You're Going To Be Great At This!

We all want to land that one big prospect that can make our month or year. But how do we work on that "whale" while working our usual market? In this episode of our podcast, I discuss how to recognize which ones of these "whales" we are targeting and how to turn them from prospect to client. As always, I appreciate your support. Please follow/subscribe to the podcast. Thanks! 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.

As mentioned in the previous post I have worked with a lot of different companies over the years, and a few had a sales training course which I was required to attend. The one I discussed earlier focused on memorizing a sales pitch word for word and indoctrinating the class into a "cult" of positive mental attitude (PMA). I think the latter was because their product was so horrible we had to keep a plastered smile on our faces while trying to sell it. About 15 years later I went to work for another insurance company which had a completely different approach to their training. All they taught us for a solid week was their products, which were okay, but made the training meaningless since we weren't given much other pertinent information.  Imagine I gave you a toolbox and said, "This is all you need. Now get out there and build me a house!" If you had no construction experience, you wouldn't know which tools were appropriate, how to plumb pipes, saw wood, when...

Recently I did an interview with Mitch Russo of Thrive Global, an American company that provides behavior change technology and media to support individuals struggling with stress and burnout. And with plenty of both in sales, Thrive Global has found a niche. Founded by Ariana Huffington in 2016, the company is now highly regarded and was named one of  "The Top 10 NYC Startups to Watch in 2017" by Inc. Magazine. Our interview was on the topic of "How To Be Great At Sales Without Seeming Salesy". Personally I don't think people want to be "sold", even though I have worked with companies that think the opposite. This is fine if you believe that, but I won't work for them again. In my world, building a rapport with someone is going to go a lot farther for me down the road than just a transactional sale.  Given that we are currently in the midst of a global pandemic, the interview was timely as we discussed recent events and how to work around it all, ...

An advertising rep once told me that I needed to add my photo to my business cards because it would give me extra credibility. "When someone sees your picture they know you're a real person," she said in that voice that sounded like a grade school teacher. "People want to deal with other real people." In fact, I did have some professional headshots taken and used them for brochures and internet marketing. But I never added my picture to my business cards. Why not? In my book I mention that business cards are not efficient and are good for two things: Drawings for free lunches and leaving with a good tip in a restaurant. Other than that, business cards are an expensive piece of the marketing puzzle that just don't work for most people. A good headshot can help you though. I've been fortunate to have had the photos taken twice at no cost to me. Once was at an industry conference and again, years later from a photographer friend. The latter was needed as I...

Although there are many ways to prospect, I think there are two main concepts to consider. First, you're going to have to get out there and look for prospects. That means networking events, asking for referrals and even trying to figure out how to make LinkedIn work for you. That can all be effective if done correctly. And if you're new to an industry this is the arena you'll be spending most of your time working in. The other part is more passive and takes a long view of marketing yourself. It involves getting your message out to as many people as you can, and as cheaply if possible. The goal here, as mentioned in the previous post, is to get people to call you , instead of you having to find them. How do you get them to find you first? A strategy is needed. You'll need to find as many outlets as possible, and as my friends as Chastain Media  say, "have a big funnel" that leads back to your website or landing page. There's a parable in the Bible w...

My friend and former co-worker, Johnny Fryar, once said that 90% of the job in sales was finding someone to talk to. That pretty much sums it up. When I'm speaking I tell groups that selling is the actual face-to-face meeting when we discuss features, pricing, etc, but "sales" is the foreplay that precedes it. An old manager of mine used to say, "Between 10am and 4pm you need to be seeing clients or fighting to see clients." Forceful words for a man who was counting the days til his retirement, but nonetheless, absolutely true. What are you doing to find someone to talk to? Are you fighting to find clients? Are you looking under every rock, attending networking events, making phone calls and telling everyone you meet your story? Prospecting needs a holistic approach. Think of it as business buckshot. Sure it's great when you go to a chamber of commerce after hours event and you get some business cards, but your cards need to have your website printed o...

Anyone who has read my book knows we're all in sales in some form or fashion. And the first rule of sales is that before we sell our product or service we have to sell ourselves. When you see someone on "Shark Tank" pitching the investors, the successful entrepreneurs are the ones who sell themselves first. Before the sharks make a offer they usually say something like, "I like you guys!" or "You girls have a great work ethic!" The lesson is that you can have a great idea or a million dollar product, but it doesn't matter if people don't think they can work with you. The one exception is Kevin "Mr. Wonderful" O'Leary. This shark claims to only look at the bottom line and is a "disciplined investor". His brutally honest remarks, like telling someone with a business idea that it's "poo poo on a stick" or that their competitors will "squash you like the cockroach that you are".  O'Leary'...

