فصل 5

CHAPTER FIVE

THE MOST IMPORTANT SALE

SELLING YOURSELF

Only to the degree you are sold can you sell. This is a critical and unavoidable fact that cannot be missed if you’re to become great at what you do. This fact also happens to be one of the most important tools you’ll ever have as a salesperson, and it can be used to monitor your career. The bottom line is, if you’re not selling to some degree, you’re not sold. If sales are slow, you’re not sold. If you’re not getting your way, you’re not sold. If you’ve got some other excuse, you’re not completely sold.

In order to become a great salesperson, you have to sell yourself on what you’re selling. Make this the most important sale of your life and continue making that sale over and over to yourself. You have to sell yourself completely!

I know salespeople who know the game but are not completely and absolutely sold on their product, service, or company. Because of their lack of conviction, they are not consistent producers. You’ve got to be absolutely convinced that your product, your company, your services, or your ideas are superior to all others. Many salespeople believe that their products are superior, and while many products tend to offer similar benefits to yours, you have to be sold that your product, service, or idea is somehow superior. You have to be 100 percent certain that what you’re selling is better than all other options. The fraud can’t get consistent results because he is not completely sold on his product.

This one point is critical for greatness, and you cannot negotiate it in any way. You have to be utterly convinced and believe in what you’re selling so strongly that you become unreasonable. That’s right: Unreasonable, even fanatical! You’ve got to be so convinced that you won’t even consider any logic suggesting otherwise. I am not saying that you should be arrogant about the product’s superiority, but that you should be completely sold on it. You must never allow the consideration to enter your mind that anyone else could even compete with you. That’s not to say that others won’t try, but you have to be so convinced and so sold on it yourself that you won’t consider or allow others to consider any other option.

Throughout most of my selling career I’ve sold more expensive products than my direct competitors. I have also gotten more money for similar products than my competitors have because I believed so strongly in my service, my level of care, and the superiority of my products. Whether this was true to others or not was less important to me than my own conviction. While I’ve sold products that were priced higher than those my competitors were selling, I’ve never asked a buyer to pay a price that I wasn’t fully sold on myself, and that, I believe, is the only way to achieve higher prices.

I have been accused of asking astronomical prices for some of the products I’ve sold. The critics thought that I was asking a high amount in the hope that I’d get more than the product was worth—the idea of “if you don’t ask for it you won’t get it.” But the truth is, I’ve never asked a high price just for the sake of starting high. I decide on a price because I’m so convinced of the product’s worth that I would pay that price myself to have it!

CONVICTION IS THE MAKE-OR-BREAK POINT

One time I put a house up for sale and the best realtor in town told me it was worth maybe $6 million. I told her to put it on the market at $8.9 million because the location was irreplaceable, and I believed it was worth that much. I was 100 percent convinced that the house was worth that price because I could have actually made sense of paying that price myself. I sold the house two months later for almost the asking price, and everyone in the neighborhood loved me. The new owner went on to sell the same piece of property a year later for $10 million. It wasn’t until after I became convinced of the value that others agreed with me.

The conviction that you have regarding your product is more important than the conviction that others have about their facts and figures.

The word “conviction” is defined as a “firmly held belief.” It comes from the word “convince,” which is derived from the Latin word “convict,” meaning “to conquer.”

Conviction is the ability to be so firmly sold on your beliefs that you demonstrate to your buyer with such complete and utter certainty that no other choices appear to be available.

A sale is made when your conviction and belief about something are stronger than another’s, at which point they give up some of their conviction. That’s the moment when the sale becomes possible. I’m not even talking about a product or service at this point. I’m talking about the conviction of the individual himself. The real issue becomes who is more sold on what he believes to be true. Who is the most believable and the most convincing? It will always be the one who is most sold!

A highly trained U.S. Army Ranger is so deeply sold on his mission and so sold on the cause that he’s able to do things that would appear superhuman to others. He’s convinced of the need to perform at this level and he does. Why? Because he’s sold on his mission. He doesn’t think; he operates. He doesn’t have to think because he’s already decided. He believes in it to his very core, and because of this he’s able to achieve the impossible.

Alexander Graham Bell was considered a lunatic when he talked about inventing a device that would transmit the human voice over long distances through wires. He was told that his invention, called the telephone, was impossible. But that’s the interesting thing about the impossible. It’s only impossible until someone makes it possible! Look at photography, flight, space travel, e-mail, the Internet, and on and on. All of these things were considered impossible once upon a time—until someone became sold on them being possible.

