The Salesman.com Podcast

There’s a lot of bullshit in old school sales training. Mirroring body language, fake-as-hell urgency, uncomfortably high enthusiasm—this is what they USED to say closed deals. But in modern times, They’re all crap. They simply don’t work. And they’re scaring off your potential buyers. Instead, there are a few surprisingly simple ways you can instantly build rapport WITHOUT coming off as a weirdo. And that’s what we’re talking about in today’s video. Now, before we jump in, let’s talk about the current state of sales. These days, more than ever, your time winning over a buyer is limited. With all the automation in marketing these days, most buyers can get the majority of the info they need from your website or your content funnels. Added to that, most businesses are facing 3X as much competition as they would’ve been just 15 years ago. So when you DO get a buyer on the phone, you’ve got to make your time count. Because if you don’t they’ll have plenty of other options to go with. And that’s where rapport comes in. What Rapport Is & Why It’s Important Essentially, rapport is how much your buyer trusts you. It’s what dictates whether or not they take your advice, listen to what you have to say, and ultimately choose to do business with you. And like most ideas in sales, rapport comes down to a very human, very biological issue—are you part of their tribe or not? Are you on the same side or opposite ones? See, the human brain is wired to keep us close to those we identify with (our tribe) and be skeptical of those we don’t (not our tribe). It’s called in-group/out-group thinking. And it’s this tendency that’s at the root of so many social and political problems today. But to bring it back to sales, the better you are at building rapport, the more your buyer will think of you as part of their tribe. And that makes it 10X easier to close the sale. How to Build Rapid Trust How do you build rapid trust with potential buyers? With such little time available to you, how can you earn the trust of a buyer quickly? Well, technique number one is… A) Great First Impressions Nailing a great first impression. First impressions set the foundation for the rest of your conversation. And for video calls, there are four ways to create a great first impression. First… B) Tidy Up Your Appearance Tidy up your appearance. No one likes working with a slob. And no one trusts one with a deal worth tens of thousands of dollars either. So spend some time looking sharp. But skip the diamond-encrusted jewelry here everyone. The goal is to hit a look that hints at success but doesn’t overdo it. C) Upgrade Your Camera Upgrade your camera. We’re already deep into the age of remote selling. So if your camera’s grainy, shell out the extra hundred bucks or so for a quality camera. Doing so will also make it easier to form a real, human connection. D) Set the Stage Set the stage. Make sure you have adequate lighting and a professional background here. That might mean moving the call to a more secluded area if you’re at home. Or maybe even getting a background screen you could pull down during calls. Now, on the phone, things are a little different. Instead of visuals, we’re talking audio. So to nail your first impression over the phone, first… E) Smile Smile when you’re talking. No kidding here. Try it. People on the other end can tell when you’re smiling. And this tiny change can make a huge impact on whether your buyer decides to keep listening. F) Speak Confidently Speak confidently and assertively. If you’re worried you’re wasting a prospect’s time, they’re going to hear it in your voice. Instead, remember that you’re delivering real value here. Say your piece with confidence. And make sure your voice is loud (but not too loud) and clear as crystal. G) Get to the Point Get to the point. Your prospect’s time is limited. And the more you waste it with fluff and chit-chat, the more they’re going to resent you for it. Simple as that. 2. Drawing Them In Drawing them in with a very biological, very human way of building trust. What is that you ask? Making Eye Contact Eye contact tells your prospect you’re listening. You’re engaged. And you’re ready to help. In fact, we’re so biologically attuned to the importance of eye contact that we can tell when eye contact is just a little bit off. Have you ever noticed someone looking at your hair or ears? That’s just inches away, and yet, you can tell! If you’re uncomfortable making so much eye contact, try looking between the person’s eyes. That’s close enough that they won’t be able to notice. Now for phone calls, that’s a bit harder. So instead… Make Ear Contact Make ear contact. Let the prospect know you’re paying attention by listening more than talking. In fact, the top sales reps spend more time listening than they do talking. You should also regularly repeat your prospect’s concerns with phrases like, “So what I’m hearing you say is…” or “It sounds like you’re saying the problem is…” This helps keep communication clear while also signaling, “Hey, I’m listening to your every word.” 3. Finding Common Ground Finding common ground. As soon as you start speaking, find something of common interest. A great place to start here is contacts, colleagues, or referral sources you have in common. This is without a doubt the most powerful social proof you have. And dropping a familiar name alone is often enough to keep them on the line. If you don’t have any common contacts, it’s time to do your research. Look for any content they’ve put out on their socials, any industry news they’ve read or commented on. What you’re looking for here is leverage. What’s going to perk up their ears and get them saying, “Oh right, I know what he’s talking about.” It’s the foot in the door you need to keep moving on. 4. Finding Common Ground on Steroids Finding common ground on steroids. And that means finding a similar goal. Sure they’re a buyer and you’re working in sales—different businesses, right? But you’re also people. And that means you two likely have similar goals. USE THAT. Early retirement, building enough financial freedom to focus on hobbies, sending your kids to a great school—these are all goals you can both relate to. And when you find these goals, you’re not only creating a deeper human connection. You’re also setting the groundwork for pain points to hit during your pitch. That’s a win-win! And when you use these four techniques together, you’re going to turn into a rapport-building machine.  

