Coffee's for Closers E-Book

Tony Morris

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 403

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Practical, real-world sales advice you can apply immediately to improve your numbers

In Coffee's For Closers: The Best Real Life Sales Book You’ll Ever Read, veteran sales leader and coach Tony Morris delivers a can’t-miss, hands-on guide to becoming the best salesperson you can be. This is not a book filled with high-level theories – rather it is a book that offers innovative and easy-to-understand sales techniques you can apply immediately and integrate into your daily life as a salesperson.

In the book, you'll explore tried-and-true, step-by-step tutorials on getting past gatekeepers, cold-calling, questioning, listening to customers, and crafting airtight proposals. You'll also find:

• Expert tips on gaining commitment and closing, as well as advice on how to handle prospects' objections and stalling tactics
• Ways to generate leads, build rapport with customers, prepare for your next sales call, and even manage your time wisely
• Strategies for handling rejection - a frequently encountered experience for every salesperson

A practical blueprint for sales success that is heavily informed by real-world experience and commonsense, Coffee's For Closers will become one of those essential resources you rely on to inform your everyday approach to sales.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Praise for

Coffee's for Closers

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

About the Author

1 Introduction to Sales

Do Not Listen to Respond, Listen to Learn

Asking Intelligent Questions

Mindset

The Lesson

The Whale

Tenacity

Why Do People Buy?

2 It Is Not Just About the Destination

3 Give, and You Shall Gain

4 Every Second Counts

5 Preparation

Preparation for a Call

The A–Z of Success

Prepare for a Meeting

6 My Best Sales Lesson Yet

7 Motivation

Reflect on Past Triumphs

8 Building Rapport

What Is Rapport?

Using Keywords

The Two Golden Rules of Rapport

9 Who Is Your Ideal Client?

Building Your Hit List

Strategic Alliances

How to Be Seen as the Expert in Their Field

10 Getting Past the Gatekeepers

Voice Mails

11 Smart Calling

Funnelling Process

12 Direct Marketing

13 I Only Have Capacity for Seven Clients

14 Questioning

Tag‐On Questions

Statement Question

Opinion Question

Replay Question

Clarification Question

Future Pace Question

Pain Questions

Benchmarking Question

Decision‐Maker Questions

Thought‐Provoking Questions

Discovery Questions

Why Do We Ask Closed‐Ended Questions?

15 Listening

A Smart Salesperson Listens to Emotions, Not Facts

Limit the Time You Speak

Reflective Listening

Tag‐On Questions

Improving Active Listening Skills

Opportunity Antenna

Listening to What Is ‘Not’ Shared

Listen to Learn

16 As Nike Says, ‘Just Do It’

17 Conducting a Meeting

18 Proposals

19 Selling with NLP

What Is NLP?

How People Buy

NLP Epistemology – The Communication Model

Internal Representation

Selling to Visual Learners

Selling to Auditory Learners

Selling to Kinaesthetic Learners

Selling to a Group

20 Handle the Person, Not the Objection

Why Do You Think People Object?

What Do We Do if the Client Has an Objection?

Market Is Not Good at the Moment (Property)

