Confident Closing Archives | Page 2 of 8

“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 see yourself as a winner, then you cannot perform as a winner.”

~ Zig Ziglar

What is a Winner Anyway?

At a recent conference I heard Nat Cooke (Former Australian Olympic Volleyball champion) talk about what it took to succeed. She talked about celebrating her failures as well as her victories… Like the time when she flubbed a shot, gave a goal to the opposing team and yelled out, “Winner!” This startled her opponent so much that she hesitated because she thought that she must have misinterpreted what she had just seen.

Nat’s intention wasn’t to disconcert her opponents, it was to remind herself that she was a winner – simply because failure didn’t stop her from keeping on with her training, shooting, and passing. She was fully engaging in the game as it was, not as it might have been if she hadn’t flubbed.

This is a critical success skill to develop!

What Makes You a Winner?

When I first started working as a Sales Representative and later as a Sales Manager I consistently outperformed my colleagues. From the outside, I looked like a winner, but deep inside I felt like a failure. No matter how much success I experienced I was haunted by what I saw as my failure… There was always more that I could have, should have, done.

It wasn’t that I didn’t learn from my mistakes, the real problem was that I carried my failures with me into those learnings. This drove me into a downward spiral of despair, burnout, and suicidal thoughts, and it wasn’t until I encountered Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Time Line Therapy® that I found a way through.

One of the core principles of Time Line Therapy® is to ‘learn the lessons and release the negative emotion’. Only when you do that, can you move forward and become the strong, successful person you were meant to be. Nat’s practice of yelling, “Winner!” Is like that – reinforcing the fact that she may have failed in the moment, but perseverance and a positive attitude enable her to learn from failure and take the lesson forward.

How to See Yourself as a Winner

Successful people learn from their mistakes and move forward past them. In a recent Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner Certification course we spent the last few days learning the basics of Time Line Therapy®.

As usual, I watched people (through the computer screen) follow this powerful process using active imagination. As they released the negative emotions and took the learnings with them their physiology changed… You could see them redefining themselves as ‘winners’, seeing their painful past from a different perspective, and committing to an empowered future.

That’s an exciting thing to watch… But does it last?

Mostly, it does… At least, it lasts if the participant chooses to make some basic changes that support their new success-oriented decision. It’s always a good sign when someone chooses to engage with our NLP Sales Mastery Group on Facebook and join the email newsletter list because it means that they will be regularly reminded of their choice.

Greasing the Rails of Success

You are a winner!

How do I know this? Well, you could be watching ‘funny cat videos’ or the news instead of reading this post.

You know that success takes work, and you’re willing to face that reality and do the work… Even if sometimes you’d like a shortcut.

Do you have any doubts about that truth?

The only ‘shortcuts’ that are really valuable are those that demand an investment of time, resources, or money so you can achieve your goal faster. Olympic athletes use trainers and coaches to speed up their route to success. It doesn’t mean they don’t do the work, it just means that their work is not wasted.

Are you surrounding yourself with the resources and coaches to accelerate your success? Unlike Olympic gold medalists, in business everyone can win if they put in the work and apply the right tools to an effective strategy.

All Olympic athletes are winners – even if they don’t win a medal. They were willing to bet on themselves, invest in themselves, and train no matter how they felt. In business and in sales, the people who win are those who see themselves as winners… And then do what it takes to perform as a winner.

Do you need some fresh tools, a strategic reset, or even some accountability and encouragement to reinforce your commitment to success and growth? Schedule a call with one of our coaches to find out how we can help you confidently step into your success!

Use this link to schedule an appointment.

“Actions speak louder than words!

As a sales person, your best metric of success is sales, not praise.”

~ Chandell Labbozzetta

Your Perspective is Showing

Last week I received a call from Kayla, one of the HR reps at a company that had asked me to work with their sales team to increase motivation and conversion. They had recently hired a new sales manager who has worked with me before and who knew that I could deliver the training his team needed to accelerate their results. I had discussed everything with him, told him my terms, and provided a course overview. The purchase was approved and I expected that Kayla was calling to discuss the start date.

Oh boy, was I wrong!

