Old Sport
Selling is a game, it's a sport whereby the star athletes prepare months and years in advance to leave it all on the field while reaping most of the rewards. Anyone can play a sport, or try to sell, but quite frankly most are in the crowd watching the game. It always looks easy in the stands but it's a different ballgame when you’re in the thick of it where scoring is selling. For the successful salesman closing the sale is like holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy high in the sky. What most salesmen seem to forget is that to reach the moment of closing that sale, there are plenty of practices, losses, and hurdles in the way. Shit, if selling was easy, why the fuck would you be reading this? Why would it even be a profession? Selling can be a brutal sport, like playing rugby when you don’t know the rules or strategies of the game. Learn the ins and outs of this game and the world is your playground, or at least it's a round of golf where you don't have to worry about the other side taking your head off.
If no’s were not a natural part of the selling process, there would be no need for salespeople
Now to ask if you’ve ever gone out to eat would be a foolish and obvious question so let's sharpen up the questions, shall we? Can you spot the difference between a seasonal and a career waiter? I’ll give you a hint when you are done eating, what is the standard question that the waiter asks you and the guest at your table?
“Would you like any dessert?”
Now we are wired to force ‘no’s’ and ‘no thank you I’m stuffed, the check will do’ as if we were reading off a subconscious script. The next few moments are when you size up your waiter. The seasonal Joe Shmoe, will say, of course, I will bring the check right over. A lazy and a poor salesman. Want to know what the career waiter says? He will smile and go on to describe in great detail the freshly made Tartufo, and the Belgian chocolate lava cake with hot fudge, and by the time he is done, your mouth is already drooling while you’re wondering what to order. Now if you are out to dinner with a group, all he has to do is close one of you and then the rest will fall in line, ordering the $13 slice cake when an entire pie cost the same.
That is the simple and subtle difference between the pretenders and the professionals. The professional waiter serving your table of 10 just added an extra $130 to the bill which puts more money in his pocket from the tip that you have to fork over. In your day to day life, take notice when you meet a good salesman and learn from them. Shit, I learned from my waiter when I went in to grab a burger at an oceanfront restaurant before a meeting with a client. This pro had me ordering the filet, the drink of the day and Tartufo, a simple $20 lunch tab turned into a $100 tab and 20% in his pocket. Have to respect a true salesman when you meet one.
The greater your sales skills, the more choices you will have about where you can work and how much you will earn.
More Value Task - Next time you are out to eat, make it obvious that you are looking at the dessert menu. When the waiter asks if you would like dessert, reply ‘no the check will do’ and wait to see how they reply.