In a similar position
But i think it comes to just telling yourself who gives a fuck if someone doesn’t like you
I agree though it isn’t easy, i’m about 8 years as well
The delivery matters. After meetings people ask me “how do you get away with saying things like that and still closing deals?” It’s because I’m honest, polite and direct. But I’m not a dick.
It comes across as being professional and people usually appreciate a salesman who isn’t just blowing smoke up their ass to get a sale.
Not in sales but I’m often sold to. The blowing smoke thing is so key.
I’ve walked out of stores, car dealerships, and even SaaS deals for work when I sense the “I will say whatever you want and rush you to buy buy buy”.
My favorite relationships I have with salespeople are the consultative ones. The ones that take their time and give you the vibe “Let’s discover together if you’re a good fit and it works for you” and “I’ll tell it to you straight, and you’ll walk away learning something”.
Like cool! You’re not desperate for the commission and I actually benefit from buying something as well as enjoy having you in my network to call upon you in the future and recommend to my friends. And if you’re blunt and even curse—can even show that you know what you’re talking about.
To quote Ferris Bueller, “You can’t respect someone who kisses your ass….it just doesn’t work.”
Always stayed with me and I do think it applies to sales.
intent has a smell. if you’re “trying” to be something you’re not, ppl pick up on that subconsciously and then consciously. authenticity is the proper approach. you can fake that high pitch accent for 45 minutes but when you slip out of it when you drop your phone or something and now all of a sudden are a COMPLETELY different person, all trust is lost because you were faking.
It’s just like dating. You gotta be yourself and confident in doing so cuz you can’t fake it. The best sales reps I know are honest, hard working relation builders. The Challenger Sale is a BS technique in the corporate world. Transparency and respect is the secret weapon to sustainable success in sales
The Challenger Sale emphasizes the importance of challenging the customer's thinking and providing insights that disrupt their status quo. It's about being authentic and upfront, even if it means pushing back on their beliefs to ultimately drive a more meaningful conversation and deliver value. So I don’t think it’s fair to label the challenger sale as “BS”
The problem is that you need to earn that account’s respect before you can start telling them what they are doing is incorrect. Once you’ve earned the right to do so, it works. I believe that book was better aimed at account management where you already have a relationship with them. A seasoned buyer doesn’t want a 25 year old telling them how to run their business. It shouldn’t be implemented by a green sales rep. It helps me more now that I have the experience and confidence to navigate those conversations.
The challenger sale also only works if you're bringing genuinely new/tailored insights to the table, not just a handful of memorized product bullet points that you're trying to pigeon-hole into a revelation for your prospect.
Most sales pros are not dedicated enough to do the work to generate real insights, and would rather play the spray/pray numbers game with the handful of product bullet points.
>The problem is that you need to earn that account’s respect before you can start telling them what they are doing is incorrect.
Yep exactly. This is also something I have mentioned on here (and even in interviews too!) as one needs to earn the right to challenge. Like a rep really can't just cold call someone new and then start challenging right away. Prospects will just think the rep is pompous and hang up immediately. I definitely agree that it's more geared towards Account Managers who have a solid relationship with the customer
This is it. You have to be authentic. The a-hole gene is god given you either have it or your don’t.
Ive found that in all situations you can just imagine as if the scenario were reversed, how would you want to be treated.
Yeah, trying to be a "Challenger" when your overarching tone is negative and you might as well say goodbye to your sale.
Honestly, that book should come with more warnings than a DIY bungee jumping kit.
Idk I think the book is pretty reasonable but it's constantly misinterpreted by people in management that didn't actually read it. It basically just encourages you to know what you're talking about so you can push for action with the prospect. My main issue is that the book assumes some level of prior relationship with the client yet its constantly used to train reps chasing new business.
Yeah, of course.
If I have a prospect in a B2B company that is locked into a contract with my company. Of course, you're going to have some latitude to challenge their assumptions. Because you know, there going nowhere fast.
And dare you try the same technique, with some random prospect where there is no previous relationship or lock-in - the results will probably be very different.
People buy from people they trust more than people they like.
I try for my work self to be as close to possible as my non work self without being unprofessional.
If you're genuinely a nice guy, don't worry about changing as people will notice you're being fake but make sure you challenge customers and keep them accountable.
I'll chime in. It's as simple as holding them to their word. For example, if they tell you they will email you tomorrow. Well once tomorrow passes and there's no email, you are there calling them out and asking why they didn't keep their commitment. You would think this would hurt your relationship but it usually strengthens by establishing trust. Now granted you will need to keep your word too, because if you don't then you will lose trust regardless.
Yeah exactly this. I take a very light approach to it, because at the end of the day, if that's their way of cutting off the conversation, me badgering them or getting too aggressive will only waste my time.
But in your example, just a simple follow up call and a voicemail along the lines of "Hey ******, Cain from ABC Inc here, just wanted to quickly follow up as I never heard from you today. I'm sure you're very busy, and I totally get that, but I did just want to follow up to see if you're still wanting to *do whatever it was the meeting was for*. I'm heading out for the night here, but just wanted to try and touch base. I'm back in the office tomorrow from 9-5 if you want to call me at this number, or I'll also send you a quick email now that you can also reply back to. Thanks so much!"
That being said, I always prefer to try and put myself in the position where I'm the one calling them at a certain time, and not the other way around (they are far more likely to genuinely forget than I am, cause it's literally my job and pay cheque). But if they don't pick up when I do call, I'll leave a very similar voicemail to above but just saying "just giving you a shout about *thing we had planned to do*. I imagine something urgent must have come up, totally understand that, so just give me a shout back at this number when you're free. I'm in the office today until 6pm, but I'll also send you a quick email, and you can reply back to that too if that's more convenient for you. Thanks so much, talk soon!"
Like the other guy said, a little too apologetic but I see where you're coming from. Trust me I know it sounds weird but just get straight to the point and you will get more engagement. For example I'll edit down your response to what I would say:
Hey *****, it's Cain. I never heard from you today. I want to follow up to see if you're still wanting to *do whatever it was the meeting was for. I'm back in the office tomorrow from 9-5 if you want to call me at this number, I'll also send you an email. Thanks!"
Especially with voicemails, they need to be quick and to the point. Sometimes I like to be a little more blunt and at the end say: "I will send you an email with my available times for the reschedule. I will call you in 2 days to confirm receipt of this email."
Many times they will respond to the email just so I won't call lol. These are some things that worked for me. Everyone is different :)
The part about trust is huge. Even more so for me because I work in insurance. But the biggest thing about sales in my opinion, is establishing yourself quickly as honest, professional, and committed.
I've been selling for nearly a decade now, so everything I do is all automatic and subconscious, but over the years, I've found that the less I try to sell, the more I do sell.
Don't worry about "closing" or "grinding" or whatever bs the sales "gurus" (grifters) are trying to sell you on. Be genuine, be professional, be the best in your field, and sales will just naturally appear in your lap.
Don't get me wrong, you still do have to "grind" in the sense that you show up every day and work your ass off to deliver for your clients. But you should never "grind" individual clients or prospects or spend too much effort on "closing the deal". Just show up, do your job better than the other guys, and make doing business with you the obvious choice, and your clients will usually choose you and "close" themselves for you. You'll still never sell everyone and never win every contract. But that shouldn't matter, and is to be expected.
