You're Going To Be Great At This!

For those of us who are in sales or are self-employed, we tend to concentrate on marketing, networking, production numbers and other factors that affect the bottom line. However, we often overlook an important factor. When considering your state of mind when selling, one should also how they feel physically as well. By exercising and staying healthy, we are more productive, can increase our working years and be more effective.  Victor Fernandes of Fernandesfit.com was a guest on a recent episode of my podcast and we discussed how staying healthy and moving our bodies can impact the success of our business.  Coincidentally, I was a guest on his podcast as well, which is on YouTube . In both of these we talk about getting up out of the chair and keeping healthy by doing the "small things", like drinking water and walking. Small changes can make a big difference! Chris Castane s is a humorous speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. H...

I met Carl Willis a few years ago through LinkedIn and I immediately was struck by his generosity. He is always happy to get on a Zoom call or accept my invitation to appear on my podcast. He has even invited me on his podcast, as well as other online events like his webinar.  In this episode, Carl and I discuss working on skillset, and more specifically, communicating your business' mission online. Listen in and let me know what you think. And please subscribe/follow the podcast! Chris Castane s is a humorous speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. His new book, "Nearly Motivated" is available on Amazon. For booking information,  click here . His new podcast,  "You're Going To Be Great At This!"  is available on most platforms.   He's also the president of  Surf Financial Brokers  selling life and disability insurance in several states.

One of the biggest obstacles we face in our careers as business owners, sales reps and other self-employed folk, is getting our mental blocks out of the way so we can succeed.  Carl Willis of Remodeling Marketing Team and I talk about optimizing your mindset for hitting goals and making more money.  By knowing who your customer is and understanding what problem your product or service solves, you can get better clarity around your business.  Carl shares a good story of an entrepreneur who was undervaluing her work, and by virtue, underpricing her product. Take a listen and please follow/subscribe.  Chris Castane s is a humorous speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. His new book, "Nearly Motivated" is available on Amazon. For booking information,  click here . His new podcast,  "You're Going To Be Great At This!"  is available on most platforms.   He's also the president of  Surf Financial Br...

I recently had a great conversation with Bill Whitaker, realtor and owner of RawtapeRPM.com. Bill talks about his time in the real estate business, and his journey that led to running a business as a consultant and coach for real estate agents all over the country.  Below is the footage of the conversation. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Ch ris Castane s is a humorous speaker and former comedian who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. His newest book, "Nearly Motivated", is yet another humorous look at sales. For booking information,  click here.  As president of  Surf Financial Brokers  ,  he sells life and disability insurance in several states.

In the previous two posts I discussed a couple of company sponsored sales courses that I was required to take as part of my onboarding. One was focused on memorizing a sales pitch word for word with some extra emphasis on keeping a positive mental attitude. The other was nothing more than product training. Both of these companies had a lot of turnover, which meant that they needed to constantly hire new agents as the previous agents would quit just as quickly.  With this in mind, I would be remiss if I did not discuss one of the better sales courses. This sales class was with a very large life insurance company (I'll call them ABC) and was more comprehensive than the others. In my mind, the larger the class, the more turnover the company had. And as we have seen, more turnover means less successful sales people. Our class at ABC only had about a dozen of us, so that seemed promising.  One of the first things they mentioned was that only about 15% of the applicants had made it ...

Years ago I realized that I needed to work on my public speaking skills because I was winding up in situations where I would have to stand up in front of a crowd and talk about myself or my business. A prospective client told me about his great experience at Toastmasters, so I looked into it and joined my local chapter.  One of the added benefits of joining an organization like Toastmasters is the opportunity to meet some awesome people from all walks of life. And even though it's not a networking group per se, I have managed to get some clients and great friendships through the club. One of those people is my friend, Rachel Pitts.  Rachel is a Master Sales Coach who brings her experience as a realtor, mortgage loan officer, entrepreneur and fitness coach to Sales Gravy. She understands the challenges that realtors face, which helps her relate to her realtor partners as she assists their buyers get a mortgage. After 10+ years as a realtor, she made the switch to the mortgage s...

