Kelley Robertson understands that true sales professionals are always looking for an edge. He also understands that most salespeople are ridiculously busy and don’t have the time to slog through an entire book to find the nuggets they need to give them that edge.

So rather than write a book that needs to be read cover to cover, he wrote one that can be easily skimmed. Robertson collected 101 simple yet powerful ideas and assembled them into a single volume. The result is The Secrets of Power Selling: 101 Tips to Help You Improve Your Sales Results (Wiley, $19.95).

Each of the 101 chapters is short (two to three pages), concise and practical, with titles such as The Power of Adapting Your Approach, The Power of Self-Evaluation and The Power of Painting Mental Pictures. The book’s chapters are arranged alphabetically, so in effect, the table of contents is also the index. This makes it easy to flip right to the subject you’re looking for at the moment.

Whether you’re brand new to sales or you’re an experienced sales veteran, you’ll discover a number of useful strategies and tactics for increasing your effectiveness. I conduct sales seminars and training programs for a living and I found some great ideas in this book. Some of my favorite chapters included The Power of Apologies, The Power of Pausing and The Power of One.

In addition, Robertson shares:
    • six reasons salespeople fail to follow up;
    • seven things every salesperson needs to know to be successful;
    • five strategies for effective networking;
    • eight powerful prospecting strategies; and
    • seven tips for writing better proposals.

The content is well written and easy to read. Robertson provides clear examples and illustrative stories to support his points. And every chapter ends with a Sales Tip, which is really an action item. If you implement even a few of the suggested tips, I’m certain you’ll see your sales improve.

One recommendation: Don’t just stash this volume in your bookcase. This is not a book to be read once and then shelved away. It’s a valuable reference tool that you’ll want to go back to again and again. Keep it in plain sight for easy access. It’s likely to become one of your favorite sales resources.

No, this isn’t an advice column for singles. (Although I am single and could probably write a really good advice column at this point.)

Instead, the goal of this article is to help you find some good places for networking. While social media is a powerful networking and sales tool, there’s also a tremendous amount of value in meeting people face-to-face. And the best way to meet lots of people in person is by getting involved with groups.

While there are all kinds of business and non-business organizations that you can join, they can be broken down into five basic categories:

1. Trade Associations
No matter what you do, there’s an organization of people who do it. Whether you’re a salesperson, sales manager, small business owner or CEO, there are organizations of people with your job function or who are in the same industry you are.

Professional or trade associations give you an opportunity to network with your peers. While they won’t become customers, there are still several advantages to knowing them better. 

You can discuss industry challenges and learn from their experiences. You can refer or contract out business when you are overwhelmed, or when your customers want something you can’t provide. (The competitors you refer will likely return the favor.) You might even go further and develop strategic partnerships to increase your capabilities or to handle work that no single company could manage on its own.

A completely different strategy is to join the trade associations of your target markets. Most organizations allow “associate” or “vendor” members. By joining, you get an excellent opportunity to network with your best prospects. The relationships you build will be stronger than any marketing piece your competition can create.

2. General Interest Business Groups
These organizations are open to virtually anyone, so you may find competitors as well as prospects within them. The best-known and most common are Chambers of Commerce, which exist at the local, state and national levels. Some Chambers are geared towards women, while others may have a racial or ethnic focus. For example, there are Black, Asian, Hispanic, Indian and many other Chambers.

Other general interest business organizations include the National Federation of Independent Businesses, American Business Women’s Association, International Franchise Association and National Association of Women Business Owners. These organizations host all kinds of networking activities, as well as seminars, trade shows and other events.

3. Lead-Sharing Groups
These groups, which go by various names (referral groups, tip clubs, resource groups), exist for the sole purpose of networking for sales purposes. Members are expected to generate leads for other members on a regular basis. For that reason, membership is limited to one company per industry, i.e. one lawyer, one printer, one florist, one insurance agent, etc.
Meetings are typically weekly or bi-weekly over breakfast. Be aware, these groups are serious and require a real commitment on your part. Members can be expelled for missing too many meetings or not providing enough referrals.

4. Service Clubs
The purpose of organizations such as Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Optimists, Jaycees and Knights of Columbus is to provide some type of volunteer service to local communities. But great networking is a happy by-product of organized service. If your focus is in the right place—that is, the goals of the group—then people will naturally want to do business with you. 

Like lead-sharing groups, service clubs usually meet weekly or biweekly, although it may be for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Also like lead-sharing groups, they often enforce attendance requirements, so understand the commitment involved. 

5. Special Interest Groups
Finally, there are a host of other organizations whose purpose is not business-oriented, yet provide excellent networking opportunities. They include Toastmasters International, alumni associations, your child’s PTA, and your local homeowners association. As with service clubs, focus on the business of the group, rather than your business.

With any and all of these groups, several rules apply: Check them out before you join to make sure the group is a good fit for you. After you have written your membership check, attend meetings and events regularly. And to get the biggest return on your investment, raise your profile and credibility by volunteering for projects and committees.

Above all, remember that networking is not the same as selling. While it is part of the sales process, networking is simply meeting people and building relationships with them. It’s getting to know them and letting them get to know you. Basically, it’s about making friends. And you can do that anywhere.

If you want to deliver more powerful, more persuasive sales presentations, one of the best things you can do is watch television. Specifically, infomercials.

You can stop laughing now.

Think about it. An infomercial is basically a thirty-minute sales presentation. And because infomercials typically cost between 100,000 and half-a-million dollars to produce (and that’s before buying air time), they need to be really good presentations. Which means we, as salespeople, can learn a lot from them.

If you study infomercials, you’ll notice they all use the same strategies. And you can employ these strategies just as well in your own sales presentations.

1. Open with the problem
Most infomercials open with some variation of “Are you tired of…” or “Don’t you wish you could…” The problem hooks your interest. If you answer “yes” in your head, you’ve just selected yourself as a prospect. Similarly, in your own sales presentations, open with the problems your prospect is dealing with and you’ll get their attention.

2. Bring your enthusiasm
Every infomercial host is enthusiastic. The interviewers are enthusiastic. Even the announcers are enthusiastic. They have to be. People buy when their excitement level about owning the product exceeds their reluctance to part with their money.

Infomercial producers understand and capitalize on the fact that enthusiasm is contagious. The more excited you are, the more excited your prospects become. On the flip side, if you’re not excited about your product or service, why should your prospect be?

