1. “The man on top of the
mountain didn’t fall there.”
- Vince Lombardi

2. 2
“Everything is selling. Nothing happens in this world, nothing comes into this world, until
somebody makes a sale.” - Richard Yates
Are you in sales? If you’re reading this, I sure hope so!
Do you work hard, but wonder if there are ways that you can do better?
Do you want to increase your take-home pay and fulfil your personal financial goals?
Are you constantly searching for the best ways to sell more and make your customers
happier?
That’s what this ebook is all about.
You will learn our absolute best tips and techniques including:
• when to push past “no”
• the best email templates for getting a response
• when to bring up pricing
• how to stay motivated for improved performance
We’ve divided the book into sections for easy reference - starting at the very top of the sales
funnel and working your way through closing the deal. Each chapter addresses one specific
piece of advice, shares some real world examples, and explains how to apply our knowledge
to help you better your sales game.
Using the tips in this book, I am confident that you will find methods to increase your sales
and make more money. So turn the page and begin now!
Adam Honig is the co-founder and CEO of Spiro Technologies. He is
a recognized thought-leader in sales process and effectiveness, and
has previously co-founded three successful technology companies:
Innoveer Solutions, C-Bridge, and Open Environment. He is best
known for speaking at various conferences including Dreamforce,
for pioneering the ‘No Jerks’ hiring model, and for flying his drone
while traveling the world.
Adam Honig
@adamhonig
Introduction
About the Author
Introduction

3. 37 Tip 13: Responding to “Now’s Not a Good Time”
39 Tip 14: An Email Trick for Great Response Rates
41 Tip 15: Face-to-Face Can’t Be Replaced!
43 Tip 16: Never Stop Calling!
45 Tip 17: Should You Keep Pushing Past “NO”?
47 Tip 18: Unstick Your Stuck Deal
49 Tip 19: There is No Shame in Stating Your Goal!
51 Tip 20: It’s Safe to Talk About the Competition
7 Tip 1: Networking Opportunities Are Right In Front of Your Face
10 Tip 2: Reconnecting With Lost Prospects is Key
12 Tip 3: Prevent Getting Ghosted
16 Tip 4: It’s Okay To Text Your Prospects
18 Tip 5: Ace Your Very First Call
20 Tip 6: Go Ahead - Have the Budget Talk
22 Tip 7: Creative Ways to Stay in Touch
25 Tip 8: The Ultimate No-Nos of Emailing
27 Tip 9: Stay On Top of Your Early Stage Opps
29 Tip 10: Get Over Rejection FAST
31 Tip 11: Mind Your Body Language
34 Tip 12: Twitter is Your Friend #BFF @Twitter
Prospecting Tips
Mid-Funnel Tips
TABLEOFCONTENTS

4. 54 Tip 21: Never Say “Never”
56 Tip 22: The Appropriate Way to Talk to Multiple Buyers
58 Tip 23: Razor Sharp Price Negotiation Skills
60 Tip 24: So, You Lost a Deal... Let’s Remain Professional
62 Tip 25: Give ‘em the Negative Close
64 Tip 26: Avoiding a Bad Sales Meeting
66 Tip 27: The Authority Principal Works
68 Tip 28: Crafting a Stellar Sales Presentation
70 Tip 29: The Jedi Mind Trick
Closing Tips
TABLEOFCONTENTS

5. 73 Tip 30: How to Stay Analytically Driven
75 Tip 31: Get Your Charm On
77 Tip 32: Calling a Client on their Cell is not Taboo
79 Tip 33: The Ins and Outs of Leaving a Voicemail
81 Tip 34: The Power of Positive Thinking
83 Tip 35: The Time and Place for Email
85 Tip 36: Swear a Little (I $hit You Not)
87 Tip 37: Confirm All Your Meetings
89 Tip 38: Make Them Laugh, Funny Guy
92 Tip 39: Please Just Stop Talking
94 Tip 40: Getting the Most Out of Your Manager
97 Tip 41: Don’t Fake It
99 Tip 42: Harness Your Powers of Observation
101 Tip 43: Staying Motivated Is Hard
104 Tip 44: Use Spiro to Make More Money
Strategy Tips
TABLEOFCONTENTS

6. PROSPECTING

7. 7
Did you ever kick yourself for not seeing an opportunity that was
right in front of your eyes? I see salespeople miss opportunities
to mine contacts from the people within the inner circles of their
network all the time just because, well, who would have thought…
Funny enough, this happened to me and it changed my perspective
on networking forever.
Years ago, I was working for a company that did business with all
different kinds of insurance companies. We dealt with some big
names, but I had my heart set on John Hancock Insurance – the guys
who owned and operated out of the tallest building in Boston. I’d
look out at that building every day and I swear my eyes would tear
up.
For YEARS we tried all different ways to get in touch with them
and eventually got a meeting there. As we were prepping for the
meeting, our HR head popped in and said, “Hey, I heard you guys are
meeting with my Uncle Bob.” Mind blown. We had the golden ticket
right here working with us in the same office. Her uncle was the
freaking CIO. Frankly it wasn’t even part of our process to check our
team for anyone who knows someone. Unfortunately, we didn’t get
the deal, but the moral is: Never overlook what your whole team’s
connections are. You’ve got leverage at your fingertips.
Tip 1
Networking Opportunities Are In Front
of Your Face

8. 8
We spend a lot of time focusing on outside networks, but you should never
neglect your first tier. Why? Because a. proximity, b. familiarity, and c.
accountability. Human psychology makes us want to help out if we’re on the
same team and if the odds of seeing each other again (on a daily basis) are
high, the perceived obligation to make it happen will likely be higher than
for someone who you don’t run into often. Be connected to everyone you
know on LinkedIn, and then start to view who your contact’s contacts are,
which can make the bigger picture much easier to see. For new salespeople
especially, it makes sense to see where the people are within your company
and where their connections are against the target accounts.
At my last company we made it a requirement as part of
the onboarding process for new employees, no matter
what department, to share any possible connections
they had for our target accounts. If salespeople are
communicating with their colleagues about who they
are targeting, the odds are much higher that you’ll get
something. If you’re working for a 200 person company,
for example, the possibilities are profound. I even know
salespeople who run what are essentially marketing
campaigns within their company using MailChimp, a free
email automation program. Offer a Starbucks gift card or
some small reward for anyone who helps you get a lead –
be innovative – it doesn’t hurt.

9. 9
Another suggestion is to turn networking inside out. Target
companies that your inside contacts know instead of focusing on an
outside target.
Lastly, don’t forget about your valued customers. If you’re doing
a good job keeping them happy, then capitalize on it! Ask them
for contacts. They’re very likely to help you with introductions if
they like what you’ve done for them so far. In my old company I
mentioned before I got tons of contacts for new business from
existing customers. A lot of industries aren’t
as cut-throat competitive as you think. In my
experience, they were often friendly with
competition and happy to be references.

10. 10
We invest so much time and energy on an opportunity with a prospect,
and if it doesn’t work out – *poof* – we make like a ghost and disappear.
Big mistake. Too often salespeople don’t look back on the prospects
who’ve slipped through their fingers and, to be honest, this makes no
sense to me. Why would you pass up a perfectly good opportunity to
make money?
Has your ego been bruised? It’s hard to stare rejection in the face. Even
though it’s not personal, it often feels like it is. Just suck it up and get back
into the game, remember that you invested a lot of time in this prospect
already, they know you, and it’s best to stay on their mind in case they
need you in the future or things don’t work out with the other guy.
Are you afraid of being turned down twice? The odds of being rejected
twice are pretty high, but, guess what, they’re always high in the sales
business. You might not have been a goof fit for that buyer’s need at the
time, but both you and their company can evolve. The company might
have changed to your benefit or vice versa.
And please don’t use the excuse that you are
busy. You’re never too busy if you’re really
serious about making more money.
Enough about the reasons you aren’t
connecting with an old client, let’s talk
about when you should try to reestablish
a relationship. So much is about
Tip 2
Reconnecting With Lost Prospects is Key

11. 11
timing in this aspect. You need to be there at the right time. We have a lot of Spiro users
at Paychex, for example. Here’s how they have to think about selling their product to a
buyer: it’s not often that a company will be thinking about changing their payroll provider
– at most once a year or so. They need to be there when the company is thinking about it,
otherwise the opportunity will come and go. Always be aware of certain important dates
and indicators affecting the client when you choose to follow up.
I believe in engaging prospects with content, so I’m not shy about emailing them something
relevant, just to keep on their mind. I’ll let them know about any new content that we have
on the Spiro blog and anything in general that I think would be valuable to them. There are
a lot of tools that can help you with finding relevant content. You can then use programs
like MailChimp to automate your emails.
Have a drip campaign – send an email a month – then on the fourth one, call them up and
say you’d like to schedule a phone call or meeting. You’ll be on their mind from all the other
emails. It’s important to send the emails consistently and over a regular length of time. The
technique is simple, but rarely used correctly.
I have a rule of thumb about how frequently I get back in touch: whatever the length of
contract I was selling I want to be back in front of a lost deal within about 75 percent of that
time. For example, if we’re selling a year’s worth of payroll services and lost the deal, I’d
want to be back in front of buyer within 9 months. You know that the subscription you’re
selling will expire and you want to be in front of them before the next round comes and
goes. If you’re there just when the contract expires in 12 months, you probably already lost
it.
It’s worth it to try again with a lost prospect; you never know what might have changed over
time, whether it’s with you or with them. People develop new skills and needs change –
always be ready to jump on the opportunity!

