Clearly, mindset can make all the difference in problem solving.
Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, a leading expert in motivation and psychology, and author of the bookMindset: The New Psychology of Success, discovered that everyone has one of two mindsets—fixed or growth.
Her work confirms what I have seen in sales over the years: people do tend to have either a fixed mindset, or a growth mindset. Why is this an interesting finding? Which mindset do you think leads to more success in sales?
Is Your Sales Mindset Set in Stone?
Consider the fixed, or closed, mindset as it applies to sales. If you have a fixed mindset, you might say certain things to yourself that freeze your thinking in one position.
Some of these things I have heard repeatedly throughout my sales career. Do you ever hear yourself saying these things to yourself?
Sales is hard.
Salespeople are born.
I can’t sell!
I tried sales once and it never worked.
I will look stupid if a client says no.
I have to win or lose.
Will I succeed? Probably not.
I hate sales, and will never be any good at it.
Chances are you have thought more than one of these things in the course of your career. With a fixed mindset, you see things only in black and white. In your mind, you hear words like “win or lose,” “right or wrong.” You assume things have always been done one way and nothing will ever change. This mindset, while understandable, may not work well for you if you sell a product or service.
Growing your Business
If you have a growth mindset, on the other hand, you may find yourself thinking differently. More and more often, you will catch yourself saying things like:
Sales is easy.
Salespeople are made, not born.
I can’t sell . . . until the next opportunity.
I tried sales once and while it was challenging, what did I learn?
I need to make some more mistakes to learn.
I win, lose, or get the opportunity to go back again.
If I succeed—great! If I fail, what did I learn?
What if you could adopt this way of thinking, what Carol Dweck calls the “growth mindset” or “potential mindset”? It might help you push through limiting attitudes toward many things in your life or business. It might dramatically change your life. If you can catch yourself in your fixed mindset, you will start to get results much quicker. I promise.
It may be daunting to think about changing the very way you think about things. How can you do that?
Look for opportunities to grow every day. When you begin to take up a growth mindset, you will find that if you are not learning new things you are actually failing. Challenging yourself to learn just one or two new things a day will build a growth mindset.
Deal with failure and setbacks. Planning is an important part of growing. However, we do not always achieve all of our goals. Instead of beating ourselves up, look in a different direction and start again.
Grow by doing. Ask yourself, what can I do differently? Apply a different approach to a problem and see what happens.
My favourite thing to do is show you what’s working right now. It’s not as good as being a client, but it’s close.
2. Take advantage of a FREE 45-minute consultation
Need some sales support? Make an appointment, and let me take you through the past, present, and future template.
3. Work with me one-on-one
If you are wanting to take your product or service from face-to-face to virtual selling, then I have a product that may be able to help you. You can get started for as little as $250 a month. If you’re interested then email mike@mikebrunel.com and put ‘Virtual Selling’ in the subject line…tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.
4. Finally, grab my new digital book on ‘How to get a predictable sales system into your business without coming across as salesy’
Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.
The ability to sell is a skill that can be learned.
Even if you consider an “Oh I can’t sell,” the key is to get your message across by being yourself.
Over the last few articles we have talked about the structure of a sale, and by learning this simple system made up of emotions, benefits, promise, proof and offers you can feel more confident and better prepared to go and sell what you love.
If you just learn that you are pretty much there.
God-given Gift
The fact is that selling is not a God-given gift or a natural trait held by a chosen few.
And it’s not a secret hidden from view, in the corridors of the sales secret vault.
The ability to sell your product can be learned.
In this next series of “You Can Sell Anything,” we are going to introduce you to two new ways to sell and increase your results along the way.
The Secret of Selling Like You Talk
By now if you have read my previous article you should know your client or prospect.
In most cases, you do know how to talk to them. What language to use, what emphasis to put on certain benefits of your product, and by now what promises to make.
The secret to selling them these aspects of your product require you to have a conversation, in other words, sell like you talk.
I am no do it yourselfer!
An example I often use is a hardware store.
Most people that know me, know that fixing things and building things is not my strong point.
However, if I do need advice on doing something around the house, I go to the local hardware store.
I usually go and ask for advice.
99% of the time that advice is given from the salesperson (I am not sure if they even see themselves as salespeople) who is relaxed and easy to understand.
The style is conversational, they ask a few questions, listen, and then direct me or advise me.
Why can’t we do that with our clients?
