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“When I thought about building and training my team and all the hoops and processes I would have to follow I was overwhelmed. It wasn’t until I met someone who turned that nebulous list of ‘this is what you need’ into a structured system for doing it that my hiring and training became easy.”

`~ Chandell Labbozzetta

From Nebulous Goal to Clear Process

Several years ago my business was struggling. I was great at my sales metrics, but didn’t have a system for making my financials visible and between my book keeper, my admin staff, and my accountant, it was just too hard to track everything.

It wasn’t until I stepped into a program where I was guided to set up my bank accounts and buckets strategically, accountable for my reporting, and given/introduced to the tools for visualising everything in a systematic way that my results really changed.

It was a powerful lesson that changed the way that I implemented my own sales training programs.

Applying the Model to Sales Training

I took my learnings from that experience and applied it to the way I help clients build and implement their sales systems. Using the model of the financial accountability program to walk people through the process, I also added one key element: I included the training of an additional person (2IC or sales manager) into the program. You see, a business owner or founder needs to be on top of everything to do with sales, but they don’t necessarily want to do it all themselves forever… Or have to train their replacement.

  • So my sales training program included:
  • Theory of what, why, and how
  • Clear steps and processes for every step of the sales system
  • Tools for execution and measurement
  • Language tools and personalised guidance on developing your system AND…
  • Inclusion of a key team member in the program = Game Changer!

That last element means that while the owner knows everything that is going on, they aren’t responsible for execution or training (unless they want to be).

What About Training Your Team?

I loved this concept so much that it’s the kind of program I look for when it comes to refining and expanding every aspect of my business. So, when I thought about tools for recruiting and training my team, I knew I wanted something similar – a program that would waIk me through all the steps, help me build the systems, and allow someone else to attend alongside me – the person who would be responsible for implementing this. I knew that I needed to be aware of the whole process and able to support my team, but I really didn’t want to do it myself… And what I found was that such a program really doesn’t exist – so if you find one, let me know.

Sometimes Theory is NOT Enough!

The reason that group programs with synchronous trainings are so powerful is that they give you accountability and a forum for asking specific questions. A good trainer will answer individual questions fully, but also provide insights that help everyone else in the group apply the same information in their own context.

The ‘pressure’ of showing up live is also good for accountability, but really that level of motivation is only a tiny fraction of the story. A group program also gives space for every business to have more than one head in the room, which means you multiply the impact you bring back into your business without overloading your founder/CEO.

Think about it next time you sign up for any business development program and look for ones that actively encourage a second person to attend alongside as part of the package.

“When Marla stopped thinking that other people needed to change to fit in with her preferences and accepted that she was the only person whose transformation she could control, opportunities sprang out of nowhere and came rushing to her.”

~ Chandell Labbozzetta

You Are Getting the Results You Deserve!

Last week I was talking with a friend whose partner (let’s call him Adam) owns a transport business.

You probably know that there are some major issues within the logistics and transport business at the moment, especially in Australia where interstate border closures have made transporting goods a little complex.

Anyway, apparently Adam’s business is doing really, really well and he hasn’t been plagued by any of the driver strikes or difficulties that other companies are facing. When he talks to colleagues in the industry, they’re all complaining about their situation, and when he says he hasn’t experience any of it they ask, “So, what are you doing?”

It sounds as though they really, truly want to know the answer.

Until he tells them what he’s doing… And the disbelief and objections start to flow.

Adam isn’t hiding his secret, nor is he lying about his results. It’s just that his colleagues and competitors aren’t willing to do what he is doing.

They’d rather live with the results of their decision.

The reality is that they are getting the results they deserve.

I’m Really NOT Being Mean… Just Honest

Craig is a friend who runs a very successful manufacturing business. He’s the kind of person who wants others to succeed, and who believes that the economic pie is infinite, so he even coaches and advises his competitors.

Last year, one of his competitors called and asked Craig if he would buy his business because he was sick of struggling. They went for a drink at the pub and Craig asked some more questions about what was going on… when he heard the story he asked the guy if he really wanted to sell, or whether he would prefer to turn things around himself.

“Tell me more…” said the guy. So Craig sketched out a comprehensive plan to turn things around in 90 days, just by calling suppliers and existing clients, contacting the ATO, and some other really basic steps that were within his control.

“Is that what you’d do?” he asked Craig.

When Craig said, “Yes, that is what I’d do, and it’s what I’ll help you do if you want me to,” he replied, “It’s all yours, mate.”

Ninety days later, the failing deadweight was already profitable, and it has since become immensely profitable as it’s own entity.

Craig is one of those people who are willing to do what other business owners are not. I bet you know both these types of people – all of them getting what they deserve.

It Happens in Sales, Too.

The difference between a star sales representative and one who is just surviving (or ready to quit) has very little to do with talent or opportunity.