Nobody wants to buy from a people pleaser. it’s a business killer. Now, we all want to make other people happy. We’re social animals. And caring about the opinions of others is hardwired into our brain. It’s in our DNA. But when you make the happiness of others your primary goal, it can lead to some pretty disastrous consequences. And that goes double, triple, and quadruple for sales reps like you. So, how do you stop being a people pleaser? 5 Problems 5 problems with people pleasing. Why is being a people pleaser such a bad thing in sales anyway? Well first off, it leads to… 1) Wasted Time with Bad Clients Wasted time with bad clients. People pleasers hate confrontation. And that can make it difficult, if not impossible, to cut bad clients loose early on. The result? Tons of wasted time. Tons of wasted effort. And a buyer that sucks all the value out of you possible and then leaves you high and dry. 2) Great Relationships Are Built on Equal Value Great relationships are built on equal value. People pleasers are notorious for being taken advantage of. And that sets the foundation for a wholly unequal relationship. When equal value isn’t brought to the table because of what’s known as covert contracts (more on that in a sec), a buyer won’t think twice about ditching on a deal at the last minute. 3) Finding the WRONG Solution Finding the wrong solution. People pleasers are bad communicators. And as sales reps, it’s our job to connect the right buyers with the right solutions. But since a people pleaser’s so avoidant to conflict, they may end up misleading the wrong buyer to believe the solution can fix their problem rather than risk disappointing them. And that, as you can imagine, can lead to some very serious problems. 4) Inauthenticity Breeds Contempt Inauthenticity breeds contempt. Nobody likes a suck-up. And more importantly in sales, nobody trusts a suck-up. When you can tell someone isn’t acting authentically, the promises they make, the guarantees, the assurances—they don’t mean a thing. And that’s enough to leave buyers heading for the hills. 5) Your Boundaries Will Suffer Your boundaries will suffer. Perhaps the biggest problem with being a people pleaser is that others won’t respect your boundaries. You’ll tell them you need to be out of the office by 5. Yet, they’ll still ask you to stay late to help them finish up their work. And being the people pleaser you are, you’ll agree. The problem here is your own needs will suffer. And that means you’ll be way more likely to burn out sooner. So, how do you stop being a people pleaser? The How to Stop People Pleasing Framework. The How to Stop People Pleasing Framework. This framework has just three simple rules. Yep, three. That’s it. And the first one is perhaps the most important. A) Prioritize Needs If you don’t make your needs a priority, someone else will inevitably come along and take advantage of you. That’s just a fact. And it’s just how we’re wired. That’s why the number one rule of the framework is to take stock of your needs and start prioritizing them. After all, if you’re not in a good place, you won’t be able to help others as effectively. It’s like in those airline safety videos—“Always put on your own mask before helping others during an emergency.” But to do that, it helps to understand one of the most nefarious aspects of being a people pleaser—covert contracts. Covert Contracts Covert contracts are unconscious, unspoken agreements that people pleasers use to interact with everyone around them. A people pleaser’s covert contract might look like this: “I will do X for you, so that you will do Y for me. But I’m not going to tell you what the contract consists of. Instead, I’m going to hope that you understand what I want and I’ll get mad if you don’t deliver on it.” The problem of course is that the contract isn’t agreed upon by both parties. And as a result, a people pleaser will often put in tons of effort only to be snubbed when it comes time to sign on. The challenge, then, is to uncover these covert contracts and take responsibility for getting your own needs met. If you want an exchange in value, you need to be overt about this, especially to a would-be customer. Remember, this is a business transaction, not a personal relationship. You have to understand that having your needs met in business is a part of the game. And being an adult means making your own needs a priority. B) Shift Validation Shift your validation. See, other people are terrible judges of the value of your own work. They have their own lives to worry about. Their goals, their ambitions, and their endless thoughts and emotions are filling their heads every hour of the day. So if they don’t hand out the validation you’re looking for, it may not be because you aren’t worthy of it. But rather, it’s because they’re just concentrated on themselves. If you truly want to be successful, you need to only care about how you judge yourself. When you depend too much on others to build up your own self-worth, you’re at their mercy. You have no control over your life. And the goals you set, the dreams you have for what you can accomplish, those are all going to be under the power of someone else. The result for you is feeling exhausted, anxious, and unfulfilled. Worst of all, you’ll have zero control over your life and where you want to take it. But when you shift your validation standards away from others and towards yourself, you’ll have the freedom to make decisions for yourself. And there’s nothing more empowering than that. C) Power Words The two most powerful words you can use in sales. Can you guess what they are? “Yes” and “no.” Unclear instructions lead to uncertain results. And if you’re not clear when you say “yes” or “no” to people, it’s your fault when they pester you to do something that you don’t want to do. When you learn to wield these two power words effectively, they’re going to help you set boundaries. Boundaries that you should never, ever waver from. And once those boundaries are set, you’re going to find yourself with more time and more energy on your hands. Now, you should also practice eliminating the word “maybe” from your vocabulary. Outside of job commitments, if something isn’t a “hell yeah” then it should be a no. Plain and simple. When you approach situations with this mindset, you can start weeding the low-value activities from your life and start concentrating on those that are high-impact. Like creating insightful content, filling up your buyer pipeline, and expanding your skillset. So kill the maybes and stick to the absolutes instead.

There are few professions that match the high risk, high reward stakes of sales. For some, this is the best way to earning true financial freedom. But for others, it’s never going to be that perfect fit. Today we’re talking about the real pros and cons of working in sales. The euphoric ups, the devastating downs, and everything in between. So if you’re thinking about joining the sales industry or just wondering if this is your right profession, this is the guide for you. Now, let’s face it—not everyone’s cut out for sales. Ambition, confidence, self-discipline, and not to mention plenty of grit—they’re all required if you want to make it in this industry. And even if you do have all the right qualities, long hours, difficult quotas, and a high-stress environment are typically a given. But few other professions carry the enormous benefits of killing it in sales. And if you’re the right type of person, no other career will give you the same fulfillment and control over your on-the-job success. The trick is knowing what to expect in this job beforehand. That way, you can make an informed decision about if this is the right job for you. And that’s what I’m here for. Today we’re looking at the true upsides and downsides of being a sales pro. No lies and half-truths. No BS. And no holds barred. So first off, let’s start with the pros of working in sales. By far one of the biggest benefits is… Pro: It’s the Quickest Way to Become a Millionaire The money. Yep, sales can be lucrative. Incredibly lucrative if you’ve got the talent. And when you do have that talent and, of course, a proven sales system, hitting your quotas and raking in massive commissions isn’t all that difficult. As author and business founder Kent Billingsley told me in our interview: “Sales is one of the professions where you can make an embarrassing amount of money and have so little responsibility.” See, with traditional professions, your salary is capped. Sure, you may get bonuses and raises every few years. But no matter how hard you work, your end-of-year pay doesn’t change much. But with the commissions in sales, your earning potential is unlimited. And best of all, your pay is based on your own abilities. So you are in control here, not your employer. And that’s incredibly empowering. Pro: Much Less Risk Than Starting a Business It’s much less risky than starting a business yourself. Entrepreneurship can be exciting. But it’s also risky. About 20% of new businesses fail during their first two years. 