Luck isn’t by chance.

If you believe that some people are just lucky, you’re accepting a victim’s mentality. 

That would mean you didn’t have a direct impact on the results you get.  Yet, that’s almost always the case.

Luck is when preparation and opportunity meet. 

• It’s that fifth quote that you finally converted into an order.
• It’s that friendly voice on the other side of the line after 40 blitz calls.
• It’s that one deal that you wrote off that came back to life.

We make our own momentum.   We start the ball rolling – “get it out, fix it, and get it out again.”

There are no Glenngary Glen Ross leads.

That’s good news!  Our preparation directly impacts our success.

As we prepare in anticipation of opportunities, a funny thing happens, we get better.   We go from efficient to effective and increase the velocity of our “luck.”

So, what three things do you need to focus on this week in order to get lucky?

1. Set up 4 referral meetings?
2. Thank 3 clients for their business?
3. Make 10 calls before lunch?

Write them down or put them in your calendar NOW!

Feelin’ lucky?

Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.

The image above is a bittersweet ode to Atlantic City, a vacation destination whose time has come and gone.  You may recognize The Tropicana Resort and Casino where I recently vacationed with my family.  If you look closely, you’ll see an attempt at a renaissance.  Yet not unlike so much of this town, it’s just a facade.  It’s a 2010 cover on a 1989 book.  “Lipstick on a pig” as someone once said.

And while some things should never change, others must in order to remain relevant.

In business, what should NOT change are a company’s core values and principles.   Yet, the strategy and tactics you use to reach your audience should be market-driven and relevant.

Simply put, your company’s message should always be “fresh.”

Freshening up a message means more than tossing out one or two new services.  Fresh means asking questions that stir the pot and make them consider something no one else did.

Test out that concept with me for a second by reading the following questions and noting where your mind goes.

1. Did you know that by 2014, X percent of all small business will send their employees to an exchange for medical insurance and the decision whether to do so should not be taken lightly?
2. Are you aware that more than 90% of network disasters do not occur from floods, fires, or earthquakes and that X out of 10 businesses who claim they have a disaster recovery plan have not tested their plan?  Did you know that of those that have tested their plan, X out of 10 can actually recover their data?
3. Did you know that X percent of employees under 35 years old find their information on the web?  Did you know that X percent of ad dollars have shifted from print to online?

Are you at all interested in knowing what X is?  Was your mind provoked to at least briefly consider something new? If so, then these questions were fresh.

Now the question is ARE YOU FRESH?

• Can you demonstrate that you’re aware of the top issues facing your client?
• What new information can you deliver that demonstrates you care and have done your homework?
• What data or statistics can you share that will help frame the client’s challenges in a new way?
• Are you able to roll those off your tongue with conviction?

To be different and create value for clients, you have to think differently.  Are you proactively seeking out answers to the questions above (e.g. signing up for  Google alerts)?

Are you REINVENTING yourself every day while staying true to your core values?

After all, whether it’s the boardwalk in Atlantic City or a stale sales message with new wrapper, your clients can also see past the facade.

Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.

The best salespeople…

simplify the complex.

Here are some real life examples of “sales speak” lines that are word-for-word out of the mouths of sellers:

“We leverage channel partners to integrate cross-platform solutions.”
“Our carrier rating allows us to tap into guaranteed underwriting across census sizes.”
“Our SFA cloud solution allows us to revolutionize legacy systems integration vs. resident CRM programs.”
“We’re a digital directory listing service.”
“Our Dynamic Digital Packaging gives you the design and programming scalability to apply Purls and QR Codes regardless of substrate medium.”

Do you see the problem?

We too often describe our offering in terms too complex for most buyers to understand.  And if they don’t understand you, they can’t relate to you.  And that means you’ll have trouble connecting which translates to fewer sales. 

Why do we as sellers add complexity? 

Let me offer three primary reasons:

1.  The Curse of Knowledge – In the New York Times Bestseller, “Made to Stick:  Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die,” the Heath brothers describe the archenemy of sticky ideas as the “curse of knowledge.”  Essentially, we use language based on our own familiarity with the subject matter.  We live in the world of IT solutions, group benefits, sales force automation, or [fill-in-the-blank] BUT your customers are hearing it for the FIRST TIME!

2.  Self-Orientation – We use big words, complex phrases, and other jargon because we think it makes us sound knowledgeable, important, or like an expert.

3. Lack of Client Focus – This is the flip side of self-orientation.  We haven’t thought through our narrative from the other person’s vantage point.  How familiar might they be with our language? 

So what’s the big deal?

You’re quite lucky if a prospect or client stops you to ask: “What do you mean by MBDR or Mirror Cloud?”  The reality is they will listen as if they are supposed to know but the subtext in their head sounds more like:

“He’s using words that mean nothing to me and make me feel dumb.”
“I don’t think she gets me or my firm.”“
“I don’t think he really cares about me and just cares about making a sale.”
“I can’t relate.”

