So, you want to improve your selling skills?
Fantastic.
That’s a smart move.
Selling is the core of every business.
Without sales, all businesses curl up and die.
We are going to go over a lot about sales in the next 12 months.
How to land big clients.
An open and honest look at some sales strategies…what works and what doesn’t.
How to use rejection in a powerful way.
And much more.
I’m going to share with you some principles that will be the core foundation of all that we discuss.
Master the principles below, and everything that we cover here will fall into place.

Principle #1: Most of the challenges you are facing related to selling have to do with you.
Sorry, but it’s the truth.
You are both the strongest AND weakest link in your operation.
The sales tactics you use.
The way you work with your sales team.
The things you avoid doing when it comes to selling.
You are in your own way.
Be open to this idea.
Notice where it shows up for you.
Be open to doing things differently.
You know what your results have been until now.
If you continue doing things the same way, you will continue to get more of the same.
If you want new sales numbers, be open to working on yourself and getting out of your own way.

Principle #2: You will get uncomfortable if you do what it takes to achieve more.
You cannot change without discomfort.
Unfortunately.
Think about exercise.
You cannot get stronger by lifting weights that are easy to lift.
You cannot improve your stamina if your heart rate doesn’t increase.
Get ready to face some discomfort if you are willing to change something about the way you have been selling.
As the Navy Seals say, “Get comfortable being uncomfortable.”
Change is not easy.
But all kinds of good stuff is right on the other side.
You will survive the discomfort.
Guaranteed.
Grit your teeth and jump into trying something new.
This brings me to the next principle.

Principle #3: Make sure you are leveraging what works.
Did you ever climb up a down-moving escalator as a kid?
You CAN do it.
But it wastes an enormous amount of time, energy and effort.
It is much smarter to take the up-moving escalator.
Maybe even run up.
That’s leveraging what works well and efficiently.
The same is true of sales strategies.
Yes, you will probably be uncomfortable as you become skilled at something new.
But it must be something you will actually do.
The best strategy in the world is worthless if you procrastinate doing it or avoid it altogether.
Stop telling yourself that you need to do XYZ strategy if you keep avoiding XYZ strategy.
Let it go.
Stop climbing up the down-moving escalator.
Find and leverage the strategies that work for you.
The ones you will actually execute.

Principle# 4: Get out of your client’s/customer’s head.
I don’t mean you should skip market research.
That is critical to identifying your target market.
We will discuss this later.
I am referring to what you believe your client is thinking.
About your price.
Your service.
Your offer.
Your presentation.
Etc.
The times you tweak your sales presentation because of what you believe they are thinking.
Stop it.
Please stop it.
You have no idea what they are thinking.
Follow your sales system.
If the system needs to be adjusted based on facts and data, you will adjust it.
But do not adjust it based on your belief of what the customer is thinking.
Stay out of his head.
Let your system and sales strategies do their job.

Principle #5: Learn to tell stories.
Did you ever watch a master salesperson work their magic?
You find yourself getting caught up in the story they are weaving.
Let’s use an example.
Imagine you just walked for an hour in the heat.
You are hot, sweaty and exhausted.
Really try to picture it.
Now imagine a tall glass filled with Coke and ice.
Wet droplets sparkle on the glass like diamonds.
See yourself drinking that tall, delicious Coke.
That cold, refreshing drink mixed with ice flowing smoothly down your throat.
Would you pay more for that Coke right now?
Probably.
You are paying for the story of you drinking the refreshing Coke after being so hot.
Understand this concept well.
Clients and customers are paying for a story, not simply a product or service.
The more masterfully you can tell a story, the better you will be at selling.
There are many ways to tell a story.
More about that later.

Principle #6: People buy with their emotion and justify their purchase with logic.
Your car?
Emotion.
Your clothing?
Emotion.
Your furniture.
Emotion.
Your accountant?
Emotion.
Our emotion makes us feel that we need to have something…for whatever reason…and then we rationalize the purchase.
“We really need it.”
“It makes sense to get it.”
“It’s a great value.”
Disagree?
I will prove this to you.
Think about the times you turned down a good deal on something because you didn’t really want it.
Logically, it remained a good deal.
Emotionally, it wasn’t working for you.
Or how about the time you bought something that was more expensive than you wanted to pay?
Why did you buy it if you didn't want to pay that price?
Did you rationalize the purchase to yourself?
See my point?
Many salespeople have this backward.
They try to sell the logic of the sale, explaining why it makes sense to purchase it.
They share 100 reasons why it logically should be bought.
The problem is that people don’t buy on logic.
Instead, do it the other way around.
Sell the emotion of the sale, and your client will explain to himself why it makes logical sense to buy it.
You won’t have to say a word.
As we discuss different sales strategies, keep this idea in mind.

Master these six principles and start to find ways you can use them in your selling.
Some of them you can implement immediately.
Stay tuned for more…