45% go under in less than five years. And just 35% of all businesses survive past ten years. You may make it past that point. But realistically speaking, the odds are against you. When you work in sales, however, there are two threats to your livelihood—getting fired or your employer going under. And both are far less likely to occur than a startup failing. Pro: Easier to Land Clients Than Going Solo It’s easier to bring on new clients compared to if you were running your own business. When you start your own business, you’re starting from ground zero. You’ve got to prove to potential clients that you’re worth trusting. And only then will they entertain the idea of buying from you. That can end up taking years or even decades to do. But if you’re in a sales position at another company, you can “borrow trust” from your organization. You are a representative of a business with a proven track record, a history of clients served, and a reputation of its own. Your own trustworthiness will impact your performance, of course. But it’s ten times easier to close if you’re working for an established brand than if you tried going it alone. Now, the final benefit we’re talking about today is… Pro: Job Security (If You’re Good) Job security… if you know what you’re doing. If you’ve got the skills, you can rest easy knowing you’ll always be employable. Businesses are in dire need of capable sales reps these days. And while new technologies are threatening other professions, buyers will always want to speak with a real person before spending tens of thousands of dollars. Even if you do lose your position, you’ll always be able to quickly find a new one. You just need to make sure you’ve developed the skills necessary to make yourself marketable. Skills like those taught in the Selling Made Simple Academy. Alright, so now that we’ve tackled the perks, let’s look at the difficulties. Now quick heads up, we’re only going to look at a few downsides here. But these negatives can be absolute dealbreakers for certain types of people. So with that, downside number one is… Con: You Have to Learn to Live With Rejection You have to learn to live with rejection. Rejection, sadly, is a given in sales. It just is. So if you’re someone who can’t handle rejection or lets it get under your skin, sales might not be the job for you. But you also have to be able to learn from that rejection. Speaker, author, mentor, and sales legend Harvey J Eisenstadt put it best when he told me: “First, nobody, and I've met thousands of wonderful salespeople in my career, nobody has a hundred percent closing ratio. The second is, rejection is part of the learning process. If you fail to make a sale, what you’ve got to do is go back to your office, sit down by your desk, analyze the sales call, and don’t say, “Why didn't the prospect buy from me?” What you’ve got to say is, “How could I have gotten the prospect to say yes?” Too many salespeople put the blame on the prospect and not on themselves. And they fail to learn from their rejection.” In this career, you’ve got to be constantly looking for ways to grow, ways to improve, and ways to get better. And if you can’t look at a failure and learn from it, you’ll never make it in this business. Con: Things Get Competitive at the Middle/Bottom of the Hierarchy Things get very competitive at the middle and bottom of the sales job hierarchy. If you’re just starting out or can’t seem to land a position with the right company, you’ll be stuck working your butt off. At the bottom of the hierarchy, you’ll be selling commodities. If you move up to the middle, you’ll be working with better products that you actually find useful. But there’s a tradeoff here—those useful products typically come with lots of competition. And it’s going to be tough to close when buyers can find a similar product for less of an investment. But when you get to the top of that hierarchy—I’m talking medical devices, $100k+ software, etc.—that’s when you’ve reached the sweet spot. These are the products that change the lives of the people that buy. They’re the ones that revolutionize businesses. And they’re the ones that are more interesting, lucrative, and fulfilling to sell. So the point here is this—you may have to spend some time working your way up in the industry. Or at least finding ways to make yourself marketable so that these higher-tier organizations want to work with you. And you can do that by developing your skills, expanding your social network, and earning credentials that show you’ve got the right stuff.

Sales manager pushing you for more cold outreach to hit your quota? Not so fast. If you really want to start killing it, you need to shift away from new clients. And towards the ones you have now with upselling. In fact, done right, upselling your current customers can on average increase your sales revenue by 67%! That’s the difference between Pirus and Porsche at the end of the year when you take home your commission bonus. unanswered emails. And eventually, eventually, all that effort could lead to a new buyer or two. Emphasis on the “could” here. Even still, you’ve got to wade through a lot of crap to get there. But filling your pipeline with new buyers isn’t the only way to do business. In fact, focusing on maximizing value with your existing clients can make your life a hell of a lot easier. And today, we’re talking about using upselling to do just that. Sound good? Then let’s do it. Why Upsell? Why should upsell in the first place? You’ve already clinched the deal. So what’s the point of pushing things even further? Well, there are four benefits in particular here… 1. It’s Easier It’s easier than focusing on new buyers. With new buyers, you’ve got to go through the pains of establishing trust. But with existing ones (or those who have already committed to the sale), that trust is already there. Here’s a stat to prove my point. According to Marketing Metrics, you have just a 5 to 20% probability of successfully selling to a new prospect in most industries. 5 to 20%. If you’re selling to an existing customer though, that probability jumps to 60 to 70%. That’s an enormous increase! So if you want to make your job selling easier, go with the existing customers. Next… 2. It Drives More Revenue It drives more revenue. Customers spend more with the brands they’ve bought from before. To put a number on it, repeat customers spend 67% more on purchases than new customers. That’s two-thirds more! Just think what a 67% increase in earned revenue would mean for your commissions. 3. It Instills Greater Loyalty Upselling also instills greater loyalty. When you’ve already proven you can deliver real value, your past customers are 10X more likely to continue buying from you. After all, why go through all the hassle of finding a new vendor when you’ve already shown you’ve got the right stuff? Now, there are clearly some very real benefits to upselling. But how do you do it? That’s where… The Proven Product Upselling Framework The Proven Product Upselling Framework comes in. This framework is exactly what I teach in the Selling Made Simple Academy. And it’s made up of four steps. I go into these steps in great detail inside the academy. But for today’s video, let’s go through a quick overview of each step so you can start upselling right away. 1. Document Results Step one, gather the numbers. If you want to show a current customer that a new product has value, you’ve got to have the numbers to back it up. When it comes to new vs. current accounts, it’s all about how you treat the status quo. For instance, with new accounts, you want to attack the status quo. Productivity could be better. Efficiency could be better. Bottom-line earnings could be better. But with current accounts, you’re actually attacking and defending the status quo. You’re defending it because you don’t want clients to head to your competitor. And you’re attacking it so you can convince them to upgrade to your premium product. There are a couple of ways you can do both at once. But the best I’ve found is by sending them a value-rich quarterly report. Now, you can check out an example of this quarterly report in the blog post found in the description of this video. But in this report, you should include the following: 1. Your Earned Results Your earned results. 2. Review of Previous Buying Process A quick review of the previous buying process that reconfirms the client did their due diligence choosing you. 3. Sharing of New Industry Insights Sharing of new industry insights to provide extra value. 4. Detailed Competitor Improvements Detailed competitor improvements, highlighting new changes in your industry competitors. 5. Your Own Detailed Improvements Your own detailed improvements, including new features you’ve been developing and how they compare to your competitor’s. 6.  howing the Cost of Change A section summarizing the cost of changing considering everything discussed so far. This is also a great place to start introducing your upsell products. 