3. Create powerful visuals
Human beings are visual creatures. We take in 80% of our information through our eyes. Infomercials take advantage of this fact by showing demos of the product in action, or before-and-after photos, or clear illustrations of how their step-by-step process works.

Notice, they don’t show paragraphs of text or a slide with twenty bullet points in tiny type! Neither should you. Instead, think about what visuals would help you make your case and reach your prospect on an emotional level.

4. Focus on results
During a typical infomercial, very little time is spent discussing the product itself. Most of the script is devoted to the results the product creates: Kitchen products focus on the healthy, delicious meals you’ll be able to make for your family; Exercise products dwell on the sexy body you’ll be proud to show off; Financial systems stress how different your life will be when you have massive amounts of money coming in.

There’s a good reason infomercials dwell almost exclusively on the results: It’s all the buyer really cares about. Keep in mind, your product or service is merely a means to an end. It’s the end your prospect is really concerned with, so focus your presentation on that.

5. Provide testimonials
People are skeptical of claims made by a seller. However, they’re much more likely to believe claims made by other customers. As a result, testimonials are powerful persuasion tools. That’s why infomercials always include plenty of them and why you should too.

6. Put the price in context
No matter what your price is, prospects always wish it was lower. One way to make a price appear lower is to compare it with a higher price. That’s the reason so many infomercials compare their product with other possible solutions to the stated problem, which invariably are much more expensive.

What can you compare your product or service to? Alternatively, what would be the cost to the prospect of doing nothing and letting the problem continue?

7. Give prospects a reason to act now
Human beings are lazy. And we hate commitment. So we’ll put off any decision we can for as long as we can. Unless we have a good reason not to.

That’s why infomercials offer an incentive for picking up the phone right away: “Call in the next twenty minutes and we’ll double your order!” “Order before the end of this program and we’ll make your first payment for you!” What kind of an incentive can you offer your prospects to act right now?

Successful infomercials can generate anywhere from 10 to 50 million dollars in sales. From people who never expressed an interest in the product in the first place! If these presentation strategies work so well for them, they’ll work for you too.

“If eighty percent of your sales come from twenty percent of all of your items, just carry those twenty percent.”
—Henry Kissinger

I got a flier in the mail for a local restaurant that I’m probably never going to visit. Why? Well, the flier lists their menu. Here are just a few of the categories:
    • Pizza
    • Pasta
    • Wings
    • Subs
    • Salads
    • Burgers
    • Seafood
    • Mexican
    • Greek
    • Indian

While I like all of these foods, there’s no way one restaurant can do all of them well. Odds are, it doesn’t do any of them well. So I’m not going to risk it.

If I want pizza, I’ll go to a place that specializes in pizza. If I want Mexican food, I’ll go to a place that specializes in Mexican food. Because a place that specializes in one kind of cuisine is likely to be better at it than a place that doesn’t.

That goes for all businesses. If your offerings are too broad, you’ll have a hard time developing a reputation and people will be suspicious of the quality of those offerings. By contrast, the more you specialize, the easier it is to become known for your specialty and the more easily prospects will trust you. (And the more you can charge, by the way.)

It’s one of the mistakes I made early on in my speaking business. When I first started, I spoke on lots of subjects, figuring the more topics I had available, the more likely someone would hire me. Didn’t work so well.

Over time, I got clearer and clearer in my focus, to the point where now everything I do—seminars, workshops, training, coaching, keynote speeches—is on a single topic: sales. There are sub-topics I speak about—networking, negotiating, customer service—but they’re all related to, and under the umbrella of, sales. I don’t speak about leadership, change, team building, creativity, life balance, diversity, time management, or any other topic not directly related to sales.

Could I conceivably deliver a speech or a seminar on one of those topics if I absolutely had to? Sure. I know something about each of those subjects and occasionally I’ll even build some of them into one of my sales programs. But I wouldn’t consider myself an “expert” in those subjects.

More importantly, I can’t convince the marketplace I’m an expert in all those subjects. No one would believe it. And if they don’t believe, they won’t buy.

That’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the years: Whatever the product or service, people prefer to buy from an expert.

Perceived expertise increases buyer confidence and comfort. While specialization may shrink your potential market, it boosts your perceived expertise among your remaining market segment. That boosts the likelihood they’ll choose you over your competitors.

Which brings me back to my original question: Are you trying to sell too much?

In my last post, I shared Ten Reasons Blogging is Good for Your Sales. But that doesn’t mean blogging is for everybody. (Nothing is for everybody.) However valuable blogging can be for your business, there are some perfectly good reasons not to do it. Such as…

1. You have no strategy
Any sales or marketing effort you engage in should be strategic. It should have a specific goal and a specific plan for reaching that goal. It should also be part of a larger overall strategy. If you’re not clear on your strategy, your sales and marketing activities will be largely ineffective.

2. You have no time
There’s no way around it, blogging takes time. If you simply can’t add one more thing to your schedule, a blog is not for you.

3. You can’t do it consistently
To gain a loyal following, a blog needs to be updated regularly. Which means you need to devote time to it on a consistent basis. It can be daily, weekly or even monthly, but it needs to be consistent. If you can’t commit to a regular writing schedule, there’s no point in doing it at all.

4. You can’t write
There’s no shame in not being a good writer. Writing well is a skill not many people possess. But people will judge you and your business by the quality of your writing. So if your wordsmithing isn’t up to snuff, blogging can do you more harm than good. (Although you could still do an audio or video blog.)

5. You’re looking for instant results
Like most sales and marketing tactics, blogging takes time to produce measurable results. It’s an investment for the long haul, not a quick fix. If you’re focused exclusively on boosting sales right this minute, blogging won’t help you.

6. You’re all about self-promotion
A successful blog is about your readers, not your company. While it’s fine to occasionally slip in a post about your new showroom, your latest product, or your upcoming sale, if you’re going to attract regular readers, your blog needs to provide information that can enhance people’s lives. If your blog is nothing but self-promotion, nobody will read it.

7. You have nothing to say
For your blog to be effective, you need to be able to come up with interesting, useful and/or humorous things to say on a regular basis. And that might not be one of your strengths. Everyone’s creative, but in different ways, and if your creativity isn’t suited to blogging, that’s okay. Figure out where your creativity is best applied and do that instead.

