Start With A Win - Failing Sales Techniques

Episode Date: August 1, 2018

On this episode of the Start with a Win podcast, we discuss the 3 typical reasons why sales people fail. These ideas can also be easily translated to any area of life, making you well-rounded and more successful overall.Reason #1: Not going out to get new business every day.It is important to continue prospecting and networking while maintaining your current client base. Think of each new lead as food for your business; if you aren’t bringing any in, you are starving your business.Reason #2: Failing to nurture your relationships with your customers.Customers expect to be “handled” by the sales process at companies with which they are involved. What can set you apart is building authentic relationships with your clients by creating mutual trust, communications, and expectations.Reason #3: Never asking for the close.By having too many prospects in your sales pipeline that aren’t being converted into clients, you are clogging up your system and not giving yourself or your clients the breathing room that you need. Asking for the close can be awkward, but if you have a script and role-play it, you can focus instead on being kind and empathetic in the closing conversation and add lifetime value to the relationship, which will result in repeat and referral business.Connect with Adam:https://www.startwithawin.com/https://www.facebook.com/adamcontosREMAXCEO/https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContoshttps://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

Atop of the 12th floor of the RE-MAX World Headquarters, you're listening to Start With A Win with CEO Adam Kantos. What's up everybody? Adam Kantos here, top of the 12th floor at RE-MAX World Headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Overlooking our beautiful downtown Denver. In the studio with me today, producer Mark. What's up, Mark? Hey, you know, living the dream, starting with wins. Right. Getting up after my failures and keep pushing on.

That's right, man. Start with a win. I love this podcast because we could talk about things that people ask me about all the time. They're like, hey, what do you think about this? Because I try to live the life. We can all try, right? I mean, you got to commit to it and go after it. So you got to go after it every day. Start with a win every day. End with a win too. Yeah. So what are we talking about today? Today, Mark, there are three typical reasons why a salesperson fails.

Now, let me tell you, these are three reasons that I've come up with after being involved in the sales space for quite some time. But these three reasons kind of translate across life, across relationships, getting things done, stuff like that. So look forward to today's episode and really getting into those. Well, awesome. All right. So what is reason number one? So Mark, reason number one, salespeople fail.

I mean, this is really, this is a no brainer. Okay. So you're in sales, you're like, all right, some guy walks in and throws a lead on your desk, or you get an email or something like that, a phone call, and you're like, yes, it's a lead. It's an easy approach for you. It is somebody coming to you, but that's not always the case. And those leads run out. People stop just receiving this lead flow that falls out of the sky to them. And guess what? They got a prospect. So the first reason why salespeople fail is they do not go out and get new business every day. Businesses function on new business. And a business that depends on people just randomly walking in off the street to have

a transaction with them, make a purchase or use their service or whatever it might be, you just can't hang up a sign and expect life to produce customers for you. So a business or a salesperson that fails typically starts with not gaining new customers every day, not prospecting. And so you think it's important to say you're busy with a lot of good clients and you're working, producing. You're saying, hey, go out there and continue to do that. Continue to network. Continue to. Yeah.

Oh, totally. Even if you're not like closing a deal that day you got to go get a new name in your in your network and that that's a great way to put it is uh it's it's like in life if you are let's say you're a professional somewhere and you're not out meeting people networking if you will you know the whole the whole linkedin concept where you're um not just virtually, but interpersonally meeting people and saying, hey, what's up, dude? I do this, you do that. You want to exchange some information and maybe I got some stuff that might help you, whatever it is. But you got to meet new

people every day. And especially like in our space, real estate, a successful real estate agent is adding new customers, new potential buyers or sellers to their network of contacts, the people that they want to build a relationship with every single day. And you just got to think, if you're not adding new business to your business every day, your business is starting to die.

It's starting to starve. New customers, new business is food for a business, food for a company. If you're not feeding your company, your company's going to start dying. I think there was a meme recently on your Instagram that had something to that effect. You got it. That is so true. And it happens. People, they go, why is my business falling apart? How many new customers are we putting this week? Well, I'm busy running the business. No, you got to work on the business, not just in the business.

You got to work on the business, growing it. It's, you know, it's like a diet of life. You know, if you're not feeding nutrients into your life, you can start dying. You can start starving. Same with the business. You've got to keep trying. My goal today, add one more customer to my database. One good, solid customer who I'm going to end up doing business with that I can nurture along the way.

It might take a little longer. It might take a little shorter. But I've got to add somebody to it. And unless you're out doing that, Hey, not getting anywhere. So what's the, um, what's the second, what's the second reason why salespeople fail? That is a good question. So it's, you got to think of the sales process at this point, like a relationship. So the second reason that salespeople fail is they fail to nurture that relationship with that person that they've started. So they put them in the pipeline. We'll call it the customer pipeline, if you will.

I'm not a big fan of that term because it's kind of impersonal. But let's say you put them in your friendship loop or something like that, where you care about this person as a friend, as a human being, and you're not communicating with them, you're not moving them along in this process, and you're not providing value to them. So you met them, and that's it? You're not going to do anything? You're going to meet them and then go pray that they're going to do a deal with you? You've got to have some activity, some overt act that causes them to realize the value of

that relationship. And you communicate with them and say, okay, hey, here's what typically happens in this sales process. Be transparent and clear with them. And I hope to, maybe we'll be lifelong friends and clients of each other at X point and, you know, figure out what that target date is if we're nurturing them and we're trying to get them across the finish line. Yeah, I think that's interesting that you say that because I feel like whenever someone approaches me

to start a relationship, but there's that sense of them wanting something like a transaction, it's not like authentic. You feel that, right? Like if they're just trying to add me to their database so that I can become a paying customer, you really feel that. But if someone's being genuine and it's like, hey, I want to get to know you and I want to build that relationship in an authentic way, you can feel that too.

There's definitely a sense of that. Oh, yeah. Relationships last a lot longer than transactions. So the transaction is obviously a goal along the way. It's something that has to happen with the sales process. And since we're talking about reasons why salespeople fail, it's because they don't build this into a relationship where there's this mutual trust, understanding, communication, expectations, things like that. And those expectations are that this will end up in a transaction at some point. I mean, if it's not, typically, you know, good salespeople will go,

it's not a no, it's a not now. Because if you can build a relationship with somebody, it's not a no, it's a not now. And when it becomes a no is when you're out of sight and out of mind and you fail to continue to nurture that. So second one is not nurturing that relationship and not communicating that kind of, I don't want to say controlling the sales process, but making sure that the other person is well aware of why you're there and feeling the love from you. Yeah. All right. And then number three, the third reason.

There's always a finish line, right, Mark? There's always a finish line. That's it. I want to end with a win. That's it. Yeah, start with a win, end with a win. And really, you got a lot of wins in the middle there, too, during that nurturing process.

But the third reason why salespeople fail is they can never ask for the close. They never get there. Yeah, but it's always so awkward. Yeah. The close is awkward. It's like asking a girl on a date, right? Yeah, exactly.

Like, hey, what are you doing this weekend? Nothing. Why? I don't know. I mean, it's that awkward moment of doing that. And I'll tell you, the best way to get over that is to have a script and a role play it. Really? Yeah, because people are going to shoot you down at times.

You ask a girl on a date, she's like, uh. No. No. When you fail, you've got to pick back up and ask the next person for a date. That's it, man. Yeah. So, I mean, it's getting to the close. Yeah.

So many salespeople, they get people in their pipeline, the sales pipeline, and then they nurture them a little bit, and then they expect this person to come walking in going, all right, let's do it. I've heard enough. I want to buy this. And the reality is you got to ask them because they just might think you want to be friends. So a lot of people end up in that problem. I've seen so many salespeople fail because they cannot get the deal across the finish line. Now, I want to be clear. Getting across the finish line is only part of that third reason. Building lifetime value is the rest. You got to be

presenting them with something that extends into lifetime value. And that relationship continues. You know why? Repeat and referral business. You don't want them to do business with you once. You want them to do business with you for life. want them to do business with you for life. Right. Well, and in the real estate world, right? And that's a perfect example of a real estate agent. I mean, how many times does somebody move in their lifetime? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, every, what, seven to nine years right now, they move. During a better market, whatever, it might be five to seven years. Maybe it it's five to seven years right now i don't know but uh people it's less than 10 years that people move so during their lifetime adult lifetime they might move four or five times right i mean i've already moved like four or five times yeah well right and then it's like you have that relationship and you're asking for that that sale or you know

