Bob Poole's Water Cooler Hangout

Self-Employed and Afraid of Selling

Lots of people have made the decision to become self-employed. Some even decided it themselves without an ex-employer helping. I have the opportunity to talk with people in this group everyday about their challenges and the number one seems to be selling. By selling, I mean fear of selling, don't know how to sell, and wish they didn't have to sell.

As a group they are extremely bright, educated, and talented. Many of them awe me with their abilities and passion. However, almost all of them tell me they need help in selling. Some say they need marketing help but they can get a lot of marketing help from these days without looking too far. So even those people are usually referring to sales.

Why is it so hard for them? Selling means actually asking for money because unless you're bartering poultry or beans you're going to need money to stay in business. And, asking strangers for money is fearful and often starts a process in our head which in turn causes some or all of the following.

• Our mouths freeze up while weird sounds emanate from our throat
• We begin babbling and talking incessantly about ourselves and our products and what we can do for the customer.
• We wonder what ever possessed to think that our services or products are worth that kind of money.
• If the customer questions the price, we blurt out "I can make you a better offer."
• We have no idea what to say when someone says, "I'll get back to you and let you know after I discuss it with my spouse, accountant or Reiki master.

Here are five-steps that if you follow should help you increase your number of sales with much less stress. In fact, you might even start enjoying the process.

1. Connect - it starts with the relationship. People buy from people. And, they more they trust and like you the more likely is that they will do business with you. If you don't take the time to establish the trust and for them to genuinely like you, then you are already at Failure Level Three with Level Five being "Forgedaboudit"
2. Focus - You want to focus on what is important to your customer. And, guess what, it isn't you, your company, your products, services, or the size of your office. It's not about you. It's about the customer. Put your focus on them and what they need and want. What problems do they have that need solved? What's keeping them awake at night? What value and meaning can you provide? And, guess what? It might not be what you're selling. Maybe what they need is to be connected to someone who can solve their problem. Maybe that isn't you - this time. But, if you focus on them and not on yourself then you will find yourself making just the right recommendations. Now the trust level really goes up and you're not a vendor. You've just become a trusted adviser.
3. Ask - This may seem like common sense but it isn't that common. By ask I mean you will want to ask questions that will elicit the type of information you need in order to provide the kind of value and meaning for the client. These are almost always open-ended questions that begin with who, what, when, where, how, and why. Pretend you're a journalist and you're searching for answers.
4. Listen - Goes hand in hand with asking but you must really listen with your entire being. Don't listen with one ear while your brain is thinking about how you can sell something. Listen and ask more questions. You should be listening at least 80% of the time which is about 100% different from what most of you usually do.
5. Reassure - Even when someone trusts you and believes that the solution you've recommended adds value or solves their problem they almost always need a little reassurance that they are doing the right thing. This is where you need to be a storyteller. And, if you're a good teller of stories you will seldom have to worry about the dreaded "Let me check with...and I'll get back to you." Tell them a story about someone just like them who had the same need or problem to solve. Tell them how you solved it or how it was solved. Reassure them you will make sure they get what they need and want. Guarantee it. Hold their hand. Take care of the details for them. Ask them if you can do business together. And, make sure you do the next step.
6. Follow-up - I wrote yesterday about having the courage to handle the truth. You must follow-up and ask if the customer did indeed get what they paid for. In fact, you want them to feel like they got more than what they paid for because then they will buy again from you. And, they will be willing to tell others about you and help you build your business. They will become part of your sales force.

I could write a book about all of this - actually I did. And, I often spend 3-5 intensive days with people who want to become more proficient in selling. But, I think if you take the time focus on these six-steps you'll find the process easier and more profitable.

And, as always, feel free to ask questions in the comments or in a direct email to me at bob@bobpoole.com.

Thank you and talk with you soon!

You Can't Handle the Truth!

If you saw the film, A Few Good Men back in the early nineties you'll definitely remember Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessep saying those words to Lt. JG Daniel Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise. It was the turning point in the movie.

How about you? 

