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My summary of: Building a StoryBrand – written by Donald Miller

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My summary of: Building a StoryBrand – written by Donald Miller

The past couple of weeks I have been reading Building a StoryBrand. It’s been an enormously interesting and super applicable book. A friend of mine suggested this book, and it couldn’t have come by at any better moment then now. During the development of our company these tips and strategies came in very handy. I have learned a lot and can’t wait to apply all the tools of this model to our company. This is a must-read book! If you can’t wait or only want to know the golden nuggets, here’s my summary:

Introduction

Your customers should be the hero of the story, not your brand. Businesses that invite their customers into a heroic story grow. Businesses that don’t are forgotten. May we all be richly rewarded for putting our customers’ stories above our own.

Section 1: Why most marketing is a money pit

1 The key to being seen, heard, and understood 

Pretty websites don’t sell things. Words sell things. And if we haven’t clarified our message, our customers won’t listen.

First you need to get your message straight. Therefore, you can use a “communication framework” that is based on story telling. We are in a race to communicate why our customers need our products in their lives.

  • What’s your message?
  • Can you say it easily?
  • Is it simple, relevant, and repeatable?
  • Can your entire team repeat your company’s message in such a way that it is compelling?
  • Have new hires been given talking points they can use to describe what the company offers and why every potential customer should buy it?
  • How many sales are we missing out on because customers can’t figure out what our offer is within five seconds of visiting our website?

The simpler and more predictable the communication, the easier for the brain to digest. Story helps because it’s a sense-making mechanism.

Maslov’s pyramid of needs teaches us that customers don’t care about “why we have the biggest factory in Europe”, because that information isn’t helping them to eat, drink, find a mate, fall in love, build a tribe, experience a deeper sense of meaning, or stockpile weapons in case barbarians come and attack.

Brands make 2 critical mistakes when they talk about their products and services:

  1. If we position our products and services as anything but an aid in helping people survive, thrive, be accepted, find love, etc., good luck selling anything to anybody. These are the only things people care about.
  2. The second mistake brands make is they cause their customers to burn too many calories in an effort to understand their offer. When we start our elevator pitch, or when somebody visits our website, they’re burning calories to process the information we’re sharing. And if we don’t say something real quickly they can use to survive, they will tune us out.

The key is to make your company’s message about something that helps the customer survive and to do so in such a way that they can understand it without burning too many calories.

Story formulas reveal a well-worn path in the human brain, and if we want to stay in business, we need to position our products along this path.

The narrative coming out of a company must be clear. If we haven’t identified what our customer wants, what problem we are helping them to solve, and what life will look like after they engage our products and services, we can forget about thriving in the marketplace.

The biggest enemy is noise. We need to make our messages way simpler and get rid of the extra noise. What we think we are saying to our customers and what our customers actually hear are two different things. And customers make buying decisions not based on what we say, but on what they hear.

2 The secret weapon that will grow your business 

Story is the one thing that can hold a human being’s attention for hours. Story is the greatest weapon we have to combat noise, because it organizes information in such a way that people are compelled to listen.

Therefore, we need a filter. The essence of branding is to create simple, relevant messages we can repeat over and over so that we “brand” ourselves into the public consciousness.

Steve Jobs/ Apple example:

  1. Identifying what their customers wanted (to be seen and heard).
  2. Defining their customers’ challenges (that people didn’t recognize their hidden genius).
  3. Offering their customers a tool they could use to express themselves (computers and smartphones).

You need to be Q where the customer is James Bond. You need to be the guy where the hero goes for their tools to win the day.

The 6 steps of every story:

  1. A character
  2. Has a problem
  3. And meets a guide
  4. Who gives them a plan
  5. And calls them to action
  6. That helps them avoid failure
  7. That ends in a success

The three crucial questions:

  1. What does the hero want?
  2. Who or what is opposing the hero getting what she wants?
  3. What will the hero’s life look like is she does (or does not) get what she wants?

If these three questions can’t be answered within the first fifteen to twenty minutes of a film, the story has already descended into noise and will almost certainly fail.

Anything that doesn’t serve the plot, has to go.

A customer needs to be able to answer these three questions within 5 seconds of looking at your content:

  1. What do they offer?
  2. How will it make my life better?
  3. What do I need to do to buy it?

A good messaging filter will remove all the stuff that bores our customers and will bear down on the aspects of our brand that will help them survive and thrive.

3 The simple SB7 framework 

  1. A character. The customer is the hero, not the brand.
  2. Has a problem. Companies tend to sell solutions to external problems, but customers buy solutions to internal problems.
  3. And meets a guide. Customers aren’t looking for another hero. They’re looking for a guide.
  4. Who gives them a plan. Customers trust a guide who has a plan.
  5. And calls them to action. Customers do not take action unless they are challenged to take action.
  6. That helps them avoid failure. Every human being is trying to avoid a tragic ending.
  7. And ends in a success. Never assume people will understand how your brand can change their lives. Tell them.

You put together this framework by using the StoryBrand BrandScript at http://mystorybrand.com. Step by step follow the 7 parts.

Section 2: Building your StoryBrand

4 A character 

As a brand it’s important to define something your customer wants, because as soon as we define something our customer wants, we posit a story question in the mind of the customer: Can this brand really help me get what I want?

When you define something your customer wants, the customer is invited to alter their story in your direction. If they see your brand as a trustworthy and reliable guide, they will likely engage.

Identifying a potential desire for your customer opens a story gap. The opening and closing of a story gap are a magnetic force that drives much of human behavior (hunger – eat a meal). When we don’t open a story gap in our customers’ mind, they have no motivation to engage with us, because there’s no question that demands resolution. Defining something our customer wants and featuring it in our marketing material will open a story gap.

As you create a BrandScript for your overall brand, focus on one simple desire first. At the highest level, the most important challenge for business leaders is to define something simple and relevant their customers want and to become known for delivering on that promise.

Don’t make the mistake of being too vague. What you define needs to be related to the customer’s sense of survival. It needs to be clear why they need it in the first place.

There are a couple examples of these desires:

  • Conserving financial resources
  • Conserving time
  • Building social networks
  • Gaining status
  • Accumulating resources
  • The innate desire to be generous
  • The desire for meaning

We must define a desire our customers have, or we will have failed to open a story gab and our audience will ignore us. The goal for our branding should be that every potential customer knows exactly where we want to take them.

