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Everything You Need to Know About Sales: Part 1

Marketing, social media, advertising

Do you consider yourself a salesperson?

  • Yes

    Votes: 45 66.2%
  • No

    Votes: 23 33.8%

  • Total voters
    68
  • Poll closed .

Ubermensch

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@Thiago Machado approached me about doing recorded interviews - via Skype - about sales.

Listen to PART ONE of the recording here.


Listen to PART TWO of the recording here.

Basically, we recorded a Skype conversation, and had a conversation about the following:

  • Sales
  • How to find fast-growing, successful companies to sales - already doing millions in revenue - to sell for
  • How to fast-track your sales success (bypass the need discovery phase)
  • Pros and Cons of going to college
  • Jordan Belfort - and other sales gurus.
  • Hedge Funds
  • The two fundamentally different types of sales, and the two fundamentally different types of clients
  • How to guarantee sales success (based on empirical research and the FACTS of selling).


We figured members like @OVOvince, @Cyriex, @Kingmaker, @ChasingPaper and @marklov would appreciate this, and potentially want to participate in future conversations.
 
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OVOvince

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@Thiago Machado

Really appreciate both of yall for doing this. i never thought getting a shout out would be so embarrassing tho LMAO but ill take the credit for strategically creating garbage threads that produced gold mines like this haha.

anyways, i now have a great sense of direction and more
 

Thiago Machado

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Hahaha! Thanks @OVOvince

This is something that's been on our mind.

While the internet is a great tool that can get you all of the information you need in an instant, the problem is, you've got to filter out a lot of the crap to get to the golden nuggets!

It's easy to get lost in the sea of content.

We noticed that many people on the forum suffer from information overload and analysis paralysis.

Having too much information can be a problem. A lot of times, people wind up feeling even more confused than when they started. We have so many options available to us. Once we immerse ourselves into the various books, courses, etc, we do learn things, but we start to overthink and procrastinate on when and how to start.

This then leads to analysis paralysis. People will ponder on this information and not take action. They are always seeking out the "perfect" way to go about things.

The truth is, there is never a perfect way or perfect time.

Our goal was to record our chat and hopefully share with others on the forum our "No B.S. Guide to Sales."

Many people are lost on the subject (I once was too).

@Ubermensch has given some pretty solid advice on getting started in the field. All you need to do now is put this information into action!
 
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OVOvince

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Hahaha! Thanks @OVOvince

This is something that's been on our mind.

While the internet is a great tool that can get you all of the information you need in an instant, the problem is, you've got to filter out a lot of the crap to get to the golden nuggets!


It's easy to get lost in the sea of content.

We noticed that many people on the forum suffer from information overload and analysis paralysis.

Having too much information can be a problem. A lot of times, people wind up feeling even more confused than when they started. We have so many options available to us. Once we immerse ourselves into the various books, courses, etc, we do learn things, but we start to overthink and procrastinate on when and how to start.

This then leads to analysis paralysis. People will ponder on this information and not take action. They are always seeking out the "perfect" way to go about things.

The truth is, there is never a perfect way or perfect time.

Our goal was to record our chat and hopefully share with others on the forum our "No B.S. Guide to Sales."

Many people are lost on the subject (I was / am too).

@Ubermensch has given some pretty solid advice on getting started in the field. All you need to do now is put this information into action!


Completely agree man. In fact, the part I bolded is something I was/am struggling with and a while back I was contemplating on asking for advice on that, but I guess the noob robot in me malfunctioned so I never did hahaha.


i got enough information and clarity now to try and do something useful :)
 
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Silverhawk851

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Good talk guys

Application is key for all those getting into sales

..or any skill for that matter

19er4kk5px22cjpg.jpg
 

maleek

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Here's a few sales related questions:

Do you have advice on hiring a BDR (business development rep)? I'd like to do more prospecting, however the daily operations of the business get in the way. I'm in the process of outsourcing some that, so I can continue to grow the company. I'm debating hiring a local, or a VA for this BDR position.

Also, when creating a cold call script, how do you generate curiosity within the call, to have a decision maker listen to your pitch? Most of my new business is from referral, so they're typically warm to us and have a sense of what we do. However, if I were to hire a new BDR, they would essentially be starting from scratch (compiling their own list to call on).

