The #1 Sales Rule from the Industries “Secret Weapon”

Money conversations can be so awkward, can’t they? There is a certain amount of ego attached to our earning, our potential, or what we feel might be a deficit when it comes to the finances in our lives.

And sometimes I think we avoid these conversations like we avoid checking our bank account between paychecks because we’d rather not think about it all. Yet, finance, money, revenue, and sales - and especially how they relate to our customers - are important areas for continuous study with a magnifying glass, not avoidance. 

I had the chance to sit down with Joe Semaan recently, a modern sales expert and domination mindset coach. He’s often referred to as the sales industry's “secret weapon” because of his talent in being able to see exactly why sales aren’t happening, and exactly how they can happen.

Sales might seem a bit off-topic for me, but as we face-off with a new year, I want to make sure I’m bringing the topics to the table that are going to make this your best year yet. And let’s face it … sales is just as much about resilience and what’s between your ears (i.e. your mindset) as pretty much anything else. 

The Truth About Change 

Our rapidly changing economy directly affects the success of a sales team and business - and unless you make friends with change, as Ram Dass would say, you’re most likely on your way out or downhill. Joe teaches businesses around the world that accelerated learning and adaptation are essential in dominating the world of sales in this new economy… But what does that really mean?

It means you have to be willing to pivot before the pivot is required… that you start turning the wheel before you get to the turn because you can anticipate the turn that’s ahead. Pivoting by design in my vernacular.

[TAKE ACTION] Ask Yourself These 5 Questions

1. Are you being honest with yourself?
2. Are you putting in the time to be consistent?
3. Are you asking yourself (every single month) how you can improve?
4. Are you dedicating time to developing your people skills?
5. Are you committed to understanding human behaviors as we evolve?

Joe and I agree that people develop their skills far too slowly for the world that we live in. So what skill, in particular, is important to develop? Continuous learning and improvement. Too often, we don’t put our time toward constantly asking these important questions like: “How can we massively improve our client’s experience every single month? How much time are we spending on developing our people skills? Who and where are we finding those skills?”

Invest in learning as much as you can about human behavior… because, as Joe says, … “You don’t make money because you know your product, you make money because you know your customer. Where your focus goes, your money grows. 

Becoming Uncommon

Plenty of businesses think they’ve got a unique organization with unique messaging and then when Joe listens in to their sales pitches or plays back their phone calls, he finds himself telling so many clients that 90% of the words and techniques they are using are extremely common in their industry. Without distinguishing yourself, your customers will resort to price shopping. So consider these tips:

• Meaningful communication and breaking the most common sales patterns in your industry will change your trajectory. 
• Don’t stop anticipating the changes ahead. There will always be change ahead, and it seems to be accelerating year over year.
• Resilience is the fastest way to build self-awareness and adversity. The quicker you are willing to learn from something and accept it, the quicker you can have the bigger things you want for yourself. 
• Invest massively in understanding human behaviors. You don’t make money because you know your product. You make money because you know your customer.  Create a customer-centric culture.

Preparing for the Future, Now

We can say selling is different than it was 10-years ago, but it’s actually different than it was even 6-months ago. This is the curve we need to be preparing for. This is the rapid change everyone is referring to.

“I’ll leave you with this for the newcomers, my number one rule of selling is the one who understands the customer the most will have the greatest commitment. You’ve got to be vigilant and wake up every day with a certain consciousness of what will be expected.”

If you love this modern money talk, there’s a podcast episode with your name on it, packed full of financial wisdom and smart selling rules for the New Year. Don’t miss it!