5 Has a problem 

The problem is the hook of a story, and if we don’t identify our customers’ problems, the story we are telling will fall flat. We need to identify our customers’ problems so they will recognize us as a brand that understands them.

Every story needs a villain. If we want our customers’ ears to perk up when we talk about our products and services, we should position those products and services as weapons then can use to defeat a villain. Therefore, you need to vilify your customers’ challenges into a villain.

The four characteristics of a villain:

  1. The villain should be a root source.
  2. The villain should be relatable.
  3. The villain should be singular
  4. The villain should be real.

There are three levels of conflict the villain causes: A villain initiates an external problem that causes the character to experience an internal frustration that is philosophical wrong. 

Brainstorming about the external problem is pretty obvious. Solving the external problem is not the only problem a customer needs to get solved.

Companies tend to sell solutions to external problems, but people buy solutions to internal problems.

In almost every story the hero struggles with the same question: Do I have what it takes? People’s internal desire to resolve a frustration is a greater motivator than their desire to solve an external problem.

The philosophical problem in a story is about something larger than the story itself. It’s about the Why. A philosophical problem can best be talked about using terms like ‘ought’ and ‘shouldn’t’.

People want to be involved in a story that it larger than themselves. Brands that give customers a voice in a larger narrative add value to their products by giving their customers a deeper sense of meaning.

If we really want our company to grow, we should position our product as the resolution to an external, internal, and philosophical problem, and frame the “buy now” button as the action a customer must take to create closure to their story.

6 And meets a guide 

Every life has chapters. The events that define our chapters are often instigated or interpreted by mystical characters that help us along the way, guides.

A brand that positions itself as the hero is destined to lose. Always position your customer as the hero and your brand as the guide. Always. If you don’t, you will die.

Heroes are often ill-equipped and don’t know if they have what it takes. The guide has already been there and done that. The guide, not the hero is the one with the most authority. The guide nevertheless plays only a role. The story must always be about the hero.

The two things a brand must communicate to position themselves as the guide are:

  • Empathy
  • Authority

When we emphasize with our customers’ dilemma, we create a bond of trust. People trust those who understand them, and they trust brands that understand them too. People want to be seen, heard, and understood. This is the essence of empathy.

When I talk about authority, I mean competence. A hero trusts someone who knows what they’re doing. The guide needs to have serious experience helping other heroes win the day.

Add authority to your marketing by showing:

  1. Testimonials
  2. Statistics
  3. Awards
  4. Logos

You make a great first impression by answering two questions.

  • Can I trust this person? – – > Empathy
  • Can I respect this person? – – > Authority

7 Who gives them a plan

Commitments are risky for our customers because as soon as they make a commitment, they can lose something. Most. Customers are not going to take this risk yet.

You need to give them some steppingstones and tell them it’s safe to cross the river and buy from you. Those stones, we call a plan.

All effective plans do one or two things: they either clarify how somebody can do business with us, or they remove the sense of risk somebody might have if they’re considering investing in our products or services.

Even though these steps may seem obvious, they aren’t obvious to our customers. Placing stones in the creek greatly increases the chance they will cross the creek.

There are two types of plans:

  1. A process plan can described as the steps a customer needs to take to buy our product, or the steps the customer needs to take to use our product after they’ve bought it, or a mixture of both. Use between 3-6 steps. The key to success of any process plan is to alleviate confusion for our customers. What steps do they need to take to do business with you?
  2. Agreement plans are about alleviating fear. It’s a list of agreements you make with your customer to help them overcome their fear of doing business with you. An agreement plan can also work to increase the perceived value of promise you promise to provide. Another benefit of an agreement plan is that it can work to clarify shared values between our customers and us.

 

Once you’ve created a plan. Give your plan a title that will increase the perceived value of your product or service.

8 And calls them to action 

Your customers are bombarded with more than three thousand commercial messages per day, and unless we are bold in our calls to action, we will be ignored. If our calls to action are soft, they will not be noticed.

We think customers can read our minds and that it’s obvious we want them to place an order. It’s not. There should be a “Buy Now” button in the top right corner of your website, and it shouldn’t be cluttered with a bunch of other buttons. We have to clearly invite customers to take a journey with us, or they won’t. Most people think they’re overselling when, in truth, their calls to action fall softer than a whisper.

Customers are not looking for brands that are filled with doubt and want affirmations, they are looking for brands that have solutions to their problems. Be bold about inviting them to do business with us.

There are two calls to actions. Direct and Transitional. Transitional can be like a free sample or invite them for a webinar.

There should be one big direct call to action button on your site. Make it big and bold and stand out. Examples: Order now, Call today, Schedule an appointment, Register today, Buy now.

End every communication with a direct call to action.

A good transitional call to action can do three powerful things for your brand.

  1. Stake a claim to your territory
  2. Create reciprocity
  3. Position yourself as the guide

Examples: free information, testimonials, samples, free trial.

Having clear calls to action means customers aren’t confused about the actions they need to take to do business with you.

9 That helps them avoid failure 

Our desire to avoid pain motivates us to seek a resolution to our problems. Brands that don’t warn their customers about what could happen if they don’t buy their products fail to answer the “so what” question every customer is secretly asking. What will the customer lose if they don’t buy our products?

Loss aversion is a greater motivator of buying decisions than potential gains. You can use messages from the fear category in your marketing using a four-step process called a “fear appeal”.

  1. Make the reader know that they are vulnerable to a threat.
  2. Let the reader know that since they’re vulnerable, they should take action to reduce their vulnerability.
  3. Let them know about a specific call to action that protects them from the risk.
  4. Challenge them to take that specific action.

Use this fear like a pinch of salt in the recipe.

10 And ends in a success 

Always remember, people want to be taken somewhere. Without a vision, the people perish. And so do brands. Being specific matters. Nobody gets excited about a muddled vision.

Before and after:

Once you know how your customers’ live will change after they’ve engaged with you, you’ll have plenty of content. Next step is to say it clearly. Whatever it is you sell, show us people happily engaging with the product.

When we resolve our customers’ internal, external, and philosophical problems, we’ve truly created a resolution that will satisfy their story.

