“$1,200” Lily snapped. “No way, too much” I retorted.

The four feet two pocket-rocket then snatched the calculator from me and punched in a counter offer… $1,000?! “No, no still too expensive” I scoffed. Back and forth went the calculator like a tennis ball fizzing over the net in a grand slam final.

Deep into the fifth set, Lily’s frustration became obvious, her friendly eyes morphing into a glare. I had barely moved in our negotiations, while she had discounted to 10% of her initial asking price.  But that’s how the game is played in downtown Shanghai, China.  This bustling market scaling up multiple stories high — replete with all the delights and junk a discount hungry tourist can buy.

Lily and I grinded to an agreement, she sneered, “you a tough man.” With a chuckle, I said goodbye, knowing I had still left money on the table. But, to spend another five minutes squabbling over what was essentially a few Aussie dollars seemed counterproductive. It was my last day in China and I was on a mission to buy as much cheap crap as I could in the least amount of time.

In every stall I observed salespeople working to a similar sales process. They always request a ridiculously high price. Rejected by the customer, the salesperson asks what the customer desires to spend. Incremental counter offers then move the customer towards a price that both agree on. In Australia, this is called haggling; an art frowned upon. In Asian, it’s simply part of a commonly respected and tested sales process.

While the traditional Asian method for negotiating is unlikely to meet with approval in Australia, there are still many elements to this method that can be applied here. If you look closer you may even find some real genius in this seemingly ancient dark art.

The salespeople I encountered weren’t that savvy or polished, yet when they applied their process and believed in it, it rarely failed them. They always begin by asking what you want to pay, successfully gauging the customer’s expectations. They proceed to explain all the benefits of the product to position it in its most valuable light. The salesperson then makes an outrageously high offer, the customer’s counter offer then establishes their level of buy-in. And so the process moves forward.

The salesperson understands the more time a customer spends in dialogue with them; the more likely they are to buy. Should a considerable amount of time pass in negotiations, and the customer then walk, I frequently observed salespeople mutating from broad smiling, amiable creatures into spitting vipers disgusted by the customer refusing to engage the process until the final agreement.

Clearly the methods that Chinese salespeople employ with the locals are different. This denotes they understand who their most profitable customers are, namely; bright eyed tourists, who will pay more and engage willingly in their process, so they structure their time and approach accordingly.

Last but not least, each salesperson demonstrated the most vital element of success in any field: persistence. Incredibly relentless in their pursuit of the sale, they work with a methodology, which frankly, most Western salespeople couldn’t be bothered with. This type of process is indeed gruelling, with every customer being engaged in a structured and patient way. This approach takes discipline, persistence and patience, the cornerstone of any successful salesperson no matter what part of the world you do business in.

Inspire,

Trent Leyshan

Sales Training Customer Service Training

Last weekend most of us threw ourselves at our TV screens in absolute protest as the final siren sounded with the Saints and Pies locked at 68 points all.

The AFL world went into meltdown as the outcome rattled the very foundations of our expectations, “No winner.. what the?!”

The Grand final replay this Saturday promises the weary faithful a unique experience and also a unique challenge for both teams competing. To again, summons the forces of will, raw emotion and energy―spent in full, and then some ―will be a tough task. Yet, the rematch promises to serve up a tantalising encore of sheer courage and determination; attributes of a worthy winner.

I heard a great quote regarding who would win last week’s big game, “The team with the best Plan B will win.”

That’s an interesting view, I thought. As fate would have it, that statement resonated with me when the final siren sounded last Saturday at the MCG. Who’d have tipped the game would end in a draw? Some did, but they were fiercely speculative tips at best.

No one could have known the ultimate outcome of last week’s big game―making the Plan B and its subsequent execution critical to realising AFL’s most cherished prize.

What’s your Plan B?

Do you have another way of doing things should your current approach not bear fruit? Have you thought through all the possible points of grey and failure? Do you have a clear route charted should the answer you’re expecting not ring true?

Many ineffective salespeople have only one outcome in their minds and one option for their client, so when the strategy doesn’t fly, they are left high and dry. In sales, often things don’t go to plan. There are so many variables and challenges you need to think about and overcome.