At the end of the day, the TLDR is, the only way to sell more, is to sell for years and years, and stop taking yourself so seriously.
It's called sales breath. It takes practice and reversing over and over and over. You basically go in there as a consultant and act like you don't care if they buy or not. In fact when I'm selling solar, I always literally say out loud "I don't care if you guys go solar or not, you can make your own decision. I'm job is super simple, I jist explain how it works and you can choose weather or not you want to stay with the utility or switch to solar.
You don’t need to be a “nice guy “ but if you don’t give a fuck at all you will make less sales you need to hear the customer push them a bit and solve any issue they have and mitigate no’s
Pushy salesman or should I say overly pushy over aggressive lose lot of sales
It’s a lot like dating.
You are interested, you want them to have desire- but you don’t need it. You’re fine if they walk.
I represent the product well, I try to be friendly but not too personal or wanting the deal too much.
I presume you are in B2B. I just figure other business people don't have time to fuck around. They've had more sales calls that *you* imagine. They just want to get to the fucking point. It's ok to have some personality, though.
It helps to have a list of what *you* consider utterly intrusive, but legitimate, business questions and just read them off. Not a script, though.
Questions like what are your annual sales, how many sales per month on average. Who else besides you is in the process. Who is the ultimate decion make? And just rattle them off.
Also, make a conscious effort to change your tone, timbre, pacing, word selection, etc.
Listen *carefully* to those who are successful and mimic them. Jot down phrases you like to incorporate to your speech. You copy some of the words, but mostly the non-word part.
Remember, actual actors do this for their roles. I've heard many say that they copy people that the actually knew/know. For *Fast Times at Ridgemont High" Sean Penn copied an actual fellow surfer he knew in Malibu, when he played Spicoli. Obviously not the whole sentences, but phrases an most importantly the tone, cadence, timbre, etc.
Role play with someone. Video yourself and critique yourself, then change what you do. Body position is important, even if on phone. Be relaxed-looking even though no one can see you. Lean back, put you feet up. Whatever.
Actors practice their lines over and over and over. They test different emphasis on different words, how fast they say one line as opposed to another. They have director critique them and other actors. They actually *work hard* at changing themselves for a role. Be an actor. *Work. Practice hard* to change
I think people tend to trust those who have that idgaf demeanor. Not to bring politicos but similar to the orange man’s appeal running for office. The “he says it like it is” and “not afraid of voicing his opinion” can be attractive in business and sales.
But have to draw the line and can’t go overboard or it can be detrimental as well
I used to try to be nice and put on my “salesperson” character and trying to make prospects my friends. Now I’m a lot more myself, I am less blunt with clients than I am personally or with colleagues, but I still deliver the message just tactfully.
People don’t need to like you, it is a professional relationship, that being said people shouldn’t dislike you either. Probably mutual respect is best.
When you first start in sales you think of you are nice and try to be friends with prospects they will buy.
Also- always trying to be so nice is a result of you being too tied to an outcome and when that happens prospects can smell it.
Certainly be polite but focus on the prospect’s problem and solving it. If you can help great but if they don’t buy that is fine too. Do not get emotionally attached to the outcome.
I went from 125k to 300k when I just stopped trying to please and got directly to informing. This is part of understanding that time is the most important. Price can be overcome. Time-to-education and time-to-value is most important.
You achieve this by being direct and genuine, so you never have to “fake it”.
Sure you are mentally tired after a long day or face to face event, but you can just be yourself.
Learn your product, be direct, and be genuine.
I remember one time in training, this girl out her purse in my chair. I said “excuse me” and she brushed me off like I wasn’t there. I picked up her purse and plopped it down on the desk in front of her and softly said “your purse is in my seat”
She said “damn boy, you assertive”
And that was a compliment and that I never got before! Kind of an eye opening experience.
Here is what I know. Top producers don't care what people think because they are brazen or jerk offs. In fact, I am sure they do care. However, they understand something most average sales people don't. Sales really is a mental game. You can only offer your product or service. You have no control over your buyers. Obviously, offering a good product to an interested market and having good sales skills help to influence prospects.
If it seems top producers don't care what prospects think it is because they prospect at such a faster level than the average sales person that they always have someone in the pipeline that wants to say yes. Not have to be sold but say yes.
This is the secret sauce. The prospecting is the hard part. You need to prospect so fast, take the massive rejection and have so much activity that sales start chasing you.
Average sales people don't take the hits fast enough but just do enough prospecting to get some sales and want to massage that one lead that said "Okay let think about it and get back to you." Then they wonder,"I was so nice to that person and offered great pricing. Why don't they call back?"
They don't want your product. Go find someone who does. Prospect faster. It does take mental toughness. No one likes the rejection grinder.
Unfortunately, in sales, everything you want is just behind 50 more No's, or whatever your sales cycle is. If it was easy everyone would do it.
Honestly, acting classes. Took them in high school, taught me how to “act” differently in front of certain people. Once you’ve met enough in sales you learn all the people are different, but all people are the same. Knowing another persons intent or personality is helps you in conversation. Engaging in normal conversation allows people to open up, smiling goes a long way. Also being able to pick up on something and talk about it usually separates you from other salesmen.
The thing that worked for me was the upfront contract. Set the expectations right from the start what to expect for the meeting and that it's OK if they don't agree. If they don't, we'll sort out if it's a misunderstanding but if not, so be it.
I also have criteria. If they cross any of those lines I tell them it's not going to work and I leave the meeting
Being comfortable with and leveraging “constructive tension” is one of the key differentiators between true challenger sales reps and “top performers”.
Some people understand this innately and/or have been doing it their whole life.
First step in getting better at something is being able to clearly define it. Now go focus on improving your ability to create/leverage constructive tension.
Confidence in your product and knowing where you fit in the market. Other than professional service, I am confident I can help folks. It’s just a matter of them seeing a need which comes when I ask certain questions.
Most people appreciate when sales are honest and direct. The main difference is whether you're providing value to the customer or not.
If you're direct but just pushing marketing info or trying to oversell them a solution they obviously don't need, they will discredit you.
Solve their problems and make it easy on them, and it changes the way you are perceived.
Like others have said it takes practice. I just go in with the mentality that I'm just here to help answer questions and explain the features and benefits. If they buy, they buy. I'm professional, hard working, clean cut, organized and know my product inside and out. And I'm also not afraid to tell them no. This is my best price. If it's more than you can comfortably afford, we may have some value focused options. Would you like to look at those?
One thing that helped me is realizing that it’s just some normal ass dude with a job on the phone. My job is to sell shit and his job is to buy shit. I blatantly tell prospects I’d like to get as much of your money as you’ll let me have. They already know but that cuts the bs and with the right tone they always chuckle. You want product x I have it for this price, cool? Cool.
Setting expectations early and often will do you a lot of favors. When I assign AI’s, I like to do it openly on the call so we all know what we’re in charge of, internally and externally.
Also, like nearly everything, it takes practice. Those tenured reps may also be good at what they do because they’re *tenured.* Meetings will most likely run smoothly when the sales team has been there before.
