New Home Sales Training

Get Updates

Get the New Home Sales Blog Feed!

Advanced Web Counter

Motivated Beyond Mediocrity

November 12th, 2008

How Committed Are You?

A newspaper reporter secured a private meeting with the devil. The reporter was especially curious about the misleading method around which the devil had built his reputation. What is the most useful technique you use to trick people, he asked? Is it Dishonesty? Greed? Lust? Jealously? Vanity? What do you do to confuse a person from reaching their maximum potential?

The devil chuckled and said, “All you have mentioned is of little consequence. The most useful weapon I have is Apathy.”

So there you have it, straight from the mouth of the lowest of the low, an “I Don’t Care Attitude” will strip life from the loftiest of possibilities.

Here is a barometer to judge your level of passion toward your career. I call it the “last minute, first minute, and every minute in between attitude.” If you arrive at the last possible minute, and leave at the first minute the clock strikes 5:00, having counted every minute in between until quitting time, you are involved in the wrong career.”

Jim Rohn said, “Average people look forward to getting off. Successful people look forward to getting on.” My personal credo is, “If you can’t get out, then you better get in, but if you cannot get in, then you better get out.”

So if you think I’m being hard on you today, just consider that every message cannot be easy.

Be productive!
Myers

Bookmark and Share
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Google] [LinkedIn] [StumbleUpon] [Windows Live] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »
Powered by Bookmarkify™

No Comments » | Personal Development | Permalink
Posted by Myers Barnes

Time or Money?

October 14th, 2008

I talk to sales and business people every day who tell me they are overwhelmed by the current events of the day. Between checking their stock market portfolio and the current events on the news, they are overwhelmed and feeling a bit hopeless. When I ask how many times a day they view the news and current events on the Internet and most say at least a dozen or so times a day.

First, I have a real problem with checking the Internet for news during the course of a workday, especially someone who is checking the news at least a dozen or so times in a workday. It shows a lack of discipline and focus as well as a complete diversion from the one activity we are paid for, which is work (productivity).

Do the math; in an 8-hour day to check the news, current events, and personal portfolio means every forty minutes they would inundate themselves with negative news. This is essentially giving yourself a barrage of current events every 40 minutes, which dramatically impacts your thinking, and impacts it negatively.

Try this instead: Every time you are tempted to flip to the news, current events, or your portfolio, make a prospecting call for business instead. That would mean instead of checking on events that make you no money, you are engaging in the one event that can cause your income to grow and portfolio to grow, which is work. Instead of flipping to the news a dozen times, you now substitute the news with a prospecting call. 12 calls a day times 5 days equals 48 prospecting calls in a week. If you made 48 prospecting calls a week (instead of 48 negative views) your income is more secure and your mindset is engaged in the only activity that can insure your success, which is work.

Question: What is more valuable, time or money?
Answer: Time is more valuable than money.
Why? If you run out of time (die) and have plenty of money, so what. But if you run out of money, but have time, you can make more money.

Try this for one week: Do not look at the news for the day. If tempted, instead divert your time toward a work activity. At the end of the day your productivity will soar—and your serenity is guaranteed. 

Bookmark and Share
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Google] [LinkedIn] [StumbleUpon] [Windows Live] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »
Powered by Bookmarkify™

1 Comment | New Home Sales Training, Personal Development | Permalink
Posted by Myers Barnes

Prerequisites to Close

September 19th, 2008

Before you attempt to close, you must earn the right to close.  Prior to asking for the order, there are essential conditions that must exist.  Any attempt to conclude the sales process without meeting these essential conditions will not only result in a lost sale but could be misconstrued as high-pressure selling tactics.

1.  The Customer Must Want or Need Your Product or Service

Your obligation in professional selling is to provide solutions to meet the customer’s requirements.  If a need for your product or service does not genuinely exist, or if it is clear to you what you have to offer will not satisfy the prospects problems with solutions that are in their best interest, then move on to other prospects.
Secondly in regards to wanting what you have to offer, prior to asking for the order you must have kindled a strong buying desire.  Awakening the buying desire is the function of the presentation.  Also the function of the presentation is to bring clarity and understanding about the benefits of your products and services.  If you prematurely attempt to close before arousing sufficient buying desire or before your prospects gain complete understanding of the benefits, you will destroy your chance for the sale.