Bad Experience

Need to Speak to My Partner

I Am Happy with My Current Supplier

Your Product Is too Expensive

Send Me Information

Your Competitor, Who Is Very Similar to You, Is Cheaper

21 Positive Words and Language

22 Lead Generation

Lead Generation Ideas If You Work in Recruitment

Pipeline

23 Gaining Referrals

24 FAB Selling

25 Cross‐Selling and Upselling

Create the Need and Fill It

26 Handling Rejection

27 Six Components of Success

Talent

28 Negotiations

Rule 1

Rule 2

Rule 3

Rule 4

Rule 5

Rule 6

Rule 7

Rule 8

Rule 9

Sell the Difference

29 Time Management

Unnecessary Meetings

Elephant Tasks

30 Gaining Commitment and Closing

Examples of Some Closing Techniques

31 Howlers

My First B2B Sales Job

My First Field Meeting

Call Centre Selling Gas and Electric

Double Glazing

Door‐to‐Door Sales

32 Conclusion

Complimentary Resources

Tony Morris International

Mention of Studies or Research

Book Mentions

References

Book Mentions

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

Chapter 1

Figure 1.1

Chapter 2

Figure 2.1

Figure 2.2

Figure 2.3

Chapter 8

Figure 8.1

Figure 8.2

Chapter 11

Figure 11.1

Chapter 12

Figure 12.1

Figure 12.2

Figure 12.3

Figure 12.4

Figure 12.5

Figure 12.6

Chapter 14

Figure 14.1

Figure 14.2

Chapter 16

Figure 16.1

Figure 16.2

Chapter 19

Figure 19.1

Figure 19.2

Chapter 27

Figure 27.1

Guide

Cover Page

Praise for Coffee's for Closers

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

About the Author

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

Complimentary Resources

Tony Morris International

Book Mentions

Index

Wiley End User License Agreement

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Praise for Coffee's for Closers

‘What Tony Morris does not know about sales, quite frankly, isn't worth knowing. He's such a fantastic guy too’.

—Richard McCann,Times No. 1 Bestselling Author and Founder of the iCan Academy.

‘Coffee’s for Closers is the most authentic and real sales book out there and is a must‐read for anyone working in sales. Real tactics, real tips and real strategies from one of the best sales trainers in the world. If you want to sell more, buy this book, read it and apply it’.

—Dan Disney

ROCK SOLID! Tony Morris' Coffee’s for Closers is completely oozing with fantastic tips, tricks and outstanding guidance on how to succeed in every aspect of the selling process in a surprisingly compact format. You'll get a full return on your investment by the second chapter. Highly recommended!

—James Muir,CEO of Best Practice International and Bestselling Author of The Perfect Close

‘One thing that strikes me about Tony's words in this book is the stories he tells. Because he tells them as they are, it allows me to see myself in those stories and, of course, any seller worth their weight has travelled the same path. Great read’.

—Bernadette McClelland,Sales Leadership and StorySeller Expert

‘Having met Tony on his podcast, his energy, knowledge and charisma are what makes him a force to be reckoned with’.

—Daniel Priestley

‘True top sales professionals are always adding to their bank of knowledge, and Coffee is for Closers should be part of that library. Tony delivers all meat, and no fluff or theory…page after page, how‐to‐ after how‐to of solid, instantly usable sales gold in his conversational, speaking‐from‐experience, entertaining style. Get your highlighter and notebook ready as you will be pulling lots of ‘I need to do this’ tips from the book. Get it today’.

—Art Sobczak,Author of Smart Calling: Eliminate the Fear, Failure, and Rejection from Cold Calling

Coffee's for Closers is a comprehensive sales guide that presents actionable strategies that you can immediately put into practice. Read it with a highlighter handy. You'll need it!

—Lee B. Salz,Bestselling Author of Sell Different! and Sales Differentiation

Tony has a unique way about him; he exceeds expectations and does what he says he will do. A fine quality in life and business, and a rarity, in my experience, amongst salespeople. Furthermore, his book is a perfect reflection of the man himself. He is a real character, hard‐working, resourceful, ambitious and very funny, and those traits jump out from every page. He tracks his career from a painful start, full of setbacks, matched only by an obstinate passion to succeed and learn from his mistakes. He shares his business experiences, successes and early failures, the lessons he has learned each time, and the techniques he employs to circumvent roadblocks, create opportunities and improve his ‘strike rate’.

—Claude Littner, Entrepreneur, Trouble Shooter and star of the show The Apprentice

Coffee's for Closers

The Best Real‐Life Sales Book You'll Ever Read

Tony Morris

This edition first published 2023

Copyright © 2023 by Tony Morris

Edition History

Published by New generation Publishing in 2012. Copyright © Tony Morris 2012.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

The right of Tony Morris to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

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While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written sales materials or promotional statements for this work. The fact that an organization, website, or product is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the publisher and authors endorse the information or services the organization, website, or product may provide or recommendations it may make. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a specialist where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data is Available:

ISBN 9780857089557 (Hardback)

ISBN 9780857089618 (ePDF)

ISBN 9780857089625 (ePub)

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: © kyoshino/Getty Images

This book is dedicated to my late Dad, Ray, for being my inspiration, for teaching me right from wrong and showing me how to be the best salesperson in the world by just being me.