12. 12
Once upon a time we were pitching Sony Pictures on a deal. We had an initial
call that went well, we flew to LA, did a big demo – a lot of people were there and
everything went great. We sent them a proposal, even flew out again to follow
up, but never ever heard a single word after that. A cool deal that we were totally
stoked about went up in smoke. Ghosting is a frequent occupational hazard in
sales – everything goes well with a client, you’re getting positive vibes, then they
disappear without a trace. It happens all the time, but you don’t have to let it slide.
To fight ghosting, you first have to know what causes it.
One common reason for ghosting is that the prospect is interested, but other
factors are conspiring against you. The timing just isn’t right. The prospect might
be dealing with competing priorities, not have room in the budget, or have a boss
who doesn’t think it’s a good idea. They don’t want to get back to you because they
feel kind of dumb for putting you through all the motions only to disappoint you.
So the project was delayed to next year – who wants to be the jerk that delivers
the bad news?
Tip 3: Prevent Getting Ghosted

13. 13
Another explanation for a vanishing client is that maybe what you’re selling just doesn’t
work for them. This could arise if your salesmanship was so on point that you sold them on
YOU, but, when they took a look at it after being dazzled by your brilliant personality, they
realized that they’d gotten in farther than they meant to.
A third possibility is that they are talking to another vendor. I worked with a sales manager
early in my career who would often interpret silence from a prospect as a sign that they’re
talking to another vendor. He figured that they don’t want to say yes, but also don’t want
to say no until they figure out whether they’re doing a deal with the other party. This is a
somewhat paranoid, but justified, point of view from a sales guy and I think a somewhat
reasonable rationale from the buyer. They don’t want to piss off the other vendor in case
they need them.
And lastly, perhaps you messed up terribly during a sales meeting, and the avoidance is
very deliberate. Did you mention the wrong company, mention that you were working with
one of their competitors? Salespeople can get wrapped up in a blame game, obsessing
over what they might have done.
But don’t take ghosting laying down. You can try a few things to stop a buyer from ghosting
you. My philosophy is I’d rather get a “no” from a buyer than radio silence, because
there are many ways to push past no. I don’t let them slink off because I expect a level of
professionalism. We’re doing things in an above-board and honest way and I expect the
same back. It’s a moral issue for me, but I have to remember not to take it personally.
Often a prospect might simply be afraid of a bad reaction from a disappointed salesperson.
Here are some effective ways you can stop a prospect from ghosting you.

14. 14
1) The “Lost Email” Ploy
The “buried email email” technique
essentially asks a prospect if they
got your last email, but in a non-
confrontational and indirect way.
We find it so effective that we
actually built it in as a template in
Spiro. Here’s a basic example:
2) The Guilt-Inducing Voicemail
If you do decide to leave a voicemail, remind them that you had a great meeting and would
like to know where things stand. With just a touch of guilt. One tactic is to mention your sales
manager at this point. Say he’s been bugging you for an update about the situation. Remind
them that you also have people to be accountable to.
3) Go Over Their Head
There’s a lot of controversy about when to call a higher up in an organization. If you’re talking to
a VP and not getting a response then call their boss. You might say, “We met with Harry a bunch
of times, but we’re having trouble getting back in touch after we sent our proposal.” Who knows?
Maybe you’ll find out he got sick, maybe he was reassigned. One time when we were ghosted by
a VP and called his boss, we found out he had been out sick for some time. We got reengaged
after speaking to his boss and it turned out to be a great situation.

15. 15
4) The Negative Close
Sometimes you just have to call it like it is to get a response. Sending a ghosting prospect an
email that makes it obvious that you’re not going to be working together and wish them well
might seem counterintuitive, but it’s often a very effective last resort to get a response.
We have a breakup email template in Spiro that I’ve found really effective called “closing your
file.” It goes like this:
All these actions will hopefully give you an opportunity to diagnose what’s happening when a
prospect ghosts you and what you can do about it.

16. 16
If you’re a legendary salesperson, then you are in constant contact with your clients. But
how do you communicate with them? Most sales guys are accustomed to meetings, calls
and emails, but what about posting comments on social media platforms, or sending text
messages? Are these channels too casual? Do they make you look unprofessional? Based on
our research, there is a time and a circumstance for everything.
For starters, we performed a survey recently to find out how many of our audience members
do text their prospects. The good news is that only 30% of you, have never texted a prospect
or customer. The cause for this may be a generational issue – either with you or your
customer base – or something about your industry segment that might make texting less
than desirable. For example, one person emailed me to say that in her regulated industry,
she needs to log all customer interactions. In her case, there was no way to incorporate a
text message into that process. That’s understandable, however, not taking advantage of the
direct and immediate nature of texting is a disadvantage.
So for those who haven’t texted a prospect yet, you may be asking when is the right time? You
want to get in touch with a client, but definitely do not want to intrude when it’s inappropriate.
Tip 4
It’s Okay To
Text Your
Prospects

17. 17
One case when texting is a great idea, is when you are heading to a meeting and grabbing a
coffee - it is a nice gesture to ask if your prospect would like something. It’s a nice ice breaker
and opens up the texting line of communication. Recently, I was going to meet a former
colleague and new prospect named Joe. I arrived a bit early, so I stopped at a nearby Starbucks.
A few minutes before I left, I texted Joe and offered to get him something. That got an immediate
response and let him know I was on my way.
Texting is also useful when you want to show urgency. If you have a message you want the
person to receive right away. When it comes to sales, it’s just a fact of life that sales guys have
targets that get measured in months, quarters and years. I believe in making sure that your
prospects know that you have deadlines that are important to you, and a text is a great way to
convey this point! This can be done by sending a follow up text to ask if your prospect is ready to
move forward with the deal. Be sure to send this during regular business hours.
Another scenario is this: You had a great meeting, but no matter how many times you call and
email, you’re not getting a response back. Before you give up, why not send a quick text, “Hi
Denise, hope you’re doing well. Just wanted to make sure that I didn’t do something to offend
you in our last meeting.” This is sure to get a response which can help you get an answer. Many
times prospects have an unanswered objection, have been busy or just aren’t interested but
don’t want to say no. This text will help you identify where your prospect stands by putting a
little pressure on them.
Lastly, when you are running late a text is a must. While successful salespeople are rarely late,
when we are, a quick text is much more helpful to a prospect than an email. This is simply
because it’s likely to be noticed right away. Yes, it’s bad to be running late, but at least the
prospect won’t be sitting and wondering if you will even show up.
So, if you have yet to break the seal on texting your prospects or customers, now you have some
ideas on how to do so appropriately. Texting to offer a coffee is an easy one to start with, and
eventually, you can start using texts to help you close deals and get the answers you need. As
the younger generations fill the workplace and technology permeates further into the workforce,
texting looks to become more and more commonplace.

18. 18
I remember spending hours reaching out to prospects and then suddenly
connecting with one and being extremely tongue-tied. Once the prospect felt
so bad for me, that he coached me through the process of my own sales call! (I
didn’t get the sale.)
A similar situation comes to mind from the movie Wall Street. Do you remember
the scene when Bud finally – after 59 straight days of calling – gets a meeting
with Gordon Gekko? Let’s look at the approach he uses. Bud starts with some
flattery:
“I just want to let you know Mr. Gekko I read all about you at NYU Business, and I
think you’re an incredible genius and I’ve always dreamed of only one thing — to
do business with a man like you…”
But Gekko isn’t biting and he replies “So whatta you got for me, sport? Why are
you here?” Bud offers him his standard pitch – sounding very much like a sales
guy – and Gekko shoots him down. Ever experienced a scenario like that? So,
how can you engage prospects like Gekko and get them to actually bite?
The first step is doing your homework so you know your prospect. I’m going to
assume you’re connecting with your prospect on the phone and not meeting
in their opulent office. You need to be brief and make a good impression
immediately. Before you even get them on the phone, what sort of research
do you do? I’m hoping you’ve taken at least a moment to look at their LinkedIn
profile (and other social media sources, if possible) and know something about
the person – not just the company you’re trying to pitch. This gives you more
power in the conversation. Determining the personality of your prospect is
critical to your pitch. You might want to consider services like Crystal that can
give you some insights. However, don’t spend more than one minute on this as
it’s easy to get sucked into a vortex of research. Keep it brief.
Tip 5Ace Your Very First Call

19. 19
Next, you need to get your opening right. It is the door that will allow you to get into
the room where the deal happens. Here are three of my favorite sales openings, but
of course you should vary them on what your research shows:
1) Build Rapport from Research – Make a relevant comment based on their public
LinkedIn or other social media postings. For me you might say, “Hi Adam, this is Bill
from Onagio Software. First of all, I loved your drone videos on YouTube. Great stuff
there.” It’s hard to dislike someone who likes your stuff! It needs to be specific to work.
Note how Bud says he dreamed of doing business with a ‘man like you’. A man like
you? For me that would be off-putting. What does that even mean?
2) Use the Negative Close – Next, ask for their advice or recommendations; you can
combine this with the negative close “I’m trying to figure out if ABC Company is a
good prospect for me… can you tell me what you think?” For bonus points you can
always blame it on your manager. Almost everyone has a manager, so you might
get a bit of sympathy here: “Hi Adam, can you give me some advice? My manager
thinks ABC Company is a good prospect for me, but I’m not so sure.”
3) Be Simple and Honest! – Always a good approach, tell your prospect you’re
a sales guy covering his account. Of course, don’t put on your “I’m-a-robot-
salesperson” voice and sound like Bud from Wall Street. Most business executives
have a good bullshit detector, so honesty works.
When panic kicks in, people resort to desperate measures. For example, Bud offering
up some inside trading secrets to pique Gekko’s interest. That doesn’t usually end
well, so instead, be prepared and confident by doing your homework and practicing
your sales opening. With these tips, you can get your message across smoothly and
transition into the sale.

