Sales - A Noble Profession with Bill Caskey - MGW #9

SHOW NOTES:

Sales - A Noble Profession with Bill Caskey - MGW #9

GUEST: Bill Caskey

Sales Trainer, Coach, and Podcast Host

https://advancedsellingpodcast.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/billcaskey/

 

Professionals in sales are looked down upon in some quarters, and some sales pros even look down on their own professions. So we’ve brought Bill Caskey onto the show to help those of us who are in sales to practice the trade in such a way that we can all feel great about sales and selling.

Here are a few notes from the conversation:

 

Anyone can become a great salesperson as long as you’re willing to think differently about yourself.

 

A lot of salespeople think they need to wear a persona. We’re not powerful when we’re wearing armor. We’re powerful when we don’t wear a mask.

 

Sales can be a very noble profession if we think about in the right way.

 

I’m not in sales. That’s not an accurate depiction of what we do in 2017. A salesperson creates an environment where a prospect can share about their problems or goals, and discover together whether the salesperson can help solve those problems or reach goals.

 

Sales is not about convincing. Taking that off the table helps eliminate the fear of failure, fear of rejection.

 

Avoid hyperbole. Don’t get ahead of the prospect. Don’t be more eager and enthusiastic than the client.

 

Find detachment. If you’re attached to the outcome, you’re less likely to make the sale.

 

Don’t work to “mirror” your prospect. When you imitate someone else, you lose yourself. When you practice sales gimmicks, you become a manipulator, and you feel the lack of integrity.

 

People will tell you what they want if you’ve established trust, and you’re not pitching, and conniving, and contorting.

 

If you’re faking it, pushing, pitching, and convincing, you’ll make sales in the short-run. But the sales will collapse as you build a reputation for poor service and poor sales qualification.

 

Create. Create something useful for your prospects and clients. Articles, videos… Provide resources. Publish, write, produce, curate.

 

That connects you to your work more, and separates you in the marketplace.

Position yourself as an expert.

 

If you bring value to my business, even outside of the products you sell, I’m going to be glad every time you ring my phone.

 

Your product or service may be a commodity. A connector -- connecting people, resources, etc. -- will never be a commodity.

 

There is a loneliness in sales. Sales leaders have to find ways to require working together. Sales reps somehow team up. Share what’s working. Listen in on calls, and give feedback.

 

Compete together with the past, with the industry trends… Less competition within the team.

 

Top performers are curious about what works. They’re hungry to learn new best practices. And they reach out to get the information. Ego interferes with lower performers’ willingness to ask for help, advice, and training.

 

Don’t buy into the idea, “How I am, others are.”

You need a coach to help you recognize what you’re doing, to reflect your actions, to help you shape what you’re going to do.