Dear Everyone,
Hello and welcome to your latest GavinIngham.com newsletter. I
hope that you're having a great week and making lots of sales and
winning lots of new business. I've spent most of the week working
on creating virtual versions of two of my main programmes, 5.5
Steps to Sales Success and No Fear Cold Calling. You keep
asking for them so I am going to create them and as part of that
there will be several free videos and downloads made available
when they are released so keep your eyes open for them.
For a change today, I am going to kick off with my tips from the
Apprentice. There is something in there for everyone and it
doesn't matter whether you watched The Apprentice or not or
even whether you like it or not as anyone can apply them…
More Tips For Being A Sales Superstar!
Tip 1: Don't talk, do.
Stephen, who had saved his own neck last week by volunteering to
be team leader this week, kicked off the show declaring, "I'm so
motivated" and, "I'm going to give 110%." Stop talking about it! Do it!
Declaring that you are motivated is not motivation. Declaring that
you are going to give your all is pointless if you subsequently don't.
IMHO it is far better to hold your cards closer to your chest and
prove your worth rather than declaring it. Demonstrate your
commitment, passion, skills and worth by walking the walk and
adding value to your team, your organization and your career.
And keep your mouth shut!
Tip 2: Don't accept first offers.
In a "negotiation" Stephen told one of the clients that typically they
worked to a 40% discount off the RRP. The client said that he
could only do �100 on �475. Stephen moved on without trying to
negotiate any more. After all of his bluster about how the task was
all about persuasion and negotiation, where was it?
When negotiating it is unwise to accept first offers unchallenged
(on most occasions). At best you are leaving profits on the table...
at worst you may devalue your product, harm your brand and lose
the sale.
Tip 3: Think about your appearance.
About half way through the show we saw Jade shaking hands in a
boardroom whilst still wearing her rain coat. Whilst not crime of the
century, when we saw her sitting down seconds later, she was no
longer wearing it. One assumes she must have stopped and taken
it off when sitting down. Surely it would have made sense to have
taken it off in reception? Okay, so it didn't cost her the deal but it
looked unprofessional and unprepared.
Tip 4: Don't waste your time.
With a deal of this kind you need to quickly ascertain whether you
are talking to a potential client or you will waste a lot of time. In his
first meeting of the day, Ricky spent half an hour being shown
around a high end restaurant only for the client to tell him that he
would not discount in any way. For anyone used to high end
restaurants in London this was not that surprising as many of them
have waiting lists weeks and months long.
Why would they discount for more customers when they have no
availability? Why would they discount when their brand is built
around exclusivity and turning people away? Why would they
discount when many of their top customers would not wish to
be sitting next to someone who was only there by virtue of the
fact that they got a deal?
Tip 5: Learn as you go.
Having made that mistake once, Ricky wasn't about to make it again
and secured two other high end restaurants by changing his tack
and his approach. These two deals netted �6090 of orders and
could have brought in even more had he negotiated for more meals.
Tip 5: Be prepared.
In tonight's show we saw Stephen's team rush out headlong to start
making appointments whilst Jade's team spent more time thinking
about who they wanted to target and why. Whilst activity is critical
for success, so is preparation. There is no point being a busy fool.
Time spent planning, targeting and preparing is always time well
spent.
You want your activity to be efficient, laser like and to add value for
your business and for the businesses of your clients. And
preparation is the key to success in this.
Tip 6: Be congruent.
One of the most uncomfortable moments of the show for me came
from Tom and Adam (who both had terrible days at the office). Upon
approaching a luxury fragrance boutique (Miller Harris) they both
acknowledged that they had never heard of them yet when put on
the spot and asked if he had heard of them, Adam lied and said that
he hadn't but that Tom had and that his girlfriend shopped there.
If you tell little white lies like these, stop it now. It is incongruent. It is
unacceptable. AND it is lazy. You may think that it does no harm but
it does and if you watch the scene again it is clearly obvious that
they are lying. As it happens, the client either did not pick up on this
or did not care and gave then the deal anyway.
If you want to build stronger client relationships than your peers, if
you want an awesome reputation, if you want people to buy into
you, your products and your company then you need to be
congruent and to be congruent you need to be honest.
And what's worse... just 2 minutes on a smart phone or an iPad
"researching" the brand and they would not have felt the need to
do this anyway.
Tip 7: Take the shame.
A bit like Lauren Cooper in the Catherine Tate Show, Stephen
never wants to "take the shame." After trying to blame Ricky (who
made 95% of the sales on his team) he then blamed Gabrielle for
contributing nothing despite the fact that the team strategy was
his and he was present at every interaction she had!
He then went on to tell Lord Alan that he was capable of seeing
both the positive and the negative in himself!!! If you want to
progress in sales and in life you have to be honest about when
you have made mistakes so that you can learn from them and
apply better, more effective strategies next time.
Leadership tip: Don't be bamboozled by numbers.
At the end of the task Lord Alan made quite a thing out of the fact
that Stephen's team had 9 potential deals and Jade's had only 6.
These translated into 3 deals and 2 deals, respectively, accepted
to go onto the website. But the final figures do not support this
praise as Jade's prospects brought in �14,563 and Stephen's
only �6,440.
Activity is important. Quantity is important. But only when it is
coupled with Quality.
Tip of the day. Focus on Quality first.
Everything you do should be done well and to the best Quality.
When you have Quality, then focus on Quantity but don't let the
Quality drop.
In the Boardroom...
Tom and Adam who made no sales must have been delighted
to have been carried by the victorious Jade and Nick and they
departed to eat cake. Stephen, Gabrielle and Ricky were left to
fight it out in the boardroom. Rather harshly, given the
circumstances, Ricky was criticized but it was purely a side
game to the real deal... Stephen vs Gabrielle.
Gabrielle has been quiet but this is easy for me, sack Stephen.
It's been coming for weeks. Make Gabrielle PM next week and
see how she does. Given current company I wouldn't mind
seeing her interviewed as part of the final 4 but Lord Alan had
different ideas and sacked her....
I cannot believe Stephen escaped again... hang on... he hadn't...
a double sacking. Ricky was safe and headed back to the
house to tell the others of his near miss experience.
**********
Motivational Quotes This Week From Seth Godin.
"The linchpin is an individual who can walk into chaos and
create order, someone who can invent, connect, create and
make things happen. Every worthwhile institution has
indispensable people who make differences like these."
"You have everything you need to build something far bigger
than yourself."
"The good news is that more than ever, value accrues to those
that show up, those that make a difference, those that do
work that matters."
**********
New Projects…
I am shortly going to be starting an exciting new project aimed
at helping people to achieve more of what they want in life
not just in sales. If you're interested in motivation, goal setting,
understanding how to achieve more of what you want, time
management, success… then it could be for you!
This project is going to include loads of free resources and
I will be launching it here in this section so keep your eyes
open in the next few newsletters…
**********
That's about it from me. Have a great week and sell with
passion.
Kind regards
Gavin
**********
Set your next conference or AGM alight by booking
motivational
speaker Gavin Ingham now.
Check out my educational and motivational books,
audios & DVDs
now at
www.gaviningham.com.
Read more articles like this one at
www.gaviningham.com.
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