An Introduction to Selling at Mastery pot

Plus, he spent many of those years, training salespeople to function as master professionals while helping to build award winning sales teams.. That is, to provide effective and affordab

An Introduction toSelling at Mastery

By Jim Masson Author of Getting Paid is Good!!

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copyright 2012, Jim Masson

Smashwords Edition all rights reserved

This ebook is licensed for your personal use only

It may not be altered or recopied without the written consent of the author

However,

If you would like to share this book with another others,

as sincerely hope you will, please direct them to download their own free copy

Chapter 1: Defining a Master Professional Salesperson.

Chapter 2: W hat the role of a Master Professional Salesperson is

and What the Role is Not.

Chapter 3: Who puts up the most obstacles to the sale?

Chapter 4: Some of the self limiting behaviors some salespeople

engage in and why they do so.

Chapter 5: The deepest underlying motivator that virtually every buyer brings to the table when they make any purchase.

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Acknowledgements

First, I want to thank my wife, Wanda for taking significant time from her own work to help me with the editing and proofing of this body of work Her eyes caught many errors in my original document and her unique prospective helped me adjust my dialogue to improve elements of communication I am truly grateful

This material has been brought together as a culmination of knowledge

obtained in over forty five years in the sales and service profession

Throughout that time, I had many teachers There were those who employed

me There were my early managers There were my fellow salespeople There were my employees There were those who I was privileged to

manage They all shared their knowledge with me There were outside sales trainers and authors who provided insights for me to examine And, of

course, there were my customers who taught me what I needed to do to serve and sell at mastery To all, I am extremely grateful

About the Author

Jim Masson is a businessman, author, sales trainer and sales consultant with

a selling career that spans over 45 years He has sold and managed the sale

of millions and millions of dollars worth of products and services Plus, he spent many of those years, training salespeople to function as master

professionals while helping to build award winning sales teams

Jim began his selling career while still in high school While working part time for a full line General Motors dealership in a small town in Northern Ontario, Canada, he sold a pre-owned car at only seventeen years of age He was pleasantly surprised when rewarded with a commission for that sale It the first of many, and he discovered that getting paid for his efforts was indeed, very, very good!

After attending Algonquin College Business Campus in Ottawa, Canada's capital, he had a successful selling career with large automotive dealerships

there, before relocating with his wife Wanda to Vancouver, British Columbia,

in the early 1980s There, Jim partnered for almost ten years in an

automotive services business

After selling his interest in that business, Jim resumed his automotive career

as Sales Manager and Sales Trainer with major automobile dealerships that achieved new levels of sales and customer satisfaction success A number of sales people who he helped train have become nationally recognized as Sales Leaders and Sales Masters and several were promoted to Sales

Management positions themselves

Jim has always recognized the tremendous need for professionalism in the selling industry and affordable training in all areas of selling and customer service In order to share his extensive experience and success with those pursuing a career in the selling profession, Jim initially wrote his book,

"Getting Paid is Good!!'' He has also offered live sales training seminars to

both sales novices and seasoned pros through school board sponsored Continuing Education classes on Vancouver Island, where he and Wanda make their home

Now, he is very pleased to present to you, “An introduction to Selling at Mastery”along with a link to “Selling at Mastery” These powerful ebooks are

a compilation of all the material that was initially presented over forty hours in his live, bootcamp style seminar presentations, plus additional strategies, tools and concepts

These ebooks have one defining purpose That is, to provide effective and affordable Profession Development Training for individuals, business owners and sales managers, wishing to either upgrade their own selling skills or to train salespeople for a better future by learning how to sell as a master

professional

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Forward

First and foremost, thank you for choosing “An introduction to Selling at

Mastery” I applaud you for taking the first step in taking charge of boosting your selling career and your income If you are just considering entering a selling career, or actually have been selling for some time, be prepared to start unlocking your full potential, both in terms of earnings and in terms of how you will look at yourself in your day to day living