2. Review Changing Needs Highlighting their changing needs. Every business grows. And as it does, needs change. It’s a part of life. But your job is to identify those changing needs and show how your upsell product addresses those needs. It’s time to put your research skills to work here. As the more nuanced and specific you can get, the better. If you can pinpoint some of the biggest pain points and growth opportunities your client is facing, you can leverage them to better sell your premium product. Using “what if” scenarios here is a great sales tactic. Try getting them to vividly imagine what it would be like if they achieved their future goals using your product. Beyond simply priming them for a “yes” answer, this technique also helps the client clearly see that something is needed to achieve those goals. And if you’ve done your job, they’ll know it’s what you’re offering. 3. Share The Risk Of No Change Three, driving urgency. And the best way to do that is by demonstrating the risk of not switching. Now, there are six types of risk you can leverage here. First is… 1. Physical Physical risk. This includes dangers to your buildings, equipment, and people. 2. Strategic Second, strategic risk. This risk type involves roadblocks to achieving organizational goals. 3. Regulatory Third, regulatory risk. Have their compliance risks changed? How can your product reduce this new risk? 4. Operational Next up is operational risk. Can your product reduce the new risks that now exist in the buyer’s operations that didn’t exist before? 5. Technological Then there’s technological risk. If your buyer has increased their reliance on technology, can you reduce their new risks with your product? 6. Financial And of course, financial risk. If your buyer has increased in size, production, or headcount since you originally sold them, has their financial risk increased? Can your product help reduce this financial risk? Try to point out multiple types of risks your buyer faces during your upsell conversation. Two or three should get the ball rolling. 4. Instant Discount The “coup de gras” a.k.a. the killing blow. So you’ve proven your worth with a quarterly report. You’ve highlighted the buyer’s changing needs. And you’ve outlined the risks of not changing. What’s the trick to pushing the buyer over the edge? To finally getting that elusive “yes”? The instant discount. Now, this doesn’t have to only be a price discount. It can also be complimentary onboarding support, expert consultations, additional product add-ons—whatever. Get creative here. But essentially you want to create a time-based trigger event that gets them to act now. There are a few things you can do to ensure that trigger event is effective. 1. Avoid Fake Urgency & Scarcity Avoid fake urgency and scarcity here. These ploys, when uncovered, only breed animosity and degrade your client’s loyalty (a death sentence for your rapport). 2. Don’t Get Too Flashy Don’t get too flashy. Too many buzzwords and urgency pushes will rub buyers the wrong way. Instead, be clear, confident, and respectful. Remember, you’re offering value, not trying to meet a quota. 3. Personalize If You Can Personalize if you can. If you’re only cutting a deal or giving a unique discount with them, let them know. And tie back the deal (for example, lower price) to the client’s goals (like coming in on budget). 4. Keep the Pressure On (To an Extent) Lastly, keep the pressure on, to an extent that is. There’s nothing wrong with sending a few helpful reminders that your trigger event is ending soon. Just be careful of getting too pushy here. With the right trigger event, your buyer won’t have any other choice but to say yes to your premium upsell.

Most salespeople barely hit quota. And I admit, that used to be me too. It wasn’t until I started doing one very unexpected thing that my income started to explode… I got unreasonable. And today’s video is all about why you too need to start acting a little less reasonably. Now, I’m 35. I’ve lived a solid ⅓ of my life already. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned over my career in sales, it’s that you don’t have time to waste if you want to reach any reasonable level of success. Like, none. No kidding. Success at anything, anything, takes a decade at a minimum. Tough to hear, right? It’s sad but it’s true. And the longer you commit to doing the same thing everyone else is doing, following the same rules, living up to the same expectations, and being the same unremarkable, everyday sales rep, the less time you have to become truly successful. If you want to bust out from the pack, you’ve got to be different. You’ve got to defy the norms holding everyone else back. And you’ve got to start being unreasonable. Today we’re talking about 5 ways to start busting expectations and living a little less reasonably. And once you do follow them, you can thank me a decade from now when you’ve become the person you always dreamed of being. 1) Get Busy Get busy. This one’s a tough one to swallow. But as hard as it is to hear it, you’re going to have to work harder. Yeah yeah, there’s the typical 9 to 5. And a lot of people—the majority of people—clock out and forget about their job. That’s the reasonable approach. But if you want any chance of wild success, you’ve got to put in the hours. Now don’t worry—eventually you’ll be able to cut back. After you’ve built a solid foundation for yourself. But in the beginning, you need time to test what works. To see what doesn’t. And to find your process and path to success. So buckle up. No one ever said success was easy. 2) Get Lazy Threw you for a loop there, didn’t I? “Will, isn’t that the exact opposite of what you just said?” Well hold on a sec. After you put in the work, it’s time to get strategically lazy. As soon as you start seeing results, the next step is to double down on the pieces that give you the best results. Find the 20% of effort that is getting you 80% of the results and double down. Are 95% of leads coming from emails 5 and 6 of your 3-month outreach? Chop off the rest and build out from those. Are 4 out of 5 of your clients just one business sector? Start putting all your efforts there instead. And once you’ve started seeing your results level off, it’s time to restart the process. Find the 20% within that, and then the 20% in that, again and again. The more you refine, the more you can start making tiny changes and seeing huge results. 3) Get Mean Now, you’ve heard the saying “You are the average of the 5 people that you spend the most time with”? Well, there’s science to back this up too. Did you know most people earn between +/- 20% of what their parents earn? Or that with the right people in your circle, you’re scientifically proven to have more self-control, make wiser investments, and even feel less stress? Your social and professional circle matters. It matters a hell of a lot. And if you want to be successful, you need to ditch people who aren’t progressing at the same speed you are. Yep, they’ll probably be pissed. Yep, they’ll say you’re being unreasonable. And they’re right—you are. But that’s a good thing. 4) Get Zen Get zen. No matter what your spiritual leanings are, there’s something incredibly valuable behind the Buddhist way of living. And that’s minimalism. The better you are at incorporating minimalism, the more successful you’re going to be. Now I’m not saying you should live in a white room with a mattress on the floor and no cutlery… Instead think about this definition of minimalism – Expert Note: “Remove anything that doesn’t help you become the person that you want to be” Will Barron Founder of Salesman.org I did this recently. I stopped recording This Week In Sales, the weekly podcast that I did with sales legend Victor Antonio. It was a great idea at first. But eventually, I realized it wasn’t helping me live the life I wanted to live. So even though I enjoyed doing it, Victor and I decided it was time to call it a day. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time. Doing so has freed up a massive amount of time and headspace for me to take on exciting new projects. And I regret nothing. 5) Get Strong Not physically strong. Though there are definitely benefits to that too. But rather, socially strong. Mentally strong. By being assertive. Most people are weak. They’re pushed around by their boss, their family, and their partner. They’re scared of saying no. Now, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to keep the people important to you happy. But when that happiness comes at the expense of your own, you're laying the groundwork for an unhealthy relationship. And the only light at the end of that tunnel is when that shoddy relationship ends. Instead, learn to set clear boundaries with people. And if they’re crossed, be assertive with your explanations of what you will and won’t accept. Yes, you can keep bending over backward to be a people pleaser. But if you do, you’ll never live up to your true potential. And you’ll never achieve the success you’ve always wanted.