20. 20
I’m a big fan of asking budget questions early. Why? Because
there’s nothing worse than going through a whole sales cycle
and finding out you’re way out of step with your client when it
comes to the bottom line.
I found this out the hard way as a kid. My friend and I were
shoveling snow during the winter and had just landed a gig
doing a very large gravel driveway. The whole time we were
talking about how much money we were going to make from the
job, but when we held our hands out to the homeowner he had
a different idea. Needless to say, we made sure we discussed
our fees beforehand from then on.
Most people don’t like talking about money straight off the bat,
and I get why. It seems inherently impolite, pushy, shallow, and
generally off-putting, but finding out this crucial information
early will save a lot of time in the long run. There is, however, a
right way and a wrong way to go about it.
Asking “what’s your budget for this” often isn’t effective because
people a) don’t know what their budget is, or b) haven’t figured
it out. About 75 percent of early stage prospects aren’t sure of
their budget in my experience, so I like to instead test the range
by rephrasing the question as open-ended. I ask “Do you have a
budget in mind?” and once they respond I can give them a range
of what they might expect to spend if they work with me. In my
last company we sold CRM consulting. Our typical engagement
was $300,000 with a range between $50k and $1 million. After
we got a prospect excited about our approach, I’d let them know
Tip 6
Go Ahead -
Have the Budget Talk

21. 21
that typical clients of their size spent x amount of money with us. Instead of asking them
about their budget (unless they told me otherwise), I’d let them know how much similar
clients spent. Frequently, it showed that we weren’t a good match. That actually makes
your life easier because, I don’t know about you, but I’d rather find that out early before I
shoveled their whole damn driveway.
Another good tactic is to be completely transparent. A marketing company I know
called Captora comes right out with their pricing from the jump. They sent me the email
below after I asked about their service:
Pricing is very transparent these days. Even Yesware, one of my favorite companies that I
use to manage my email, advertises their pricing on their website. Why shouldn’t sales guys
follow suit? It’s a tactic that saves time for everyone involved by better qualifying prospects.
Having the budget discussion early on saves time and prevents frustration for everyone
involved. Keep the question open-ended and you’ll be racking up the perfect prospects in no
time.

22. 22
Let’s face it, most sales cycles stretch out longer than we’d like. This requires us
salespeople to be patient, but more importantly, somehow stay in the mind of potential
buyers while they are doing whatever they do between our sales calls.
In my personal experience a few years back, I sold a lot of middleware software to a
large Midwestern telecommunications firm. They needed the software to build a new IT
system, which would help provision customers quicker so they could sell them bundled
phone services. Their project was dependent on another project, which (surprise!) ran
late. The buyers liked my solution, but keeping them interested throughout the three
month delay, was going to be a challenge. I needed to keep my solution at the top of
their mind, so interest wouldn’t fade by the time their project started up again. During
those three months, I was able to maintain a presence with those buyers and learned
some valuable tactics. You need figure out how to stay in touch with potential clients
during delays without seeming like a stalker.
Tip 7: Creative Ways to Stay in Touch

23. 23
One of my favorite techniques is to send my customers and prospects a recent blog entry.
This can either be from your company or from a good site, with a quick note about how it
made you think of their business, or the deal you’re working on. Be sure to make it relevant!
Even if they don’t reply or acknowledge your outreach, you’re still building your presence.
They are seeing your name front and center.
Ditto for recent wins (hopefully only those that are relevant to their industry, or geography).
If your client is in Denver, I’m sure they appreciate hearing that you’re building up the client
base nearby. If you sadly don’t have any recent wins, then just share relevant company news.
For instance, if your company announces a new product or feature or service, that’s at least
somewhat relevant, let them know! No pressure, you’re just keeping them updated.
You may also be wondering on how to stay in touch - should you email or call? Use email
to build awareness, but don’t count on responses. Use your phone to engage them in
conversations. And people love to talk (especially about themselves). Be interesting! Your
job is to make them want to talk with you, so don’t send them dull stuff. It would be better
to share a great photo or video you made with your drone, than a dull product release.
Remember, you’re selling to a person.
That sums up what you should do, but there is a flip side to every coin. So let’s focus for
a second on what you should NOT do. Please don’t send a Facebook or LinkedIn happy
birthday message. Everyone knows how easy that is to do, and no one values it. The only
strategy you might want to use here is actually calling them on their birthday to personally
wish them a happy birthday. I received about 400 messages on LinkedIn on my birthday
(because it’s so easy to do), but the one I really remember was my colleague, from three
companies ago, who picked up the phone and called. (Thanks, Teddi!)
And please stop sounding like a robot. The last thing your clients want to hear is a robotic
reading of some script that everyone under the sun gets exposed to. People like to feel
special, as if you know them and value them. When you make calls while reading from a
preplanned text, your sales potential flies out the window (you’ll be lucky if they don’t hang

24. 2424
up on you before the second paragraph).
Even using sales language can make you
sound robotic. Yes, we all went through
training to “up” our sales and climb the
corporate ladder. In the midst of that
training, we were submerged in sales lingo.
However, the rest of corporate America
doesn’t want to hear our jargon. They want
to know why our products are the best in
the industry and how they are going to suit
their company needs. Don’t sound like a
salesperson.
The best way to make a sale, is to ensure
that your name (and that of your company)
is at the forefront of future clients’ minds.
Send them blogs and news in order to
keep your name in their view. Make sure,
of course, that the things you send are
relevant and useful. Make phone calls and
be interesting! No matter how desperate
you are for a sale, or how many people you
have to call each day, never resort to being
robotic and impersonal. Make that birthday
phone call, talk to each individual in a
manner fitting his/her field and style, and
definitely don’t try to talk shop with people
not working in yours.

25. 25
I said it before and I’ll say it again: Phone calls are the best way to get in
touch and keep in touch with prospects. But emails do have their place, even
if it is next to the box of kitty litter. Emails are a dime a dozen. Virtually any
person you talk to will tell you they get too many of them, their inbox is full to
bursting, and they’ve just learned to ignore the fray. If that’s the case, you bet
your butt it’s going to be an uphill battle to get a prospect’s attention via the
digital dog pile.
There’s an upside to that truth, however. You could, for example, probably get
away with emailing more frequently than you think. If emailing once a week
seems like pestering to you, you must be quite vain. Did it ever occur to you it
hasn’t even been read? Yeah, you should always assume so. With this in mind,
you now have carte blanche to send more than one email a week. Permission
granted. But you still have to make each email count.
There are some things you just DON’T DO when it comes to emails. The Muse
wrote a whole article on this, and while I agree with most of it, here are my
personal peeves that I think deserve highlighting.
Don’t bullshit. Get to the point and say what you want. Let’s talk about the
proposal, etc. Why couch it with language that deflects from the purpose?
You don’t have time and neither do they. Trust me, your busy prospect will
appreciate your respect for their time.
Don’t be lazy about your subject line. We used email at Spiro to get feedback
from legendary sales guys who’ve downloaded our beta app. We asked them
Tip 8: The Ultimate No-Nos of Emailing

26. 2626
to fill out a form – a lot of times they don’t do a great job or don’t do it at all.
We’ve used a lot of different techniques to get people to fill out the form, I can
tell you. And the one that worked the best was as simple as could be: a change
in subject line. We’ve found that response rates for using different words or
phrases can be dramatically different. We sent out an email with the subject
line “don’t go breaking my heart.” Our response rate was through the roof – at
around 22 percent! When writing emails, avoid using uninteresting or vague
email subjects.
Don’t say “Hope this find you well”. Why wouldn’t they be well? It’s a meaningless
cliche, a filler. You should be as succinct and to the point as possible. If you give
the reader the ability to opt out because it’s not immediately grabbing them,
you’re doing yourself a disservice. Any introductory blather makes your emails
less effective.
Use these tips to help you craft an email that can’t be ignored (more than
10 times). Email might be inferior to phone calls, but when it is necessary or
appropriate to send an email, be sure
to make it count!

27. 27
As salespeople, we are always wanting to close a deal. After all, coffee is for closers,
right? We want to make a call and close a sale right then and there. Even if the call
only results in a small sale, it’s enough to make our day and give us that immediate
gratification.
But too many salespeople get so focused on only trying to close deals. Instead, they
should be focusing their time and energy across their whole pipeline — which means
cultivating early stage opportunities. When we come across the deal that is early in
the buying cycle, it is easy to shrug them off because they aren’t ready to buy. This is
a fatal mistake many salespeople make. Instead of looking at early stage deals as a
burden, look at them as an opportunity.
Early stage buyers are often much less set on what they want to buy. Many are still in
the research phase. This puts you in a perfect position to educate them about multiple
products and services that you offer. More importantly, you can follow the model
proposed by Matthew Dixon in The Challenger Sale. According to Dixon, “When you
have that additional time, it allows you to build a vision of how your product or service
drives value for the customer.” Finding the value also drives the sale.
Tip 9
Stay On Top of Your Early Stage Opps

28. 28
One of the biggest problems is that salespeople forget about their early stage prospects
at the end of the quarter. Someone says they aren’t ready to buy and the salesperson
moves on and focuses on someone else in the buying mode. The key is to stay focused
on all your prospects, regardless of the stage. The only way to do this is to build a
system.
First, make sure you have a contact database that tracks all of your current
opportunities in all stages of the sale. Second, make it a habit of checking in on that
list of opportunities every single week. Block off a time on your calendar, have your
assistant remind you (wouldn’t that be nice!), or do something that ensures that you
take this time to check in on your prospects every single week. Checking in with those
early stage prospects every week is key to staying on top of mind and being there to
close the sale when they are ready.
When you take the time to invest into these early stage relationships, you help someone
go through the entire buying cycle. Throughout this you are able to build a relationship
and trust with them. This trust grows and when the time to buy has come around, you
are the obvious choice. When you take the time to really help someone got through the
whole process, you often win more than just that first sale. You may win future sales and
business from the buyer as well.
When you focus on these early stage opportunities, you are setting yourself up for
success down the line. Even though you may be struggling to hit quota this year, next
year will be a breeze when these opportunities come through. Great salespeople don’t
just focus on closing the next deal. They are thinking big picture with their clients and
cultivate relationships that take years to unfold.
The bottom line is, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle of closing deals at the end of
the quarter to meet quota. Don’t let your hustle distract you from focusing on those
early stage opportunities which may be the key to your future success as a salesperson.
Create a system and stay focused on those early stage opportunities. Getting organized
with your sales system is key to a successful sales career.

