Can he buy? Can the person who you are talking to make the buying decision? Lesson learned from Value Selling. You want to find out if the person you are dealing with in a sale has the authority, research and courage to buy? That person can be harder to find these days. approval levels have risen two positions in the past few years in order to protect people from making mistakes, and to protect the company from ill-advised spending. So you can not expect that the mid level person who bought from you two years ago, does not need approval today. So now you have two more folks to educate than before. One way to quickly find out is to ask, “Is there anyone who can say No to this ? (This tactic from Masters of Sales).

Successful sales people today are understanding that to maintain the sales they are used to having they need to talk to more people, cover more bases and increase their professionalism. So what will happen when the executives you want to contact outsource to a virtual assiatant in India the reading of their email and the answering of their voice mail? Its happenin. Read this blog posting from Tim Ferris.
You better have real zingers in your messages to get through. See also the Metaphorically Selling review

Metaphorically Selling – Anne Miller -2007- ISBN 0-9762794-0-1

By Chris Jordan. Good friend and great sales guy!

Clearly most sales people use the technique of creating rapport by understanding which of the four types of individuals they are dealing with and then mirror it to sell successfully. The theory here is that people like to deal with people they like. In my opinion in today’s B2B world this is redundant and so we need an alternative approach otherwise it is akin to trying to drive a car along a road in the fog without a yellow line to guide us.

Enter Anne Miller and her book Metaphorically Speaking. Anne helps us understand that we all have two parts to our brains and while we may use one side more then the other in our decision making process we still do use both sides. Most of us, as decision makers, look at the facts and figures and then decide and this is a function of the left side. However, this leaves the right side unattended so if we can bind a visual image of our product or service to some of the memories of the right hand side of the brain then it becomes much more powerful.

The book carefully lays the ground work and slowly peels back the layers of understanding as it introduces the key elements of making story telling an effective sales tool through the use of Metaphors.

In today’s world of buying, not selling, where we are helping move the customer-to-be from one habit (old solution or product) to a new habit (our offering), we need to paint images in their minds to anchor them to us via the mind map so our solution will stand out from the “me-too” types; a process similar to what Google earth and maps have done to our understanding of travel and geography.

A short book and well worth the read.

Masters of Sales. Secrets from top sales professionals that will transform you into a world class salesman. Ivan R. Misner & Don Morgan. 2007. ISBN 1599181290. This book needs to be on every sales persons shelf beside the phone. Its been quite a while since I have found so many great sales ideas form so many to notch sales people in one volume. There is knowledge here that will benefit newbies right through to old sales dogs. Of course if you are content to not be among the top 10 % of producers among sales people who also are the most voracious readers, then you lose nothing by ignoring this book. Your loss is your competitors gain. Buy it, read it, use the advice and read it again. Yes I liked this book. Its everything that Google library says it is below:

Sold! The magic word. The holy grail. Why are some salespeople remarkably successful, while others make call after call with no results? How do some turn any no into a yes, while others can’t even get their foot in the door? For the first time, more than 80 of the most successful salespeople in the world have come together to reveal their secrets to success. You’ll learn what makes these outstanding sellers true masters of their craft-and how you can adapt the masters’ tactics for your own. Learn Martha Stewart’s secrets to promoting yourself as an expert. Discover the 11 key questions to ask from Harvey McKay. Get Anthony Parinello’s advice on selling to CEOs. Be trained in guerrilla tactics for direct selling from Jay Conrad Levinson. Find out Brian Tracy’s secrets on the psychology of selling. Bursting with valuable advice from Jack Canfield, Anthony Robbins, Keith Ferrazzi, Tom Hopkins, Al Lautenslager and more than 70 other masters of the art of selling, this exclusive compilation of the best sales strategies ever known puts you on the fast track to sales success.

Three weeks from today I will be winging my way to Argentina. Just a brief (30 day) respite from the cold and snow. So I have been buried in some work as well as preparation for the trip. (hey I am still an engineer so its all about the details and execution)

The location I owe to Tim Ferris (4 hour work week guy) . He is also a resource on travelling light and assorted ways of enjoying yourself. The bookings were arranged with my agency , which I joined a few years ago (ask me how to do this) money well spent. Airfares selected from lots of sites- but this is a good one. For tips on travel just about anywhere and a great one -stop resource Bootsnall.