Blogging is a great sales and marketing tool, but it isn’t ideal for every business. If it’s not for you, don’t feel pressured by people who say you should do it because everyone else is. There are plenty of other sales and marketing tools at your disposal that also work well. The key is finding—and using—the ones that work best for your business.

Does your business have a blog? Whether you’re an independent professional, a small business owner or the CEO of a larger company, a blog can be a powerful tool for increasing your sales. Here’s why:

1. You control the message
With traditional publicity and PR efforts, you have no control over what ends up in print. And advertising, by its nature, limits the size and scope of your messages. A blog, however, enables you to be as expansive as you like, while making sure what you write is what gets published.

2. It enables you to display your expertise
People prefer working with experts. We don’t want to work with just any attorney, accountant, organizer, lawn care service, personal trainer, boat dealership, cleaning service, etc. We want to work with one that’s really good. A blog gives you an outlet to demonstrate your expertise to your potential clients.

3. You can be timely
A blog gives you the ability to announce promotions, comment on events and even celebrate holidays of all types. (See A Great Day for Sales for more ideas.) You can also provide up-to-the-minute updates on what you or your company is doing.

4. It improves your SEO
Blogs have become a cornerstone of search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Search engines like useful content. (As opposed to pure self-promotion.) And they like content that’s updated frequently. Those two factors mean a blog can boost your search engine rankings.

5. You could go viral
If you write a piece that’s particularly helpful, interesting, funny or controversial, your readers may forward it to friends and colleagues. And thanks to social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, your post could potentially be forwarded to thousands—or even millions—of people. (See the forwarding options below.)

6. It’s free
How many sales and marketing tools are 100% free? Everything you need to set up a blog you either already have or can get at no cost. Blogging is ideal for any business on a budget.

7. You can engage customers
Unlike most promotional tactics, a blog can create a dialogue with your prospects and customers. Your blog can become a gateway for people to ask questions, share testimonials, voice requests and provide feedback.

8. It helps you build trust with prospects
The number one buying factor is confidence. By giving prospects valuable information, as well as insights into you and your company, blogging can instill that confidence, building the trust needed for them to buy from you.

9. It’s versatile
A blog needn’t just be paragraph upon paragraph of words. You can incorporate photos, audio clips and video as well. Which means you could post pictures of yourself, your people or your products; audio interviews, songs or comedy bits; or video tours of your facility, how-to videos or videos of your product or service in action.

10. You’re forced to think
The simple act of thinking is one of the most valuable activities any of us can engage in. Unfortunately, the hectic pace of business can leave little time for it in our daily schedules. Blogging, however, forces you to think on a regular basis: about your business, about yourself and about your customers. Thinking leads to innovation. And innovation leads to more sales.

So if you’re not blogging yet, give it some serious consideration. It does require some thought and some consistent effort, but the rewards for your business can be enormous.

While speaking at a conference a few days ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Dale Plass, president of Plass Appliance & Furniture in the Chicagoland area. During our conversation, he related a great story that serves as a powerful reminder that sales opportunities lurk even in the most unlikely places.

A few years ago, Dale was standing in line at O’Hare airport waiting to check in. The line was long and moving slowly. After twenty minutes of standing there hardly budging, he began thinking to himself, “How can I turn this into a positive sales experience?”

So he yelled out to the crowd, “Does anybody here need any appliances? I can offer a special deal to anyone in this line today!”

Gutsy? Yes. Potentially embarrassing? Certainly. Worth it? Absolutely.

Three people replied that they were, in fact, in the market for new appliances. Dale gave them his card, collected their contact information and followed up with them later. He ended up selling a washer/dryer combo to one person, a high-end refrigerator to another, and a complete kitchen to a couple who were remodeling their home. 

That one question netted him nearly $10,000 in sales.

Are you sitting around, waiting for sales to come to you? Or are you out there actively hunting for sales wherever they may be?

Sales opportunities are like Easter eggs: some are in plain sight, others are hidden, but they’re everywhere. You just have to be willing to look for them.

Do you have a minute-and-a-half? Then you have time to improve your sales acumen.

That’s the premise behind Mike Faber’s book 89 Seconds to Sales Success (Broadcast Your Best™ Publishing, $15.95). Faber presents 50 tips, insights and strategies, each of which can be read in 89 seconds or less. Which means you can get a quick hit of sales advice each work day for a couple of months, or—if you’re the impatient type—you can polish off the entire book in just over an hour.

Either way, the book is definitely worth the minimal time investment.

Faber offers concrete solutions for many of the common challenges salespeople and business owners regularly face. Challenges like what to do when you reach a plateau, how to reduce feelings of overwhelm and when to ask for referrals. I particularly like his suggestion for dealing with the fears that plague us all.

Faber also shares:
    • How to put failures into perspective
    • Six ways to demonstrate your sincerity
    • The problem with most in-house sales training
    • Four key questions to ask yourself each day
    • And more than a dozen great questions to ask prospects.

The book’s tone is light and conversational, making it enjoyable to read. And rather than brag about his success, Mike relates many of his failures, focusing on the lessons he learned.

By the way, if you’re a sales manager, business owner or CEO, take a look at Faber’s other book, 89 Seconds to Leadership Success. Written in a similar manner to the sales volume, you’ll find fifty actionable strategies based on six key principles for leadership success.

And regardless of your position, check out Faber’s innovative sales training tool, The 52 Greatest Business Development Questions Ever. It’s a card deck featuring 52 powerful sales questions, along with four ways to use the cards. Besides Texas Hold ‘em, that is.

To order from Amazon, click these links:

89 Seconds to Sales Success

89 Seconds to Leadership Success

The 52 Greatest Business Development Questions Ever!

Whether you’re a salesperson, sales manager, business owner or professional, you have a lot of demands on your time. Your “To Do” list is longer than a Tolstoy novel. How can you maintain some semblance of control over your schedule so you can devote the time you need to selling while still attending to all the other things that are also important to you? These six strategies can help. 

1. Plan your day
Make phone calls early. That way, if you get people’s voice mail, they’ll have a chance to get back to you that day. Be sure to let them know when you’ll be available to receive calls. Schedule your most difficult work for the time of day when you perform best. And set aside some quiet time each day so you can concentrate, think and plan without the phone and other distractions bothering you.

2. Schedule your sales activities
When it seems like everything is a priority, things like prospecting calls, follow-up visits and other sales activities are all too easy to postpone. But those are the activities that drive your business! If you don’t sell, you don’t eat. So schedule sufficient time in your day for sales-focused activities and hold that time sacrosanct.