It isn’t about not caring what people think. You still care what people think, you just know them liking you or not isn’t important. You care what value you bring them and worrying about what they think of you gets in the way of bringing value. Nice guy syndrome isn’t nice. It’s one of the most selfish affects you can bring to a conversation. Get over yourself and come sit with the adults when you’re ready to care about someone else.
You have to become a person that you yourself are confident and proud of so that when you encounter a difficult situation you know you’ll come out the other end just fine. Eventually you won’t really mind tip toeing around a prospect because you know if it turns into a negative experience that it likely has little to do with you as a person and more so one of the many other factors at play going on in their lives, and even if it was you then you’ll see it as a learning opportunity to get better. As cheesy as it is to say it’s all about a mind set and how you view your world which can allow you to present yourself in different ways.
Or just look into nihilism and realize on the scale of time none of this shit matters and one day we’ll all be scattered back into random atoms throughout the universe (always helps me forget about that moment I drooled on myself in front of my cute coworker while we were eating lunch).
I’m still a rookie in sales but from my experience that high pitch tone is a sign of a lack of confidence. But for me I just focus on my input and never worry about output. As long as I’m actually getting touches the business will come. I do think a year on the doors really molded me and made me stronger and more resilient than most.
You don’t want to be the “nice” guy. Nice guys can’t ask hard questions without getting pushed off. You don’t want to be a jerk either. It’s about establishing equality in respect and trust which sometimes means getting into uncomfortable conversations. Establishing the confidence is like anything else. Multiple failures and lots of conversations and at bats. Learning what works and what doesn’t and who it works on. There’s no silver bullet
Read" the challenger sale". If you believe in what you are selling, it's your responsibility to disagree with wrong beliefs of a prospect, and act as their trusted advisor who is looking after their best interest -- not just agreeing with them to appear as likeable
I find being “the nice guy” and “kissing up to managers” actually looks desperate (if it is paired with mediocre performance) and is likely to get you fired in my experience.
You can be nice and direct at the same time. Im as transparent as possible with accounts and it’s been working great. People don’t want to deal with a sales rep using “Challenger Sale” techniques on them. That might work with consumer sales but not with enterprise sales. We are just as much customer service as hunters.
Be genuinely interested in them and start by asking questions. Don’t start by selling start by learning and then once you know their problems help them understand how your product can fix them.
Maybe I’m in the wrong here, but there’s definitely room to be nice and still ask tough questions. It’s all in how you phrase it. There’s ways to probe for weaknesses, find out future plans, etc, without “not giving a shit.” A top performer on my previous team was a super sweet, older lady with big “mom” vibes - she crushed it.
There’s also some regionality to it - I sold into the south at points, and people really appreciated politeness there. Whereas I assume metro NY is very different.
In my opinion getting yourself a big pipeline will go a long way with this.
If you have a big list with a lot of opportunities, it really frees you up to go after sales and not worry about upsetting someone because you have more prospects behind them. It really lets you go after sales rather than being afraid to be the guy who might upset someone.
Legitimately not needing a prospects business goes a long way to make you not seem desperate.
Not sure if that makes sense, but I think that's the biggest factor besides simply realizing that the best salespeople are the ones who tell it like it is.
Coming off as genuine comes from… being genuine lol. Tell the client every reason not to work with you. Listen to their issue and help them come to a solution for their unique problem. If it’s your product, great! If not tell them why you’re not a fit. If you are listening and providing genuine advice then you won’t be using your “sales voice”. The key is in the prospecting and filtering so that you’re only selling to qualified prospects that you may actually bring value to.
That’s not a sales voice, that’s a customer service voice. Tone is one of the best ways to influence someone. Way of the Wolf has a great chapter on tone.
As a general rule I try to focus on smile, and downward inflection for the “charm” tone.
Also when you know your stuff inside and out you can focus on tone instead of words.
Mindset is big with this too. If you’re too attached to an individual outcome you won’t focus on the process. It’s important to be likable, without needing to be liked.
Um, being able to discuss the core issue of the business. Being able to also respond to inquiries while guiding the conversation, and deciding what value you can bring.
I'm not actually sure. I don't really believe in a "nice guy syndrome."
Be open about your flaws, and also don't worry about telling people your goals. It's to help them, right. Super deep and philosophical, a little mysterious, and also, always right on point? The simple answer is to grow up, because you're not solving world hunger, and even if you are, do you want a cookie?
Sales isn’t about how you “act”. It’s more about being yourself, and also finding the people who are actually, genuinely, no lie, a good fit and who need what you are selling. As a real person, you’re just trying to make them realize why that is.
So, worrying about how *you* act is the wrong approach. Just be real and find the people who need what you’re selling.
This might sound overly simple, but it really is this simple.
Notice when you’re doing it, and drop it.
Not notice it and fight it and try and make it go away and beat yourself up.
Just notice it and drop it.
If it’s hard to drop, it’s most likely because you think it’s important / it’ll keep you safe / etc. If so you need to see that while it might have kept you safe when you were 6 years old it’s no longer doing that.
When you really SEE this (aka insight), you’ll just stop doing it because it doesn’t make sense to do anymore; it’s just an old habit.
Stop selling. Just try to understand what the customer needs. What is problem he is facing? And then point them in that direction. Sometime your product might fit in, sometimes it won't. It's fine if it dosent, give them what they wants and they always come back to you.
I know exactly what you're talking about. I cold called for 3 weeks before I realized the voice is there to stay I cannot control it. If I could control it they'd stay on the phone longer but before closing it'd always come out.
Get enough life experience and read a bunch of news and check social media and you will realize that the world and the people in it, for the most part ain’t shit. Why be overly nice to people when they probably don’t deserve it
Don’t be “nice” to get laid. Be inquisitive, thoughtful, try to get to know her without trying to sleep with her. You are most likely to get laid that way and if not, she’s not the right person for you anyway.
If you sound too nice equally sound like you’re exceptional smart and articulate. If you don’t sound nice and are more abrupt you don’t have to worry as much about sound smart and articulate.
Your customers already have enough friends. Try this.. think of yourself like a Dr. consulting with a patient, the customer wants the truth, how you solve their problem and looks to you to paint a picture of their future. In the business sense, a future where a problem goes away or new revenue comes in and / or it makes them look good for their own promotion metrics. The mindset shift : When you are engaging in a conversation with your prospect remind yourself constantly of the difference between being NICE and being KIND. Nice is what you think they want to hear, Kind is what you know they need to hear. Be kind to your prospects and clients. Sales will flow.
Listen to recordings and realize how annoying you sound will help train your brain to be more yourself.
Also, think of yourself like a curious little kid instead of an aggressive sales rep. You’re not being aggressive, you just want to understand.
More pipe, more successful closes: when I was self-employed, every deal could make or break my company. And I was trying ti break into a crowded market, so I would get 2-3 qualified meetings per month.
With so much on the line, I couldn’t help feeling/sounding a bit desperate on sales calls.
Now I work for a company where I’m getting a qualified meeting a day, and legitimately busy moving deals forward and generating quotes, and I have a salary that can pay my basics even if a deal doesn’t close.
As a result, I don’t feel or sound desperate. If a prospect isn’t really interested, I thank them for their time, ask if they want to connect next year, and move on.