What’s worse is that complex language and concepts are silent sales killers.  Most people nod and shake their head and will never tell you that you’re talking over their head because it’s too personal. 

It’s much easier to consciously or subconsciously migrate to a competitor, stay with the incumbent (if you’re not it), or make no decision at all.

Here are 5 ways you can simplify the complex and grow your business:

1.  Keep It Simple – Simple, the first principle described by the Heath brothers (click here to see the “Made to Stick” model) helps make your message connect and stay with others.  Herb Kelleher, founder and former CEO of Southwest, cut through all the corporate mumbo jumbo and presented a clear and concise directive to all of his employees:  Southwest will be THE low-fare airline.  What’s the core of your message?  Can you communicate it with an analogy or metaphor?

2.  Kill the Jargon – 50 cent words, internal acronyms, and brand names will keep you at arm’s length from developing a deeper relationship and quite often, they will turn prospects off and tune them out.  Use simple words and easy to understand phrases.  Often times, they’re trying to understand the underlying plan or program and using language they don’t understand creates unnecessary confusion.

3.  Use Analogies and Metaphors – Instead of describing your offering as a highly integrated vertical market platform, say “where Google may be like fishing in an ocean, this is more like fishing in a bathtub.”

4.  Less Is More – If you find yourself talking for more than two minutes at a time (sometimes less), you probably need to check-in and make sure they are with you.  Ask: “Is this making sense to you?”  OR “Are we on the same page on this?”  Use the same principle with emails, proposals, and presentations.  Albert Einstein said it best:  “Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler.”

5.  Focus on the Client – Take the time to put yourself in their shoes.  Do they know the acronyms, systems, products, brands, concepts you’re thinking of using?  How else might you describe it to someone who’s hearing it without any background?  The messaging should be very different, for example, for an IT Director versus a CPA.

The best salespeople make the complex simple.

Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.

Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.

Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.

Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.

In any profession that involves facing clients, delivering remarkable experiences, and increasing sales, there will always be obstacles standing in the way of winning.  That is not a question.

What can be disputed, however, is whether or not we can still control the outcome.  Whether or not we can affect not losing.

entreQuest argues that you can still win no matter what obstacles lay before you.  And one of the most accomplished athletes of all time did too.

Jesse Owens, the son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, achieved what no Olympian before him had accomplished.  His stunning achievement of four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin has made him the best remembered athlete in Olympic history. 
 
In Owens’ words:  “In the end, it’s extra effort that separates a winner from second place.  But winning takes a lot more than that, too.  It starts with complete command of the fundamentals.  Then it takes desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice.  And finally, it takes a great deal of love, fairness, and respect for your fellow man.  Put all these together, and even if you don’t win, how can you lose?”

The picture above says it all.

We all have our own mountains to climb.

If we have the desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice, and we do it with love, fairness, and respect, we can overcome any obstacle.

Put first things first.  Work your plan.  See results.

Jesse Owens said every contender in any race can win it.  eQ knows every client-facing professional in any business can win it. 

The only question now is will you?

Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.

“Sorry Jim, we really liked your proposal but the price was too high.”

“Sorry Ann, you guys were in the running but your competitor had this other feature that management really liked.”

Sound familiar?

Anyone who’s been in the sales arena has felt their bubble burst with statements similar to these.

It would be easy to take them at face value.

Don’t.

The cold hard truth is that people are human and it is human nature to generally avoid conflict. 

So when it comes to telling a provider bad news, buyers default to non-emotional, highly rational reasons.

Why?

Because it’s less personal, less confrontational, and less hurtful.

It’s easier to tell you that you lost because of something tangible and objective, like prices or features, than because you weren’t trustworthy.

According to trust expert and author Charles H. Green, trustworthiness (that being how others perceive our level of trust) is comprised of four components: credibility, reliability, intimacy, and self-orientation.

Now in the scenarios described above, any four of these components or combination thereof could be at issue.  But if we explore the area of trust we missed in their minds in terms of reliability, what it comes down to is that we simply weren’t dependable or predictable.

Think about the last deal you lost and consider the following questions.

1. Did you come to the table with your homework done?  (Or did you show up with little or no knowledge of what they do or who they serve?)
2. Did you have a point of view to engage the client?  (Or did you show up with no ideas about the areas they might need help in?)
3. Did you make and keep promises?  (Or did you just talk about what services your company provides?)
4. Did you check and double-check your work before presenting it to the client?  (Or did you scramble to get it in before a deadline?)
5. Is it possible that price or features weren’t the real reason you lost the deal?

Amongst the four components of trustworthiness, most people rate themselves highest on reliability.  They do this in part because it’s the easiest one to measure and the easiest one to do. 