3. Prioritize your tasks
Not everything on your “To Do” list is equally important or urgent. As you create your daily schedule, make sure you plan your high-priority tasks (Like prospecting calls!) earlier in the day to ensure they get done. Then if things take longer than expected (Don’t they always?), the items that get bumped will be your lower-priority tasks.

4. Get organized
In most people’s offices, space is at a premium, and clutter can slow you down dramatically. If you can’t find what you need, when you need it, you’re losing valuable time. Investing a few hours doing some systematic filing will pay for itself almost immediately in increased efficiency. File every document and throw out what you don’t need. Get a contact manager software package or a day planner to keep track of names, numbers and other critical information. Make a habit of using it regularly so you’re not constantly searching through piles of notes.

5. Delegate everything you can
You can’t do everything. And even if you could, it wouldn’t be the best use of your time.  Delegating and outsourcing saves you time and usually gives you a better result, thus letting you focus on the tasks that are the most profitable for you. 

6. Just say no
Don’t try to take on everything. If you’re already stretched thin, you’re not helping anybody by piling more onto your plate. Politely turn people down by saying that you’re too busy right now to give their project the attention it deserves. Better to cultivate a reputation for being honest (And in great demand!) than to end up with a reputation for shoddy work and missed deadlines.

Do you have any other time-management tactics you use to maximize your sales time? If so, please share them below!

By guest author Paul Elvig

There he sat, an elderly gentleman who had recently suffered a slight stroke. He was asking me to set aside the rules so that he could put a small piece of driftwood in a niche with his mother’s ashes. My answer was “no.” 

It was 2005 and I was the general manager of Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park and Funeral Home in Seattle. We had rather stiff rules on what would be allowed in columbarium niches, and we had them for good reason. 

Washelli Columbarium’s point of pride is the quiet dignity it offers visitors: warm rooms, private personal courts, carpeted floors and strict control over niche content.

In the past we had rejected hand-made airplanes, books that had been authored by the occupant of the niche, photos and nearly any item that did not have “staying power” over a 100-year span. With more than 65,000 niches this can be most important. We had to consider every visitor that would walk through the doors decades from now. 

After having his request turned down by another staff member, Mr. K (privacy is respected here) wanted to meet with me about his driftwood.

Mr. K handed me the driftwood and said in quiet tones that he wanted to place it with his mother. I complimented Mr. K on the general beauty of the driftwood, and I told him of our policy regarding wooden objects, which stemmed from our concerns about how long they might last,  especially when looking at it from the long-term—perhaps centuries—viewpoint.

He was disappointed, but accepted my ruling. As Mr. K. prepared to leave, I felt a little small talk and some visiting would make him feel better before he left, so I engaged him in conversation.

Mr. K was Japanese-American, born here, yet he had the mannerism of the old country. His courtesy and palpable respect were disarming. We visited about Seattle and the Pacific Northwest and somehow got on to the subject of his youth. I figured him to be about eight years my senior. That meant he likely had been a boy of about seven in 1941.

He was reluctant to go into details at first, but I felt compelled to ask some gently probing questions. Had he been forced to move when World War II broke out? Yes, he had been. 

It was during the Roosevelt administration that Japanese-Americans were ordered “for security purposes” to be moved from costal areas, and interned inland. Mr. K’s family was taken quickly, without the opportunity to gather much in the way of personal effects or to say good-bye to neighbors and friends. 

His family was taken to an internment camp east of the mountains to join hundreds of other Japanese-Americans also removed without hearing or even so-called due-process. He didn’t understand much about it at the time. He knew his Mother was most worried as he had serious asthma problems.

“I remember Mom pounding on the gate to get the guard’s attention regarding my breathing issues. I remember Mom’s hands bleeding from pounding so hard.” I looked at Mr. K with laser-focused attention. 

I was getting embarrassed for my country and thus for myself. I told Mr. K how sorry I was and ashamed we had done such a thing in the name of fear. He held no grudge, which truly amazed me.

“When we got to camp, we didn’t have any toys or anything to play with,” Mr. K said. “The food was okay and we were with family, but it seemed so strange.” 

“No toys? What did you play with?” I asked. 

“We would pick up most anything and make believe it was a car or a doll,” he said.

As Mr. K started telling me about make-believe I noticed how he reached over to touch the piece of driftwood now sitting on an office chair; driftwood shiny with age and handling. 

I was afraid to ask. But I had to. 

“Mr. K, what did you play make-believe with?”

His old and tired hands, knotted with arthritis, slowly picked up the driftwood. “This is the car my mother gave me. It’s something I just kept all my life.”

Looking at this wonderful American through my tear-swollen eyes, I said, “We will be breaking the rules, Mr. K. That toy, that piece of hand polished driftwood, that gift from your mother will join her if I have to open the niche myself.” 

There is a time to break the rules. There is a time to do what is best for the customer. We must never lose sight of why we are in business in the first place. 

Mr. K’s parting handshake was the most wonderful and heartfelt I have ever shared. His was a forgiving hand, mine was a thanking hand. 

Mr. K passed away not long ago, but his memory will never pass from my consciousness.  
  
Paul Elvig is the retired general manager of Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park and Funeral Home in Seattle, Washington. He is also a past president of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. He still provides expert testimony on issues relating to the death care industry. To e-mail him, click here.

One of the most powerful elements of LinkedIn is the ability to join and participate in groups. You can post, comment on and follow discussions; post and read news and blog articles; and find new connections.

There are three types of groups you should join: groups related to your industry, groups related to your target markets and groups related to sales. While I can’t help you with the first two, I can recommend some great groups in the third category.

Here are 14 sales-related groups you should consider joining:
   1. Innovative Mktg, PR, Sales, Word-of-Mouth & Buzz Innovators 
   2. Inside Sales Association
   3. Integrated Alliances 
   4. Marketing & Communication Network 
   5. National Association of Sales Executives 
   6. ! Sales Best Practices   
   7. Sales Concierge    
   8. Sales Management Association    
   9. Sales Playbook! 
   10. Sales Training Execution   
   11. SalesBlogcast.com 
   12. SalesLab
   13. SalesPro 
   14. The Sales Association 

In addition, there are many sales-related groups that are focused on a specific region such as The New York Metro Sales Connection, Chicago Sales Networking, Atlanta Sales Professionals and Sales, Marketing, Technical and Senior Executive Club-Asia Pacific.

