Selling is the lifeblood of all businesses. R&D, customer service, production, and management exist because people buy from sales. No sales equals no business. If you are striving to be an entrepreneur or looking to earn more money in a successful career, then you must master sales skills and Harvey’s book is an excellent roadmap for doing so.
Why is this important to me?
I always want to ask you this question as if I’m sitting in your shoes. I don’t want to waste your time. Sales is the second oldest profession out there, and it’s flooded with people who don’t know how to do it. The reason sales get such a bad rap is because 85% of salespeople aren’t qualified to do the job. Turnover is high and training is non-existent. Some ingredients for a true professional salesperson are: high integrity, hungry fighter, positive attitude, prepared, authoritative, and a great listener.
The Mackay Real World Sales MBA is divided into 7 main sections. For the sake of time, I will highlight three takeaways that will help you in sales today.
1. Learning: Several sections of Harvey’s book can be grouped into a section on learning. Learning to listen, prepare, present, and ask questions is a prerequisite for entering the field of sales. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses and understand how to overcome them. If we break down a real sales meeting, the learning sections will identify themselves.
A. Before the call: You need to find out everything there is to know about your potential customer. Read their website, Google their names, search Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to understand what they are about. If you are meeting with a team, find out everything about each person.
B. Know why the potential customer invited you in – ask questions and understand some of their issues before you get there, help with pre-call planning. If you are unsure, send an email prior to the call asking them to describe the two biggest issues they currently have (regarding your product / service) and ask them to describe two goals they would like to achieve from the meeting.
C. During the call: You must ask questions and listen to the answers. Use the 3+ rule which states that the question the prospect asks is never the real question. Listening, digging, and asking questions establishes a report and puts you ahead of 80% of other salespeople.
D. Present: Speaking and demonstrating with confidence is the difference between financial independence and starvation. You have to do it correctly and speak with all kinds of personality. Preparing and understanding your audience is a must for success.
2. Closure: There are entire libraries built around the concept of closure. I have a simple rule: prospects love to buy and hate to be sold. They will close if you did your job.
3. Goals: Goal setting is a cliche and everyone talks about doing it. Do you really do it? Most people don’t and that’s why we hear so much about it. Setting SMART sales goals is a must if you want to be successful. Learning and goal setting go hand in hand. The discipline of learning will crystallize the achievement of your goal because your mind will find ways to serve you. You will achieve what you focus on and if you BELIEVE in your goals and they are what you really want (i.e. not someone else’s goals) then you will achieve them. Note: you have to do the work.
4. Internet: You could write a book on how Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter have changed the sales landscape. There is no old school and new school sale like some people think. It is not one or the other, but a combination of both that will make you successful. Using technology to improve your sales skills will help you close more deals. Here are three actionable items you can do right now to prove it:
5. Google Alerts: Google is an automated prospecting machine. Simply create alerts about the products and services you sell and receive them in your email box. Now when you call the prospect, it is not a cold call because you read their press release or other correspondence related to your offer. This works and most people don’t use it for this purpose.
6. Follow Up RIGHT NOW: 78% of potential Internet customers buy from the company that follows up first. This statistic is staggering and if you simply call first, you will win.
7. LinkedIn – Know your target audience and use LinkedIn to ENTER! Researching your potential customer and your company will easily put you ahead of the game. I’m amazed at how many marketers are still selling as in 1985. LinkedIn and other social networking sites are a wealth of knowledge hoping to help you get more customers.
Honesty, integrity, character, and heart are all necessary if you want a long-term, prosperous sales career. Harvey talks about this throughout his book. I realize that non-sales people probably don’t believe this, but if you think about the people you have bought from, you will understand that the people you constantly buy from have these traits.
I hope this short summary has been helpful to you. The key to any new idea is to incorporate it into your daily routine until it becomes a habit. Habits are formed in just 21 days. One thing you can take away from this book is using the Internet as a research tool for your prospects. This will improve your sales career if you start doing this right now. If you are not a part of social media websites, step out of the dark ages and start using them today! If you are afraid of this, just schedule 30 minutes a day to educate yourself over the next month and you will see positive results.