Time and time again, I’ve worked with people who complained about the area they’d been given, or the product they’d been assigned to, and blamed external factors for their results. There are two common transformations that happen:

They follow my input-focused, action-oriented sales strategy and start making sales;
Their area or product is assigned to another sales representative who turns their ‘sales desert’ into a ‘sales oasis’.

Maybe you’re selling a dud product or service that nobody wants and you don’t believe people should buy – if that’s your situation then you should quit because you won’t be happy selling things in which you don’t believe.

If that’s not your situation, then I am 100% confident that the real problem you’re facing stares back at you out of the mirror each day.

The GOOD thing about that is that… YOU have 100% CONTROL over that problem… IF you want to solve it.

Once again… You’re getting what you deserve.

Are You Willing to do what Other People are not willing to do to get Extraordinary Results?

Maybe you need to…

  • Change your sales strategy;
  • Master new sales and communication skills;
  • Find new sales networks;
  • Solve your sales problems in different ways;
  • Work hard now, to create more choices in a few months;
  • Change your sales team;
  • Use different sales materials and approaches;

Many people are stuck in their problems because they aren’t willing to step out of their comfort zone in pursuit of different results.

What would change if you accepted that you are getting the results you deserve right now and that if you want different results, you need to change your thoughts and behaviours?

“Neediness kills sales faster than anything else. Find out why you feel needy and deal with it!”

~ Chandell Labbozzetta

The Confidence Killer...

I was looking through some old presentation files the other day and came across a slide with the title, “The Confidence Killer” and an image of a vampire just about to bite a young man while he was in the middle of a sales presentation…

The notes on the slide reminded me that it was the story of Jake, a sales man I mentored during my corporate career. Everyone on the team had to make 100 appointment setting calls every second day, with the idea being that we’d get 10 appointments for the following day and Jake was constantly missing the target.

He’d start each day with his list of people to call and ease gently into the day, taking the time to get psyched up for each call. By early afternoon, he’d be burning through that list at speed hoping to get the appointments he needed for the following day. On average, he’d get about 5 appointments from his calls in the morning, and 0 in the afternoon.

On appointment day, he would make about 2 sales in the morning, 0 in the afternoon.

When you looked at his metrics, you’d see that his mornings delivered OK results, his afternoons delivered nothing.

Jake knew it. His manager knew it… And his job was on the line.

I’m not even sure why Jake wanted to stay in his role, but he did, and he came to me for help.

Never be Needy!

I listened to a few of his call recordings and it was fairly clear what was going on.

In the morning, he was relaxed (probably too relaxed) and friendly. By 1pm he’d realise that he was less than halfway through his 100 calls for the day and he’d be rushing to meet that quota and he’d also be desperate to book appointments for the next day.

The stress and neediness showed in his voice, in his abrupt responses, and in his inability to listen and really hear what prospects were saying.

During appointments, something similar would happen. I went along with him and it was clear that the prospect could sense his urgency and discomfort and wondered why he was being pushed into a sale.

It was a vicious cycle… The closer Jake got to a deadline, the more stressed and nervous he became, and the less likely it was that he would actually reach his goal. Neediness was killing his sales AND his career.

So… How Do I Stop Feeling Needy?

Jake had asked me for help, so I was able to ask him some questions and find out why he wanted to keep putting himself through this torture instead of looking for a job in something else. I quickly realised that he had powerful reasons for wanting to succeed, so we created an image that would remind him of his deep intrinsic motivation and put it beside his desk.

I taught him to look at that image, breathe deeply, and really focus on how a successful sale felt, then we worked on his call strategy.

The essence of what Jake discovered was that if he focused on his intrinsic motivation rather than his need to:

1. Make 100 calls;

2. Set 10 Appointments;

Then he was more relaxed and able to listen. He said it was as though his neediness just evaporated and he was focused on the person at the other end of the phone. As a result, he got through his calls in a timely fashion, and he started to book 15 or 20 calls each day.

When we applied a similar tactic to his appointments, his closing rate went through the roof and he become one of the most productive sales people in the company.

The Hydra of Neediness

Remember the hydra?

It was a horrendous monster and every time you cut off one head two more grew in its place.

Neediness is like that… You might feel pressured by:

  • Performance goals
  • Action goals
  • Income goals
  • Bonus goals
  • Time goals
  • Etc.

Whatever combination of these you face, as the time behind you gets longer and the time you have to complete the goal gets shorter your sense of neediness grows… And undermines the chance that you will achieve your outcome.

Neediness threatens your likelihood of achieving any goal, but it’s particularly dangerous when it comes to sales.

Do you have a strategy for leaving neediness behind you, even when you desperately need to achieve your income goal or results target?

“Researchers can predict who the winning bid will belong to without ever hearing any of the pitches.”

~ Chandell Labbozzetta

Why Does Confidence Affect Your Sales?

