Sales Introduction Part 1

remodel buddy

CONTRACTORS CORNER, Contractor Sales Training

Student of the Game.

The most important aspect of learning to be a sales professional is building a Culture for Success and being a  Student of the Game.  I want you to understand this first sentence before we move on, as it is very important. By culture for success, there needs to be an environment that enables your mind to create an ability in sales that is a second nature, easy, natural and flows. When you are talking to your customer they should be at ease with you and not see a person “acting “like a sales person. An obvious sales approach will jeopardize credibility and more important, jeopardize the ability to earn customers business. In order to be a natural, the right thing to do is create a Culture for success. I also want you to understand that the only way to build a culture for success is to be a Student of the Game. A student reminds me of someone who is always learning and keeping sharp with knowledge. A Student of the game is just that, always a student that will fine tune him or herself by studying every aspect of the Sales preparation, presentation and closing techniques.  A Student of the Game is motivated to learn and remains positive. A student in college cannot get good grades without studying, unless he is an exceptional genius. A sales person cannot be successful without getting good grades and In this case, good grades are sales.” How do you get high sales grades? Well, ironically you must become a good student….Always. If I used these terms mentioned above quite a few times, I meant to. Here is a good example in simple terms; does anyone remember seeing the Rocky movie when he lost the desire to fight and needed the ‘eye of the tiger, “he moved back to his roots and trained at his old gym. He moved from luxury and a lavish life to the beaten down Philly streets and surrounded himself in a culture for success. This culture was his everyday life that made him a fighter. Rocky had his old sweat shirt with holes in it, his old apartment that made him remember how he struggled to make it and his desire to win. Rocky had his old familiar streets to run down and train.  Becoming a great Salesperson is the same as the method Rocky chose, which is building an environment mentally for success, in sales. In order to be successful it doesn’t mean sleeping in Rocky’s apartment. To be successful, it will require planning.

this is how I view the cycle between Culture and Student & how they work together. Imagine a circle with two objects rotating in it . Student as mentioned in part one & Culture being the other. Each symbol has the same level of importance and works in a circular directional flow that keeps rotating and evolving. When you sit and think about this, it all makes perfect sense. First, being a student is an important part in evolving into a successful Sales professional and Building a Culture to succeed is equally important. These two move in perfect unison and just seem to flow so well together.

udent of the Game

I love the phrase coined by another,” no one ever planned to fail, they just failed to plan.” Planning is an important part of being successful. Public Businesses put together a business plan for their investors forecasting their profits, football teams have a weekly regiment they adhere to and formulate a “game plan” for their opponent on any given week. We could go over numerous examples about how success must be planned. It should come as no surprise that the greatest path to sales success is also, planning. Our plan is to discuss the steps we will put together for Building a Culture of Success & being a Student of the Game. It’s Monday morning and you are stepping into work with one foot in the door. When you left the house your spouse wasn’t in the best mood and the radio was all commercials on the way in. The first person you see is an upset customer waiting for you. Is this going to be a good day? Does any of this seem familiar or resemble a morning in the not too distant past? How do we get past this moment? In building a good culture, your attitude is the driving force. A positive outlook I believe is developed and not a decision to make on the spot. Developing a good attitude will create a culture, while deciding to be positive any given day will be short lived. There are steps we can mentally take to set ourselves up for a better opportunity to succeed each and every day. What do the most successful people do? Go to bed early, wake up early, eat healthy, build relationships with people they like & trust, exercise & stay fit to create more energy, dedicate personal time with family and themselves to sharpen the saw. The term sharpen the saw is a story of two lumberjacks racing to saw a tree in half. The one lumberjack kept sawing and never took a break, while the other took breaks. When the lumberjack took these breaks he would sit down and sharpen his blade. He didn’t work non-stop, but was more effective do to his sharper blade being able to cut faster. This is just an example, but it is easy to understand that “time management” and quality time taken personally to keep mentally and physically sharp will benefit in a better attitude. Every person is different and makes decisions based on their needs, but these items here are essential to having a quality life and a culture for success. It is Monday morning and you are stepping into work with one foot in the door. When you left the house your wife was not in the best mood. You stayed and extra minute or two because you woke up early and had a few minutes to spare. You sat down with your spouse and talked a little. When you drove into work you listened to a CD with favorite songs on it. Upon arriving at work you met a customer that needed special attention and dedicated time to make a poor situation good. Your positive demeanor was admired by employees and was not only a positive meeting for your customer, but a training ground for employees that the leader handles situations calmly and head on.The bottom line here is Attitude is not a spur of the moment decision; it is a culture that is built and supported by your decisions that build your life. It is never too late to turn around and start building this foundation. Attitude is a pattern that stems from good decisions in your lifestyle. A POSITIVE attitude is a stepping stone, a building block. Number one, by getting a good nights sleep and waking up early we are starting a positive pattern to make a positive day. Eating a good breakfast & a brisk 5 minute walk in the am, gets our mind focused before work.The most effective people arrive early & of good mind. Mental and Physical health is part of building a successful culture. Plan a routine that gives yourself a better chance to be successful.These are just a few ideas to build a culture for success. Plan on a routine that you will stick with.

remodel buddy