1 Million Pages

There are many ways to answer this question and I don’t claim to be the final authority on that subject. However, after helping thousands of students to create more amazing results than they even believed was possible, here’s the answer I’ve come up with. And it’s a simple answer, because I’ve found (and I’m sure you have, too) that the simplest answers usually lead to the best results.

Here is what I have shown to thousands of people in my seminars, and I call it The Scales of Success. Picture a balance, like the scales of Justice you’ve seen in a courtroom – an instrument for determining weight that has a fulcrum at the center, from each end of which is suspended a plate.

Now, on one plate, I want you to imagine that we have something called Your Why-To’s. These are your internal motives or Reasons Why to do something.

On the other plate, we have Your Why-Not-To’s. These are your internal Reasons Why Not to do something.

Let me give you an example from your own life. Why are you reading this book right now? The answer to that question is actually very simple. The reason you are still reading this book right now is because you perceive that there are more Why-To’s of doing so than Why-Not-To’s of doing so in your life right now.

What does that mean, exactly? It means that you perceive that there are more Benefits of reading this book (another word for Why-To’s is Benefit) than Costs of reading this book (another word for Why-Not-To’s is Cost).
Your mind is like an infinite weighing machine – every moment, your mind is weighing your perceived Benefits against your perceived Cost of doing any behavior or activity you can think of.

Can you also see that every decision we make as human beings is built upon our Why-To’s and Why-Not-To’s?

• Where you live
• What you wear
• What you eat (and how often you eat it)
• What kind of car you drive
• What you do for work
• Who you decide to marry – or not marry!
• What you had for breakfast this morning…

All of these were determined by your Why-To’s and Why-Not-To’s. In fact, every decision you’ve ever made in your life was based on your internal Why-To’s and Why-Not-To’s: your reasons why you thought you should do the thing vs. the reasons not to do that thing.

People are born salesperson’s, it is an inborn trait of every human. When a baby is wet or hungry it cries and its caregiver responds to fill its need. Even though the principles of sales is as natural as breathing, there are those who develop the dynamics of sales into a true form of art. They realize everything in life, no matter how unimportant it may seem, is still governed by its ability to fill a need. They can see there are some things that create high desire while others are of little significant in value.

Throughout the world, all people have two things in common. First, everyone has something to sell. It might a product, idea, service or themselves but in the end something has to be sold. Secondly people all have desires and needs that must be filled. Each person’s desire or need is driven by the importance they have placed on it. Conditioning can be an influencing factor in elevating people’s desire for something. The media plays a big part in influencing people’s desires. It is desire which becomes the driving force for action. When desire overcomes resistance, action becomes the principle objective. It is the people who are most open to the stimulation of the media that become opportunities for salespeople.

Optimistic salespeople who fly from place to place on business look upon the cities they fly over as gold mines. They look out the window of the airplane and in their mind they see a landscape rich with prospective customers. They can’t wait to get on the ground to fill all the needs there. In everything they do they see opportunity in filling the needs of people. When they call on someone, there can only be success because no matter the outcome, they have learned from the call plus they had an individual association experience. They are given the opportunity to generate desire and become the deliverer at the same time. Connecting with people is a quality worth mastering for each connection is a treasured experience.

First off sales people must learn to sell themselves. They must learn how to engage the prospect and uncover their need so it can be filled. Sales people must learn how to spread the word and let people know about their product or service. They must be able to convey to the prospect the value in the product or service they offer. Many salespeople simply fill the prospect’s head with noise and sound, but never seem to deliver the message and pierce their thoughts It is also necessary for the salesperson to maintain a favorable image in the community because image has a powerful influence and measurable financial value that reflects directly on the salesperson as well as their product or service. Good public relations is always an important position that can only be gained by honest forthright behavior.

As individuals, sales people are an important part of their community because they fulfiller’s of dreams and needs. It is an observant salesperson who spots and understands the dreams of others. Always keep in mind; if people like you they will not only buy from you but they will tell their family and friends about you, because you have built a trust with them. When you get right down to it, there are three points that cover the whole idea of personal relationships.