64% of sales professionals are scared of picking up the phone and calling prospects cold. And if you’re like so many other reps out there, you’re not a fan of cold calling either. But in today’s video, we’re looking at why cold calling has reps shaking in their boots. And most importantly, how you can kick that fear right where the sun don’t shine. Now, like I said, nearly 2 out of 3 reps hate cold calling—64% in fact according to our SalesCode Assessment. But what’s really going on here? Why is this simple practice so damn scary? Well, it all boils down to biology. As social animals, we’re built to crave the approval of our peers. And if we don’t get that approval and are rejected, it’s painful. No really, we feel rejection in the same exact spot of the brain that process physical pain. And as anyone who’s cold called knows, rejection happens quite a bit. So it makes sense we’d be anxious about it. Now, the trick is finding ways to overcome that biological fear of rejection. Ways of rewiring the brain to make cold calling less scary. And that’s exactly what we’re talking about today. With these four techniques, you can say so long to cold calling fears. And start finding more buyers so you can close more deals. It’s as simple as that. 1) Make Fear Your Friend We all get nervous sometimes. Whether we’re jumping out of a plane or just trying a new restaurant, a little bit of anxiety is natural when facing the unknown. It’s what you do with that fear that makes a difference. One thing I’ve found incredibly helpful for overcoming fear is immerse myself in it. You know, really feel the sensations it causes. The racing heart, the sweaty palms. Once that’s done, it’s time for a bit of mental gymnastics. Instead of thinking of these sensations as fear, I relabel them as excitement. See, biologically, fear and excitement are incredibly similar. They both are meant to prepare your body and mind for action. And the symptoms—rush of adrenaline, increased heart rate—are the same. So instead of seeing this as fear, flip it. Think of it as excitement. And then use that reframing to help you act. This will let you stay consistent with your cold calling. And who knows, you may even start looking forward to it! 2) Rethink Your Coping Behaviors Now, this one comes directly from our Social Anxiety Framework from the Selling Made Simple Academy. So if you want an even deeper dive, be sure to head to Salesman.org and get signed up. But just as a brief overview, if you want to eliminate cold calling anxiety, you need to start with your coping behaviors. To explain, anxiety is caused by getting caught in a cycle, a loop. First, there’s an inciting event that triggers your anxiety response. Then you use ineffective coping behaviors to treat that anxiety. Maybe you hide in the bathroom to avoid cold calling. Or you pick up the phone and pretend to dial numbers. No matter what that coping behavior is, it eventually has consequences. You fall behind on your numbers. Your boss finds out. Whatever. And once that happens, your anxiety sparks up again, restarting the whole cycle over again. But you can in fact break this cycle. All you have to do is change your coping behaviors. There are two coping behaviors I’ve found are super helpful. A) Shift Your Attention Shifting your attention. When you’re anxious, the more focused you are on your inward feelings, the worse things get. So next time you feel yourself starting to panic, try shifting your focus to something else. Concentrate on your environment around you. What do you see? What do you smell and hear? Think about the people you’re interacting with. What are they thinking and feeling? The more you take the spotlight off yourself, the calmer you’ll be. B) Get Curious Getting curious. Whenever I feel anxiety starting to creep in, I consciously force myself to get extremely curious. When you force yourself to be incredibly curious, there is little processing room or overhead left in your brain for it to focus inward on your own anxiety. And so, rather than getting caught up in your own thoughts, you become completely immersed in the person in front of you. How can you give them value, help them through a situation, or better your relationship? What are the pain points they’re experiencing right now? How would solving them help? Best of all, getting curious makes you feel better and lets your buyer know you’re focused on them. And typically, they’ll appreciate the attention. 3) The Bodybuilder Mindset Sales is a numbers game. And getting good at sales is too. The more you commit to doing the hard work, putting in those reps, the easier things will get. It’ll be tough at first, I know. Just like your first day ever in the gym is going to leave you crushed. But every time after that, you’re going to be stronger than the day before. So instead of giving up after a bad call, commit to getting the reps done. 40, 70, 100 calls—whatever. Just make sure you do it every day. You’ll find your groove eventually, I can guarantee it. And finally, the last fear-busting cold calling technique is… 4) Start Playing Video Games Start playing video games. No, not real ones. Though if you’re actually able to get your hands on a PS5, send me a message (wink). No I mean start treating your cold calling like a video game session. Make it your goal to see how far you can get on each call. Try new techniques like adjusting your tone or speed to see how it affects your success rate. You can even create a call script that takes on-the-fly guesswork out of the equation entirely. And don’t forget—if you lose the call, you don’t die. You just respawn and get to try again!