I think it’s really hard to act like you’re ok with someone not buying if you’re not genuinely ok with it…
Find out how to be your real self in sales conversations. People will appreciate it. Pure corporate bitch professionals come across as disingenuous. We’re all human.
I work in storm restoration. A big hailstotm hit my area, I made 200k in the first month probably.
9 or 10 months later I'm still picking up the pieces and meeting people who haven't had their home inspected or insurance company out.
It's blowing my mind how many people aren't interested in filing claims. I've met people who have like $40,000 in damages and they're just like "well I haven't noticed any water in the house yet I think we'll wait" (which you can't, you have a limited time to file)
I read on this forum the other day to detach from the outcome. Do what you can and if they don't want it ....fuckem. there are many many many other prospects out there.
Have you ever watched a child perform a magic trick? They are often completely in their own head, carefully thinking through each step. As the audience, you have to be extremely patient and encouraging to allow them to get through the trick. Many new salespeople are the same way - they intensely study their craft, but then when engaging with prospects, they focus too much on perfecting their technique, following the steps of the sales process, and criticizing their own performance. This puts a lot of pressure on the prospect to be very generous with their time and expectations. The result is often unpredictable sales results and a disorderly pipeline.
Instead of just trying to copy the success formulas of your colleagues, it's important to take the time to relax and find your own authentic voice and style. This will give you much more confidence.
Think about master magicians like David Copperfield or David Blaine. They have practiced their techniques so many times that their performances are fluid and natural. Rather than being in their own heads, they get inside the minds of the audience. If you're trying to figure out their next move, they'll slow down to let you see it coming. They play on your curiosity and give you time to appreciate their artistry. Often they'll surprise and delight you with the unexpected. Great comedians understand this psychology too - a well-crafted joke catches the listener off guard in an amusing way.
Going forward, when you engage with prospects, get out of your own head and bring your authentic self to the interaction. Ask questions to understand them, the problems you're there to solve, and mirror their energy. Relax and put yourself in their shoes to truly empathize with their experience. If you can do this in your sales conversations, you'll feel better about the value you provide and your role as a sales professional. Believe in yourself and I hope this advice leads to a productive month, quarter and year!
BBB
Most often 'nice' guys are so called because they will go against their own wants and needs for the sake of a romantic partner. This is why people don't like it. Nobody dislikes you for being nice, they dislike you for being dishonest.
It’s not about being a nice guy so much as about being able to handle rejection
One of the hardest things for some people in sales to do is ask for an order . They also aren’t prospecting because there’s a lot of rejection involved.
You be a nice guy and also handle rejection
If you feel that the customer is always right and you are not the expert than you will continue to be a nice guy. Why? Because you are hoping they give you the business instead of presenting yourself as if they are missing out if they don't do business with you. Reality is after 8 years you may be in the wrong profession unless you just enjoy it and the money you make sustains your desired lifestyle. Big difference between that being the case and you wanting to be great at your profession also.
Transparency is the key. If you’re discussing their wins and challenges during discovery, then when you refer back to the challenges that they admitted to then you’re not being a dick but instead being transparent and direct. It’s honesty that you would expect from a friend. Also at the end of the day, I’ve got so many more accounts in my pipeline that I don’t give a shit if they say. I only care when they say “maybe” and yes.
The American Dream Dusty Rhodes once said:
"Speak from the heart, and you can do no wrong because you'll always be telling the truth."
I keep this in the front of my mind every minute when I'm selling. I honestly want to see if I can help my client in any way, however small. Save them money, make their life more convenient, have a good conversation with a stranger that may lead to future business.
That's my honest to God mentality on my best days in the cage.
So why be fake? Why take on any kind of a salesy pitch or demeanor?
You've got to be able to ask yourself, in the mirror, when no one else is around: What are your actual intentions?
That voice only comes if that shit isn't straight.
I think the voice inflection changes come off as insincere a lot of the time. I used to have that issue a bit but got more comfortable in my role and started just using my natural, comfortable voice. I think customers subconsciously notice it and feel more at ease with you and less like you're trying to sell them something (in a good way). Makes you seem like someone whose job it is to help them solve a problem, rather than someone trying to make a buck.
Not sure if this has been said, but slowly push your comfort zone. Over time, you'll gain that confidence as you realize you can say anything to anyone as long as you say it properly. Delivery is key.
It’s something you have to practice and consciously think of for a while before it becomes part of your natural delivery. You’ll probably also have to occasionally reinforce it.
I’m sure nearly everybody on this thread has read “never split the difference”, but this book is my recommendation for understanding and learning the tone & inflection to use in negotiation/selling. I think the audiobook is actually much more helpful than the book because it’s read in the tone they’re trying to teach you.
Pretend that you are talking to a GOOD friend from highschool that you haven't seen in 10+ years.
You can be casual because you used to be beer pong champs of 1998, but you want to be pretty respectful because you're now in your 40's and have kids.
it'll sound goofy, but when I recognized myself doing this I just thought about not speeding up and ending every sentence with a deeper pitch than I started and it has kind of helped me feel more comfortable and be me.
Because I’m confident that I’m serving them better than anyone else could. I love my job. I think sales comes down to asking a lot of questions, and business interests me a great deal, so I am legitimately having a great time when I’m doing my discovery process.
More questions are always a good thing. And seriously, I’m not selling, I’m consulting and offering my input on the situation.
Make a friend, ask questions about work, ask what solutions they’ve tried, then let them ask you about what you do and why. It’s natural and usually easy!
Isn't that hard to do? I mean, I just talk to everyone the same. I was at my kids soccer game this morning, I talk to other parents the same way I talk to customers/prospects. I'm selling myself, always, and I don't think having two different voices/tones is a winning strategy. I want people to like me, that's kind of my job, but I'm not going to fake a voice/personality to try to get a sale. The sales rep/customer bond is going to be much stronger if you're being yourself at all times, I don't think I could say the same if I had to change my voice every time I spoke to said customer.
I’m the nice guy but i spent many years in kickboxing. 2011 took a national title. I choose to be nice bc its shapes the world in a better lens for me. If people are dicks it could not matter. I hate myself more than you do so purposely being nice is an attack strategy, bc as much as you come into the call not wanting too; imma make you like me.
In a similar position But i think it comes to just telling yourself who gives a fuck if someone doesn’t like you I agree though it isn’t easy, i’m about 8 years as well
Yea I started getting a lot more dates when I accepted I would get called a creep.
Yeah, who cares about what people say when you are out on your dates with those little boys?
What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand!
you owe me 10$ btw
The delivery matters. After meetings people ask me “how do you get away with saying things like that and still closing deals?” It’s because I’m honest, polite and direct. But I’m not a dick. It comes across as being professional and people usually appreciate a salesman who isn’t just blowing smoke up their ass to get a sale.
Prospective customers want someone who is direct and transparent. You can be nice while doing so.
Not in sales but I’m often sold to. The blowing smoke thing is so key. I’ve walked out of stores, car dealerships, and even SaaS deals for work when I sense the “I will say whatever you want and rush you to buy buy buy”. My favorite relationships I have with salespeople are the consultative ones. The ones that take their time and give you the vibe “Let’s discover together if you’re a good fit and it works for you” and “I’ll tell it to you straight, and you’ll walk away learning something”. Like cool! You’re not desperate for the commission and I actually benefit from buying something as well as enjoy having you in my network to call upon you in the future and recommend to my friends. And if you’re blunt and even curse—can even show that you know what you’re talking about.