Number one - People need to feel important. Let them know they are important – to you.
Number two - People need to feel appreciated. Let them know they are appreciated – by you.
Number three -People need to feel liked. Let them know they are liked. – by you.

One of the best ways to make a person feel important is to make him/her important. Be sincere in your relationships. I’m sure you’ve heard before that one of the most important words in the language is “you” the next is “we” and “I” is weakest of all. Practice it, drill it into your head and above all, mean it. The reasoning is, the words “you” and “we” imply there is a duality in the relationship while “I” implies being set apart, singular and separate.

People also want to be appreciated. They like it when they are recognized for who they are, their intelligence, their taste or their actions. I know handling complaints can be trying, but you should embrace each compliant as your own and handle it with the deepest respect and grace. Just remember, people connect you with the product, if they are dissatisfied with the product they could also become dissatisfied with you.

People also enjoy the friendliness of being with other people who like them. It is a desire of most everyone to be liked. When speaking to another person, inquire about them. Ask how they are, in all sincerity. People love to talk about themselves and the more they open up, the more trust they are placing in you. It’s amazing what you will learn if you just make a point to listen. Convey to the people around you that their relationship with you is treasured and is worth continuing. Make them feel comfortable when you are around because they are wanted.

Getting maximum respect and friendship from others can only be accomplished by “you” and “we” because “I” is often a stop sign. “I” puts you first, giving them a feeling of less importance and that you are separated from them. They will not feel a connection to you and therefore will have no reason to continue their association with you. Connect, connect, connect, I can’t say it enough. When you connect with someone, they will keep coming back, time and time again, and they will bring their friends with them. They can’t wait for their friends to be your friends. Be sincere when you pursue people that their friendship is more important than their business with you. When people think of you as a friend, they will come to you, not your business. Coming to you to fill their dreams and solve their needs will be automatic because it is a side effect of your association.

Straying away from traditional funeral arrangements one can go for a much more meaningful arrangement by having something specially designed for the recently departed. For instance your loved one passes away and was an avid bowler you can have a bowling pin and bowling bowl display made of flowers and displayed on an easel. Or maybe your loved one was very found of baseball your floral arrangement can be made in the shape of a baseball bat and baseball. These would be designed to look much like the ways the cross looks that are designed of flowers and displayed on an easel.

There are many ways to put your personal touch into the arrangement and to have a funeral arrangement stand out and show how well you know someone and how much you loved them. You can show respect to the deceased by taking a very important part of there lives and turning it into a floral arrangement tribute to them.

If your loved one was an avid outdoorsman you can have tree branch, sprigs or some type of greenery added to the display to commemorate their love of the outdoors. The possibilities are limitless and your florist will be able to guide you into designing a custom floral arrangement for your loved one.

Growing more popular are the “initial” displays where one will take the first letter of ones first or last name and have it made into a floral arrangement and displayed on an easel next to the casket. These “initial” displays cost roughly between $50.00 and $75.00 dollars.

More and more custom designed floral arrangements are being more popular. As florist can design just about anything including doves, Celtic crosses, sports logos, displays for hobbies, and musical instruments to name a few. A florist can even make a banner with a name on it in flowers and display it on an easel too. This name can be anything from their first name, a nick name, or even to simply say, brother, sister, father, mother or grandmother.

If you would rather not go with something like the above described arrangement but still want to have something custom made. Discuss with your florist the types of flowers you want in your arrangements ask your florist also about the meanings to certain flowers as you may want to make a selection for your custom design based on the meanings of the flowers. It could be that you want a special color to make up your arrangement maybe the favorite color of your loved one. Or you would like certain flowers in a combination of colors. Your florist is the best to assist you in building the perfect arrangement with all the special meaning you wish to carry off in your arrangement.

Choosing exactly what you want for your funeral arrangement can be a difficult task and your florist is there to help you make these choices and find you the perfect arrangement that fits your budget. Custom and Personalized arrangements can tend to be slightly more costly.

Salespeople have always found marketing to be expensive and difficult. Finding, contacting, and acquiring the opportunity to sell prospects has always been the most difficult task salespeople face. More salespeople failed in the 20’s because of an inability to find enough prospects to sell than for all reasons combined. Same in the 30’s, and the 60’s, and the 90’s, and every decade in-between. Of course, the idea that finding prospects and marketing to them is difficult isn’t new.