I would like to thank my gorgeous wife, Shana, for being a continuous support to me and spurring me on every day to succeed. Most importantly, for giving me the best gift in the world, my adorable children, Harry and Poppy. The three of you are my entire world and every day when I think about you all, it quickly reminds me why I work as hard as I do. I am truly blessed!

A big thank you to my father‐in‐law. You brought into the world the greatest gift I had ever imagined, my beautiful wife Shana.

And I must mention my amazing mum, Ros, and my late mother‐in‐law, Tina. I love you both dearly.

A special mention to Shana's great late Uncle Ken. He spent hours upon hours with me writing the first edition of Coffee’s for Closers in 2012, and I am so grateful to him.

Foreword

Put that coffee down! Coffee is for closers only’.

Alec Baldwin delivered this iconic line in one of the greatest ‘sales’ movie scenes ever shown on the big screen.

I admit that I've watched this scene so many times that I can repeat the entire dialogue by heart. I'm not alone. Over the past 30 years, since the movie Glengarry Glen Ross was released, legions of sales professionals have done the same.

‘The leads are weak’.

‘You're weak!’

Top sales professionals, the ones I call ultra‐high performers, lean into this scene. They love the raw, unveiled truth about what it takes to make it in one of the world's toughest professions.

‘First prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Second prize, a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired’.

The highest‐earning sales professionals, the same ones that make more money than doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects and other high‐earning professionals, love this line because it cuts right to the quick, putting the truth on the table – the game of sales, at the core, is a raw, Darwinian survival of the fittest.

In sales, you write your own destiny. Income and success are in direct correlation to talent, skills, mindset and effort. This, by the way, is why the rewards always go to those who can make it rain.

But, selling is hard. In sales, there are no shortcuts. No easy buttons. No excuses. You either deliver results or you will be fired. In this profession, you are not judged by what you have sold, but rather what you produce today.

Miss quota and you are out. Exceed quota and you are a hero. You cannot kumbaya your way around this brutal truth. The pressure to sell and the demand to perform are unrelenting. Salespeople have the most lucrative jobs in business because most people wouldn't last a minute in your shoes.

This is exactly why I am so excited to introduce this new book from my good friend Tony Morris. I love Tony because he loves the sales profession the same way I do. His is an authentic, visceral love that drives his passion to help sales professionals reach peak performance.

Coffee's for Closers is a wonderful book. It's packed with fantastic stories, truths and humour. Tony's back‐to‐the‐basic lessons will help you hone your sales skills, build mental resilience and spark the internal drive and relentless persistence that are at the heart of sales success.

Read this book. Devour this book. Then read it again. Tony will teach you how to perform at your peak, deliver when the game is on the line, and earn that cup of coffee.

Gandhi said, ‘We should live as if we will die tomorrow and learn as if we will live forever’. When you make the commitment to learn, you'll be happier, more motivated and maximize your income.

Jeb Blount, CEO of Sales Gravy and author of Fanatical Prospecting

Preface

After reading over 260 sales books and listening to over a hundred on Audible, it became frustratingly apparent that there were no answers to everyday sales challenges. There were some good techniques and interesting ideas; however, I personally struggled to put them into practice in my everyday life as a salesman.

I have learned so much from the sales gurus, like Brian Tracey, Zig Ziglar and Jim Rohn, yet always struggled to put things into practice in my actual sales role. I have seen the most incredible motivational speakers in the world, like Anthony Robbins; he talks at great length about how he was penniless in his teens and by his mid‐twenties he made his first million. To some degree, this is incredibly inspirational and allows your mind to wander and gives you the hope and belief that anything is possible. On the flipside comes the frustration and unanswered questions on ‘how is it possible?’ The latter part is never really divulged – not in detail anyway.

This is where the motivation for my book was born. I wanted to write a book that not only shares lots of innovative and easy‐to‐understand techniques but also it was imperative that these could be implemented into a sales professional's daily role. I am not a millionaire, yet, although I am on my way to becoming one. I do not have a single doubt that I will achieve this and more, and I hope that doesn't come across as arrogant.