The three dominant ways storytellers end a story is by allowing the hero to:

1 Win some sort of power or position. (The need for status)

If our brand can participate in making our customers more esteemed, respected, and appealing in a social context, we’re offering something they want. This is done in many ways:

  • Offer access
  • Create scarcity
  • Offer a premium
  • Offer identity association

2 Be unified with somebody or something that makes them whole. (The need for something external to create completeness)

There are some ways brands can offer external help for customers looking to be complete or whole:

  • Reduced anxiety
  • Reduced workload
  • More time

3 Experience some kind of self-realization that also makes them whole. (The need to reach our potential)

Here are a few ways brands can offer a sense of ultimate self-realization or self-acceptance:

  • Inspiration
  • Acceptance
  • Transcendence

If our product can help achieve all of these above, we should make this a core aspect of our brand promise. What problems are you resolving in your customer’s life and what does that resolution look like? We need to show repeatedly how our product or service can make somebody’s life better. If we don’t tell people where we’re taking them, they won’t follow.

11 People want your brand to participate in their transformation

There’s one single motivator that is the driving force behind nearly every decision we make as a human being. That is the human desire to transform. Everybody wants to change. Everybody wants to be somebody different, somebody better, somebody who simply becomes more self-accepting. Your brand is helping people become a better version of themselves. We need to ask:

  • Who does our customer want to become?
  • What kind of person do they want to be?
  • What is their aspirational identity?

As a brand you need to deliver more than a product. You need to make the customer feel more than what they are.

The best way to identify an aspirational identity that our customers might by attracted to is to consider how they want their friends to talk about them. Once we know who our customers want to be, we will have language to use in our marketing material.

After the climatic heroic scene, the guide comes back to affirm the transformation of the hero. A hero needs somebody else in the story to tell them they are different, they are better. That somebody is you.

Brand that realize their customers are human, filled with emotion, driven to transform, and in need of help, truly do more than sell products, they change people.

Section 3: Implementing your StoryBrand BrandScript

12 Building a better website 

A great digital presence starts with a clear and effective website. When customers get to our website their hopes need to be confirmed.

Keep it simple. Today your website should be the equivalent of an elevator pitch. The customer simply needs to know that you have something they want, and you can be trusted to deliver whatever that is.

There are 5 things your website should include:

1 An offer above the fold.

The stuff above the fold should be short, enticing and exclusively customer centric. One short sentence should explain what you offer and give words to help your business spread: “We will make you a pro in the kitchen”. The idea here is that customers need to know what’s in it for them right when they read the text.

Make sure your images and texts above the fold meet the following criteria:

  • They promise an aspirational identity
  • They promise to solve a problem
  • They state exactly what they do

You need to get straight to the point.

2 Obvious calls to action

We’ll be out of business soon if people don’t click that buy now button. So, don’t hide it.

There are two main places where we want to place a button. The first one is at the top right corner and the second one is in the center, above the fold. Give the buttons a different, lighter color and make it stand out.

3 Images of success

We believe images of smiling, happy people who have had a pleasurable experience by engaging your brand should be featured on your website. Many of us need to display a product, but if we can feature those products in the hands of smiling people, our images might have more power.

4 A bite-sized breakdown of your revenue streams

We may think our business is too diverse to communicate clearly, but it probably isn’t. In most cases we can find an umbrella theme that can unite it all.

5 Very few words

People only scan websites. So, write your texts in Morse code like short punchy and relevant to the customer. The fewer words you use, the more likely people will read them.

13 How StoryBrand can transform a large organization

Every company needs to watch out for a Narrative Void. That is the vacant space that occurs inside an organization when there’s no story to keep everyone aligned. All the white noise is causing people to get less engaged.

Companies who calibrate their activities around a common story don’t just state their mission, they operate on mission.

Without a unifying narrative at the center, there is nothing to inspire your new personnel beyond the status quo. The company doesn’t do anything wrong. But they don’t do anything special either.

Better is when the organization loves their customers and is obsessed with seeing them win the day. The secret is that the people are here to serve the customer they love.

(Reread pages 162 – 165 for the most amazing onboarding ever.)

A thoughtmosphere is an invisible mixture of beliefs and ideas that drives employee behavior and performance. A thoughtmosphere improves when a a StoryBrand inspired narrative is created, talking points are devised, and a plan of execution is put in place to reinforce those talking points, so every stakeholder understands their important role.

The number one job of an executive is to remind the stakeholders what the mission is, over and over. When a company gets on mission, everybody wins.

A true mission isn’t a statement. It’s a way of living and being. A mission is more than token rituals that make momentary reference to the thing that your employees should care about. A mission is a story you reinforce through every department strategy, every operational detail, and every customer experience. That’s what it means to be a company on-mission.

  • An on-mission company turns their team into a sales force
  • An on-mission brand understands the story of their team members a

In a company it’s the same StoryBrand structure. Managers are not the hero, they are the guide, helping the employees win the day.

The StoryBrand marketing roadmap

This is a hassle free getting started guide to implement your BrandScript.

The following five marketing and messaging efforts get the best results:

  1. Create a one-liner
  2. Create a lead generator and collect e-mail addresses
  3. Create an automated e-mail drip campaign
  4. Collect and tell stories of transformation
  5. Create a system that generates referrals

Create a one-liner for your company 

Most business leaders lose the sale the moment they start talking about what they do. Instead, imagine memorizing a single statement you can repeat the moment someone asks what you do. It needs to be relevant to the needs of the customer. It needs to be so powerful it causes people the ask for your business card.

A one-liner is a new and improved way to answer the question “what do you do” it’s more than a slogan or tagline, it’s a single statement that helps people realize why they need your product or service. It needs two things: it will intrigue qualified buyers and incite them to do business with you.

If you use the following four components, you’ll craft a powerful one-liner:

  • The character
  • The problem
  • The plan
  • The success

A one-liner is simply a clear, repeatable statement that allows potential customers to find themselves in the story a company is telling. Keep editing your one-liner until it works.

  1. Memorize your one-liner and repeat it over and over
  2. Have your team memorize the one-liner
  3. Include it on your website
  4. Repeat your one-liner in every piece of marketing collateral possible
  5. Print your one-liner in your business cards
  6. Put your one-liner in your social media bios
  7. Print it on your packaging
  8. Include it in your email signature
  9. Repeat it over and over so that customers will read it and memorize it themselves and start repeating it to their friends.

