The Winner's Sales Strategy Blog

WEBINAR: Advanced Sales Closing Strategies

WEBINAR: Advanced Sales Closing & Profit Justification Strategies

DATE: Wednesday, November 7th
TIMES: 11 AM and 3 PM Eastern Time
PRICE: $20

I'm proud to announce that I'll be conducting our next live webinar on Wednesday, November 7th, at 11:00 AM Eastern time, and again at 3:00 PM Eastern time, on Advanced Sales Closing and Profit Justification Strategies.

This will be a LIVE webinar and nothing will be sold. You get a solid hour of content that's JAM-PACKED with powerful techniques you can begin using, immediately, to begin closing more sales - today - using the very same strategies and techniques I used to achieve an astounding 80% close rate in sales.

What You'll Learn:

- How to achieve an 80% close rate
- How to do proper fact-find to develop a bulletproof proposal
- Step-by-step processes to get prospects to BUY with no hard selling
- How to use Profit Justification to show prospects how your solution puts
  money into their pocket
- Why prospects can't say "no" to a Profit Justified proposal, and how to
  do it correctly
- Presentation strategies to make you stand out from the crowd
- ... and much more!

Learn how on this webinar! I'll be presenting for just over one hour, followed by 20-30 minutes of live Q&A.

 -> Register Here:

Click Here to Register for the 11:00 AM Session

Click Here to Register for the 3:00 PM Session

Can't Make Either Session?

No problem! I'm going to record the webinar as it happens, and you'll receive a recording the following day. So register anyway to be sure you don't miss out on this powerful, hard-hitting content.

And if you do attend the live session, you'll still receive the replay, so you can continually refer back to the material as needed in the future.

 -> Register Here:

Click Here to Register for the 11:00 AM Session

Click Here to Register for the 3:00 PM Session

Feedback from our last webinar:

"I attended Frank's "Get Hot Leads with LinkedIn" webinar on October 3, 2012 and it was EXTREMELY informative and useful. He was very specific on the steps needed to create and maintain a highly effective LinkedIn networking campaign. I can't wait to get my LinkedIn functionality up and running. I haven't been so excited about a marketing solution in a long time!" -Rick Mickunas, Aegis Data

"The $20.00 I spent yesterday on the LinkedIn presentation was worth every penny. I took action yesterday, and I thank you for it. It's my sincere hope we can connect via LinkedIn." -John J. Polidori II, MBA

"Frank, I just attended your webinar and found the content very valuable." -Pablo Pittaluga, VP of Sales, IT ROI Solutions

"I also attended that webinar and found it very helpful. and motivating. I recommend Frank and his books highly." -Edward Reeve, First Financial

"I would like to say how I enjoyed the webinar which took place on the 3rd October, it highlighted some key points and useful tips." -Devyesh Patel

-> Register Here:

Click Here to Register for the 11:00 AM Session

Click Here to Register for the 3:00 PM Session

I look forward to seeing you there!

To your success!

Frank Rumbauskas

Make More Sales with the Science of Social Dynamics

Many areas of selling that I’ve studied and taught to others are rarely, if ever, known and used in the world of professional selling. One of those is the science of social dynamics – before I ever began learning it myself and including it in my training, I’d never before seen it used in sales. Social dynamics is the science of using nonverbal sub-communication to influence others. What does this include? The primary elements of our nonverbal sub-communication are body language, vocal tone, inflection and volume, eye contact, movement and carriage of the body, and other subtle but important elements.

The consequences of not using proper social dynamics in your sales interactions are severe, and most of us don’t even know we’re doing anything wrong because we haven’t been taught. The situation is much like cold calling – salespeople who cold call only do so because they don’t know any alternatives. However, by not paying attention to our social dynamics, we unknowingly give our power away to prospects, let them have control of sales appointments, create an impression that we are not successful, give prospects the “gut feeling” that they should not buy from us … all unknowingly.

So, that said, what can we do to make sure we don’t short-circuit all of our efforts by using improper social dynamics? Following is a brief and very basic – but highly effective – checklist of things you need to watch out for while selling:

1. Body language. (This isn’t easy to explain without pictures so bear with me!) Be careful not to lean in to prospects when talking with them. Leaning in sub-communicates weakness and submission. Lean back when you are in front of prospects. This sub-communicates that you are the leader, are in control, and will cause prospects to be more willing to follow your lead and buy. In addition, you should never face a prospect more than they are facing you. In other words, if a prospect is not facing you straight-on while sitting or standing, you should be turned away just a degree more than the prospect is turned away from you. It is okay to face a prospect straight-on only after they have fully turned to face you directly. If you face them directly before they do so to you, you are sub-communicating neediness and submission. However, by allowing the prospect to do so first, they are automatically placed in the submissive role and will be much easier to close.