As you read through this ebook, I will try to present the material in a

conversational style as it is based on my live workshop training sessions I will also try to anticipate questions and answer them at the appropriate times

I hope this helps you to gain the maximum benefits from the concepts and strategies offered here

So that you will know what to expect and in order for you to receive the

maximum benefit out of the strategies, concepts and tools which I am going to share with you here, I would like to begin by making a few suggestions

>>> Grab yourself a note pad, so that you can jot down ideas that you might

want to think about later without having to wade back through the all the material right away

>>> Try to read in a quite environment You will retain more each time you

read a concept

>>> Try to keep an open mind Some ideas will be totally new to you If they

are not, I’m not doing my job So, rather than trying to judge a strategy or concept as being right or wrong based on your current knowledge, consider just thinking in terms of “ what works and what doesn’t work”

>>> Get excited! You are about to learn things that can change your life and

help you get paid at higher levels once you put these concepts and strategies into action on a daily basis

>>> Make a commitment to yourself to put your newly found knowledge into

practice just as soon as you can Do you remember that old expression, “Use

it or lose it”?

>>> Do yourself a favor; reread this ebook often This will help to

permanently drive the points deep into your subconscious where they will serve you as productive habits

While I initially developed my material, it was primarily to train and coach salespeople who work either on commission, partly on commission or who strive for production bonuses However, there are so many concepts, tools and strategies that will also be of tremendous help to those working for hourly wages in retail settings or in service sectors, even restaurant servers who are looking to be the best they can be and get promoted in their chosen field In fact, I believe some of the life skill concepts shared here and in Selling at Mastery will be of significant benefit to most people who read them OK, let’s get started

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Chapter 1

Defining a Master Professional Salesperson

The need for really good and very affordable sales training is enormous in the selling field today.” Why did I make that statement? I had too, because the proof is all around us It is the reason I have chosen to write the “Selling at Mastery” material The selling profession is badly broken right now

Business, salespeople and consumers are all paying the price for this

Hopefully, I can help the salespeople and sales managers work at a much more professional level If these concepts and tools make any difference for them, everyone, including the customers will win in a big way

Generally, the overall perception of salespeople in today’s marketplace is

actually a nasty extremely one Don’t you agree? We, as salespeople, are

rated by society, as a profession at the bottom of the heap We rank right there with corrupt politicians, lawyers, crooked auto mechanics and members

of the so called oldest profession You know who I mean

Now, if you really think about it, selling is the world’s oldest profession Just

be aware that the products or services which salespeople offer vary

considerably If you are now a salesperson, you know the reputation I’m talking about, don’t you? If you are considering selling as a career choice, that nasty reputation probably scares you a bit, or maybe even a lot

Here is good news however You can actually turn that horrible reputation of the average salespeople in the marketplace into an awesome advantage for yourself You will totally understand this concept in just a minute Another of

my ebooks, “Selling at Mastery”, is just loaded with all the tools necessary to make that happen

The fact is, the marketplace didn’t just lay this bad rap on salespeople for the heck of it The joke writers for Letterman and Leno aren’t out to get us

Government and industry regulators don’t write laws against certain sales practices just to pass the time or justify their existence No, it is because many people in the selling industry have seemingly painstakingly built this bad reputation over the years In my opinion, those people, both the salespeople and their managers, truly deserve every insult that is hurled in their direction

I will guarantee you this We all have had encounters with sales people who

were underhanded, rude, liars, incompetent, uncaring, etcetera and etcetera again Hey, sometimes you will find all of these traits in just one individual But in spite of these flaws, some consumers actually buy things from these people and the salesperson stereotype continues to grow That’s the bad news I don’t like bad news

So let's look at the good news Actually it’s not just good, it’s really great news! Not all our personal experiences with sales people have been bad In fact, some have been a downright pleasure, haven’t they?

