Joe da Silva | Speaker | Trainer | Coach
~ If you are no better tomorrow than you were yesterday, then you've wasted today.
Confucius said: “Life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Why is that?
There are many times during a session of The Action Suite I get: “Joe, it can’t be that simple.” to which I reply: “Yes, it truly is.”
There are so many out there in the area of sales that are expounding all sorts of techniques and tricks as well as manipulative ways to get to the bottom of what the prospect may be thinking or feeling. Here is a thought; ask.
Here we are in July. Both Canada and the United States have had a birthday. Kids are out of school and of course, the weather is getting sunnier and warmer. Furthermore, as I discussed in my blog, Dispelling the Summer Lie, this is an incredible opportunity to increase your business.
What we will be doing today is a continuation of the blog and discuss; how do we stay on top of mind with prospects and clients so that we are the first ones they call.
I was reminded in the book by Michael LeBoeuf, Ph.D.; “How to Win Customers & Keep Them For Life.” of a management course that I took many years ago and a fable with a very important lesson for all of us.
The fable was; ‘The Snake and Fisherman.’ There existed this old fisherman that would go out every day by himself in his small boat. One day, he looked over the side and spotted a snake swimming by with a frog in its mouth. Feeling sorry for the frog, he bent over and removed it from the snake’s mouth and set it free. However, he then started to feel bad for the snake as it would now grow hungry. He looked around his small boat but had no food. All he had was a bottle of brandy. He opened the bottle and gave the snake three shots. The snake happily swam away and everything was good. About an hour later the fisherman heard this insisting banging on his boat and when he peered over the side, there was the snake, but this time it had two frogs in its mouth.
Last week I was fishing off Port Renfrew located on the West Coast of Vancouver Island North of Victoria. It occurred to me while out on the boat, very early in the morning, the metaphor that is used many times in business; ‘fishing for clients.’ This analogy may bring some clarity about why you may not be ‘hocking’ the clients that you may be going after.
That was a question asked of me recently during one of my sessions of The Action Suite. “Maybe they shouldn’t.” was my reply. Total silence was the reaction.
You cannot ‘get’ anyone to switch to your product or service. Studies have shown that once customers feel that they are being pushed, their emotions will take over, and they will resist with more vigor even if it means that if they did make the switch, they would be better off.
Two words that no one wants to hear: “You’re fired.” Two words made famous during the running of ‘The Apprentice’ on television. Two words that some in the United States would like to say to the current President. It has in all likelihood happened to you if, you have been in this game as long as I have. It certainly has happened to me. That will be another blog for another time. However, did you know that as a sales person you can ‘fire’ your client?