I was reading the work of some eminent US researches on Predicting Success and Personal Power and I discovered that there are tools and studies out there that objectively measure the impact of Confidence on success.

I wasn’t surprised by their findings, any experienced sales person knows that if you start a sales conversation assuming that it will fail, your assumption will almost certainly prove to be true. The thing that did surprise me was their ability to predict success or failure through a person’s conduct in social settings.

Further investigation of their findings cemented my belief that Sales truly is the #1 Life Skill – you see, your ability to Close Sales has everything to do with your Confidence, and your Confidence has everything to do with how (and even whether) people actually accept what you say.

The Three Sales that Matter

If you are selling a product or service you actually need to make three sales.

  1. Sell to Yourself: If you are not convinced that the ‘thing’ you are selling is actually valuable and works as described, then you are unlikely to persuade anyone else. This is like the man who was selling Internet services for a company but who wouldn’t dream of using that provider himself.
  2. Sell Your Prospect’s Need to Yourself and Them: If you don’t believe that your product or service will deliver value to your prospect and meet their need then it doesn’t matter how good you think it is objectively is, you will still struggle to sell it persuasively. Similarly, if they don’t believe they need it, they won’t buy. If you’re talking to someone who clearly is a PC user, then they’re not likely to buy Mac software no matter how good it is. Similarly, if you know they’re not interested in software development then Google XD won’t interest them no matter how cheap, powerful, and effective it is.
  3. Sell the Result: I didn’t wake up this morning saying, “I need a new mesh wi-fi system (or whatever).” However, I might have woken up thinking, “I wish the internet in my garden was as fast and reliable as the internet in my office.” Tell your prospects how whatever it is you are selling will make their life better and solve a problem that is bothering them.

Miss any one of these three sales and you chance of successfully closing the sale just dropped dramatically. Miss two or all of them, and the only people with whom you’ll successfully close a sale are those who were pre-disposed to buy… And you might even lose some of them!

So What…?

When you make all three of the sales that I just outlined, your Confidence skyrockets because you are talking and selling congruently and authentically.

When we communicate, only about 7% of our message is conveyed through words (even though our words are important), the other 93 percent is conveyed by our behaviour, posture, and the energy we project. If you have made those three sales prior to talking to a client, 100% of your energy is directed toward persuading them of the value of the product and nothing is left to distract your prospect or make him doubt.

I have listened to (painful) recordings of sales conversations where it is clear that either:

  1. The sales person doesn’t care whether he makes a sale or not; OR
  2. The sales person believes the product they are selling is a other over-priced or useless.

Don’t get me wrong, these people are using the scripts and they don’t speak a word that is out of line.

Listen to their calls, however, and you can unmistakably hear their conviction that this is not a good buy.

It’s Not Just About Your Business Either…

I was out to dinner recently (after lockdown ended) and I happened to overhear a conversation between two women at a nearby table. If you had transcribed the conversation there probably wouldn’t have been anything to tell you that they weren’t getting along, but when you tuned into the body language and energy it was clear that one of them wanted to be elsewhere. She was saying all the right things but communicating all the wrong ones.

In all my NLP training courses and my sales training courses I work with clients to help them control and focus their energy and state so that they can congruently achieve the results they want. Congruent Confidence Projection is a skill that can be learned and used to enhance your personal and business relationships as well as your sales results… And it’s a skill that not only increases your income and impact, but also your happiness and overall satisfaction in life.

“Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.”

~ Paulo Coelho

THEN… Your Energy and Confidence Will Drive Your Actions

As yet another challenging year draws to a close, it’s essential that we keep our focus on what we want so we don’t dissipate our energies in fighting things we can’t control.

I’m noticing that many Australian business owners are feeling discouraged by the constantly changing business landscape and are deliberately lowering their sights and settling for ‘second best’. This dissipates the energy and confidence they feel and project around their actions and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In the same way that ‘confused prospects don’t buy’, it’s equally true that  ‘uncertain business conditions don’t encourage the planning, investment, and action’ that lead to tangible results.

It Starts with Focus

Paulo Coelho, the great 21st Century philosopher talks about the danger of getting so absorbed in fighting our enemies that we forget to make progress toward our own goal.

One of the things that I’m seeing is that people are afraid to focus on exactly what they want… Too many people are focusing on the enemy they don’t want (whether that is business challenges, health struggles, separation from family and friends etc).

Yes, sometimes you do need to stop and slay the enemy that’s standing in front of you…

BUT most of the time, your best course is to keep forging ahead towards your highest goals, without deflection.

Are You Settling for Second Best?

Every day – week – month – year… is a new opportunity to muster your energy and confidence and start afresh.