So check out these groups, join some or all of them and participate!

It’s a cold, snowy day here in Denver, and with all the snow that’s fallen on the East Coast as well, this seems like a great day to explore some more inspiring, thought-provoking quotations: 

“About 70% of customers’ buying decisions are based on positive human interactions with sales staff. The bottom line is that people buy from people, not companies.” —Lee J. Colan

“Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you’re not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were.” —David Rockefeller

“Ideas won’t keep; something must be done about them.” —Alfred North Whitehead  

“Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.” —Karen Kaiser Clark

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Between two products equal in price, function and quality, the better looking will out sell the other.” —Raymond Loewy

“Set priorities for your goals. A major part of successful living lies in the ability to put first things first. Indeed, the reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.” —Robert J. McKain

A man who is too modest goes hungry. —Ethiopian Proverb

“You’ve achieved success in your field when you don’t know whether what you’re doing is work or play.” —Warren Beatty

“Kodak sells film, but they don’t advertise film. They advertise memories.”       —Theodore Parker

“Beware of quitting too soon. Dr. Seuss’ first children’s book was rejected by 23 publishers. The 24th publisher sold 6 million copies.” —Ann Landers

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” —Robert Kennedy

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

“Even if the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.” —Yogi Berra

For more of my favorite quotations, check out Great Thoughts on Sales, Business and Success and More Great Thoughts on Sales, Business and Success.

By the way, what are some of your favorite quotations?

Is it possible to be too nice? It may seem like an odd question, since as far back as we can remember, our parents, teachers and other authority figures (not to mention Sesame Street) drilled into us the importance of being nice to others.

And yet, the answer is an unqualified “yes.” It is absolutely possible to be too nice: in sales, in other areas of business and even in your personal life. And being too nice can have disastrous consequences.

A salesperson who is too nice will give away all their profit, jump through endless hoops for a sale that may never materialize and acquiesce to every customer demand, no matter how unimportant it actually is to the customer or how difficult it is for the company to fulfill. Such a salesperson will get taken to the cleaners, and both the salesperson and the company will suffer as a result.

A manager who is too nice doesn’t hold their people accountable, isn’t effective at resolving conflicts and can’t fire someone who desperately needs to be fired. All of which hurts the entire organization.

If you’re too nice in your personal life, friends, family and even casual acquaintances will constantly take advantage of you, draining you of your time, energy and—often—money. Leaving you without enough of those things for yourself or for those who are truly deserving of your kindness and generosity.

In each of the above cases, people may like you, but primarily because they know they can walk all over you. And they definitely won’t respect you.

So precisely how nice is too nice? When your niceness ceases to be an asset and starts to become a liability. When you can’t be effective because you’re too worried about someone else’s feelings, real or imagined. In short, when your niceness is sabotaging your success and preventing you from reaching your goals.

To help you determine whether you’re too nice, ask yourself these questions:
    • Do I typically back down in a confrontation?
    • Is it very important to me that people like me?
    • Do I frequently volunteer to do extra work?
    • Do I go to great lengths to avoid conflict?
    • Am I cutting my margins too often?
    • Do I consistently sacrifice myself for others?
    • When people make requests, do I always say yes?
    • Do I avoid complaining because I don’t want to cause trouble?
    • Am I spending all my time on other people’s issues?
    • Do I make excuses for others’ bad behavior?

If you answered yes to two or more of these questions, odds are, you’re too nice. (In which case, can I borrow a hundred bucks?)

If you suspect you’re too nice, talk with a trusted friend, a mentor or a therapist. Read some books on leadership, negotiating or self-confidence.

Don’t get me wrong. Being nice is, well…nice. It’s certainly a positive attribute, and valuable in both sales and life in general. I mean, you never want to be mean, rude or surly. (Unless you’re a maitre d’ at a French restaurant—then it’s a job requirement.)

But there are times when you have to say “no.” Situations in which you have to discipline people. Conflicts that require you to stand up for yourself. Sometimes, being nice creates more (and bigger) problems than it solves. (Believe me, I’ve learned this lesson the hard way.)

Keep in mind, you can still be courteous, sensitive and respectful when you’re refusing a request or lodging a complaint or calling someone on the carpet. Niceness and assertiveness aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, employing both together will make you more effective and help you achieve your goals faster, in sales, business and life.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

With all the attention on social media over the past couple of years, it’s easy to forget that face-to-face networking is still extremely valuable. However, it isn’t enough just to meet people at networking mixers once in a while. People need to really get to know you. And they need to remember you, like you and trust you before they’ll want to do business with you. So try one or more of these tactics to speed that process along.

1. Volunteer
Every organization needs volunteers, and savvy networkers jump at the chance. People will see you in a position of responsibility and service. You also get a chance to showcase your talents and learn new skills.  

2. Work the Registration Table
You’ll meet virtually everyone who attends the event. More importantly, they’ll meet you.
 
3. Donate a Door Prize
Your product or service will be showcased in front of the entire crowd. And everybody loves to win things. For maximum effect and goodwill, make sure the prize is an outright gift rather than a discount or coupon.
 
4. Join Committees
In most organizations, the majority of the work (and the majority of the networking) occurs in committees. Because committees typically meet on a regular basis, you get an opportunity to see the same people frequently, giving you all ample opportunity to get to know each other well. By the way, this is also where you will often find the “movers and shakers” who you most want to meet.
 
5. Write Articles
Virtually every trade association and business group has a newsletter, magazine or journal. And they are all in need of articles of value to their members. Contact the editors of these publications and ask about needs, schedules and editorial guidelines. Write according to their guidelines and include your contact information for the authorship credit. (Bonus Tactic: Be sure to get reprints to include in your promotional materials.)

6. Speak for the Group
Speaking at your group’s events can give you valuable exposure at absolutely no cost. Anything from a ten-minute talk to a two-hour seminar can serve your audience while positioning you as an authority in your field. And everyone wants to meet the speaker!

7. Host an Event
For several hours people will see your facility, employees, products and/or services. You can even take guests on guided tours and give away samples or coupons to increase your impact. To reduce the cost, time and effort involved in hosting a networking event, consider sharing the event with a caterer or restaurant. You provide the location, they provide the food and you both get the credit. And the exposure!

Use these seven tactics to raise your profile in your community and you’ll see your sales increase as a result!

