We are pleased to announce a new exciting program to increase your sales success:

On March 9th, I will be presenting a 3 hour seminar titled The Titan Sales Success Seminar that will supercharge your sales results. For those of you who cannot get away for a long period of time or want to test drive the short version and get some immediate results in the field this is opportunity is for you.

Current Titans, can use our new short version as a refresher to renew your passion for sales success. Click Here for the Titan Sales Success Seminar information and registration form. Sign up today and make a difference in Your Results.

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You know the old saying, “Timing is everything in life”. The same holds true for sales and negotiations. Major League Baseball has been trying for years to get the players union to agree to a credible drug testing plan. Time and time again the union has stalled and only agreed to a watered down version that was basically considered a joke by many experts.

Now, after the San Francisco Chronicle publishes an article leaking the Grand Jury testimony of Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds, the players union is rushing to approve a more stringent drug testing plan. Why the sudden rush to an agreement? Because legislators like John McCain are promising swift congressional action, as early as January, if Baseball fails to do something. In the words of Donald Fehr, the Executive Director of the player’s union, he does not see this taking more than a week to get done.

A week? Very interesting. Now, I am not writing this to state a position on steroids, although I would have to admit that any records broken these days will be looked upon with suspicion by yours truly. The point of this story is that timing dictates when deals will be made.

Everyone’s timing is different. If the time is not right, it will be very hard to move a customer to commit to any deal. In some instances, you do have the power to impact a customer’s timing if you can identify critical needs that have to be resolved sooner than later. Then you must get the customer to agree with your supposition that they would be worse off waiting than going ahead with the deal.

Remember, whenever you talk with a client, always check on their timing. This will enable you to spend your time more effectively

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Recently, I had the privilege of being invited by the Weizmann Institute of Science to visit with their scientists in Rehovot, Israel and got a feel for the projects they are involved in. It was exhilarating listening to all the presentations of advances being worked on that will positively impact humanity.

Pioneering cancer researcher, Professor Moshe Oren, is one of the scientists I had the pleasure of speaking to. I asked him how scientists deal with the issue of working hard on an experiment that sometimes lead to a dead end? How do they cope with this disappointment? Professor Oren explained that a scientist needs to possess three qualities in order to succeed: Optimism, Tenacity and Competitive Spirit.

It is the optimism that allows a scientist to start the journey down a road that has never been paved. A road with no clear ending in sight. Scientists who specialize in basic research are taking their curiosity on certain subjects and digging as far as they can to further understand the issue and hopefully uncover answers to some of today’s challenges.

The tenacity comes into play when some of these roads come to a dead end after a lot of time and energy is spent on the project. Scientists don’t give up. Their tenacity is not fueled so much by the reward, but rather by the driving need to uncover the solution.

One’s competitive spirit takes tenacity to the next level because scientists are also driven to be the first one to reach the peak of the mountain; being the first to make the discovery.

In sales and leadership, these 3 same traits hold true. How can one succeed in sales and leadership if one is not optimistic they can succeed? Name me one time you bought something from a salesperson who was pessimistic about their product or service working for you, or a time you followed the instructions of a pessimistic leader? Okay, maybe you have to if they happen to be your boss. But, ask yourself this question. If your boss is pessimistic about the future, how empowered are you to do your best?

Tenacity also plays a big part in a sales executive’s career. However, many sales executives are tenacious about the wrong things. If your tenacity centers solely on your need to sell more, you may close some deals. However, you will be leaving a lot of money on the table. As Professor Oren states, being driven to find the answers is more powerful than the reward itself. If you are driven to constantly find solutions for your customers versus selling them something, you will discover a remarkable and universal truth….Those who help others achieve their goals tend to get more in return than they ever thought possible.

Finally, the competitive spirit to be number one is crucial to success in sales and leadership. If your desire is to be on top of the world, you are dedicated to enhancing your value proposition and competitive advantage. This means constantly being on the look out for new and innovative ways of servicing your customers. If you don’t do it, don’t worry. Your competition will gladly do it for you.

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Do you treat existing customers differently from new customers? Most people do and it is disgusting. For one thing, we tend to take existing customers for granted. All of the special attention we provided prospects to turn them into customers tends to dissipate once they are on board. In some cases, when it comes time to renew agreements, some companies alienate their customers even further with questionable business practices.
Here’s an example. Recently, the lease for my postage machine was about to expire. The name of the company shall remain nameless. I have leased equipment from this company since I started my business 18 years ago. A sales rep calls me in January to offer a new lease. I share with her my dismay on the lack of service and problems I have had. I also tell her I want greater functionality at a lower price. She responds by telling me to call service for the equipment problems. I suggest she makes the call since she wants my business to continue. No call is made and the equipment is not fixed. The sales rep also realizes that the prices for renewal will not meet my budget or functionality. So, she decides there is no business.

In the meantime, I am shopping the competition. Two months go by and the original company finally calls to arrange to pick up the machine. I tell the service rep that if her company really wants another shot at renewing my account, now is the time to make me a compelling offer.

She has the same sales rep who was of no use in January call me back! And here is where it really gets outrageous. She confidently says, now that your lease is over, I can treat you as a new customer and give you pricing I could never do for a lease renewal.

I was shocked! End result, I went with the competition, who by the way was a few dollars more expensive. What the old vendor was doing is a practice that some companies use, where they continue to roll their customers over without taking into account their needs, wants, etc. It is only when they leave do they finally listen and come up with proposals that make sense. The problem is when a customer leaves, they rarely come back.

Most of you do not engage in this behavior. However, once your customer is on board, you must make sure they are happy and not looking elsewhere. Are you giving them the same economic benefit you are giving new customers? If not, you are churning your customer base. The reality is, renewing existing contracts is more profitable than having to find a new customer because the relationship has been already consummated.

Are you selling the smart way? Or are you working too hard by ticking of existing customers and running around like a chicken without your head on trying to find new business?

The choice is yours. Your customers are waiting to hear your answer. Actually, they have already heard your answers by the service they are getting.

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My good friend and best-selling author, Bill Brooks, just had his new book, The New Science of Selling and Persuasion: How Smart Companies and Great Salespeople Sell, published by John Wiley and Sons and made available just this week at an unprecedented 35% discount. This discount is for a limited time ONLY.

This book reveals how you can implement the same strategies top sales-driven companies use to continue their year-in-year-out growth.

To order your copy, click on the following link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/selling

In addition to the breakthrough strategies included in this book, Bill’s also offering everyone who buys the book 8 complimentary downloadable bonuses - white papers and special reports contributed by some of the most recognized names in sales training and professional development.

To collect your bonuses, all you need to do is email your BarnesandNoble.com receipt to news@thebrooksgroup.com and someone will send you instructions for downloading your bonus material. Please do NOT contact Barnes and Noble.com concerning your bonus material.

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