Thinking out loud, I could technically hire a sales manager who is experienced, but that's probably a $75,000.00 a year expense for somebody who's worth their weight.

Any suggestions are appreciated!
 

T-K

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Were you a part of Rammstein, @Ubermensch ? Similarity of the sound of your voice is freaking too much hahah

Anyways this is good and I appreciate both your efforts, thank you for doing this.
 
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AgainstAllOdds

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Stopped listening 11:30 in. Can anyone comment if it gets better?

I don't want to be rude. Just that with audio it's harder to gauge value before investing time.
 
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Ubermensch

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Stopped listening 11:30 in. Can anyone comment if it gets better?

I don't want to be rude. Just that with audio it's harder to gauge value before investing time.

Personally, I think the best part of our conversation occurred in part three.

Listen to Part 3 Here.


In retrospect, we probably should have broken the conversation into 3 - 5 minute chunks, because we jump around from topic-to-topic pretty often.

Below is a summary breakdown of part three of the recording.

@Thiago Machado came up with a pretty funny term: "Noob Robot."

I goofed off with that term a bit in this recording. A "Noob Robot" is usually a millennial on this forum, wants to make "$10,000 per month," declares the desire to buy (insert his color) a car with a six-figure price tag,

0:00 - 3:00
:
  • The sales and money relation.
  • Focus
3:30 - 7:00
  • Focus and Goals
  • Grant Cardone and 10X (6:00)
7:00 - 8:30
  • The influence and effect of mentors.
9:00 - 11:00:
  • Sales goals: Pizza, planes, yachts, nice cars... and FREEDOM.
  • @Andy Black and one of the best quotes on this forum.

12:00:
  • Ayn Rand and CEOs
15:00 - 19:00:
  • How do you get in contact with an influential business, business person, mentor, etc - especially when you are a beginner and have "nothing to offer"?
19:00 - 20:00:
  • College.
20:00 - 22:00:
  • Mastering sales for global freedom.
23:00 - 25:00:
  • Ubiquitous sales advice, cult-like followings, etc.
25:30 - 30:00:
  • Jordan Belfort, and the Staight Line/Tony Robbins/Chet Holmes and cult-like followings VERSUS the scientifically and empirically proven superior methods of prospecting and closing.
  • The best way to learn sales (hint: NOT by staring at your computer screen!)
30:00 - 32:00
  • Revenue, profit and how to calculate and negotiate your fees.
33:00:
  • The WHOLE POINT of doing sales in the first place.
 

Disruptor

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Good stuff!

Taking notes.Which one of the different "Rainmaker" books is it you are referring to? The one by Jeffrey J. Fox?

I'm new to the sales profession. Took my first job in sales and that was in Swedens biggest media group, in the second month I became the number one sales person in a team of 25, brought in a deal 50 times bigger than previous records and sold for the budget of 7 individually in one day.

And I can say that much of what you're talking about is reason for my performance. Especially the art of asking questions, but that's not easy.
Especially as you mentioned in one call closes, the short sale, as this was. I called up and closed deals with for example the Swedish CEO of Goldman Sachs. And dealing with those guys, if you ask questions in the wrong way will lead to resistance and responses like "get to the point!".
I somehow learnt to deal with that, by using permission manipulation lol.

Also would like to see if anyone has any advice here. I'm moving to London next week actually.
And I'll be looking for a new job in some kind of sales where you can make big money. No idea what to look for though, got some answers to my question from your recording, but more ideas would be awesome.
 
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Disruptor

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When working there, I read all the top selling sales books from Amazon. And I tested most of what I read. And can attest that most of what you'll find is bullshit and won't work in the real world. As told, you learn by DOING. Wanted to stress that for all noob robots :)
 

Disruptor

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@maleek and @Disruptor I will get back to you in a few days, hopefully with concise and practical answers.

Back to the grind, my sales brothers.

Cool. I reached out to a company today that I found in tech that I think you'll be able to make six figures at which is my first goal. Will post updates about this here.

I've put together a CV and cover letter structure and would be awesome if someone would like to take a look and give specific pointers of improvement.

And maybe post the points here in the forum for others to learn from. I would like to see specific results posted here from testing all ideas mentioned in the recording. That would be really helpful.
 