If you are in sales you are either a W-2 employee, with a nice benefits package and salary. On the other hand, you may be like myself and countless others who are independent contractors, which means we are on our own when it comes to benefits, wages and overhead. In other words, we are self-employed. With any situation like this there are advantages and disadvantages. A few of the advantages are: You work when you want . You are not bound to a schedule, generally speaking. But if you want or need a vacation, you can do so whenever you care to. Personally, I like to work late at night or early in the morning when I don't have a lot of interruptions. If my work is finished I can "clock out" when everyone else is starting their day.  Lots of tax deductions . I write off everything I can because I'm self-employed. If I take a client out for coffee or a meal, I write it off. Travel expenses, including gas and lodging, are also written off. Work from home? I have a home of...

Why do veteran salespeople have a reputation for being jaded and curmudgeons? Because after years of dealing with people who don't keep appointments, return phones and generally are flakes, it takes a toll on them. As mentioned previously, my old manager used to say, "If it weren't for people it would be the easiest job in the world." Those old grizzled salespeople were not always like that. Many started off as hopeful, confident and ready to make a buck. I know my first sales job offered a training course that was comprised of an even split between product knowledge and motivating us. The motivational part was important because all the product knowledge in the world won't help unless you can find the reason to get out of bed in the morning. Coming out of that sales school I was eager to see people and set the world on fire. Then reality set in. Getting rejected over and over was brutal, especially to a 23 year old kid who was told how easy it would be to sell. Bu...

For the last year I have been trying to maintain my business. Luckily for me, I'm a one-person operation, so I am not on the hook for payroll, much less overhead for a staff. But while in the throes of a pandemic, I have had to look for a whole new clientele that is hunkered down in isolation. Meeting people has been tough to say the least. Sure, people are going places, but everyday events like going to the movies, festivals and other places have been rare. And I'm the first to admit that Zoom meetings are not my forte. In person networking meetings, on the other hand, are right in my wheelhouse.  I love a good networking event, so much so that I even discussed how to get the most out of one in my book . So you can imagine how thrilling it was to actually attend a good luncheon again this week.  This particular group typically meets once a month and always was a great source of clients and referrals for me. It's a very loose knit group with not a lot of structure. No dues ...

On the last couple of posts I discussed how difficult it can be dealing with co-workers and management. However this time I want to take a look at the clients we deal with each and every day. In my book I had an entire chapter on "How To Be A Good Customer", but apparently it went unread. Before I get started I want to acknowledge that a vast majority of my clients are awesome people. Many have become friends of mine as well, especially the ones that are local to me. This helps tremendously when there is an issue as they know the kind of person I am and can trust that I'm not out to screw them over.  But as we all know it only takes one grouchy, irritable jerk to ruin your day or week. Anyone in sales, self-employed or otherwise depends on their customers to earn a living and can share a multitude of stories about these people. Here are a few of my stories.   1. The drunk guy. Back in my retail days I managed a music store. We opened at 10am (mall schedule) and usually f...

Have you ever had the customer who disappeared, never to be heard from again. The "one and done" is not unusual, but wouldn't you prefer to have your clients come back and keep coming back? At first glance, this client may have found a better deal elsewhere. For instance, they may have bought a car from you a few years back, but since then they have found a better dealership. Or a better deal may be the issue. Or maybe you fell victim to one of the biggest challenges of selling, which is to keep changing where you work.  I have made a lot of money in the hair/cosmetology space over the years. Part of this is because I began building a relationship with a hair salon years ago. In doing so, I learned a lot about how that industry works.  Generally speaking, a salon owner will rent out booths to other cosmetologists who may or may not have their own clientele. Many are right out school while others just don't have the capital to open a location of their own. Or they may ...

