Andrew Min, a financial advisor and Wealth Management specialist at John Blake Financial Solutions.
12 things I've learned in 27 years in sales

I started up a business helping sales people to become the guy I wish I knew when I was starting out.

I have learned so many things in sales the hard way and my goal has always been to help people circumnavigate that “hard way” learning curve.

So It makes sense that I would have a list of the big rocks that I have learned in sales – some of these things I learned quickly or the easy way but most of them I learned there hard way.

So here you go

1.You CAN learn sales

When I first started selling I sucked. It was primarily through listening to what the best performers in my office did and said that I got better. When I started reading books, going to seminars and investing in my own education on selling and sales I got even better. I agree you need to have some type of pre-disposition for it (including the enthusiasm to learn) but you can learn and get better at it.

2.People make decisions for their reasons not yours

If you think people buy because of your sales presentation, I hate to be the one to tell you but you are cooking on another planet. People buy because of their own selfish, personal reasons and motivations not yours. The day you work this out, you become a better sales person immediately.

3.Talking someone into doing something that they don’t want to do is a bad idea

People that say “ I can talk anyone into buying anything” are fooling themselves and doing the world a disservice. The main reason is there are some clients that you simply don’t want. Knowing when to back off and say no to clients will save your sanity and save you a stack of grief with clients that didn’t want to be there in the first place.

4.You need to be cool – people rarely buy from a dick head

You need to be cool. When I started selling I was selling surf fashion. Working in this industry taught me to be cool to people. If another rep. started in the industry who was too over the top or pushy or un cool, clients simply would not buy from them. No one talks about the “cool factor” in selling and they need to because it’s important. If you are cool and you treat people well, they will buy more from you and more often.

5.In Australia people have a highly tuned bullshit detector and hyped up American sales tactics just won’t work

Try to use cliche’d, verbatim, “American swag” type sales tactics and language” with potential clients in Australia and people are going to think you’re a wanker and will rarely buy from you – full stop. In fact, If you are using a sales framework that does not sound like you and means that you sound and act more like the another “Cardone” or “Belfort” clone and not like you, people will see straight through it. You need to be congruent, genuine and sincere with what ever approach you use or you are going to struggle. Potential clients will just see through it !

6.Momentum begets Momentum

The more you do, the more you will want to do and the more you sell, the more you will be more likely to sell. the secret is to get going and not stop.

7.How to get yourself out of a rut

Call five past clients who think the sun shines out of your butt. After the 5th call you will be ready for action again.

8.There is a massive dichotomy when it comes to “closing”

Businesses often think their sales teams have a problem with closing. The dichotomy with closing is that it is important, but it won’t happen anyway if you aren’t good at uncovering an opportunity to begin with. This starts from the very microsecond you meet a prospective client first the first time.

9.Some people don’t make decisions

They just won’t. Don’t let it drive you insane it’s not about you it’s about them.

9.People won’t move from where they are until they are uncomfortable to do so

Doesn’t matter what you sell, unless you can create a conversational environment where you expose the discomfort of what they already have, they simply won’t move from what they have now and buy from you.

10.Never think you know it all

Things in sales are constantly changing. Yesterday’s “super script” is today’s cliche – people are learning sales both buyer and seller. You need to stay unique to survive. Get caught using the “Benjamin Franklin” close in today’s sales world and you can kiss that sale and that customer goodbye.

11.Mindset is everything

However you get mindset nailed, you can’t ignore it. It leeks out of you in everything you say, everything you write and in every neutron of your energy. You need certainty about what you sell, your company and most importantly you.

12.Technology is great but don’t become too reliant on it

As soon as you hang your hat entirely on one lead generation source you become vulnerable to it’s possible demise. Using a diverse rage of lead generation will make you and your sales efforts way less vulnerable to the bell curve of popular media.

If you’d like to have a more serious conversation about the frameworks you are using to generate business and to make sure you are optimising every sales opportunity you have available to you, simply complete the form below and I’ll be in touch. In the meanwhile, if you enjoyed this post please share it on social media or email it to a friend – thanks in advance

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