I bet you that the clients that keep buying off you have a great conversation with you, weekly or every other day.
As you talk you also want to sell your prospect with passion.
The Secret of Selling with Passion
If there is no passion there is no momentum, speed. That’s the second tip.
When you sell with passion, you come across as a believer in your product or service.
Your presentation and voice are stronger, more persuasive.
Even more importantly your energy around your product comes through, passion is the glue that sticks the sales together.
But, there is often a BUT…
You actually have to feel the passion for your product, and the secret to that is to study your product.
What are its strengths? Product knowledge rules when it comes to passion.
If you are selling a product that does amazing things get excited about it, tell lots of people why you love it.
My favourite thing to do is show you what’s working right now. It’s not as good as being a client, but it’s close.
2. Take advantage of a FREE 45-minute consultation
Need some sales support? Make an appointment, and let me take you through the past, present, and future template.
3. Work with me one-on-one
If you are wanting to take your product or service from face-to-face to virtual selling, then I have a product that may be able to help you. You can get started for as little as $250 a month. If you’re interested then email mike@mikebrunel.com and put ‘Virtual Selling’ in the subject line…tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.
4. Finally, grab my new digital book on ‘How to get a predictable sales system into your business without coming across as salesy’
Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.
My favourite thing to do is show you what’s working right now. It’s not as good as being a client, but it’s close.
2. Take advantage of a FREE 45-minute consultation
Need some sales support? Make an appointment, and let me take you through the past, present, and future template.
3. Work with me one-on-one
If you are wanting to take your product or service from face-to-face to virtual selling, then I have a product that may be able to help you. You can get started for as little as $250 a month. If you’re interested then email mike@mikebrunel.com and put ‘Virtual Selling’ in the subject line…tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.
4. Finally, grab my new digital book on ‘How to get a predictable sales system into your business without coming across as salesy’
Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.
Last week we talked about the promise, and painting a picture of a product we were selling.
Now I want to discuss proof.
You have to show them PROOF.
You have to prove to your client that what you have just said is true and you have to prove it to their satisfaction.
How do you do that?
Well in a funny kind of way you go back to the features, you know the blah, blah, blah bit.
Let me tell you about this electric bike, it uses rechargeable batteries that can travel up to 25 to 45 km/h, low cost, energy–efficient, and emission-free.
You do it in the way of a summary.
The promise you made
The benefit you promised
The Proof
It might go like this:
“Here are some facts about the bike that support the promise we talked about” or “Let me tell you about this electric bike, it uses rechargeable batteries that can travel up to 25 to 45 km/h, low cost, energy–efficient, and emission-free.“
Build in facts about the bike.
Or introduce a third party.
A satisfied customer – A testimonial from a happy customer that bought that exact bike.
Or Creditability- Health benefits, or facts from a local sports medicine person.
The key with proof is to build as much creditability that all the bases are covered.
Real people are the best.
Whatever proof you can put forward helps the sale move forward.
So what is next?
It’s pinpointing why this product is unique. It’s time to tell your client why this is the bike for them.
If you know some of the features of the bike are unique and they may not get these with other bikes, then this is when you position the uniqueness.
It’s called a unique sell proposition or commonly known as a USP and sits inside my Pitch perfect Programme.
My favourite thing to do is to show you what’s working right now. It’s not as good as being a client, but it’s close.
2. Take advantage of a FREE 45-minute consultation
Need some sales support? Make an appointment, and let me take you through the past, present, and future template.
3. Work with me one-on-one
If you are wanting to take your product or service from face-to-face to virtual selling, then I have a product that may be able to help you. You can get started for as little as $250 a month. If you’re interested then email mike@mikebrunel.com and put ‘Virtual Selling’ in the subject line…tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.
4. Finally, grab my new digital book on ‘How to get a predictable sales system into your business without coming across as salesy’
Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.
In our last blog, we talked about the need to stop selling your stuff logically.
Too many salespeople get caught up in the features of a product vs the benefits.
The Promise.
Showing a client exactly what the benefits of the product are (in this case an electric bike), is going to help him achieve what he wants.
Mr. Client,
I’ve got some great news for you.
You can ride this bike and you will never feel tired.
You are going to love riding this bike it will feel like being a kid again.
You won’t have to worry about it breaking down.
It’s easy to go up those hills that you never thought you could do again; your experience will never be the same once you hop on this bike and go for your first ride.
You will be fitter, feel better and have lots of energy. It’s an amazing bike.