Why is it that some people do things that others wouldn’t dream of doing? It’s because they are sold on the idea that it needs to be done for some reason. To the degree that they are sold and become unreasonable in their quest, they will succeed.

While it’s unfortunately promoted in our society to be reasonable and sensible, these characteristics will not serve you in sales or in life. If you really want something great to happen, you’ve got to be unreasonable, even if it means convincing yourself beyond reason that what you have is better. We aren’t talking about some trivial pastime here like riding bicycles! Anyone can learn to ride a bicycle. We’re talking about becoming a great in your field, and to do that you have to be completely and unreasonably sold on yourself, your product, your company, and your ideas.

You might be wondering, “To get to this point of being unreasonable, do I have to be crazy or insane to be successful?” The answer is no. You need to make a decision to be unreasonable. If a person acts insane, it doesn’t mean he’s insane. It means that he decided to act insane.

If you’re unreasonable in your belief and sold to the degree that you see no other options available to the customer that would make sense, it doesn’t mean that something is wrong with you. It means that you’re unreasonable in your convictions.

Being unreasonable means that you are sold on what you’re selling, and it is your conviction alone that will sell others on it.

You must be completely IN if you are to fully maximize the opportunities before you. Do not even attempt selling to someone else until you yourself are completely sold. To the degree that you aren’t sold, you’ll have difficulty selling to others. Anytime you find yourself having trouble getting your way, look no further than your own degree of conviction in what you’re selling.

Perhaps you allowed your certainty to waver, or maybe something entered your head that made you doubt yourself or your product just a tiny bit. Whatever it was, find it and throw it out like yesterday’s garbage.

If you wouldn’t buy the product or if you have any negative considerations about how it benefits others, to that degree you are guaranteed to fail. You must be sold. You must get rid of all negative considerations and believe that it’s the right thing, the right product, and that it will benefit the person you’re selling it to. It’s critical that you do everything possible to convince yourself that your product must be purchased and that it must be purchased from you at your pricing.

Why should someone go into debt to buy your product? Why should they choose your product instead of someone else’s? Why should someone do it right now and not wait another second? Why should they buy your product for more money rather than a similar product for less? Why should someone buy it from you rather than the guy down the street? Why should they choose your company over another? If you can’t instantly answer these questions, you’ll struggle along because you’re not convinced. If you were completely sold, you would have immediate responses to each one.

Become so thoroughly sold on your product that your conviction is irresistible to others. This is not meant to suggest that you lie to yourself, if that was even possible. I’ve personally met thousands of high-producing salespeople over the years, and never have I met a top producer who got to the top by deceiving others. What I’m suggesting is that you take the time to sell yourself before you try to sell someone else on how your product is superior to others.

OVERCOMING THE NINETY-DAY PHENOMENON

I’ve met many salespeople who tell me that they started selling a product and did well with it for ninety days, but then suddenly found themselves unable to close a deal. What happened? Management will tell you that the person has gotten lazy or that he’s gotten too smart for his own good. Okay, so he got lazy. But why? He wasn’t exhibiting laziness for the first thirty days, and he couldn’t have gotten too smart for his own good because ninety days at any job won’t make you smart by any means.

What I believe happens to cause this ninety-day phenomenon is that either the individual was being told to do something that wasn’t aligned with his own personal standards of ethics or he’s now trying to sell something that he’s no longer completely sold on. Maybe he doesn’t believe in the product anymore. Maybe he has disagreements with management, or something that he’s promising. He’s refraining from doing something that he was doing for the first ninety days. Something changed!

Maybe he got some information about how the product doesn’t help people or how it doesn’t do what he’s been promising. Maybe he didn’t close a deal and started wondering why, and then made up the wrong reason for it and continues to use that incorrect reasoning. This happens a great deal. Salespeople come up with wrong answers and then continue to use these wrong answers when trying to solve future problems.

Whatever it was that happened, the ninety-day wonder is basically no longer sold. Actually, he is sold—he’s just sold on something else. In fact, what he’s now sold on is that it’s a bad idea to sell this product, and so he starts not selling the product! Not selling is also a form of selling, just in reverse. Something has affected him to the point where he’s motivated not to sell rather than motivated to sell. Do you get it? Something went out in his thinking and he’s no longer convinced.

When a salesperson’s production drops, this is the first thing you should look for and rehabilitate. This individual must be revitalized and resold on the product, the company, and the services. Go over all of the ways that the product is superior and how it will benefit others. Find out if there’s some counter-intention, disagreement, or false information about the product, service, or company that’s in conflict with the salesperson’s beliefs. Once you’ve handled that, ask him how he felt about the product or service when he was doing well selling it and you’ll soon find him motivated and closing deals again.