As I publish this we’ve just started the final quarter of 2021, but it really doesn’t matter when you’re reading it: the Call to Action is just as clear:
What are YOU going to focus on today?
Will you focus on the things that are standing in your way, OR your…

  • Goals & Dreams
  • Plans & Actions
  • Energy & Strategy

Only the latter will help you achieve, believe, and succeed so you make progress toward your target?

The Truth About Confidence…

I learned many years ago that often the only difference between a “Yes” and a “Maybe”  when it comes to sales is the threefold confidence of the sales person.

When I talk to a business, sales team, or individual who struggles to make sales, it’s often a question of confidence. In fact, if your team is not exceeding their sales goals and projections, changing the sales tools is rarely the solution: while changing the energy and confidence of the sales person transforms their results.

Do You Lack Confidence in Your Ability to Sell Consistently?

If so, you’re not alone.
Even when people are convinced of the value their product or service delivers, they often fail to project confidence in themselves. In fact, this leads to a downward spiral of results that you can see in quarterly or monthly sales figures: lack of confidence leads to fewer sales and fewer sales lower your confidence even further.

There is a Solution to Your Sales Dilemma…

It’s called practice and success.

The solution isn’t complicated, but it does take some discipline and commitment which is why I created Ready Set Sell, my 30-day sales maximiser.

It’s designed for people who don’t consider themselves natural sales people, or for people in a ‘sales slump’ who recognise the need for a helping hand to boost their confidence so that they can boost their results.

I launched this course a couple of months ago and the customer feedback I’ve returned has reinforced my thoughts about the reasons why people don’t get the results they want.

I strongly believe that this course can prove to anyone who is willing to do the work that they are:

Far better at selling themselves and their services/products than they thought possible;
Elevating your ability to sell and influence others makes life infinitely more fun; and
Able to generate far more income than they thought possible.

Sadly, I’ve noticed that there are 2 types of participant:

Those who not only invest in Ready Set Sell, and invest the time, effort, and energy to generate results from it;
Those who purchase Ready Set Sell and hope that mere possession will magically transform their results even if they don’t follow the process – this also includes those who ‘know’ all about sales, but don’t ‘do’ anything systematically to turn their knowledge into results.

There is a Solution to Your Sales Dilemma…

It’s called practice and success.

The solution isn’t complicated, but it does take some discipline and commitment which is why I created Ready Set Sell, my 30-day sales maximiser.

It’s designed for people who don’t consider themselves natural sales people, or for people in a ‘sales slump’ who recognise the need for a helping hand to boost their confidence so that they can boost their results.

I launched this course a couple of months ago and the customer feedback I’ve returned has reinforced my thoughts about the reasons why people don’t get the results they want.

I strongly believe that this course can prove to anyone who is willing to do the work that they are:

  • Far better at selling themselves and their services/products than they thought possible;
  • Elevating your ability to sell and influence others makes life infinitely more fun; and
  • Able to generate far more income than they thought possible.

Sadly, I’ve noticed that there are 2 types of participant:

  1. Those who not only invest in Ready Set Sell, and invest the time, effort, and energy to generate results from it;
  2. Those who purchase Ready Set Sell and hope that mere possession will magically transform their results even if they don’t follow the process – this also includes those who ‘know’ all about sales, but don’t ‘do’ anything systematically to turn their knowledge into results.

You Are Far More Successful at Sales than You Will Ever Know…

Unless you choose not to succeed and decide to just think about the future you’d like to experience.

The power of confidence is that one level of success in sales leads to more success following the snowball effect. That’s why Ready Set Sell doesn’t just lead to your best month every, but leads to steady growth in what you define as best.

When you use my technique for focusing on what you want…

AND back that focus with decisive action…

AND reflect on what is working and the progress you have made…

THEN…

You become unstoppable!

Would You Like to Discover the Secret of Skyrocketing Sales?

Learn more about Ready Set Sell, my 30-day intensive course designed to help you focus on the sales you want and adopting the behaviours and mindset of a super-sales star at https://lifepuzzle.com.au/ready-set-sell/ to improve your sales success.

“No-one can read your mind! Half the time you don’t even know what you are thinking, so how do you expect anyone else to do so!”

~ Chandell Labbozzetta

You Miss 100% of the Shots You Don’t Take

I was talking to Vera, one of my closest friends, the other day and she was complaining about how people who were younger and less experienced were getting promoted ahead of her. She has always put it down to the fact that they were men and getting favoured treatment, but this time it was another woman!

(And yes… That “!” at the end of the paragraph is deliberate)

“She knows she’s not qualified, but she applied anyway and got the role. Just like the men do!”

“Did you apply?” I asked – knowing the answer was no.”

“Of course not!” She snapped. “I didn’t have 5 of the criteria they put in the job description – and all these people who are getting promoted over me have even fewer than I do.”

As the heading says, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Your manager can’t read your mind and is probably too busy to go around thinking about trying to persuade you to apply for new roles anyway. Your prospects are just as busy. If you don’t ask for the sale, you’ll probably miss out… Unless you are important enough for people to seek you out.