I hate to break it to you, but if your leads aren’t buying, the problem isn’t with them. It’s with you. In today’s video, we’re looking at 5 reasons your leads just won’t bite. And 5 things you can do to fix it. Now, one of the most important lessons you’re ever going to learn in this business is the value of self-sufficiency. Best-selling author Nina Purewal told me once…  “One of the big things in sales is you can't control how people are going to react to you. You can only control what you put out there.” SP #697 – Let That Sh*t Go And Reduce Your Sales Stress Nina Purewal You’re going to run into a lot of different people over the course of your career. Some of them will be a match. And some of them won’t. But for those that are and still aren’t buying, the problem is you. Agh, hurts doesn’t it? Well don’t worry—there are steps you can take to fix those problems. And that’s what we’re looking at today. 5 reasons people aren’t buying from you and 5 solutions. So let’s start with a big one… 1. They’re Only Halfway There Now, in B2B sales, a lot of the decision making depends on logic. Does this product meet our requirements? Is the price within our budget? Can we implement on our schedule? But if you’re only appealing to the logic side of things, you’re missing out on a super valuable opportunity. Because in reality, most sales actually start with emotion. The buyer makes an emotional commitment to buy first and then justifies with logic. Maybe that emotion is that they want to be respected by their colleagues. Or they’re looking for ways to catch the eye of the C-suite. No matter what they’re after, the emotion, the feel, comes first. And when you appeal to that emotional side, you’re setting yourself up for a win. But there’s more. If you’re only using logic in your pitches, it actually makes it easier for the buyer to dismiss taking action. “We’ll circle back to this next year once the economy settles down,” they’ll say. But if you can attach emotion to the purchase too, it’s like tying down a boat with two ropes instead of one. Once the storm comes, you’ll be less likely to lose it to sea. So be sure you’re hitting those emotional pain points too, not just the logical ones. 2. They’re Unqualified A hard truth of sales is that most of the leads you talk to just aren’t qualified. Sure, they’ll give you their time. Maybe they’ve even come through your funnel as an inbound lead so you think they’re a fit. But once you get several steps into the sales process, you’ll realize that every interaction up till now has been a huge waste of time. It’s frustrating, I know. But if you do a bit more work qualifying upfront, you can avoid that hassle altogether. Now, the Selling Made Simple Academy’s Sales Diagnosis Framework explores how to cover all your bases while qualifying leads. So if you’re interested, I’d suggest enrolling today. But as a quick overview, you need to be assessing leads for: Pain. Are they in pain? Is their issue actually a problem? Time. What’s their timeline? Are they thinking today? This quarter? Or in the next few years? Fit. Are they a fit for what you’re selling? Can you really fix this buyer’s problem? Return. Does the value of your solution outweigh the difficulties of implementing it? Will they see a reasonable return? Process. Is your buyer willing to adapt to your process? Will they put in the time, say, training to get the most value out of your product? Budget. Can they afford it? Champion. Is there someone else that you should be talking to that will champion this deal? And last… Agreement. Did they give you their verbal commitment to work together if you can solve their problem? Again, if you’re interested in learning more about this framework, head to Salesman.org today and enroll. 3. They Don’t Trust You Simple question for you here—if you got a phone call one day and surprise! It was you on the other end pitching your product, would you trust yourself? I mean really trust yourself? There’s a lot of hot air and shady tactics in some circles of sales. And if you’re using exaggeration or outright lies with your buyers, that needs to stop today. Because that kind of crap is devastating your trust value. But if not, the problem might just be that you don’t have enough social proof on your side. So to build up that trust, there are a few things you can do. A) Borrow Trust Borrow trust from your company. Provide buyers with case studies, testimonials, and endorsements your company’s earned in the past. B) Bolster Your Reputation Bolster your reputation by building an expansive professional network. And start producing valuable thought leadership content. C) Share Insights Share insights rather than cold spamming. People respond to value, not pestering. If you can do all that, you’ll be 10X more likely to win the trust of your buyers. 4. They’re Being Held Back They’re being held back by the most notorious barriers to implementation ever—the status quo. Sometimes the burden of getting started is enough to stop buyers from committing to the deal. There’s always going to be growing pains. And onboarding issues, fighting for budget, reputation risk, and lack of trust are all objections that, left unaddressed, can kill your deal. That’s why it’s up to you to help your buyer overcome those barriers. If they have onboarding concerns, offer them support during implementation. If it’s the budget, provide c-suite focused materials that outline your product’s cost benefits. If it’s reputation and trust, point to your proven track record or other social proof. You are responsible for equipping your buyer with what they need to forget about those objections. And the better you are at doing that, the more likely you’ll be to get a yes. 5. You’ve Got Commission Breath You’ve got commission breath. What is commission breath, you ask? It’s desperation. It’s bullshit. Or it’s a mix of both. If all you’re thinking about is raking in that commission, I’ve got bad news for you… YOUR BUYER CAN TELL! They’re not idiots. They can smell that crap a mile away. And if you don’t really, truly believe in your product… If the only thing you’re concerned with is a paycheck… Then there’s no way in hell you’re going to make the sale. So, what’s the solution here? Well, you can either find a product you care about, change your focus to providing real value, or, well… get out of the business. Tough pill to swallow, I know. But hey, sometimes the truth hurts!

