I had spent a lot of time developing my 3 models and working on them, but they take too much explaining. They are good but they are not good enough and so it is time for a change.
My passion is to help as many entrepreneurs all over the world to get better sales results and I want my book to make sense and really resonate with business owners.
I want them and you to read it and say, 'I totally get this James and it makes perfect sense'.
So, what is the new subject and model you may ask? Stop taking up my Saturday morning talking and tell me what it's about!
Drum roll, please.......
Sales is Like Dating
For years, I have used a number of analogies on how winning in sales is like dating or meeting someone new. Some of my past team at InTouch used to cringe when I outlined the bar scenario or the first date challenge, but I used these examples as they were easy to understand and everyone could relate to the point I was making.
I believe sales is very similar to dating. In fact, I think succeeding in sales is pretty much exactly the same as trying to find yourself a new partner. Let me explain why I think this, how I am going to share more about this in a book and the help I need from you!
Satisfying needs
The first thing about this approach is that pretty much everyone I speak with about it can resonate with it. I bet that 99.99999% of us have all had a desire at some time in our life to find a partner (most of us started that search through wanting to solve a problem or satisfy a need but I am not going to be too explicit here before you start wondering!) and we had a set of requirements when we started looking for Mr or Mrs Right! Your prospects have a similar problem. They are looking to solve a problem or for something or someone to make their lives better.
Building a good first impression
When your prospects meet someone for their first time, they want to get a good impression and guess what, that's the same when you are dating. I haven't met many people who say, 'no it's ok, I am going on a first date and I don't really want them to like me'!
In order to prepare for the first date, you spend some time getting ready and if you were like me, you would look in the mirror and tell yourself you looked good and you were a nice person! I knew when I was dating that if I didn't think I looked great how could I expect someone else to think that. My friends always tell me I have a face only my mother could love but I believed in myself.😊
Isn't that the same as when you interact with your prospects? Prospects and potential clients don't like people who are arrogant, but they do want the people they buy from to have a confidence and assurance about who they are.
Is this worth a 2nd date?
When you meet with a date for the first time, it's unlikely that you will ask to marry them there and then. If you are single, then please try it and let me know how you get on! In most cases, the whole purpose of the first meeting is to try and get to know them a bit more and decide if they are worth having a 2nd date with.
Yes, you have guessed it, selling to someone is exactly the same. I talk a lot in my videos about too many people in sales trying to win business too early when the prospect is not ready to buy. The best salespeople have a plan and focus on getting the prospect to the next part of that plan and don't try to jump into bed with them straight away.
Handling the objections
After around 4 dates with Mrs White number 2 (yes, we all make mistakes and I have a chapter in the book about prospects who are not the right fit for you) I made sure that I was totally open and honest about my past and the mistakes I had made. My relationship had developed, and I wanted to be open about why my relationship with Mrs White number 1 had failed, to see if it was going to impact my future with Mrs White number 2.
Your prospects are the same. They will know that not every customer you have worked with has been perfect, but they will trust you more when they hear it direct from you. Wouldn't you rather be told about an issue direct from someone you are looking to buy from, rather than hear bad things about them from a colleague or friend. Just imagine these problems about you appearing just before you sign a contract and work together. It could have negative impact and you don't want that when your about to seal the deal!
So, as you can see, I think there are HUGE similarities between sales and dating. I have over the last week been working to define 12 stages in the overall process which I am going to use in my book. I am busy adding more context and details into these stages so that I am ready to start writing. These stages will be the basis for a new training course I am also going to launch in addition to the book so stay tuned for more details on this as well.
So what help do I need from you?
I will outline this below after I have shared with you details on the latest video I launched on my YouTube channel this morning which covers handling typical objections that you get with new prospects.
To carry on my dating theme, what would you say to someone in a bar that you go over and chat with who says, 'they are not interested in talking to you'?
Would you give up there and then or would you try to get a conversation started? Have a look at the video for some ideas on what I think you could say.