2. Proper listening. If you cannot hear a prospect, never lean in directly when they repeat themselves. Instead, turn sideways, so that your ear is facing the prospect, but your face is turned away. This allows you to hear the prospect better but without taking a weak stance.

3. Your voice. The single most important thing you can do to be a more effective salesperson is to have a powerful, commanding voice. Like a firm handshake, an impressive vocal presence sub-communicates power and leadership and will cause prospects to be much more willing to buy from you. Practice speaking louder in your everyday communications. You don’t want to yell or strain; instead, focus on speaking from your core, your abdomen, which will result in the commanding voice you need to have to be effective.

Imagine a general who speaks powerfully, but without yelling or straining. This is what you should strive for. I achieved this by simply talking that way all the time. An added benefit is that you will automatically become an excellent public speaker by having this talent, which you can then leverage into more sales by volunteering to speak at networking events, chamber of commerce meetings, and other “target-rich” environments. It will also be a necessary skill should you wish to go into sales training or public speaking later in your career, a choice that is available to all successful salespeople.

4. Your presence. This is closely related to body language, but has more to do with posture than with positioning yourself in front of prospects. For example, weak people are afraid of infringing on others’ personal space, so they keep a small presence. Avoid this by standing with your feet at least a foot apart, leaning back slightly, and having your shoulders back and chin up. This is a powerful stance that sub-communicates leadership and confidence. The same rules hold true while sitting – keep your feet flat on the floor with your arms spread wide rather than holding them close together. Unless you are sitting with your arms on the desk, lean back in your chair while speaking. Again, you’re demonstrating command of the situation by doing so.

What about “pacing” the movements of your prospect? Don’t do it. This is one of those “old, right answers” from the old school of selling that is now wrong. Most prospects can pick up on this because it’s been done to them so many times before, and, what’s worse, why would you want to pace your prospects’ mannerisms when you run the risk of reflecting their own weak body language? In addition, it shows a lack of independence, which is the biggest killer of the powerful, confident persona you want to demonstrate in appointments.

Finally, remember that this is not a competition. These suggestions are not given with the intent to try to rule or bully your prospects. They simply allow you to present yourself as a powerful leader whose advice should be taken, and the end result is that prospects will feel extremely comfortable with entrusting their business to you. Follow these tips, and your close rates will suddenly explode!

Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the Never Cold Call Again® System and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast Company’s top 30 most influential people online. To learn more, and to download a free 37-page preview of his Never Cold Call Again lead-generation system, visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com

Want More Sales? RIP OFF THE BAND AID!

I was with someone the other day who drove me completely crazy.

We were carrying a box of marketing materials into an office, and there was a light drizzle outside. Plus it was very windy.

The box didn't have a lid so he grabbed an old towel out of the trunk and put it over the box. 

As we walked toward the office building door, the wind kept blowing the towel off the box. He'd stop, try to pull it back down over the box, and start walking again.

Sure enough, this happened again. And again. And again. And every time, he stopped to pull the stupid towel back over the box top.

Finally I got fed up and yelled, "Just run into the damned building and get it over with!"

You see, every time he stopped to fiddle with the towel and the box, more rain would get into it. And every time the wind blew the towel off, still more water got in.

If he'd simply grabbed the box and ran into the building as fast as he could, there would have been a lot less damage and we would have saved a bit of time.

It's no different than taking off a Band-Aid. If you try to pull it off slowly, you'd think that it would be less painful, but doing it that way actually hurts like hell. But if you rip it off fast, the pain level is technically higher, but you get it over with a LOT faster and it's actually less painful in the end.

And the same is true with sales.

Day after day I see salespeople fiddle around, waste time, chase prospects who will NEVER buy, and then they try to blame everyone but themselves when they get a lousy commission check at the end of the month.

In Frank Bettger's outstanding book, How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling, he explained that the single best thing he ever did to increase his sales was to institute a policy of abandoning prospects who didn't purchase by the second appointment, and to refuse to meet with them ever again.

At first it was painful. No one wants to turn away any prospect who is willing to meet with you. But, like tearing off the Band-Aid quickly, it was a lot less painful in the end, and he doubled his sales numbers as a result!

In working with salespeople for nearly 10 years, and in my own sales career, I've also discovered that walking away from anyone who doesn't buy quickly is a very profitable decision. Here's how you can do it:

1. No longer meet with or pursue prospects who don't buy by the second appointment, or whatever number you deem appropriate for your product or service, if you happen to have a long sales cycle.