Thirty seconds into the call I realised that Kayla is one of those people who doesn’t have a sales person’s bone in her body… She also thinks that sales people are sleazy. For all I know, based on her tone of voice, she thinks they should all burn in hell. I could hear the disdain in her voice from the moment we started the call and it wouldn’t have bothered me except that…

Her first sentence began with: “I really think that you should change…” and she went on to tell me all the things she didn’t like about my 8-week program based on the 3-page program overview and her disgust for sales.

Whether your attitude to a topic is enthusiastic, neutral, or negative will communicate itself clearly to your prospects, just as Kayla’s disgust communicated itself to me. That’s why surveys and forums are often unhelpful and why you want to make sure to put yourself in a positive mindset before making a sales call so that you don’t sabotage your own results.

All Feedback is a Gift… AND

You should evaluate it carefully before you act on it.

Sometimes positive feedback is helpful. Sometimes it isn’t.

Sometimes negative feedback should be acted on. Sometimes you should ignore it.

You are responsible for your results, and therefore you are responsible for evaluating and considering the feedback you receive and deciding what to do about it.

One of my clients completely changed the name and content of her products and services based on advice from another coach who had his own hang-ups about what this person did. Her coach was never going to buy her services, but she took the advice he gave her and it cost her several years of progress and nearly sent her into bankruptcy. When she came to work with me, it was immediately clear that this coach had undermined her self-confidence because he didn’t value her particular specialty and the result was that she doubted all her hard-won knowledge and experience.

In our Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching trainings we emphasize strongly that you should never work with a client whom you don’t believe can succeed because your belief (or lack of it) will communicate itself to them and affect their results. For this reason, I will reject clients whom I might like to work with, if I am convinced they do not have what it takes to succeed in their undertaking because I know that that belief is a critical component in their success.

Non-Buyers Can Help You Evaluate Your Sales Process

People who don’t buy can provide valuable feedback about your sales process.

One of the organisations I worked with had a conversion rate of just 3%. The first assignment I gave the team members was to call all the people who they had talked to who hadn’t bought and ask them why.

It turned out that the biggest problem was that they were talking to unqualified buyers. Eighty-six percent of the non-buyers were not and never would be, candidates for their service. When we evaluated our list and tightened up our qualification process, their conversion rate leaped to 82% even before we changed anything about the process. When we took into account the other negative responses from qualified buyers we were able to strengthen their sales pitch, follow up, and we got some valuable enhancements for the content of the program.

Even though you should always remember that the responses given in focus groups and through surveys are often not confirmed by behaviour, you can always learn something new.

Before You Refine or Change Your Product…

’The road to hell is paved with good intentions’ and even the best-intentioned people (both buyers and non-buyers) can lead you astray so think carefully before you act on the advice and feedback you receive.

Here are some key factors to start with:

What is your vision for this product? Do the critics understand that vision?
What is the core use of this product? Do your evaluators share or appreciate this need?
Where does your product fit in the marketplace?
How does it compare with its real competitors?

The less similar to existing products or services yours is, the more likely it is that criticism is based on misunderstanding.

Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, and other trailblazers did not ask the marketplace what was required: they built on the basis of their own vision, knowing that most people would have to see the results in order to appreciate the power of their product.

If you want to innovate, it is important for you to trust your own vision and know where to take feedback and from whom, and when your best course is simply to forge ahead as planned and keep seeking ideal prospects who will get excited about the results and solutions you offer. This is why at the heart of all my programs, there is a strong emphasis on building self-confidence, creating a powerful positive mindset, and learning how to accept and evaluate feedback so you can maximise your mileage.

“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:

Your Mind; (see Part 3 for more details)
Your Preparation and Presentation;
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.

“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do.

Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.”

~ Jim Rohn

When Referrals Are Not Enough

Does your business rely on a steady flow of new clients to make a profit?

Are you relying on referrals for all of those new clients?

Does it impact upon you when referrals quieten down or things become less busy?

Recently, a prospective client called me and explained that he was relying on referral business to get new clients. This strategy had been working fairly well, but when Covid hit, and networking was restricted, his referrals dried up and he had no new clients to do business with. This presented a major problem!

After going through our client qualification process we determined that we were a good fit for each other and started working together with clear goals for the number and type of clients he was looking for. I worked with his team and we identified a pool of ideal prospects and a process for reaching out to them.

When he implemented these steps he was managed to increase his team’s call to appointment ratio from 12% to a whopping 85% success rate in just one week (This means that for every seven calls they used to make they now only need to make one!) and he also realised how much more effective and profitable this strategy was than his former networking process.

