2 Make Money Easier

Go out and buy a 5-cent pencil, a 25-cent notebook

and begin to write down some million dollar ideas yourself.

—Bob Grinde

You work for a company, you sell something, and then you get

rewarded for it . . . you get paid! And you can control your income

level to a greater degree than in most professions, which

is one of the reasons sales is an appealing career.

Below are three rules to follow in this game of selling.

They’ll make your job a whole lot easier and your income a

whole lot higher.

_ Be positive.

_ Be aggressive.

_ Be persistent.

Be Positive

“I hate cold calling but, Lord help me, it’s a chore I have to

do.”

My, with that attitude, how do you think you are coming

across to prospects over the phone? Oh, you have the ability to

just “turn it on” when you want to? Sure you do! Just like you

can flap your arms and fly to Paris.

A positive attitude is overwhelmingly important in cold

calling. People want to talk to positive people. And positive, happy attitudes are contagious. The emotional undertone in

the message you leave, the e-mail you send, or the conversation

you have with a prospect comes across louder than the

message itself.

TIP: Communication Variables

_ Content – What is being said

_ Tonality – How something is being said

_ Nonverbal – Other messages that come across

to the recipient

Some studies show that most people believe that

content accounts for 40 to 60 percent of effective

communication, tonality accounts for 20 to 30 percent,

and nonverbal messages (eye movement,

held tilt, pauses in a conversation) account for the

remaining 20 to 30 percent.

In reality, content counts for about 7 percent,

tonality for 38 percent, and nonverbal communication

for 55 percent. That means 93 percent of

communication has to do with how you say something,

not what you say. Think of arguments you’ve

had with your spouse or with a sullen teenager. It isn’t

what they say that drives you nuts, right? It’s how

they say it.

A positive attitude will win you friends, bring you rewards,

and make you more successful at cold calling. Sure, it’s

possible to overdo it (“Hey, kids! It’s Howdy Doody time!!!”),

but good cheer should not be reserved for the holidays.

Be Aggressive

“Hi, I’m not here right now, but if you leave your

name and number, I’ll get back to you as soon as I

can. If it’s important, you can get me on my cell

phone at 555-5555.”

How many salespeople do you think call that cell phone

number? How many take that simple extra step? About 9 percent.

Which means that 91 percent of salespeople are saying,

in effect, “What I am offering is not really that important, so

I’ll just leave a message.”

The order goes to the salesperson who asks for it, not the

one who presents a great case and waits for the buyer to say,

“OK, I’ll take it.”

There is a fine line between aggressive and obnoxious.

What’s the difference? The aggressive salesperson wants to

help the prospect; the obnoxious one just wants to help himself.

Aggressive salespeople genuinely believe that what they

have to offer will help their prospect in a big way. And that

comes across every cold-calling day.

The salesperson who is aggressive does their homework,

knows that what they offer can help their prospect, and is on

a mission to help. The salesperson is obnoxious who just

keeps trying to sell something to someone regardless of need,

and who keeps score only on their wins rather than how many

customers they have helped. Prospects can tell the difference

in the first 30 seconds.

Be Persistent

Abraham Lincoln is regarded as one of the greatest leaders

America ever had. But consider this:

_ Lincoln was defeated when he ran for the Illinois

House of Representatives in 1832. But he was victorious

in the House race in 1834, and was then reelected

for three consecutive terms.

_ Lincoln was defeated when he ran for the U.S. House

of Representatives in 1843, then ran successfully for a

House seat in 1846.

_ He was defeated for the Senate in 1855.

_ He was defeated for vice president in 1856.

_ He was defeated for the Senate again in 1858.

_ Finally, in 1860, Lincoln was elected president.

Persistence is the ability to take a defeat without giving

up—to learn from it and eventually turn it into a positive.

What you do with those nonreturned e-mails and phone call

is up to you. But the more persistent you are, the more successful

you will be.

TIP: Persistence Opens the Buying Window

Many things have to be right to get a sale. You

need to have the right product or service, right

price, and you need to talk to the right people. But

the time must be right as well, and we’re talking

about the buyer’s time, not yours. The buying window

has to be open.

Perhaps you’ve placed five calls to a certain

prospect, and then just given up: “He never returns

my calls, so there is no interest there.” And meanwhile,

maybe the buyer was saying, “You know, I’m

buried this week, but next week I really must get

back to that salesperson.” Next week, the “buying

window” is open and the prospect will take your

call—if you are persistent enough to make it. It’s often

simple persistence that puts you in the right

place at the right time.

Positive, aggressive, and persistent—remember those

three guidelines. You’ll make more money, your job will get

easier, and you may even learn to enjoy cold calling a heck of

a lot more. Hey, we all like things that are easy and successful,

don’t we?