The reason for my confidence and belief is that at the age of 21, when I had been in sales for a couple of years, the thought of earning a six‐figure salary seemed like a dream. The thought of writing a sales book did not even cross my mind, as I would have immediately dismissed it as ludicrous. If someone told me I'd be able to afford a four‐bedroom house, drive a lovely sports car and buy my wife her dream car, I would have imagined I'd chosen six lucky numbers. However, I have achieved all of the above, and I like to think that I am a good husband and dad, which has cemented my beliefs that if you put your mind to it and work really hard, you can achieve what you want.

I have made numerous mistakes along the way and I know I have many more to come. I have developed my knowledge and abilities on the back of these failings. In a bizarre way, I am looking forward to my inevitable errors as there are no greater lessons. My dad used to say to me, ‘What you put in is what you get out’, and I never stopped believing this for a second. I graft harder than ever before and always give it my all. When you start to see wonderful things happening around you, only then can you start to believe. I appreciate that there is an element of luck on the way, however, as the golfer Gary Player once said, ‘The harder you work the luckier you get’.

At 44 years of age, I have so many more deals waiting to happen, hundreds of new experiences to learn from and enjoy, and I genuinely wake up each day excited at what the day will bring. Many of the sales books I've read and continue to read come across like a textbook and remind me of being back at school. I wanted to write something for the educated salespeople, yet in a very light‐hearted and humorous manner. Don't get me wrong, it's no Michael McIntyre autobiography, but there are plenty of stories that will make you laugh and are more memorable than a case study.

One of the great things about being in sales is that you never stop learning. The same applies to life, I guess. Every book I read, every training course I attend, I always take away at least three things that contribute to my performance in the wonderful game of sales.

I am not a writer, I am a performer, so I ask you to bear with me if my grammar isn't perfect. The syntax (I lifted that from another book, by the way) could be better and my punctuation could have been done by a four‐year‐old. I'm learning and the truth is that we all are, every day.

So with no further ado, please read on and enjoy. Kindly email me on [email protected] to share your success.

About the Author

Tony Morris got married in 2006 to his beautiful wife, Shana, and now has two gorgeous children, Harry and Poppy.

Tony gained a 2:1 Honours degree in business and marketing from The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom, before travelling the world for a year. He has over 22 years' of experience in sales, both business to business and business to consumer, and has trained over 36,000 sales professionals in 43 industries. Tony started his career as a telesales consultant for the largest outsourced call centre, where he was involved in selling business to consumer (B2C) for one of the United Kingdom's biggest utility providers. He was awarded salesperson of the month for six consecutive months. He was then moved into a training role, where he wrote scripts and rebuttals, and trained every new consultant before they went on the phone.

Tony then moved into a business to business environment selling address management solutions. He started by cold‐calling and generating appointments at director level and then sold in the field. He then progressed within a year, training a team of 14 telesales executives on how to make appointments from cold‐calling and focusing his time on blue chip clients. In his four years at the company, he sold the highest value order of £725,000 over a three‐year contract.

Alongside his business partner, Boyd Mayover, Tony's father‐in‐law, he set up a sales training company in May 2006 called Positive Approach. He started by cold‐calling to generate appointments for both himself and his partner Boyd. Within the first year, they had 56 clients and this has continued to grow year on year. In six and a half years it has accumulated over 300 clients across 43 different industries.

In May 2019, Tony bought Boyd's shares in the business and Tony Morris International was born.

Tony's ethos is, ‘You can sell any product or service with the right attitude and a well‐planned call structure’.

Tony grew up in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, and now lives in Radlett, Hertfordshire. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Shana, and his kids, Harry and Poppy, watching films, playing tennis and working out.

Many sales books that you will read will be written by many successful multimillionaires or people who claim to be ones. Tony is not one of those yet. He would love to sit here and say he has a different Ferrari for each day of the week, and he plays basketball on his helipad, but that simply would be a lie. He can say that ‘he's working on it’. He earns a decent salary and has a very nice lifestyle. For once, he can see the light at the end of the tunnel and knows that it is possible to achieve what you set your heart on.