I’d like you to carefully think about those buying experience for a moment Perhaps one of those great experiences was created by a salesperson who helped you buy your vehicle or your home Or, perhaps you were really

helped by a salesperson who matched you up with the perfect television or computer Maybe someone helped you plan your perfect vacation or created

a nice dining experience If they did a masterful job, chances are that you never looked at them as a stereotypical salesperson, did you?

My point is simply this, in spite of all the bad salespeople out there, there are plenty of average ones and there are some truly masterful ones So, if you choose to sell for a living, you can also choose where you will fit in to the industry You can be the masterful salesperson,or you can settle for just being the average Or, you might even decide to be the nasty stereotypical salesperson It is absolutely a matter of personal choice

Here is a critical marketplace fact When a consumer encounters a bad

salesperson, he or she might buy one time, but then they will generally shun

that salesperson and the organization the salesperson works for in the future This is because he customer sees the salesperson and the organization as being one and the same.

The flip side is, when consumers find a great salesperson, they will buy and

they will generally buy again and again from the salesperson and the

organization that the salesperson works for Because, they too are seen as being one and the same! Isn't that true?

You know it is true, because as a consumer, you behave exactly in this

manner We all do We all have our favorite places to do business and we

choose to go back over and over again The underlining reason is that the person or people that we deal with there have created a great feeling in our minds They have created the right experience Burn that truth into your memory right now, it is critical to your success I’ll even repeat it

We all have our favorite places to do business and we choose to go back over and over again The underlining reason is that the person or people that we deal with there have created a great feeling in our minds They have created the right experience

So, now let’s look at the definition of a master professional salesperson

Simply stated, the word professional is used to define someone who is paid to

do what they do The sports world makes great distinction between amateur and professional

However, using that basic definition would bestow professional status on every loser salesperson that you have ever met That is clearly not going to work for my definition of a master professional salesperson My trusty

thesaurus expands the definition of professional to include adjectives such as, expert, specialized, qualified, proficient, skilled, trained and accomplished Those traits certainly separate the masters from the average and the nasty,

don't they?

Since we all know that a salesperson is a seller of goods, services or ideas,

my definition of master professional salesperson therefore becomes, “A very well paid, trained and qualified expert who is proficient and skilled in the helping people acquire goods, services and ideas which meet the

customer's needs wants, all while functioning at the highest level of personal integrity.”

Does one automatically become “master professional” because that person has graduated as a doctor, dentist or lawyer? I don't think so In the same way, calling yourself a professional salesperson does not make you a

professional salesperson

A master professional is someone who is committed to being the best he or she can be A master professional takes the time to obtain the education, training and expertise necessary to do the job in an outstanding way An average performer or an amateur doesn’t invest in him or herself and is

doomed to be frustrated with their performance and their paychecks A

master in any profession is vastly different when compared to the average and less than average members of their group

A master professional constantly continues to learn his or her trade I know a lot of salespeople who’ve been drifting around in the selling business for 20 plus years, usually from job to job Sales managers have a term for these folks, They are referred to as “Rounders” because they just seem to go

around and around You might even know some of these people yourself These salespeople will tell you that they have over twenty years of

experience, but do they really? Have they continued to learn, improve their skills or challenge themselves? Probably not They only do the minimum to get by and quite frankly, some don’t even do that

The salesperson who has been selling for twenty years but never really

improved or learned any new skills might just have six month’s worth of

experience that has gone around and around forty times My job here is to add concepts and tools to help you as you become a true master professional salesperson

I think there are two main reasons why selling has such a nasty image in the public eye The first is the fact that virtually anyone can call him or herself a salesperson, regardless of qualifications and the second is the totally

underhanded methods that some salespeople choose to use

First let’s look at the fact that anyone can be called a salesperson Let’s

consider this:

>>> Doctors need to get trained and pass exams to be called a Doctor.

>>> Dentists need to get trained and pass exams to be called a Dentist.

>>> Engineers need to get trained and pass exams to be called an Engineer.

>>> Accountants need to get trained and pass exams to be called an

Accountant

>>> Airline pilots need to get trained and pass exams to be called an Pilot.

You get my point, don’t you? Sadly, there is no such mandated requirement

to enter the sales field But wait, it gets worse In all those other professions there is also the requirement for ongoing training in order to maintain their credentials

Now before anyone gets excited and all distracted by pointing out that certain selling niches do have certification and ongoing professional development requirement, such as real estate, securities, and insurance, etc the vast majority of selling positions do not In fact, most mandatory licences and training cover regulations, not sales and selling relationship skills

The governing bodies for doctors, accountants, engineers and most of the other professions will pull the credentials of those who don’t continue to invest

in their education and personal growth

But, it’s not like that in most areas of sales field, is it? There isn’t a mandated requirement to continue learning the skills of the trade As a result, many salespeople just show up to and try to wing it Then, they and their managers are left wondering why they are achieving far less than stellar results

Can you imagine what would happen in the marketplace if all salespeople applied the same effort and time into professional development as members

of other professions do The results would be incredible Unfortunately, right now, those salespeople who actively practice ongoing professional

development, represent a very small percentage of the total number of people

in the sales field

Those who do work on improving their skills do enjoy successes far and above those who chose not to try to better themselves This fact gives you a great advantage in the industry because, if you are committed to professional development, followed by putting what you learn into action, you will propel yourself to the top of the profession

I often smile, just a little, when people tell me that they are hesitant to sell for

a living Why are they hesitant? They think there is no security in selling,

especially in commissioned selling That is quite funny actually I ask you, is

there really much more security anywhere else?

The fact is that you really have much more security as a master salesperson than you do in most other career choices This is because, if you are highly skilled and are dedicated, if you possess unwavering integrity, you will be in high demand and could choose to sell virtually anything, anywhere, provided you acquire the proper product knowledge Master sales professionals are capable of selling any product, any service or any idea as long as they are passionate and believe in what they are being asked to sell

Beyond the poor training, the second reason the profession takes such a bad rap is the underhanded behavior of so many salespeople By that I mean, they have the characteristic that so many consumers despise in the

marketplace today

You might be asking, “Where does this bad behavior come from?” In a small

number of cases it may stem from a basic dishonest nature on the part of the salesperson But I believe that the majority of bad behavior comes from two distinct sources The first source is the lack of proper training which leads to salespeople just winging it in the approach they use when interacting with their customers Additionally, there is the fear of not earning enough money

on the part of the salesperson This fear often leads to some underhanded and desperate behavior in order to make the sale happen

You should understand that the famous 80/20 rule definitely applies in the selling field This means approximately twenty percent of the salespeople earn almost eighty percent of the overall money earned Of course the

corollary of that statement is that means eighty percent of the salespeople are left scrambling for the other twenty percent which generates some pretty

disgusting behavior from many of those salespeople We see it every day in

the marketplace, don’t we?

Studies show that salespeople who are in the top twenty percent in their field consistently earn five to twenty times more than those who are in the bottom twenty percent This means that money is no longer the biggest worry in their lives As a result, they do not need to resort to underhanded behaviour in order to close a sale

Now, as you can see, you can take full advantage of the poor reputation of the industry by choosing to rise above the common stereotype by learning to sell

at mastery One of the main supporting pillars of an exceedingly prosperous selling career is proper ongoing training

Back in the last century, Anatole France, winner of a Noble prize in literature once said “An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory or even how much you know It’s being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don’t”

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

And to that I would add, “If you think education and training is expensive or time consuming, just take a moment to consider the cost of ignorance

In chapter 2, I will explore what the role of a master professional salesperson

is and what it isn’t I think you will find it very interesting It might even

surprise you

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Chapter 2

What the Role of a Master Professional Salesperson is

and What the Role is Not.

I mentioned above, that you might be surprised with what I would share here Well, let’s see if you actually are?

Let me ask you this very simple question to consider In your opinion, what

do you think the primary job of a master professional salesperson is, given the information you now possess?

Now, I would like you to take a minute and write your answer on your notepad before you proceed read any further Your answer will ultimately be important

to you because it will serve as your benchmark as you move forward on your journey towards selling at mastery, if that is your career goal Remember and understand this particular concept Whatever answer you write down will be a reflection of the information you have gathered to this point in your life and career

Stated another way, it will be the result of your conditioning, either the

conditioning you’ve done to yourself or the conditioning applied to you by others but still accepted by yourself Get used to my discussions of the

concept of conditioning You will see it mentioned a good deal in my writings.Have you finished writing your answer? If you have, then we can carry on

A few years back, I conducted a little non scientific survey to help me

determine what people thought the job of a master salespeople actually

consisted of I asked both salespeople and customers just what they

believed I probably interviewed about fifty people altogether consisting of ten salespeople and about forty customers I certainly will concede that this was not a huge sampling as far as surveys go, but overall the results I received were surprisingly consistent

Among the salespeople I interviewed, eight simply said their job was to sell lots of stuff for the company The other two thought about the question in a totally different manner They said, essentially, their job was to help their customers select the proper product by giving them the appropriate

information in order to aid them in making an informed, positive buying

decision

On real reflection, virtually without exception, the customers who were

interviewed told me they believed that salespeople should simply provide the information the customer needs to make the buying decision and then some also added that they wanted the salesperson to help the customer justify why they should buy the product, service or proposal

When I asked them if that was what they had come to expect when dealing with salespeople, the majority told me that they felt most salespeople they had interacted with simply wanted to make a sale as quickly as possible That is very interesting, isn’t it?

Now, I invite you to go back and read what it was that you wrote down as your definition of a master professional salesperson How does it compare to my survey results?

Let me ask you now, of the ten salespeople who I surveyed, who do you think were the highest money earners, the two or the group of eight? I suspect that you didn’t have to think long about that one, did you? The results weren’t even close The two each earned as much as any four of the others

combined But that wasn’t the most interesting part One of these top

earners was a master professional with fifteen years selling experience The other was a total rookie with less than a year under her belt but she was master professional none the less

That little survey really excited me because it reinforced once again, a fact which I already knew Success, for a person who is new to selling, doesn’t need to be viewed as being years away It can develop very quickly indeed

I would strongly suggest that your personal definition of the job description of

a master salesperson should be aligned with the two individuals not the with the group of eight Clearly, the two very successful salespeople had their views totally aligned with their customers’ views and that choice is getting

them very well paid And quite frankly, “Getting Paid is Good!!”, isn’t it?

Now I’d like to throw in my thought of what the number one job of a master professional salesperson is It’s pretty darn simple “GET PAID!!” Wow, can

you hear me now? Yes, I said “get paid”, because absolutely everything you

do as a master professional salesperson should be to that end Don’t you agree? That statement is not at all at odds with what either those top two salespeople said, nor is it at odds with what the various customers said

Now, with that comment made, I need you to carefully understand a very serious caveat to that statement This is critically important to your selling career success Some salespeople think that this means using whatever scams or tricks they can come up with to make the sale in order to fulfill their need to get paid In other words, the sale at all costs The end justifies the means Nothing could be further from the truth True master professionals know that it actually means doing everything in alignment with the customer’s needs, feelings and thought processes.

This belief system is what gets them paid more and much more often It is also the belief system that allows them to look in the mirror each day and not hate the person looking back at them It is the belief system that doesn't lead

to practices which ultimately destroys their career, gets them sued or gets them thrown into jail

In other words, selling at mastery is never about your needs It must always

be about the customer’s needs Understand this reality Ultimately, it is the

customer who always pays you, isn’t it? The more you fill the customers’

needs, the more your customers will fill your need to get paid! And as you know, “Getting Paid is Good!!”