Taking the ‘Cold” Out of Cold Calling

I’ve done a lot sales calls in my time. At a former job my manager expected every person on the sales team to make 50 calls every other day, so that they could book 5 appointments for the next day – he based that on the calculation that we would close 1 appointment for every 10 calls.

My problem was that if I made 50 calls, I would end up with closer to 30 appointments, but he still wanted me to keep making the calls and my calendar was quickly booked out for months ahead. When I moved into a team manager role, I didn’t make the same mistake!

My best-selling book Confident Closing: Sales secrets that grew a business by 400% in six months and how they can work for you! tells the story of later adventure, but when I was first made manager I told my team,
“Appointments are the things that generate income. You need to make as many calls as you need to book 15 appointments per week with qualified buyers.” I then taught them how to take the ‘cold’ out of cold calling so that they could make fewer calls and set more appointments.

Not only did that make my sales team happy, it also meant that they closed a phenomenal number of sales because we worked on how to turn more appointments into closed business as well.

DON’T 'Start at the Very Beginning’...

My best-selling book Confident Closing: Sales secrets that grew a business by 400% in six months and how they can work for you! tells the story of later adventure, but when I was first made manager I told my team,
“Appointments are the things that generate income. You need to make as many calls as you need to book 15 appointments per week with qualified buyers.” I then taught them how to take the ‘cold’ out of cold calling so that they could make fewer calls and set more appointments.

Not only did that make my sales team happy, it also meant that they closed a phenomenal number of sales because we worked on how to turn more appointments into closed business as well.

Success in Sales (and many other things) Starts in Your Head

Have you ever noticed that when you are having a good day and feeling really positive that you have better conversations with people?

It’s not just that you are looking at yourself with more kindness, it’s based on the reality that people tend to pick up unconsciously on the way that you are feeling no matter what you say (or how much you smile). If they don’t get a positive projection from you then (regardless of how much they need what you are selling) they will often say “No,” to you and go out looking for an alternative provider. All your conversation did was to make them aware of their need.

That is why it is absolutely essential for you to get you in the right frame of mind before you call anyone.

When you do a simple activity to raise your energy and prepare for the call, you raise your confidence, raise your awareness… and you will see the difference in your results. One of my colleagues used to make cold calls from under his desk if he needed to change his state of mind – he claimed it raised his call to appointment ratio by more than 25%.

Jim Rohn’s Secret of Success is True in Sales

There’s a simple reason why this series is entitled “How Much Do You Want That Sale?”

I’ve noticed that most of the time when people don’t get what they say they want it’s because they aren’t willing to do the work it takes to achieve their goal. This doesn’t mean they’re lazy… Many people work very hard… But they focus on the wrong things.

The people who get what they want are willing to do the things that are hard or go against their natural talents. They’re always learning, always growing their skills, and they’re willing to try something new even if it feels unnatural.

If you want to succeed in sales (and after all, sales is the #1 life skill) then there are just a few key areas to focus on. I’ve already covered most of them and we’ll look at the last 2 areas in the next segment.

“Business owners and sales people who don’t realise that their livelihood depends on provoking the twin emotions of curiosity and inadequacy struggle to make and keep their business profitable and meet their goals.”

~ Chandell Labbozzetta

The 3-Step Framework for a Confident Close

My goal is to empower people and the number #1 tool of empowerment is confidence in your sales skills. Despite what many people think when they hear the world ‘sales’ there is nothing sleazy or negative about a highly skilled sales person… Sleaze and pushiness belong with those who are desperate, needy, and lack confidence in themselves and the value they bring to the table.

If you want a step-by-step sales guide that does not take into account the particular needs of both your prospect and your product, then you’re about 40 years too late. One-size-fits-all selling was an Industrial Age phenomena that has minimal effectiveness today where customization and personality are at the forefront.

My sales framework has several segments but today we’re looking at how to move from introduction to the next step no matter what stage you are at within the framework. It is just as powerful at helping you create momentum when you are first meeting someone at a networking function and want to set an appointment as it is when you are ready for their signature and first payment.

The Power of Curiosity

There are very few people in this world who wake up looking for things to buy – especially in the business world.

