Mastering the Art of Sales: Cultivating resilience, building relationships, and offering tailored solutions

Have you ever wondered what sets extraordinary salespeople apart from the rest? Tune in as I unlock the secrets to thriving in the competitive world of sales, zeroing in on the transformative power of a customer-centric approach. This episode is all about understanding your client's needs to provide not just a product but a solution, such as the innovative energy-efficient modulating systems that can change the game for homeowners. I share my personal journey, revealing how resilience and a can-do attitude are your allies against inevitable rejections. We're not just talking sales here; we're discussing the art of building genuine relationships, grounded in trust, integrity, and respect for the customer's choices.

Expect to walk away from this episode with a treasure trove of insights on how to be fully present with your clients and offer unmatched value, especially during this surprisingly early peak season. It's essential to engage wholeheartedly with customers, crafting solutions for their unique situations without getting sidetracked by thoughts of upcoming appointments. Remember to let your experiences, including this podcast, guide your growth in the sales landscape—share it, review it, and join the conversation with your own topic suggestions. After all, this isn't just a podcast; it's your stepping stone to sales mastery.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:57

Welcome to the Successful Life Podcast. I'm your host, corey Barrier. Today, folks, we're going to talk about the mindset of a successful salesperson. Listen, if you want to be successful in this industry or any sales position, you're going to want to be customer-focused, to be customer focused. You're going to want to be, you're going to want to have the customer at the center of everything that you're doing. And look, here's the deal you got to. You want to focus on understanding what the customer's needs are, understanding and providing solutions rather than just pushing products. You've got to build long-term relationships through trust. You want to look and you've got to be able to have the technical knowledge behind what you're selling. You've got to know the technical knowledge behind what you're selling. You've got to know the technical knowledge behind what you're selling against. You got to know, you want to know what is your competitors doing.

Speaker 1: 2:05

If you are there, like we do here at Six and Fix selling, we sell modulating systems. We sell single stage. Of course, we sell two stage, but at the end of the day, if we're talking about energy efficiency and we're talking about the best choice for the customer, usually it is going to be a modulating system. And I believe that in my gut, because I know the value that we offer with the modulating system. The warranty is parallel. Compared to everybody else's, it can beat anybody else's warranty. And the efficiency, the fact that it's quiet, the fact that I mean, listen, you can't compare a two-stage variable system, which is old technology, to the newest technology on the market. There's no comparison and, at the end of the day, if you don't know how to explain that to the customer, they're not going to move forward with you. And listen, you've got to develop problem-solving skills. Like I said, you've got to be well-versed in everything that you're doing, everything your customer's doing. So, look, every customer interaction is an opportunity to solve a problem and this approach helps in offering the most effective solution tailored to your customer. It has to be tailored to their needs and their wants.

Speaker 1: 3:53

You've got to be resilient. You've got to be persistent. You got to stay motivated in. You've got to be persistent. You've got to stay motivated despite the challenges and rejections. Listen, we've all been rejected. It's not a great feeling. I'm sure you've been dumped by a girlfriend or a boyfriend. I know you've lost a sale from a customer that you felt like you needed or felt like you should have gotten, but you've got to keep moving forward and have a positive outlook and a consistent effort if you want to be resilient and persistent. Like here's the thing it's uncomfortable, right, and I'm going to get into that in a second. You want to also think about what is the goal of you going to that house. The goal is to solve that customer's problem. The goal is not to make the sale. The goal is to solve the customer's problems and you will make the sale.

Speaker 1: 4:51

You also want to be ethical and be honest. Have integrity, be honest, have integrity. Always provide truthful information about the products and service that you offer, because misleading customers can damage your relationship and can lead to the loss of business. You know clearly communicating pricing, services, contract terms. You know avoid hiding things that should be out in the open because it's going to bite you. What is your value proposition right?

Speaker 1: 5:33

Focus on how your products and service genuinely improve the customer situation. You want to emphasize the long-term benefits, whether it's energy efficiency, whether it's cost savings. You've got to focus on what's important to them and then you've got to also, you're not going to hit 100%, it's impossible. But you also got to be able to respect the customer's decision if they decide not to go with you. You don't want to pressure customers and damage the relationship that you built. Nobody likes pressure. Nobody likes being sold to. I don't like being sold to. I like to buy, but I don't like to be sold to. And people can feel the inauthenticity when you're just trying to push a product or a service. They know if you don't believe it, they can feel it. It's a transfer of energy. Whether that's good energy or whether that's bad energy, you're going to transfer one of them.

