Guest post from the Rainmaker Maker Aka Rick Roberge

Hey, Chris here. Welcome to the 164th Floor. Each week I answer reader questions about closing more deals, bigger deals, negotiation. You name it. It's the weekly advice column to help you enter the top 1% in sales. Send me your questions and I’ll answer back with actionable real-talk advice.

Last week I introduced you to one of the most sought after sales coaches in the world.

Rick Roberge

(Announcement here)

He’s written hundreds of articles. On his own blogs, Hubspot’s blog (when it was the best sales blog around) and others.

Before I hired Rick, I read every single one.

Today, I’m sharing with you the two most influential to deal making.

1. My Sales Mindset - How you think changes how you sell.

2. Which Sales Process Does Your Buyer Need? - How your prospects buy changes how you sell.

Want to sell better?

Sell different.

Want to closer bigger deals.

Sell different.

Want to sell more deals?

You get the idea.

Onto the articles:

My Sales Mindset

March 28, 2014

What is your mindset when you reach out to a new prospect?

Are you thinking, "How can I get this prospect to meet with me?"

Are you wondering, "Am I gonna be able to keep this prospect engaged long enough for me to convince them to do business with me?

Are you worried that if you don't get this prospect through your entire sales process today, you're going to miss your quota and be put on probation (or worse)?

Let me suggest three changes to your mindset that will set you apart, help you relax and focus on what's important and as Dale Berkebile used to say, "Blow the doors off your competition"

1. Decide what you're best at and focus on that.

2. You have nothing that I want.

3. Although we may have a lot of questions, these are my three deal-breakers.

4. Can I help you?

5. Do I want to help you?

6. Do you want my help?

Can you see how that changes the dynamics of a conversation?

Which Sales Process Does Your Buyer Need?

Aug 1, 2013 9:16:00 AM

"...change other people's behavior by changing one's behavior toward them." Dale Carnegie

I started calling myself a salesman in the 70's. I became a salesperson to be somewhat politically correct. Along the way, I've read a few books on selling, sales, behavior, business, psychology, specific sales processes and parts of the sales process. I am a professional salesperson and I believe that a professional has to continually learn about their profession.

If you're not a professional salesperson, but you need to get customers in order to stay in or grow your business, and you don't have time to be a professional salesperson, too, what process should you use?

You could try to learn:

Sandler Submarine (Pain, Budget, Decision, Fulfillment, Post Sell) (Bonding & Rapport and Upfront Contract were added later (probably) because salespeople 'forgot' to do them)

Baseline Selling - (First, Second, Third, Home)

GPCT - (Goals, Plans. Challenges, Timeline)

BANT – (Budget, Authority, Need and Timeframe)

Solution Selling, Spin Selling, The Challenger Sale, or whatever is cool and fashionable tomorrow,

or you could learn how to figure out what process your customer is using and follow theirs.

Huh?

Think about it. Prospects do their homework. They come to you with questions, a buying process and a pile of distrust and preconceived notions about your sales tricks and potential pitfalls. Whatever process you use, they're gonna try to screw you up. How many times have you been asked, "How much do you charge?", "What are your services?" or "What can you do for me?" and had to reply with, "You're on page 67 and I'm only on page 11. Can we get to that in a minute?" What do you do when they say, "No." or hang up?

Professional salespeople might have time to learn an entire system along with 100's of pages of witty comebacks to handle prospects with a brain, but chances are, if you're a founder of a VSB or an SMB or a solopreneur, you don't need to learn the latest sales system, you just need to be able to figure out how your customer wants to buy.

Don't you really just need the answers to these questions?

• Does this person have a problem that I can fix?

• Do they know it?

• Do they want it fixed?

• Can they tell me to fix it?

• Can they pay me?

• Do they believe that I understand their world?

• Do they believe that I have the expertise to help them?

• Do they want my help?

Eight yeses, everybody knows that everybody's ready.

Any nos, it's a no unless somebody wants to change their answer.

If you care more about your process, your product or scaling your company than listening and understanding your customer, you may be going out of business one conversation at a time.

Special offer still exists.

No-charge 15 minute “Ask us anything” slots.

Book a meeting.

Ask one question.

One problem.

One thing.

We will talk it through on the call.

First call? Fix 1 thing.

Repeat 3 times? Fix 3 things.

Repeat 30 times? Fix 30 things.

Repeat 100 times? Look out!

Until next week,

Chris