2. ONLY meet with prospects who are pre-qualified, and who are ready, willing, and able to buy right now.

If you're stumped when it comes to step 2, and most salespeople are, the answer is to stop cold calling forever and begin using intellingent, Information Age self-marketing strategies instead, along with good old fashioned networking, referral selling, and dozens of other prospecting techniques available to you today that work infintely better than cold calling!

 

In Sales, It Pays To Be Lazy!

I'm not a morning person. I hate getting up early, I never do it unless I absolutely have to, and I'll never understand people who do.

I'm not a workaholic. I love what I do for sure, but life is too short to spend most of it working. With a beautiful new baby at home, I certainly don't want to spend every single day at the office.

I recently read an article about "The World's Most Interesting Golfer." He's a Spaniard who unabashedly enjoys a glass of wine before a big tournament, a good cigar and dram of whisky after, and who doesn't understand those who rush through life without taking the time to enjoy it.

Now there's someone I can see eye to eye with!

BUT - does all of this make me lazy?

Perhaps in the eyes of some, but if you ask me, it makes me EFFICIENT.

In sales, I was seen as lazy for sleeping late most days, working from 10-3, and  going home in time to catch some sun at the pool.

People saw that as lazy UNTIL they saw my numbers, which were higher than  anyone else in the office, and as far as I know, highest in the industry in my  particular city.

When I moved into a new office building a couple of years ago, people there who  knew who I am and were looking forward to getting to know me were disappointed to see that I wasn't there 40 hours a week - not even close.

Why?

EFFICIENCY!

When I started my business, I reverse-engineered it from the beginning to run as automatically as possible and continue to generate revenue whether or not I choose to work on any given day.

Likewise, after a few years of working way too hard in sales, I began to reverse-engineer what the very top, six-figure producers were doing, and I implemented their strategies into workable systems that ran on autopilot.

That's how I was able to produce extremely high sales numbers and close 4 out of 5 sales while working less then half the number of hours of my co-workers, most of  whom rarely made even 100% of their numbers.

Every now and then someone will reply to one of my emails and tell me that I'm not making real salespeople, and that I'm teaching salespeople to become order takers.

Well, duh. The most successful salespeople are the ones who take orders all day, not the ones who get hung up on and get doors slammed in their face.

We only get paid commissions for actual sales, so the more time spent getting sales (i.e. taking orders), and less time wasted doing everything else, the better.

And when you're producing crazy-high numbers without killing yourself working long hours, your boss and your competitors all take notice and you eventually get to name your own price and your own schedule. (If your employer won't meet your  demands, a competitor happily will - believe me, when you're selling THAT much, they KNOW who you are!)

So remember, laziness is only lazy when it's not producing. But working less while producing more isn't lazy - it's efficient - and many even call it genius!

Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the New York Times best-seller Never Cold Call Again and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast Company’s top 30 most influential people online. To learn more, and to download a free 37-page preview of his Never Cold Call Again lead-generation system, visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com

How To Lose A Sale In 10 Seconds

"I want Frank to come and speak to us."

This is the voicemail that my speaking coordinator, Kate, received, so naturally she called right back. Unlike most authors, I don't actively seek paid speaking engagements, but certainly don't turn them away when they are offered, and this was the second one in a day.

On returning the call, what Kate was told was quite different than what she expected: "We don't really want Frank to come and speak. I lied in the voicemail message in order to get someone on the phone to hear me out."

WHAT???

Naturally, Kate was furious, and still so when she related the story to me at the end of the day. There's nothing more maddening than having your day interrupted and time wasted by a desperate, cold calling salesperson, but it's even worse when they lie in order to trick you into calling them back.

Unfortunately, this isn't uncommon at all, and happens all the time. It goes by different names - lately it's "Cold Calling 2.0" or "Reverse Cold Calling" or whatever the snake-oil pitchmen happen to be calling it this week, but no matter what you call it, it's deceptive....

...and IT DOESN'T WORK.

Sure, you'll get a call back. You'll also get an iron-clad guarantee that the prospect you just pissed off will remember it forever and will never, ever buy from you.

If you're part of the school of thought that measures "results" by number of return calls or number of appointments, then you need to learn what real results are: SALES.

I talk a lot about honesty and integrity in my books. It's the only way a salesperson or a business can succeed long-term. My friend and fellow author Dave Lakhani has defined the very fine distinction between persuasion and manipulation as follows:

Persuasion is the act of convincing someone to take a desired action, in this case to buy, for the mutual benefit of both buyer and seller.