29. 29
Salespeople - you need to stay positive or GTFO. It’s
sales, after all, and eighty percent of prospects say
no four times before they say yes. Eighty percent.
Four times. Translation: you need to have bullet proof
Rambo-style grit in this business. The stat comes from a
great blog post by Matt Tuscon, a fellow sales guy who laid out
some interesting figures that will make you think. He said you need to have some
thick skin in this business – yeah, no crap!
I had an experience years ago that taught me the importance of keeping my chin
up despite really bad odds. Years ago, my team and I were working on a bid for Sun
Microsystems, one of the biggest tech companies in the world at the time. We were
the underdogs, fighting an incumbent vendor to win their business. We researched
the account, built relationships with executives, and focused on the goals and
objectives of their business to make sure we had an airtight value proposition. We
did all the right things and wound up flying out to Denver to do a presentation for
the exec team as part of the final step in the proposal.
Everyone that was short-listed for consideration was going to be there. We practiced
all evening because we knew five of the biggest heavy hitters at Sun were going to
be at the meeting. In the morning, to our disappointment, only three of the five key
people for Sun showed up. It felt like we weren’t being taken seriously. Ultimately, we
didn’t win the deal.
Yeah, we were disappointed, but instead of being sore losers and saying “screw
these guys,” we came up with a simple plan to stay in their good graces until the next
opportunity arose. We figured out through our friendly contacts at Sun when they
were going to start working with the other vendor. We timed it so that we sent a gift
basket at the start of the contract reminding them of our strengths. The result was,
Tip 10: Get Over Rejection FAST

30. 30
two years later, when there was another op with them, we became a favorite and won the next
bit of business.
We could have easily sulked around feeling bad for ourselves when we spent so much time on
the Sun proposal and didn’t get it. But that would have gotten us nowhere.
There are times when sales guys need to keep pushing past “no” and times when they should
move on to greener pastures. Maybe there’s something in your value proposition that you
haven’t communicated the right way or maybe you’re not talking to the right person.
In the case that the buyer isn’t educated enough to make the right decision, it’s your job to take
him or her to school. For example, if you’re in logistics sales and you know you can save the
buyer 20 percent, it’s almost like you have an obligation to because it’s in their interest. If they’re
still giving you push back, maybe you need to call somebody else in from their organization such
as a supervisor or other department head who will better understand the value you can provide.
Don’t stop until you feel you and your product have been seriously vetted.
Maybe if we sold Sun a $10k starter something just to be an approved vendor, instead of going
straight for the $3M big enchilada we would have been better off. But hindsight’s always 20/20.
One way to stay on a prospect’s mind while you wait for an opportunity is to use the reciprocity
principle – a little psychological trick that plays on our basic social expectations. This is how it
works: Most people want to return favors, repay debts and cultivate general goodwill with their
fellow man (or woman). According to smart guy Robert Cialdini (he only wrote one of the most
famous social selling books of all time), the psychological principle of reciprocity is directly tied to
influence because people cringe a little bit on the inside when they don’t or can’t return a favor.
You have to have a thick skin in sales – there’s no two ways about it. You’re going to lose more
times than you’re going to win, but if you focus on the right deals and do the right things to stay
on your client’s mind, you’ll be in the money in no time.

31. 31
One of the top salespeople who worked for me a number of years ago was on an
amazing streak. She was highly likable and very good at listening to her clients. This
resulted in her being over her quota by 150% for three years in a row, despite her
target increasing each year.
She was almost the ideal salesperson, except for one thing. She would often get
very nervous during sales presentations, and developed a bad habit of rubbing
her hands together as a nervous tick. It reminded me a little bit of Mr. Burns in the
Simpsons. Obviously this saleswoman wasn’t rubbing her hands in anticipation of
the money she’d make from the sale – but it looked sort of like that. With a little bit
of coaching, she stopped this habit and went on to again crush her quota.
Do you have body language that is communicating the wrong message to your
clients? Are you aware of your body language? If you aren’t, you may be seriously
hindering the amount of deals you close. Let’s take a look at some of the worst body
language mistakes you can make.
Tip 11: Mind Your Body Language

32. 3232
Do you slouch? The posture you hold speaks to your confidence level. When you are
slouching, you are signaling that you don’t have confidence in the sale you’re trying
to make. If you don’t believe in it, why should your clients?
Do you have an overly aggressive handshake? A handshake can say a lot about a
person, and a grip that is overly aggressive can be off-putting. You want to present
yourself as a confident problem solver, not someone who is overly eager to win
a deal. On the same token, you do not want to shake too weak and seem under
confident.
Are you angling your body away from others? If you’re not facing someone directly,
you might be showing them you’re disinterested in what they’re saying. This can be
perceived as disrespectful and work against building rapport.
Do you stand too close to people? Not only can standing too close be uncomfortable
for your prospects, being in their personal space might indicate to your buyer that
you have a lack of respect for them.
Are you looking at your watch too much? No doubt you need to keep an eye on the
time, but it still might be signaling disrespect. You don’t want your prospects to think
you do not value the time you have with them and are more concerned about the
next place you have to be.
If you answered “no” to all the questions above, then you are off to a good start,
but I’m sure we can all improve our habits. To work on your body language, you
can observe yourself when you are talking to others and even practice in front of a
mirror. It can also be helpful to visualize yourself with the body language you want
to have, before you go and interact with others. Remember, you want to be open,
honest and comfortable. If you are not feeling like that, you should investigate why.
Also be aware of key body language barriers, as mentioned above, and consciously
avoid them.

33. 33
When it comes time for your meetings with customers and prospects, you need to
be doing two things always. First, monitor the situation (and yourself) – do this by
watching everyone’s body language, including your own. You also need to focus
your attention on your customer and really listen. Show you’re listening by repeating
back and clarifying what they’re saying. Secondly, run your agenda – be aware of
others and yourself, and guide them through your agenda accordingly.
Most body language needs to be a balance of enough, but not too much. Once
you’re aware, you can begin to experiment to find the right balance for you. Make
eye contact, but don’t stare; Give a firm handshake, but not too firm. As a result, you
can show your clients through your actions and words that they should do business
with you. Then, instead of reminding prospective clients of a greedy Mr. Burns, you
can be more like a confident and cool Leonardo DiCaprio.

34. 3434
You’re at a sick party; everyone is dressed to impress. You go with an open mind,
hoping by chance that you’ll meet someone who makes a real difference in your life
– whether that be love or a job opportunity…whatever. I used to think that Twitter
was like that party, except everyone was talking and no one was listening. Now I’ve
changed my mind.
I realized that Twitter is a goldmine of opportunity, as are all of the big social
networks. Not only are people listening, but the iron curtain between regular Joes
and MVPs has turned into tissue paper and the party is more like a backstage
pass. I personally believe that everyone looks at tweets which mention them, even
celebrities. You CAN build relationships with MVPs. But the trick here is that you’re
using Twitter to establish rapport, not make sales.
We recently had a Twitter success story at Spiro when our Tweets engaged the host
of a renowned business podcast (We can’t tell you who it is just yet) and resulted in
us getting a spot on his show. All we did was 1) comment on posts in a meaningful
way, and 2) @mention handles when appropriate to draw attention to our content.
Our dialogue wasn’t pushy or one-sided; it was a 140 character conversation.
We also conducted a very unscientific experiment under the theory that Tweeting
would net us a bigger, better response rate than email lists. We began Tweeting
the people in our email list and responses to our beta release jumped through the
Tip 12
@Twitter
Twitter is Your Friend #BFF

35. 35
Follow us on Twitter!
@SpiroHQ
@AdamHonig
roof – turns out sales guys love Twitter! Once you have that natural dialogue going
just move the conversation to email and, bam, you’re 10 steps closer to yes than you
would be if you started out cold calling.
Twitter is not just about generating leads, it’s useful throughout the sales cycle.
Twitter can help you find prospects! There are more than 500 million accounts on
Twitter and it’s your job to find the ones that are most relevant and high quality for
you. Find the right accounts to follow by searching relevant hashtags and keywords.
Check out a competitor’s Twitter account for ideas on who to follow. Once you’ve got
it narrowed down, use a Twitter client like HootSuite to create lists.
You can also use Twitter as an alternative to traditional communication channels.
Can’t reach someone on the phone or email? Try Tweeting them.
Another trick is to follow a company’s Twitter feed so you can gain insight into their
culture, goals, and agenda. Following what is said about them can give you insight
into what their pain points and strengths are according to their customers.
It doesn’t always have to be about pursuing a prospect. There are influencers out
there who can help you with professional or personal development and expand your
network. Follow and engage with them.