Go out and buy a 5-cent pencil, a 25-cent notebook

and begin to write down some million dollar ideas yourself.

—Bob Grinde

You work for a company, you sell something, and then you get

rewarded for it . . . you get paid! And you can control your income

level to a greater degree than in most professions, which

is one of the reasons sales is an appealing career.

Below are three rules to follow in this game of selling.

They’ll make your job a whole lot easier and your income a

whole lot higher.

_ Be positive.

_ Be aggressive.

_ Be persistent.

Be Positive

“I hate cold calling but, Lord help me, it’s a chore I have to

do.”

My, with that attitude, how do you think you are coming

across to prospects over the phone? Oh, you have the ability to

just “turn it on” when you want to? Sure you do! Just like you

can flap your arms and fly to Paris.

A positive attitude is overwhelmingly important in cold

calling. People want to talk to positive people. And positive, happy attitudes are contagious. The emotional undertone in

the message you leave, the e-mail you send, or the conversation

you have with a prospect comes across louder than the

message itself.

TIP: Communication Variables

_ Content – What is being said

_ Tonality – How something is being said

_ Nonverbal – Other messages that come across

to the recipient

Some studies show that most people believe that

content accounts for 40 to 60 percent of effective

communication, tonality accounts for 20 to 30 percent,

and nonverbal messages (eye movement,

held tilt, pauses in a conversation) account for the

remaining 20 to 30 percent.

In reality, content counts for about 7 percent,

tonality for 38 percent, and nonverbal communication

for 55 percent. That means 93 percent of

communication has to do with how you say something,

not what you say. Think of arguments you’ve

had with your spouse or with a sullen teenager. It isn’t

what they say that drives you nuts, right? It’s how

they say it.

A positive attitude will win you friends, bring you rewards,

and make you more successful at cold calling. Sure, it’s

possible to overdo it (“Hey, kids! It’s Howdy Doody time!!!”),

but good cheer should not be reserved for the holidays.

Be Aggressive

“Hi, I’m not here right now, but if you leave your

name and number, I’ll get back to you as soon as I

can. If it’s important, you can get me on my cell

phone at 555-5555.”

How many salespeople do you think call that cell phone

number? How many take that simple extra step? About 9 percent.

Which means that 91 percent of salespeople are saying,

in effect, “What I am offering is not really that important, so

I’ll just leave a message.”

The order goes to the salesperson who asks for it, not the

one who presents a great case and waits for the buyer to say,

“OK, I’ll take it.”

There is a fine line between aggressive and obnoxious.

What’s the difference? The aggressive salesperson wants to

help the prospect; the obnoxious one just wants to help himself.

Aggressive salespeople genuinely believe that what they

have to offer will help their prospect in a big way. And that

comes across every cold-calling day.

The salesperson who is aggressive does their homework,

knows that what they offer can help their prospect, and is on

a mission to help. The salesperson is obnoxious who just

keeps trying to sell something to someone regardless of need,

and who keeps score only on their wins rather than how many

customers they have helped. Prospects can tell the difference

in the first 30 seconds.

Be Persistent

Abraham Lincoln is regarded as one of the greatest leaders

America ever had. But consider this:

_ Lincoln was defeated when he ran for the Illinois

House of Representatives in 1832. But he was victorious

in the House race in 1834, and was then reelected

for three consecutive terms.

_ Lincoln was defeated when he ran for the U.S. House

of Representatives in 1843, then ran successfully for a

House seat in 1846.

_ He was defeated for the Senate in 1855.

_ He was defeated for vice president in 1856.

_ He was defeated for the Senate again in 1858.

_ Finally, in 1860, Lincoln was elected president.

Persistence is the ability to take a defeat without giving

up—to learn from it and eventually turn it into a positive.

What you do with those nonreturned e-mails and phone call

is up to you. But the more persistent you are, the more successful

you will be.

TIP: Persistence Opens the Buying Window

Many things have to be right to get a sale. You

need to have the right product or service, right

price, and you need to talk to the right people. But

the time must be right as well, and we’re talking

about the buyer’s time, not yours. The buying window

has to be open.

Perhaps you’ve placed five calls to a certain

prospect, and then just given up: “He never returns

my calls, so there is no interest there.” And meanwhile,

maybe the buyer was saying, “You know, I’m

buried this week, but next week I really must get

back to that salesperson.” Next week, the “buying

window” is open and the prospect will take your

call—if you are persistent enough to make it. It’s often

simple persistence that puts you in the right

place at the right time.

Positive, aggressive, and persistent—remember those

three guidelines. You’ll make more money, your job will get

easier, and you may even learn to enjoy cold calling a heck of

a lot more. Hey, we all like things that are easy and successful,

don’t we?