فصل 3

CHAPTER THREE

PROFESSIONAL OR AMATEUR?

THE PROFESSIONAL

Step into my world and let me unveil the secrets of the professional seller and how you can become one. Even if selling isn’t your career, you should be a professional seller in order to get more out of life. I tell attendees in my money seminar, “If you want to get rich, learn how to sell.” I became a professional at selling when I was twenty-six years old, after years of research and intense study on the subject. The hard work was well worth it, and the rest of my life changed as a result of my learning this little-understood life skill. Every business I have started, every dollar I have earned, and all the great things that have happened in my life are a result of learning this ability.

Three-quarters of the world’s population have no clue that the successes they will experience in their life and career depend solely on selling. If they don’t know how to sell, they will not be successful. While selling may not be your main occupation, hopefully by now you are convinced that selling is essential to your life. No dream can ever become a reality without successfully selling it to others.

Professional: A person who is engaged in a specified activity as his or her main paid occupation rather than as a pastime.

It’s been my experience that 99 percent of all “professional” salespeople have only a slight idea of what selling is, much less how to actually determine and predict results. What I’ve said is not meant to offend you in any way, but to inform you. If it does somehow offend you, then keep reading. Sometimes the truth is tough to hear, and this book will put you in control of your profession, put you in control of your customer, help you increase your income, and transform you into a true professional. Most real pros do not even call themselves salespeople; rather, they call themselves litigators, negotiators, moderators, business owners, inventors, politicians, coaches, fund-raisers, agents, actors, entrepreneurs, financial planners, and so on. Consider Benjamin Franklin, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Bill Gates, Martha Stewart—they are just a handful of the real pros of selling.

THE AMATEUR

Amateur: A person who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession, or one lacking in experience and competence in an art or science.

I’ve met hundreds of thousands of salespeople over the past twenty-five years, most of whom were amateurs and did not know the first thing about selling. Is selling just a pastime to you, no different than watching television? Do you lack experience and competence in this field? Are you not clear about what you’re doing while negotiating? Do you struggle to get your way in life? Do you think there’s no way you could ever be a salesperson? Do you have disdain for this thing called selling? Do you hate rejection and even the idea of selling another? If any of these questions describe how you feel about selling, then we have some work to do.

I can show you how to become a professional, but first you have to get clear on two things: (1) Selling is critical to your survival regardless of your career, and (2) you must decide to become a professional and give up any idea that it’s something for others and not for you. You have to decide that you want to start getting your way in life. Quit thinking that it’s up to fate or the gods. It’s up to you. You will have to shift your thinking to understand that your very life and every dream you have ever had depend solely on your ability to sell. If you aren’t getting your way, then quit making excuses. Decide now to learn everything there is to know about the only secret to success—sales.

THE GREAT SHORTAGE

For thousands of years, salespeople have been amassing wealth and accumulating riches, and these same opportunities still exist today. It isn’t real to most salespeople that they can amass fortunes, but that’s due to the short-sighted view of the opportunities available for the great and dedicated salespeople.

While there may or may not be shortages of water and oil on this planet, I assure you there are vast shortages of highly committed, highly dedicated, and great salespeople. This is good news for those who choose to become a great salesperson, for the world awaits you with its fortune. While there are hundreds of millions of people who call themselves salespeople, there are only a handful who are really “the greats.” The difference between mediocrity and greatness lies in being committed to the profession and being consumed by the desire to be great and the dedication to learn the trade. Despite the popular belief that there are limits in sales, I assure you that the only limits you’ll face are those that exist in your imagination.

The truth is, you can get paid whatever you want to. There is no ceiling. You can decide what products you’ll sell, who you’ll sell them to, and who you want to work with. The truly great salespeople who stand out above the rest aren’t even really in the same profession as the masses. They think differently, act differently, and work differently. To them the job is effortless because they understand how to reach their goals. They’re paid immense fees compared to their peers. They make selling look easy, and others are certain that their success is the result of some “gift” they were born with. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve never met anyone that reached stellar levels of success who got there because of luck or some sort of God-given talent. They’re successful because they have mastered the trade.

When the economy crashes, “the greats” may experience small dips in production, but they always survive, whereas the amateurs lose their jobs. Great salespeople don’t have ceilings on their earnings and they know that their income depends solely on their ability to get in front of customers, make themselves known, get agreements, close sales, and reproduce those results over and over again.

Only a handful of people ever take the time to really learn this game and master it. When I was twenty-five, I made the commitment to know everything there was to know about the game of selling. I was finished with pumping myself up every morning with enthusiasm and hoping for great results. Enthusiasm is great, but it’s not a replacement for knowing.

The amateur goes out and plays golf every Saturday with his boys, but he can’t play with a master who truly knows the game of golf.

The person who knows what he’s doing and understands every nuance of his career doesn’t have to get enthusiastic; he is enthusiastic. When you really, truly know something, you can predict outcomes. He who can predict outcomes has true confidence and freedom.