Often the bigger and more complex the outcome, the longer and more drawn out the process in realising it, which also means more problems and cracks to circumvent.

What’s the Plan B in your next big meeting? If your client changes the game on you, then what? Unlike the now weary Pies and wounded Saints, you may not have a week to think about, so it’s worth thinking about now.

Inspire,

Trent Leyshan, Founder of BOOM! Sales and Author of, The Naked Salesman

One of the most powerful skills you can develop is your ability to listen.

You may have heard me say, “The best way to be interesting is to be interested. The reason this principle is essential is because it makes your customers feel important. This feeling is so powerful it will help your customers filter through your competitors to find and connect with you.

We have all met people who are poor listeners, and we judge them as being either ignorant or arrogant. And fair enough some of you may say. But just because someone doesn’t listen intently to you, doesn’t necessarily suggest they are not interested in you. It could simply mean they absorb information in a different way.

Put simply, human beings learn via three key styles:

1. Auditory: enjoy listening to learn, ie. radio, iPod or someone speaking to them;
2. Visual: prefer to learn by seeing things mapped out in pictures or diagrams;
3. Kinaesthetic: touch and feeling, prefer to play with things to learn.

The first step to understand how to communicate to others is to know your own learning style. In my case it’s all three, but predominantly, kinaesthetic.

Never buy me something from IKEA, I won’t ever read the instructions and then spend the next three days frustrated playing around trying to build something that should have taken an hour. But I enjoy it.

Understanding how you absorb information is important because this gives you an insight into how others take in your information. When I sell I employ a combination of communication styles to encapsulate all three learning preferences. I also have methods for learning about my clients prior to a meeting and importantly during so I can adapt my style accordingly to focus more on the predominant learning style.

To learn about your customers’ styles you need to ask them questions and then really listen to their responses and gauge their reactions. 55% of their response will be via their body language, 35% tonality and 10% words. So what they say can be very different to what they actually mean. Their body language and tone will help you understand what’s really being said.

For example, half way through a verbal pitch (auditory) if you see your customer’s eyes glazing over then change your approach, stop the conversation and move to a whiteboard or pad and start mapping out your ideas (visual) so they can see them. If that fails, then offer to give them an opportunity to play with your ideas (kinaesthetic) somehow.

What and how you do it is up to you, just don’t make the mistake of delivering one communication technique to varying learning styles. Remember, words are meaningless without emotions and your relationships won’t be meaningful until you start really listening.

Inspire,

Trent Leyshan, Founder BOOM! Sales

How hard is it to find good old fashioned service these days?! I mean the kind of service that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

The type of interaction between two people that creates such a meaningful experience for you ― you just have to tell other people about it?

We all love great service. So why then is it so bloody hard to find?! Great service is not that difficult to achieve. All it takes is some commonsense and a willingness to make other people feel good. It’s that simple. In fact, it’s so easy anyone can do it and it takes very little effort.

If you have ever attended one of my sales programs, you will know that most of what I recommend can be adopted at zero cost and minimal effort. And that’s the beauty of it. This is not fluff ― it’s the fundamental stuff that is easy to do, but easier to forget. Particularly when you are time poor, stressed and under pressure. You dont need to sell-upwards in your company to get it done. You dont need to release big budgets to make it happen. It’s all up to you. You can apply this stuff tomorrow, if not right now, there is nothing stopping you.

Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about:

Not far from where I live is a petrol station run by an old man whom I call Gus. Gus is about 160 not out, has a long grey spindly beard, and shuffles in slow motion as he walks from the station office to the petrol pump.

His petrol station is slightly rundown and doesn’t possess the flashy signage and features many of his nearby competitors display. Yet Gus has something other petrol stations in the area don’t: he’s got a constant line-up of customers.      

When you go to Gus’s petrol station you may need to wait a few more minutes than you normally would at another petrol station. But you don’t mind because Gus takes his time and gives you good old-fashioned service. He shuffles over to your car, says g’day, and asks how your day is. He then proceeds to ask if you would like you car filled-up, pops the pump in your petrol tank and washes your windshield while you wait. Sometimes he will tell you that your tyres are low and, on demand, he pumps them up for you.