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Thiago Machado

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Last edited:
D

Deleted35442

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@Thiago Machado approached me about doing recorded interviews - via Skype - about sales.

Listen to PART ONE of the recording here.


Listen to PART TWO of the recording here.

Basically, we recorded a Skype conversation, and had a conversation about the following:

  • Sales
  • How to find fast-growing, successful companies to sales - already doing millions in revenue - to sell for
  • How to fast-track your sales success (bypass the need discovery phase)
  • Pros and Cons of going to college
  • Jordan Belfort - and other sales gurus.
  • Hedge Funds
  • The two fundamentally different types of sales, and the two fundamentally different types of clients
  • How to guarantee sales success (based on empirical research and the FACTS of selling).


We figured members like @OVOvince, @Cyriex, @Kingmaker, @ChasingPaper and @marklov would appreciate this, and potentially want to participate in future conversations.
Nice pep talk. I'm surprised to finally see someone mention Wall Street Playboys here @Thiago Machado. Some quality content, but they're definitely on the fence about giving Wall Street your best years rather than build a biz. Cause they're "Wall Street Playboys". I picked them up originally when I was posting on Wall Street Oasis back in college. Still, great article nonetheless.

@Ubermensch great talk man. I listened to the whole thing. I got some training I received in the past that the company spent thousands on us for. Not only did I read his books, but had an instructor specifically trained in his preachings flown in on high company dime to chit chat with us. Look up the Sandler Sales Methodology. It's all about listening, it's all about understanding pain points, it's all about reverse engineering the sales process. Hell, guys talk to me about incorporating it to spit game, and I've even tried it. It works. I'm not here to sell anybody on it. But I read a ton on sales and echo all the points you make in this. Hedge fund managers is all about bullshiting. Sales is an entirely different breed since all your institutional investors are different, esp. pension fund managers, that are bleeding for returns. Lots to say on this, since I networked my balls off to get these guys one-on-one in a room. Former Goldman Sachs partners, former Lehman MD's sort of guys. Make no mistake, guys in this industry don't make money the way grandfather Warren Buffet do anymore. There's not a whole lot of value investing going on these days. What they're teaching in school is diametrically opposed to everything you do your first day on any trading desk. Guys that went straight to hedge funds out of college had some pretty high level quant/engineering backgrounds.

Next talk you guys have, I'll gladly hop on and go more in-depth on all this. Finance, sales, whatever.

Never heard of Thomas J. Stanley till today which is odd for me. His books got some glowing reviews on Amazon published in the mid to late 90's. That book you mentioned, Selling to the Affluent seems to have the pdf out there if anyone else wants it. Was the no. 2 result on Bing.

http://qubranx.com/systemadmin/mbt.resources/The Art of Selling To The Affluent.pdf

I'll go through this and report back. I almost exclusively sell to the affluent right now.

(Update: Just saw that I subconsciously must have put "Sanders" instead of Sandler. It's the SANDLER Sales Methodology. Ugh. Anyways, halfway through the book, and noticed later on as well, that this book I posted above isn't published by Stanley, they're just titled similarly, nonetheless, it's got some quality material and great Amazon ratings.)
 
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100k

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Is it possible to sell to people when you don't like people? I.e your not a "people person" :)

Was doing door to door for a short period, and I noticed the guy that was teaching me the ropes was a very "people person"... he was not even selling most of the time, it looked like he was just having a conversion with people like they were his friend, talking about all sorts of none sense like their car or pet or kid what ever.... I just don't have the interest nor the inclination to sit there and fake that shit. I just don't give two shits about people (generally speaking) ... so I reiterate, is it possible to sell when you are not a people person ?
 
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Disruptor

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Is it possible to sell to people when you don't like people? I.e your not a "people person" :)

Was doing door to door for a short period, and I noticed the guy that was teaching me the ropes was a very "people person"... he was not even selling most of the time, it looked like he was just having a conversion with people like they were his friend, talking about all sorts of none sense like their car or pet or kid what ever.... I just don't have the interest nor the inclination to sit there and fake that shit. I just don't give two shits about people (generally speaking) ... so I reiterate, is it possible to sell when you are not a people person ?