Speaker 1: 6:39

So you got to get uncomfortable with being got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Let me say that again You've got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Step out of your comfort zone. You got to regularly challenge yourself to step outside of what feels good, because it's not about that. It's not about what feels good when you're selling a product or a service. You also need to be able, or you want to be able, to try other things If you're in a slump.

Speaker 1: 7:17

Last year was a tough year for our industry. Last year the summertime didn't hit till like June. It felt like all across the country and we suffered. Like it's April right now and it's already getting 80 degrees in North Carolina. That's great, because we all know what happens when we get in those upper 70s, 80s, 90s, 100 degrees. And so you got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You got to be able to step outside of your comfort zone.

Speaker 1: 7:48

You got to learn from the rejection that you've had. Use rejection as a tool to learn from. Got to analyze what went wrong, retrace your steps, look at what you could have done differently. But you don't want to look at it as a failure because that's setting you up for the next call for another zero. You didn't fail. You just got to go back and retrace and look at what could I have done differently to see this all the way through.

Speaker 1: 8:25

And there's a lot of uncertainty in the sales industry. In this industry it's unpredictable, right, but you've got to embrace the uncertainty that is just normal part of this job. You don't want to fear uncertainty, because that energy the customer can feel. Look, you always want to be improving on yourself. Ask your co-workers what am I doing differently? What is you know? Give me some feedback of how I can improve my sales approach. Oh, you know, I just you know the customer did this, or the customer did that, or you know it wasn't me. Well, you know it probably was you. You may have said something different that you don't normally say. Maybe you didn't.

Speaker 1: 9:24

Obviously you didn't add enough value for that customer to make an informed decision, or they would have made an informed decision and went with what the product that you know is 100% what they should have gone with, because you believe that you know is 100% what they should have gone with, because you believe that, like I believe that the newest technology on the market, which is a modulating system opposed to a two-stage variable system I know the energy savings are there, I know that it's going to be quieter. I know it's going to give you a better experience 100%. I believe that to the core of my being. So, listen, you want us to be able to sell from your heart. You want to be able to sell from a place of authenticity, and you can't be authentic if you're making up a bunch of junk. That's not true, it's not. You can't be transparent if you're flying by the seat of your pants. You've got to do some work outside of your everyday job. You know I have done a tremendous amount of personal development and it's helped me obtain a mindset of a winner, and I think you want to be a winner.

Speaker 1: 10:51

Nobody wants to be a loser, but sometimes we get into a slump and when we get into a slump and we hit, you know we lose two or three deals in a row. It's a little bit challenging. I think you'd agree to get back on the horse and go in there with a positive mindset, because you've been kicked in the teeth so many times. But have you been kicked in the teeth so many times? Two or three zeros, I mean there's a lot of mitigating factors that could come along with that. And you can't take it personally. You can't think to yourself they just didn't buy from me. Ultimately, they may not have bought from you, but they could have something entirely different than what they've told you going on in their life. Maybe they're going through a divorce, maybe they just found out that their kids got cancer, but maybe they didn't share that with you. So don't take it personal.

Speaker 1: 11:44

It's really hard to go back into a sale and be successful if you're butthurt, if your feelings are hurt, if you feel like you've been done wrong, if you feel like that. You know the customer just didn't buy from you because it was you. It could have just been you, but you've got to reflect back on that. You've got to really think about what could I have done differently? Did I bring everything that I could to the sale? Did I leave every single thing on the field when I walked away? Because if you did, then you should be able to sleep at night. And if you left everything on the field and you were compassionate not compassionate if you were passionate about your ability to communicate with the customer and move that sale forward, then you probably did leave everything on the table. But you've got to. You really want to be able to talk to that customer with conviction. If they don't move forward with you, they're going to make a decision that they're probably going to regret, because you know what you offer is the best solution for them, because you know what you offer is the best solution for them. But if you can't transfer that energy, then you've transferred negative energy.