Yet, let me suggest that many of us need to peel back another layer in reviewing our reliability to become more trustworthy and to win over more clients.

Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.

“People hate being sold to…”

Some of you may have heard this quote before and can complete the sentence.  Let’s come back to that.

Can you think of the last time someone tried to sell you something.  Maybe it was a time share.  Maybe it was a lawn service.  Maybe it was Aflac or Amway.

What was the feeling you got?  Pretty icky right.

People don’t just dislike being sold to, they hate it.

Buyers have what I call an “invisible wall of distrust” that was built from the mortar of false promises and with the bricks of cunning sleasters.

As sales professionals, we need to live on the other side of the spectrum.  So consider using a very simple four step process that we can rely on to incorporate principles of trust into our prospecting calls.

1.  Introduction Statement – Identifies yourself right off the bat.

2.  Connection Statement – Presents yourself not as a stranger by taking 3 minutes to see who they are and how you might be able to connect.

3.  Value Statement – Delivers the “What’s In It For Me” factor to them, which is not the “what” or the “how” of what we do but the “why,” giving it to them straight without any jargon or non-descript words.

4.  Ask – Shares your success story and leads to setting a mutually convenient time to meet.

We’ve said before that we only have 15 seconds to get to the point or we lose the prospect.  If we are clear, direct, and demonstrate the value of our offering, we will get to the next step more often.

So to finish the quote from Jeffrey Gitomer: “People hate to be sold to… but they love to buy!”
 
Let’s use this four step model to help facilitate the buying process.

Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.

As we work to improve our relationships with our prospects and clients, we should be striving to solidify our level of trust.  And an important component of building trust is reliability.  Reliability, in the realm of trustworthiness, is synonymous with predictability or dependability. 

It’s always better when we make and keep promises to others as the result of proactive measures WE’VE taken.  We’re in trouble when we get held accountable by the client or prospect.  If it gets that far, we’re in the danger zone.

Here are some ways that come to mind for incorporating reliability into our lives:

1.  Have systems to track tasks and activities (i.e., set up a task in your CRM program).

2.  Get clarity about who is doing what by when (i.e., define roles, responsibilities, and deadlines for each project).

3.  Set up regular “check-in” meetings to measure progress with a manager, a co-worker, or the entire team at a group meeting (remember we tend to get better results when we’re committed to others – think personal trainer).

4.  Utilize technology to set up reminders (i.e., make appointments with yourself to prepare and plan – don’t leave it to chance).

5.  Have an accountability partner (again, as with #3, outside support drives better results).

6.  Reverse engineer the process to avoid last minute scrambling by beginning with the end in mind and giving yourself plenty of time and margin of error (remember it always takes longer than we thought and we never do our best work when we’re scrambling).

7.  Alert the other party as soon as you discover the promised deadline will not be met and ask for more time (remember people don’t like surprises – be honest, you may get a break).

There are some virtues that you can tweak while on the job.  For instance, you don’t have to be completely honest if you’re having the worst day of your life and one of your clients starts out a conversation with “how you’re doing?”  You also deserve to take a break from diehard diligence at approrpriate times during the work week.  But trustworthiness is different.  We cannot waver in our integrity and we must invest ourselves fully into keeping it in tact.

As the old adage goes: “Trust is like a vase.  Once it’s broken, though you can fix it, the vase will never be the same again.”  To be the best professional relationship builders we can be, let’s institute the necessary practices into our lives to remain reliable.

Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.



One of the many lessons learned from my work with Trusted Advisor Associates is to have an “other focus” (or client focus) to build trust.

One way to lower your self-orientation is to detach from the outcome.

Here’s what can happen if we attach to the outcome:

• We do more talking than listening so we can get to the close
• We interrogate the prospect/client before giving any real value
• We bad mouth the competition to make ourselves look better
• We offer the proposal that yields the best outcome for us without considering what’s best for the client
• We put undue pressure on our internal team so we can accomplish our objectives
• We get angry or short with the client when they ask for more information (i.e., objections)
• We create false deadlines in order to make a sale

By detaching from the outcome, we treat the client with a long-term perspective.  They don’t sense that we’re more interested in the order than we are in them.  They believe we’re a business partner looking out for their interests more so than our own.  Consequently, they trust us more.   Higher trust always translates to more business and more profits.

One last thought, detaching from the outcome isn’t easy to do.  After all, we are getting paid to sell, aren’t we?  I admit, it’s counterintuitive and this advice sits contrary to traditional sales training.
 
Detaching doesn’t mean apathy.  It does mean a shift in focus from your needs to the client’s needs.

Client loyalty and referrals emerge from high trust relationships. Likewise, price negotiations, decision by committee, fighting bureaucracies, to name a few, go hand-in-hand with low trust.

Detach from the outcome.  Your attachment to it can only hurt your chances of making a sale.

Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.