It’s ironic. People have more phone numbers than ever before, yet it’s harder to actually reach people than ever before. Which means whether you’re using the phone to follow up with leads, prospect for new customers or close sales, you’re going to have to deal with voice-mail a lot. Here are some powerful tactics that will help make sure your message gets returned.

1. Slow Down and Speak Up
Most people speak too quickly when leaving a message. The result for the listener is often garbled names and unintelligible phone numbers. I have received messages that I couldn’t return because I couldn’t understand what the caller was saying. Make sure people hear what you want them to hear. Speak slowly and distinctly, enunciating each word (and especially numbers) carefully. Speak with enough volume so that your recipient won’t have to strain to hear you. 

2. KISS Over the Phone
Voice-mail is not the place to let your inner Dostoevsky free. Do you like listening to long, rambling messages? Neither does anyone else. Keep It Short and Simple. If you don’t know exactly what you’re going to say when you hear the voice mail prompt, hang up, compose your thoughts and call back. If you’re prospecting over the phone, never leave your sales pitch on someone’s voice mail. Instead, tantalize them with a benefit or mention the name of the person who referred you. You should be able to do either or both in a matter of seconds.

3. Get Specific
Don’t just say, “Call me back.” People are more likely to return your call when they know the reason for it. Tell the person what you are calling about and what you need from them. This will also give them a chance to come up with the information, action or decision before they get back to you, saving both of you time and aggravation.

4. Make It Easy for Them
Even if the person you’re calling already has your number, giving it to them in the message saves them the trouble of looking it up. Be sure to leave your complete phone number, including area code and extension. And to prevent playing phone tag, let the person know when you will be reachable at that number. You may also want to leave an additional number they can reach you at, depending on when you want them to call back.

5. Be Happy
Of course you’re disappointed that you didn’t reach the person you wanted. But don’t let that come through in your voice. People will be more likely to respond if you sound enthusiastic and upbeat. Smile as you record your message and let the person know that you’re looking forward to hearing from them.

We all hate voice-mail. But it’s a fact of modern business life. Rather than get upset or frustrated, use these strategies when confronted with a recording and before you know it, you’ll be talking to a real, live human being.

Do you know what business you’re in? I don’t mean what industry or field or segment. I mean, what business you’re really in?

And don’t say “the solutions business.” That’s a cliché. It’s also inaccurate. Many of the things people buy aren’t solutions to anything. Yet people still buy them.

No, what you’re really in, is the fulfillment business. When somebody buys what you sell, they’re hoping to fulfill some physical need and/or emotional desire.

A family vacation doesn’t necessarily solve any problem, but it does (ideally) fulfill a variety of individual wishes. (Each of which can be very different.) Similarly, when a business buyer makes a purchase, they’re hoping to meet some need of their company, but they’re also trying fulfill their personal desire to advance, earn a bigger bonus or at least, not get fired.

So in what ways is your product or service fulfilling to your customers? What organizational needs and individual wants do you fulfill?

Think beyond the physical needs. (The “problems” we’re taught to solve.) What are your prospects’ hopes, dreams, desires, fantasies, fears, longings? That’s what they’re really buying. So that’s what you should be selling.

A common mistake salespeople, business owners and professionals make is believing our prospects are just like us. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, odds are good you have little or nothing in common with any given prospect. And it’s critical to understand this. Because if you treat your prospects as if they were you, you’ll miss out on a lot of sales.

Among the potential differences between you and your prospect:
    • Likes
    • Dislikes
    • Values
    • Priorities
    • Concerns
    • Experiences
    • Biases
    • Income
    • Risk tolerance
    • Impulsiveness
    • Need for details
    • Communication style
    • Decisiveness
    • Sense of humor

Which means:
    • An approach that makes you comfortable could be a turn-off for them.
    • What you think is overpriced they may think is a bargain.
    • A color you can’t stand could be their favorite.
    • Knowledge you take for granted they may have never heard before.
    • Issues that aren’t a concern for you can be deal-breakers for them.

Above all, it means you have to sell your prospects what they like, not what you like. And you need to sell to them the way they like to buy, not the way you like to buy.

So get out of your own head and into theirs. Rather than assume your prospect is anything like you, find out about them. Ask questions to discover their likes, dislikes, experiences, etc.

And respect the answers you hear. Your prospect’s values, priorities, concerns and so on may be very different from yours, but they’re just as valid. In fact, if you want to increase your sales, they’re even more important.

Last week was the 37th anniversary of Schoolhouse Rock. The short educational cartoons debuted on January 6, 1973. I mentioned this fact on my Facebook page and the response was tremendous, with people recounting their favorite songs.

Amazingly, after close to 40 years, an incredible number of Generation X’ers still remember songs like Conjunction Junction, I’m Just a Bill and Three is a Magic Number. To this day, many of us can still recite the preamble to the U.S. Constitution thanks to Schoolhouse Rock.

How would you like your brand, company or product to stick in people’s minds like that? Whether you’re a salesperson prepping a presentation or a CEO planning your company’s long-term marketing strategy, here’s what business professionals can learn from this classic Saturday-morning staple

Keep It Simple
Schoolhouse Rock managed to distill the complex process of how a bill becomes a law into a 3-minute song. Was it a comprehensive explanation? Of course not. Not only was such detail unnecessary, it would have been counter-productive.

The more details, the harder a message is to understand and remember. The way the cartoon explains the legislative process, a five-year-old can grasp it. Can the same be said for your sales and marketing materials?

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
Repetition aids memory. In each song, the key concept is repeated several times. And each cartoon was repeated every few weekends. Repetition aids memory. In your sales presentations, repeat your key points several times. In your marketing campaigns, choose frequency of impression over the sheer number of people reached. Because repetition aids memory.

Make It Catchy
Schoolhouse Rock lyrics are catchy. They just seem to stick in your head. (“Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?” “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here…”)

How can you make your sales presentations and marketing materials catchier? Borrow the tactics great writers employ:
    • Stories
    • Characters
    • Alliteration
    • Metaphors
    • Similes
    • Rhyme
    • Meter
    • Onomatopoeia
    • Humor

Have Fun!
The reason we Gen X’ers learned all this math, grammar, science and civics is that we had no idea it was educational. We just thought it was fun. Nobody wants to be “educated.” (What images and feelings does that word conjure up in your mind?) But everyone wants to have fun!