We finally made it to the end of the year. For some people (like every realtor I know) 2020 was a fantastic year. But for the vast majority of us, it just sucked. The pandemic ravaged the economy, closing businesses and, in turn, causing massive unemployment. I may be wrong here, but most people without a job don't typically buy more stuff. As we start a new year, I usually recommend that this is the time to assess your business and see what worked and what didn't work in the last 365 days. In this case, an autopsy may be more appropriate.  But it's not all doom and gloom. Their were those who adapted to the "new normal" by readjusting the way they worked. Zoom and other virtual meeting platforms created a way for sales people to see their clients without having to physically meet with them. The "contactless" sales approach kept many a good sales person afloat.  As the vaccines begin to get distributed and the pandemic slowly ebbs, I predict the economy ...

It can be difficult to get your client to understand you, your product or even the concept of what you are trying to sell. For sales professionals we have to figure out how to get our message to these people in a way that is not just easy to comprehend, but efficient too.  There's an expression I've heard over the years from managers and mentors alike which goes something like "Sell the sizzle, not the steak". The imagery of the aroma of a steak cooking on the grill makes me want a steak. However, if someone walked up to me and said, "I sell steaks. Would you like a steak off of my meat truck?" the chances of me purchasing will drop. Don't get me wrong, I love steak, but the approach and allure of the sizzling juices on the grill are much more enticing. Selling the benefits instead of the features is one way to get our clients to understand what we are offering. Sure, a realtor can go over the features, or in their case, the amenities of a house. Tile fl...

When sales people get started in the business they are often without prospects. How does one sell to people when they don't have anyone to talk to? Some are told to create a "warm market" list, which is basically a list of people they already know and feel comfortable approaching. Others are told to "get out there and knock on doors". Of course, we all know how effective that is. There are so many issues with all of this. First of all, why is the person with no contacts getting into a business that requires contacts? The answer is not difficult to find. They have been told by someone, either the sales recruiter or an acquaintance, that there is a lot of money to be made. I typically lay the blame at the foot of the sales recruiter though, as they are the ones who know about their company, their culture and, most importantly, the success rate of the other sales reps that have come and gone.  One other point I'd like to make is that these companies are set in ...

Getting your message out to the public can be the toughest job when selling your products or services. It can be especially hard when you have a lot of competitors. If everyone is trying to get the same group of customers you will need to find a way to stand out in the crowd.  When I watch television commercials I like to critique the ads. "Just another screaming car salesman!" I'll say, or "Is that supposed to make me want to buy that?" if the spot is boring. Coming from a sales and marketing background, I want to know what is effective and can motivate a potential client into taking action, like picking up the phone for more information.  People won't always remember what you say, but they will remember how you made them feel when you said it. That is why many companies have spokespeople or mascots and infuse humor in their marketing.  Old school life insurance agents will tell you that you have to sell on the emotions of the client. They love to paint the...

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of all of the motivational material out there. It probably comes from my past experiences of seeing a speaker on stage giving what my father would call a "rah rah" talk and getting salespeople excited and enthused. Within 72 hours that enthusiasm is gone. The sales person went to work expecting success because they were pumped and got smacked in the face with a dose of reality. Enthusiasm was no match for b ad clients, no clients and poor execution. Of course, we all need someone to push us and hold us accountable. A coach or a sales manager will do their best. Or perhaps a speaker will give us a better reason to go out and try to sell a product or service. Thankfully, YouTube has plenty of speakers on tap to get your juices flowing (or you could hire me). Ultimately the motivation has to come from within. Truly successful people don't wait for the next Zig Ziglar presentation to come to town. They are already to go each day. The source of ...

If you were to meet someone new at a networking event and they asked you what kind of work you did, how would you respond? "I'm in sales," or "I own my own business," may be your response. You may talk about your product, its benefits and such. But you would not be describing the kind of work you do. If you are in sales, an entrepreneur, a business owner or otherwise self-employed, the product we sell is just a small part of the work we do.  I have previously mentioned my old sales manager who would say that "between 10-4 you should either be seeing a client or fighting to see a client." In other words, concentrate on the work, and that work is your business. In my business, prospecting for insurance clients can take up to 75% of an agent's time, and maybe more than that when they are just getting started in the business.  The insurance business isn't the only industry like that. Realtors, chiropractors, financial professionals and artisans are...