Manipulation is tricking someone into buying for the benefit of the seller and to thedetriment of the buyer. (Example: a sleazy used car lot.)

This ridiculous idea of lying in a voicemail or email in order to get a return call is one of the worst forms of manipulation. In fact, it hardly deserves the title of manipulation, because at least a master manipulator will get a sale in the end! The idiot who lies in voicemails may get a call back, but will never make a sale!

A few years ago, in a testimonial success story email, someone told me they paid $500 for one of the "Cold Calling 2.0" courses, and the program was centered around the idea of calling and asking for a fake name, and when they say there is no one by that name, saying, "Oh I'm sorry, who handles that department now?"

Folks, there are better and easier ways to get that information. Ever heard of the internet?

Even better than that is not having to bother looking up contact names and trying to get people on the phone in the first place. The most successful salespeople today don't make those calls. They use modern prospecting & self-marketing strategies to get people to call THEM. (By the way, my Never Cold Call Again system explains those techniques and strategies in detail!)

So, do this right now:

1. Weed out all dishonest activities you may have engaged in, like 'Cold Calling 2.0' where you lie to people to get return calls.

2. Weed out cold calling in general, because as Jeffrey Gitomer loves to point out, it has the lowest percentage of all sales activities and isn't worth your time, and if anyone knows sales, it's Gitomer.

Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the New York Times best-seller Never Cold Call Again and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast Company’s top 30 most influential people online. To learn more, and to download a free 37-page preview of his Never Cold Call Again lead-generation system, visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com

How Henry Ford Beat His Recession - and You Can Too!

Untold millions of people lost every penny they had during the Great Depression.

Even most business and industrial leaders took a beating.

But -

Henry Ford passed through it unscathed. In fact his business even GREW.

What was his secret?

Well, it's no "secret" at all - in fact it's something we all know but usually don't follow through with.

It's the idea of giving our customers the best service possible, no matter what.

You probably think service means customer service, and if you do, you're wrong. There is SO MUCH more to it than that.

Here are a few key points of what creates good service, in Ford's view (besides what we already know as 'customer service'):

1. Delivering the best product possible at the lowest price.

2. Having easy and cheap access to service so that no one is ever broken down.

3. Avoiding selling to people who are not the ideal fit for the product.

It's that third point that most of us are guilty of.

Unfortunately few salespeople have any control over what kind of service our company gives (if you're a small business owner that's a different story).

But we do have TOTAL control over who we choose to sell to.

I remember years ago when I'd try to sell to anyone who would meet with me or even take my call, I'd have these huge sales months when I was doing nothing but picking up signed contracts & checks and it was so exhilarating to be so busy!

But then the following month I'd be buried up to my eyeballs in customer service issues.

Why?

Because I'd sold to people who were not a 100% ideal fit for my product, and it came to show when they realized they'd been "sold" and didn't really "buy."

After I'd started selling to people who WERE 100% perfect fits for my product, something changed.

All the endless customer service nonsense went away and people were a lot happier.

It's not that problems didn't happen - there were always billing issues and things like that with the company I worked for - but the customers were a lot more understanding and would just go and call the 800 number instead of screaming at me about it.

The best part is that those people not only resulted in plenty of repeat business, but also in a seemingly never-ending flood of referrals!

And there you have Ford's little depression-busting "secret."

Now that we're still in a recession, it's more important than ever to only sell to people who are really going to need and appreciate what you're offering.

Besides, if you ask me, that's the only ethical way to sell anyway.

Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the New York Times best-seller Never Cold Call Again and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast Company’s top 30 most influential people online. To learn more, and to download a free 37-page preview of his Never Cold Call Again lead-generation system, visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com

Sales Lessons Learned from Starbucks

Since it's still pretty early in the month, I want to let you know about a powerful sales tip I picked up at Starbucks, of all places.

About a year ago an incredible new coffee shop opened up nearby, and before that, my only exposure to "gourmet" coffee was Starbucks.

I was blown away when I finally tasted the real thing, instead of the mass-produced stuff cranked out by a chain. It's like tasting a $60 steak at a high-end steakhouse after eating McDonald's all your life.

Even when I visited Seattle recently I couldn't find anything as good.

But, one thing about experiencing truly gourmet coffee really threw me:

At Starbucks we've all seen the people who hold up the line ordering "non-fat this, double-this, soy that, blah blah blah." But at the real gourmet shop, you never see that. Ever. People simply order off the menu.

Why?

Because they won't tolerate any of that crap. They're not going to bastardize their superb beverages just because of someone's silly whims.

Those people can take their business elsewhere, and they do.