36. MID-FUNNEL

37. 37
Salespeople face multiple objections every day. Sucks, doesn’t it? Well stop
crying about it and man up because it’s all a part of the job. I’m sure you
have heard “Now’s just not a good time” from a client before. Well, this is the
objection I encounter most and it’s usually a simple issue of prioritization. The
company is interested in what you’re offering, but it’s just not at the top of
their list. So what do you do? You find a way to make them understand how
your product compliments their priorities.
First, you have to know what their priorities ARE. If you’re doing your
homework, you’ll come prepared with a way to rephrase your value
proposition in a way that make them think, hey, I need that! Here’s a real world
example: My team and I were trying to score a big deal with United Healthcare
for our software service. Every year UHC figures out their strategic plans,
main initiatives, and what they can budget into their capital spending (where
products like mine would fit in). They thought our software was interesting,
but not in their top-things-they-needed-to-get-done-that-year list. Boom. Wall.
But we got over it. First, we had to hook them with the emotional appeal of
how cool and exciting our product was, then we had to reel them in with the
intellectual appeal of it being strategically relevant.
We emphasized how our product could be good for
the careers of the people in the IT department
(direct appeal tactic) who would be working with
our software. They were onboard, but their
pitch to the higher ups failed. So we opted to
attack head-on and show them that working
with us was still very strategic. We suggested
a collaborative brainstorm to see how we fit
into their strategic framework. One of their
biggest priorities was minimizing the number
Tip 13
Responding to “Now’s Not a Good Time”

38. 38
of people who signed up for their healthcare and then switched
out. When we told them that our software was able to detect
people beforehand who might be tempted to not re-subscribe in
advance, they were sold. Our initial proposal was a tech sale that
failed, but once we rejiggered our value proposition to align with
their priorities, we were golden!
Have you ever felt like you’re not getting the whole story? Or been turned down without a
real good reason? Maybe you have heard the old, “We can’t say exactly why, but we’re not
interested”. It’s important to read between the lines. You may discover that what’s killing
your deal is just bullshit internal politics.
Real life example: We were selling a deal with a division of Kraft foods and had great
relationship with the CIO who was the main purchaser of the middleware software we were
selling. He felt the need to have agreement among his teams before making a final decision
so we presented our product to each leader individually. Everything seemed to be going well
– they all seemed to love our product. Then, out of left field, the CIO told us the teams were
not in agreement. Someone threw a wrench in the gears.
We got a false positive because we had been talking to everyone individually, when people
are more likely to skew positive. We obviously hadn’t convinced everyone so we pushed the
CIO to get one group meeting together to voice their concerns. What came out on that group
video conference was shocking – two members of the team were having an affair, broke up,
and just weren’t on speaking terms. THAT was what was gumming up our deal.
The point here is that salespeople need to make sure that their internal communication is on
the same level as their communication with the company rep, otherwise you’ll end up with
political situation you have no control over like the one above. Set up individual meetings
before group meetings and make sure everyone is in alignment. It will be easier to
make your case.

39. 39
I get a lot of cold emails from people I don’t know. Most of them are the familiar boring, generic
intros and requests – and most of them get ignored. So what gets me to respond? Someone
who’s taken the time to make their email a little interesting.
One day I got a cold email from a salesperson whom I didn’t know. I would have been hesitant
to reply back, if it weren’t for his unique approach. He sent me an email about drones. If you
don’t know, I’m REALLY into drones. I fly them all around Boston and made some cool videos of
the city. He didn’t even ask about security or whatever he was selling. He just ended by saying,
‘by the way, I’m with a technology firm, we should talk.’ It ended up in a meeting.
There’s an easy way to get the kind of responses that lead to better conversations: send
relevant content. Muse blogger Lily Herman wrote that she got an 85 percent response rate
by using this approach. In the following (fictional) email we’re following up with Sir Richard
Branson on the purchase of a mega yacht. We did a little research and found out his favorite
band is The Sex Pistols, another search showed that Sex Pistols member Steve Jones is coming
back on the air with his radio show after 7 years of silence. Perfect!
The “format” goes something
like this:
Tip 14
An Email Trick for Great Response Rates

40. 40
The reason behind these great results, Herman says, is that people feel like you’re
investing in them and want to return the favor. Sound familiar? That’s because we’ve
talked about it before. It’s called the Reciprocity Principle. The reciprocity principle
is crucial in social selling, because it hinges on the way humans think about their
relationships with other people.
In my point of view there are three sources of content that are relevant and accessible
to salespeople that they need to take advantage of.
1. Your Company’s Blog
The odds are that there is probably a prospect having a problem that’s somehow
relevant to the blog that you guys just posted. If you’re selling software, for example,
did your communications department just run a helpful how-to that would be of
interest? The info is right there, wrapped up in a bow, for you to send to your prospect.
2. Other People’s Blogs
I wouldn’t send along the blog of a direct competitor, but we’re all in the same field
here, right? If I come along an interesting blog from thought leaders like Jim Keenan or
Andy Paul, I’ll send it out! At the end of my email I’ll put a simple call to action.
3. News About Companies Like or Near Them
Let’s say you have a prospect and just closed a deal with a hospital nearby, send them
a quick note and let them know. Companies always want to know what’s going on with
businesses like them, especially like them AND near them.

41. 41
At my old company we had been trying to sell Staples for a while. They were the top dog in
our territory and we were dying to do business with them. The day finally came when we had
an opportunity to meet. It went really well and as we were headed out, high on the fact that
we might have a shot in Hell, we ran into an old client named Mike.
We had no idea that he had started working at Staples. This was brilliant – he was a big fan
of ours and helpful for us in his last company. A chance run-in with Mike ended up being
the thing that got us our first small project with Staples. If we hadn’t actually been physically
present in that office building, we wouldn’t have gotten the leverage we needed to get our
foot in the door. This, my friends, is why meeting face-to-face will never go out of style.
One reason why in person meetings work so well, is it gives you a chance to pick
up on body language clues. There is subconscious information exchanged
between people when they meet in person that can reveal a whole story
where a phone call could reveal just one chapter. Body language – the way
a person places their arms, the way their eyes dart to the side, the way they
lower or raise their chin – is VERY useful for reading between the lines.
Perhaps one of the best advantages person-to-person meetings
bring is the chance to bond. Take lunch meetings, for example,
often as much time is spent discussing business as it is shooting
the shit. Here’s a story of just how important a single lunch
meeting was for one sales guy’s relationship with a prospect.
Let’s look at an example of when a face-to-face meeting works.
Sales guy Chris needed to put a bit more effort into his relationship
with a prospect to prove he was truly interested in helping them.
When he talked with his main contact at the company he offered to fly
out to Las Vegas to buy her lunch – just give me one chance, he said.
The prospect was taken aback by his offer. She relented and he flew out
Tip 15Face-to-Face Can’t Be Replaced!

42. 42
to Vegas and treated her to lunch. During the meal, she confessed that even
though she had been working with his arch rival competitor for 10 years, not
a single person there had offered to take her out to lunch.
Chris wasn’t even sure what to say. To him, meeting people in person and
doing kind things for them was just a part of the business. Eventually, the
prospect made a small purchase from Chris’ company. He gave it his all, really
impressed the client, and discussed how they could work together in the
future. Do you think Chris would have gotten the same results if he hadn’t
met his prospect in person? Probably not.
At Spiro, we’ve been having a lot of meetings with sales VPs recently
while working on another edition of our tool. When we asked
about their issues and priorities, guess what they said? They
said they want their teams to have more face to face meetings
so they can expand their relationships inside those accounts.
There you have it – plenty of other teams are realizing that
person-to-person relationships can’t be replaced.
Think of the limitations of a phone call, for example.
When you’re on a call, you don’t know who else is
on the call with them – should you be talking to that
person? Are they more important? I think the odds of
you getting passed to the right person after a face to
face meeting are a lot higher. The secret with selling
is to use every avenue to form a relationship with the
right person in your prospect or client’s organization. Use
the principles of psychological selling and a good balance
of phone time and face time and you’ll be kicking ass and
taking names in no time.

43. 43
When you rely on emails and voicemails to get in touch with prospects you may as well
be that kid who used to talk to himself in the back of class. Just because you’re chattering
away doesn’t mean anyone’s listening. What it boils down to is this - you can’t avoid
the dreaded phone call in sales. It’s the only thing that’s effective when it comes to
establishing a relationship with a prospect, and if you’re afraid of being annoying, well,
you better get over it now or move the hell on.
At my last company, the inside sales team made about a hundred dials a day and
only reached maybe ten people. Let’s say you’re a sales guy and working on twenty
opportunities and there are three people involved in each. If you called each one twice a
day that’s 120 phone calls. For the average sales noob that sounds like a lot, but it’s not.
How often you call a prospect depends on where they are in the sales funnel. Market
research shows that the faster you speak to the new lead, the more likely you will close
on them. I personally think you should call frequently on new leads – twice a day for a
couple days. What’s the downside? The odds are that if you don’t get ahold of them in
two days, there won’t be a lead to follow up on anyway. You really have nothing to lose –
either they get pissed off at you for calling too much or you kiss that lead goodbye.
Follow up after the first conversation very quickly. A third of the leads you have great
conversations with are blowing smoke up your butt and you’ll never speak to again. For
the rest of the bunch, I would follow up with a bit of relevant insight. NEVER say “I’m just
Tip 16
Never Stop Calling!

44. 44
checking in.” That’s the definition of lame and annoying. If you were smart you could even save
some important info from the first conversation for the follow up call.
The amount of following up you do also depends on your pipeline. Dealing with 100 opps is very
different than three, but you should at least touch base with your contacts twice a week. I know
it sounds daunting. Even I’m guilty of not following up enough. Whenever I was a sales manager
they always had to encourage me to follow up more with prospects more frequently.
The natural reaction for new sales guys is that they don’t want to risk bugging their prospects.
I get it. And that’s why I don’t think you should leave voicemails or send cold emails. How is
clogging up someone’s inbox making you any friends? What’s really annoying is just calling to
check in. It’s superficial. At least talk about something relevant that you saw in the news, that you
read about their company, even a baseball team they love. You can’t just call up and say, “you
guys ready to buy yet?” Ease into it with some context.
Recently I’ve been trying to connect with the head of sales for a fast growing tech company. I’ve
been following this method: call 2 x week, email 1 x week. I give the guy progress updates on
Spiro and also talk to him about his progress making HIS number for HIS company. It’s been
slow going because he’s a busy guy and only last week I managed to have a full conversation
with him. I was a concerned I was reaching out too much so I simply asked him if that was the
case. He actually applauded my persistence because he was interested in what we were doing,
just very busy.
If you’re still afraid of bugging your clients with calls and would rather hide behind an email or
voicemail I suggest you start looking for a career outside of sales. I know it sounds mean, but it’s
just the cold truth. While Twitter or LinkedIn messages are great ways to open the door, they’re
also still nowhere near as effective as a phone call. Be persistent and you’ll eventually reach
someone you can charm with your high-value pitch. Next stop, deal city.