To Tony, the most satisfying realisation is that ‘what you put in is what you get out’ is now becoming a reality. It's taken him many years to see that, and there have been numerous bumps along the way. There will be many more to come, but he's grown to realise and understand that it's all part of the wonderful game of sales.

1Introduction to Sales

‘Success is the ability to move from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm’.

—Winston Churchill

I was born with what people call ‘the gift of the gab’. I had to be the class clown and centre of attention, and my goal at school was to make people laugh. I knew I had a great day when I had everyone in stitches. I was over the moon when my parents returned from parents' evening and my dad had that expression plastered all over his face. My reports consistently said, ‘He has lots of potential, but just doesn't use it. He's a very likeable and popular boy though and really makes people laugh all day long’. To me, that was the best report you could get; how naive I was! My parents' friends always used to say to me, ‘You'll be a great salesman, as you've got an answer for everything and can talk the talk’.

My first boss in software sales taught me one of the most important lessons in sales that I have never forgotten – you have two ears and one mouth, use them accordingly. This is backed up by an Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who created a principle known as the Pareto's law – the 80/20 rule. It's a rule that can be applied to many scenarios, such as in retail, where they say 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your products. When applied to sales, if you are on the phone to a prospect, you should be speaking 20% and listening 80%. People love to talk, it's human nature, so let them. If people talk, they are comfortable; if they're comfortable, they like you; and if they like you, they are more likely to buy from you. Remember, we do not sell to anyone, we simply help them buy.

I had plenty of sales jobs growing up as a kid, from working in a call centre selling utilities, selling double glazing over the phone to selling newspaper subscriptions door to door. Looking back, I consider these roles part of my career in sales. It's from these positions that I was able to grow a real backbone and deal with the daily rejection that you learn is the nature of the beast as a salesman. It's not until you have heard these wonderful sentences of English –

‘If you call me again I will come round to your house and kill your dog!’

‘Can I have your home number?’

‘No’, I replied, ‘I don't want people calling me at home’.

‘Neither do I, so p*** off and go to hell!’ –

that you start to learn not to take things too seriously to heart. It's all part of the fun game of sales and you need to become quicker and smarter to play the game to win.

This is not like any normal sales book you have read, or are likely to read again. I am telling you the way it is, not discussing the theory, which is like listening to your grandma's story for the 82nd time, about how she used to go to tea dances as a teenager.

I will give you real‐life examples of both my and my clients' sales experiences, and the things that I have seen and learned over the last 16 years as a sales trainer. I will be discussing some of the best sales professionals I have had the good fortune to be in close contact, and the salespeople that you get apologising to you over the phone when you reply to their initial statement, ‘It's not a good time’.

Many people often ask me, ‘What are the key things you need to be a successful salesperson?’ There are so many factors required to become super successful in selling, which I will explain in detail in this book, ranging from your tone, your questioning skills, your ability to listen, closing techniques and the list goes on.

Having interviewed many of the top 100 salespeople in the world (in my view) on my podcast, Confessions of a Serial Seller, I have been able to identify some traits amongst these legends. Coupled with analysing the top 1% of the 36,000 sales professionals I have been fortunate to work with, here are just a few of those traits explained in the following text.

Do Not Listen to Respond, Listen to Learn

Like I mentioned with Pareto's law, it should be 80% of them speaking and 20% of you listening. Most salespeople listen when it's their turn to speak. The most successful salespeople listen to learn. They take in everything that is being shared with them, because they understand that the prospect is far more important than they are. They understand that if they are speaking, they are not learning. They have seen that by allowing the prospect to speak and open up, not only do they share so much about themselves, but they provide information that will be beneficial to be used for proposing a solution.

In addition to this, as the prospect is speaking, they are often sharing things that were unplanned and on the surface not relevant to what you are there to discuss. However, when you are fully tuned in, you start to listen to what is not being shared, and I call this your opportunity antenna, which I will elaborate on in detail, later on in the book.

Asking Intelligent Questions

The vast majority of salespeople that I have been fortunate to work with ask really bad questions. And this is normally a bad habit that they have picked up over time. You are often unaware of the difficulties related with bad habits while doing them, as you are running on autopilot. It is not often that we sit back and reflect on what we are actually asking, to see if these questions can be improved.