How Was I Supposed to Know You Wanted That

Some years ago, Anna came out of a meeting with her boss absolutely fuming.

I asked what had happened, expecting to find out that she had been reprimanded, fired, or had her leave request rejected.

It turned out that she was mad because she was thirsty and her boss hadn’t offered her a drink of water, instead he had turned off the fan.

“Huh,”  I said. “That seems odd. Did you ask for a drink?”

“Oh no! But I told him it was draughty.

“You told him it was draughty and you expected him to get you a drink?”  I asked… Just to clarify that I hadn’t misheard.

“Yes. And he just ignored that and went on with the conversation.”

Look… People can be really tone deaf. They can miss things we communicate explicitly, but when you say it’s draughty, not many people realise you want a glass of water, so it’s your job to communicate what you want clearly and concisely.

Why I Say that "Sales is the #1 Life Skill"

Both of my friends in the stories above felt they’d received a raw deal. The reality was, neither of them had taken the time or action to prepare a sales pitch or say what they wanted.

Instead of considering how to present her abilities and pitch her readiness for a new position, Vera convinced herself that she wasn’t qualified and never applied for promotion, then she got mad about others who were prepared to put themselves forward.

Instead of telling her boss she was thirsty, Anna got mad because he couldn’t read between the lines and see that she was thirsty, not cold.

AND…

Instead of telling people about the transformation your product and service can make in their life or business for them then asking if they’d like to learn more…

There’s a strong likelihood that you are expecting the other person to take the initiative and getting upset when they don’t respond as you’d like them to.

Conversations, Sales, and Open Doors

Most people aren’t very observant… Or, if they are observant, they’re paranoid about being offensive so they don’t share their observations.

I like to think that’s the reason that networking events and business dinners can be so stressful and boring. It’s not that the people there aren’t interesting, it’s just that they are afraid of offending someone or prying. Zoom meetings, social media, and lockdowns haven’t helped at all! In fact, they’ve made it much worse.

What do you do when someone says something interesting?

Do you ask a follow-on question, or do you just continue with your planned script?

Most people are too busy to see or hear the open door, so they just plough onto the next question… And so they lose the chance to listen, learn, and create a relationship… Which may (or may not) lead to a future sales or other opportunity.

The archetypal pushy salesman of the 70s and 80s with a briefcase full of brochures and the goal of selling whatever they have available ‘no matter what’ learned scripts and stuck to them. They deserved the rejection and avoidance they received – BUT the truth is that those people were never the highest performers.

The most effective and highest-performing sales people have always been the ones who listened, asked appropriate questions to draw out their prospect, and then offered a tailor-made solution that met their needs. Once they had done that, they asked for the sale fully aware that their prospect wanted and needed the solution that was being offered.

Because… If you don’t ask for what you want, you probably won’t get it.

Do You Need to Learn to Ask for the Sale?

I work with a lot of people who tell me up-front, “I’m just not good at selling.” Many of them assume that sales people are born not made, when the truth is no-one is born a sales person. It’s a skill we learn (or choose not to learn).

I’m passionate about teaching people to sell because I believe that confidence in your ability to sell makes life much easier and more pleasant… And we all want our lives to be easier and more pleasant!

I’ve developed a 30-day course called Ready Set Sell that enables even the most reluctant sales person to prove to themselves that they can sell and that closing sales is fun. It’s great for sales-averse individuals who realise that they need to learn to sell because it’s non-threatening, can be applied in any industry or setting, and can even be practiced on your friends and colleagues.

If you’d like to learn more about discovering the hidden sales power within you go to https://lifepuzzle.com.au/ready-set-sell/. I hope to see you inside.

“The thing that makes the biggest difference for most professionals and business owners isn’t learning more skills, it’s learning how to highlight the value of the skills they already have.”

~ Chandell Labbozzetta

What Skill Would You Choose to Focus on?

I was talking to one of my clients the other day about hiring new staff. He’s the CEO of mid-size company that has doubled its profits over the past 18 months and I’ve been training his sales team for about 21 months. He made the half-joking comment,

“You know, Chandell, I really ought to pay for you to coach the top candidates for every position we advertise so they can master their sales pitch. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that we’re losing some highly qualified candidates who have no idea at all how to sell themselves. That’s bad for them because they’re losing opportunities, and it’s bad for us because we’re losing quality candidates.”

His comment was born out of his awareness that he was no longer just relying on his sales team to sell their services and products. Every member of the team and gone through sales training and could present themselves and the product persuasively. That was the real secret behind their phenomenally successful results.

It works like this, when everyone from your partners and senior staff down to your receptionist and newest hires understands what your core business is about, they understand how to help customers and what needs to happen in order to not merely make a sale, but also improve the product.