Absolutely. I wouldn't call myself an introvert, but I was maybe from the outside the least social guy in the room. I'm probably a ambivert if you would label it. So I'm not the kind of people person you're describing, chatting any nonsense/small talk with people - except if I really need to and I don't enjoy it. But sales is like theatre, so on the phone I'm totally different - and pretty straight to the point.. However I'm a chamelont, so sometimes I need to warm up a client though a little bit. But mostly I sense that the average business client respects getting down to business quickly, as long as you can do it in a smooth way.
 

Disruptor

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Nice pep talk. I'm surprised to finally see someone mention Wall Street Playboys here @Thiago Machado. Some quality content, but they're definitely on the fence about giving Wall Street your best years rather than build a biz. Cause they're "Wall Street Playboys". I picked them up originally when I was posting on Wall Street Oasis back in college. Still, great article nonetheless.

@Ubermensch great talk man. I listened to the whole thing. I got some training I received in the past that the company spent thousands on us for. Not only did I read his books, but had an instructor specifically trained in his preachings flown in on high company dime to chit chat with us. Look up the Sanders Sales Methodology. It's all about listening, it's all about understanding pain points, it's all about reverse engineering the sales process. Hell, guys talk to me about incorporating it to spit game, and I've even tried it. It works. I'm not here to sell anybody on it. But I read a ton on sales and echo all the points you make in this. Hedge fund managers is all about bullshiting. Sales is an entirely different breed since all your institutional investors are different, esp. pension fund managers, that are bleeding for returns. Lots to say on this, since I networked my balls off to get these guys one-on-one in a room. Former Goldman Sachs partners, former Lehman MD's sort of guys. Make no mistake, guys in this industry don't make money the way grandfather Warren Buffet do anymore. There's not a whole lot of value investing going on these days. What they're teaching in school is diametrically opposed to everything you do your first day on any trading desk. Guys that went straight to hedge funds out of college had some pretty high level quant/engineering backgrounds.

Next talk you guys have, I'll gladly hop on and go more in-depth on all this. Finance, sales, whatever.

Never heard of Thomas J. Stanley till today which is odd for me. His books got some glowing reviews on Amazon published in the mid to late 90's. That book you mentioned, Selling to the Affluent seems to have the pdf out there if anyone else wants it. Was the no. 2 result on Bing.

http://qubranx.com/systemadmin/mbt.resources/The Art of Selling To The Affluent.pdf

I'll go through this and report back. I almost exclusively sell to the affluent right now.

Did they mention the book "Selling to the Affluent" in the recording? Because seems like I totally missed that.
 

blueoceanblues

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NOOB ROBOT REPORTING!

SEEKING JOB SECURITY!

RISK IS BAD!

WHERE IS CUBICLE?! WHERE IS STEADY JOB?

I'VE BROUGHT MY DEGREES.... noob robot sad....

Interview is worth it for noob robot, belfort clips, and uber's evil a$$ laugh lmfao.

But seriously, thanks for the Rainmaker book recommendation I hadn't heard that one. It would be a cool thing to have other sales champions on these interviews...good dialog.
 
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Ubermensch

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NOOB ROBOT REPORTING!

SEEKING JOB SECURITY!

RISK IS BAD!

WHERE IS CUBICLE?! WHERE IS STEADY JOB?

I'VE BROUGHT MY DEGREES.... noob robot sad....

Interview is worth it for noob robot, belfort clips, and uber's evil a$$ laugh lmfao.

@Thiago Machado
@ChasingPaper
@Kingmaker
@Cyriex
@Andy Black
@OVOvince
@Disruptor
@Silverhawk851
@100k
@maleek
@AgainstAllOdds
@SinisterLex
@axiom
@MKHB

@Ubermensch laughs the "evil" laugh.

By the way, anyone tagged above can consider themselves officially invited to the next conversation.

@maleek asked some good questions about recruiting, and the answers to his questions will reveal a lot. Not too many people out there talk about recruiting 100% commission salespeople. At the end of the day, if you are selling to produce revenue and profit, the fastest way to scale is to multiply yourself.

Many of the real-world action-takers on this forum do not have much of a rep bank.

@axiom is a good example. It would be interesting to get his take on sales, because I know he's out there in the real world, doing real business.

@ChasingPaper is also a super-freak talent, a natural at making money.