It reminds me of when I sold large business telephone systems many years ago. Now and then a prospective customer would sign the contract but cross out and modify some of the terms & conditions printed on the back. (Law firms were especially guilty of this.)

As a rookie I'd take it back to the manager and go back & forth trying to get it approved so I could get the sale.

After some experience I stopped doing that and told those customers to take a hike.

Why?

Because all the time I'd waste trying to close that one sale was costing me at least 1 or 2 others, from people who were easier to deal with!

Now ask yourself: How much time do YOU waste chasing after prospects who take so long to close that you could bang out a few other sales instead if you walked away?

I'm willing to bet it's a huge amount.

And think about the customer service headaches and nightmares those high-maintenance customers cause after the sale, causing you to lose even more time and more sales down the road.

I once read in a sales book about having a "velvet rope policy" for acquiring new customers. Like an exclusive nightclub, you should realize that you have value to offer, and as a result, only sell your products or services to customers who DESERVE to receive that value!

It's a scary thought at first - walking away from potential sales to find better customers - but in the long run, when you only deal with people who you want to deal with, your sales numbers go up exponentially. You don't waste nearly as much time closing them, or dealing with their customer service nightmares, and you'll find that nice friendly customers will be a HUGE source of referrals. (Forget about getting any from high-maintenance customers.)

So when you're ready to take your sales to the next level, realize that YOU are the one with tremendous value to offer, and think about whether you really want the stereotypical high-maintenance Starbucks customer as one of your own!

To your success,

Frank Rumbauskas
www.nevercoldcall.com 

Cold Calling: A Form of Compulsive Gambling

I was doing a bit of thinking about the bad old days when I was still brainwashed to believe that cold calling would eventually work.

I'd go out all day long, or if the weather was bad I'd sit at the phone all day long, making cold call after cold call after cold call.

Regardless of whether or not I got any appointments, or whether those appointments were even qualified leads in the first place, I always had a strong feeling of accomplishment, and was convinced that I was getting closer and closer to that "tipping point" where I'd laid so much groundwork that the big killing would come in soon.

At the time, I was living in Las Vegas, and an old friend from high school came to visit. And boy did he LOVE to gamble!

I personally don't like to gamble myself - if I lose even $10 in a slot machine, I'll be annoyed for a week that I threw it away with nothing to show for it. I'd rather spend the $10 on a good sandwich and at least get my money's worth!

In any case, even though I don't gamble, I tagged along with him to the casino. And what I saw astonished me.

He'd sit down at the machine and pull a stack of $100 bills out of his pocket. I sat there in disbelief as he fed $100 after $100 bill into the machine, waiting for it to "hit."

He explained that if you play the slots, you have to keep "feeding" the machine until you tip the odds in your favor, and eventualy it will hit.

And yes, it did hit sometimes. The first night I watched him win $3,000 after putting about $800 into the machine.

But gambling being what it is, you can't count on that happening every time. For the rest of his 5-day visit I watched this same spectacle unfold before my eyes. Feeding the machine with loads of cash, waiting for it to "hit."

Sometimes it hit, sometimes it didn't. Like I said, it's not a reliable way to make money, and at the end of the week he went home poorer than when he'd arrived.

Why Cold Calling = Gambling

When I was a cold caller myself, I bought into the same myth that it was a "numbers game" and that if I simply cold called enough people, I'd eventually "hit it."

And I did sometimes.

And so do other salespeople. That's why they're like compulsive gamblers: When they get a "hit," they get fired up to go back to massive amounts of cold calling, looking for that next big "hit."

But like my friend who learned a hard lesson in Las Vegas, I didn't "hit" often enough to make my numbers, to keep the bills paid reliably, and to live as comfortably as I'd wanted to live. (And guess what - most salespeople tell me the same thing. That's why they signed up for my newsletter or bought my course in the first place.)

As to freedom, there was none, not when you're shackled to making hundreds of cold calls each week just to survive. Even if you happen to have a good month now and then, it's with that nagging feeling that you have to go back and do it all over again next month just to survive!

So if you're still cold calling, it's time to stop. Realize that each time you get a rush from making a sale by cold calling, you're experiencing the same chemical reaction in your brain that gamblers experience when they happen to win.

But we all know what happens to gamblers in the end: At the end of the day, they lose. Big time. Don't be like that. Find new and better ways of sales prospecting - methods that actually work in today's Information Age economy without annoying and infuriating people - and you'll start to experience real sales success!

Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the New York Times best-seller Never Cold Call Again and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast Company’s top 30 most influential people online. To learn more, and to download a free 37-page preview of his Never Cold Call Again lead-generation system, visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com