It’s incredible how many salespeople tell me stories about the competitor that undersells them and practically gives products away or how the very product they sell can be bought on the Internet for less. I recently read a book called Secrets of Successful Selling that talked about how competition had reached levels never before seen and how customer awareness had reached a point that required salespeople to operate at levels never before considered. The book was written in 1952, which just goes to show that there’s always been competition and there always will be. The problem isn’t product knowledge, competition, or smarter customers; the real issue is whether or not you are fully sold on your product.

Become so sold, so convinced, so committed to your company, product, and service that you believe it would be a terrible thing for the buyer to do business anywhere else with any other product.

Are you so sold on your product that you think it’s detrimental and unethical not to convince someone to buy from you? Get to that point and watch your production freak out! When a customer doesn’t buy your product, do you actually feel bad for him and lose sleep feeling like you’ve screwed him over because he didn’t buy it from you? If you were really sold, you would feel like that. That is sold! The person who is sold completely won’t let people not buy, because that would be a violation of his own integrity! Reach that level of being sold, and I assure you that people will buy from you.

You might ask yourself, “But what if I’m not convinced that I have the best product or the best service?” Then get convinced, and do it right now! Do whatever it takes to believe that you’re offering the greatest product and the greatest service. Find the plus points and sell yourself on them completely.

Let us take as an example an unhappily married man who wishes he had a better relationship. Perhaps he hasn’t been paying attention to his wife and he’s lost some of his commitment and passion over the years. What happened? He basically isn’t sold anymore. At one time he was completely sold on his wife, so sold that he suggested they spend the rest of their lives together. Somewhere along the line he stopped selling himself on the marriage.

If you want your marriage to work better, then convince yourself that you have the best spouse on the planet. How is your spouse the best? What sets him or her apart? What makes that person unique, different from any other human being on this planet? What are you sold on? She burns dinner, she looks terrible in the morning, and she’s got big ugly feet! Setting the negatives aside, look at what sold you on her in the first place. Sell yourself on her all over again. Find the plus points and ignore the imperfections. Get back to being sold and doing the things that you were doing early on and watch the change. You’ll be amazed to see what happens. Suddenly she isn’t burning meals anymore, she looks great in the morning, and she’s gone out and gotten a pedicure and a nice pair of shoes.

GET SOLD OR BE SOLD

Should you lie to yourself? Of course not; but you’ve got to get yourself sold no matter what! Rather than lying to yourself, a better alternative is to do what a champion does: Champions decide to win the game with what they have to work with. They don’t change teams. They make the most of the assets and strengths available to them. They play the cards they’ve got and they make the most of the pot. They don’t lie to themselves; they convince themselves that the only solution is winning, and they commit to one outcome only—success!

Focus on winning whatever game you’re playing in life. Sell yourself on what you need to do today to make today great, to make your relationships great, to make your neighborhood great, to make your life great, and to make the sale. Find every plus point and sell it.

David beat Goliath not because he had any real chance of being able to, but because he sold himself on the idea that he had to. Did he lie to himself? Absolutely not. He became convinced that his survival depended on taking down the giant. This is what you must do. Get sold and get committed to the fact that you’re offering a superior product or a great service that can’t be beat. You’ve got to make it so true to yourself that you can say it to others with such conviction that no one would even think of challenging you.

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS

One time a real estate agent was trying to convince me that a particular investment was a great deal and a great opportunity for me. He kept going on and on about what a fabulous investment this property was. But I wasn’t convinced because he didn’t say it convincingly. He lacked the believability of someone who is completely and thoroughly sold on his product. Like any customer who isn’t sold, I started questioning him. It wasn’t the deal that I was unsure about as much as it was the salesman who was pitching it. Something just didn’t add up with the way he dressed, how he presented his pitch and the rushed, loud sales talk. He sounded like a “salesman,” not like someone who was completely and securely confident about his product.

Finally I asked, “Since you continue to tell me how great an investment this is, how many have you bought yourself?”

With a dumbfounded look on his face, the salesman quietly answered, “None.”

You might be thinking that my question was unfair because maybe he couldn’t afford the product. Look, if it’s a sure thing, why not pool all the money you, your kids, your parents, and your friends have and buy it? If it’s a sure thing, you’re not putting anyone at risk. If your product is a great deal, wouldn’t it make sense that you’d be willing to buy it yourself?