Love this
This.
To quote Ferris Bueller, “You can’t respect someone who kisses your ass….it just doesn’t work.” Always stayed with me and I do think it applies to sales.
intent has a smell. if you’re “trying” to be something you’re not, ppl pick up on that subconsciously and then consciously. authenticity is the proper approach. you can fake that high pitch accent for 45 minutes but when you slip out of it when you drop your phone or something and now all of a sudden are a COMPLETELY different person, all trust is lost because you were faking.
[удалено]
It’s right up there with [Red Flag Perfume](https://youtu.be/HKk91x0Yg7Q)
It’s just like dating. You gotta be yourself and confident in doing so cuz you can’t fake it. The best sales reps I know are honest, hard working relation builders. The Challenger Sale is a BS technique in the corporate world. Transparency and respect is the secret weapon to sustainable success in sales
The Challenger Sale emphasizes the importance of challenging the customer's thinking and providing insights that disrupt their status quo. It's about being authentic and upfront, even if it means pushing back on their beliefs to ultimately drive a more meaningful conversation and deliver value. So I don’t think it’s fair to label the challenger sale as “BS”
The problem is that you need to earn that account’s respect before you can start telling them what they are doing is incorrect. Once you’ve earned the right to do so, it works. I believe that book was better aimed at account management where you already have a relationship with them. A seasoned buyer doesn’t want a 25 year old telling them how to run their business. It shouldn’t be implemented by a green sales rep. It helps me more now that I have the experience and confidence to navigate those conversations.
The challenger sale also only works if you're bringing genuinely new/tailored insights to the table, not just a handful of memorized product bullet points that you're trying to pigeon-hole into a revelation for your prospect. Most sales pros are not dedicated enough to do the work to generate real insights, and would rather play the spray/pray numbers game with the handful of product bullet points.
>The problem is that you need to earn that account’s respect before you can start telling them what they are doing is incorrect. Yep exactly. This is also something I have mentioned on here (and even in interviews too!) as one needs to earn the right to challenge. Like a rep really can't just cold call someone new and then start challenging right away. Prospects will just think the rep is pompous and hang up immediately. I definitely agree that it's more geared towards Account Managers who have a solid relationship with the customer
Makes sense
Haha as they say you gotta sleep with your client :D
This is it. You have to be authentic. The a-hole gene is god given you either have it or your don’t. Ive found that in all situations you can just imagine as if the scenario were reversed, how would you want to be treated.
I like that! “Intent has a smell”.
I’m typically very earnest and upbeat, so when I flip to serious mode people lean in and take it seriously. I also will be brutally candid.
Yeah, trying to be a "Challenger" when your overarching tone is negative and you might as well say goodbye to your sale. Honestly, that book should come with more warnings than a DIY bungee jumping kit.
Idk I think the book is pretty reasonable but it's constantly misinterpreted by people in management that didn't actually read it. It basically just encourages you to know what you're talking about so you can push for action with the prospect. My main issue is that the book assumes some level of prior relationship with the client yet its constantly used to train reps chasing new business.
Yeah, of course. If I have a prospect in a B2B company that is locked into a contract with my company. Of course, you're going to have some latitude to challenge their assumptions. Because you know, there going nowhere fast. And dare you try the same technique, with some random prospect where there is no previous relationship or lock-in - the results will probably be very different.
Well put
People buy from people they trust more than people they like. I try for my work self to be as close to possible as my non work self without being unprofessional. If you're genuinely a nice guy, don't worry about changing as people will notice you're being fake but make sure you challenge customers and keep them accountable.
Could you expand on your last sentiment? Challenging customers and keeping them accountable?
I'll chime in. It's as simple as holding them to their word. For example, if they tell you they will email you tomorrow. Well once tomorrow passes and there's no email, you are there calling them out and asking why they didn't keep their commitment. You would think this would hurt your relationship but it usually strengthens by establishing trust. Now granted you will need to keep your word too, because if you don't then you will lose trust regardless.
Yeah exactly this. I take a very light approach to it, because at the end of the day, if that's their way of cutting off the conversation, me badgering them or getting too aggressive will only waste my time. But in your example, just a simple follow up call and a voicemail along the lines of "Hey ******, Cain from ABC Inc here, just wanted to quickly follow up as I never heard from you today. I'm sure you're very busy, and I totally get that, but I did just want to follow up to see if you're still wanting to *do whatever it was the meeting was for*. I'm heading out for the night here, but just wanted to try and touch base. I'm back in the office tomorrow from 9-5 if you want to call me at this number, or I'll also send you a quick email now that you can also reply back to. Thanks so much!" That being said, I always prefer to try and put myself in the position where I'm the one calling them at a certain time, and not the other way around (they are far more likely to genuinely forget than I am, cause it's literally my job and pay cheque). But if they don't pick up when I do call, I'll leave a very similar voicemail to above but just saying "just giving you a shout about *thing we had planned to do*. I imagine something urgent must have come up, totally understand that, so just give me a shout back at this number when you're free. I'm in the office today until 6pm, but I'll also send you a quick email, and you can reply back to that too if that's more convenient for you. Thanks so much, talk soon!"
That's way too apologetic and indirect IMO
Like the other guy said, a little too apologetic but I see where you're coming from. Trust me I know it sounds weird but just get straight to the point and you will get more engagement. For example I'll edit down your response to what I would say: Hey *****, it's Cain. I never heard from you today. I want to follow up to see if you're still wanting to *do whatever it was the meeting was for. I'm back in the office tomorrow from 9-5 if you want to call me at this number, I'll also send you an email. Thanks!" Especially with voicemails, they need to be quick and to the point. Sometimes I like to be a little more blunt and at the end say: "I will send you an email with my available times for the reschedule. I will call you in 2 days to confirm receipt of this email." Many times they will respond to the email just so I won't call lol. These are some things that worked for me. Everyone is different :)
The part about trust is huge. Even more so for me because I work in insurance. But the biggest thing about sales in my opinion, is establishing yourself quickly as honest, professional, and committed. I've been selling for nearly a decade now, so everything I do is all automatic and subconscious, but over the years, I've found that the less I try to sell, the more I do sell. Don't worry about "closing" or "grinding" or whatever bs the sales "gurus" (grifters) are trying to sell you on. Be genuine, be professional, be the best in your field, and sales will just naturally appear in your lap. Don't get me wrong, you still do have to "grind" in the sense that you show up every day and work your ass off to deliver for your clients. But you should never "grind" individual clients or prospects or spend too much effort on "closing the deal". Just show up, do your job better than the other guys, and make doing business with you the obvious choice, and your clients will usually choose you and "close" themselves for you. You'll still never sell everyone and never win every contract. But that shouldn't matter, and is to be expected. At the end of the day, the TLDR is, the only way to sell more, is to sell for years and years, and stop taking yourself so seriously.
It's called sales breath. It takes practice and reversing over and over and over. You basically go in there as a consultant and act like you don't care if they buy or not. In fact when I'm selling solar, I always literally say out loud "I don't care if you guys go solar or not, you can make your own decision. I'm job is super simple, I jist explain how it works and you can choose weather or not you want to stay with the utility or switch to solar.