That means, that if you want to close the sale, your first task it to arouse curiosity in the minds of your prospects and of your clients. I’m often asked to work with clients to hone their elevator pitch into a brief statement that opens discussion rather than shuts it down. If your answer to the question, “What do you do?” starts with “I am an…” You’re not only failing to answer the question you’re being asked, you’re also shutting down the conversation which is the very opposite to the goal at which you are aiming.

That’s one side of the curiosity equation, and it’s a powerful way of inviting your prospect to initiate a sales conversation or close the deal. The other side of the equation is even more powerful in some ways: that’s the side where you demonstrate curiosity about your prospect or client and find out what they need and where they are feeling pain or lack of confidence.

Questions that Uncover Possibilities

When you ask appropriate questions, you enable your prospects and clients to help themselves see that they have…

Serious Problems
Unmet Needs
Dangerous Levels of Exposure
Unprotected Vulnerabilities

At this point, you hardly need to sell because they will sell themselves. You just keep silent, listen carefully, and wait for them to say the magic words, “…and that’s why I really need to work with you!”

Along the way, you’ll find the three key sentences that you can use to confirm their decision to work with you after they have finished selling themselves into your program or product.

What are those questions?

There is no ‘one size fits all’, because there really is an art to formulating appropriate questions that will help your prospects SEE the possibilities, FEEL their present pain, and KNOW that you can work with them to solve their problems because you don’t merely have knowledge and experience, you also have insight and wisdom.

Every Interaction Has A Clear Goal

“How will you know when you have achieved your goal?” is a key question that you need to answer before every sales conversation.

As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series (you can find that HERE) the business world is shifting rapidly and it’s more important than ever to stay up-to-date with your clients and customers and monitor their need and their pain so that you can solve the problems that are uppermost in their mind.

Sales calls aren’t just used to bring new clients onboard – that is the ultimate goal, but along the way there might be other goals.

I’m always worried when I’m conducting an in-house sales training and more than one person says, “I didn’t close any sales this week, but I had X number of conversations and Y appointments.” The only thing that is worse is when they say, “I had lots of conversations and appointments but no sales.” Both of these responses demonstrate that the sales systems and processes themselves need work and that the building and training process will be extensive.

However, when I hear a detailed breakdown of the goals for each call or appointment around areas including:

Nurturing relationships with clients and prospects,
Discovering more about specific areas of concern or need,
Moving the prospect or client from one sales stage to the next,
Offering clients and prospects an opportunity they might not have heard about otherwise,
Requesting feedback on existing services,
Following established systems and processes to create momentum,
Then I know I’m dealing with an organisation that is truly committed to serving it’s customers and solving their problems and the sales team are usually wanting to take their skills to the next level because they’re true professionals who always want to grow, but they’re working with a system that is supporting their efforts.

“If every unscheduled call is defined as a ‘cold call’ then your sales team are likely to end up out-of-work.”

~ Chandell Labbozzetta

Selling Strategies for a Changing World

As the world slowly regains it’s equilibrium many companies (from multi-national behemoths to smaller or medium sized) find themselves struggling to make the volume of sales they need and they’re calling me in to help them diagnose and solve the problems with their sales team. It’s been a fascinating experience because I’ve been shifting between strategic assessments, overhauling sales systems and processes, and hands-on training so I’ve really had a 360º view of what is going on.

The reality is that things have shifted during the pandemic your sales strategies need to shift to meet the new situation – or at least they do, if you want to survive and thrive.

Here are 3 areas of potential change:

Your clients and customers’ circumstances may have changed meaning that your solution may now be too large or too small for their new needs;
Your team membership may have changed as people retired, moved elsewhere, or came to work with your expanding demand;
Your processes and systems may have changed – or they may need to change – to meet new circumstances;

All of this change means that you cannot take anything for granted, so it’s more important than ever to:

Nurture relationships,
Educate and inform clients as well as prospects about your services,
Assess your offerings and adjust them to meet demand,
Implement sales systems and processes that help you do all of those three things.

Over the past decade of rampant growth, many people have felt comfortable in sales roles because all they’ve needed to do is close leads that have been funnelled to them in almost endless supply. This meant that a 30-50% close rate was still acceptable, because there were always more leads to tap.

BUT… The math changes when the leads (and I’m talking about qualified leads here) dry up.