Create a lead-generator and collect e-mail addresses

E-mail is the most valuable and effective way you can spread the word about your business. No one wants to sign up for your newsletter “to stay in the loop” though. People only want to be in our e-mail list if we give them something more valuable. This something is the lead generator.

Your lead generator must do two things:

  • Provide enormous value for your customer
  • Establish you as an authority in your field

Five types of lead generators for all types of businesses:

  1. Downloadable guides
  2. Online course or webinar
  3. Software demos or a free trial
  4. Free samples
  5. Live events

Create an automated e-mail drip campaign 

There is great power in simply reminding the customer that we exist. Our customers might not need our product today, and might not need it tomorrow, but on the day they do need it, we want to make sure they remember who we are, what we have, and how they can reach us.

An automated e-mail campaign is a prewritten sequence of e-mail messages that trigger once a person is added to your list.

Recommended is a nurturing campaign:

E-mail 1: Nurturing e-mail

E-mail 2: Nurturing e-mail

E-mail 3: Nurturing e-mail

E-mail 4: Sales e-mail with a call to action

  1. Talk about a problem
  2. Explain a plan to solve the problem
  3. Describe how life can look for the reader once the problem is solved
  4. Call the customer to a direct action leading to a sale

Collect and tell stories of transformation

People love businesses that help them transform and one of the best ways we can illustrate how we help our customers transform is through customer testimonials.

Here are the five questions most likely to generate the best response for a customer testimonial:

  1. What was the problem you were having before you discovered our product?
  2. What did the frustration feel like as you tried to solve that problem?
  3. What was different about our product?
  4. Take us to the moment when you realized our product was actually working to solve your problem?
  5. Tell us what life looks like now that your problem is solved or being solved?

The more we feature the transformation journey our customers have experienced, the faster our business will grow.

Create a system that generates referrals

The final step is to invite happy customers to become evangelist for your brand. Now it’s time to implement a system that gets people repeating your message to their friends and family.

  • Identify your existing, ideal customers
  • Give your customers a reason to spread the word
  • Offer a reward

 

 

 

Sell or Be Sold cover

My summary of: Sell or Be Sold – written by Grant Cardone

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My summary of Sell or Be Sold – written by Grant Cardone

 

The past couple of weeks I’ve been reading Sell or Be Sold. What an awesome book. It’s like listening to one of Grant’s speeches, written exactly how he’d say things. The book is full of golden nuggets and practical tips. The summary turned out a bit longer than expected, but there’s just so much of important information in this book!

 

1 Selling – A Way of Life

Selling: “The action of persuading or influencing another to a course of action or to the acceptance of something.

The degree to which you can influence the outcome of events in your life is the determining factor of your success. Those individuals who don’t want to trust their fate to pleading, wishing, praying and hoping must learn to persuade, convince, and negotiate successfully.

Every time you get your way, you’ve just been paid a commission. Selling is about life, and every area of life involves selling. The more consistently you can win at selling, the more commissions you’ll get rewarded in life!

Beware of false data. People tend to form opinions, give advice, and pass on myths when they don’t actually have any personal experience. Much of the data they pass along hasn’t been fully inspected for truth even though it’s been passed on as truth.

 

2 Salespeople Make the World Go Around

The problem is that so-called “real” jobs didn’t appear to pay “real” money. The success in life is utterly dependent on one skill more than any other, and that skill is selling. Every person, no matter what his profession is, relies on selling.

No person will ever gain true power and stature in the world without the ability to persuade others. The ability to communicate and convince others is an asset for you. No matter what your ambitions are, you are required to communicate with others, and the better you can communicate, the more people will agree with you. The more you get others to agree with you, the more you can have your way in life. The more you get your way in life, the more you will enjoy life.

 

3 Professional or Amateur?

Even if selling is not your career, you should be a professional seller to get more out of life. Quit thinking that it’s up to fate or the gods. It’s up to you. You will have to shift your thinking to understand that your very life and every dream you have ever had depend solely on your ability to sell. If you aren’t getting your way, then quit making excuses. Decide now to learn everything there is to know about the only secret to success – sales.

The person who knows what he’s doing and understands every nuance of his career doesn’t have to get enthusiastic, he is enthusiastic. When you really, truly know something, you can predict outcomes. He who can predict outcomes has true confidence and freedom.

 

4 The Greats

The first and most important step to become one of the greats, is to commit all the way. Commit: “To devote oneself completely to something.”

Commit and be done with it. Committing is when you make a firm decision, you quit wondering, and then you follow through on your commitment with actions.

Be able to predict what a prospect would say. More important, be prepared to handle him. If you know, you’ll have control. To know is critical to success, as knowledge equals power in life. To know means you end up with fewer noes. Fewer noes means a better life.

By studying and reflecting on yourself you can find out what to day and how to act. After that you can predict responses.

 

5 The Most Important Sale

In order to become a great salesperson, you have to sell yourself on what you’re selling. Make. This the most important sale of your life and continue making that sale over and over to yourself. You have to sell yourself completely! You have to 100% believe in your own product or service to be able to sell it for its price.

Conviction is the ability to be so firmly sold on your beliefs that you demonstrate to your buyer with such complete and utter certainty that no other choices appear to be available.

While it’s u fortunately promoted in our society to be reasonable and sensible, these characteristics will not serve you in sales or in life. If you really want something great to happen, you’ve got to be unreasonable, even if it means convincing yourself beyond reason that what you have is better.

By owning the product you’re selling, you’re demonstrating your certainty to others by your actions, and actions do speak louder than words. Put your money where your mouth is.

Never hire a salesperson if he isn’t willing to buy and use the products himself. (vegetarian waitress in steakhouse). Closing the deal will be easier when you’ve already made the same purchase, you’re asking your prospect to make. Your personal conviction and believability will take your career to new heights when you’re fully sold. Buy the product yourself and you’ll become a miracle closer.

 

6 The Price Myth

If the price gets too cheap, people won’t see any value in the product. Price is almost never the issue for buyers. The real issue is love and confidence. If the buyer is 100% confident that he gets what he wants, he’ll buy it regardless of price. Discovering what he’s trying to accomplish and demonstrating how your product solves his problem is the essence of how you close the deal.

