I'm a big fan of Shark Tank. So I was sitting there recently listening to Robert Herjavec, and he said something that struck me: "Good salespeople sell features. Great salespeople sell results. And the greatest salespeople sell...feelings." I reflected on that a bit, and it totally makes sense. But despite that...how often do we default to selling features? Or even at best, default to selling results? I'll wager that for most of us, it's those two defaults most of the time. So thinking about...
13 days ago • 2 min read
Reader, are you struggling with market conditions? Or afraid you might be in the future? Recently I was coaching a team who was working on some things re: their goals for this quarter, and market conditions was something they were actively struggling with. And one of the best things to do when you're struggling? Assess what's in your Circles. That's... The Circle of Concern (things we're concerned about but have no control over) The Circle of Influence (things on our minds that we have some...
20 days ago • 1 min read
Do you like to brag about yourself, Reader? Not many people do. And if you do, it’s inauthentic (it’s hard to come across as anything but that), and you end up feeling frustrated because, well…nothing really comes of it. Why? Because people aren’t usually drawn to inauthenticity. Now…do you love to hear you did a good job? Of course you do. But it's kind of awkward fishing for those compliments, isn't it? Well, here’s a way to hear that you did a good job more often AND use it to get more...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Reader, as I mentioned in my last email, we send a success story to our database about once a month. Every time we do, we see an increase in our pipeline (the people who want loans) of anywhere between 10 to 25%. So if I have X number of people who want loans, I've got X + 25% after sending a Success Story out. That's a big increase in exchange for not a whole lot of effort. Think of maybe an hour of effort total, once per month. (It may take you a little longer in the beginning, of course.)...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Let another praise you, Reader. In marketing, most of us are used to Hero stories. People tooting their own horns. The Hero in these circumstances is a person who is saying, “I’m the best at _______. You need to come see me.” (The legal profession’s particularly good at this.) That’s powerful communication. Communicating through authority. And when I say ‘powerful communication’ – it almost sounds like that’s what you want to be shooting for, right? Maybe that’s why so many of us fall into...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
I talk on here a lot of about one-on-one referral generation efforts. And while I'm 100% a huge advocate of that... ...one of the biggest challenges we have as a small business owner (or commissioned sales professional) is is TIME. We come across so many different people in our lines of work, and only a small percentage are going to be a fit for true one-on-one referral partner status. So what happens with all the others? Do we just ignore them? Well the answer for a lot of people is...yes....
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Tatyana is an amazingly talented mortgage loan officer I've coached in the past. She had this to say to me once, about the referral question I taught you last week: "I had a green light conversation with a realtor today. It went extremely well and I learned what they liked about the lenders they've used, and what they didn't like about the lenders they've worked with in the past. Turns out the referral partners moved away and we were scheduled to have lunch next week." That's what it's all...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Let's talk about the power of powerless communication for a minute. (If you want to learn more about it, check out Adam Grant's Give and Take. Powerless communication puts people at ease, and makes you more trustworthy and likeable. Some easy ways to do this?: Be humble. Ask for help or advice. Pair relatability with competence. Give people space to drive the conversation. Ask questions and get people talking about themselves. We're going to try to work all four of these, subtly, into one...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, do you want more referrals? Great! Of course you do. So does everyone else. Now tell me what your referral script is. (I'll wait...) ... ... ... You know, I asked this same question to a roomful of people a few years back... ...and not one person was confident in sharing what they say. So let's recap here: Everybody wants more referrals. But when I ask how you ask for these referrals you want so bad, not a hand goes up. Why is that? Well, let’s get to the root of it... How does it...
3 months ago • 1 min read