The Hungry Sales Professional

One of my most popular reports is “How to Talk to 10 Hungry Buyers this Week” (if you’re interested, you can download it HERE). It’s popular, but I’ve noticed that some of the sales professionals in my trainings turn up their nose when they are expected to implement its lessons to increase their close rate… they’ve become so used to the old world of sales that they’ve forgotten (or never learned) that Hungry Sales Professionals can create Hungry Buyers almost out of thin air IF they are willing to do one thing…

Get on the phone and call people.

Cold Calling has an Extended Definition These Days… And it’s Killing Your Sales!

Later in this series we’ll talk about the art of classic ‘cold calling’ and when and where you should consider using it.

Here, I’m going to focus on an attitude I’ve been addressing in many of the business owners (which is possibly expected) and sales professionals (where it’s inexcusable) I’m working with… The idea that they need to wait until someone else schedules a call.

In other words, the new definition of cold calling includes: “all calls which have not been pre-booked by a third party.” I’m extremely keen on attraction marketing and pre-qualifying prospects, but this approach is ridiculous, because it assumes that your prospects and clients know what they need and why they need it!

Let’s get this straight, once and for all:

Unscheduled calls to clients and prospects for the purpose of discovering how they are doing; what they need; and even letting them know about updated packages are NOT cold calls!

In fact, they are beneficial to you because they provide valuable feedback… And productive for the recipient because they have a chance to vent or celebrate.

These calls are extremely valuable opportunities for sales people to hone their conversation, communication, and listening skills, and they often end up yielding sales, referrals, and other opportunities.

The Qualifying Question

I believe that people should enjoy their work and find it satisfying, so… Early on in my sales training (after we’ve talked about the importance of sales skills in every area of life and looked at the way that skill benefits both parties) I ask this question:

Are you committed to changing people’s lives and future enough to step out of your comfort zone?

There’s no right or wrong answer – the choice lies with each person. BUT… If anyone’s answer to that question is, “No. I want to stay in my comfort zone when it comes to sales calls,” then they probably aren’t suited to sales or business ownership unless that attitude changes.

In Part 2, I’m going to talk about how you can use unscheduled calls with clients and prospects to do all that critical information-gathering and keep your organisation in the lead when it comes to service delivery and product offerings in any industry.

“The map appears to us more real than the land.”

~ D.H. Lawrence

What Does This Have to Do with Business and Sales?

In it’s most general term a ‘map’ is any tool that helps us understand and navigate the situation we are facing and the ‘territory’ is our actual situation.

In business and in sales, these maps include:

Sales processes, scripts, and tools
Business processes and protocols
Dress and speech codes
Financial instruments
Lead generation and nurture

The territory would be the actual real-world conversations you have, the sense of rapport you do or do not have, systems glitches, etc.

Every day your business uses a map to function. Even the decision to ‘wing it’ and make up the rules as you go is a map… of sorts.

One of my favourite stories to tell with regard to following a map is about a sales rep named Bob. My friends know him as ‘Bob the photocopier man’. Bob’s map was detailed and fixed in his mind. He went from Point 1 to Point 2 to… Point X without any variation.

I encountered Bob on a day when I was short of staff and short of time. I wanted the answer to a SINGLE question and was ready to sign the purchase order as soon as that was answered. Unfortunately, Bob was so fixated on his map, that he couldn’t read the situation… And lost the sale!

This principle can make the difference between paying your bills… And not doing so.

Reality Check!

When you mistake your map for the reality you actually face, you can get into big trouble.

This is why, in business and sales, there is no such thing as a perfect process or structure. There are frameworks that apply when certain things are true, but if someone says, “Just do x, y, and z, and then you will 100X your profit this year,” then you should run away as quickly as you can.

There are many valuable online courses that promise to help you succeed if you have the confidence and motivation to work at implementing them. Most of them are genuinely effective, but you still have to bring your analytical skills and imagination to them. This is why we insist on pre-qualifying people for our programs: they are designed for people who have specific needs and there are some people whom we cannot help for one reason or another.

In business, your processes, theories, and understanding cannot be divorced from the reality of everyday life. If you try to ignore reality, your business is likely to fail… Fast.

In fact, one of the reasons people often contact me is that the financial reality of a business that does not have a strong sales process and supporting sales structures has become painfully evident. The truth is, you can have a fantastic product or service, but if you can’t actually close sales then you are at risk of failure.