Nevertheless, the sales environment is fundamentally different today than in the past. For most salespeople, the world has moved beyond them; however, they have yet to recognize it. They’re still living in the past, in a world where prospects and clients needed salespeople. Today, many, if not the majority of prospects, will do almost anything to avoid a salesperson.

There was a time, not too long ago, in fact, when prospects and clients looked to salespeople for advice and guidance. Prospects knew they needed information. They knew they needed help in finding and evaluating alternatives and solutions to problems and issues.

For a great number of prospects, both individual and business, that need for information and guidance is gone-at least they no longer believe they need the information and guidance from salespeople. These individuals and businesses have passed over the divide from those who feel a need to rely on a salesperson for guidance, to those who believe they can make better choices without a salesperson involved in their decisions. Moreover, the numbers who are moving over to the do-it-yourself side of purchasing are growing larger everyday.

With the proliferation of the internet; the avalanche of books, magazines, and white papers addressing every conceivable subject; cable TV with programming covering everything from personal finances, to virtually every business subject one can think of, to the most intimate personal, family, and social subjects, a huge number of prospects believe they already have the information they need to make decisions. Now, all they need is someone who will provide the cheapest price for the product or service the prospect has determined will solve their problem or meet their need.

The sales environment is undergoing a swift and dramatic change. Over the past decade, prospects have become more aware of the bombardment of marketing they face everywhere they turn. Their mail is dominated by direct mail offers. Almost every internet site they visit is flooded with marketing and advertising. Newspapers and magazines are more than 50% advertising. Radio and TV are, of course, marketing driven. Everywhere one looks is marketing: billboards; the side of the car next to you may well have a magnetic sign marketing something; the license plate frame on the car in front you advertises the dealership the car was bought from; the pen in your pocket may well have some company’s logo; and the horde of cheap signs on the street corner advertising shops going out of business, cheap internet, cheap insurance, cheap everything.

Then, of course, the cold calls. Cold calls for investments, insurance, internet connections, phone service, you name it. Cold calls at work. Cold calls at home. How many do you get everyday, including weekends? 5? 10? More?

Of course, we’re not done. Spam. How many spam messages do you get? How many lotteries have you won this week alone? How many dead princes, long lost relatives, and just plain old Good Samaritans died and their representatives have contacted you this week to claim you inheritance, or someone wants you to help them sneak ill-gotten funds out of some third world country? How many lonely hearts have you heard from this week wanting to become “friends?” How many offers for discount software, discount drugs, or incredible stock tips have you received this week? How many legitimate businesses have stuffed your e-mail box with junk that you didn’t request and didn’t want? I will typically get about 1,500 pieces of spam every week–over two hundred a day. Everyday.

And what do all of these things have in common? Well, besides being unwanted, all of the businesses pushing products or services claim to be the best. They all claim to have the best price or the give the most value. They all claim to be the answer to your prayers. They all claim to have the best customer service.

They all have the same message, which means none have any message. Every direct mail piece is virtually the same, only with different pictures. Every salesperson sounds exactly like all the other salespeople. Every ad is just like the others. None can be heard over the din of the racket made by all this marketing.

Is it any wonder people hate marketing? Is it any wonder people will go to great lengths to avoid salespeople? Is it any wonder that marketing and sales as it has been practiced in the past is dying?

Why are these millions of personal and business consumers convinced they no longer need you? They believe they no longer need you because they are getting their information from “objective” experts, not from biased, commission-oriented salespeople. They are making their own decisions without need for you because they have read an article or book, or heard a report by an unbiased expert who gave them “objective” information that they will act upon. Rather than relying on the slanted and obviously prejudiced information a salesperson gives, they turn to the experts who they believe don’t have a dog in the fight.

Prospects don’t want to be sold, despite what some salespeople and even sales trainers think. They want to be educated. They want real information as a basis for making their own decisions. They don’t want marketing; they want knowledge. They don’t want sales brochures; they want reporting and facts. They want to be dealt with as educated people capable of making their own decisions based on reliable information. And whether they are right or not, they don’t believe salespeople will provide that information. Instead, they rely on recognized experts.