This might seem a little over the top, but the message in your promise is to identify a fear or a desire and then tell them what it’s going to do for them – it’s about creating attention.
In this sales statement you have created desire and his or her life may never be the same. I know friends that have experienced this state of mind since owning an electric bike.
BUT right there is where the biggest mistake is made, the salesperson has created the desire and then BANG out comes the close.
It’s often too early and does not follow the structure, the process. If you mention the price too soon you may lose the sale, not all the time, but often.
There are always exceptions.
If the sale is being done off-site in advertising and promotion, then there is as a real risk of losing the sale.
So, what do you do?
Create a picture.
You can do this in a couple of ways.
As the desire is met, you might get him or her seeing the real picture. You might ask them to think of a place they would really like to ride in the city they live. Get them to imagine doing that, paint a picture.
What you are doing for your client is showing what the bike will do for him/her and then getting them to see themselves reaping the benefits of your promise.
The next step is proof.
Like in any copywriting lesson I have learnt proof plays a big part in the sale.
It’s something often missing from the salespeople I come across, and sales are lost as a result. They simply do not have proof in any form.
I can explain how to do that in the next blog next week.
See you then,
Mike
PLUS, whenever you are ready…here are four ways I can help you grow YOUR business.
My favourite thing to do is show you what’s working right now. It’s not as good as being a client, but it’s close.
2. Take advantage of a FREE 45-minute consultation
Need some sales support? Make an appointment, and let me take you through the past, present, and future template.
3. Work with me one-on-one
If you are wanting to take your product or service from face-to-face to virtual selling, then I have a product that may be able to help you. You can get started for as little as $250 a month. If you’re interested then email mike@mikebrunel.com and put ‘Virtual Selling’ in the subject line…tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.
4. Finally, grab my new digital book on ‘How to get a predictable sales system into your business without coming across as salesy’
Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.
It was important to set the scene that it’s both, desire and discovery, that is important in the first part of any sale.
We talked about selling a bike and the importance of not selling a bike, but one that people might have more of an interest in.
We do that by talking about the desire, the result they want by buying that specific bike.
It’s true that figuring out the feelings and desires of any product is hard.
In this blog, we want to give you some tips so you can maybe, just maybe, learn to stop selling the features of a product and instead, sell the benefits.
Okay, now let’s get back to your person who wants to buy an electric bike.
Every retailer will tell you, that phrases like “Can I help you?” does anyone’s head in.
It’s a closed question.
Same with a salesperson out in the field. If they are not armed with a mindset to be curious or have a list of questions to ask to get the sales moving, they will fail.
The reason I say that is the structure of a sale follows a certain process.
In this case, is our prospect after a bike? Or are they after a specific bike?
Our job is to find that out.
It’s called discovery.
When I train and hire salespeople, I give them this advice.
“I give you permission to ask a client as many questions that you want to ask, to see if they are a fit for your product.”
This, however, is often not the case.
What many salespeople try and do is to convince a client how wonderful their product is.
“Let me tell you about this electric bike, it uses rechargeable batteries that can travel up to 25 to 45 km/h, low cost, energy efficient, and emission-free.“
(blah, blah, blah)…
Wrong.
What is going on here? The salesperson is telling the customer that the electric bike is so great.
And it probably is.
The salesperson is trying to argue the client into a sale with too many facts and figures.
He’s appealing to his client’s sense of reason.
We talked about this in the secrets to selling anything. Sell to the heart first, then the head.
So, what’s the secret here? Here’s how you do it. Ready?
Listen closely…
You tell your client what the bike is going to do for him or her.
Make them a promise.
The Promise.
In our next blog we are going to go more in-depth on the promise.
See you soon, promise. Mike (Promise) Brunel.
PLUS, whenever you are ready…here are four ways I can help you grow YOUR business.
My favourite thing to do is show you what’s working right now. It’s not as good as being a client, but it’s close.
2. Take advantage of a FREE 45-minute consultation
Need some sales support? Make an appointment, and let me take you through the past, present, and future template.
3. Work with me one-on-one
If you are wanting to take your product or service from face-to-face to virtual selling, then I have a product that may be able to help you. You can get started for as little as $250 a month. If you’re interested then email mike@mikebrunel.com and put ‘Virtual Selling’ in the subject line…tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.
4. Finally, grab my new digital book on ‘How to get a predictable sales system into your business without coming across as salesy’
Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.
