3-Levels of Successful Selling

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 by: Paul Shearstone

Any selling approach that lacks a proven strategy, a
practiced proficiency for its application and most significantly, a
full understanding of its psychological, human behavioral import – is
at best, a wishful endeavor. …Paul Shearstone 2003

......................................................................................

No one ever questions the fact there are born athletes
who, when compared to others, make what they do look effortless. For
these athletes, instinct seems to guide them like a good road map. That
is their gift.

Exceptional though they may be, even athletes like
Wayne Gretzky or Michael Jordan, would never rise to their true
potential without one integral ingredient - Coaching.

Although I’ve written many articles on Coaching, this
isn’t one of them. I mention it only to point out that the aspect of
coaching, is Mental. That is to say, gifted athletes already possess
the physical skills necessary to excel. Nevertheless, it is only one
aspect of their sporting expertise.

Who among us hasn’t heard a professional coach say
things like: “I only want players with a good head on their shoulders”
or, “I only want players with Heart!”

What are they saying? They [Coaches] are saying there is
more than one key discipline for success in sports and that what’s in
the heart and head is more important than most all other attributes.
The right knowledge and the right attitude, compensates for, often
usurps, things like natural talent.

Can the same thing be said for Natural Born Sales People and the Discipline of Selling? Bet on it!

The Rule:

Renowned sales guru, Dale Carnegie, is known to be the
architect of the ‘Five Steps to a Sale’ selling process. Over the
years, his successful program has stood the test of time and spawned
many other successful interpretations upon his theme. “Up Your Income!
Solution Selling for Profitability” by Paul Shearstone [available at
all fine book stores and on the Net], is just one of them. :-)

The reason for the success of Carnegie’s strategy is
largely due to its simplicity. In short, five clearly defined, easy to
understand Laws or Rules that apply to almost all products or services.
For example:

Step #1: “Talk to your customer Briefly regarding something that interests Them”.

Easy to say but what does it mean? Simply put, when
salespeople meet customers for the first time, they must say or do
things to help with the initial Get-Ta-Know-Ya bonding process. Dale
said, in your opening meeting with customers, the best way to get them
to like you is to engage them in brief conversations about things they
find most interesting. I could go on to elaborate further but the fact
is, it works.

The real lesson here is, now knowing this Rule, those
without natural born sales abilities can integrate it into their
selling approach and be guaranteed better results in the introduction
stage of the sale. Incorporating the four remaining steps can
unquestionably level the playing field with other competitive seasoned
selling professionals – but only if the steps are applied Correctly!

The Application:

Home Depot may have every tool we could imagine but if
you don’t know how to use them, what good are they? In professional
selling, RULES are TOOLS. Use them right and they work.

One need only look at the home libraries of most
mediocre salespeople to find plenty of books and tapes filled with
time-tested and proven rules designed to garner more sales, profit and
success. The courses have been taken and the rules have been learned
but sadly, NEVER PRACTICED!

Tiger Woods / Michael Jordan / Wayne Gretzky – pick any
one you like. At the top of their game, they still practice/d the
basics [the Rules]. Name any professional discipline; would a surgeon
be allowed operate on someone without first having benefit of
exhaustive practice? I sure hope not!

The irony is, selling is the only professional
discipline that allows someone to start with no experience and learn on
the job. Even a professional laborer has to apprentice first.

The point? Knowing what to say is only part of the
success-formula in selling. Much like any Academy Award-Winning actor,
his or her part is honed and made convincing [award-winning] only
through rehearsal and practice.

In Sales: To the degree a sales-pitch appears natural
and spontaneous, is in direct proportion to the practice put in it!
…Paul Shearstone 2000 [from the book Up Your Income!]

The Psychological Import:

Independent, confident personalities may make great
leaders – not always great believers. My policy in life has always been
to be guarded in what information I’ll take in or believe. I am not a
skeptic but since: [According to Albert Einstein] “We become what we
believe”, and, [According to Abraham Mazlow] “Most people live lives of
quiet desperation”, my reluctance to accept the reality-interpretations
of others has served me well. It hasn’t, however, stopped me from
asking the question, “Why?”

Anyone looking for the one defining ingredient that
separates top sellers from the rest can find it here. Much like the
runner who wins gold by 1/100th of a second, the difference is subtle –
but dramatic.

In selling, knowing the Rule and learning to deliver the
Rule, still pales in comparison to the importance of knowing WHY the
Rule is so integrally important to the success of the process.

How much more successful, more convincing could one be
if they knew the answers to: “Why is it so vital the Rule be done at
this time, this way and not another? What is the psychological,
human-behavioral importance of such a rule and why are my chances of
success predictably diminished should the rule be overlooked or poorly
articulated? How does this Rule psychologically embolden my interaction
with the customer resulting in mutual respect, rapport and better
communication?” – and so on.

At the risk of diluting this point, consider this. The
worlds best Landscape Architects concentrate their designs more on the
artistic value or utilitarian purposes of the open spaces – where
nothing is – giving lesser importance and an academic expectation to
the fact, the flora and fauna appeal is a given.

Comparing that to elite salespeople, their methodology
is focused at a higher level, gravitating more toward the natural laws
of human interaction and psychology – the esoteric – the essence for
which the Rules of Selling were written and in which they find
credibility. Their delivery appears effortless albeit transparently
deliberate. What they do and the success they achieve is not by
accident!

The Bottom Line:

The discipline of the Professional Sell is both an art
and a science. As such and in keeping with all other disciplines,
mastery finds bedrock in the academic understanding of its Laws, its
Applications and its Rationales.

About the Author

Paul Shearstone aka The ‘Pragmatic Persuasionist’ is one of North America’s foremost experts on Sales and Persuasion. An International Keynote Speaker, Author, Writer, Motivation, Corporate Ethics, / Time & Stress Management Specialist, Paul enlightens and challenges audiences as he informs, motivates and entertains. To comment on this article or to book the Pragmatic Persuasionist for your next successful event we invite to contact Paul Shearstone directly @ 416-728-5556 or 1-866-855-4590.

www.success150.com or paul@success150.com.

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