Are You Still Closing Sales?

📅 30th July 2020 | 2020/21 Sales Book Reviews Mindset

Any motivational selling book which excoriates sales enablement tools, ‘social selling’ (it’s all there in Chapter 17) and the worn out phrase ‘closing the sale’ is always going to stir my interest. A Mind For Sales doesn’t disappoint. Read on.

The Good

Many salespeople of a certain age will relate to Mark’s story about his early company cars. ‘A Mind For Sales‘ is worth buying for that alone! For the record, my first three company cars were seen (at least once a year) in the South of France, Italy, Belgium and beyond – and I had plenty of spending money too! And then something happens. Reality. Mark Hunter takes us on a journey from humble salesman to respected sales guru. He gurus all over the world. How did this happen? Well it wasn’t luck. As the book explains and repeats, sales and selling is not a job. “Uh”, you might ask. It’s a way of life, not a hobby or something you do until something better comes along but a way of life that demands strict planning, discipline and total self-belief.

I’d recommend this book to anyone starting in sales as I believe it’s a modern-day version of Dale Carnegie’s “How To Win Friends And Influence People”. A sort of ‘bible’ or instruction book in how to be successful. The main schtick about Mark’s book is to make Mondays the day when things happen. But as Mark points out, Mondays begin on Sundays. As the old adage goes “Plan Your Work And Work Your Plan”

To aid the reader, there’s a whole panoply of instructions and ideas on how to excel. For example, ask yourself this question at the beginning of each working morning: ‘who will I impact today?’ Be a difference-maker, as Mark points out.

Being on top of your game requires extensive, business, sales and to a degree financial knowledge. Mark mentions that Warren Buffett advocates reading 500 pages a day. How many of you do that? Perhaps now is a good time to start.

Other “Good” take-aways:

Increase your CFT. (Customer Face Time)

Don’t make excuses for poor or average performance. The solution lies in a modification of your own behaviour.

Do you have a strong network of trusted and integrity-centred colleagues who hold you properly to account?

The Bad

‘Closing the sale’ may have been a popular term in the last century but it implies that your relationship with a customer has finished. Nowadays though, selling is more co-operative, collaborative and enables you to sell incrementally over a period of years. A point which is drummed into the reader throughout the book. Like Mark, I loathe the term ‘close’ as it reminds one of slippery second-hand car salesmen bedecked in camel coats and smoking cigars – even in the summer months! There are of course, sales teams across the planet who only sell to new prospects and not existing users or accounts. The sales strategy therefore needs to be different*.

This brings me on to ‘no’ – salespeople hear this thousands of times in their careers. Mark explains that there are two underlying reasons. 1. You haven’t convinced the prospective customer of the value of your product or service. Or, 2. they haven’t got the time or inclination to listen to you. You’re simply not a priority. In my view, both are sound and yet come from the same root – the Status Quo Bias of which there is no mention in the entire book. Much though depends at what point in the sales cycle the ‘no’ is stated. This book will teach you that by some hard-nosed questioning of your customer you may uncover the real issue for scuppering the sale.

Other “Bad” stuff:

Don’t overdo time spent on social media. (Avoid it completely on Mondays)

Don’t confuse selling with customer service.

Don’t be a loner. Sales is a team sport. Involve your marketing people.

The Ugly

Mark’s 10-STEP plan for self-management ought to be mandatory for anyone in sales. It’s a superb guide for you to break patterns of behaviour which are holding you back from smashing through that sales glass ceiling. There’s nothing high-brow or difficult about the advice given. Just simple steps for you to follow. So I’d implore you to get a copy of his book and start implementing his ideas. It won’t be easy at first. But do try.

Other “Ugly” stuff:

Make CRM systems work for you.

Be passionate about sales

Learn about Artificial Intelligence

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* With existing customers you need to maintain the Status Quo Bias (in this instance to retain your products and services)

I do love our American friends. It’s just that sometime I don’t understand what they mean. “Oftentimes” “Quarterback” “Faucet” and “Spreadsheet Jockey”

Later this year, I will be reviewing Mark’s other titles, High-Profit Prospecting and High-Profit Selling.

Tags: behaviours, sales