Jumping to Conclusions

A map is like any other model. A quick glance may expose the similarities, but may not give enough information to highlight the differences.

That’s where both parties need to ask good questions to establish their suitability. I’m always rather wary of a high-ticket service business that lets me pay my money too easily, especially when they are going to deliver an outcome. It may be tempting when you need to make sales quickly to take ‘anyone with a pulse’, but it has a negative effect on your positioning and your own confidence in the results you deliver.

This is why the most famous and successful sales and business consultants have a very stringent application process and turn away as many applicants as they accept. Those they do accept are happy to pay astronomical fees because they know they will get results. These companies have set up a process that weeds out all the people who do not fit their profile.

There are other consultants and trainers who offer one-size-fits-all courses and deliver the same advice to everyone without digging into specific situations and needs. Frequently, these people are well-known, but their programs don’t deliver such stellar results and there is rarely any effort to pre-qualify applicants.

There’s a third group of consultants and trainers who offer customised interactive programs that deliver stellar results to members even when they are at different stages (within limits). These consultants and trainers qualify and evaluate candidates and they exclude those they can’t help, but their aim is to fully understand just what the prospect is looking for and where they are in the process.

Who Made the Map?

When it comes to sales training, specifically, it is extremely important to know who made the map you are following… And when it was made.

There was a long period in the 80’s and 90’s when sales training focused on what I call, ‘drag, batter, and kill’ methodologies. The idea was that when you see someone who was a potential prospect, you should corner them, beat them over the head with information, drag them to the desk, and close the sale – preferably on a long-term contract.

Some of these ideas are still practiced and taught today… And I find them out-dated, repulsive, and arrogant.

When you think about your sales strategies, my question is: if you used them to offer your service to your best friend, would you still be friends?

If the answer isn’t a resounding “Yes,” then it’s time to re-evaluate your sales strategy and discover how to tweak (or redesign) your map so that it is truly useful in today’s business territory because sales has never been a more critical skill to develop if you want to succeed.

“Finishing strong is an everyday occurrence as there will never be a race, goal, day, quarter or year that does not come to an end. This means finishing strong is not an act…it’s a habit.”

~ Gary Ryan Blair

What Does Closing have to Do with Finishing?

Michelle looked at me with hostility. I was training and managing the sales team for her organisation and her boss had asked me to have a talk with her. Based on her history, personality, and skill profile, she should have been a top sales performer, but her results were extremely average.

In response to my questions, she had just presented me with a litany of excuses for her uninspiring results that ranged from lousy leads to the economy to her marital problems. Then I had asked her a seeming irrelevant question “How many unfinished projects do you have in your life?”

That provoked another angry outburst culminating in her furious response: “What does closing have to do with finishing anyway?”

She didn’t quite add, “and how is that any business of yours?” But the unspoken words hovered in the air.

I wasn’t willing to back down, though. Her boss, Justin, had asked me to resolve the problem or let Michelle know that the company would be asking her to leave due to her poor performance. I didn’t think Michelle wanted that to happen, so I answered quietly… “The habit of finishing things and the practice of closing a sale are both tied to your overall wellbeing.

Research is exposing more and more the inter-relationship between unfinished tasks and projects in every area of life and people’s mental health and overall performance. It’s behind best practices in goal setting, project management, and task management and it’s part of the reason that many high performers practice daily meditation (the art of letting things go) and micro-meditation (the art of resetting as you move from one task to the next).

Michelle’s sales performance had been stellar. I was trying to discover what had changed – and this was indeed the key.

Judgers, Perceivers, and other Key Indicators

At first, Michelle hid behind the Myers-Briggs concept that she was a perceiver (P), so of course she was comfortable with open loops and unfinished business, but I knew that closing sales hadn’t always been hard for her so I kept digging through the excuses until we reached the root…

Uncertainty had become such an integral part of her life that she had developed the unconscious belief that everything was outside her control. As a result, she had developed a habit of blaming anything and everything on someone else and delegating as much as possible. Over the past few months that habit had spilled over into smaller and smaller projects and tasks until now, she acknowledged that closing a sale seemed to in the realm of ‘out of my control’.

“It’s easy for John,” she went on (talking about her colleague) “he likes everything neat and tidy, so he just won’t quit until he has closed a sale any more than he will quit before he wins an argument.”

