happy” and “successful.” “Happy” without “successful” may be fun, but we can’t count on it to pay the rent. “Successful” without “happy” is a recipe for burnout and grimness. People often think that combining “happy” and “successful” is like patting your head and rubbing your stomach—but actually, it’s the simplest thing in the world.
THE 5 SIMPLE “TO DO’S”
You just need to do 5 things. They may seem big at first, but they are very simple if you break them down and do them systematically. The Soul of Selling gives you step-by-step exercises that lead you through these 5 items. If you simply answer the questions in the exercises, you will have done all 5 “happy and successful” steps.
1. Free yourself from fear and negative thinking. This is the most important step. It liberates you from thoughts like: “Selling is sleazy and manipulative. I don’t know how to do it, and I don’t even want to know. I shouldn’t have to do it. People should come to me. Nobody is going to want what I offer.”
2. Tap into your personal passion. Each time you go out to sell, find something new to love about what you offer. Give yourself permission to experience the pleasure of diving into your own personal brand of enthusiasm—and share it with the world.
3. Create your Speaking Bank. Put together a series of sound bites so that you never again have to worry about what to say. Create 10-, 20-, and 30-second “elevator speeches.” Know what you’ll say if you have 2 minutes or a half hour. Prepare different Speaking Bank entries for social and professional situations, so that you actually look forward to being asked, “What do you do?”
4. Make sales promises you can guarantee. This is both an art and a science, but it is well worth learning. When you know that your word is golden, that you will always deliver the results you promise, selling is a lot less stressful. Sales promises work best when they are authentic, doable, for sales results (not effort), for specific numbers of sales, and defined by dates. Keeping those promises is easy and pleasant when you use the Hors d’Oeuvres Tray or Desert Tray Method.
5. Master the 10-point Honoring Sales Conversation. This conversation leads you step-by-step through connecting with people, staying in a coaching frame of mind, appreciating them whether or not they buy, presenting your offer, discovering the value to them, handling objections, and closing the sale.
A PEEK INTO THE FUTURE
Can you imagine how much fun it would be to sell, and how successful you would feel, if all 5 of these items were as natural to you as breathing? You would start each sales conversation with wonderful thoughts about your offer swirling around in your head, instead of negative mental chatter. You would know just what to say, and when to say it.
You would know that you would make your goal, every time. You could relax into each sales conversation and focus on serving the other person, at ease with presenting your offer, dealing with people’s concerns, making “the ask,“ closing the sale, and staying in relationship with your clients and customers. It doesn’t take long to get there, and the fastest route is to start today.
HOW TO START
Each of these steps has a series of sub-steps and exercises that I’ll be giving in the next five posts—OR you can find more detailed information in The Soul of Selling.
Which of these 5 items do you already do? Which is your next challenge?
It’s like you’re on a misison to save me time and money!