Dan_Cardone
Losers make excuses. Winners find solutions.
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Introduction
I want to keep this post as short as possible. Its not going to be a comprehensive manual on sales, rather its an outline of the method that I use to get people to buy whatever it is I'm selling.
My Background
I started out playing online poker and then became a poker coach. Transitioned into affiliate marketing which led me to becoming a professional direct response copywriter. Used the money I made to start some other companies and to become an investor. All along the way I have used sales skills to sell not just my products and services but also my ideas and vision.
A few weeks back I posted on here asking for sales book recommendations. I have a new venture coming up and I wanted to see what, if anything, was new in the world of sales. I looked into the suggestions here, looked at the top selling books on amazon, and took a deep dive into the newest sales related books that have entered the arena...
What a clusterf*ck!
The Problem With Most Sales Books
Most sales books, even newer ones, are still out there pushing the high pressure sales tactics that worked back in the 80s and 90s.
Other books are now teaching what has been termed "consultative selling." This is better but most of these books still highly over complicate matters.
My Sales System
I have a decently simple system of selling. It works well for me and has worked well for others I have taught it too.
Here is my quick sales brain dump:
Use what works for you, disregard the rest.
I want to keep this post as short as possible. Its not going to be a comprehensive manual on sales, rather its an outline of the method that I use to get people to buy whatever it is I'm selling.
My Background
I started out playing online poker and then became a poker coach. Transitioned into affiliate marketing which led me to becoming a professional direct response copywriter. Used the money I made to start some other companies and to become an investor. All along the way I have used sales skills to sell not just my products and services but also my ideas and vision.
A few weeks back I posted on here asking for sales book recommendations. I have a new venture coming up and I wanted to see what, if anything, was new in the world of sales. I looked into the suggestions here, looked at the top selling books on amazon, and took a deep dive into the newest sales related books that have entered the arena...
What a clusterf*ck!
The Problem With Most Sales Books
Most sales books, even newer ones, are still out there pushing the high pressure sales tactics that worked back in the 80s and 90s.
Other books are now teaching what has been termed "consultative selling." This is better but most of these books still highly over complicate matters.
My Sales System
I have a decently simple system of selling. It works well for me and has worked well for others I have taught it too.
Here is my quick sales brain dump:
- Sales begins with marketing. Effective marketing will set you up for the win and prime the prospect to buy from you long before you ever get them on the phone. Effective marketing will also establish you as an expert in your niche or industry. Being thought of as an expert is of vital importance in the modern world. People are skeptical and only want to deal with recognized and known experts. Your marketing efforts can set you up as the expert who holds the key to their success. While I may be writing a post on sales, I actually consider myself to be a better marketer. Effective marketing is why I can outsell those who are better technical sellers.
- Your marketing funnel must have a way to filter out low probability prospects. Jeb Blount calls this "shaping win probability." Time management wise, its much more effective to sell to those who have a high interest in buying vs those with a low interest.
- Not everyone is looking to buy right now, in fact, most aren't. You need a way to nurture the leads who aren't yet "high probability" so that when they are finally ready to buy, you are the guy they think of first.
- Follow up is important but the way you follow up even more so. The vast majority of follow up calls I get from salesman amount to "Hey, just checking in to see if you're ready to buy yet!" What value are they offering me? They become nothing more than a pest when they fail to give me value. When you follow up it should be to offer them something of value. A free report than can help them (but also sells them on your product/service), a free strategy/discovery session, advice, tips, etc. This leads to my next highly important point...
- The prospect should see you as less of a salesman and more of an educator and expert. Focus less on selling and more on educating and adding value to your prospects life.
- You must have a strong Unique Selling Proposition. The prospect needs to know why they should buy from you, why you are leagues better and above your competition, and why they shouldn't concern themselves with your product's price. Having a strong USP is vital so don't neglect it. It will be part of your sales pitch.
- Have an outrageous offer. When they hear your actual offer for your product/service the prospect must go "wow, thats what I would get?!?!" The same product with two differently worded offers can greatly impact the prospects feelings towards it.
- A strong offer will create skepticism. Allay the prospect's fears by having a very strongly worded 'Risk Reversal Guarantee.' The prospect needs to feel, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is absolutely no risk to giving you their money.
- Ask them questions to establish their needs and pain points. This will tell you how to frame everything else. For example, if their main pain point is not having enough free time but you structure your sales pitch to making more money, it won't be effective. If, however, you learn their pain point is not having enough free time to spend with family then you can tell them how making more money can be leveraged into having more free time. Now they are paying attention!
- Remember, during your "pitch" you are doing more listening and asking questions than you are trying to sell.
- Once you have their pain points and problems, agitate those feelings by asking them to describe those feelings in detail. The prospect must really feel it to their core.
- Once you know what the most common objections you get are, structure your pitch to address those before the prospect even thinks of them.
- The ultimate goal of your pitch isn't to tell them to buy your product or service, its to get them to think "Hey, this product would be a perfect fit for me!" How you accomplish this varies depending on many factors but listening to the prospects pain points, combined with a good USP and offer that matches up to those pain points goes a long way towards this goal.
- How to overcome objections: 1) Empathize. ("Trust me, I understand why you would think that.") -> 2) Clarify and get to the root of their objection. ("Why do you feel you need to ask your spouse?") -> 3) Loop back and resell them based on the real objection you found out about from Step 2. ("Trust me, I fully understand why you don't like the price but here is why it isn't an issue...") -> 4) Assume the close. If you get another objection on step 4 then go back to step 1 and repeat. Some people call this process "Looping" (Belfort), some call it "Running The Train" and some call it other names. Whatever the name, its effective when done right.
- Manage disruptive emotions. There are some emotions you will experience that helps you, and other emotions that will hinder you. You must become good at managing your emotions. Getting mad after the prospect has just given you his 8th objection is normal but you must learn how to manage it. Anger is not helpful here!
- Induce scarcity in your pitch. High pressure sales tactics don't often work well anymore BUT carefully induced scarcity works wonders.
- Reward them for taking immediate action. "Mr. Prospect, I've learned during my years of doing business that those who are decisive and act fast often make the best clients. For that reason if you decide to be that kind of person and take action today, I'll knock X% off of the price." Inducing scarcity and then hitting them up with this is a lethal 1 - 2 knockout combo.
- Get and use the prospects commitment. At some point early in the interaction ask the prospect "Are you committed to getting this problem solved?" At the close you simply remind them of their commitment. "Okay, Mr. Prospect, you said you were committed to getting this problem handed...." Again, make sure you use this in a way that does not induce high pressure. A little pressure added skillfully is fine but the old high pressure closing tactics do not work well anymore.
- Remove friction from the buying process and make it as easy and headache free as possible.
- Always go for the second sell. When the prospect is in a buying mood, go for the second sell. Have something else related to tack on that the customer would want. This can significantly add to your profit margin.
- If the prospect still doesn't buy from you, simply add them into your lead nurturing system and follow up with them. Remember, add value to them on every follow up so that you become a welcome guest and not an annoying pest.
- Be sure to ask your happy customers for testimonials and referrals.
- Keep your pipeline full by using effective, education based, marketing.
Use what works for you, disregard the rest.
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