Hoffman

Jeff's Summertime Top 10 Reading List (For Closers Only!) Here you go gang....my top 10 reading list for those who want to take their game to the next level. These ten books have had the MOST IMPACT on yours truly, as a salesperson, an executive, and as an entrepreneur. Some new, some old, but all but are guaranteed to inspire a conversation from a stranger on the beach this summer (unless of course you are like me, and prefer a Kindle.) Enjoy. :) In chronological order... *** "How to Win Friends and Influence People," by Dale Carnegie (1936) --This is where it all begins for us, Closers. Take good notes. "How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling," by Frank Bettger (1947) --I have read over 500 books on sales. This is the best. You're welcome. "Influence," by Dr. Robert Cialdini (1984) --Insightful. Practical. Current. Ignore at your own peril. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," by Stephen R Covey (1989) --The ultimate case for effectiveness over efficiency. That dog-eared copy is on your CEO's desk for a reason. "Million Dollar Consulting," by Alan Weiss (1992) --Single-handedly teaches the difference between "prospects" and "customers" and how to value them appropriately in your pursuit of the brass ring. "The Heart of The Buddah's Teaching," by Thich Nhat Hanh (1999) --Perfect on-ramp to those new to the Way. Once you start consdiering Brother Hanh's teachings, you will be a student for life. RIP. "The Unfair Advantage - Selling with NLP," by Duane Lakin, PhD. (2000) --The only tool a salesperson is given is language. Lakin offers the vocabulary of closing. Read it, and you finally understand the appeal of Tony Robbins and Gary Vee. All while avoiding that annoying queue of salesbros. "Blue Ocean Strategy," by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne (2005) --My business has survived 3 recessions because I followed the frameworks in this book. Competition never looked so delicious. "Understanding Basic Statistics," by Charles Brase (2018) --A great primer for non-math heads, and other books could substitute. Want to be great at sales? Understand statistics. (OK, maybe not exactly BEACH reading material, but nonetheless...) "The Psychology of Money," by Morgan Housel (2020) --One read, and you will completely re-build your entire approach to price negotiations. Procurement never looked so good. What about you, Closers????? I've already read these. What do YOU recommend????

Watching the Open over breakfast before a day of training with our newest client in fabulous Nashville this morning. Filled with gratitude that my career in sales has led to this rich life of self-employment over the past 22+ years. (Thankfully, I get along with my boss.) Happy Thursday, and Happy Selling, Jeff

Only 90 Minutes until CeCe Aparo and I show you the BEST way to crush your summer sales blues!!! I've been posting about the sublime power of Trade Show leads for weeks so why not take a moment to register for our FREE webinar on how to craft your cold outreach SPECIFICALLY for these activities. TODAY at 11a ET. A few slots remain and you MUST register BEFORE 11 to get the replay link. Happy Selling! Jeff

*** How To Ghost a Buyer. (Yeah, you read this right...) *** That's right. I said it. Better still, I MEAN it. Closers don't have to be the only ones picking up the pieces of a shattered heart. Ghosting goes BOTH ways, baby - and great Closers always stay a step in front of every situation, and are quick to 'breakup' with the unqualified. The question therefore is rarely: "Why?' Instead, it is usually: "When?" And if you are a true Closer...that "When" should be right after the demo. We really have no choice. It's a mathematical requirement. If you don't establish a threshold in your sales process where YOU PROACTIVELY dump a prospect when its likelihood to close increasingly is outweighed by the cost of its pursuit, then you are doomed to miss quota. And if you don't do this, it means you are working every single opportunity for as long as they will talk to you, with no exception. Major problem. We have 21 days of selling per month to hit quota. Full stop. And there are only so many deals we can work in that time. So working EVERY deal until they "buy or walk" is a recipe ripe for failure. So why is the demo stage the right place for a break up? Several reasons: - Its their first look at the product. (Did any lightbulbs go off?) - Its their first chance to expand the audience. (Did they bring anybody else to the demo?) - I can let them drive the demo. (Given the chance, what are they drawn to?) - They are looking at other solutions. (Even early, how do we stack up?) - Our product doesn't do everything. (Where are they disappointed?) FURTHERMORE - it is still early enough in the cycle where the sting of killing the deal isn't too difficult. Even the most seasoned grey-haired rep (clearing throat) is unlikely to have the stomach to jettison a deal once it gets to eval/POC stage. So kill it now while I still can! If I don't get significant deal advancement and closes (org chart, intro to power, paid eval, competitive quote, etc) within 24 hrs of my demo...then... I. Am. Gone. I purge dozens of loser deals a quarter well before I have wasted precious time chasing down prospects that are interested enough to keep talking, but not strong enough to buy. And along the way I have become a demo-ninja, boasting record-setting demo-to-close conversion rates. The top difference between the rep that is at quota (making up 15%-50% of most orgs) and the rep that is 300-400% of quota (a precious 1-3% of most orgs) is that the unicorn rep kills deals proactively. That's probably ONE REP IN YOUR ENTIRE COMPANY. And that is why she is a unicorn. Why not join her? I hear she just freed her calendar. ;) Happy selling, Jeff. *** By the time you read this, our free live webinar tomorrow is likely filled. But STILL register (if you want the replay afterward.) Link below!

“Is that a real poncho, or is that a “Sears” poncho?” - Frank Zappa Curiousity. Authenticity. Empathy. