Tim arrived early at the office of Rob Simon, president of the ABC Tool & Dye Intl., so he could sit in the parking lot and review what he wanted to say. Tim practiced each step of his presentation in his head, exactly what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. He knew that his PowerPoint slides were perfectly in order and were just what he needed to land this account. He knew what this company needed, because he has called on other companies like this and helped them just like he can help this one. Tim took a deep breath and walked into the building. "I've got this one down," he thought, and proceeded in the door. Once the pleasantries were over, Tim got right down to business. "Mr. Simon, I have been with my company for the past five years, and our company has been in business for over 50 years. We are the leader in our industry and have worked with lots of companies like yours and have been able to meet the needs that you have." "Well, that's why I agreed to meet with you, Tim," stated Mr. Simon. "We do have a need for a product like yours, and this might be a good fit." "I'm glad you did," Tim said proudly. "Our product line has the best reputation for least failures on the job, therefore downtime is at the lowest in the industry, which will keep you up and running more efficiently." "Great, Tim, but our service department isn't sure if they can retrofit your model into our existing equipment," Mr. Simon said. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, we do it all the time and with companies that have bigger problems than yours. As a matter of fact, I brought a PowerPoint presentation that I believe will help you understand why we're No. 1 in the industry." After the presentation, Mr. Simon said, "Thanks for the presentation, Tim, but I am still a little concerned about our existing equipment and the retrofit we'll need to do. We can't afford any downtime with the change, or production could be compromised." "Mr. Simon, I understand that is a concern, but we do this all the time. Don't worry, we can handle it," Tim said. Fifteen minutes later, Tim said goodbye to Mr. Simon and promised him a proposal in a few days. After Tim left, Mr. Simon buzzed his assistant and said when that proposal comes in, to just "round file" it. What happened? Tim ignored the real issue that Mr. Simon wanted addressed and kept telling him what he felt was important. Guess what? No one cares what you think is important, only as it applies to them. Tim missed lots of opportunity to really deeply understand what his prospect's issues were and assure him that not only could he solve the problem, but help Mr. Simon understand how. The result? Tim may very well have the best product for Mr. Simon, but Mr. Simon didn't see it that way. When a prospect gives you a hint of a need, address that need by asking really good, pointed questions, for example: §  Tell me more about the retrofit concern? §  Have you had that issue in the past in looking to change products? §  What happened? §  What did you do to address it at that time? §  How did it effect production and at what cost? These types of questions would not only have given Tim a real insight to the issue, it would have also given Mr. Simon confidence that Tim knew and could address HIS issue. Quick wrap-up: §  Stop telling about how great you and your company are (no one cares). §  Ask what some of the prospect's concerns are and then dig deeper to truly understand the issue. §  Don't be so quick with a solution, even if it is correct; you haven't earned the right so early in the process to give one. §  Listening is your best sales tool, not your product knowledge. Greta Schulz is Sales Consultant for Businesses and Entrepreneurs.  For more Sales Training Tips and Tools, please sign up for her SELLutions Caffeine at http://SchulzBusiness.com  or join her new Online Sales Training Course at http://B2bSalesPlayBook.com       Click here to share this post.

You never know how'll you find things.

I got an email from a woman who wrote an article and frankly, I felt it was spam and I hate spam!

But she emailed me back and explained truly what she did and asked to be put into my blog. Honestly, in reading it you guys, I think can use it!

Something to be said for persistence! So check it out! So You Bought iPads for Sales - Now What?


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I’m always trying to illustrate how professional sales really works -- helping your prospect self-realize that he or she needs (or in some cases, doesn’t need) your product or service. One of the best examples I’ve ever seen is one that happened to me when I decided to purchase a new Jeep.

Several years ago, I married a wonderful man who had two children. I also had a child of my own, so we were going to need a more “Brady-esque” car. After a lot of research, we decided that a Jeep Cherokee would do the trick. At that time, A Cherokee Laredo, the base model, would cost $299 a month to lease for three years with $1,000 down. A good deal for us by all accounts.

Since I know how car dealers work (or so I thought), I felt very strongly about staying emotionally detached and just purchasing the car for the price I wanted. I called the local Jeep dealership and asked for the sales manager. Richard (who I believe is still there) answered the phone. I explained to him that I wanted a Jeep Cherokee Laredo, dark green in color, and that I’d be willing to buy it today if he could match the price I wanted: $299 for a 36 month lease plus $1,000 down.

I was strong in my demand, making sure he knew I was in charge. Richard said he could match the price, but the only Cherokee Laredo he had on the lot was army green, not the dark green I wanted. Even though I was disappointed (the dark green is so much more “me”), I decided it was the route to go.

We arrived at the dealership, and I commanded my fiancée and the kids to stay in the car. “Wait here,” I said. “I’ll handle this.”

I walked into the showroom, where Richard greeted me. “You must be Greta,” he said with a sincere-looking smile.

“I am, “ I answered cautiously.

He smiled. “OK. Let’s go drive the car.”

I stopped him. “Oh no,” I exclaimed. “I want to talk money first!”

“Okay,” Richard replied. “But didn’t you say $299 for three years with $1,000 down? Since that’s what we agreed to, that’s what it is, right?”

With a half-smile on my face, I nodded proudly. “Right!”

As we walked through the lot to the army green (more of a pea green, actually) Jeep, Richard asked which car in the parking lot was mine. I pointed to the blue BMW where my fiancée and our kids waited. As we got into the Jeep, Richard made an interesting comment. “This car doesn’t have a leather interior,” he said. “It’s cloth, but that shouldn’t be a problem. I’m sure your kids don’t spill things at their age.”

“No, that’s OK,” I quickly replied.

As we pulled out of the dealership for the test drive, Richard played with the radio, then asked what kind of music I liked.

“Oh gosh, jazz. Top 40. Lot’s of different things.”

“Really?” he replied. “Do you have a lot of CDs?”

“Oh yes!” I proudly proclaimed. 

“Hmmm,” he mused. “You know this car doesn’t have a CD player, but I’m sure you’ve got cassettes.”

“Or I’ll just play the radio,” I said, not without reservation.

He smiled. “Of course you can,” he replied confidently.

As we pulled back into the dealership lot, Richard asked “So, what do you think?”

“Pretty nice,” I hesitantly replied. “It drives more like a truck, but hey, it’s not a BMW and you have to give up something, right?”

Silent, I walked into the showroom to go sign the papers.

“Hey Greta,” I heard Richard suddenly say. “That emerald green on that car down at the end of the lot…was that the color you originally asked me for?”

I felt sudden excitement. “Yes! But I thought you didn’t have one.”

“Not for a Laredo. But that’s a Grand Cherokee. It’s got all the bells and whistles, you know…CD player, leather seats and a smoother drive train. But that’s not the one you said you wanted.”

I couldn’t resist. “Ummmmm … how much more is it?”

Guess which one I drove away in (and only paid $70 more a month more for)? You got it!

And guess what I said to my fiancée when we were walking toward our new Grand Cherokee? “Honey, it’s more expensive, but I’m in sales. My car is like my office. I have to be comfortable.”

So what happened? Well, Richard did a really good job of finding out what was important to me. But he never told me those things were important. Instead, he asked the right questions that got me to self-realize that I wanted those things.

And what did I do? I made an emotional decision and justified it intellectually to my family. Remember, people love to buy, but they absolutely hate to be sold. So help them buy and stop selling them. It even worked on me, and I saw it coming.

Greta Schulz is president of Schulz Business SELLutions in West Palm Beach, FL. She is the author of "To Sell is Not to Sell" and a columnist for business journals around the country. Greta does corporate training for Fortune 1000 companies and she has an on-line training course for entrepreneurs.

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To truly be happy in life, learn how to count joy.

Undoubtedly you've heard and even quoted these familiar and wise utterances: "Count your blessings." "Be happy with what you have." "Your health is the most important thing in life." But do we abide by these sayings? Do we really count our blessings or do we take them for granted? I will be the first to admit that I am guilty of taking them for granted sometimes and not counting them as joy. So let the record show that I am admitting it and quitting it. How about you?

This economy is one way that so many of us came to realize what was really important in life and in business. Each day is a new challenge but I am gaining the victory. Life is a series of choices and you make choices daily. The good news is you can too! You get to decide whether to be "Better or Bitter." Let's face it, we are living in stressful times, surrounded by a host of negative influences. All of those can steal your joy in a flash. You must guard your heart and the things you hold dear. However one can choose to reject, replace, rethink, reposition, or rebalance, recapture, reflect on or rejoice in the goodness that we have  been afforded.

Happiness is a great emotion but it’s a fleeting one, a feeling that is often  temporary. Ever luxuriate in the happiness of purchasing a dream car you always wanted or some other longed for item. What an awesome feeling. But how long did that happiness last? A day, a week, a month? What you want to experience is not happiness but true joy. Joy is different! Joy comes from making the right choices. You choose to be content, you choose to be satisfied, you choose to be positive no matter what. Joy does not allow past or current circumstances to get in the way. Never! In fact, joy is not attached to circumstances. Joy lives in the present not in the past or the future. It's contagious much the same as misery!

Think about this, "Where will that brand new car we spoke about wind up in 50 years and what do you really have that’s guaranteed except the present?: True joy knows. I have learned through bitter lessons that no one owns tomorrow. Joy knows that as well. A man comes into the world with nothing and leaves with nothing. Do you really believe that money can buy you joy? If so, I disagree. I think it can buy you some temporary happiness but it definitely cannot buy you joy. You might only be one X-ray away from realizing that within a moment your life can be drastically altered. So why do we take all our blessings for granted? Where does the difficulty lie? I think there are a few reasons for not realizing our blessings.