Regardless of what it is you have, it almost never comes down to just price. To the degree that you understand this, you will be successful.

When a customer says the product is too expensive, move him up rather than down in inventory. Show something more expensive that’s a better solution to what he’s looking for. Now you know the first product was a wrong choice because he’s now looking at something more expensive. Or he needs to move in the other direction with something that costs less. Exhaust your inventory, not your price!

Every consumer had made mistakes before. Not buying is the fear of repeating a mistake, it is not the fear of spending the money. The buyer would rather pay more to make the right decision than pay less and make a mistake.

Price is not the problem – you are the problem! Give the prospect a product that he loves or a service that solves his problem and you’ll get the close once he has full confidence in the product or service and you.

“While I agree it’s a lot of money for a gift, there’s no shortage of money on this planet. But there is a shortage of people who’ve found the love of their life and who know how to show appreciation for that person. Be grateful you’ve got someone to love. Now, how would you like to handle this?”

 

7 Your Buyer’s Money

Get over the idea that there’s a scarcity of money because there isn’t! There’s plenty of money to go around. If you start looking for prosperity and abundance, you’ll see that these things exist all around you.

Second money is easier to get than first money. Once the flow begins, the buyer becomes more open to making more purchases. Everyone wants to know they’re doing the right thing, and the other-purchase phenomenon supports their actions and gives them the reassurance that what they did earlier was correct.

People like to spend. People like to show off. People like to brag. All a salesperson has to do to unluck the door of second money is to ask for it.

 

8 You Are in The People Business

Certainly, you need product knowledge. You have to know the benefits of the product and how it compares to others, but first and foremost you need to understand people and what they want before you can sell the product or show someone the benefits of it.

Learn to think like customers think. Products do not think, feel or react. People do.

Never consider you’re selling a product, but consider that you’re helping a person make the right decision. You do best when you’re interested in the individual – the “human being” 2ho wants to enjoy life and solve a problem by buying your product. Take interest in the client instead of interest in selling him something.

Be more interested in the customer than you are in yourself, your sales process, your product, or your commission and you will make more sales.

Communication = Sales. “A process in which information is exchanged between individuals through symbols or behavior.”

Ask a lot of questions to discover the needs of the buyer:

  • What do you want this product to do that your present one didn’t do?
  • What would your present product have to do so that you would be satisfied with it?
  • On a scale from one to ten, how would you rate what you are using/own right now?
  • What would make it a ten?
  • You are asking questions to find out more about how to help the human being in front of you.

People are senior to products and processes. Do what you can to serve to people and don’t stick to company processes. Processes put in place without considering the effect on the customer will inevitably be ineffective and destructive.

 

9 The Magic of Agreement

Always agree with the customer. If you want agreement, you have to be agreeable with the customer. Don’t be confused with “the customer is always right”, because he’s not. Right or wrong, agree with the customer.

It only takes one to agree. Once one opposing party agrees, there’s no longer any disagreement.

If the customer thinks he should wait and think about it, agree with him. Once agreed, explain that thinking will not change the fact that this is the right product, that he can afford the product, and that by making his decision now, he can shift his attention to all other things he has to think about.

Agree, acknowledge, make the other party right, and then close the deal!

When a prospect is giving you only a short amount of time, respond “the time you’re offering me is more than enough”. By first agreeing with them, you can then move on with your presentation. Nothing will soften a buyer more than an agreeable salesperson.

–> “You are right!”

 

10 Establishing Trust

It’s critical that you’re aware of the buyer’s lack of trust and that you tackle it. If you don’t recognize how buyers think and what cusses them to respond and act, you’ll be unable to take full responsibility and will never reach full potential.

People are run by minds. Understand the mind and you understand people. The salesperson must assume responsibility for himself, the prospect and all that occurs. “I’m not buying today.” “Sir, if you don’t buy anything today, it’ll be my fault, not yours.” “Great, let me tell you what I’m looking for.”

Understand the buyer’s distrust, accept full responsibility for it, and never take it personal. Assume that the buyer doesn’t trust a single word you’re saying. Build credibility by providing everything you say in writing or support it with printed materials.

People believe what they see, not what they hear. If it’s in writing, it becomes more real to him.

Assume that your buyer never believes your words and will only believe that which you are able to show.

It’s okay to sell with emotion, but you want to close with logic.

 

11 Give, Give, Give

Selling is the art of giving, not getting. Serving, not selling. The rue essence of selling is not just getting the sale, but the sincere desire to help. A spiritually aware person will ultimately be a better salesperson than someone who’s just interested in compensation. Serve by giving options and always over serve.

Don’t wait for the client to ask, predict what he needs and offer it!

For a business to survive and prosper it had to serve and help people, not just sell products. That means taking care of customers and going beyond their expectations.

Price is not the solution. It never is and never will be. Service is the solution.

Tip: Problem = Opportunities for Future Sales.

People want attention. Give them attention!

 

12 Hard Sell

Be willing to get to that hard place in the close where everyone gets a bit uncomfortable. Stay in the deal and persist through to the close.

“You’re pressuring me.” “Sir, you’re confusing my belief and passion in knowing this is the right product for you and your company with pressure. Please don’t misinterpret my enthusiasm for pressure. Now, let’s do this.”

“No, I already donated all my donations for this year!” “Now, the only reason you’re acting like this is you know you haven’t done enough.”

Truly believe that your product will somehow bring the buyer more enjoyment, benefit or security, than the numbers he has in the bank.

Stay in the close no matter what happens. Be armed with ways to handle stalls, emotional reactions, and objections.

Practice handling objections.

Standing is for walking. Sitting is for closing. Sit your customer down and get your buyer in a position to be closed. “Sit right here, sir, and let me SHOW you the facts about this product.” sit down and write down the facts and figures in order to close the deal.

 

13 Massive Action

The amount of success you have is limited by the amount of action you take. Stay away from people who tell you to stop working so hard and suggest that you should relax and take it easy. You can take it easy once you’ve made is. For now, take action, and take it in massive quantities!

To become president in your field, you will have to be out of balance, totally focused, and dedicated, following up with tremendous amounts of action.

“Go big or go home!” “Go massive, not passive!”

Massive Action = New Problems –> Managing your abundance of X.