Don’t know what you’re doing in sales? You’ll be living paycheck to paycheck. Knocking it out of the park? You could earn your first million in just a few years time. So what separates the two? Well, it turns out it’s just five simple strategies. Yep, just five! And those five strategies are exactly what we’re talking about today. Now, maybe my favorite thing about being in the sales industry is your earning potential is directly tied to your abilities. If you rock at what you do, you can literally make millions in this career. But if you’re not so great, well… it can really be tough to make a decent living. If you find yourself in the latter camp, don’t worry—all hope’s not lost. There are some very simple changes you can make to massively boost your chances of success in this industry. And today, we’re talking about five of the best ones I’ve found. So listen up, stay tuned, and get ready to take your selling power to the next level. 1) Have a Simple Sales Process Feeling overwhelmed every day? Lost? Like you’re working your butt off but never really going anywhere? It’s because you don’t have an effective and defined sales process. Now, I’ve covered what a winning sales process looks like in videos before. But just as a quick overview, your sales process should look something like this: A) Understand the Market You’re never going to get anywhere if you don’t understand your buyers and your solution. And that means… Honing your value proposition and tailoring it to your ideal buyer. Understanding your buyer’s journey. And nailing down the numbers. Sales is a numbers game. And the better you are at tracking and playing to those numbers, the more money you’ll stand to make. B) Get in Front of Buyers Get in front of buyers. What methods are you using to get in touch with prospects? If you’re doing things right, your outreach should include not just cold email and cold calling, but also a healthy dose of social selling on platforms like LinkedIn. You’ll also need to fine-tune your sales cadences so you’re reaching out to buyers at the right time and keeping them interested. C) Explain the Value Explaining the value. The best outreach campaigns in the world won’t do a thing if you can’t effectively communicate your product’s value. That means mastering your discovery call, delivering effective demos, upselling and closing like a pro, and knowing how to takeover competitor clients. And that leads us neatly into selling strategy number 2… 2) Become a Master Implementer Knowing how to sell doesn’t—excuse the French—mean a damn thing if you don’t implement it. High performers are master implementers. They have the skills, mindset, and traits needed to kill it day in and day out. And if you don’t cultivate those traits yourself, it’s going to be tough to get a leg up in this business. Wondering how you stack up? Take our Sales Code Assessment to see if you’ve got what it takes or if you need a bit of work. 3) Simplify EVERYTHING Humans are naturally drawn to the path of least resistance. But for some reason, we don’t apply that inclination to our sales processes. And that means we’re working harder than we need to be. So instead of falling into that trap, find the 20% of your sales process that delivers 80% of the results. And once you do, cut the rest of it. Let me show you what I mean. If the majority of your sales leads are coming from just one channel, double down on that channel and ignore the others. If two of your emails in your 30-day sales cadence lead to most of your calls booked, get rid of everything else. The more you simplify your process, the more time you can spend on closing deals and bringing in more, better prospects. Alright so the next strategy I hinted at earlier. It addresses a major myth that’s continually holding sales reps back from achieving killer numbers and crushing their quotas month after month. 4) The 20-Mile March Now, does this sound like you? Last month you were king of the world when it came to your numbers. But this month, you’re behind. Way behind. So you make up for the dip by hitting it hard. You’re prospecting like crazy. You’re sending hundreds of emails a day. And you’re cold calling so much your ears are starting to hurt from being pressed against the phone for so long. Each month is a new battle. And the rollercoaster ups and downs never seem to stop. Sound familiar? If so, don’t worry, we’ve all been there. But the truth of the matter is sales doesn’t have to be like that. Bit of a shocker, huh? Instead, you can follow what’s known as the 20 Mile March concept. This concept, created by business authors Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, centers on consistency. In their book, they found that the leading enterprises, the ones that performed ten times better, than the competition, valued consistency above all else. And the more consistent you can be in sales, think prospecting every single day from 8 to 10, the more successful you’re bound to be. The secret isn’t innovation, creativity, or flexibility. It’s consistency. Fanatic consistency. And if you can develop that unwavering discipline, you’re going to earn 10X more than you thought possible in this business. 5) Keep to One Mentor at a Time Now, I used to read countless books, be 20% of the way through five different sales courses, and have a bunch of unofficial mentors that I listened to each day. And what it got me was no real system and a bunch of conflicting ideas. Instead of doing that, learn from my mistake and stick with just one mentor or trainer at a time. Don’t try to do it all at once because you’ll only end up confused, procrastinating, and exhausted. Now we actually cater to this strategy in our Selling Made Simple training academy. You can sign up, leverage our tools, follow our systems, and get real, all-inclusive mentoring right in one place. No jumping back and forth between so-called “sales gurus.” And no conflicting ideas banging around in your head all at once. Our students love it. And I think you will too. So implement it all, crush your quota, and then—only then—test the next system and improve your skills.

Leads are the lifeblood of any business. And if you’re in sales, bringing them in isn’t just important. It’s your whole job! But what is B2B lead generation and why is it so essential? We’re tackling all that and more today. And be sure to stick around because we’re also going to talk about how you can finally stop chasing those leads and bring them to your door instead. Leads come in, they learn about your products, and you show them why what you have to offer is the perfect solution to their problems. But bringing those leads in is easier said than done. In fact, HubSpot found that a whopping 61% of sales professionals think lead generation is their biggest challenge. Bigger than staying motivated. Bigger than beating out the competition. And bigger even than closing—yep, seriously. What Is B2B Lead Generation? Essentially, B2B lead generation is a business’s ability to identify and attract customers that are a good fit for the products or services. These businesses sell primarily to other businesses rather than consumers—hence the B2B.  Qualify Leads One, qualify leads. Because not everyone is going to be a good fit for what you’re selling. And… Drive Action Get those leads to take action and start moving them through the sales process. Now that leads us up to the next question… Where Does Lead Gen Fit in the Sales Funnel? As you might’ve already guessed, lead generation starts at the very tip top of the sales funnel. If you don’t know, the sales funnel looks a bit like this: Prospects move through awareness, discovery, evaluation, and intent before making a purchase decision. And as they move through each stage, they learn more about their problem, your solutions, and how they’ll help your prospect better their business. Now funnels will differ slightly among industries, with some stages being longer or shorter than others. But when it comes to lead generation, it’s always at the very very top. Your company reaches out to leads, qualify them, and guide them through the other stages of the funnel. Makes sense, right? For many companies, marketing handles a lot of the outreach. But if you’re a savvy and success-minded sales rep, you need to be engaging in plenty of lead generation yourself too. Okay okay, but important question here… Why Is B2B Lead Generation Important? Why do you need to be adding to your workload by reaching out to new leads? Can’t marketing handle it? Well, there are two big benefits to making lead gen a priority in your daily to-do task list. It Generates New Leads Duh—it generates new leads. In addition to the leads sent to you by marketing, you’re adding a new stream of potential sales. It fills your funnel and gives you a better chance at hitting your targets and making more money. Another incredibly important benefit is that… It Gives You Control It puts the control in your hands. You are in control of the sales process. You are the driver of whether you’re coming out ahead this month or falling behind. And you get to make sure your prospects are getting the attention, information, and guidance they need throughout the buyer’s journey rather than relying on someone else to create a good first impression. The power is in your hands. And that alone is reason enough to start your own B2B lead generation efforts. Now let’s talk a bit about terminology. SQl vs. MQL—What’s the Difference? If you’ve spent any time in sales you’ve likely heard the terms “SQL” and “MQL” thrown around before. So SQL vs. MQL, what’s the difference? Marketing Qualified Leads These are the leads that marketing has flagged as going through the initial stages of qualification. Maybe they downloaded a content offer or reached out to the marketing team. Basically, they’ve showed a little bit of interest in what it is you’re selling. And as such, they haven’t yet gone through all the necessary qualification standards to determine if they’re a perfect fit for your company. Sales Qualified Leads Sales qualified leads. These are leads your sales team has determined are worth pursuing. And they’re typically a bit better qualified for the products or services you’re selling. That’s because you or another rep has confirmed that they’re interested, or at least gotten more buy-in than a simple download or a question sent to marketing. SQLs are the ideal. And when you as a sales rep engage in B2B lead gen, your goal is to create more SQLs—individuals that are a good fit for your products, have shown interest, and are likely to end their journey by buying your product. So the question is… How Do We Create SQL’s? How do we create SQL’s? What can we do to fill our pipeline with leads that are more qualified, more likely to buy, and less likely to eat up all our time? Well, there are two ways. We Qualify MQL’s One, we qualify MQL’s. Taking MQLs on hook line and sinker without further qualification is a recipe for disaster. While some qualification has already taken place, it often isn’t enough to determine if a lead is actually going to be a good fit. Instead, you need to do some qualifying yourself by digging a bit deeper. What’s the real problem they’re trying to solve? How does their budget stack up to your implementation costs? Are they even the decision maker here? Your discovery call is going to be the best place to get this info. But even with a few back and forth emails, you can better parse out those that are a fit and those that aren’t. Now, the other option is… Cold Outreach Cold outreach. We bring in the leads ourselves. This is where the rubber really meets the road. And if you aren’t engaging in B2B lead generation yourself, you’re missing out on an incredibly valuable source of customers and, of course, commissions. Cold outreach is all about the cadences. Cold email, social selling, cold calling—these are the activities that generate results. And these are the activities that, when incorporated into your weekly and even daily processes, are going to fill your pipeline with more SQLs and help you skyrocket your numbers. Now, I’ve talked about how to get the best results from these practices plenty of times in past videos. So if you want to dive deeper into each, be sure to check out our library and subscribe so you don’t miss a beat.