• When is the last time you asked your clients to tell you - no holds barred - how they really feel about  your products and services?
• When you screw up an order how often do you personally ask the customer what you can do to make them happy?
• How often do you hide behind voice and email instead of talking directly to your customers?
• How often do you ask your boss how you're doing and I'm not talking about the almost totally useless annual reviews?
• When is the last time you asked your employees what they'd do differently to make the company better if they were in your shoes?
• How many days, weeks, and months go by without you listening - really listening - to the people who care about you and your company?
  

Do you have the courage to handle the truth?

Becoming a Master In Your Business

Golf is a difficult game to master. Many professional athletes in other sports will tell you that it is number one in difficulty to master.

Creating a beautiful painting, extraordinary photo, or a digital video that makes moves people to cry or laugh or feel is also a province of the masters.

How do you then master these things – assuming you want to?

1. You get the best coach or teacher you can afford.
2. You watch and listen to the masters – your role models.
3. In golf you play with players who are better than you and you learn from them
4. Creating beautiful images means spending a lot of time in museums listening to what the artist is saying.
5. You learn what the masters do that nobody else is willing to do.
6. Then you practice, practice, and practice.

What makes you think that if you want to be the best and create an extraordinary business (or an extraordinary life) that you can do it without following these same rules? What makes you think you can create a website, read the latest on social marketing and some other business books and then call yourself an expert – a master? What makes you think you can be successful when you focus on yourself, how much money you can make, as you feed your ego?

The masters will teach you that by focusing on creating value for others you will be on the path toward mastery – a path with heart.

If you want to be a master then find someone who is already a master – someone who has walked the walk and just doesn’t talk the talk. And, then beg them to teach you. Listen to them with your heart and not just your ears.

Then practice what you’ve been taught and what you’ve observed. What is it that you will do that nobody else will do?

Do these things and one day you will indeed become a master.

Now it will be your turn to help others who want to follow your path with a heart.

Is Reading Still Fundamental?

A couple of times in the last year I read that there is more good writing available to us to now than at any other time in history. Some curmudgeonly types will no doubt say there is also more bad writing too. This plethora of new writing (both fiction and non-fiction) is in great part due to the fact that all of us are now publishers or can be. Writing a blog, posting an article on a website, publishing a book or an Ebook is so common now we take it for granted.

Do you see kids reading these days or are they all into computer games? When I visit friends with school age kids and teens, I don't see a lot of books. When I get a chance to strike up a conversation with them, I usually get around to asking if they like to read. The most common answer is they don’t and they only read what they have to for school.

Is that as frustrating for you as it is for me? Why aren't kids reading today? When I was 4 years old my mother took me to the local Carnegie Library and showed me the child section. The library was good sized and a real asset for our small community. We even had a dedicated child librarian. I visited that library weekly until I moved away at age 18. My mom made sure I grew up with a love of books and reading. I have four siblings and every one of us still reads constantly.

I remember reading what seemed like every biography in the library about scientists who made major breakthroughs, athletes who overcame adversity to set world records, and heroes of all types. I was inspired by the stories of their lives.

Who is inspiring your kids today? Miley, Ben, or the latest misogynistic rapper?

Books (whether they are paper or digital) hold the key to a rich and fulfilling life. We would do the world a favor if we took the time to not only promote literacy but to also see that our children and their children have access to all the books they can devour. Do they still have summer reading clubs for school age kids? Many cities, including my adopted city of Philadelphia, threaten to close or curtail library hours when budgets get tight. What's that say to kids about the value we place on reading?

It starts at home. It starts one child at a time being taken to the library or local bookstore. The babies and toddlers I see seem to have lots of books. Something happens when they get into school. Instead of reading more they seem to become passive participants in life constantly looking for someone or something to stimulate them. Do our schools do this to them?

How about you? If you're reading this blog you probably read a lot. How did you keep your love of reading? Why didn't you lose it during your early school years? How can whatever it is that makes you love reading be duplicated and scaled? Maybe E-Readers are the answer. Maybe interactive video books will be. Maybe the game designers will find a profitable audience of interactive readers. Maybe.