Mindset

Every one of us has personal issues going on outside of work, some more serious than others. But if you bring these into work, it will have a negative impact on your performance and your personal problems will worsen, as you'll then create work problems as well. Some people like to look at a problem and moan about it. Others like to view it as a challenge and take pleasure coming up with a solution.

Which Person Are You?

There are some people who really like being negative, all the time, and they are cleverly called ‘negative people’. You will always find negative people talking and moaning to other negative people, about how unfair everything is or how many problems there are at work. And you can guarantee they'll be moaning about the successful people and how easy they have things in their favour. As the saying goes, ‘You become who you associate yourself with’, so if you hang around with negative or lazy people all day long, your chances of achieving success decrease drastically, as they'll drain out all your positive energy. I call these people ‘mood hoovers’. The great Jim Rohn said, ‘You are the average of the five people you hang around with’; so, who do you hang around with on a regular basis? Are they serving you or draining you?

What I have found is A's will always hang around with other A's, whereas B's hang around with C's, to make them feel better about themselves.

I have a great friend who is very intelligent, very talented at what he does, yet at the age of 36 years, he has never progressed at work. It baffled me, as he seems driven, he's clearly good at what he does, he's well qualified and he wants to earn a good living, yet never seemed to make it. It was then clear to me that the friends he has grown up with all his life can be labelled as ‘bums’. Some were unemployed and not looking for work, most of them took drugs, and none of them had any goals or real aspirations. Unfortunately, regularly hanging around with them clearly held him back, as it's all he sees and knows. Don't get me wrong, to break away from your lifelong friends is not an easy task, but is leaving a partner who physically abuses you an easy task? It depends what you want out of life and what your priorities are.

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, was interviewed many years ago. The interviewer said to him, ‘You have tried to make this light bulb ten thousand times and failed, how can you possibly carry on?’ Edison laughed at the interviewer and said, ‘You are both naive and ignorant, I have learned ten thousand ways of how it should not be done’. A fine example of how any situation can be viewed very differently.

I heard a story where a relatively new shoe manufacturer brought out some trainers that were unique in the market. The company tried to penetrate the UK market and failed miserably. It sent two of their sales teams to Africa, to test the market's appetite. After a few days, the first salesperson called the boss and said, ‘This is the biggest waste of time ever, I may as well come home immediately’. The boss was really surprised to hear that and asked, ‘What makes you say that?’ The salesperson replied, ‘because no one here wears any shoes’.

A couple of days later, the boss asked the second salesperson while answering his call, ‘Tell me, how are you finding things?’ The excited salesperson says, ‘It's incredible, you are going to have to send me out a lot more samples’. The boss was totally taken aback by this response. He says, ‘Really, how come?’ The salesperson says, ‘It's amazing, no one here wears any shoes’.

Which Salesperson Would You Have Been?

One of the wonderful things about sales is that there's no such thing as failure, it's all feedback. We can all learn from our successes as well as our failures. The great Nelson Mandela once said, ‘You never lose, either you win or you learn’.

The Lesson

When the top sales performers make a prospecting call, they always look for a lesson. So, if they reach a gatekeeper and are unable to be put through to the decision‐maker, rather than returning frustrated, they ask themselves, ‘What is the lesson?’ What could I have said differently on that call to have received a different outcome? They will reflect on the questions they asked, the statements they made and consider where things went off the track.

Is that how you view things, when things don't go your way on a call?

The Whale

The other thing the top sales performers do, when making a prospecting call, is to picture the prospect in their mind. They consider the key decision‐makers as their potential VIP clients. I have labelled these people as ‘the whales’. Let me explain what I mean.

In my business, I usually land up two whales a year – a total of 34 whales till date. No matter what marketing I undertake, the number of prospecting calls I make, I always land up two whales a year. A whale to me is a client that has invested £75,000 on training or speaking engagements. Every single call I make, in my mind, the person I am speaking with is the whale. This changes my perspective on a call. As I consider the person at the other end of the phone to be the whale, it changes my focus. My concentration is heightened, my listening is finely tuned and I am laser focused on that call, and every distraction around me is blocked out.