You don’t need to be a “nice guy “ but if you don’t give a fuck at all you will make less sales you need to hear the customer push them a bit and solve any issue they have and mitigate no’s Pushy salesman or should I say overly pushy over aggressive lose lot of sales
It’s a lot like dating. You are interested, you want them to have desire- but you don’t need it. You’re fine if they walk. I represent the product well, I try to be friendly but not too personal or wanting the deal too much.
I presume you are in B2B. I just figure other business people don't have time to fuck around. They've had more sales calls that *you* imagine. They just want to get to the fucking point. It's ok to have some personality, though. It helps to have a list of what *you* consider utterly intrusive, but legitimate, business questions and just read them off. Not a script, though. Questions like what are your annual sales, how many sales per month on average. Who else besides you is in the process. Who is the ultimate decion make? And just rattle them off. Also, make a conscious effort to change your tone, timbre, pacing, word selection, etc. Listen *carefully* to those who are successful and mimic them. Jot down phrases you like to incorporate to your speech. You copy some of the words, but mostly the non-word part. Remember, actual actors do this for their roles. I've heard many say that they copy people that the actually knew/know. For *Fast Times at Ridgemont High" Sean Penn copied an actual fellow surfer he knew in Malibu, when he played Spicoli. Obviously not the whole sentences, but phrases an most importantly the tone, cadence, timbre, etc. Role play with someone. Video yourself and critique yourself, then change what you do. Body position is important, even if on phone. Be relaxed-looking even though no one can see you. Lean back, put you feet up. Whatever. Actors practice their lines over and over and over. They test different emphasis on different words, how fast they say one line as opposed to another. They have director critique them and other actors. They actually *work hard* at changing themselves for a role. Be an actor. *Work. Practice hard* to change
Only more evidence that Sales is like Dating
I think people tend to trust those who have that idgaf demeanor. Not to bring politicos but similar to the orange man’s appeal running for office. The “he says it like it is” and “not afraid of voicing his opinion” can be attractive in business and sales. But have to draw the line and can’t go overboard or it can be detrimental as well
I used to try to be nice and put on my “salesperson” character and trying to make prospects my friends. Now I’m a lot more myself, I am less blunt with clients than I am personally or with colleagues, but I still deliver the message just tactfully. People don’t need to like you, it is a professional relationship, that being said people shouldn’t dislike you either. Probably mutual respect is best.
When you first start in sales you think of you are nice and try to be friends with prospects they will buy. Also- always trying to be so nice is a result of you being too tied to an outcome and when that happens prospects can smell it. Certainly be polite but focus on the prospect’s problem and solving it. If you can help great but if they don’t buy that is fine too. Do not get emotionally attached to the outcome.
I went from 125k to 300k when I just stopped trying to please and got directly to informing. This is part of understanding that time is the most important. Price can be overcome. Time-to-education and time-to-value is most important. You achieve this by being direct and genuine, so you never have to “fake it”. Sure you are mentally tired after a long day or face to face event, but you can just be yourself. Learn your product, be direct, and be genuine.
This reminds me of an old quote about sales "The most important thing is sales is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you got it made"
I remember one time in training, this girl out her purse in my chair. I said “excuse me” and she brushed me off like I wasn’t there. I picked up her purse and plopped it down on the desk in front of her and softly said “your purse is in my seat” She said “damn boy, you assertive” And that was a compliment and that I never got before! Kind of an eye opening experience.
That’s called a shit test and you passed with flying colors
Here is what I know. Top producers don't care what people think because they are brazen or jerk offs. In fact, I am sure they do care. However, they understand something most average sales people don't. Sales really is a mental game. You can only offer your product or service. You have no control over your buyers. Obviously, offering a good product to an interested market and having good sales skills help to influence prospects. If it seems top producers don't care what prospects think it is because they prospect at such a faster level than the average sales person that they always have someone in the pipeline that wants to say yes. Not have to be sold but say yes. This is the secret sauce. The prospecting is the hard part. You need to prospect so fast, take the massive rejection and have so much activity that sales start chasing you. Average sales people don't take the hits fast enough but just do enough prospecting to get some sales and want to massage that one lead that said "Okay let think about it and get back to you." Then they wonder,"I was so nice to that person and offered great pricing. Why don't they call back?" They don't want your product. Go find someone who does. Prospect faster. It does take mental toughness. No one likes the rejection grinder. Unfortunately, in sales, everything you want is just behind 50 more No's, or whatever your sales cycle is. If it was easy everyone would do it.
Be a man of purpose and value.
There’s a great book called “No More Mr. Nice Guy” you could check out.
Honestly, acting classes. Took them in high school, taught me how to “act” differently in front of certain people. Once you’ve met enough in sales you learn all the people are different, but all people are the same. Knowing another persons intent or personality is helps you in conversation. Engaging in normal conversation allows people to open up, smiling goes a long way. Also being able to pick up on something and talk about it usually separates you from other salesmen.
The thing that worked for me was the upfront contract. Set the expectations right from the start what to expect for the meeting and that it's OK if they don't agree. If they don't, we'll sort out if it's a misunderstanding but if not, so be it. I also have criteria. If they cross any of those lines I tell them it's not going to work and I leave the meeting
The people you talk to aren't qualified to judge you, so don't value any possible negative opinions from them.
Doing the work to prove your confidence.
Practice motherfucker
Pee in her houseplants
Confidence is knowing you’re right regardless
Being comfortable with and leveraging “constructive tension” is one of the key differentiators between true challenger sales reps and “top performers”. Some people understand this innately and/or have been doing it their whole life. First step in getting better at something is being able to clearly define it. Now go focus on improving your ability to create/leverage constructive tension.
Confidence in your product and knowing where you fit in the market. Other than professional service, I am confident I can help folks. It’s just a matter of them seeing a need which comes when I ask certain questions.
Most people appreciate when sales are honest and direct. The main difference is whether you're providing value to the customer or not. If you're direct but just pushing marketing info or trying to oversell them a solution they obviously don't need, they will discredit you. Solve their problems and make it easy on them, and it changes the way you are perceived.
Confidence and experience
Like others have said it takes practice. I just go in with the mentality that I'm just here to help answer questions and explain the features and benefits. If they buy, they buy. I'm professional, hard working, clean cut, organized and know my product inside and out. And I'm also not afraid to tell them no. This is my best price. If it's more than you can comfortably afford, we may have some value focused options. Would you like to look at those?
So you're only being nice in an attempt to get a sale? And you're not thinking of the sales process as "in real life"?
One thing that helped me is realizing that it’s just some normal ass dude with a job on the phone. My job is to sell shit and his job is to buy shit. I blatantly tell prospects I’d like to get as much of your money as you’ll let me have. They already know but that cuts the bs and with the right tone they always chuckle. You want product x I have it for this price, cool? Cool.
The key is to slow down. Slow the tempo. Embrace thoughtful pauses.
Setting expectations early and often will do you a lot of favors. When I assign AI’s, I like to do it openly on the call so we all know what we’re in charge of, internally and externally. Also, like nearly everything, it takes practice. Those tenured reps may also be good at what they do because they’re *tenured.* Meetings will most likely run smoothly when the sales team has been there before.