45. 45
“Get your butt to Iowa and don’t come back unless you have a deal.” When I said that, Garth,
my sales guy on the John Deere account, knew I wasn’t screwing around. It was my first sales
leadership job and my butt was on the line – this deal had the potential to be huge and take us
to the next level. It wasn’t just my job on the line, it was all of ours, and I had to make it crystal
clear to this guy: Do NOT screw this up. Do NOT come back until you have the deal tied up in
a bow with a kiss from grandma. Do NOT take “no” for an answer. After finessing that deal in
corn country for a week, guess what? We won the deal. Sometimes I wonder if the classic “don’t
take no for an answer” sales mantra still works now. My conclusion is yes, no, and maybe. Let’s
explore…
I’m sure you have heard a client say some of these to you before: “No. Not interested. Maybe
later. I’ll take a message. We don’t have the money. We’re not in the market. It’s not my
decision“.
These objections are all opportunities for the legendary sales guy to sharpen his or her skills.
As a salesperson, there are many ways for you to get creative and use that brilliant brain of
yours to convince the buyer that you provide needed value. Of course you’ll come correct by
being armed with an arsenal of knowledge on the prospect: including their pain points, market
share, goals, strengths, culture, and competitors. If you’ve done your homework you can
use this knowledge as leverage and plowing through the front lines will be a cakewalk. If you
continue to face a wall of “no”, it may come down to these brass tacks:
One case where it’s smart to push past “No” is when you know something the buyer doesn’t.
In the case that the buyer isn’t educated enough to make the right decision, it’s your job to
take him or her to school. For example, if you’re in logistics sales and you know you can save
the buyer 20 percent, it’s almost like you have an obligation to because it’s in their interest.
If they’re still giving you push back, maybe you need to call somebody else in from their
organization such as a supervisor or other department head who will better understand the
value you can provide. Don’t stop until you feel you and your product have been seriously
Tip 17Should You Keep Pushing Past “NO”?

46. 46
vetted. Another time when I don’t take no for an answer is when I just can’t afford not to get
a yes. Sometimes, if your back’s against the wall because you have few prospects in your
pipeline then keep fighting – just remember to maintain your integrity.
On the other hand, there are times when you just need to walk away. The internet
revolutionized a lot of things since the 90s, including sales. Buyers often prefer to self-
educate and most likely have vetted their options on the market before you even get a
word in. If you find yourself facing a wall of “no” in this situation, you probably won’t get too
far.
Perhaps you have better prospects in your pipeline then, by all means, cut the fat and go
fry those bigger fish. As salespeople we have a tendency to be overachievers, but when
trying to win ’em all means spreading yourself too thin and winning nothing, you’ve got a
problem. Or maybe the deal is just taking too long. There’s a timing element – a rhythm – to
a successful deal. One time we lost a sale after it had dragged on for over nine months to
a company that swooped in last minute. If your pitch gets stale, at some point you have to
give into no, if just to step back and do something different. In fact, I’m a firm believer that
sales guys should walk away from more deals.
So, should you keep pushing past “no”? Maybe. Have you racked your brain for every
possible way to communicate value? Have you spoken to the right people who will
understand and be receptive to the value you can
provide? If you have, then, being a denizen of
the modern world, I would err on the side
of walking away and finding a better
idea. At the same time, I’d send Garth
back out to Iowa in a minute just
to show them how an old school
sales guy handles business.

47. 47
You know the feeling. You have been working on this deal for what feels like ages but it is not
going anywhere. The deal feels “stuck”. Is the deal dead? Should you stop wasting your time
and move on to other prospects? I’m a fan of killing your low priority opportunities as a way
to increase focus. Often the right answer is to buckle down and try to get it going again. If so,
how do you actually go about getting this stuck deal unstuck?
One idea is to stop calling your one contact at the account. Instead branch out and start
seeking out other contacts in the organization. This may tick off your primary contact who you
have been communicating with, but who cares. If they are not willing to push the deal forward
then start seeking someone else who is willing to take action. Recently I was talking with a
great salesperson who fell into the trap of relying on his primary contact at a deal with a large
pharmaceutical company. He didn’t want to alienate him, but it turned out that he was talking
with the completely wrong person and wasting his time.
If the deal is stuck, try and determine what the prospect’s need for your product really is. Did
you get ‘happy ears’ when listening to your prospect because you could envision exactly how
your product would fix their needs? Then try to write and explain exactly why they need your
product or service. What would happen if they bought the service? How would it improve their
lives and their business? What would happen if they did not buy? Get crystal clear and use this
to drive your message home.
Of course you should always be asking your prospect ‘What else is going on?’ or ‘What other
priorities are you facing right now?’ But when a deal is stuck it might just be that you have a
Tip 18: Unstick Your Stuck Deal

48. 48
great solution and it just isn’t a priority for them right now. First, start by understanding what
their priorities are. This will give you clarity on where your project stands in the prospect’s mind
right now. Second, start figuring out how to raise your project in the prospect’s priority list.
What can you do to make this a priority for them? I remember a deal we were working on with
a multinational hotel chain. Our sponsors loved the product, but they couldn’t get funding until
we worked with them closely to align the solution with one of their corporate initiatives. A deal
that was stuck in limbo for months quickly pushed through the sales process.
Sometimes all a deal needs to get going again is a bit of patience on your end. You are an eager
and excitable sales guy. Maybe the deal is not really stuck, maybe you are just inpatient. Maybe
you just need to give it some time for the company to feel comfortable buying from you and
your company. Buying takes a lot of trust, so be patient and build the relationships and build
trust. It may take time but eventually that deal will become unstuck. Get on a regular schedule
of staying in touch with your prospect via phone or email. Send them an interesting blog or
company update. Don’t always expect a response, but know that your outreach is keeping you
on their radar.
If the deal really is stuck, then you might need to kill it and move on to other opportunities.
Before moving on, try the negative close. Tell your prospect something like “Well, this seems to
be a low priority for you…” See if they disagree with you. Sometimes the negative close will jolt a
deal back to life, other times it puts the nail in the coffin so you can move onward.
Stuck deals can drain your energy so use these ideas as a plan of action on how to move them
forward.

49. 49
Much like a business meeting, a sales call should always have an objective. Don’t be sucked into
routine sales calls that lack purpose and leave the prospect asking, “What is the point of this?”
You don’t need to have the exact minutiae of the call planned down to the syllable, but there
should be clear aims you hope to accomplish. If you don’t have any purpose, your prospect is
definitely not going to believe in what you are saying and you will be viewed as a sales robot.
Have you ever been the buyer and sat through a sales call? In most cases, you probably weren’t
very engaged in what they were saying, and you most likely didn’t pay a lot of attention. On the
flip side, have you ever received an organized, purposeful call that convinced you they had a
solution that could benefit your life? The difference is night and day.
Your goals and plans should involve some kind of way to bring your customers in and engage
them with your pitch and your product. An easy first step is to develop a clear purpose that you
can succinctly state for your customers.
Aristotle — a guy who was a lot better at sales than I am — said “Well begun is half done.” I
don’t know if he intended that to rhyme (it sounds something like “Καλά ξεκίνησε γίνεται κατά
το ήμισυ” in Greek, but I’m a little rusty, so I don’t actually know how the rhyme translates.)
Aristotle’s point, however, stands. A strong base for a sale or a meeting, or anything else greatly
improves your chances of being entirely successful. It paints out the target, so you know what
you are shooting for.
There is No Shame in Stating Your Goal!
Tip 19

50. “Well begun is half done.”
- ARISTOTLE
50
Sure, people get lucky all the time – but a big part of business is actually making your success
repeatable, and waiting for lightning to strike is one of the less impressive business models I’ve
encountered in my lifetime. Stating your goals forces you to have a purpose. It asks why you’re
doing the thing you’re doing, in the way that you’re doing it. It forces you to justify yourself
and your methods. It helps you avoid common mistakes in sales calls. Additionally, it focuses
the attention on your customers. It gives them a piece of context for your product and, more
importantly, your sale. Finally, it makes you sound professional. Although increasing casualness
is becoming more prevalent in business and sales, more people will react positively to a
professional demeanor, and having a good goal that is clearly stated is an easy way of getting
that across.
Don’t just make your goal “I want to tell you all sorts of great things about new product X.” Your
goals should be customer-focused. Remember earlier how we said that you should think from
your prospect’s perspective? That applies to your goals, too. It’s simple to change the language
of your goal a little to focus on the customer. For example, “I want to tell you about our new
product” can easily become, “I’d like to explain how you can benefit from x, y and z.” Empathy,
putting yourself in your customer’s position, is important here, and can really be the difference
between a successful sales call, and one that was close but no cigar. Customer empathy is one of
the keys to Apple’s success.
Sales is about putting your best foot forward. This means confidence and charisma, certainly,
but also necessitates a lot of preparation and background work. Strong, clearly-stated goals are
the first step towards making your sales calls more productive and profitable.