By taking massive actions, things will change. People will come to see what you’re doing. It’s the stairway to heaven. You will be rewarded with trophies, trips and rewards. Your competition will praise you with criticism and tell you to slow down. This is sign you’re on the right track! Just continue to add wood to the fire. Anyone who tells you that you’re working too hard, isn’t working hard enough. Those are mediocre people who have given up on their dreams.

 

The 10X rule: If you want one thing, take massive action equal to at least 10 times what you think it will take to ensure that you attain that one thing.

 

14 The Power Base

Salespeople wait for people they don’t know, and even call people they don’t know, while completely ignoring their known lines of influence. Your bower base includes: friends, family members, associates at past jobs, past employers, current and former clients, members of clubs, neighbors, members of organizations etc.

Contact them, let them know what you’re up to, and make an appointment to meet up. The purpose is not to sell them. The purpose is to get in contact and restore your power base. Forget the past and build on a new future. If you love your product and fully believe in it, then love. Your power base enough to let them know what you’ve got. Someone is going to sell them, why not you.

Send out random birthday cards. They’ll call you informing you that you have the wrong date. “I know that, but I didn’t know what your actual birthday was, and I thought I’d just take a chance at being right.”

You have to get creative about contacting people. A little imagination combined with massive action goes a long way. Don’t ever worry about making a mistake.

Existing customers are the easiest sale to make. Always prefer them over brand-new prospects.

Problems are opportunities. Solve the problem and you’ll get an even better customer.

 

15 Time

It’s a lie when you tell yourself that you don’t have enough time. You have the same amount of time as everyone else. You just aren’t using it efficiently. He who makes the most of his time will accomplish the most. You are controlling time and time is not controlling you. Become a master of the clock, not a slave to it.

Never sit together at the same table with your sales partner. Sit at different tables and double your exposure.

Go to restaurants where your clientele comes to meet new people. Go out, be seen, mix it up and put yourself in the game.

 

16 Attitude

People want to feel good. There will always be a market for products that make people feel good, but a person who can make someone feel good can sell almost anything! The individual who combines a great attitude with a great product becomes unstoppable! A positive attitude is a thousand times more important than the product itself. Why do people spend 10% on necessities and 90% on entertainment? Because they want to feel good. When you are positive, people will find you irresistible.

When you have the ability to change people’s attitudes in a positive way and make them feel better than they did before meeting you, you’ll no longer need to rely on your product being superior.

  • Avoid newspapers, television and radio.
  • Stay away from “can’t do” people.
  • Surround yourself with winning people.
  • Avoid drugs and alcohol.
  • Avoid hospitals and doctors.
  • Treat negative talk like garbage.
  • Start the negativity diet today.

 

17 The Biggest Sale of My Life

“It takes two” If the sale is meant to be, it is up to you. Buyers don’t buy until someone sells.

It doesn’t take two, it only takes one. Get sold on the product. Come up with an action plan. Call every few weeks until you’re able to get into communication. Never stop of a little rejection. Remind yourself that your product is good and your mission is great!

When she says you’re not her type. That could just be a complaint. Not an objection. Find out what interests her, not you. Show your love for her and put it all out there regardless of her response to you.

 

18 The Perfect Sales Process

Since the last 50 years, buyers have changed. They want the process to be short and simple. Buyers don’t have a lot of time nowadays.

The sales process is finding out the following about the buyer:

  • Who are you?
  • What do you want?
  • Why do you want it?
  • What do I have that will fulfil your wants and needs?
  • How do I show it to you so that you can make sense of it, make an offer that can be funded, and then close, deliver and follow up in the hope to repeat the process with you and others?
  • You need to get rid of anything for the sake of speed and simplicity.
  • Sales processes should be built to satisfy in the following order: Customer, salesperson, manager.

 

The 5 most crucial steps in every sales situation:

  1. Greet
  2. Determine wants and needs
  3. Select product and present / Build Value
  4. Make proposal
  5. Close the transaction or buyer exits

 

Greet

“Welcome. Thanks for coming here. What can I get you information on?”

“Hello. Thanks for taking the time to see me today. Tell me, what homework have you done thus far so I don’t duplicate your efforts?”

“Great to see you today, and thanks for your time. What information can I provide you with to make the best use of your time?”

 

Determine wants and needs

The fastest way to do this is to fact find on previous purchases. Know what products to show your client. Know how to present the product in a manner that will build value in that presentation and cause the person to want to act.

When determining wants and needs, you are not selling. You are asking and listening. You will be using this information to make sense of and close on your proposal. All purchases are trying to solve a problem of some sort.

 

Select product and present / build value

Select the product for your clients rather than allowing them to wander through your inventory and select for themselves. You should present your product based on what your client told you was important. Rather show something he wants than what’s in his budget. If you don’t take your time in step 2, you will waste time in step 3. Focus on those things that are most important to the buyer! Don’t waste your and your buyer’s time and you will increase your changes at making a sale.

 

Make proposal

Always make a proposal. Even when people are not ready. If you don’t propose, you can never get to an agreement. Always position yourself to present a proposal, and do so within the first 40 minutes after greeting.

 

Close the deal or exit

First, you must be prepared to close. One hundred percent of your income is a result of closed transactions. Learn how to close!

 

19 Success in Selling

Treat success as your duty, obligation, and responsibility, not as a choice or as a job.

Are you fulfilling your potential?

Do you approach success as a duty and obligation?

Would more success be bad for you?

Is your entire family on one plan for the creation of success?

Luck will not make you successful. Committing yourself to success completely is the way to be lucky.

 

It’s common for people who are not succeeding to start justifying why they are not being successful. Some even start to lie to themselves. Sell or be sold! Clearly you aren’t always going to make the sale, but please don’t fail to make one sale and then spend the rest of the afternoon selling yourself lies and excuses about why it wasn’t important or why you weren’t successful.

 

In order to demand consistent sales success, you have to:

  • Decide you are ultimately responsible for the sale.
  • Make it your duty, obligation, and responsibility to make the sale.
  • Take massive amounts of action, followed by more action until the sale is made!
  • Accept no excuses, reasons, or logic, and figure out how to make it work!
  • Prepare yourself daily to handle all obstacles, stalls, reasons, and barriers you will encounter with a client.

 

20 Sales-training tips

Train daily. Focus on sales situations, not just motivation.

Training should be used to increase production immediately.