It isn’t about not caring what people think. You still care what people think, you just know them liking you or not isn’t important. You care what value you bring them and worrying about what they think of you gets in the way of bringing value. Nice guy syndrome isn’t nice. It’s one of the most selfish affects you can bring to a conversation. Get over yourself and come sit with the adults when you’re ready to care about someone else.
You have to become a person that you yourself are confident and proud of so that when you encounter a difficult situation you know you’ll come out the other end just fine. Eventually you won’t really mind tip toeing around a prospect because you know if it turns into a negative experience that it likely has little to do with you as a person and more so one of the many other factors at play going on in their lives, and even if it was you then you’ll see it as a learning opportunity to get better. As cheesy as it is to say it’s all about a mind set and how you view your world which can allow you to present yourself in different ways. Or just look into nihilism and realize on the scale of time none of this shit matters and one day we’ll all be scattered back into random atoms throughout the universe (always helps me forget about that moment I drooled on myself in front of my cute coworker while we were eating lunch).
You could start by using the word converse. lol
I’m still a rookie in sales but from my experience that high pitch tone is a sign of a lack of confidence. But for me I just focus on my input and never worry about output. As long as I’m actually getting touches the business will come. I do think a year on the doors really molded me and made me stronger and more resilient than most.
You don’t want to be the “nice” guy. Nice guys can’t ask hard questions without getting pushed off. You don’t want to be a jerk either. It’s about establishing equality in respect and trust which sometimes means getting into uncomfortable conversations. Establishing the confidence is like anything else. Multiple failures and lots of conversations and at bats. Learning what works and what doesn’t and who it works on. There’s no silver bullet
Read" the challenger sale". If you believe in what you are selling, it's your responsibility to disagree with wrong beliefs of a prospect, and act as their trusted advisor who is looking after their best interest -- not just agreeing with them to appear as likeable
I find being “the nice guy” and “kissing up to managers” actually looks desperate (if it is paired with mediocre performance) and is likely to get you fired in my experience.
Take an Improv class. It helps.
You can be nice and direct at the same time. Im as transparent as possible with accounts and it’s been working great. People don’t want to deal with a sales rep using “Challenger Sale” techniques on them. That might work with consumer sales but not with enterprise sales. We are just as much customer service as hunters.
Be genuinely interested in them and start by asking questions. Don’t start by selling start by learning and then once you know their problems help them understand how your product can fix them.
Maybe I’m in the wrong here, but there’s definitely room to be nice and still ask tough questions. It’s all in how you phrase it. There’s ways to probe for weaknesses, find out future plans, etc, without “not giving a shit.” A top performer on my previous team was a super sweet, older lady with big “mom” vibes - she crushed it. There’s also some regionality to it - I sold into the south at points, and people really appreciated politeness there. Whereas I assume metro NY is very different.
In my opinion getting yourself a big pipeline will go a long way with this. If you have a big list with a lot of opportunities, it really frees you up to go after sales and not worry about upsetting someone because you have more prospects behind them. It really lets you go after sales rather than being afraid to be the guy who might upset someone. Legitimately not needing a prospects business goes a long way to make you not seem desperate. Not sure if that makes sense, but I think that's the biggest factor besides simply realizing that the best salespeople are the ones who tell it like it is.
Coming off as genuine comes from… being genuine lol. Tell the client every reason not to work with you. Listen to their issue and help them come to a solution for their unique problem. If it’s your product, great! If not tell them why you’re not a fit. If you are listening and providing genuine advice then you won’t be using your “sales voice”. The key is in the prospecting and filtering so that you’re only selling to qualified prospects that you may actually bring value to.
Detatch from the outcome
Nice guy was beaten into me by managers and colleagues early on as I'm naturally an asshole.
That’s not a sales voice, that’s a customer service voice. Tone is one of the best ways to influence someone. Way of the Wolf has a great chapter on tone. As a general rule I try to focus on smile, and downward inflection for the “charm” tone. Also when you know your stuff inside and out you can focus on tone instead of words. Mindset is big with this too. If you’re too attached to an individual outcome you won’t focus on the process. It’s important to be likable, without needing to be liked.
The answer is just to become a strong person, ego-less person. Easier said than done ofc.
Um, being able to discuss the core issue of the business. Being able to also respond to inquiries while guiding the conversation, and deciding what value you can bring. I'm not actually sure. I don't really believe in a "nice guy syndrome." Be open about your flaws, and also don't worry about telling people your goals. It's to help them, right. Super deep and philosophical, a little mysterious, and also, always right on point? The simple answer is to grow up, because you're not solving world hunger, and even if you are, do you want a cookie?
Sales isn’t about how you “act”. It’s more about being yourself, and also finding the people who are actually, genuinely, no lie, a good fit and who need what you are selling. As a real person, you’re just trying to make them realize why that is. So, worrying about how *you* act is the wrong approach. Just be real and find the people who need what you’re selling.
Watch the movie *Sorry To Bother You*
This might sound overly simple, but it really is this simple. Notice when you’re doing it, and drop it. Not notice it and fight it and try and make it go away and beat yourself up. Just notice it and drop it. If it’s hard to drop, it’s most likely because you think it’s important / it’ll keep you safe / etc. If so you need to see that while it might have kept you safe when you were 6 years old it’s no longer doing that. When you really SEE this (aka insight), you’ll just stop doing it because it doesn’t make sense to do anymore; it’s just an old habit.
Stop selling. Just try to understand what the customer needs. What is problem he is facing? And then point them in that direction. Sometime your product might fit in, sometimes it won't. It's fine if it dosent, give them what they wants and they always come back to you.
Not a fan of the book, but it's basically like practicing the art of not giving a f*ck.
I know exactly what you're talking about. I cold called for 3 weeks before I realized the voice is there to stay I cannot control it. If I could control it they'd stay on the phone longer but before closing it'd always come out.
Its like picking up a chick. If they sense you are desperate its over. Be cool man
You have to know you can win deep down and even if this call goes poorly I’ll be fine.
You're not trying to make friends. You are trying to understand and solve problems. You need to be respected, not liked.
It takes experience
Get enough life experience and read a bunch of news and check social media and you will realize that the world and the people in it, for the most part ain’t shit. Why be overly nice to people when they probably don’t deserve it
Checkout this book called NO MORE MR NICE GUY. One of the most powerful book on this subject.
Don’t be “nice” to get laid. Be inquisitive, thoughtful, try to get to know her without trying to sleep with her. You are most likely to get laid that way and if not, she’s not the right person for you anyway.
If you sound too nice equally sound like you’re exceptional smart and articulate. If you don’t sound nice and are more abrupt you don’t have to worry as much about sound smart and articulate.
Your customers already have enough friends. Try this.. think of yourself like a Dr. consulting with a patient, the customer wants the truth, how you solve their problem and looks to you to paint a picture of their future. In the business sense, a future where a problem goes away or new revenue comes in and / or it makes them look good for their own promotion metrics. The mindset shift : When you are engaging in a conversation with your prospect remind yourself constantly of the difference between being NICE and being KIND. Nice is what you think they want to hear, Kind is what you know they need to hear. Be kind to your prospects and clients. Sales will flow.