2.  Your Customer Must Be Able to Use Your Product or Service
Your customer should be able to take advantage of your offering for its intended use.  This means never oversell or undersell. Selling a small, low-volume copy machine to a medium-sized business is underselling their needs.  Likewise, placing a high-speed copier capable of producing 20,000 copies per month to a two-person start-up venture is grossly overselling the small business.

3.  The Customer Must Be Able to Afford Your Product or Service
Your customer should not only have sufficient funds to buy, but be able to own without being strapped.  If individuals and companies are sold products that result in financial burden, they are not truly enjoyed.

Whenever my wife and I enjoy dinner out, she invariably seeks the waiter’s recommendation.  It is not that she lacks confidence in her ability to select a meal, only that she seeks reassurance.

In most cases your customer seeks your recommendation prior to the buying decision.  Like my wife, it is not that the buyer lacks total self-confidence with his decision, only that he seeks reassurance.  As a salesperson, you operate as an assistant buyer and many times will be asked, “In your opinion what do you recommend?”  And you answer, “This particular model would be the best one for you.”  The customer then places the order based on you advice.

Remember… be sensitive and only offer perfect solutions that satisfy the customers wants, needs, and budget.

Bookmark and Share
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Google] [LinkedIn] [StumbleUpon] [Windows Live] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »
Powered by Bookmarkify™

4 Comments | New Home Sales, New Home Sales Training, Personal Development | Permalink
Posted by Myers Barnes

Conquering Your Closing Fears, The Cure for Rejection.

September 12th, 2008

Don’t take rejection personally:  Now that you understand the prospects fear of failure, keep in mind your prospect is not rejecting you.


Expect rejection:  This doesn’t mean to be negative.  It does contradict the need for confident expectations.  Just realize that usually a sales call will end with the prospects refusal or semi-refusal.  What is a semi-refusal?  When you are offered objections such as, “I need to think about it,” “Ill get back to you later,” “I need to discuss this with someone else,” and so on.

On the average, more than 80 percent of all new home sales takes place after the salesperson makes five to seven closing attempts.  In other words, you must ask the prospect to own your product or service, at minimum, five to seven times before he buys.  What’s surprising is that 50 percent of all sales calls end without the salesperson attempting to close even once.

This means you should expect and anticipate the prospect to say “no” or to offer a semi-refusal at least five to seven times before he says yes.  By anticipating the possibility of refusal, you are able to plan your closing.

Script, memorize and rehearse the closing techniques:  You learn to close by having a planned technique.  All closes are scripted, memorized, and then adapted to the individual situation.

The average salesperson closed poorly because he does not take the time to learn the techniques.  And he lacks the ability and skill to ask for the sale the five to seven times without giving up.

We have all heard the term “art and science.”  Closing is a very specific art and science.  Yet, you must understand you can never practice the art without first mastering the science.  Memorization of the technique is the science.  After you memorize and internalize word for word, you practice the art.

Consider a professional actress, for instance.  On screen her performance appears effortless.  But what is unseen is the scripting and practice that occurs prior to the performance. First she must memorize her script word for word.  Then only after mastering the “science,” the script, is she able to perform.

Remember, closing is skill, and with any skill such as acting riding a bicycle, or playing a musical instrument, it can be mastered by practice and rehearsal.  As you commit the techniques to memory, you free your mind to appropriately respond to your prospects questions and objections.

Comfort your fears:  Ralph Waldo Emerson said:  “Do what you fear most and the death of fear is certain.”  For many, asking for the order once, much less the average five to seven times, creates insurmountable fear.  Yet your obstacles to closing will melt away, if instead of trembling, you boldly approach your prospect.  Expect to feel uncomfortable as you first develop your skills.  It’s natural to feel uneasy doing something you have not mastered.  Through experience you will gain the strength, courage, and confidence to face your fear, and it will fall aside when you make up your mind to take action-ask for the order and close the sale.

Bookmark and Share