Heavy Hitter Sales Blog

Summer Reading for Salespeople on Vacation

Entertaining Reading about Sales Strategy Based Upon the History of Warfare...

If you enjoy watching the history channel and learning about the military successes of Sun Tzu, Napoleon Bonaparte, and George Patton, then Heavy Hitter Sales Wisdom: Proven Sales Warfare Strategies, Secrets of Persuasion, and Common-Sense Tips for Success is the book for you. All salespeople must be generals who create a strategy to win their wars long before the first battle begins. The successful military leader painstakingly plans how and where he will attack in accordance with the troops and weapons at his disposal. When the fighting starts, the victorious commander achieves his objective through battlefield maneuvers to gain the advantage and countertactics to neutralize his enemy’s advance.      

   

   

                                 

The Human Nature of Persuading People to Buy...

Are you interested in the human nature of selling, sales psychology and neurolinguistics (the study of how the mind uses and interprets language)? If so, then I’d recommend Heavy Hitter Selling: How Successful Salespeople Use Language and Intuition to Persuade Customers to Buy. Using real-world case studies, examples, and exercises, Heavy Hitter Selling provides the psychological, physical, and language-based tactics you need to become more influential. The goal of Heavy Hitter Selling is to help experienced salespeople expand their influence within their local office, sales organization, and company. This requires not only winning more business but also having a methodology to explain to others how and why you win.

 

The Rise and Fall of a Company from a Salesperson’s Point of View...

The Real Story of Informix Software and Phil White chronicles the meteoric rise of Informix Software, how it became a billion-dollar software giant, and the scandal that ultimately led to its spectacular fall. This fascinating behind-the-scenes book offers an insider'ss perspective on the business strategies that succeeded, the products that failed, and how a technology industry titan ended up in jail.

Bush Leaguers: The TOP 10 Sales Mistakes

Minor league baseball pitcher John Odom was recently involved in one of the craziest baseball trades of all time. He was traded from the Calgary Vipers to the Laredo Broncos for 10 baseball bats!!! The 26-year-old right-hander said of the trade, “I’m still in shock from this phenomenon, I guess. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s mind-boggling.”

Professional baseball players who continually make mistakes are demoted to teams in the minor leagues. These obscure teams play in small towns across America. In the slang of baseball, the players are called “bush leaguers.” Sales also has its share of bush leaguers, who make the following common mistakes:

   

 

1.    They talk too much on a sales call and don’t listen to the customer enough.

2.  They present the same pitch in the same way to every customer.

3.  They don’t know their customer or product well enough to drive account strategy. 

4.  They assume information they don’t know, thereby taking the wrong action.

5.  They fidget with many accounts and don’t focus on the winnable ones.

6.  They don’t put themselves in the position of being their own customer.

7.  They don’t take the time to continuously analyze their performance.

8.  They don’t understand how to marshal their resources or use their manager.

9.  They set unrealistic customer expectations or make commitments that their product or company can’t fulfill.

10. They expect to win the deal without a coach (internal champion inside the account) or think they have a coach when they don’t.

   

Most importantly, bush leaguers don’t consistently close business. Compared to Heavy Hitters (truly great salespeople), their wins take longer, require more resources, and are less predictable. In order to become successful, Bush leaguers should model the methods and behaviors of Heavy Hitters. Click here if you would like to learn more about some “Heavy Hitter” role models.

Account Qualification: The Importance of Accurate Information

The internet and political talk shows were abuzz last week with a salacious rumor about Vice President Dick Cheney… The reason he was smiling in this photograph was because he was looking at a naked woman! However, after closer evaluation you can see that the image reflected in his glasses is not a naked woman, but his hand holding his fishing pole. In Heavy Hitter Selling, I wrote about how the mind misinterprets information. Here’s the excerpt:

Since the eyes contain more nerve endings than any other part of the body, they are not only the most sensitive but the most trusted sense. People will say, “I saw it with my own eyes!” and “I’ll believe it when I see it!” In reality, our sensory limitations negatively influence our judgments.

 

Some people will swear they have seen a flying saucer, when in reality the brain has added visual imagery in its attempt to distinguish an obscure object. The term for this is “pareidolia,” and everyone has experienced one. Perhaps the two most common pareidolias are the visualization of the face of the man on the moon and a mirage, the illusion of water in the desert. Pareidolais aren’t solely limited to images. When I was a youngster, I remember listening to the Beatles’ song “Strawberry Fields” over and over to hear what seemed to be “I buried Paul.”

   

Salespeople are not immune to similar ambiguities and delusions. Salespeople with “happy ears” tend to believe whatever they are told by the customer. Others view the world through rose-colored glasses and will always interpret information emanating from the customer in a favorable light.