In fact, a survey conducted by Britt Beemer for American Demographics found that 70.1% of respondents would switch to a different vendor if the company was more fun to do business with. And the beautiful thing is, having fun can cost you little or nothing!

Keep these strategies in mind as you put together your next sales presentation or marketing effort. Your message will stand out from the crowd, connect more effectively with your prospect and be more memorable.

In other words, IT WILL ROCK!

By guest blogger Paul Castain

After several months of getting no results from being on LinkedIn, I had to face the hard, cold reality that I had basically shown up, sat on the sidelines and expected the world to beat a path to my computer. So I changed my approach and started actually using LinkedIn. Wow, what a difference! Here are 25 powerful lessons I picked up along the way.

1. Change your expectation of Social Networking. There is no quick fix, silver bullet, get rich quick. This is a long term strategy to say the least. Kind of sucks, huh? Well, I think it’s safe to say that thanks to this economy, many things are now long term strategies, so perhaps a little patience is in order! Social Media Jedi Master Chris Brogan says “It’s not the kind of project where you show up, build your profiles, friend a few people and call it good. It’s a lot like tending the farm.” Be sure to check out Chris’s blog by visiting http://www.chrisbrogan.com/

2. Put some thought into your profile. Make sure it does justice to the wonderful brand we call you! Want to improve your “Googleability”? Then by all means make your profile public by clicking here http://www.linkedin.com/myprofile?editwp

Thought: Do you want your connections visible to everyone in your network? Do you have some clients that may get a tad pissed if they find out you are doing work for their competitors? Then click here and change that bad boy https://www.linkedin.com/secure/settings?browse=&goback=%2Eaas

3. Use a cool tagline to help set you apart from the masses. Examples: Craig Wilson is the Chief Appreciation Officer of his Sendout Cards business. Mi Amigo Hank Trisler isn’t the President of The Trisler Companies…He’s the Supreme Commander! Desire McBride is The Print Diva. My favorite is John Hudson who is The Dark Lord of Staffing. Our biggest challenge these days folks is being memorable. These people get it!

4. Join Groups. The biggest mistake many people make is joining groups in their industry exclusively. I think that’s great, but you better branch out. I mean, how many widgets do you think other widget dudes are gonna buy from ya, Gomer? My advice to you is to join some sales groups as well. First, it will help you keep your finger on the pulse right now since sales people are pretty much out there on the front line. Second, you will pick up some good best practices. And finally, sales people can be a point of entry often overlooked in getting in the door. I would also recommend that you join some industry groups for the verticals you want to penetrate.

Did you know? You can join up to 50 groups. When you share a group with someone you can usually send them a direct email without paying for inmails.

Did you also know? Emails sent through LI have a much higher open rate than traditional emails. Can you leverage that as a sales rep? Damn right you can!

5. Get off the damn sidelines! This is where I screwed up big time. I joined groups but didn’t participate. Get the feel of your group. Contribute! Add value. By the way, doesn’t this help make you more visible and help with the whole branding thing? If you do it right it does! Start your own discussions in those groups. This is how you stand out! What are some thought provoking, appropriate discussions you could start in your groups?

6. Want to look like a Grade A, A-hole? Then spam the discussions with ridiculous infomercials on your company, start discussions that are blatant self promotions or get cute and start a discussion with the old “For the rest of the story, click here.” That’s how you build a brand as a jackass real quick.

Do you belong to a group that is littered with spam and self promotion? Tell the group moderator and if that doesn’t work, then put your efforts in elsewhere. They aren’t worth your time!

7. Facilitate your discussions for God’s sake! This is by far one of my biggest pet peeves on LI. If you start a discussion and then disappear, you are an idiot! You not only display bad manners in doing the disappearing act, you allow your discussion to go inactive sooner. Why wouldn’t you want your discussion up at the top of the first page of discussions? Isn’t that a great visibility position? Check out my rant on this subject here http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/04/play-39-david-copperfield-and-linkedin.html

8. Show appreciation for those who contribute to your discussions. First, you should always thank people in the discussion with a simple “Thank you for your input (insert name here)” By the way, do we all enjoy being acknowledged in front of our peers? Do you think acknowledging contributions encourages additional contributions as well as folks following you to other discussions and groups? Worked for me. The other way I show appreciation is by sending a thank-you in a quick email. It’s a great door opener and helps me differentiate from the masses!

9. Avoid ninjas like your online life depended on it. It amazes me how many otherwise intelligent adults will attack someone online in front of thousands. Trust me when I tell you it will happen to you and if you are like me you will want to stick your virtual foot up their virtual ass. In a word, don’t! You won’t change ignorant people and you will damage your brand in the process.

10. Use a hyperlink in your signature when you contribute to a discussion. If all you do is put the old “www” it won’t read as a link. Here’s how ya do it the right way: Put a handy dandy http:// in front of your domain and viola. Check out how I do it.

Respectfully,
Paul Castain
Vice President Consolidated Graphics
http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/

11. Don’t use the automated invites. They are lame and you will sound like every other clueless person. Take a moment to make your invite personal. Think about the power of first impressions and more importantly, the power of being memorable. Reference something you have observed about them in the groups, a point they made, their company, some common ground or simply:

Dear Jake:
I would be honored if you would join my network.

12. Minimize IDK’s. IDK stands for I Don’t Know. If you invite someone and they select “I don’t know” you get a real nifty snotgram from LI. If you continue to get them, LI can remove your ability to invite, because everyone has basically labeled you a dick. The real problem isn’t with LI, it’s the ignorance of the recipient. They simply don’t know how to tell you to piss off gracefully. That’s why you have to educate them.

Dear Jake:
I would be honored if you would join my network.

Should you choose not to connect, that’s fine, simply hit the “archive” button rather than the dreaded “I don’t know” button.

13. Start your own group. One bit of advice I always give in conventional networking is to get on a board in a leadership position. The same can be said for LI. I waited until I had enough involvement in the groups and started The Sales Playbook group. It’s grown by more than 2300 members in 3 months and has dramatically enhanced my brand. I’m also happy to say that I have done so by enhancing other people’s brands.

Come join our Linkedin Sales Playbook community by clicking here: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=1832739&trk=anet_ug_grppro

14. Post interesting articles in the news section. Use the “share” button to alert other folks in your network when you read an article of value to them. Comment on interesting articles. This contributes value to your group and keeps you visible in the process!