I decided that instead of giving you sales advice on this post I'd rather hear from you and find out what is going on with your sales during this Covid-19 crisis. Knowing that we are all in a wide variety of industries, from insurance to real estate to autos and pharmaceuticals, not everyone is affected the same way. For example, life insurance sales, as an industry, have risen, according to many carriers. But if you ask individual agents, many will tell you that they can't sell because of social distancing. In one of my Facebook groups someone boasted that they were having a stellar month. The ensuing comments called the guy a jerk for bragging while others were suffering. Emotions ran high, even for social media. I've read how realtors are in a bind because they can't show homes to buyers, but some are giving virtual tours. Personally, I don't know if I'd buy a property based on a virtual tour, but to each his own. As someone who is trying to currently s...

Let's consider our career choices when we were younger. As a child in elementary school, most of us wanted to be the things we saw on TV, like a doctor, lawyer, policeman or a nurse. And as we got older, we considered other careers, like electrician or mechanic, or a scientist. But what about the career that we've chosen? If I were to go to a high school or college and ask our young citizens if they had considered a career in sales, most would say that they'd rather not. However, there are many graduating business majors who are willing to settle for an "entry level sales" position, and I was one of them. When I graduated from NC State in 1985 I had few prospects. I knew that I had to start somewhere, hoping that I'd eventually land in a middle to upper management position in a large corporation. Instead I was selling insurance policies in rural areas from dusk to dawn. Looking up the corporate ladder at the company I was working for, I noticed that I didn...

In early February of this year I received a phone call from a friend of mine. It was the first time we had spoken in years and he wanted some advice. He was getting bored of his current career but didn't want to leave it completely, so he decided to get his life insurance license and was soon working with a crew of agents. Since I had been in the industry for many years he asked me to evaluate his situation. I asked several questions about his managers, the insurance companies they carried and compensation. It sounded like this was a new agency but with some of the old familiar traits, like hiring new people with no experience, telling them they were going to make tons of money, and of course, having the agents buy their leads. Anyone that has read my book will tell you that I frown on nearly all of this. My friend wanted me to meet his sales manager to get a sense of where the guy was coming from. A few weeks later I met with the sales manager at a local coffee shop and we dis...

In the world of sales, we have to learn how to handle a wide array of objections. The most popular of these is the "price objection", where the customer basically makes a comment along the lines of "I can't afford it" or "Now isn't a good time".  Here's how to handle this issue. Begin the process by making sure you emphasize the value of your product or service. Recap your conversation with "We both think that this is a great solution for your problem. Would you agree?" This gets the prospect to acknowledge your understanding of their problem and your solution. At this point, you still haven't shown them the price. "If this were free, would you hesitate to take it?" Of course your prospect will say no. "So it is about price. I'm glad to know that because I wouldn't want to sell you something that would make you uncomfortable. What do you think would be a fair price and in your budget?" Now that a...

If you're in sales or self-employed, you probably want more business. One of the best ways to improve your sales is to network. I'm not talking about using social media sites like LinkedIn, but physically meeting people in person. So if you're planning on attending a chamber after hours or realtors' association event? Consider a few things before going.   Relationship selling is better than transactional selling. People who network build relationships. If your sales are just transactions, your clients won't have any reason to stay loyal to you as a customer. I have built relationships with people at networking events that have led to them becoming clients or great sources of referrals. I'm not going to get those kinds of results by just asking people to buy, like car lots do. I want to get to know my prospects needs, personally, professionally and financially. Go to networking events often . Here again, you won't build any of the above mentioned relation...

In my book, " You're Going To Be Great At This !", I discuss the sales term "whale hunting".  If you're not familiar with the term that's okay. Generally speaking, whale hunting refers to looking for that large account or client who can provide you with a large payday. I hope to provide you with some tips and comments on how to do this successfully. Long ago I discovered a crazy phenomenon. I was selling life insurance policies, usually smaller face amounts for less premiums. One case would usually take roughly 8-10 hours once the client agreed to purchase, and most of that time comprised of correspondence between myself and the client or myself and the underwriter. And because of the low premiums, my commissions weren't very high so I had to work on a higher volume of business. One day, with the help of a veteran co-worker, I landed a very large premium policy. My commissions were more than quadruple what I normally earned. After a bit of recapp...