   

Ambiguities and delusions are disastrous for salespeople. These conditions cause them to work the wrong deals and make mistakes. However, Heavy Hitters work their deals differently. They have a method and strategy for selecting their battles based upon the individuals they must persuade to buy.

Managing the Installed Base

After living in Southern California nearly all of my life, I would like to share an interesting fact with you about the area. Did you know that five of the top ten Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the nation are located here? Why is this so?  Well, I think there are two major reasons.

   

First, cars are a very important status symbol in image conscious Southern California. After traveling all around the world, I I have yet to visit another place where people “are what they drive” like here. In this regard, driving a Mercedes puts you on the top of the pecking order when you sit in the inevitable bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic.

   

But I think the second reason is equally important. In the sales vernacular, they effectively manage their “installed base.” They value customer loyalty and take care of their existing customers better than any other car manufacturer. And, I’d like to share a personal story with you that has made me a Mercedes-Benz customer for life.

   

All Mercedes come with a four year, 50,000 mile warranty. If anything goes wrong with the car during that timeframe they’ll fix it for free. However, my car needed $1,900 of repairs at 55,000 miles when my it was out of warranty. Obviously, I wasn’t excited about this. After paying for the repairs I wrote a letter to the North American President of Mercedes-Benz. Within two weeks, I received a very gracious response and a refund check for the entire amount. “Simply amazing!” I thought to myself...

   

There’s a huge lesson here for salespeople who must manage install base sales of existing accounts. Ask yourself the following three questions:

 

Do you nickel and dime your installed base customers or promote win-win loyalty?

   

Do you visit them only when a contract needs to be renewed or pamper them continual attention?

    

Do you act solely in your self-interests or put the customer’s interests first and strive to do the right thing?

    

There’s a reason why over 75% of all new Mercedes are sold to repeat customers. Because customers remember how they are treated after the sale.

2008: Do You Want to Be a (Penta) Millionaire?

In order to be counted among the richest 1% of Americans you must be a pentamillionaire and have a net worth over $5 million. Today, there are more than 930,000 pentamillionaires. Anne Kadet of SmartMoney.com wrote a very interesting article about what it takes to become rich. As you read the excerpts below, note the striking similarities between becoming a pentamillionaire and a Heavy Hitter (a truly great salesperson).

• The people who amassed their fortunes are, first and foremost, entrepreneurs — risk takers for whom wealth is a byproduct of pursuing their passion. Only 10% of pentamillionaires inherited their wealth. One might think that good fortune would play a role, but even luck is largely a matter of one's own making. Psychologist Richard Wiseman has found that people who describe themselves as lucky share common habits that account for their success: They're friendly and fond of new experiences, traits that put them on a collision course with new opportunities. In addition, "lucky" folks simply have higher expectations of success — they're too pigheadedly optimistic to heed the long odds and call it quits.                          

• Not to say that getting rich is simply a matter of having a swell attitude. The path to riches usually involves the kind of risk that would make most people feel a little queasy. Harrison Group head Jim Taylor recently persuaded more than 3,000 pentamillionaires to discuss their path to success. Perhaps not surprisingly, none of them had a cushy union job down at the DMV.

• Surprisingly, today's very rich say that money itself wasn't much of a motivator. Once you've got food in your belly and a big-screen TV, the mere prospect of more Benjamins isn't enough to get you leaping out of bed at 5 a.m. Rather, rich folks often make their fortunes after they make up their minds to solve a problem or do something better than it's been done before.

• Getting rich also requires a certain amount of stubbornness and clarity of purpose. Being rich means freedom: to spend your time as you please, to pursue your real interests and to take a chance without courting utter ruin. Paradoxically, the road to riches often means acting as if you already have that freedom.

Free Sales Strategy Webinar

Please join Steve Martin, author of Heavy Hitter Sale Wisdom and Heavy Hitter Selling  as he presents “How to Map the Complex Sale.”  Sales forecasting systems show deals at all stages of the sales cycle, but they fail to provide the types of information needed to ascertain true account standing. Since the forecasting systems are based mainly on numbers, they don't include the most important aspects of selling: the creation of the sales strategy, the human nature of the decision makers, and other important subjective judgments such as internal politics. Winning the complex sale requires you to be able to collect and have command over a diverse range of sales cycle details. The best way to comprehend all of this information is through Account Maps. Account Maps provide a visual representation of all the attributes of decision makers, the competitive standing versus the other vendors, and the strategy to win the account.