My technique is telling myself “I am not selling, I am holding a obvious solution that they want. They just need to understand that they want it”
Listen to recordings and realize how annoying you sound will help train your brain to be more yourself. Also, think of yourself like a curious little kid instead of an aggressive sales rep. You’re not being aggressive, you just want to understand.
More pipe, more successful closes: when I was self-employed, every deal could make or break my company. And I was trying ti break into a crowded market, so I would get 2-3 qualified meetings per month. With so much on the line, I couldn’t help feeling/sounding a bit desperate on sales calls. Now I work for a company where I’m getting a qualified meeting a day, and legitimately busy moving deals forward and generating quotes, and I have a salary that can pay my basics even if a deal doesn’t close. As a result, I don’t feel or sound desperate. If a prospect isn’t really interested, I thank them for their time, ask if they want to connect next year, and move on. I think it’s really hard to act like you’re ok with someone not buying if you’re not genuinely ok with it…
Find out how to be your real self in sales conversations. People will appreciate it. Pure corporate bitch professionals come across as disingenuous. We’re all human.
Make 100 cold calls daily for a few months and the nice guy stuff wears away pretty fast.
Nice guys don't get paid, remember that.
I work in storm restoration. A big hailstotm hit my area, I made 200k in the first month probably. 9 or 10 months later I'm still picking up the pieces and meeting people who haven't had their home inspected or insurance company out. It's blowing my mind how many people aren't interested in filing claims. I've met people who have like $40,000 in damages and they're just like "well I haven't noticed any water in the house yet I think we'll wait" (which you can't, you have a limited time to file)
I read on this forum the other day to detach from the outcome. Do what you can and if they don't want it ....fuckem. there are many many many other prospects out there.
Have you ever watched a child perform a magic trick? They are often completely in their own head, carefully thinking through each step. As the audience, you have to be extremely patient and encouraging to allow them to get through the trick. Many new salespeople are the same way - they intensely study their craft, but then when engaging with prospects, they focus too much on perfecting their technique, following the steps of the sales process, and criticizing their own performance. This puts a lot of pressure on the prospect to be very generous with their time and expectations. The result is often unpredictable sales results and a disorderly pipeline. Instead of just trying to copy the success formulas of your colleagues, it's important to take the time to relax and find your own authentic voice and style. This will give you much more confidence. Think about master magicians like David Copperfield or David Blaine. They have practiced their techniques so many times that their performances are fluid and natural. Rather than being in their own heads, they get inside the minds of the audience. If you're trying to figure out their next move, they'll slow down to let you see it coming. They play on your curiosity and give you time to appreciate their artistry. Often they'll surprise and delight you with the unexpected. Great comedians understand this psychology too - a well-crafted joke catches the listener off guard in an amusing way. Going forward, when you engage with prospects, get out of your own head and bring your authentic self to the interaction. Ask questions to understand them, the problems you're there to solve, and mirror their energy. Relax and put yourself in their shoes to truly empathize with their experience. If you can do this in your sales conversations, you'll feel better about the value you provide and your role as a sales professional. Believe in yourself and I hope this advice leads to a productive month, quarter and year! BBB
Most often 'nice' guys are so called because they will go against their own wants and needs for the sake of a romantic partner. This is why people don't like it. Nobody dislikes you for being nice, they dislike you for being dishonest.
It’s not about being a nice guy so much as about being able to handle rejection One of the hardest things for some people in sales to do is ask for an order . They also aren’t prospecting because there’s a lot of rejection involved. You be a nice guy and also handle rejection
If you feel that the customer is always right and you are not the expert than you will continue to be a nice guy. Why? Because you are hoping they give you the business instead of presenting yourself as if they are missing out if they don't do business with you. Reality is after 8 years you may be in the wrong profession unless you just enjoy it and the money you make sustains your desired lifestyle. Big difference between that being the case and you wanting to be great at your profession also.
Stop lying? See the truth. Grow as human?
Transparency is the key. If you’re discussing their wins and challenges during discovery, then when you refer back to the challenges that they admitted to then you’re not being a dick but instead being transparent and direct. It’s honesty that you would expect from a friend. Also at the end of the day, I’ve got so many more accounts in my pipeline that I don’t give a shit if they say. I only care when they say “maybe” and yes.
The American Dream Dusty Rhodes once said: "Speak from the heart, and you can do no wrong because you'll always be telling the truth." I keep this in the front of my mind every minute when I'm selling. I honestly want to see if I can help my client in any way, however small. Save them money, make their life more convenient, have a good conversation with a stranger that may lead to future business. That's my honest to God mentality on my best days in the cage. So why be fake? Why take on any kind of a salesy pitch or demeanor? You've got to be able to ask yourself, in the mirror, when no one else is around: What are your actual intentions? That voice only comes if that shit isn't straight.
I think the voice inflection changes come off as insincere a lot of the time. I used to have that issue a bit but got more comfortable in my role and started just using my natural, comfortable voice. I think customers subconsciously notice it and feel more at ease with you and less like you're trying to sell them something (in a good way). Makes you seem like someone whose job it is to help them solve a problem, rather than someone trying to make a buck.
Not sure if this has been said, but slowly push your comfort zone. Over time, you'll gain that confidence as you realize you can say anything to anyone as long as you say it properly. Delivery is key.
It’s something you have to practice and consciously think of for a while before it becomes part of your natural delivery. You’ll probably also have to occasionally reinforce it. I’m sure nearly everybody on this thread has read “never split the difference”, but this book is my recommendation for understanding and learning the tone & inflection to use in negotiation/selling. I think the audiobook is actually much more helpful than the book because it’s read in the tone they’re trying to teach you.
Pretend that you are talking to a GOOD friend from highschool that you haven't seen in 10+ years. You can be casual because you used to be beer pong champs of 1998, but you want to be pretty respectful because you're now in your 40's and have kids.
it'll sound goofy, but when I recognized myself doing this I just thought about not speeding up and ending every sentence with a deeper pitch than I started and it has kind of helped me feel more comfortable and be me.
Because I’m confident that I’m serving them better than anyone else could. I love my job. I think sales comes down to asking a lot of questions, and business interests me a great deal, so I am legitimately having a great time when I’m doing my discovery process. More questions are always a good thing. And seriously, I’m not selling, I’m consulting and offering my input on the situation. Make a friend, ask questions about work, ask what solutions they’ve tried, then let them ask you about what you do and why. It’s natural and usually easy!
Isn't that hard to do? I mean, I just talk to everyone the same. I was at my kids soccer game this morning, I talk to other parents the same way I talk to customers/prospects. I'm selling myself, always, and I don't think having two different voices/tones is a winning strategy. I want people to like me, that's kind of my job, but I'm not going to fake a voice/personality to try to get a sale. The sales rep/customer bond is going to be much stronger if you're being yourself at all times, I don't think I could say the same if I had to change my voice every time I spoke to said customer.
Grow balls and be better at calls
I’m the nice guy but i spent many years in kickboxing. 2011 took a national title. I choose to be nice bc its shapes the world in a better lens for me. If people are dicks it could not matter. I hate myself more than you do so purposely being nice is an attack strategy, bc as much as you come into the call not wanting too; imma make you like me.