@MKHB On the other hand, is one of the more "senior" guys, an old-timer with a sharp eye for what "moves the needle" on the bottom line.
 
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Ubermensch

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I'm new to the sales profession. Took my first job in sales and that was in Swedens biggest media group, in the second month I became the number one sales person in a team of 25, brought in a deal 50 times bigger than previous records and sold for the budget of 7 individually in one day.

And I can say that much of what you're talking about is reason for my performance. Especially the art of asking questions, but that's not easy.
Especially as you mentioned in one call closes, the short sale, as this was. I called up and closed deals with for example the Swedish CEO of Goldman Sachs. And dealing with those guys, if you ask questions in the wrong way will lead to resistance and responses like "get to the point!".
I somehow learnt to deal with that, by using permission manipulation lol.
@Thiago Machado This guy (see quote above) has "the goods."


Also would like to see if anyone has any advice here. I'm moving to London next week actually.
And I'll be looking for a new job in some kind of sales where you can make big money. No idea what to look for though, got some answers to my question from your recording, but more ideas would be awesome.
Sell high-ticket items to businesses and corporate clients. This is the way to pull in healthy six figures, with a shot at seven.

Absolutely. I wouldn't call myself an introvert, but I was maybe from the outside the least social guy in the room. I'm probably a ambivert if you would label it. So I'm not the kind of people person you're describing, chatting any nonsense/small talk with people - except if I really need to and I don't enjoy it. But sales is like theatre, so on the phone I'm totally different - and pretty straight to the point.. However I'm a chamelont, so sometimes I need to warm up a client though a little bit. But mostly I sense that the average business client respects getting down to business quickly, as long as you can do it in a smooth way.

Good stuff.

True, sales is a performance.
 
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Ubermensch

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Good talk guys

Application is key for all those getting into sales

..or any skill for that matter

19er4kk5px22cjpg.jpg

One of my first sales jobs was selling HVAC upgrades to homeowners. Ten years later, I'm still - fundamentally - in the same business. Energy, energy efficiency, etc... it's all a subset of - or related to - the construction industry.

The construction industry is projected to grow to $10,300,000,000,000 - Ten Trillion, with a "T" - in total global size.

Great industry to be in.
 

Ubermensch

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Listen to Episode 2: Part One... here

0:00 - 5:00

7 out of 10 of the viewers of this thread consider themselves salespeople. What's up with the other 3 out of 10?

5:30 - 8:30

The definition of selling.

6:20 - 9:30
  • @coreydean and McDonald's and money.
  • If you have a slow lane job, you might as well get a sales job.
  • @AgainstAllOdds and the construction industry as an opportunity
  • Non-profit charities versus companies established for the purpose of profit and revenue.
9:30 - 11:00
  • The purpose of business.
11:00 - 12:00
  • Persuasion as the most important skill.
12:15 - 17:00
  • Robert Greene and long-term life goals.
  • Money helps you take care of your family.
  • Be honest with yourself about what runs the world.
  • There is no nobility in poverty.
  • Making more money means you helped people and can help more people.
17:00 - 19:00
  • @RHL and the concept of discipline, fitness and making serious money.
  • MJ, Robert Greene and the sacrifice required for success.
20:00 – 24:30
  • The importance of self-talk.
24:30 - 28:30
  • The right mindset.
  • 50th Law "Shit into Sugar" and hearing the word "no" in sales.
  • Michael Jordan and electrifying confidence.
In part two, we begin by responding to @maleek and his questions about hiring a business development rep.
 
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Ubermensch

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Listen to Part 2 of Episode Two Here:

0:00 - 10:00
  • How to search for and find salespeople to sell your product or service.
  • What specific resources to use to find the intimate contact details for business development professionals (personal e-mail, home phone number, and cell phone number).
  • If you are new in sales, what to bring to the table and how to present yourself to a business you are pitching.
  • Gordon Gekko's thoughts on recruiting.
10:00 - 20:00
  • "Small talk," answering @100k regarding how to sell, even if you don't like people.
  • Discipline versus having fun.
20:00 - 25:00
  • "Pick up" game, sales game, and the right focus.
  • "Act as if"
  • Habits
  • Creating attraction
  • Tony Montana makes a guest appearance and gives @Almantas advice on money, power and women.
25:00 - 30:00
  • Thomas J. Stanley
  • The fastest way to get around players - business owners and C-level executives - in any industry.
  • The Association for Corporate Growth... the way to meet the type of people in the @Cyriex rolodex.
 