15. Add value to your network. One of the best ways you can do this is to be a matchmaker. Introduce them to people they want and need to meet. With so many displaced workers in these challenging times keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities. Not a bad idea to have a recruiter or three in your network while we are at it. Neil Wood replied to me privately when I asked for advice on some good branding books. He told me he had an extra copy of a really good book and sent it to me. Stacy Stateham has given her time very freely to folks that have needed advice and I too try my best to give value (even to my competitors, believe it or not) When you do these types of things ladies and gentlemen, you don’t create followers, you create evangelists spreading the good news of your brand!

Branding 101 Moment With Uncle Paul: Do you think it packs more punch when someone else says cool things about you and your company or when you self-promote? Sorry to get basic on ya but if you are on LI then you know there are many who didn’t get the spam memo!

16. Use LI as part of your pre-call planning. I think it’s an incredible way for me to get inside my prospect’s head by getting a feel for how they think in the groups, perhaps they have a link to a blog, etc. This is a great way for you to get the inside track!

17. Let people get inside your head. Use applications such as Amazon Bookshelf, Slideshare and links to your blog. People buy from people they trust. One of the first steps towards trust is familiarity. Make sure you give your network every opportunity to experience “Brand YOU”

18. Cross-pollinate your efforts. Put a link to your LI profile in your email auto signature.

19. Post interesting Status Updates. This is a great way for you to stay on your network’s radar screen. Avoid boring play by play. Donna Highfill puts inspirational quotes in her status updates. Others will put a link to a timely article, links to articles and blogs you have written. The key here is to stay on the radar screen by continuing to add value and avoiding over-saturation while taking it easy on the self-promotion. You also need to use your head. Trust me when I tell you that your network doesn’t find value in a status update that informs us that a bottle of Cuervo has your name on it or that you are having a meltdown. Make sure you comment on status updates from your network. Example: someone in your network just mentioned that they started working at ABC company this week. Leave a congratulatory comment, etc.

Tip: Scan the home page daily. There are tons of opportunities for you there but you have to remember everyone’s favorite subject is themselves, so make it about them!

20. Comment on the blogs of your connections. Doing this opens you up to their community. In today’s online world, it’s not who you know, it’s who knows you and who knows those who know those who know you and…well, you get the picture.

21. Be consistent. You won’t build your brand worth a damn if you show up two days in a row, take two weeks off, come back for a day or two. This needs to be a daily activity. Remember, this is a long term investment. Don’t ever forget that!

22. Solicit Recommendations wisely. Use your head on this one. Please! One of the quickest ways for me to yell “Jackass” is when someone I barely know, hits me up for a recommendation. When I call them out on it, I’m usually given an explanation that they used the automated send to all feature, which is just plain stupid if you ask me. Be selective who you ask and be selective who you give recommendations to. Remember, it’s your credibility, dude!

23. Stop with the juvenile “I want to have the most contacts” BS! How in the hell can you realistically connect properly with 12,000 contacts? Seriously, dude! Better to have quality contacts. Be selective in who you ask to join your network. Be selective who you allow to connect with you too! Be deliberate and intentional. By the way, I’m in the process of writing a book. When I first started I didn’t know a thing about finding an agent, a publisher and all that fun stuff. I purposely hunted folks with experience in these areas and avoided contacts that had nothing to do with what I do or who I can impact.

24. Ask and answer questions to further position you as a thought leader. You can do this by clicking here: http://www.linkedin.com/answers?trk=hb_tab_ayn

Cool Tip: Want to get a better response and greater visibility when you ask a question? Choose the option to send the question out to up to 200 people in your network.

Hook a fellow Jedi up by suggesting someone from your network as an expert to a question. This is a nice way for you to continue to add value to your network and encourage a really cool thing called reciprocation!

25. Understand that you must move this virtual online stuff to real time or it’s absolutely meaningless! One of the things I do is make a goal each week that I will connect live (face to face, phone, coffee, lunch, drink, etc) with at least 2 people from my network. When I do, I make sure my time with them is about them, not me. My goal is to not only get to know them, but to find out who an ideal client would be for them, their goals, their dreams, their challenges.

I want to leave you with a bit of a challenge. One I wish someone had issued me when I first got on LinkedIn. Try these things for 90 days. Give it your all. Be consistent and do something daily to enhance your online brand. Give value to people unconditionally and don’t keep a scorecard. Learn everything you can and, if at the end of 90 days concerted effort you feel it was a waste of time, then move on.

I for one am quite pleased with my results. The Castain brand is alive and kicking and as a bonus, I’ve made some wonderful friends along the way. Also been talking to a few publishers, so it’s nice to be moving toward that important milestone in my life!

I want you to think about something else that many people don’t realize. Your LinkedIn experience is about community. All human beings want to be a part of something. Can you leverage that? There’s your million dollar question to chew on! 

Paul Castain is the Vice President of Sales Development for Consolidated Graphics, one of North America’s leading general commercial printing companies. He has trained, mentored and coached over 3,000 sales professionals and delivered numerous keynote addresses. He has authored numerous training manuals, articles, blog posts and is currently working on his first book for release in 2011. Feel free to email Paul at ctstrainer@yahoo.com and visit the Sales Playbook blog.

You negotiate every day. With prospects, customers, bosses, co-workers, vendors—even with friends and family. And while there are hundreds of strategies and tactics that can help you negotiate more effectively, there is one rule that is paramount:

You must be willing to walk away from the deal.

This principle is the foundation of all negotiating approaches and its importance cannot be overstated. It is the single biggest determinant as to whether your negotiation will result in success or failure.

Because the moment you’ve committed to a particular outcome, regardless of what it takes, you’ve lost all your negotiating power. If you can’t say no, you’re doomed.

If your prospect knows you can’t walk away from a deal, they can take you for everything. Or they can dictate terms that are to your detriment.

Demonstrating your willingness to walk away, on the other hand, can give you enormous leverage in a negotiation. When the other side knows there’s a legitimate risk of losing what they want, they’re less likely to push you and more likely to agree with your positions.

I’m not saying you should run away at the drop of a hat. But you need to determine ahead of time what is acceptable and what is unacceptable, in terms of pricing, timelines, conditions and behaviors. You need boundaries, and you need to respect your boundaries before your counterpart will. (By the way, this applies to relationships as well as to sales.)

There are some deals that just aren’t worth it. There are some clients you’re better off without. Being willing to walk away will protect you from both, while improving your results in all your other negotiations.