Never sell a deal again.

At 18 years old, I made over $2mm.

By 19, I had lost it all.

By 20, I made a good chunk of it back.

Something you may or may not know about me: I’ve always lived with a chip on my shoulder, pushing the limits.

I didn’t have the best role models growing up. Before you say “oh, I’m sorry,” don’t. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I, to this day, have no realization of “what’s possible.”

I just know if I want something I try to figure out a way to get it.

Why does this matter?

Let me tell you.

At 24 years old, I had been selling packaging for a few years. Thought I was pretty good. Been a top performer, made a few bucks, and was ready to make more.

I interviewed with one of the largest, hottest publicly traded companies.

Big comp packages. Good product. Big money.

And big promotion.

I wasn’t necessarily qualified, but what did I know?

I wanted this job bad.

Matt was the VP of Sales who interviewed me.

The interview was going pretty well. Built rapport. Answered some questions. Then we got to the roleplay section.

Matt had a snow globe on his desk.

“Chris, sell me this snow globe.”

I went for it.

“Matt, so, where do you want to start?”

“Chris, I said sell me the snow globe.” Said Matt.

I said it again...

“So, where do you want to start? What’s on your mind that you’re shopping for snow globes?”

Matt, frustrated as hell, told me everything I did wrong and what he expected instead.

He asked me what sales training I had, what I was trying to accomplish, etc.

“Matt, I wasn’t convinced you needed a snow globe, let alone ready to sell you one.”

Won’t go into the details, but as you might guess, I didn’t get the job.

I did get recruited for his boss’s boss’s job 7 years later.

I never took it.

Why do I tell you this?

That is how you sell.

Customer says, “Pitch me.”

80% of you will be going into your pitch about your company and what you do.

19% of you will talk about the problems you solve and who you solve them for.

1% of you will say, “What’s going on in your business that made you take this call?”

You see, 99% of salespeople are convincing the prospect to buy.

The top 1% don’t.

In fact, they do the opposite. CONVINCE ME TO SELL YOU.

Everything you do as a sales leader should be answering one question:

“Am I convinced this prospect needs to buy my product?”

People love to buy, but hate to be sold.

When you think about your sales process, your line of questioning. Are you selling? Or are your prospects buying?

Big difference between the two…

Until next week,

Chris