What Does That Have to Do With giving Sales Training to Prospective Candidates?

If you’ve ever been responsible for interviewing candidates, you probably know what my client is talking about…

You’ve read the coverletter and CV or Resume… But did they write it themselves?

You’ve seen their work history and qualifications.

You’ve picked (or your recruiting company) has picked the best candidates to interview…

Now, it’s really all down to interview skills. And sometimes, those interviews don’t even take into account the kind of role a person is applying for.

This particular CEO talked about the candidates that had been sent for a technical position. Yes, they need to work with their team and think about the problem in a specific way, but at the core, they are being tasked with a lone-wolf technical job where attention to detail and ability are the essential skills.

“I’d love to put those people in a room with you for 2 hours, Chandell and teach them how to sell me on why their skills and personality is perfect for the job… and I’d like my interviewers and candidate selectors to look at those criteria too.” he told me. “Instead I had to task to see all the applications and pick the ones I wanted to talk to. I found someone, but I believe there is a better way.”

It’s Really Up to You!

My client had a point… From his organisation’s standpoint it would help if the candidates were trained to sell themselves… And how they responded to those sales trainings would tell him more about what he needed to know about them…

BUT…

It isn’t really the firm doing the hiring that is responsible for providing you with skills that will help you achieve your goals, is it?

It comes down to you.

Do you care enough about your future to learn the skills that will help you shine? You’ve invested in your education and training on a professional level, are you prepared to master the ONE skill that will help you move forward along the path to your goal?

In 2020, I was working with a Sales Team that was struggling to adjust to remote work and virtual sales meetings. One of the members, (let’s call him Sam) probably the most talented sales person on the team, was very angry about the changes. He sat through our trainings (mostly silent) and kept right on doing what he had always done. Month after month, his sales trickled in and he presented his results with an “it’s not my fault” attitude. You might have accepted his excuses if it wasn’t for Sally, another member of the team. Sally had her position on probation because the company really needs a sales person and she demonstrated her willingness to learn while openly acknowledging that she struggled to think of herself as a sales person.

Week by week, she took notes, practiced the skills I taught, and made calls. Week by week her results improved and in 3 months her results beat out all the others. After that, everyone but Sam got on board and worked their butts off, not just listening, but applying and refining their pitch and discovering ways of finding qualified prospects.

Sales isn’t just the Province of a Few.

Everyone can learn and change… If they choose to do so. Human’s are uniquely wired to adapt, so why wouldn’t you invest in learning one of the most powerful and useful skills on the planet?

You don’t even need to take a course. You can teach yourself to sell in an authentic and positive way… Your own skills and personality or anything else you want to. Don’t kid yourself that ‘nice people don’t sell’. I was talking to a doctor the other day and he said to me, “You know, if we learned sales skills at medical school, we’d be much better at helping our patients decide what was the best course of action to follow… And our patients would probably be healthier, happier, and more compliant. There’s a book called “Change or Die” that talks about how many strokes and heart attacks could be avoided if doctors understood the art of sales and took their responsibility to sell more seriously.”

What About YOU?

How are your sales skills?

Have you ever considered how much more effective (and profitable) every aspect of your business might be if you developed your own and your team’s ability to sell…

  • Yourself?
  • Your ideas?
  • Your solution?

I’ve noticed that many people today are looking around for a saviour – the government is an obvious candidate – but no Government can do everything for everyone. My solution is to find ways to help people help themselves… And learning to sell is something anyone can and should learn to do.

Sales, and the incorporated skill of communication, are life skills that rarely get taught effectively at school, so it’s probably up to you to learn it for yourself.

“Many people start doing things. Successful people actually keep doing them as long as they’re effective.”

~ Chandell Labbozzetta

Transformation vs Change

Tom called me one day to ask when my next “7-day Results Transformation Challenge” would be taking place.

He took the Challenge last year and suddenly had all the qualified clients he could manage… And a waiting list. As he put it a few weeks later, “I’m set, Chandell! Thanks to you I’ve got a 9 month pipeline and my business has been transformed.”

So, when he called, I asked him what had changed since we last spoke…

“Well, I need more clients. My business has grown, my expenses have grown and although most of my clients are staying with me I need to keep adding more. I really grooved on the daily tasks and interaction and I know your plan works.”

You see, Tom’s business was temporarily transformed by his strategic actions… But deep down, nothing had really changed.

Tom’s story isn’t unusual, lots of people take my challenges, have their best month ever, and then find themselves back on the rollercoaster of feast and famine. Even though they know how to create success, they don’t necessarily keep doing the things that create it. That’s where systems come in.

Creating Lasting Change

If you want to create lasting change, you need to put in place systems that will keep you doing the things that are required to succeed and keep those sales rolling in.

That’s why I developed Confident Conversion: 90 days to More Cash, More Clients, More Impact. The program is designed to walk you through the process of creating structures and systems that turn short-term transformation into lasting change.