Training should be delivered in short segments of 2-5 minutes.

Training must be measured and rewarded.

Training should focus on the top people in an organization.

Training should be made part of you day and should be accessible throughout the day.

 

21 Create A Social Media Presence

With increasing numbers of people heading online as their first step to research your company, product, and even your personal information, it is mandatory that you create some type of social media presence. This is not a choice or something you either want to do or don’t want to do, nor is it something you have or don’t have time for: YOU MUST USE SOCIAL MEDIA.

 

You have to be known, thought about, considered, and hopefully, the first or dominating choice in your clients’ minds in order to ever sell anything to anyone.

 

Social media is like walking into a bar or party. You may mention business at the party or to the person in the bar, but you are probably more likely to talk about more social things than straight business.

 

Manage negative social media:

Treat your online reputation like your personal reputation. Handle social media attacks the same way you would a personal attack.

Handle ALL negative posts as opportunities. Personally, contact every customer.

Handle immediately. People will appreciate you making them a priority. “Wow, I saw what you posted online and I wanted to call you right away and see what I could do to handle it. I had no idea. Tell me about what happened. What can I do to resolve it?”

Contact directly. Don’t bring more attention to it by responding publicly. Send a DM or call.

Be proactive. Be on the offense not defense. Create a page full of positive posts and testimonials that will put weight the negative posts.

Know your limitations. Some battles you don’t want to fight.

 

The ten daily commitments:

I commit to:

  • working my plan every day!
  • a “can do” attitude with every customer!
  • doing whatever it takes!
  • exceeding the expectations of my customers!
  • staying focused on what I want!
  • taking every opportunity all the way!
  • following up on every opportunity!
  • being highly ethical in every area of my life!
  • making changes where necessary!
  • educating myself every day!
  • training every day!
  • doing the right thing!
  • being the most positive person I know!
  • quit making excuses and just make it happen!
  • making my dreams come true by my actions!

 

22 Quick Tips to Conquer the Biggest Challenges in Selling

 

Rejection

Rejection is experienced by those unwilling to be responsible for the outcome. When you’re told no, don’t equate it with rejection. Look at what you could do differently next time to earn their business. How could you be more effective? How could you turn this person into a customer next time?

 

Negative surroundings

It will be critical to your success to keep your surroundings positive. That includes your physical environment as what goes on between your ears. Negative talk about clients should be against the rules. Negative talk about your product line, the company or management should immediately indicate the person is operating as an enemy of the group.

If people can bring solutions and improvements and all they offer is negativity, they are enemies to you, the company and even themselves.

 

Discipline

The single most important factor in any success is the ability to show up day after day and do the right things. The reason discipline is so important is because there are so many random things happening, so the more stability you can personally create, the more secure you will be and the more certain your results.

 

The Economy

The economy is a source of concern for all organizations. When times are good, it would appear easier to sell. When times are bed, the professional and his skills will win the game. Be prepared for all of them. You can create your own economy rather than being a participant in what everyone else has agreed upon as the economy.

 

Competition

Don’t compete! Dominate with your product, company, personality and your offer. If you aren’t the difference maker, then others will forever outsell you with a cheaper price or better offer. You don’t want to compete, you want to dominate the market. The goal is to provide your clients with so much attention, follow-up and service that you can’t be competed with. Find a way to differentiate yourself. “I can get a better deal from so-and-so.” “Yeah, but I don’t come with that transaction. Sign here, and let’s get on with it.”

 

Product knowledge 

Regardless of the industry you are in or the product you sell, there will be advances that make your product current and appealing to your client. With that comes the challenge of staying in the know in those improvements. You need to be committed and study up.

 

Follow-up

The best salespeople are those who are great at following up, staying connected, staying in touch, and using creativity to keep their sold and unsold clients thinking about them. Follow-up requires an undying clarity about your purpose and staying sold on yourself to get it all.

 

Organization

Good organization skills allow you to find things faster, make contact quicker, and hopefully get more done. Organization is critical to be able to later find things, follow up, and identify what you know about a client and where to pick up with that client. Your ability to organize your space, your thinking, your clients, your office, and your own physical environment are important to organizing your success.

 

Call reluctance

This is the phenomenon whereby an individual creates reasons not to actively and aggressively call on clients. Any time. You aren’t calling on a client, you are participating in some form of call reluctance and comes from not being constantly motivated and trained at your job. When you know what to do, what to say, how to handle objections, get appointments, and handle stalls and other challenges, you will not experience call reluctance.

 

Fill the pipeline

Keeping the pipeline full at all times is vital to success. You should measure all activities that fill the pipeline: sold, unsold, lost to competitor, orders, not ready to buy until next quarter, referrals, second sales, etc. You don’t want to be dependent on any one thing. Fill it up, keep it full, overrun it if you choose, and never think you have enough of it.

 

Closing the deal

Closing is getting the buyer to take action and agree to exchange something of value for what it is you offer. Closing requires a tremendous arsenal of techniques, transitions, responses, counters, and strategies.

 

Calls not returned

Personally, make the effort to return all calls you miss. It’s important to keep the flow of communicating open.

If someone doesn’t call you back, don’t try to calculate what their lack of response means. You don’t know what it means, but what it should mean is that you need to continue to make calls, contacts, emails, or personal visits until you find out what it means! Never bring up unreturned previous calls and never make the client wrong for not calling you back. Get creative. Remember, quitting is not an option, and making the client wrong is just you not taking responsibility.

 

Fear

The great thing about fear is that it isn’t real. The way to kill fear is by taking action. Use fear as an inspiration. As an indicator of things, you have to confront. Taking action on those things you fear is how you build courage. Handling fear is merely a decision. So, start building up this habit of identifying what you fear doing and who you fear calling on, and make those your first actions.

 

People’s emotions

When you are faced with a prospect who gets emotional and demonstrates an emotional outburst with you, know that you are getting close to making the sale. Never take it personally, never react to it, and never become emotional, as a response. The key is to stay rational, calm, and collected when others get emotional. Stay in the present, so you can come up with solutions.

 

Negative connotations of sales

Because of amateurs there’s are negative connotations on the subject of sales. The professional knows that to sell is to serve, and he or she believes so strongly in his product, service, company, and him- or herself that the motives that drive that individual are not just about “getting the commission”, but by truly helping others.