51. 51
You just wrapped up a great meeting with your prospect and things are on the right
track – then they throw you that ubiquitous curve ball and ask, what’s your take on your
competitor? Think carefully! But, it’s really not something to fear. It’s an open invitation to
paint yourself as the right solution.
Think of yourself as a kind of advisor, a consigliere like Tom Hagen was for Don Corleone
and the Family. Even though you have your own self interest at heart, you also know that
your prospect’s best interest is in your best interest. Hagen was the voice of reason, as
you must be. Do NOT bash your competition like an insecure juiced up frat boy or come
across as defensive. Instead, be the calm resource that will help paint a picture of what the
outcomes might be should your prospect choose you or them.
You’re serious about becoming a legendary sales guy and making mondo amounts of
money, so you of course know your competition like the back of your hand. There are two
kinds of competition from your point of view: worthy and unworthy. Here’s how you might
handle a conversation about each kind.
Years ago, my team and I were going head to head against one other company, a software
vendor, for a contract with a prospect. We knew our competition wasn’t the right fit.
“Frankly, we’re puzzled about what they’re offering,” we told the prospect. “They’re asking
a question that hasn’t even been asked.” Ever hear of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” or the
principle of elegance in systems? The simplest solution is often the best. We offered the
simplest solution. Our competitors offered software that would have required a complete
reconfiguration of our prospect’s CRM system – a cost of time and money that just didn’t
seem necessary. We explained our thinking in an analytical way and guided the prospect to
a favorable conclusion – us. We were able to do this because we thoroughly understood our
prospect’s needs and our competition’s limits.
Tip 20
It’s Safe to Talk About the Competition

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Here’s an experience that shows how to give your opinion on a worthy adversary while
simultaneously framing yourself in a flattering light. We were competing for a contract against
Deloitte, one of largest companies in the world, a distinguished juggernaut with almost 100
years experience behind them. This was going to be a tall order. We couldn’t badmouth
them and there was really nothing to critique. What could we do? We had to damn them with
great praise. There are virtues of being an underdog, like we were in this situation. A smaller
company like ours was more lithe, efficient, able to think outside the box. Being such as large
organization, Deloitte could not move as quickly. In this case, we knew that our prospect was
on a tight timeline, so we leveraged time as our strength while managing to avoid bashing
Deloitte and coming across as a bunch of assholes.
I know it’s awkward to talk about the competition – there seem to be so many opportunities to
put your foot in your mouth. But you do yourself a disservice by saying nothing. To make sales
successful, you need to be seen as a resource, a partner. If you throw your hands up or pass
it off to someone else in your organization, it degrades your value. The way to sell the biggest
best deal is by understanding the prospect and fitting your product into their strategic goals.
If you just can’t bring yourself to say anything on the spot, offer to check into the competition
and come back with a good answer.
Worst case scenario is that your prospect goes with the competition. Oh well, that happens!
Often a buyer changes their mind about what they need and might engage multiple vendors
in different sectors by the time they make a decision. There will often be other opportunities
down the line.
The bottom line is that you shouldn’t shy away from the competition convo, you should
expect it. Frame your competition in a way that your solution aligns with their goals and your
competitor’s falls outside of it.

53. CLOSING

54. 5454
Sales professionals should never say never. I’ll repeat that: Never say never. I got
called out for saying “never leave voicemails” by a reader who’s had a lot of positive
results from voicemails. I’m happy for him, but I still don’t like them. As a concession,
I’ll say that nothing fails or succeeds 100 percent of the time and sales guys should
ALWAYS be trying something new. The point he brings up is that salespeople should
always be trying new (and old) things and if anyone says “never do x,” don’t listen to
them. Point taken and I whole-heartedly agree.
Salespeople have generally stopped doing direct mail, for example. When was the
last time you tried to reach a prospect by mail? If you were born after 1983, probably
never. But, guess what, it’s so old, it’s new again. Prospects and customers don’t
expect it when they receive written correspondence or a nice old gift in the mail by
Pony Express, it’s a novelty. Here’s an example of old school done right: My friends
at Play Bigger, a West Coast tech startup consultancy, wanted to have a marketing
campaign that would take people by surprise, but the digital space was already so
saturated. What would get people’s attention?
Play Bigger created a compelling direct mail piece with insane targeting and tailored
to a T. It was original, unexpected, and sincere. Needless to say, they got a fantastic
response. Direct mail can still be effective if done right. Make sure you’re using it
under the right circumstance and be creative! There’s plenty of inspiration out there
on the web, including ideas like balloon in a box, trendy stickers, and working record
players made out of cardboard.
Tip 21: Never Say “Never”

55. 55
I’m a big fan of thank you gestures as a way to recap your value proposition and make
a lasting impression on your prospect. It shows class and an appreciation for values
that are rare these days. I’ve sent gift baskets to clients a number of times, as well
as other small unexpected treats, such artisan scones I bought from our prospect’s
favorite bakery in Dublin. A simple hand-written thank you note can also have a big
impact.
Texting is still new territory for most sales guys, but for the upcoming generation, it’s
the communication mode of choice. We took a poll a while back on our blog and found
that 20 percent of respondents said “Yes” they text, and 37 percent said they text “very
occasionally.” Many are concerned that texting comes across as overly-casual and will
be viewed negatively by prospects. It still might be risky, but there are ways that it can
be a good tool to communicate things between the lines: it could be used to escalate
the sense of urgency or confront a prospect who’s been giving you the cold shoulder;
or even when you’re running late (or early) for a meeting.
When it comes to sales, I have my personal preferences and things that have been
proven to work and not work in my experience – but a sales guy should never say
never. Always be experimenting, shake it up, and find the new (or old) angle that will
give you the edge.
Tip 21: Never Say “Never”

56. 56
We’d been working an account for a while and gotten in really tight with Sunil, the head
of IT and the technical buyer. He was our man on the inside and, in the long run, the
reason why we didn’t get the big deal we were after. He was a rock solid connection for
us, but he was only one out of multiple people who we needed to convince to get the
sale. Problem was, he wouldn’t let us talk to them. Whatever his reasons were for being
so… possessive …of us, I guess I understand because, after all, he’s ultimately the one
who’ll be judged on the success or failure of our product with his company.
Sunil had no power over the budget, the head of marketing did. So, because he wouldn’t
let us talk with them, we eventually lost the sale after what seemed like several years
of trying. We just weren’t in touch with the many buyers involved in the process.
There’s never just ONE buyer you need to convince at a large company – the most apt
comparison would probably be more like Medusa than Larry from Marketing. Your job
as a legendary sales guy is that you’re telling them all what they need to hear.
Think of the sales cycle: A company will first recognize a need, then go about
determining how to solve that need. Ideally, you would want to get the company to
recognize the need before the competition beats you to it. Our mistake was to wait for
Sunil to recognize the need, then spend uber time with him to get the money for
it. We put all our eggs in one basket and suffered for it. So, how can
you avoid making the same mistake we did?
Salespeople are often way more confident that things
will happen then they should be. In reality it’s an 80
percent chance. Sunil seemed like it was a sure bet, but
it never happened. In hindsight, we were too cautious
in our approach with Sunil. We should have pushed
The Appropriate Way to Talk to
Multiple Buyers Tip 22

57. 57
harder to speak to the marketing people. If he didn’t like it, we probably should have
done it anyway. Of course you should always proceed with caution and realize that
you may risk burning bridges.
You don’t want to cut off your nose to spite your face, but there’s a way you can avoid
a mess: blame it on someone else. Yes, have someone else within your company
make it happen. A great candidate is… your sales manager! A helpful sales manager
would be the one to make the call to the head of marketing to take the heat off of you.
Just apologize after with a sincere, “Hey, I’m sorry my boss did that. He went over my
head, what a jerk.” Then slyly wink to your sales manager.
Another tactic is to just convince your contact that you can do it. If your relationship
with your contact is strong enough and you present your agenda upfront, you may be
able to convince him or her that you won’t screw things up with the marketing folks
(or whomever it is you need to speak to).
And remember, you aren’t here to make friends - this is sales afterall. If you don’t like
having to ruffle a few feathers once in awhile to get things done, maybe you need to
find a new career. You’re never going to make a deal if you’re only speaking to one
person so push if you have to!

58. 58
Nobody wants to waste time, energy and effort, only to reach a standoff on price at the
end. So by setting expectations early on, before the proposal, you eliminate price from
being an obstacle that will halt a sale. This is accomplished by asking your client about
their budget up front and setting expectations about the price range they are looking
at. By doing so, you are showing clients that you are not shying away from the price
discussion because you believe in the value of your product, and also makes a statement
that counter offers outside of the discussed range are unreasonable.
While this pre-work works in your favor, what if despite all your efforts, you still find
yourself in a price negotiation? Obviously you need to follow your company’s rules and
guidelines, but how do you approach the situation?
First off, remember that they need to negotiate. Don’t take it personally if a client tries
to negotiate anyway; it is oftentimes just part of their job. Most companies require that
Tip 23: Razor Sharp Price Negotiation Skills

59. 59
buyers have the conversation about a lower price, even if they’re not going to force the issue.
Imagine their boss saying to them “did you ask for a lower price?” They have goals to meet too.
Rarely is price the determining issue, and if it is, you’ve got trouble! On the other hand, a product
having a higher price is often a sign that it is worth more. Use that to your advantage.
Another thing that works to your advantage is the power of silence. When you know what you
want, and you have shown the client, don’t push it. Silence can be used as a strategy where
you let the deal come to you. This of course has to be used at the right time, and when it is, a
customer will often feel the need to fill that silence, giving you the upper hand.
If you do give a price concession, you must get something back. This may be an introduction
to another prospect, a testimonial, a LinkedIn recommendation, etc. Don’t be surprised if your
prospect says it’s conditional on the product being as good as you said it is. Fair enough!
One word of caution on price concession, is that discounting may be hurting you. It might be
obvious, but any discounting you do basically comes right out of your company’s profit. The
average company in the S&P 500 is making $0.15 on the dollar of sales. Think about that when
your prospect asks for a 10% discount! These additional profits are most likely going to be
reinvested in making your company stronger, which enables you to have more support selling
and thus make more money.
After all the negotiating, be ready to hold your ground! You need to be prepared to walk. And
by prepared, I mean mentally. Otherwise you’ll never have the balls to hold your ground. Before
you enter the negotiation, you need to know what you are willing to do and where you draw the
line. Many times, this will bring the client to your side when they see you are serious about your
position.
With these tips in mind, you can become a more effective negotiator. A huge aspect of
negotiations and the outcome of them depends on the mindset you have when entering in.
By first taking steps to prevent negotiations in the first place, and being prepared with these
guiding tips when they do happen, you can steer more deals in your favor.