When Tom enrolled in Confident Conversion and started following the plan he discovered that it was easy to keep on with the actions that delivered results. Unlike last year where he filled his pipeline and then coasted, he now has a system (actually a series of systems) in place to attract leads, qualify them, close sales, and follow them up to increase long-term retention.

The difference is incredible! Because systems help you keep doing the things that work as long as they’re effective and give you standards by which to measure your progress.

“As Long as They are Effective!”

I hope you noticed that significant phrase.

At the same time that Tom set up his systems, he set up tools to measure his results. Mostly, he’s measuring inputs the things HE controls, but he’s also looking at how long they take, how much energy they demand, and the results they deliver.

Strategically measuring these things has allowed Tom to direct his efforts. He knows that some of his sales and marketing activities are ‘slow-burn’ activities and others deliver fast results but don’t last as long. Over the months, he’s been able to determine what brings in his ideal clients and customers so he’s doing more of those and cutting out some other activities that aren’t as effective.

Measuring and Reviewing his results means that he has data to guide his decisions… In fact, last month he was about to cancel a program that he had grown tired of executing when he realised that it delivered almost 38% of his most qualified leads. He didn’t just keep that initiative running, he doubled down on his efforts in that area.

Pipelines Relieve Stress

Systems. Predictions (accurate ones). Pipelines… They’re all big de-stressers and stress-relievers and these days, we can all benefit from taking some of the stress off our shoulders.

If you are running from one crisis to the next in your lead flow and sales conversions then you need to do two things:

Build a robust pipeline or waiting list so you can confidently plan your cashflow; and
Create a sales system that guides you through the weeks and months of activity, relieving you of the need to depend on your ‘hustle-skills’.

Not only will these two things make your business more sustainable and less stressful, it will also enrich your relationships (because you’ll have more time and energy for them) and improve your lifestyle.

If you need some help with setting up these systems, OR, if you are wondering if you couldn’t improve even further, then consider signing up for Confident Conversion: 90 days to More Cash, More Clients, More Impact and shifting everything (including your peace of mind and ability to relax) up a notch or two!

“If you don’t make sales, your business will go bankrupt. It’s that simple.”

~ Chandell Labbozzetta

What Makes a Business Successful?

Any business has several essential elements.

These include:

  • Legal & Banking Compliance Structures
  • Financial Controls, Budgets, Projections etc.
  • Products and/or Services that People Want to Buy
  • Order & Delivery Mechanisms
  • Future Plans for Growth
  • Employees for Production and Administration
  • Marketing and Sales Plans
  • Etc. Etc. Etc.

BUT… Sooner of later: sooner, if you’re self-funded; later if you are funded by venture capital you actually need to make a profit… Which means that you need to make sales (preferably a growing number of them at a variety of price-points.

If you don’t, you end up bankrupt.

You Can’t Take Likes and Shares to the Bank!

You probably already know that no matter how many followers and fans you have on social media, how many people attend your free webinars etc. None of those things will pay your bills. Plenty of people have said that before me.

On the other hand, you’ve probably also heard people say that “the money is in your list” (both email and physical mail) which is only partly true. The money is actually in your list of buyers. Many of the people on that list are just empty names. If you are sending via email, then all those dormant names aren’t costing you $… But they are affecting your credibility and deliverability. If you are sending physical mail then there is a specific monetary cost attached to those non-buyers names.

This is not the place to talk about my method for qualifying people and distinguishing between:

  • Buyers,
  • Not-Yet Buyers, and
  • Never-Buyers,

But I wanted to get you thinking about these things because I’m seeing people take this “money is in your list” idea way too far.

The ONE Metric That Changes Everything!

= SALES!

If you don’t make sales you can’t afford anything else in your business.

I’ve worked with businesses of all sizes from start-ups to multi-million dollar turnover publicly listed corporations. From lifestyle and make-the-world-a-better-place businesses to profit-driven entities and mission-centric entrepreneurs. Sooner or later all of them realise that when they focus on improving their sales numbers, everything else starts moving in a positive direction.

It’s especially true when you are set on growing and taking your business to the next level:

  • From start-up to a half-million dollar business
  • From a half-million dollar business to a one million dollar business
  • From a one million dollar business to a five million dollar business

The thing you need is… More sales!

Are You Treating Sales as an Afterthought?

I can’t tell you how many people make this mistake.

They act as though sales are just  peripheral… And as though sales skills are only useful for the ‘sales professionals’ (often meaning – but not saying – those people who couldn’t do anything more useful with their lives).

Interestingly enough, many of the people who say, act, or think like that either lose their business or come to me and ask for urgent help with their sales either to save their business or so they can create the income and life of their dreams instead of struggling to make ends meet each month.