Moreover, companies are reinforcing this belief by rushing to provide these prospects with the means to make their do-it-yourself purchases at the lowest possible price. There are companies in almost any industry you can think of that are catering to this growing mass of consumers. There are thousands of these companies, and the list is growing daily. Some companies even try to have it both ways by maintaining a traditional sales force while undermining their sales team by at the same time trying to lure prospects by providing a do-it-yourself internet site or 800 number where the prospect can purchase without having to speak with a salesperson.

Companies such as LegalZoom.com turn many legal document issues into a cheap, fill in the blank exercise. Esurance, AIG, Geico, Progressive, and many others encourage consumers to eliminate the insurance agent for auto insurance, and others for home, health, life, and even business insurance-after all, it’s just insurance and who needs an agent to make the purchase more expensive? Mortgages, investments, real estate transactions, and hundreds of other products and services also have their version of the do-it-yourself product and service provider.

In reality, this change has just started. It will continue to grow month by month, year by year. And, unfortunately, this isn’t simply a change in the way salespeople need to market. This is a fundamental change in the way people buy. This is a change in what sales is. This is the eventual death as sales as we know it for most consumers and most industries.

Does this mean the death of the salesperson? Yes, as we currently know salespeople. There will still be salespeople. Most will be nothing but order takers, customer service reps with the title of salesperson. It will still take years to come to full fruition. However, it is well on its way. The only conversation most “salespeople” will have in the future will be a variation of “Do you have it in red?” “Great. What’s your price?”

Yet, the very nature of this change is offering a select few salespeople the opportunity to make more money than ever before. This change in the way people view marketing and their desire to make their own decisions based on knowledge and information give salespeople who grasp the opportunity the ability to become a dominate force in their local markets.

There will always be a segment of the market that understands they need guidance by experienced, skilled salespeople. No matter how dominate the do-it-yourself mentality becomes; there will always be those who want to work with experts. In addition, many who will be tempted to go the do-it-yourself way will gladly opt to work with someone they perceive as a genuine expert.

We are in the process of changing from a sales environment to an expert environment. Salespeople are becoming dinosaurs, relics of a bygone era. But just as dinosaurs were replaced with mammals, salespeople will be replaced with experts-publicly recognized forces in their industry within their local area.

What is an expert and how do you become one? How do you not only survive in this changing environment but also become a dominate force?

We must first understand what an expert is. An expert isn’t the most technically capable in their field. An expert isn’t necessarily the most technically capable financial planner, insurance agent, networking engineer, IT consultant, telephony consultant, or Realtor. Of course, to become an expert one must be a competent technician, but one doesn’t have to be the best in the business. Experts are not the “best” in their industry. That is a myth. Thousands of the top technicians wash out of business every year because although they may be among the best technically, they have on one to sell to.

An expert is by necessity a good, but not necessarily great, technician; but that isn’t what makes them an expert. An expert is an expert because they are perceived to be an expert by their target audience. They have the image and reputation of an expert.

If you want to become a top producer in the new expert environment, you must develop a public reputation as an expert. You must develop a local reputation as powerful as the experts writing the articles, giving the interviews, and being quoted in the news media.

Developing that image and reputation doesn’t happen by accident. Those who are recognized as experts work very hard at creating their image and their reputation not by using the traditional marketing techniques and strategies used by the majority of salespeople, but by using the tools and strategies that create a public image and then supplementing that image and reputation with well thought-out marketing. Marketing is still present; it is simply an adjunct to the salesperson’s lead generation, not the focus.

Creating a pubic reputation takes time and effort to learn how to use the tools, then to create and implement a plan. It certainly doesn’t happen overnight, nor is it simply using a couple of strategies. Creating a public image and reputation requires the use of a number of media and tools in combination, each reinforcing and branching off from the others.

Although it isn’t necessary to use every possible reputation-building tool, an expert reputation requires the use of such things as press releases, blogs, writing educational articles and books, becoming an expert source for media and freelance writers, educational websites, public speaking, developing strong referrals from clients and customers, and creating alliances and partnerships with other experts. Of course, there are other methods and strategies available.