I had to smile. She had summed up John’s judger personality perfectly, but the reality was that Michelle had always delivered a far higher number of high value sales than John – simply because she was willing to see the other point of view, read the situation, and circle back – either later in the conversation or on another day.

I was committed to working this through for her sake, not just for the organisation’s. It turned out, that once Michelle was aware of the shift in her belief and habits, she was also willing to address the issue and do the work required.

Why Does Everyone Get So Caught Up with Closing Sales?

Sales is far broader than simply the need to bring clients on board or sell produces and packages.

When you realise that sales skill are necessary to:

Get a job in the first place
Land a promotion or salary raise
Lead a team or organisation
Persuade friends, family, and children to take action
Shape beliefs and adopt habits
Communicate ideas and offer alternative paths…

You also realise that the ability to close sales is a very important skill that affects your happiness, opportunities, influence, and much much more.

There are many different ways to “close” and they are shaped by context and personality, but choosing not to close sales at all is a recipe for unhappiness and a deep-seated realisation that you have chosen to play small when you could have had a greater positive effect on your world.

That’s why I’m so passionate about closing sales… For me, it’s about helping you to be, do, and have all you can be: to fulfil your potential in every arena!

YOU should also be caught up with closing sales!

That idea you had that would solve your business’s lead generation problems…
The lifestyle change that would enable both you and your partner to lose weight and become healthier…
That new prospect you know will experience total transformation if he buys…
That hobby that will help your son make friends and feel valued…
That restaurant you really want to dine at…
That credential you believe would create exciting opportunities…

They’re all sales you could close… If only you had the beliefs and habits to support you.

AND…

If you don’t close them?

You develop the habit of letting other people – other forces – control your life instead of taking the reins yourself and choosing your own direction!

Cultivating the Closing Habit

If there’s one thing that the pandemic has taken from many people, it’s that sense of control.

Robert, a successful CEO, said as much to me last week. “I used to believe and act with the confidence that if we went ahead, we could work things out. Recently, I’ve noticed that I’m saying, ‘Let’s wait and see about …’ disturbingly often. My habits have changed and so have my beliefs about what’s possible. I liked the old Robert better, and I think that there’s a new Robert inside me somewhere that would be even better than that one. Can you help me find him?”

We’ve only just started working together, but already things have started to shift – not just at work, but at home too.

In my program, Confident Conversion, we actually don’t spend very much at all talking about sales tactics. The focus is on your beliefs about yourself and your product, your positioning (and the tools to help you communicate the value you deliver), your qualifying process (so you never sell to anyone you can’t help), and several other important elements that increase your confidence and deliver results.

If you’d like to find out more, visit https://lifepuzzle.com.au/13-week-profitable-business-accelerator-program/

Transformation vs Change

Creating Lasting Change

“As Long as They are Effective!”

Pipelines Relieve Stress

What is a Winner Anyway?

What Makes You a Winner?

How to See Yourself as a Winner

Greasing the Rails of Success

Your Perspective is Showing

All Feedback is a Gift… AND

Non-Buyers Can Help You Evaluate Your Sales Process

Before You Refine or Change Your Product…

What Makes a Business Successful?

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

The ONE Metric That Changes Everything!

Are You Treating Sales as an Afterthought?

It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way

Preparation is Key!

Qualify Your Audience

Know Your Audience

Know Your Message Thoroughly

Put Time in Your Calendar

After the Call

When Referrals Are Not Enough

Taking the ‘Cold” Out of Cold Calling

DON’T 'Start at the Very Beginning’...

Success in Sales (and many other things) Starts in Your Head

Jim Rohn’s Secret of Success is True in Sales

The 3-Step Framework for a Confident Close

The Power of Curiosity

Questions that Uncover Possibilities

Every Interaction Has A Clear Goal

Selling Strategies for a Changing World

The Hungry Sales Professional

Cold Calling has an Extended Definition These Days… And it’s Killing Your Sales!

The Qualifying Question

What Does This Have to Do with Business and Sales?

Reality Check!

Jumping to Conclusions

Who Made the Map?

What Does Closing have to Do with Finishing?

Judgers, Perceivers, and other Key Indicators

Why Does Everyone Get So Caught Up with Closing Sales?

Cultivating the Closing Habit

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