 

Not having the right response 

Your number one tool is communication. It’s important you know what to say and what to respond. When you don’t know the answer, say “Great question. Let me get that information for you.” Be prepared for every possible question, objection, stall, obstacle, delay, and customer question possible.

 

Overwhelmed by customer objections

There’s no substitute for being a ninja-assassin closing machine. Literally, you need for drill, drill, drill on your down time. There’s no excuse. Otherwise you will be missing deal unnecessarily. Keep a diary for objections and work out how you would handle similar objections in the future.

 

Feeling like an idiot

The word “idiot” come from Latin and describes a person who is not educated and not worldly. The degree to which you fear feeling like an idiot is the degree to which you look to others for your self-worth. If you do something idiotic, the best thing you can do is quickly admit it and learn from it so you can move forward the next time. Great men of ability started out as idiots before they learned, practiced, and became great.

 

Meeting new people

Don’t be thinking small and following a contraction plan. Think big and follow an expansion plan. If you want to meet new people you have to reach way out. Get out among people and be seen. The easiest way to develop a relationship is to visit a place over and over. Start a conversation by asking for something or by mentioning something you see happening. Be interested in others, communicate with everyone, reach out by being seen and making contact, and watch your pipelines start to fill up.

 

Breaking the ice 

It is your duty to break the ice when establishing a relationship. The more you do it, the more comfortable you become. 1. Approach the prospect. Do not wait for them to approach you. 2. Smile and thank for their time/welcome. 3. Stick out your hand and introduce yourself. Keep your hand out until the person shakes it. It breaks physical boundaries.

Once the communication started, immediately come to your point and don’t waste their time. Take time to find out what their problem is and how you can solve it.

 

Staying motivated

The number one way to stay motivated is by moving quickly from one activity to the next. It doesn’t matter if the glass is half full or half empty, because you are moving to the next activity. Motivation comes from attention on the future, not from something done in the past. The other thing is to stay away from bad news and doomsayers. Stay positive and keep connected with the people on your team.

 

Losing business to others

You have two choices when you lose business to others: 1. You can blame someone or something else and be a victim. 2. You can learn from it and win the next one. If you choose the first one, you’re not taking fully responsibility for making the sale. Try choosing path 2. Take a good look what happened and why the competitions product looked superior to yours. This puts you at cause, as you are actually doing something about it instead of crying in your milk like a little bitch.

 

Lack of consistency

Lack of consistency always boils down to a lack of real discipline. Discipline is part of our everyday lives. It means you have exerted some control over random elements and made something of them. Take control each day and do what’s needed. Create a checklist for yourself and make sure you reach and exceed each target, and then better yourself the next day.

 

Cold-calling/prospecting

Once you are sold on your product, you know exactly what problems it will solve and who your customers are. Step 1. Leave your fear, reservation, and inhibition at home. Step 2. Look professional. Step 3. Map out several potential clients based on who needs your product or service. Step 4. Just go visit them. Believe in your product and negate your fear by getting into action.

 

Commission only/no security

Would you rather depend on the board of directors, CEOs, and the social security system for your future survival, or would you rather rely on YOU? Who do you think is more vested in the standard of living of you and your loved ones, the presidents of the banks or you? Your financial success is best trusted to the one person who has the most direct control over it, and that person is you. That is true security.

 

Long hours

Everybody has the same number of hours in one day. The question is whether you are working for your dreams or working for others’ dreams. If you are truly alive, the captain of your own ship, and working for you and your dreams, then a fourteen-hour day will seem like nothing.

 

Traits of a great salesman

  • Is willing to be told “no”.
  • Asks for the order regardless.
  • Listens selectively.
  • Stays sold on his own story.
  • Asks questions.
  • Gets answers to questions.
  • Knows that price is not the issue.
  • Is willing to pressure and persist.
  • Believes in selling as a good thing.
  • Trains and prepares constantly.

 

 

 

My summary of: The Richest Man In Babylon – written by George S. Clason

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My summary of The Richest Man In Babylon – written by George S. Clason

The past couple of weeks I have been reading The Richest Man In Babylon. It’s been an enormously interesting and inspiring book. Really powerful to read all the pages and discover the 6000-year-old Babylonian knowledge. The best part is that all of it is still relevant and applicable today. This book describes the fundamental tools for creating wealth and mastering finances. I have learned a lot. This is a must read book! If you can’t wait or only want to know the golden nuggets, here’s my summary:  More

Book Recoomendations

Book Recommendations

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It’s like downloading years of knowledge into your brain

Hostmanship; The Art of Making People Feel Welcome - Jan Gunnarson & Olle Blohm
Hostmanship; The Art of Making People Feel Welcome - Jan Gunnarson & Olle Blohm
Raise the Bar - Jon Taffer
Raise the Bar - Jon Taffer
The 4 Hour Work Week - Tim Ferris
The 4 Hour Work Week - Tim Ferris
CREATIVITY, INC. - Ed Catmull
CREATIVITY, INC. - Ed Catmull

George S. Clason - The Richest Man in Babylon
George S. Clason - The Richest Man in Babylon
The Little Book of Lykke - Meik Wiking
The Little Book of Lykke - Meik Wiking
Sell or Be Sold - Grant Cardone
Sell or Be Sold - Grant Cardone
The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Ikigai - Francesc Miralles & Héctor García
Ikigai - Francesc Miralles & Héctor García
Building a Story Brand - Donald Miller
Building a Story Brand - Donald Miller
Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
The Kybalion - Three Initiates
The Kybalion - Three Initiates

The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
The Emerald Tablet of Hermes - Hermes Trismegistus
The Emerald Tablet of Hermes - Hermes Trismegistus
The Journey, Big Pandag & Tiny Dragon - James Norbury
The Journey, Big Pandag & Tiny Dragon - James Norbury


 

experiences

My 6 Tips For Creating Memorable Experiences

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So, you want to know my six tips for creating experiences…

Hi there, welcome back! During the past six months, I have been writing my thesis to graduate from university. I’ve been doing research about trends and developments in nightlife and designed what a future proof hospitality concept may look like. One of the most important tasks for hotels, bars and restaurants these days is to deliver an exceptional experience to its guests. In this article, I will share with you the results of my research and I will teach you my six tips for creating memorable experiences.

More