Gus does all of this at his own time and expense. Gus is from the old school — he’s been around longer than most, so it’s clear he understands what makes people tick. Gus is not doing what he does to get a promotion, nor is it a cheeky publicity stunt to attract attention. He’s doing it because he loves it and it’s who he is. Clearly, all his customers love it too.

I drive past three competing petrol stations on my way to see Gus. Both are closer and sell the same product. But I’m not interested in same-same. And I have never looked at the price. Gus could be ripping me off blind and I wouldn’t know — but I know he’s not.

So long as Gus is on the pump I’ll happily line my car up and wait the extra few minutes for him. He’s that good and makes me feel that special!

How many of your clients talk about you like this? If not, why not?

Yes business it tougher, more competitive, margins are decreasing, markets are broadening and deepening, we have less time, more stress, demands and pressures, technology is evolving, things are smaller and faster…. blah, blah, blah!

This is the reality, so get over it. The winds of change have always blown and always will. Dont use these winds as an excuse to give your customers average or bad service. Your better than that! What is cool today is outmoded tomorrow. But one thing will always remain as constant: 

“People will always desire to be accepted, respected, appreciated, loved and remembered. 

Never forget that. If you dont, I guaranteed your customers will never forget you.

Inspire,

Trent Leyshan, Founder BOOM! Sales

In business today it doesn’t matter what you’re selling there is so much clutter and confusion ― competition is fierce and let’s be honest for most it’s a mental, emotional, and physical grind.

I can hear the rusty cogs of progress grinding from here, its bloody exhausting just listening to them. Can many of you relate to my wearisome words? Of course you can, I can, we all can.

Today, selling something both unique and profitable is tougher than ever. Not only are there a plethora of carbon-copy competitors in each space, added is the customer having so much choice and unprecedented access to information, thanks to the internet, correction; Google. Moreover, the general population is increasing ‘exponentially’ and the shear mass of businesses that are created every year is not going backwards any time soon.

Let’s take it back ― right back to the start-up phase ― such a challenging phase, indeed an all-intoxicating phase, yet this is where most business failures spawn. Why? You seldom hear from the lips of fervent entrepreneurs, “I have a new idea to add enormous value to customers!” More common is the insidious, “I have a great idea to make money!” Therein lies the paradox:  most business models are created to simply make money, and that’s about all they ever do, and barely. This is the beginning of the end because that’s what everyone else is trying to achieve.    

‘Equal to’ is not good enough, not anymore. The days of copying competitors and the marketplace being fertile enough to sustain everyone’s existence are long gone. So too is the effectiveness of the Yellow Pages and relying on walk-by-traffic to drive sales and thrive. I proclaim as I blow the musty dust off my chunky yellow doorstop.  

The sales terrain has changed with the ferocity of a tectonic shift. Markets are saturated with salespeople selling, doing, and saying the same thing in the same way ― its all, ‘same-same’. Those that have visited Thailand will know what I’m talking about. Every street corner is chock-full of junk, interesting junk, but junk no less.  From rip-off sunglasses and designer labels to pirate DVD’s ― it all the same and the locals affectionately refer to the junk as, same-same.

As amusing as this scene may appear, it offers spooky parallels to our western commercial world. The only difference is your products are not horded onto a local street-corner, only a hair-raising Took-took ride away from Patpong Rd, with your prices determined by the ignorance of your customer’s local tongue. Instead, your products are professionally displayed on a slick website or showroom floor on Bridge Rd. Yet if you compare your offer to almost every competitor in your space I guarantee with the exclusion of an exceptional few, your competitors are just like you!

They have the same strategy, the same value proposition, the same price, the same after sales service ― and the same… well… it’s all ‘same-same’.

To succeed in sales today, you need to break the shackles of ‘sameness’, otherwise you’re just a number in a sea of numbers.  Dont be just another ‘equal to’ for goodness sakes my innovative and courageous friend, be better, be the best, be ‘greater than!’ Greater than your closest competitors! Greater than what the market says you need to be! Be greater than your current expectations.  And most certainly be greater than you are today!