I recall that in September 2015, I boarded the train to meet Ian Maclean, the franchise director of Belvoir. They are an estate and letting agency franchisee with over 150 offices. We were meeting to discuss me delivering sales training to their entire network. It was probably the largest opportunity for my business, and I spent hours preparing for the meeting. I carried out mystery calls to many of the franchisees, posing as a landlord and as a buyer, as I wanted to see how the franchisees handled my enquiry. I listened back to calls, so I could write detailed feedback, as I wanted to provide Ian with as much value as possible.

I met Ian at their Mornington Crescent office and waited nervously in the reception. I knew you should treat every meeting exactly the same, but I was aware of how big an opportunity this could be, it was difficult to stay calm and composed.

I met a lady, who kindly offered me tea and walked me to Ian's office. Ian stood and shook my hand and had a really welcoming smile, which immediately put my nerves at ease.

We sat and started chatting about how he got into the property market and his experience working with Belvoir. I explained to him about the different estate and letting agents I had trained and most importantly the results I'd help them achieve. I told Ian I carried out mystery calls and asked if he'd like to hear my feedback and findings. He was so impressed that I'd gone to all that effort and was really keen to hear my findings. I shared feedback on the three calls I had carried out and highlighted all the different areas that I would have developed, had I been training them. Ian agreed with everything I had said, and felt I had raised some really great points.

And then he said, ‘Tony, you seem like a great guy and clearly know your stuff, “but”…’.

And as soon as I heard the ‘but’, I was devastated. I tried to not show the disappointment on my face, but it was a struggle. I got my hopes up so much for this meeting, and they were gone in a flash.

Ian went on to say that they have an in‐house training department, and he just felt I didn't offer anything different enough to what they do. I really didn't know how to handle that objection, especially as all my excitement had evaporated in a matter of seconds.

I left his office flat. The exact opposite to how I felt going in. I know that in sales you don't win them all, but I really thought this was my time and this was going to be the big one. On the train journey back, I was going through the entire conversation and trying to work out what I could have said differently, to have received a different outcome.

I sent Ian a follow‐up email the following day, thanking him for his time.

Even though I was so disappointed, my late dad always told me that you never know when a person might turn up in your life again, so no matter what happens, don't burn bridges, and don't show your disappointment.

About eight months later, I got an email from Ian, introducing me to a guy called Eric Walker. Ian explained that Eric was his equivalent, for another estate agency franchise called Northwood. He said, they're not as big as Belvoir, have about 80 offices and they're considering training for their franchisees, and he wanted to introduce me. I thanked him and organised a meeting with Eric at a lovely restaurant at London King's Cross.

I thought about my late dad and his advice and felt this was a sign. I didn't want to get my hopes up, like I did with Ian, but I was excited to meet Eric.

I turned up at the restaurant to meet Eric, and he was sitting there with another gentleman. Eric introduced him and then introduced me to his colleague Phil Gee. Eric explained that he looks after the 50 franchisees in the north and Phil looks after 40 of them in the south. Phil is also considering the same type of sales training he wants for his network.

We sat down and got the niceties out the way; where we have all travelled from, where we live, etc. And then we ordered some lunch. Eric asked, ‘red or white?’ and I said, ‘I like both, so whichever you prefer’, and he ordered a bottle of merlot. As we were waiting for the wine, we started talking business. Phil started talking about the challenges he sees across his 40 franchisees, and they were mainly a lack of properties to sell or let and the franchisees struggling to charge higher fees than their competitors. I was listening very attentively and was taking notes as he talked. Eric was nodding in agreement with everything Phil was sharing. Once Phil had stopped talking, I said to Eric, ‘Are you seeing the same things in your network of franchisees?’ He said, ‘Absolutely. It's a common challenge we see and no matter how much training they get on it, they just can't seem to implement it into their daily routine’. I said, ‘So what training have they had, to try and help them win more property and command higher fees?’ Eric replied, ‘Loads, we have an internal training department, and all franchisees spend their first four weeks in training, when they join Northwood. And then there is a whole training calendar running throughout the year, and they can select which course they want for themselves or their team and then attend’.

Eric then said, ‘Ian spoke very highly of you, and I can see why, “but”…’.