I would be seriously amiss if I didn't elaborate on the concept that “it is always the customer who pays you”

There is a new phrase being thrown about in the United States and in Canada

by some politicians and some corporate leaders, which I believe tells only one side of the story and therefore is somewhat misleading That phrase is “the job creators”

As it is commonly utilized, it implies that the people who possess lots of

money are the only ones who create can jobs This is very misleading and a distortion of economic reality It is not a real truth It is an only an opinion I happen to hold different one One that doesn't foster an 'us' against 'them' mentality I will offer up my point of view on who the job creators really are.Having money and having the willingness to put that money into the economy

is a requirement of the job creating process Individual people, companies and governments with access to money can provide the “mechanism” that provides jobs They can build factories, retail outlets, restaurants, vacation resorts or infrastructure projects The list goes on

Governments investment provides funding for road building, research and defence projects, and social support projects This creates jobs in an

economy without the actual need for consumer spending These jobs are real taxpaying jobs There is a massive difference between investing in the future and simply spending money for the sake of spending money

Entrepreneurs, both individuals and companies, put up their risk capital and hope for a return on their investment from the marketplace It is a risky

speculative process The process of beginning a business creates some jobs and if the marketplace responds by buying the goods and services offered, often more jobs will follow

The key component to the effectiveness of this type of job creation is the consumer Remember what I wrote above, “Having money and the having the willingness to put that money into the economy is a requirement of the job creating process”.

So, who do I consider the real job creators in a capitalist based economy? I believe it is average consumers who have a measure of, what is referred to

as, disposable income These people can choose to spend that money in the marketplace which then creates the demand for companies to increase supply

in order to meet that demand And that activity will definitely create jobs However, remember this important fact, beyond the business start up, nothing will happen to create more jobs until something is sold

Without the customer making a purchase in your place of business, the

company will not earn the money necessary to cut you a check on payday The customer is the one who pays you by transferring some of their money to you The company only looks after that money until it is paid to you

I strongly disagree with the term disposable income, by the way, It is actually money that is surplus to necessary living expenses which can be directed to 'wants' instead of basic 'needs' 'Disposable' denotes throwaway Only a fool chooses to throw money away If you dispose of money, consider that you might require an attitude adjustment Failing that, you can send it to me I promise to send a thank you note for all cash over a hundred dollars

One of the main reason the economies of the world are struggling to get back after the 2008 recession is that so many consumers no longer have the

surplus cash or credit they once did Energy costs have risen and wages have not Food costs have risen and wages have not Some wages have dropped or disappeared altogether because of outsourcing Housing values dropped and people who had borrowed against the higher values have paid the price

Another reason is that everyone who has or had surplus money before, now has a massive amount of stuff Just look at the storage lockers that are

packed with stuff in every community Cars are parked in driveways

everywhere because garages are packed to the ceiling with unused stuff People are inheriting stuff every day that they don't need and can't use Stuff, stuff and more stuff

This economic situation has created a unique opportunity for master

professional salespeople Customers with access to money or solid credit are waking up en mass and becoming much more demanding, more selective on who they spend their hard earned money with and what they spend it on Since it will be far more challenging to make a sale, the most competent sales masters will have almost an unfair advantage on their competitors My task here is to begin to provide you with that advantage

Before we go further, I’ve got to tell you something If you are looking for sales “tricks” or “sleazy tactics” to beat up your customers with, you’ve come

to the wrong place You won’t find any of that here, nor will you find it in any

of my other ebooks Master professionals don’t need or use those tactics They never put their reputation at risk to make a sale They never have to put

their self esteem on the line They never compromise their integrity to get paid It's all about personal choice.

