Hi folks! I wear a number of hats. I live in Newfoundland, Canada.
Married to Jennifer (together since 13 years old). I married up. ?
I tell her daily if she ever decided to leave me I would just go with her.
We have two children (Parker and Anna Lili)
And two Golden Retrievers
I believe we all have a unique ability to sell and I work with entrepreneurs and sales professionals to nail it.
I am also a Vice President, Business Development for KPMG in Canada. #SalesHackerChat
Q1: What Does A Sales Magnet Mean To You?
I make a very clear distinction between a sales magnet and a sales maggot.
A sales magnet is sales professional who is very clear inside about who they are and their value to the market
They are very clear around the problems they solve and are on fire sharing themselves with the world.
A sales maggot is the exact opposite of this with the exception they start on fire.
But, typically burn out quickly and leave a path of destruction in their wake.
A sales magnet’s message speaks to the why (emotions) of the buyer and works outward to the what (features and benefits)
This is done naturally because they are centered.
Energy is flowing through them naturally and the result is buyers knowing, liking and trusting them.
Thus, they become a magnet.
We see the true Sales Magnets in the market. We see them through their results.
Results do not lie.
Q2: How Can Sales Professionals Become Sales Magnets?
It is a process. I have broken it down into focal areas: Why, How and What.
The Why is about tapping into the Emotions, Pains and Goals of you the seller and the buyers
The How is about tapping into your own level of commitment and obtaining the commitment of the buyer.
The What is about identifying opportunities and expressing your credibility and contribution.
I believe growing a personal brand is the foundation for becoming a sales magnet.
Q3: How Do People Get Started In Growing Their Personal Brand?
The idea behind growing a personal brand plays very nicely into the concept of social selling.
Personal branding is a simple concept. It is you putting your thoughts, ideas and stories on display for the world to see.
Personal branding is sharing the process. IMO it is not you the ‘expert’.
If you share the process there is nothing holding you back from starting today.
I started my personal branding journey with idea of writing a book. It’s Time to Sell. It is my story of becoming confident in sales.
I realized I had no platform to promote the book to so I began to share my ideas through my blog, podcast, articles.
This has also created a thriving speaking career
Over a two year period this has lead to opportunities coming my way… i.e.. I am a sales magnet.
So, to answer the question of how do get started? The answer is just start sharing you and what you believe.
Tools: Books, Articles, Podcast, Webinars, Blog, Social Media, Speaking…. the list is endless.
Q4: What Attitudes/Traits Make Sales Professionals Successful? Why Are They Important?
Attitude is the composite of our thoughts, feelings and actions.
It is the #1 factor in determining our results as sales professionals.
Attitude is reflected back to us in how people react to us.
Our worlds are governed by a great law “The Law of Cause and Effect”.
The law dictates that our results (effects) correlate with the level of contribution/service (cause) we put out.
Personally, I buy into two personal attitudes that set up a domino effect (sales magnet): Expectancy and Gratitude.
I expect to reach my goals. I expect to bring a great level of service to my customers and community.
I am grateful for everything in my life. I am grateful for people giving me their most precious asset: their time.
I am even grateful for what I want in my life but do not have yet!
I think you will agree that if we live and breath these attitudes we will set up a chain reaction (law of cause and effect)
The key is to stick with it and not to let other peoples attitudes change ours.
I do find when people first get into sales they have an image on the screen of their minds about what they think sales is.
The image though is not who they are. Thus, they fail.
I would like to propose 8 attitudes of sales that people embody:
1) Sales is solving problems
2) Sales is knowing prospective clients inside and out
3) Sales is listening more than speaking
4) We do not need everyone to be our customer
5) Sales delivers variety
6) Sales develops a diverse skill set
7) Sales leads to high emotional intelligence
8) Sales is the ticket to success
Q5: What Is a Paradigm And How Is It Important In Sales?
A paradigm is a collection of habits and ideas we hold about ourselves.
They key distinction is that our paradigms are actually other peoples habits and ideas – all the inputs from our childhood.
These habits and ideas sit in our limbic brains and define who we are.
Our paradigms hit us in the face every day as we try and grow our sales and businesses.
The key to success is being able to break through our paradigms.
Q6: How Do You Recommend Sales Professionals Break Out Of A Sales Slump?
A sales slump is at its core a result of paradigms – ways of doing things that are simply not working.
I have worked with many people to bust out of a sales slump.
Here is my prescription: ?
1) Relive past successes on the screen of the mind. I recommend keep an inventory of wins
and times when you overcame the odds and succeeded.
Play the mental movies on the screen of your mind as you start your day.
2) Relax. Take time out in between client interactions to relax and defuse any negative self-talk.
Clients feel your tenseness (their intuition tells them something is wrong).
3) Do something certain to reinforce a positive self-image. Start your day by setting up high probability situations.
4) Use your mental faculty of reason. There are many factors at play in a buying decision.
You cannot control all of them.
Find a way to use information to improve your future interactions with prospective clients rather than beating yourself up
5) Take action. Reflect but make a plan and get to work. Action trumps navel gazing.
Q7: Is Cold Calling Necessary Today? And Why?
Cold calling was where I cut my teeth and forced myself out of my comfort zone
I believe it is a tool in the outbound tool box
However, it is no doubt an interruptive form of lead generation and goes against the way people consume information today
Brands that rely on cold calling stand out like a sore thumb in my opinion.
My belief is if a company and its sales team make it 100% their mission to be themselves and their products truly serve the market
It eliminates the need to cold call with the intention of ‘closing’ a sale
Do not get me wrong… I do believe there is a role for cold calling (data collection).
But, companies that rely on it are going against the flow and will burn out IMO.
Q8: What Advice Would You Give A New Sales Professional?
Work on yourself. Get a very clear picture of who you are. Identify what makes you tick.
Find a mentor/coach.
A good one will help you identify what makes you tick, will provide new ideas and hold you accountable.
Start immediately to share who you are: your stories, thoughts and ideas. This is your personal brand #SalesHackerChat
This was such an incredible opportunity to have Chris on the Twitter Chat! As you can see, there is so much information. Please follow him on Twitter: @chrisspurvey