Little Red Book of Selling

“sell to help the other person,” and let your sincerity of purpose shine through). (Location 467)

Be willing to give of yourself—first…It’s not the only way, but it is the best and most long-lasting one I’ve found. (Location 697)

Do everything with a creative flair…Something (Location 714)

Become a resource…It’s much more powerful than someone perceiving you as a salesman or entrepreneur. (Location 722)

Have a good time doing it. (Location 729)

The result of these actions will be a person who is known for getting things done—a leader. It’s not just a reflection on you—it’s a reflection on your company, (Location 736)

in the 12 years I’ve been writing my column, I have never made a sales call to book a seminar. They call me first because they know me and I have provided them with value. (Location 759)

Who values you and your knowledge? (Location 774)

In my case, I have found that it is most effective to give value first. And give it without expectation, and give it often, and give it without expectation and give it to your best prospects. (Location 803)

Market with stuff and information about prospects and customers—not about you. (Location 809)

Write (good) stuff in journals, newspapers, e-zines, and newsletters. (Location 812)

Get known to get business to come to you. (Location 822)

Proactive mailings rarely work. If you really want to test the viability of your information, offer it and see who wants it. I send nothing until someone calls and asks for it. (Location 824)

WELL: I said “speech” not “sales pitch.” (Location 839)

DON’T SELL YOUR STUFF AT THE MEETING. (Location 869)

The more value you provide, the less price matters. (Location 894)

figure out where your value proposition lies AND how to communicate it in a way that the customer will get it AND be so compelling in your proof statements or your testimonials that the customer will both emotionally and logically make the decision to buy from you. (Location 912)

Not everyone will buy value. Thirty to forty percent of all customers will buy price. That’s the bad news. (Location 919)

“They don’t want your sales pitch. They want answers to their situations and concerns.” (Location 930)

focus on the lifetime use of the product or the service. (Location 936)

“We’ve spent our whole budget.” That person is not a decision maker. He or she is a budget spender. And the entire time they are spending their budget they are predominantly focused on price. (Location 939)

You now have to go into the sale with productivity ideas and profit ideas. (Location 948)

Get face to face first. (Location 1135)

As a result you may need to become an expert in branding, customer loyalty, use of media, customer response, delayed response, publicity, public relations, converting responses to sales, image building, and EVERY element that the customer is seeking as he or she plans THEIR sales campaign, or their business. None of this appears in your literature. (Location 1207)

If the prospect (customer) agrees to the meeting, he or she considers you a resource, a partner. They trust you. If they don’t agree to let you in the meeting—they just consider you a salesperson. (Location 1256)

The number of sales you make will be in direct proportion to the number of actual decision makers you sit in front of. The problem with most salespeople (not you of course) is that they are sitting in front of someone who has to ask their mommy or daddy if they can buy it or not. Real salespeople sit in front of real decision makers. How real are you? (Location 1290)

Asking powerful questions will make prospects think in new ways. What you ask sets the tone and the perception of the buyers. (Location 1334)

Your questions are a critical factor in the way your customers perceive you. (Location 1336)

must be thought out and written down in advance. Develop a list of 15 to 25 questions that uncover needs, problems, pains, concerns, and objections. (Location 1425)

Practice. After about 30 days of asking the right questions you’ll begin to see the real rewards. (Location 1427)

Thinkertoys, or his new book Cracking Creativity, or any Edward de Bono book, Six Thinking Hats, Lateral Thinking, or a compilation of his thoughts entitled Serious Creativity. (Location 1726)

S.C.A.M.P.E.R. (Location 1746)

Know your risks of purchase. There are less than ten. List them and have “risk removing” answers for them. (Location 1926)

Identify and eliminate (or outweigh). Ask your prospect: “What’s the risk?” Then ask “What’s the reward?” If the risk is low, and the reward is high, then the decision is obvious. (Location 1928)

Risk is real. And a real block to a sale. And too often salespeople misjudge risk for objection and continue to press for the close. (Location 1972)

When a prospect hesitates, you simply ask him or her to list the risks of purchase. Actually write them down. Prompt others. If the prospect says “I’m not sure,” you ask, “Could it be…” After you feel the list is complete, ask the prospect to list the rewards. Write them down, and embellish as much as possible without puking on the prospect. Then eliminate the risks one by one with lead in phrases like: Suppose we could…did you know that…I think we can…Then you simply ask, “can you see any other reasons not to proceed?” (Location 1982)

Then there is the unspoken secret of testimonials: How do you get them? The answer is the same as it is for referrals. You earn them. The difference with a testimonial is often you will have to earn them AND ask for them. (Location 2070)

But the power of testimonial is the proof they offer at the time the customer is ready to decide. Testimonials should be used at the end of the sales cycle to dispel any doubt, reduce all risk, substantiate value, and pave the way to the order. (Location 2076)

That’s as close as I get to someone else’s universe. And you need to do the same thing if you want to achieve any level of success in your personal career. (Location 2296)

Begin clarifying your ideas in public—and (Location 2380)

Publish something. (Location 2387)

Excited about the prospect of helping others. Sincerely caring. When I have appointments, I want to help my prospective customers solve a problem, get better service, (Location 2553)

Not just “book smart.” Being able to assess and solve real-world problems. Being able to prioritize and decide which things (prospects) to spend time on and which not to. Work smarter, not harder. (Location 2560)

Unspoken integrity. Visibly honest. I try to be honest and ethical in everything that I do. I feel that being trustworthy and honorable is a strong statement of character. I try to always keep my promises. Hopefully, my word means something to others, because it means EVERYTHING to me. (Location 2566)