If you need strategies, concepts and the professional tools of the trade to build or expand your selling career, you clearly can’t afford not to pick up this powerful and empowering knowledge

The title of this chapter is, “What the role of a professional salesperson is and what the role is not.” so let’s first examine what the role is not

>>> It’s not trying to sell a product or service to someone who doesn’t need or want it This would seriously undermine your credibility and will

actually divert your time and attention away from the prospects who definitely

do want and need your products or services and who will purchase them ultimately getting you paid

>>> It’s not using blatant high pressure tactics Blatant high pressure

tactics build fear and resentment in the customer’s mind They will showcase you as a stereotypical salesperson The more you appear like the

salesperson stereotype, the higher the customer’s resistance level will be toward you That makes good sense, doesn’t it? Sometimes I think a nice cute little dog with a note around its neck would have more selling success than some poorly trained high pressure salespeople have

>>> It’s not about lying I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why anyone who

sells for a living would lie to make a sale I don’t understand why anyone who has unlimited earning potential would risk having their reputation destroyed for one sale when there are so many potential sales out there I just can’t figure it out, can you?

>>> It’s not about being a fast talker Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah This is

probably the number one stereotypical trait of salespeople today and may be the one trait that keeps a lot of potentially very good salespeople out of the industry It has convinced a lot of people that they won’t be successful

salespeople because they’re not motor mouths Nothing could be farther from the truth

>>> It’s not being a “know it all” Having the attitude that you know it all

can’t help but put you in a position where you will be condescending toward

your customers That’s not an very endearing quality is it?

>>> It’s not about putting your needs before the customers’ needs, but that doesn’t mean being a door mat either Professionals always put the

customer’s needs before their own because that’s what gets them paid

However, that doesn’t mean being submissive There is a lot more detail on this in my ebook,“Selling at Mastery”

>>> It’s not about being a show off or the center of attention Being

entertaining can certainly be an integral part of the selling process, but always keep in mind that it is not an end onto itself It is only a tool to move you to the sale, not something to get you nominated for an Oscar

>>> It’s not about pumping up your ego Resolve to put aside your ego

when you’re selling, just work to pump up your bank account That will be far

better for your ego in the long run Doesn’t that seem like a better idea to you?

>>> It’s not about winning sales contests or sales awards The contest

wins and the sales awards will come naturally as a result of your being a master professional Focusing on the contests and the rewards diverts your attention from your customers’ needs to your own needs This is not a good thing! Stay laser focused on your customer and you will win more contests and awards than your trophy case can handle

By now you might actually be thinking, “Hey, but some of this stuff actually works sometimes” Yes, that’s true Sometimes, some of it will actually work

to close a sale However, these tactics will not work with the same success

ratios that you will experience by performing the job in the master professional way Plus, as an added bonus, you never find yourself stereotyped as the

“typical salesperson” Won’t that be nice?

With the negatives out of the way, let’s take a look at what the role of a master professional salesperson actually is

>>> It’s about being a “Selection Specialist” who helps your customers find the right product or service which will fill their needs and wants

This will help them buy easily, without the application of pressure and will serve to get you paid

>>> Often, it is helping your customers justify their positive buying decisions Everyone wants to feel that their decisions are correct, don’t

they?

>>> It’s about always being truthful No one likes a liar, not even the liar

Nothing will destroy a sales career more quickly and more completely than being branded a liar by either your customers, your peers or by your

managers

>>> It’s about building a positive relationship with your customer

People buy repeatedly from people they like and trust Just look at your own personal buying patterns Do you do business with people you actually like and can relate to or will you drive across town to deal with that lying piece of garbage that ripped you off on your last visit? That is hardly a tough call, is it?

>>> It’s about being a great listener This is a vitally important concept that

you should use at all times If you ask questions and listen intently, your customers will tell you absolutely everything you have to know to close the sale You will get to really know your customer and their needs And, your customer will be able to see that you are really serving them

>>> It’s about knowing your product but being humble about it It is

critical to become an expert in understanding your products or services This will prevent you from giving out inaccurate information It will also prevent you from being perceived as, at best, totally incompetent or at worst, a deliberate liar However, showing vulnerability now and again by checking on facts you’re not a hundred percent sure of before answering a customer's question

or making a product statement doesn’t hurt either

>>> It’s about always putting your customers’ needs ahead of your own

This is certainly a big rule Maybe, it could even be the biggest rule If you follow this without exception, you will avoid most, if not all, of the landmines that can blow up sales The customer may not always be right but the

customer always is boss and the customer always is the one to pay you So

in the words of Kenny Rogers, “Never count your money when you’re sitting at the table There’ll be time enough for counting when the dealing’s done.”