60. 60
Our goal, as salespeople, is getting the deal done. So, when that doesn’t happen, we often
find ourselves at a loss. Truth be told, I tend to invest my heart and soul into too many of my
opportunities. As a result of this, I take losing deals personally.
One particularly heart-aching moment is easy to recall. We were pitching a really big deal at a
Fortune 500 company in the Baltimore area that seemed to be going really well. We had great
alignment on product fit, and even though it was a large amount of money for us, the budget
was very acceptable to the prospect. What we didn’t really do a great job on was the timing
needs required by this prospect. Sure, our solution was potentially going to save them a lot of
money, but it had to fit into their corporate schedule of initiatives. That aspect of the deal made
the process go slower than we would have liked. Yet, even though the deal dragged out, we got
buying sign after buying sign. I was enthusiastic!
However, at the same time – and unbeknownst to us – our big competitor (who was more than
1,000 times bigger than us) was working on a similar deal at a different division of this company.
Once the timing became appropriate for the prospect to move forward, they combined the two
initiatives and we were crushed by the long-standing relationship that the prospect had with
our competitor. It’s true, who you know often trumps what you know (or in this case, the deal in
which you’ve passionately invested your time).
Even though we were very disappointed (and that’s definitely an understatement), we worked
hard to maintain a great professional relationship with the buyers. When the deal falls flat, you
can’t just walk away. Another chance might be around the bend. There are a few ways you can
keep a positive relationship going.
Tip 24: So, You Lost a Deal...
Let’s Remain Professional

61. 61
First off, we didn’t bad-mouth the competition. In fact, we told them that the company they
chose over us was a good company, because it was true. Their solution wasn’t better than ours,
but it was certainly workable. This built credibility in their eyes. Next, we educated them on
key challenges that they would be facing with any supplier, including us, during the process.
We didn’t want them going into this deal blind, even if they weren’t working with us. And finally,
we continued to include them in our prospecting and marketing efforts to remind them that
we were an alternative solution. Basically, we didn’t let them go and we didn’t let them forget
our existence and previous hard work on their behalf. They were left with the impression that
we had high integrity and were a professional firm. If nothing else, they could at least speak
positively about us as well!
Wouldn’t you know it, over the next year, we received three referrals that turned into
opportunities that this firm passed along to us. They thought highly enough about our efforts
that they continued to advocate for us. And about two years after that, after a change in their
strategy, we were invited back to pitch for a new opportunity at this firm. After having spent six
months selling to them before, and the time after that staying in touch, we were the obvious
solution. We won a very significant deal!
Sure it hurts, in a lot of ways, when a deal falls through. However, that’s not a good reason
to pack in the bag with the potential firm. In fact, as we learned here, a continued pursuit
and reminder of our existence was what it took to eventually land a very nice deal with them.
Ultimately, the advice I want to leave you with, is that perseverance will always pay off. Even if
we hadn’t gained the deal with them in the end, we did garner three additional opportunities
through that tenacity. Keep your name in their view, keep your integrity and eventually, if you’re
good at what you do, you’ll get the deal done!

62. 62
You know how they say a lot of great inventions were created by accident? Like
the discovery of Penicillin and the awesomeness we now know as potato chips?
Seriously – if you don’t believe me, look it up. That aside, I discovered one of my
favorite sales techniques in pretty much the same way.
My first sales job was selling technical education classes. Not the most thrilling
work, but it was my entry into sales. We’ve all gotta start somewhere. I would
go through a list of prospects, call them up and see if they were interested in
learning more about developing “open source solutions.” My pitch was focused on
speeding product development for their company, thereby increasing career value
for the attendee. Like many young salespeople, I was often very chipper about the
benefits of these classes. I was supposed to make them sound desirable, right?
One time, I got a fairly cranky developer on the phone. He wasn’t very excited
about our offerings even though I knew (of course) that he would get immense
benefits from them. He had literally zero interest. At that point, something slipped
out of my mouth before I could stop it. “You know what? I don’t think you’re right
for our class.” I couldn’t believe what I just said, but it got his attention! Amazingly,
the topic of conversation switched focus on to why he might actually be right for
the class. And thus the discovery that sometimes the negative will make the close.
Read on to find out how I do it.
There are a lot of sales gurus out there who are all about enthusiastic deliveries
and getting prospects to positively reinforce your message. I totally agree with this
thought, but when used properly, the negative close can be equally as effective.
Just to be clear, I’m using the term ‘negative close’ as the sales technique where
a salesperson basically challenges the prospect to reject an offering. Examples
include questions like “this project will never get funded, right?” or “it’s unlikely you
can get approval for this, right?” The idea is to get your prospect to disagree with
you. But even if they don’t, there is great benefit to this approach.
Tip 25Give ‘em the Negative Close

63. 63
Part of the challenge in sales is getting your customers to be honest with you about their
reservations with your product, or their timing and budget for a purchase. It’s not like they are
always trying to hide something from you. Often they themselves don’t even know the answer.
Giving a prospect an easy way to say “no” can help you qualify a deal quicker and move onto
other more lucrative opportunities. You’ll find out what your potential client is really looking for
and if he/she has the budget to back his/her desires. It’s a time saver for all involved.
If you say something like, “You guys are never going to invest in XYZ,” and they say, “Oh, yes we
will…” I believe that is twice as reinforcing because they’re putting more mental energy into it.
You are asking them to seriously consider your product and their need for it. Let’s face it, reverse
psychology totally works in sales. We can tell people they don’t want or need what we have and
then they’ll talk themselves into the reasons they do! People are better at selling themselves on
something than any salesperson ever could be.
Be cautious though. You do need to keep in mind a few things when trying to employ the
negative close as a means of selling. Your tone needs to be right. You can’t say sarcastic and
harsh things like, “You guys are too dumb to understand our product,” and hope that the
customer says, “No, we’re really smart and we get it!” No one likes condescension. Don’t sound
like a sales guy and say, “Your company isn’t looking to increase revenue, right?” In truth, those
statements are just ridiculous and they’ll only irritate your prospects. And don’t overuse it! All
good things are best utilized in moderation.

64. 64
As us sales guys know, being rejected by prospect after prospect can test our
perseverance. Then comes the hit; the potential customer that is interested and agrees
to a meeting. Once the meeting is landed, then comes the opportunity, and a deal with
that prospect all depends on one meeting.
For one sales guy – let’s call him Roger – his opportunity didn’t go so well. He was getting
ready to present in the prospect’s conference room, and waiting for the prospect to
come in, so thought he would check his fantasy football lineup. You know how it goes:
you forgot about that Thursday night game, and you need to make a critical substitution.
Unfortunately, my friend Roger forgot he was projecting his laptop screen on the wall,
so when the CEO of his prospect walked into the room, the first thing he saw was
Roger’s line-up. The CEO took one look and promptly left the room, never to return.
Roger stopped what he was doing and the rest of the team assembled, but he was
disappointed and the demo wasn’t his best. Needless to say, he didn’t win that meeting.
The sad truth is that salespeople only come across so many well qualified prospects.
You really can’t afford to blow a deal because you weren’t on your game.
Before you walk into a meeting and tell a prospect why they should choose you, you
need to do your research. The focus should not be on showing how awesome your
product or service is in general, but showing why it is a beneficial choice for them. You
Tip 26: Avoiding a
Bad Sales Meeting

65. 65
have to put yourself in the customer’s shoes, understand the obstacles they are facing and
identify how your solution can help them. Once you have a plan, share the agenda with
your sales team so that everyone is on the same page.
Next, you need to confirm that the meeting you set is fully understood and accepted by
your prospect. You don’t want to become one of the sales horror stories where you drive
3 hours only to be told the prospect wasn’t interested in talking with you. Prevent this by
doing your research and confirming the time, date and agenda of the meeting beforehand.
Then, 1-2 hours before the meeting, you need to get in the right mindset. To do so you
need to be focused, confident and energetic. Music can be very helpful as it can help
ease your nerves, increase your creativity and motivate you. In fact, studies have shown
that retail stores increase their sales when they play upbeat music. Find a few songs that
motivate you and listen to them before the meeting.
Once the meeting is underway, you need to stay focused. You may have 10 other things
to do after your meeting, but you can’t do them during the meeting, so they don’t matter.
Focus on the present and give your full attention to the deal at hand. Review the research
you have done, review the pitch you are going to present and give it your all. Putting your
cell phone on mute and not checking it is key.
And, what if something does go wrong, you ask? For a few years, Roger invited the CEO to
join his fantasy football league. The CEO never joined, but it helped Roger turn the situation
into a positive in his mind. Roger worked hard to get back in with this prospect and
eventually he did. On a smaller scale, even if you run into hurdles in the meeting, don’t give
up. Face objections head on and keep the conversation focused on finding a solution.
These tips can help you to make each of your meetings count. No opportunity should be
taken lightly, do your research, confirm the meeting, use music to get in the right mindset,
focus and be ready to think on your toes. By doing so, you can avoid becoming a Roger.
You can always check your fantasy football after you’ve closed the deal anyways!