To be ‘greater than’ means; standing for something radically different or fundamentally better. It doesn’t necessary mean coming up with an idea no one has developed, (that’s tough to do) but it certainly means doing things differently. In any case, give your customer choice, either same-same or you! Your customers deserve better and so do you.

Inspire,

Trent Leyshan

Donald the management consultant arrived late to a public sales seminar I was conducting.

The rest of the participants arrived early for their 8.45am registration and had been chatting amongst each other. He apologised for being late and then rushed in and sat down. His body language was stiff and noticeably anxious. Although now behind schedule, for Don’s benefit, I asked everyone to again quickly introduce themselves and describe what business they were in. All were happy to oblige.

A couple of minutes into the introductions I sensed Don’s energy. He seemed disengaged and uninterested in the stories the others were sharing. I continued into the morning break paying extra attention to him but not at the detriment of anyone else. As soon as the other participants left the room for the break, he approached me and explained the seminar was not what he had expected.

Don had white-grey hair and the lines on his face told me he was in the twilight of his career. He looked stressed and his desperation was obvious. He thought the content was about generating more leads. I explained this was not advertised – the session is about the ‘sales fundamentals’ – things that are easy to do but easier to forget. He responded, “No thanks, I’m really busy, I just need more leads.” His comment didn’t make sense to me, yet hearing the resolve in his voice, I explained that’s not our content for today and offered a refund. With half a foot out the door, he promptly agreed, but pretended he didn’t care about the money.

When everyone returned from the short break I explained, Don had left for his own reasons. With a collective shrug of the shoulders’ everyone quickly drew their attention to my presentation on the big screen. Unperturbed I continued with the seminar.

What Don missed in the next section would have provided many answers to his sales problems: the fundamentals that are ‘easy to do but easier to forget’: aligning values and maximising value, buying-in and being interested in others, the ABC’s of selling – ‘Always Be Contributing’, the Seven Sales Pillars – ‘Presentation, Preparation, People Skills, Passion, Persistence, Patience and Process’. We explored how to create and develop business friendships and a retro-service culture by harnessing change yet not forgetting the essentials of human interaction: courtesy, politeness, integrity, listening, trust and loyalty.

Also in attendance was a young girl, Taylor who was just starting her business journey. Don and her worlds couldn’t be further apart. She had just graduated from high school and came along with her step-father who owned a promising online start up business. In a relaxed manner she listened intently throughout the session and engaged and contributed where she could. Her receptors were wide open and she devoured the content as nourishment. Taylor wants to get into PR and marketing when she graduates from university. To her credit she is already investing in her own development. If she stays on this path her success will only be limited by her imagination.

The reality is, despite whether you understand the fundamentals or not, there is a world between knowing and demonstrating them. As for Don, he’s most likely still chasing leads, and for his sake I hope he does catch them eventually.

Had he taken the opportunity to stop chasing and start contributing he would have learnt: when you get the fundamentals right the business will chase you.

Inspire,

Trent Leyshan

Inspirational selling comes from a place of contribution. Desperation is selling from a place of contradiction.

Selling in contradiction is when you sell a product or service without believing in it. What you say and believe is not congruent.  In these sales models the monetary exchange takes priority over the value and benefits being created. Conversely, selling with inspiration means you dont need to sell, but the customer wants to buy. Why? Because your proposition adds real value and benefits you and the customer understand. Therefore the line between you, your value and the customer’s benefit is congruent. This makes selling relatively easy if you’re talking with the right customers.

Being desperate is not pleasant and it’s an exhausting place to be in all the time. To achieve and sustain long term sales success you need to sell with inspiration! If you can’t get up every morning motivated by ‘what’ and ‘how’ you sell, you’re in real trouble because no one else is going to do it for you. One of the biggest tests for any salesperson is how they perform under immense pressure ― yet if you’re resilient and made of the right stuff you may even thrive in it.  Many salespeople crack under pressure. They have a couple of poor months and then get desperate. They start cutting corners and looking for quick-wins. This is the beginning of the end.  The quick wins seldom come, particularly when you’re desperate.