>>> It’s about always keeping your word This really is a form of not lying,

isn’t it? For goodness sake, if you tell somebody you are going to do

something, do it It’s one of the greatest tools to build trust Always keep your word

>>> It’s about being receptive about getting paid This seems obvious,

doesn’t it? You have no idea how many people want, wish and grovel to get paid and then aren’t at all receptive You’ll see what I mean in chapter three

In “Selling at Mastery”, I expand considerably on building positive actions and avoiding the many pitfalls within the selling arena for the master professional salesperson.,

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Chapter 3

Who puts up the most obstacles to the sale?

Wow, that’s a no brainer, isn’t it? It’s got to be those darn pesky customers, doesn’t it? Wrong! Wrong! And wrong some more! In fact that couldn’t be further from the truth

Within “Selling at Mastery” I disclose and explain this marketplace reality Only five things must be in place for an sale on a major item to take place Yes, only five simple things There are no exceptions to this rule It is also a marketplace reality that the vast majority of customers who enter the

marketplace in search of a product or service ultimately do make a purchase within a relatively short period of time

Now, here is a very interesting point Most of the time, the customer will deal with several different salespeople before that purchase is made Are they shopping around? Yes, but not primarily for the lowest price Most customers shop around for the right product or service but also for a salesperson they trust, and certainly someone they like, before they will spend their hard

trained or amateur salesperson messes up, the customer is sent off by that salesperson to shop, not for a better deal, but for a more professional

salesperson Without a doubt, this happens over and over again every single day

So there you have it It is certainly the salespeople who put up most of the obstacles to doing business Sure, customer’s ask questions and offer up some objections, ask some hard nosed questions and even make up some excuses, but those are things that a master professional has learned to

handle and use to get closer to the sale

Yes sadly, it truly is undertrained salespeople who put up most of the

obstacles This marketplace condition can give you a real leg up on your competition because once you learn to identify and know where the

landmines are buried you can avoid stepping on them and eliminate the need for the customer to shop around for another salesperson That will get you

paid and you know,Getting Paid is Good!!”.

Now knowing the fact that most salespeople are undertrained, it begs this important question, “Why are all these salespeople out there totally content with just being average or maybe worse?”

There are a number of reasons, some I’ll share here while others are revealed and developed more fully in my much more extensive ebook, “Selling at

Mastery”

Let’s start by looking at a couple of these reasons, right here

These salespeople don’t have a conscience awareness of what they are doing because they are unconsciously conditioned I’ll share this with

you here and now Until you become personally aware that you are missing the mark in any area of your life or in your career, you will not be motivated to change your behavior, will you?

People continue their behavioral patterns either because those patterns serve

a personal need at some level or because the person has been conditioned to believe that the results of their particular behaviors or actions are acceptable and working Think of the things you do automatically everyday and you will quickly understand what I mean Let’s examine some simple examples

You might start your day by having breakfast or by having a glass of orange juice because it makes you feel energized as you head out the door or you start your day by having breakfast or by having a glass of orange juice

because that’s what your Mom conditioned you to do as you were growing up You greet new customers with a smile on your face because it generally results in getting a smile back and you like it when people are happy around you or you greet new customers with a smile on your face because your boss told you to do it or he’d fire your sorry butt if you didn’t Part two in each

example is outside conditioning Part one is internal, personal choice

Maybe you have been conditioned by society’s norms or by the norms of the industry that you’re in By that I simply mean, you have bought in to the

limitations that others want to put onto your life Never let anyone put

limitations on your life, including yourself