Speaker 1: 13:10

Nobody wants to buy from someone that seems inauthentic, that seems like they're just flying by the seat of their pants. It seems like they're just there right to make a sale and that's selfish. If you're there just to make the sale, then they can feel that they know that you're not being an honest human being. People don't want to buy from people that they don't know like and trust and respect. You've got to respect the customer and they've got to respect you. And the easiest way to get respect is come into this opportunity knowing what you offer is the best and leave it all on the field. You wouldn't if you were an NFL player. You wouldn't go play in the Super Bowl and not give it 150%. You just wouldn't. You wouldn't go play in the Super Bowl and not practice.

Speaker 1: 14:13

So one of the things that is vitally important to any salesperson, any comfort advisor, is role play in front of your peers. It's very uncomfortable. Play in front of your peers, it's very uncomfortable, but you got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You want to be the best that you can be. I want to be the best I can be and maybe that is not you, but I'm certain if you're listening to this show you want to be successful. You want to win. Who doesn't want to win? Right? The only way that you can win is by practice.

Speaker 1: 14:50

Work on yourself, do uncomfortable things. I get into a 40 degree ice bath every single morning, every single morning, because it's the hardest thing I want to have to do all day. So I get in the ice bath because I know if I can get through, that, if I can create the mindset to get through, that talking to a customer is not going to be very hard. Fielding problems throughout the day at work is not going to be an issue, because I've already done the hardest thing I need to do all day and I feel pretty good too. I'll tell you that If you've never tried it, you should.

Speaker 1: 15:31

So the message today is you've got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You've got to put yourself in the customer's shoes. You've got to offer solutions that best fits them. Sometimes it is a single-stage system, sometimes it's a modulating system, occasionally it's a two stage variable. But the truth of the matter is, in everything, every situation is different. If you're going to sell a bunch of units to an apartment complex, you're not going to talk to them about a modulating system, because you should know they're never going to buy the best system. They're never going to buy the best system. They're never going to buy the most energy efficient. They're always going to buy the base model. But if you don't know that and you go in there pitching some crazy price, two-stage, variable or modulating system, you're going to lose the sale because you don't have the awareness of the situation.

Speaker 1: 16:26

You got to ask more questions, you got to listen and if you don't do those things, you're going to struggle and I don't want to see that for you. Look, this is a hard. Sales is hard. You've got to be able to overcome the fear of rejection. You've got to be able to overcome the mindset of you know somebody that is well, I guess, fear of rejection. I should have just said that and not said the mindset part. But the point is and I'm going to wrap this up I want you to go out there and win.

Speaker 1: 17:06

Think about what I've said today. What are you doing right now? What are you doing today to make yourself better? Are you listening to books? Obviously you're listening to podcasts, or you wouldn't be hearing this Tune into this podcast every week, because I'm always here to add value to your life, to help you in the field, to help you overcome the same issues that I've had in the past.

Speaker 1: 17:34

We've all had them. Nobody comes out of the womb, you know, fear-free. Well, maybe we do. Actually, I guess we do come out of the womb fear-free, but as life progresses, as things happen, as we get disappointed as we get rejected, as there's fears that set in. What are you doing to overcome those? How are you different? Because I can tell you right now, most people go in and pitch the same way. Most people go in with the same BS line we're the best you should buy from us who cares. Most people go in with the same BS line we're the best you should buy from us. Who cares. Right, you got to be different. What makes you different? Well, what's going to make you different is doing the hard things, putting yourself in positions to where you're uncomfortable. So, folks, I appreciate you.

Speaker 1: 18:22

Do me a favor, share the show, make sure you go and leave us a five review and tell me what you want to talk about. Tell me what you want me to talk about and look. My goal here is to provide value for you. Everything that I talked about today is something that you can take and work on, and I encourage you to do that because I want to see you win. We're in a, we're getting. We're entering into our busiest season of the year and it's come early, and I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful that we have opportunities to serve more customers, to be there when they need us and it's getting ready to get super busy. And remember, if you're in a customer's house, you need to be present. You need to make sure that you're providing the value that they need to move forward, because if you're thinking about the next appointment, the next sale, you're not present. If you're not present, they can feel that. So I appreciate you guys and we'll see you soon.