For research I have been really lucky. Thanks to Lonely Planet, Footprint Books and Rough Guides ( great waterproof maps) . On ITunes there is Rick Steves and Lonely Planet podcasts. The BBC DVD One Planet series is mind blowing.

I need Spanish but that’s not a problem. Spanishpod to the rescue. Tips on Argentina abound but I like Argentina travel a lot. In Buenas Aires I needed an apartment. Tomas at Ba4u has a whole host of them in toney areas like Recoleta and Palermo. While there I have hooked up with bloggers like Maya Frost to have dinner with!

To really lighten our pack we picked up a NokiaN800 tablet from Tigerdirect.ca Awesome wireless tablet with Skype.
To ensure I have a wireless connection I grabbed an Apple Airport Express . It works anywhere! Plus it is awesome for movie watching. For DVDs I am using Plato DVD Ripper Pro.

And just to round it out we are taking a 16 day cruise down to – wait for it Antarctica ( and other places of note). I will be the first Nordman to retrace ( in more comfort) my Grandfather’s sail in the late 1890’s in what was at the time the smallest sailing vessel ( 45 T) to make it around the Cape.

So now you know why my posts have slowed down. But I will pack a mess of books on the trip so prepare for a flurry. Its a cloudy in Buenas Aires today (24 C) but nearby Montevideo is sunny and 29. Gotta love it! Must run. Spanish lesson is up and then tango practice. Buena suerta!

Savvy Networking. 118 fast & effective tips for business success. Andea R. Nierenberg. 2007. ISBN 9781933102443. This is a thin little book that is full of dynamite suggestions. So much good business sense here. It would be useful for companies to hand these out in bulk for new hires to read and then quiz them on it. From meeting folks, to salesmanship through to customer service this lady has something for everyone. Quit reading about it and go buy it!

Carpe Phonum. How to seize the phone, take action and call your prospects, even when you lack courage. Tammy Stanley. 2006. ISBN 9780977200603. This is a very deceptive book. It looks thin and easy to read. On one level it is. But somehow Ms Stanley has cut right to the heart and soul of every salesman. She speaks of that voice inside your head we all have. Inside these pages you will find the type of attitudes and beliefs needed to not only carry through but win the day. I was surprised how long I took to read this book. It is clear, well written, but it makes you stop and think. If you have to overcome obstacles in your day and life , this little book is one you need beside the phone or on your desktop.  You can get it from the author.  or Amazon US, not Canada.

Life’s Secrets- there really aren’t any, an anthology of excerpts from the writing of best selling author, Tim Connor, CSp.. 91 Mistakes Smart Salespeople Make
isbn.1-930376-90-1. Guest review by Brock Nordman

The start of this book gets you interested into why all of these collections have been placed into one novel, but as you read you find out that the snip-its he has put in all go under one very large topic, yourself.

By dealing with the personal issues that each one of us have, and by exploring each one with the interactions we have in our day to day lives Tim has tried to reinforce that no matter who you blame or point fingers at for your disappointment the main reason is yourself.

Quick read, but does tend to jump since it is a collection, between thoughts and stories. Though one important thing I feel is missing from this book is a section which ties in all that he wishes for his readers to get from this book, it would almost seem like just another book to put on the shelf, but I expect there is more to it. The writer simply choses to let the reader fill in his/her blanks and opinions.

The author is prolific with about 50 books listed on Amazon.

Brock Nordman is Reg Nordman’s fourth (21 yrs) son. Presently completing his studies at UBC Forestry Wood Products Processing. His interests lie in business, entrepreneurship, and woodworking

My four sons and IHow he has changed!

Negotiation Boot Camp. How to resolve conflict, satisfy customers, and make better deals. Ed Brodow. 2006. ISBN 9780385518499. Wow! I have read many books on negotiation over the years. This is the one that quickly succinctly and immediately does the job.

His ten tips and the supporting examples are exactly what any salesperson absolutelt needs to know and use.

1. Develop “Negotiation Consciousness”
2. Be a good listener
3. Be prepared
4. Aim high
5. Be patient
6. Focus on satisfaction
7. Don’t make the first move
8. Don’t accept the first offer
9. Don’t make unilateral concessions
10. Always be willing to walk away.

There is more much more in this tiny treasure. Buy it, read it regularly and do not lend it!