Episode #55 Back To Basics Baby

We get lazy. We start cutting corners. We get off our game. We chill, cruise and take the foot off the pedal. Sales is demanding and a life of constant pressure. The temptation is when we get to a certain level of success we think well, we have done enough. We can justify that coffee break, that longer lunch, coming in late after the first mid-morning appointment and heading home early after the last early afternoon appointment. This is not how the pro thinks. We want have it scheduled in our diary to get big and get back to basics.

That means getting our hustle on, getting our motivation going, setting out sights higher. We have to have a showdown with “average is good enough” self talk. We need to make sure we are doing the basics like a demon on fire. Accept there is a rhythm danger to our sales work. We have to become regularly irregular. That means we have to be looking for every chance to break out of a rhythm. We need to be sparky, itchy, irritated with constancy.

The pipeline tells no lies. It is either looking good or it is looking bad. That pipeline will determine the amount of business we can do in any given quarter and in any year. We need good basics in play to stuff that pipeline full of qualified clients. I love the sales expression “whose got my money”. It means, who is my ideal buyer, who is ready to buy right now? I should be sifting, hunting and corralling those buyers who have my money. I should be shelving those who don’t, because time is the main currency of a sales life. How you spend it makes all the difference between major success and mediocre.

There are basics in sales we quickly try to short circuit. We are fooling ourselves. We need to have time allocation every day for prospecting. In the process of doing that, we should be polishing our pitch until it is tight and has a massive hook attached to it. Ums and ahs don’t have any place in our explanation of who we are, what we do and why we are calling you. Getting to the decision-maker in Japan is nasty. Everyone you speak with is over qualified to say “no” and few can say “I will transfer you through”. We have to be well schooled in cold calling techniques to be successful in sales in Japan and most salespeople here in this regard are sad, sad, sad.

We need to be parsimonious with the words to explain all of that. We need to be eloquent with the explanation of the hook, as to why the person answering the phone should bother to connect us with the line manager we wish to speak with.

Every industry needs a specific hook, based on the pain points of that business. The pitch is canned and not canned at the same time. It has some common elements which are the best composed explanation of who we are, etc. The why you should care part, needs to be specific to that industry, the sector, the market, the firm in question at this point in time. In training, it needs to be said out loud over and over again, before it is unleashed on the client. It has to come out like honey dripping from the corners of your mouth, it is so smooth.

This same crisp summation of wonder is what we trot out at networking events. When people are making their first kinesthetic contact with your meishi or business card and trying to fathom what it is you do, you helpfully jump in and concisely explain how you are saving mankind. If they have got your money, you will set up an appointment to meet right there and then. If they don’t, and don’t seem to know anyone who has your money, then you politely disengage and go back to the hunt for a an actual buyer.

We need to treat every lead coming in from our website, be it from an SEO enquiry or a paid click though from our ads like it was on fire. If we don’t get in touch with that potential buyer right now, the lead will combust further and become a burnt, unrecognisable cinder. Soon it will be too cold and too feeble to sustain the follow up call required. Maybe the system at the office has to be rearranged, to improve the response time down to 5 minutes or less, but it needs to be done. Those leads go cold so quickly, it is scary. Someone has to speak to that client at that moment. A salesperson would be best but at least get someone talking with them to make contact and get some basic information.

We have to fight complacency. The enemy of great is good. So no being satisfied with good is allowed! Don’t forget our sale’s pro basics need constant work, permanent polishing, endless eagerness. Like that Rick Ross rap song, our sale’s mantra has to be, “Everyday I’m hustlin, everyday I’m hustlin”. That is what we have to do to be successful!

Engaged employees are self-motivated. The self-motivated are inspired. Inspired staff grow your business but are you inspiring them? We teach leaders and organisations how to inspire their people. Want to know how we do that? Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com

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About The Author

Dr. Greg Story: President, Dale Carnegie Training Japan

In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making and become a 30 year veteran of Japan.

A committed lifelong learner, through his published articles in the American, British and European Chamber journals, his videos and podcasts “THE Leadership Japan Series”, "THE Sales Japan series", THE Presentations Japan Series", he is a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. Dr. Story is a popular keynote speaker, executive coach and trainer.

Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.