1. Our busy-ness has created such an imbalance in our lives that we don't have time to give it enough thought.
2. We never think, "It could happen to me." We often don’t feel that we deserve it. But we do.
3. We seem to want to think we have it worse than the next guy. My dad use to say, "Son, you will always meet folks with more and you'll meet folks with less.
4. We compare ourselves to everyone else. Other people become our standard. The truth is your value is not attached to what you do for a living or how much you make. Value comes from within.

I don't mean to make "choice" sound easy. As I said it is work, like swimming upstream against the current. Just keep practicing it and soon it will become a little easier and you'll be floating down stream wearing your "joy" on your face.

Here, I believe, is a recipe for acquiring a joyful spirit:
1. Reject negative people. Do not allow them in.
2. Rethink what's most important to you. Then ask why.
3. Reflect on those things.
4. Replace anything or anyone who's trying to steal your joy.
5. Re-balance so the things that are important to you are in first place.

Rejoice! That's it. It's all a choice.

Greta Schulz is president of Schulz Business SELLutions in West Palm Beach, FL. She is the author of "To Sell is Not to Sell" and a columnist for business journals around the country. Greta does corporate training for Fortune 1000 companies and she has an on-line training course for entrepreneurs.

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“I really can’t say that what you’ve shown me, Bob, does anything for me,” stated the prospect.

“In fact,” he went on, “your choice of colors is nowhere as extensive as your competitor’s, who was just in here this morning, by the way.”

Bob hated this type of prospect. And for some reason, the past five months had been filled with them. Gosh, thought Bob, this is going to be one of those meetings where he raises the hundred objections and I try to beat them down one after another.  There’s got to be a better way to make a living. “I didn’t know you were looking at anyone else,” responded Bob.

“Well, it’s what I should do. And I’ll tell you this now, right upfront, her prices are extremely favorable.  I doubt you could beat them.”

Here goes, thought Bob, start knocking them down. “Let’s talk about the colors; our colors are by far the…” Two hours later, Bob crawled out of the office with a signed purchase order. Totally exhausted, he got into his car, called the office and read them the order.

“Good work,” the sales manager responded, “but how come he’s ordering less than before?”

“The competition has got a proposal on the table,” responded Bob, “you wouldn’t believe what I had to do to get what we did.”  With a felling of dread he added, “I’m going back next week to see if I can knock them out.”

Bob was so afraid that he was going to lose the client that he was prepared to do just about anything to keep him. Bob had the guts to spend another two hours butting heads, but he did not have the guts to find out if he really needed to do this.

Taking a sale away, taking yourself out of the running, and then waiting for a response from the prospect/customer takes real guts. This is not a technique for those with weak knees. No one can fault Bob for his dedication to task. And most salespeople and sales managers would agree that in the above story, which happens every day, there was nothing else to do but “gut it out.” But there is something else.

Before Bob launched into meeting every objection, he could have done something very simple. He could have said, “You might not realize what you are telling me; I want to make sure that I have it right. The competition has more colors, the price is good, they were here this morning, I guess it’s over for me. When you gave the order to the salesperson this morning, was she excited?” And then wait for a response from the prospect, no matter how long it takes. In order for this technique to work, your really have to mean it and be prepared to “walk out the door” and not look back. If you cannot do this, this technique will blow up in your face. However, if you are truly prepared to walk away, this technique is incredibly powerful at eliminating objections. There are a multitude of words and gestures that you can use to “take it away” depending on what you are trying to accomplish and with whom.

Customers and prospects alike are famous for stating, in so many words, that the other guy can do better for less. In essence, you want to mirror back to them what they just told you and then state, not ask, “You did place the order.” Then do not speak until you get a response. Either the order has been placed or not. If is has, it probably really is over for you. If it hasn’t, then you deserve to know the reasons why. And when you find out why? You are now learning what you need to do to get the order or keep the order.

Prospects who gave given all the indications of being ready to buy, but who just resist closing, are especially susceptible to having it taken away. “Bill, you have given every indication that you are ready to buy. But for some reason you just aren’t sharing, you keep stopping short. I think I should leave.” Then wait for a response.

MORAL: Take it away ONLY if you are prepared to walk out the door. Once you take it away, wait for a response regardless of how long it takes.

Greta Schulz is president of Schulz Business SELLutions in West Palm Beach, FL. She is the author of "To Sell is Not to Sell" and a columnist for business journals around the country. Greta does corporate training for Fortune 1000 companies and she has an on-line training course for entrepreneurs.

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