There goes that bloody ‘but’ again!

And he continued to say, ‘Our franchisees just won't pay those sorts of fees, especially as they can get it internally. I'm not doubting your training and it will be better than what we do internally, but I just know how our franchisees think’.

Our wine was poured and lunch was served. They were both lovely, but it would have tasted a lot nicer had I not heard that damn ‘but’ for the second time. The three of us just talked about life and property and enjoyed our lunch. I felt compelled to pay for the bill, thinking they would never accept and how wrong I was. So, not only had I lost the deal, it cost me £260 in the process.

I wasn't as disappointed as I was on the train back from meeting Ian, as I didn't get my hopes up as much. I guess that was one positive I took from the experience.

A few months passed and I got an email from Eric, asking if I was available on the 15th July 2016?

I replied, ‘Yes, why do you ask?’

He went on to say that Northwood was having its annual conference and he'd like me to be their headline speaker. And he asked if we can set up a call to discuss the brief. It took me all of 12 seconds to reply with dates on which I was available to speak; it would have been 3 seconds, but I didn't want to appear too keen.

We spoke a few days later, discussed the brief, discussed my fees and he booked me.

I delivered my talk at Northwood and sat back down at my table at the front. A gentleman on my right leaned in and said, ‘That was fantastic’, and he passed me his business card and asked me to call him next week. He was Duncan, the MD of a company called Jelf, which I'd never heard of. I didn't want to ask what they did, as I didn't want to embarrass myself.

Later on in the conference, I was getting myself a cup of tea and a gentleman approached me and said, ‘I loved your talk, really inspiring’. I said, ‘Thank you so much, really nice of you to say that. What do you do?’

He said, ‘My name is Dorian, and I am the CEO of Belvoir’. He explained that they are going to conduct a conference in a few months and if I am available, he'd like me to speak. I said, ‘Yes, I'd love to’, and we swapped business cards.

A couple of weeks later, Dorian's PA emailed me and organised a call for Dorian and me. We spoke, I confirmed my availability and my fees and I was booked.

Three months later, I was standing on stage at Belvoir's property conference in front of over 400 people. I was the last speaker of the day. I delivered my talk, and then Dorian took the stage to round up the conference and welcome everyone to the bar. I followed the crowd and made my way to the bar.

I got a drink and was chatting to a couple of the delegates. During the conversation, a guy approached me and said, ‘I'm sorry to interrupt you, but have you got a couple of minutes?’ I had no idea who he was or what he wanted, but I said, ‘Sure’.

We went over to his table, and he introduced himself as David and explained he was the MD of Newton Fallowell. He said, ‘We're an estate agency franchise, not as big as Belvoir, but we have 45 franchisees. We would love to have you speak at our conference in four months' time’. I was delighted and said, ‘Of course, that would be great’. He gave me his card and told me to call his PA on Monday and set up a call. I went back to the table where I was talking to a couple of delegates and continued our chat.

A week later, I was booked to speak at Newton Fallowell's conference.

The conference was certainly the smallest of the three; however, as always, I gave it my all. David had kindly invited me to stay for the black tie gala that evening, so I could meet all the franchisees. At my table I was sitting next to a lady called Michelle and her colleague Liz. Michelle told me she ran a mortgage company called Brook FS and Liz was her right‐hand woman. They were great company, and we had a lovely evening. After dinner, we were drinking at the bar and Michelle asked me about my training company and what courses I deliver. She gave me her number and asked for a call on Monday, as she felt her sales team needed a boost.

We caught up on Monday as promised, had a great chat and she booked me to deliver a three‐day training to her team. On the first evening of training, I was having a drink with the team and Liz. Liz asked me if I had ever done any work with recruitment companies, to which I explained I had and how I helped them. She said that she mentioned me to her husband Steve and what I was doing with her team, and he wanted to meet me.

Steve and I met in London about three weeks later, and he brought his MD Adam along, from Sterling Recruitment. They explained in detail about their business and that they're having their first ever conference and would like me to be their speaker. We agreed to it at once.

I spoke at their conference, and Adam said they needed me in the business, as their consultants could really do with my help. A month later, I was delivering training to all his team.