From the category archives:

Influence & Persuasion

Passion and obsession in life, business and sales

by Paul Sparks on November 25, 2009

As salespeople, we often hear that we need to be passionate about our products to sell them effectively. And this is probably true.

But what does passion look like, and how do we display it? 

This video is an example of what passion in business and life looks like.  John Nese is the owner of Galco’s Soda Pop Stop in Los Angeles.  His shop carries over 400 types of soda and soft drink.

Is he passionate – yes.

Is he obsessive – it seems that way.

The video raises many questions we can ask about ourselves and how we “sell” to people with passion.  Have a look – and then challenge yourself to ask some questions about what you’re doing to pursue your passion – and how, as a salesperson, do you connect with your clients’ passions.

Life’s short.  Too short, to quote Wayne Bennett (the coach of the St George Rugby league team), to die with the music still in you.  But we also need to be realistic about pursuing passion to make sure we’re not just tilting at windmills.

Here are some questions about passion and selling to get you going.

At a personal level:

  • Do you have a passion that dominates your thoughts and your life?
  • Does your work help you maintain and build your passion?
  • Is it a stepping stone to a role which will align with your passions?  Why – or why not?
  • If you don’t think you’re a passionate person – that’s cool – perhaps it’s not an essential element of life.  But have you reflected on your ultimate goals – what do you want to make sure you’ve achieved in your time on planet earth?

Most of us, when we really think about it, have something which drives our life.

OK – so you’re passionate about some things – to some degree at least.  Now consider you current sales role:

  • Do you connect with the passion of your clients and prospects?
  • Does your work – and the opportunity to help your customers – add to the joy of your life?
  • Or would your passion be better channelled elsewhere?

We all want to be with others who genuinely share our interests and dreams.

It doesn’t matter what you sell – you need to at least be passionate about what your products do for your customers.  Even if your industry or products are boring – so what.  If what you sell helps your customers achieve their goals, you’re on a winner.

If you have a passion to see your customers get what they need, you’ll succeed in sales.  You’ll also be on a road to see your own dreams and passions be realised.

Enjoy the journey – and good luck.

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And thanks to Ian Wrenford of Innish Consulting Services for bringing this to my attention.  Ian works with organisations of all sizes that are looking to innovate their strategy and market positioning.

www.innish.com.au

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How to apologise as a sales professional

by Paul Sparks on June 28, 2009

Patsy Cline was sorry – so were Britney Spears, Madonna and Tracy Chapman.  Chicago found it hard to say sorry – and Sir Elton John found it the hardest word to say.  Singers have been saying – or trying to say – “sorry” since popular music was invented. sorryairwritingby-michael_davies-onflickr

Some have found the words – some haven’t.

It’s not just individuals that find it hard to say sorry – so do governments, politicians and churches.

In business it can be just as hard.

I recently came across a publication from the NSW Ombudsman called “Apologies: A practical guide”.  The second edition was published in March 2009, and it’s a great little booklet.  It’s well written, easy to read and extremely useful as a reference when you find the need to say sorry – but aren’t quite sure how.

One of the realities of professional selling is that we make mistakes, we say the wrong thing and we let people down.  Just like our customers and colleagues – we’re human and we will all find ourselves at some point in our career in a position where we need to say “sorry”.

How do we do it?  In this article, I’ll give you some insights from this excellent publication.  But – as the guide itself recommends – don’t take this advice by itself.  If there’s any possibility of legal implications, make sure you get the professional advice you need.  Download the full guide from the Ombudsman’s web-site (www.ombo.nsw.gov.au).  It’s free and it’s a handy booklet for everybody’s bottom drawer.

Before we look at the Ombudsman’s guide – let’s have a quick think about what causes most of the reasons salespeople need to apologise.

Although major issues requiring well crafted and thought-out apologies do arise, most of the hurt and inconvenience we inflict on others as salespeople comes out of our own sense of urgency, and, often, a well-intentioned desire to give customers what they want.  The following three simple rules will avoid most of the “silly” reasons we need to apologise:

1. Sell authentically with genuine concern for your customers, your colleagues, your community – and yourself.  Continue Reading…

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Selling & presenting with authenticity

by Paul Sparks on June 18, 2009

What makes a presentation really connect with an audience?

When you make a sales presentation – how can you make sure you’ve given it your best shot to get your point across?

 Groucho MarxGroucho Marx once said that “the key to life is sincerity – and once you can fake that – you’ve got it made!”

And so it is with our presentations – we need to be sincere and authentic if we want to connect well with our audience.  But beware – the audience can pick it if we try to fake it.

Many of us have had training in how to present – how to hold our arms and use our body; how to move around the stage or room; how to use our voice – and lots of other tips and techniques.  And while these methods are useful – they often lack that “something” to give power and a “real” feel to what we’re saying – even if we believe it with passion.

Nick Morgan is one of America’s most respected communication theorists and coaches.  He’s helped some of the top corporations in the US craft effective messages, and has also worked with politicians and educators.  He’s been an editor with Harvard Management Communication, and has authored numerous books and publications on the topic of communication.

Nick’s most recent work – “Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma” – has been on the subject of authenticity and communicating with authenticity.  In this piece I’ll share Nick’s key points on delivering a presentation that really connects with your audience, and list some things you can do to sell more effectively by presenting authentically.

To create a bond, Nick suggests working on these four intentions:

1.  The intention to be open with your audience.

This is the most critical factor.  Whilst there are ways to demonstrate this with gestures, tone and carefully selected text – if you don’t want to be open, it’s difficult to simply pretend.  (There are some tips on this below.)

2.  The intention to connect with your audience.

Again, this is something that you must want to do.  If you genuinely want to connect, you must keep constantly thinking about what your audience is interested in – and deliver meaningful content in a manner that engages them. Continue Reading…

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The developing science of influence

by Paul Sparks 7 May 2009

Over the past quarter of a century, the craft of professional selling has slowly built a scientific and theoretical base to its practice. One of the planks in this base is our understanding of human behaviour and influence – how do we get others to do things we want them to do?

Read the full article...