You can’t expect to get far in sales if you aren’t at least a little skilled at crafting cold emails. So, what gets your prospects to click? How do you create subject lines that consistently earn solid open rates? And what do you need to include in your body copy to drive action? That’s exactly what we’re talking about today—how to cold email clients. And along the way, we’ll look at some of the best cold email templates I’ve used with spectacular results. Now, email—it’s how business gets done these days. Of course, cold calling still has a place in any sales rep’s cadences. And social selling is on the up and up, especially if you’re particularly savvy on platforms like LinkedIn. The problem is, effective cold emails are notoriously hard to craft. With the massive amount of junk mail, spam, and otherwise useless crap that fills our inboxes every day, it can be tough to make sure your email stands out from the crowd. So, what does it take to craft cold emails that earn opens and drive action? What does a great cold email look like? And what are some winning templates you can start using today? Don’t worry—we’re covering all this and more right now. 1: Get Their Attention Perhaps the most important step of any cold email outreach campaign is to first get your prospect’s attention with a great subject line. Now, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do this. On the one hand, you can get your market’s attention through gimmicks. Stupid things. Extreme things. These can grab the eye of your buyer. But this tactic comes with the tradeoff of reducing confidence in your abilities as a solution provider—no one wants to buy from a clown. The other technique is to grab attention while still remaining professional. This, of course, takes a bit more tact to pull off correctly. But when done well, it accomplishes the dual effect of building both intrigue and trust. So what are some subject line structures that get attention while still maintaining trust? Well, there are four in particular that I use… A) Direct Subject Lines Direct headlines state the sales proposition directly. No wordplay. No hidden meanings. And no fancy bits stuck on the end. Just straight-to-the-point zero BS. A direct subject line might look like this: “The world’s fastest CRM tool – 20% off today” B) News Subject Lines This is a great option if you have an update about your product or service. It could be the introduction of a new product, a change in the law or legislation that affects your customers using your product, or something else newsworthy that’s along these lines. It could even be industry news like a company merger or emerging competitor. A winning news subject line looks as simple as this:  “X law has moved on. Have you?” C) “How To” Subject Lines The words “how-to” are magic in email subject lines. “How to” headlines offer the promise of solid information, sound advice, and solutions to problems. And prospects find them especially clickworthy when they talk about a problem they’re facing at the moment. This subject line might look like this: “How to reduce your ad spend in 14 days” D) Question Subject Lines Careful here— To be effective, question headlines must include a question that the person receiving the email will either empathize with or would love to see answered. A solid one may be: “Is [X] costing you more than it should?” Now that you’ve got them opening your email, it’s time to build the emails body. 2: Story email structure How can you actually help? What can you offer to solve your buyer’s problems? And why should they spend their valuable time hearing what you have to say? Whereas the attention-getter mainly happens in the subject line, this step of the framework should be handled in the body of your cold email. It takes a bit longer to really flesh out, so a mere seven words—the ideal subject line length—isn’t going to do this step justice. Now, one of the best ways to demonstrate that need is by using… The Story Telling Framework The goal of the story telling framework is to… Highly their Current Reality – Acknowledge where the prospect is now. Show their Future Reality – Show them where they could be. Give the Reality Bridge – Identify the steps they need to take to get there, a.k.a. the “Reality Bridge.” Here’s what that might look like in practice. Hi [NAME],  I recently worked with [NAME], he is in the [INDUSTRY] like you.  Traditional salespeople had failed [NAME]. Here is his story – [LINK TO INSIGHT POST] He went from zero motivation, to proactively racing to get to his desk each morning to prospect.  All by implementing proven frameworks to relieve the pressure of choice from his job. Does it make sense to jump on a quick call to see if you can use these frameworks too?  Cheers, Will Current reality / Desired future reality / Reality bridge See how that all works? Here we have the current reality, the desired future reality, and the reality bridge, all within just a few lines. It’s simple stuff. But it’s wildly effective. 3: Call to Action It isn’t enough to just say hello to a prospect. You’ve also got to get them to take the next step. Setting up a discovery call is usually the right way to go here. So tell them how to do it and make it especially easy on them too. Doing so is simple too. Just ask them at the end, “Does it make sense to jump on a quick call to see if we can…” and then add the desired outcome. It can be “increase your sales”, “boost your team’s efficiency”, “reduce your costs”—whatever. I’ve seen fantastic results with this templated call to action. And I even teach it to my students as part of our Closing Framework. It’s to the point. It’s unassuming. And it’s damn effective too. Alright, so let’s see what all this looks like when we put the four steps together. That’s all it takes! And when you cater this template to your industry, you can start seeing fantastic open and response rates too.