What do you think? What's your answer?

Instant Web Site Review - An Ebook Audio Discussion

My friend, Jodi Kaplan, has a new Ebook that can help make your website do what you want it to do. The book is called:

Instant Web Site Review - The Easy Checklist Every Web Site Needs

Here is an audio interview with Jodi and I discussing the book and how it can benefit you. You can also learn more by Clicking Here.

Jodi Kaplan Instant Web Site Review

 

The Lizard Brain Can't Stop You - Unless You Let It

I know. Where have I been. Why have I cut back on the number of weekly posts. I've been getting asked that lately.

There is lots going on. That's not an excuse. Here's what is happening. By cutting back some here, I've been working to develop:

• A new website for all my stuff.
• A new blog to replace the one you are reading.
• A new book that I want to ship by year end.
• A new monthly newsletter that will be free and have regular contributors you'll love.
• Some new podcasts.
• And, some new videos.
• A new client where we are launching a brand new company.
• Listen First-Sell Later was chosen as a Book of the Month by a private company and they bought a copy for all 3,500 employees. (Actually, this part didn't take much of my time but I had to tell you.)

And, here I was always told you slow down when you hit your sixties. HA!

I'm having way too much fun to slow down now! Stick around for the next chapter.

And, here is a link to a short animated video from two good friends and co-conspirators. Martin Whitmore and Paul Durban are two of the most creative people I've ever had the pleasure of working with. They put together an animation to explain the Lizard Brain. It ties in with Seth Godin's book - Linchpin.

Click Here to Watch

Why should you watch? Because you might learn something about yourself that could change your life or how you live. Is that reason enough?

You might also get an idea for your own animated video in which case you need to contact Marty and Paul. Go to Blazonfire to see more when you're done.

Seth Godin and I Discuss The Role of the Story

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Seth Godin again today to discuss one of our favorite topics - The Role of the Story in Sales and Marketing. After we finished, I realized that stories and storytelling have a role in our entire lives. It is part of our DNA

I hope you enjoy our discussion and our story about stories. The podcast is about 30 minutes long.

Seth Godin on Storytelling

Time to Get Unglued

From what I understand people are mailing less and less letters using the postal service. Seems like email took care of that the way Craig's List took care of newspaper classified ads. And, if you live in Philadelphia, there is a chance you're going to get mail this week that could be a decade old - another reason why people have stopped using the post office.

Here's what I really don't understand. Since everyone (and I mean everyone) knows that the art of sending a paper letter is rapidly becoming obsolete, why do so many charities and non-profits continue to send return address labels as an incentive or thank you for a donation?

I decided to start keeping all the ones I get to see how they might add up. Here's a photo of a pile of them  on my office floor. By the way, that is Max who walks into the frame 99% of the time when he sees a camera. And, Toby the Cat thinks he is hiding in the upper corner since his head is covered.

These organizations send me these labels with a letter asking me to donate to their charity or cause. Many of them are environmental organizations which makes me wonder how they justify papering the country with more paper. I checked them out and these labels were made from paper that used to be a tree.

What exactly do you do with thousands of address labels? And, why are companies still selling labels when the non-profits in this country are willing to give you all you want for free?

Here's what I really think. I think the people that run these organizations send out millions of labels soliciting donations because that's what they've always done.

I understand that many non-profits are having a difficult time in raising funds the last few years. They blame the economy.

Maybe it's time to find a different way to engage with potential donors. Save the cost of your next label mailing and sit down with someone like Gail Bower who can help you understand that while you call us donors we're also your customers.

Know What You Don't Know

When I first started in sales working for someone other than myself, it was with 3M Company and I started out by selling copiers in an impoverished county in Western PA. Most of the industry in the county, which was comprised of steel making and all of the supporting companies, had shut down or were almost closed when I moved there. It was not considered to be a prime territory. Nobody wanted it or had worked it for a good while.

