The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak

If a salesperson avoids placing the prospecting or sales calls, in addition to the typical guilt they experience, and the potential lost opportunities, they are actually being selfish. That's because they are depriving possible future customers of the value they could receive. In this episode Art explores this more, the causes of call avoidance, ane what to do to get rid of it, and quit being selfish.

Think about the last time you spoke with someone whose words were so foreign to you that you had no idea what they were saying. And by foreign, that could be being overly technical, or using jargon that you never use in your world. That's what some salespeople do, and it kills sales. In this episode you'll hear examples of how that happened with Art, and specific what-to-do's in order to be sure you are speaking their language so you connect at a high level.

A very simple--but not always followed--principle is that those who expect to win, do so more often than those who think they don't have a chance. This applies to sports, and sales. Art shares a story about what George Brett had to say about this, and explains how it applies to all of your calls, and how you can win more of them.

Richard Weylman works with businesses worldwide, helping them create customer experiences that keeps them coming back. In this episode, he shares what customers really want, that you can model in your own business, and sales. He shares a number of instantly-useable, how-to's and what-to-say messaging examples that you might not have heard before, and perhaps even correct mistakes that repel prospects and customers.

Today's guest, Jason Bay, specializes in helping sales pros use outbound calling to get through to, and engage more new buyers. In this episode we discussed, -The two key components for prospecting success and getting to buyers today. -How to increase your "pick up rate," which is the percentage of people actually answering your call. -How to respond when someone objects to being called on their mobile phone. -What's working now with cold email to get responses. -Plus more!

Many people ask questions, then don't even listen to the answers. It's like driving somewhere, but when you arrive, don't remember anything about the drive because your mind was totally immersed in something else. This is "sleepwalking" through the communcation process, and it is dangerous for us as sales pros. You'll hear specific how-to's on how to avoid it, and what TO do to be a high level questioner and communicator.

Best-selling authors Bob Burg, and Jeff C. West have teamed up to write an excellent new sales parable in book form. Filled with lessons on leadership, sales skills, music, and entertainment, it’s a short, fun read, which will both new and veteran sales pros, or anyone who communicates. In this special video episode, Bob and Jeff share with Art lessons from the book, the inspiration for it, what it's like to collaborate on a book, and more.

The saying is that people buy from those they know, like, and trust. But, how is trust built? There isn't a standard playbook for that. But, in this episdoe Art covers 13 strategies and tactics you can use to build more trust and credibility with prospects and customers. This is an excerpt from a comprehensive training Art did for his coaching members. You can get that at http://ArtSobczak.training/Know-Like-Trust.

There are many things we should not assume, in life, and sales. One thing we can assume, though, is that someone is experiencing a pain or a problem (IF you have done your homework, and have targeted your prospects well.) By assuming a problem, we can avoid dumb, go-nowhere sales questions, and instead, ask great questions that get them to talk about that pain or problem. These questions are easy for them to answer, as opposed to the dumb ones that give us answers we can't use, since we asked them to do too much work to answer. You'll hear exactly how you can easily create your own Assumptive Problem questions to get people talking about problems you can help them with.

Most TV commercials are just plain dumb, and often annoying. However, one company understands sales and persuasive messaging, and gets it right. That's Fisher Investments. In this episode Art breaks down one of their commercials and points out the sales techniques at work, and how you can use them too.

The not so secret, "secret" of the top achievers in anything is that they THINK differently than those who do not come close to their levels of accomplishment. One of those important areas of thinking is having an abundance--not scarcity--mindset. In this episode you'll hear specific examples and actions you can take to model that thinking in your own life and sales profession to reach levels that are yours for the taking.

When someone whom you thought was a great prospect then goes silent on you, that's the sign of a problem you could have avoided. It's actually the same problem that occurs when you take an easy order from someone who just volunteers to buy quickly. It's not knowing WHY someone might, will, or does buy. In the former case, the result is evident. No sale. When they do buy, we potentially miss out on many more sales, and opportunities to help the customer. You'll hear what to do in both situations, with specific messaging and questions to use.

This popular episode is being presented to complement a free training webinar, "Get the Sales Meeting No One Else Can- Intel Secrets for Finding the Right Person, at the Right Time, with the Right Message." Sign up at http://salesbyphone.com/webinar. To be relevant in today’s noise-filled sales world, we need to customize and personalize our messaging so it is all about the prospect and customer. Some say that is being creepy. It could be, when used the wrong way. You’ll hear the right way, along with examples, to make your messaging stand out, and engage prospects and customers.

Can you imagine someone being so impacted by a mentor that they write an entire BOOK and publish it as thanks? That's exactly what sales pro Tim Rohrer did with his sales manager. His book, "Sales Lessons of the World's Greatest Mentor" details his relationship with his sales manager, and the many life and sales lessons he learned on the way to becoming a top sales producer. We all will benefit from these insightul, real-world tips and strategies.

THE best way to deal with objections is to prevent them from coming up in the first place. One way to do that is to be sure you are only talking about what the other person is interested in. The other is to get them visualize themselves already owning, using, and getting value from your product or service. We do that with one simple question. You'll hear the template for the question, examples of it in use, and how you can use it in your own sales situations.

Many salespeople destroy any chan"langce of having a meaningful conversation--much less a sale--by using language that creates immediate resistance. Today's guest, Liz Wendling, is a sales trainer specializing in helping salespeople avoid "language landmines," "word bombs," and "phrase grenades," and shows them what to say instead to create interest and engage prospects and customers. You'll hear lots of things to avoid, and what you can replace them with to get more people talking, and buying from you.

Most salespeople have a dream customer they would love to have, who would make a great impact on their business, income, and life. Yet, they have not pursued them yet. The reason usually lies within the salesperson's own mind. You'll hear what to say, do, and think to get in action to have a chance with this customer becoming a reality, and many more like them.

So often when a sales call is reaching a dead end, the salesperson says, "Well, keep us in mind for the future." That's a waste of words, since the prospect has no intention of remembering the salesperson past the next 10 seconds. But, there might actually be potential now, or in the future. Here's what to say to find out.

When a prospect or customers says, "The timing isn't right, right now," what should you do? What you should NOT do is just offer to call back at future date. That could just move the next brush off further out. We do want to figure out, first, if they are or would be a buyer, why the timing isn't right, and get commitment that they will buy in the future. You'll hear exactly how to do this, along with messaging examples you can use and adapt.

Art answered the coldest of cold calls, where the rep made four fatal mistakes in just the opening sentences, then it got worse. Sadly, it's typical of some of the nonsense that is taught about prospecting. Instead of just getting rid of the clueless caller, Art used it as an opportunity to coach him on what could and should have been said to create interest and engage. Hear what you should avoid, and do, on prospecting calls to take out the "cold," make them Smart, and actually have meaningful conversations with curious, interested buyers.