Mapping Out a Winning Sales Strategy!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 13, 10 AM PST

REGISTER HERE

A Legend Has Died: Meeting Bill Walsh

Bill Walsh, legendary former football coach of the San Francisco 49ers passed away last week. I thought I would share the interesting story of the one and only time I spoke with him. It happened about eight years ago at the airport in San Jose, California. He was sitting all alone and no one seemed to notice who he was. I had to look at him several times to reassure myself it was really him.  

   

At the time, I was the vice president of sales working for a Silicon Valley software company. A year earlier I had read his 550 page book titled “Finding the Winning Edge.” While the book is an exhaustive description of his football philosophy intended to be read by other coaches, I thought many of the concepts applied to sales management (understanding the role of the head coach, organizing the team, acquiring talent, etc.).

Now I am the type of person who will bother a stranger so it took some courage on my part to approach him. He seemed somewhat surprised when I introduced myself and told him that I really liked his book. He asked what I did for a living and why I liked it. I told him I was in sales and what made the book so interesting was how he drew upon history and integrated quotes from military leaders such as George Patton and Erwin Rommel within the book. As we shook hands I told him that I planned to write a book someday. He was very gracious, encouraging, and wished me well.    

I am sure Bill Walsh influenced the lives of many coaches and players. However, as I look at his book on my bookshelf today, I have no doubt that it help trigger my interest in the application of history and military strategy to the field of sales. This would later serve as the foundation for Heavy Hitter Sales Wisdom. I also included a quote from him in my first book Heavy Hitter Selling:  “History is our collective memory. It is our accumulated experiences. It is constantly invoked by every person, every day, to help them make decisions based, to some extent, on what has gone on before their lives.” A legend has died; Bill Walsh.

Selling Power Magazine Interview (part 1)

Selling Power Magazine Video Interview

The first segment of my two part video interview with Gerhard Gschwandtner, founder and publisher of Selling Power Magazine can be seen here. 

The Skeptical Mind

Skepticism dominates our culture and is a pervasive part of our thought process. Therefore, it’s not surprising that customers are not only suspicious, but skeptical to the point of being antagonistic. I recently received a fascinating e-mail from A.J. who had read Heavy Hitter Selling. His experience helps shed light on the nature of skepticism.

   

Hi Steve:

   

I've been a serious student of sales for the last 30 years and although I'll read just about everything on the topic, as you know, most books are all pretty much the same and if you glean a few tidbits here and there it has been worth your while. 

   

For the first quarter of the Heavy Hitter Selling I seriously wondered if I was wasting my time continuing on.  If I wanted a book on esoteric psychology I would have bought one.  Halfway through I decided the book did have some merit at least and was worth my time reading it.  Three quarters of the way through I became much more impressed and decided it is a very good book indeed, and upon finishing it came to the conclusion that there is some outstanding material in it.

   

Thanks for creating a refreshing and eye opening perspective on a well worn journey where the path will not seem quite the same now.

Best wishes,

   

A.J.

   

You cannot overcome the skeptical mind by reciting facts, describing features, or providing a laundry list of reasons as to why the customer should buy from you. Turning doubters into believers requires using language that connects with the ultimate decision maker, the customer’s subconscious mind. And, understanding how to message to this self-regulating, mental protection system is at the heart and soul of the journey to becoming a Heavy Hitter.

Super Bowl (and Sales) Blunders

I was in Miami earlier this week to keynote a sales kickoff and let me tell you, the entire city is “pumped up” to host this weekend’s Super Bowl.  All the hotels are sold out and the bars and restaurants were packed.

   

The other day, Elliot Kalb of Fox Sports wrote an article on the The worst decisions in Super Bowl history. Many of the blunders he recounted relate directly to sales (lack of preperation, playing too conservatively, and failing to expect the unexpected). However, it was his comments about ex-Oakland Raiders coach Bill Callahan that caught my attention:

   

Super Bowl XXXVII: Meet the new boss, Bill Callahan, same plays as the old boss.

The Oakland Raiders made it to the Super Bowl with Bill Callahan, who had replaced Jon Gruden. The only trouble was, they made the Super Bowl against Gruden's new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs seemed to know the Raiders' plays, as if the plays and audibles weren't even changed from the year before. The Bucs defense intercepted five passes. Callahan had a chance to totally confuse and double-cross the Bucs. It didn't happen.

If you have been working as salesperson for 5, 10, or 20 years at the same company, it is not unusual that you have grown comfortable working all your deals in the same way. However, you should never forget that your competitors seek to destroy you.They have educated themselves about your products and sales tactics, and they’re more focused on defeating you than ever. Now, after competing against you several times maybe they are able to anticipate what you will do next. Because… they know all your plays.