It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way

 


One of the things that brings me the deepest level of satisfaction is seeing business owners realise that developing their (ethical) sales skills helps them enjoy life more and develop deeper relationships with:

  • Staff and Colleagues
  • Prospects
  • Clients
  • Friends
  • Family

That’s because communication is at the heart of successful sales and better communication skills help you in every area of life.

In addition, once you master the art of opening sales conversation and closing sales, the tangible benefits appear in your bank account and your level of stress goes down… Dramatically.

If you’d like to join the thousands of people who have experienced the transformation that comes when you master ethical sales systems and implement them in your business, check out the programs and events I host and join my email list HERE.

“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.”

~ Jim Rohn

Preparation is Key!

Some people close some sales quickly and easily some of the time.

A few people close almost every sale all the time.

The difference is mostly in their level of preparation for their sales calls and their skill in communicating effectively with others. You might be surprised to know that many of the most effective sales people are not normally extroverts, they’re introverts who understand that if you close nearly 100% of your sales calls you don’t need to make very many of them to be highly successful.

There are three primary areas in which every sale is won or lost:

  1. Your Mind; (see Part 3 for more details)
  2. Your Preparation and Presentation;
  3. Your Prospect’s Need.

Qualify Your Audience

I believe that the most important part of any sale is determining whether your prospect actually needs what you have to sell… or if they don’t. I call this process ‘qualifying the client’.

An effective qualifying process means that you are not trying to sell people things they don’t

need and that has two positive outcomes:

  • You don’t feel sleazy;
  • Prospects trust your recommendations.
  • I’ve been known to convince prospects not to buy things when it was in my immediate interest to make the sale. As a result, they’ve often come back to me when circumstances changed to find out if now would be a good time to work with me.
  • I can guarantee that that doesn’t happen when you push people to buy things they don’t really need, or that aren’t fit for purpose to meet your own sales and income quotas.

Know Your Audience

Before you talk to someone, it is a good idea to do a little bit of research and learn about the company or maybe even the type of person that you are contacting. This will help you find the “hot buttons” that will motivate them to take the next step in your sales process once you have qualified them (whatever that step may be).

For example, if you are talking to a CFO, your best opening is to point out difference between the financials of the prospect’s firm and other firms in the same industry. These things will differ based on your product, your industry and what your outcome for the call is. Knowing these things will be the stuff that sets you apart from your competition.

Know Your Message Thoroughly

It should go without saying, that you need to have a thorough knowledge of your product, its ideal applications, and its benefits… but that isn’t always the case. I’ve worked with sales teams where their response to technical questions is either ‘I don’t know I’ll have to ask a technician’ or else they read aloud from a slide or brochure with no real understanding.

Don’t let that be you!

If you know your audience thoroughly, you will have a better idea of how to structure your message as well as of the information they will be interested in hearing. One of the sales teams I have trained was selling complex IT solutions. The sales people certainly didn’t have the technical expertise to do the work, but they thoroughly understood the problems their system solved and they could express the essential points in laymen’s terms.

I recommend mapping out a script that covers the basic conversation, potential objections, and the “close” on whatever action would fulfil the goal of your call.

Practice Until Confident

Once you have your script map ready, you should go through the process until you are thoroughly familiar with the flow of your calls. This is where internal sales teams have a massive advantage because you can role play extensively and every actual call (whether it is a success or a failure) provides you with more information.

Rehearsal and repetition will help you master the script and the rhythm of the call and turn it into a natural dialogue form which your statements and questions flow naturally. This will give you the confidence that comes from competence and that confidence will project onto your prospect whether you are meeting face-to-face, over the phone, or via Zoom.

Put Time in Your Calendar

Making sales calls demands a focused mindset and positive energy as well as appropriate preparation. Successful sales people tend to block off a period of time to make these calls so they can create momentum. That means that you also need to have a list of names/companies to contact and then set a goal for the total number to contact in a given time period.

If your company provides this list for you, that makes it easy. However, if you are also responsible for finding people or companies to call, my suggestion is that you separate the research and compilation of the list from the actual calling. That way, when the time comes to make calls you can use the momentum to further develop your confidence and rhythm.

After the Call

Treat every call as an opportunity to learn and experiment and don’t sweat the rejections. Not every prospects you call will turn into new business opportunities. In fact, a cold call that eliminates a prospect is almost better than a cold call that puts a ‘maybe’ prospect into your pipeline.

Make notes after each call whether you set an appointment or not. After a while, you will get a feel for the prospects who are saying encouraging things and even agreeing to take the next step, but who are unlikely to move forward. In addition, be sure to celebrate your wins. If cold calling is a struggle for you, then every time you pick up the phone you score a victory over yourself. If your prospect moved to the next step or you closed a sale, it’s relatively easy to celebrate, yet surprisingly few people do so… Even if you received a “no” or a “maybe” you still did the work and that’s yet another reason to reinforce your achievement.

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