When people get desperate they gamble, make poor decisions and take uncalculated risks ― hoping to get lucky. Dont bank on luck, ever! It’s impossible to replicate. Desperate salespeople rely on luck. They have no strategy and no passion and most certainly no interest in their customers best interest. How can they when solely focused on their own survival? Desperate salespeople simply sell to get paid.

If you’re success relies on selling ― you need to be a ‘sales athlete!’ To be the best you need to take an approach akin to any professional sportsperson. Elite athletes are dedicated to their craft. They are focused, passionate, determined and disciplined in their approach and they have a strategy and process refined and developed on an on-going basis. They have benchmarks, goals, and targets. And in highly competitive sports they spend significant time collaborating with team members and studying competitors to develop their game theory and relevant tactics.

Sales athletes compete at a small percentage of their time and then rest, refine, and develop skills. On the contrary most salespeople compete 48+ weeks a year and invest little, if any, time in reflection, refinement and skill development. Elite athletes seldom focus on the money ― it’s a by-product of being exceptional at what they do. And very rarely will an elite athlete not love their chosen sport, and when the love is gone they retire and move on.
Now compare all the above characteristics to the average salesperson and you understand why most are desperate and ineffective. There is a proverbial chasm between ‘sales athletes’ and all-so-ran salespeople’s mindsets, behaviours and habits.

Sales Tips to sell with inspiration instead of desperation:

• Make sure your selling from a place of contribution ― not contradiction
• Become a ‘sales athlete’ and be focused, passionate, determined and disciplined!
• Compete less and spend more time developing successful habits and skills
• Take regular breaks (and holidays)  to rest, recover, and rejuvenate
• Understand your competitors and develop game theory and tactics
• If you dont enjoy selling ― get out of the sales kitchen
• Train yourself to enjoy pressure ― it’s all in your head and part of the game
• Dont bank on luck, ever!  ― have a process and continue to develop it

When all else fails just love what you do and have the passion and courage to see it through and the selling will eventually take care of itself.

Oh and one more thing: inspiration is highly contagious so when you catch it, those you come in contact with will also.

I live by this maxim, “Chance favours the prepared.”

We all know the festive season and corresponding break is looming, yet I’m staggered by the amount of salespeople I speak with that don’t have an end of year strategy. Be prepared for this period well in advance and don’t wait until December to think about it.

If you’re in retail and your offer is relevant, then Christmas is a busy period and you will need to have plenty of the right stock at the right price and all hands on deck. Conversely, if your product or service is not relevant, you will find the dip between early December and late January a challenging one. Some businesses find the dip deeper and longer than these two months and severely reduce costs and resources accordingly. Suffice to say ― Christmas is a tough time if you don’t have the right strategy.

You must plan or you plan to fail. My end of year strategy is not too dissimilar to my beloved AFL football. In AFL the third quarter is known as the Premiership quarter. Those that follow AFL will know the game consists of four quarters and the team that captures momentum in the third quarter carries this energy into the final quarter and has a greater chance of winning the game ― the sales game is much the same!

If you lose momentum over the Christmas break, it’s hard to regain in the short-term. As a consequence your third quarter starts poorly thus reducing your ability to kick your New Year off with a bang! The third quarter is notoriously the period that salespeople lose momentum and enthusiasm, and is also the highest turnover period for salespeople for those reasons. Christmas is such a critical period to get right because it sets up your third quarter and run-home to the end of financial year.

Sales Tips for overcoming the Christmas dip:

• Next year, plan in advance (initiate your Christmas strategy in July!)
• Create urgency in October and setup opportunities for December and January
• Leverage this time of year with cheer ― extra value and a compelling end of year offer!
• Have all sales hands on deck in December and January to ride out the dip!
• Take a break in February once you’re past the dip! (You may ever afford a better holiday!)
• Don’t use the dip as respite, initiate your plan and setup your premiership quarter-
• When the New Year hits make sure your plan is well underway.

Don’t just survive Christmas ― thrive! This is the time of year you don’t want to be overcoming apathy and working with zero strategy, or worse relying on luck to get you through.

You’re better than that ― put on your Santa hat early and have jolly crack!

Inspire,

Trent Leyshan