I was determined to work for a large company since I had just spent 7 years working for myself and I wanted to see how a Fortune 500 company operated. I didn't know what was the right way to do anything so I listened to my sales manager and did exactly what he said. I knew what I didn't know and I set a goal to learn all I could. And, then I could use my creativity.

My manager gave me a stack of D&B cards on all the local businesses and told me to start at 'A' and start setting appointments to tell them about our latest copier. One of the first persons I called was the president of a large local company that was involved in construction, strip mining, and few other things not all of which were necessarily kosher. His first name was Carmen.

When I told my manager I had an appointment and had actually talked to this man he started laughing and asked me to tell him how that phone call went. I told him I asked for Carmen and I got put through to him. Carmen didn't quite know the company I was with until I used 3M's full name of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing. Upon later review I think he thought I wanted to talk mining.

My manager and I both went on - this - my first appointment. About 15 minutes into the meeting, Carmen realized I wasn't talking mining and instead wanted to talk about selling them copiers. At that point he said I needed to really see Joe his office manager who made all those decisions. So, I did just as my manager had taught me and asked Carmen if he'd mind introducing me to Joe. Carmen laughed and said, "No, c'mon with me."

We went to Joe's office where Carmen said, "Joe, I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Bob Poole. He wants to sell us some copiers. Take good care of him." Joe bought a copier that day and several more for other locations over the next few months. He also referred me to other friends that did business with Carmen and they all bought copiers.

Over the next couple of years I broke all the sales records for the company. I made what was pretty good money and I won some great contests including my first trip to Las Vegas and another to the Winter Olympics.

Here's what I'd like you to take away from this story.

Sales creates a lot of cognitive dissonance for many people. For many it is so far outside their area of comfort that just the idea of selling leaves them cold and wanting to do anything else but sell. Often they turn to marketing ideas hoping they don't ever have to actually sell. They think (wrongly) that marketing will eliminate the need for sales.

I was successful at 3M because I first listened to someone who had experience and wanted me to succeed. Then after learning his way, I learned what I personally could and couldn't do. I couldn't use manipulation which lots of sales books still teach. They won't call it manipulation but they teach techniques which feel that way. And, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck - you get the idea.

I read books with titles like 101 Ways to Close the Sale and found it all a bunch of BS. Selling is like dating. Sometimes you hit it off right away and go on to have a wonderful relationship. Other times you know that no matter what you do it isn't going to work. Those two things happen about 10% of the time for each one. That means that most selling takes place in the big gray 80% area in the middle. Just like dating.

Many daters give up after having unsuccessful experiences. (If it weren't for the human sex drive I'm sure more would.) One of the primary reasons they give up is because of the fear of rejection. "If I never ask - they can't say no to me." It's the exact same fear that causes a lot of the bad gut reaction you have to selling.

When you don't know what you're doing and you want to be successful at that particular thing I suggest you find someone who has already been there and done it SUCCESSFULLY and then listen to them. Look for someone who can and will tell you exactly how to do it. If you're not selling as well as you'd like (or maybe you're actually starving and thinking of giving up and going back to work doing what you hate) then find a mentor, coach or author who will give you actual "How To" advice. You need to start with step one and work your way through a process.

And, here's the most important part for you to remember. If the process, the tactics, the system conflicts with your values - you will fail. You won't do it. Or, if you try, you'll end up so stressed you'll still fail and then you'll convince yourself selling is something you'll never do again.

So, if your gut says 'no' listen to it and find another teacher or book. And, don't hesitate to ask me for help. I want you to succeed.

Seth Godin's Road Trip

My friend, Seth Godin, has a 12-18 month road trip planned where he will put on half and full-day seminars around the country with the goal of changing your perspective on things like:

• creating work that matters
• spreading ideas
• interacting with people online
• approaching the digital world with generosity
• realizing that small things have more leverage than ever before

And, you will be surrounded by others on the same path who will inspire you to do even bigger things.

Here's an audio recording of Seth and I discussing it.

Secret Hint! Listen to learn how to get a code that will save you money if you want to attend.