By owning the product you’re selling, you’re demonstrating your certainty to others by your actions, and actions do speak louder than words. That’s the difference between a “salesperson” and someone who’s completely sold. It’s unbelievable to me how many people sell products that they don’t own themselves! Every product I’ve ever sold, I first bought myself and was proud to tell people that I owned it.

Obviously, you can’t buy every single product that you sell, but you’ve got to be willing to buy it.

You have to be so sold that you use your product, consume your product, and would sell the product to your loved ones. Otherwise you’re just a mercenary selling whatever for the highest fee.

ICE TO AN ESKIMO?

I consider myself to be a great salesperson, but that doesn’t mean I could sell any product. To the degree that you’re in disagreement with some product or idea, you won’t be able to sell it.

For example, I couldn’t sell ice to an Eskimo, as the saying goes. Why? Because it would be unethical for me to sell ice to an Eskimo since I just don’t see the need. I couldn’t and wouldn’t sell psychiatric drugs of any kind, no matter how much money you paid me. I could never convince myself that drugging people could possibly solve their problems or make their lives better. I can sell only that which I’m completely sold on.

A finance and insurance salesman at a car dealership was having difficulty selling his products, and he came to me for advice on improving his sales. I began by asking him when he had last bought a new car. He said that he’d recently purchased one, and he went on to tell me how much he loved it. Because he was sold on that car enough to buy it himself, his conviction for the product shined through when he talked about it. He was speaking from the heart. I went on to ask him which of the finance and insurance products he’d purchased with his new car (credit life, accident, health insurance, and warranty). With a chuckle, he admitted that he hadn’t bought any of those products because he didn’t want to spend the extra money on them. The truth was, he didn’t buy them because he wasn’t sold on the very products he was selling. Because he wasn’t sold, he wasn’t able to get others to buy the products from him. You might think, “No, he was just saving money!” Look, if you are completely sold, you won’t concern yourself with the money. You’ll buy the product! There is no exception to this rule ever!

If you’re having a similar problem, it’s an easy one to resolve and doesn’t even require that you learn anything about selling. All you have to do is buy the products you sell and then watch your sales go up. People are inclined to do what others have already done. People will follow you to your chiropractor, consult your doctor, hire your maid, or go to the movie you recommended—all because of what you did, not what you said. To the degree that you’re sold, you will take action, and to the degree that you take action, you will be successful in selling others!

I assure you that the finance guy I mentioned earlier would be more successful if he were able to demonstrate through action that he’d already made the same investments himself. He would have been able to look at his customers with full conviction and show them that he’d done what he was asking them to do; that he’d put his money where his mouth was because he was sold himself. By the way, he took my advice and his income quadrupled.

THE VITAL POINT

The vital point of having salespeople who are sold is missed by 90 percent of all management. Go to an Apple store and ask the salespeople how much they like their products. Those people are so totally sold that you’d think it’s a religious movement. The Apple people aren’t using PCs at home; they’re sold on Apple and you feel it when they present their products.

I went to a very high-end steak restaurant and I asked the waitress which steak was her personal favorite. She told me that she was a vegetarian! Hello? Is anyone home in management? What is this person doing in a steakhouse?

I would never hire a salesperson if he wasn’t willing to buy and use the product himself. I also wouldn’t hire a salesperson who wouldn’t buy the product because he doesn’t have the money. If he truly doesn’t have the resources, let’s get him a credit card or a payment plan and sell him the product so he can tell others how he loved it so much that he went into debt to buy it!

Additionally, I wouldn’t hire a salesperson who wouldn’t spend money. If a person won’t spend money or tends to be really cheap in how he spends his money, he’ll always have trouble getting other people to spend their money. I assure you that the less hung-up you are on money, the easier money will come to you. I know of salespeople who are so tight that they still have their first commission. While they brag about this frugality, I am convinced they would have reached much higher income levels had they not been so tight regarding their own money, because more people would have given them more money.

If you won’t buy it yourself, then you’re not sold yourself! If you can’t pass the simple test of being willing to buy your own product, you’ll never be able to sell others in large numbers.

You have power when you’re sitting at the closing table and can look the prospect dead in the eye and show him that you’ve already made the exact same purchase that you’re asking him to make. Your personal conviction and believability will take your career to new heights when you’re fully sold. Buy the product yourself and you’ll become a miracle closer and will be able to handle objections that ordinary salespeople can’t! Be totally sold on the products, services, and the company you work for and watch your prospects turn into customers!