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Last edited:

Ubermensch

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Brilliant stuff guys. The book / trade journal / website recommendations alone are gold.

I tore through that Rainmaker book in one night and took pages of notes. It's definitely going to change the way I sell going forward.

Glad to hear it.

Listen to Part Three (the final part) here:

This is honestly my favorite recording that we've done so far. We didn't just have fun; I think we hit on some real truths, and I'm confident that the truly ambitious salespeople out there will relate.

Today is April 15th, sales warriors.

There are ten business days left in this month. What did you do this month to fill your pipeline with leads you can close?

No matter what position you're in, you need to be filling your pipeline.

If you're @OVOvince or @welshmin (we talk about welshmin's thread, right after talking about @Andy Black 's comment about "working for the person who controls the invoice") you need to fill your pipeline with many different businesses, all vying to sign with YOU. You want to make businesses compete over you, so that they give you a competitive commission rate. You can ask for anywhere between 10% and 90% net profit fee for selling. If you have a pipeline full of companies, you can play them against each other and demand a higher rate.

If you already have a business you're selling for (either your own or someone else's), you need to be filling your pipeline with leads that you can close.

The more leads you have, the more business you will get. It's a numbers game, and if you're not filling your pipeline, you're losing.

At the end of the day, sales is really simple. Play the numbers game. Fill the pipeline, and the closing will take care of itself.
 
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OVOvince

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hey man, so I was making a list of expos and tradeshows and a lot of the good ones in the construction industry (and the ones related like energy efficiency) are not coming anytime soon.

you recommend emailing the execs in my case if i can get their exact emails, or would that be a bad idea strategically and therefore just wait till the event? besides that, im talking to another company's President, but the guy has been busy and we had to reschedule for next week. I just want to have multiple options so I don't end up waiting for months before I get started.

@Thiago Machado
 
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Thiago Machado

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Hey @OVOvince,

I think it's a great idea to get in touch with the execs through email / phone call. Don't wait until the expo's.

To quote @Ubermensch , you need to fill your pipeline with many different businesses, all dying to sign with YOU. You want to make businesses compete over you, so that they give you a competitive commission rate.

If you have a pipeline full of companies, you can play them against each other and demand a higher rate.

To sum it up, think in terms of supply and demand.

Make your demand high between businesses. Your supply is naturally low (you're one person).

So by developing scarcity for your services, companies will have an urgency to hire you. This will allow you to charge a higher commission percentage since good talent isn't cheap!

Also, always remember to be able to back up your claims. Companies aren't going to fight over someone if they can't see a return on investment. So don't think that just by stirring up friction between them is going to make you gain the upper-hand. Showcase the value you can provide to them; that you're the guy they've been looking for; the diamond in the rough; the needle in the haystack. A linchpin! (Great book btw...)

Hope this helps

- Thiago
 
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Thiago Machado

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Nice pep talk. I'm surprised to finally see someone mention Wall Street Playboys here @Thiago Machado. Some quality content, but they're definitely on the fence about giving Wall Street your best years rather than build a biz. Cause they're "Wall Street Playboys". I picked them up originally when I was posting on Wall Street Oasis back in college. Still, great article nonetheless.

Hey @Cyriex,

Thanks for listening in.

Just checked out the book you recommended. Seems good. The real money in sales (especially when you're a one man show) is in high ticket items. So I can definitely sense that there will be some golden nuggets in there. Thanks for the recommendation!

HA! I check out Wall Street Oasis every once in a while. Never knew you were posting stuff on there.

As for Wall Street Playboys, I love those guys! They drop true, no fluff wisdom, left and right. I have yet to find another blog like theirs. Do you know any?

They recommended this one: https://illimitablemen.com/ Started following them too. Ever seen it?

But enough about blogs. It's back to the grind! (haha)

You seem to be on the same page as me and @Ubermensch. We've been wanting to get on a call with other fellow fastlaners who share the same mindset. Lets get on a call soon, brother!

- Thiago
 

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