you're closing that deal. That's it. And then I think the key here is continuing to maintain that relationship, not just going for the close and then bouncing on to the next person. Yeah, you're not going for the kill and then turn around, high-fiving your buddy and going, done, walking away, mic drop. It is just you've got to look at that like it's the beginning of a long, long relationship and treat it that way. Be kind, be empathetic and deliver value, be adaptive to continue delivering that value.

Seems like you could apply this to like a lot of different areas in your life. Oh, totally. You absolutely can. I mean, you think about as you're going through life, let's say you come up with a new interest, a new hobby, maybe it's podcasting, I don't know. And you meet somebody or you want to go meet somebody, network with people and find somebody who could provide value in your life or provide value in your hobby, what have you,

or just be a friend that you share a common interest with. Okay. That's step one. That's prospecting, right? Step two, nurturing that relationship. Hey, what's up, dude? Hey, do you want to meet here for a beer and talk about podcasting like every Thursday, whatever? I'll bring some new information that I find online. Let's share a podcast, whatever it might be. I mean, it's the same thing with relationships. And you know what? If we really like what each other's doing, maybe let's try.

We won't be on my podcast. Let's do a podcast together, something like that. So same thing with relationships. Yeah. It's a sales process. And I'm not trying to make it sound anything less than relational, but it's a sales process. And I, I'm not trying to, to make it sound anything less than relational, but it's a sales process. Relationships are,

so you got to start them. You got to nurture them and, and you know, you got to keep taking them to the next level. It's good. Love it. It's a good word. Yeah.

I mean, it's, I look at it and I go, why wouldn't you look at everybody that way? And going back to even episode one, start with a win, and the wins in your relationships every day. Like when I'm on the highway and I'm waving to people or whatever it is for letting me in, or you see somebody that needs help, hold the door for somebody,

talk to somebody in the elevator or whatever, same thing. That is the beginning. That's prospecting. you might run across somebody i'm like hey look you got a truck like mine man what's up are you going to the you know the the truck get together thing or whatever it is or you know what us truck people do yeah that's that's it or you know maybe you're in your you know on your motorcycle or i don't know whatever it is skateboard who knows but um you run across people with common interest you are you are gaining in your network different people like that so it's it's kind of funny but you never know that until you talk to people right

yeah so which even goes back to one of our earlier podcast episodes about failing people are afraid to talk to people you know why because they're afraid they're going to fail at what at saying hi yeah meeting somebody fear of rejection no kidding yeah yeah crazy i mean i i can't think of anybody's ever walked up to me go hey what's up man and me going oh i don't want to talk to this person. You're like, hey, how are you? It's human nature. Go out there and meet people and gain relationships. You never know where you end up. Right.

So you think if someone implements these three things, that success is inevitable? I don't think success is inevitable, but I think you're setting yourself up for a higher probability of success. If you're a salesperson and there may be something that you need to adjust in your process, product, service, whatever it is, and you're out there and you're putting people in the pipeline, you're working your way through the pipeline, things like that, you're going to at some point succeed. You might have to talk to 100 people you're going to at some point succeed. You might have

to talk to 100 people instead of five people in order to succeed. But there are adjustments to be made along the way. But ultimately, when it boils down to it, if you realize these three things, you are going to be able to troubleshoot your way through any sort of speed bumps in that success process. A big part of this, when you look at the three pieces here, prospecting, got to do that. Nurturing the relationship there, you got to do that. Closing the deal, you got to do that. But really, a big part of this is, are you relevant? Are you accessible? Are you low tech, low touch, inaccessible? Whatever it might be, I mean, you got to be with it and deliver value. I think we're going to talk about

that next time, Mark. Yeah. Well, awesome. Thank you so much for joining us today. Make sure to head over to startwithawin.com to get more great content. Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Adam on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And remember. Start with a win.