Creating a public reputation as an expert is moving from a marketing mindset to an educational and publicity mindset. It captures the power of education and combines it with a message of unique status and stature within the salesperson’s field. It converts selling to education and eventually brings it back to selling.

If you want to thrive in the new expert environment, learning how to convert your business from being a salesperson to being a recognized expert is mandatory. Whether you are relatively new to sales or an old pro now is the time to begin to seriously work on moving your business to a recognized expert platform. The change in how people buy is well on its way and grows daily. Yet, the future is brighter than ever for those willing to invest their time, money and energy in learning the new realities of selling.

Master the foundation for cold calling success

Sometimes the finest solutions are the simplest. Focusing on relationships when making cold calls is one of them. It keeps us genuine, and eliminates our dread of making cold calls. We’re real people talking about real things. We’re interested in the conversation, and it shows.

Most of us dislike putting on our “salesperson persona” when we make cold calls. We think it’s needed, however, because we’ve been trained to make the sale. And yet we’re interacting with a live, breathing person without having any real connection to him or her. It often feels fake, and it often is.

This artificial role puts a great stress on us, and sabotages our cold calling conversations. When we aren’t genuine, it’s a red flag to the other person that we have a sales agenda. This puts nearly everyone “on guard.” They’ve never met us and are wary of possibly being manipulated.

Have you ever noticed that most cold calls break down the moment we try to “move” things along towards a sale? It’s as if we’re getting ready for battle, and the tension pushes us along.

But the person we’ve called doesn’t know us. The momentum we’re trying to impose puts him or her in a defensive position. They’re protecting themselves from a potential “intruder” who might have a self-serving agenda.

So how can we to shift into something more positive? We begin by focusing on the relationship rather than salesmanship. We call with the anticipation of meeting someone new, and looking forward to a pleasant conversation to find out whether we can be of service. This mindset is subtle but powerfully felt by the other person.

Building relationships humanize our cold calling conversations — and ourselves. We are less artificial. Cold calling conversations become more natural. And people tend to respond with more warmth and interest.

The point is not to use the “technique of building relationship” to improve sales. That’s having a hidden agenda rather than a relationship. Our goal is to see if we can provide something that will benefit the other person. If it doesn’t, then we prefer not to continue interrupting their day. That’s a real relationship, even if brief.

When we’re being real people treating others as real people, the difference is amazing. Both people are both more at ease. We anticipate talking with someone who may possibly have an interest in what we have to offer. And if they don’t, we’ve enjoyed our time with him or her.

When others feel this relaxed mindset from you, they are much more likely to welcome you into their day. But if you rigidly follow a script or launch into a mini-presentation, then your call is immediately pegged as something initiated primarily for your own gain. And that puts most people into resistance.

Here are 8 keys to building relationships in cold calling:

1. Focus on the other person’s needs rather than on securing a sale

2. Surrender to the outcome of your cold call so you can connect with your potential client at a human level

3. View the human connection as an exciting journey in which you encounter new and interesting people

4. Speak graciously and naturally as you would with any new acquaintance

5. Remember it’s about how you come across, not about how many people you call

6. Allow the conversation to evolve naturally

7. Invite both of you to decide together whether it’s worth your time to pursue the conversation further

8. Use phrases that are non-aggressive yet very effective

So try this. Practice shifting your mental focus from salesmanship into a place of relationship. You’ll find that your genuine enjoyment of the conversation rubs off on the other person. They’ll be less defensive and more likely to share with you truthfully.

One of the best ways to build relationship is by using phrases that carry the human element very well. Start out by asking, “Hi, could you help me out for a minute?” The most common response will be, “Sure. What do you need?”

Your next question might be to ask whether they are open to the idea of looking at different ways to, for example, reduce their expenses. Most of the time the reply will be something like, “Well, sure, what kinds of expenses are you talking about?”

Now you are able to open the conversation between the two of you and build an initial relationship. It’s easy and comfortable to continue from there.

When you do this, you’ll experience so much success and satisfaction that it will really change the way you do business. And it will bring sales success beyond your imagination.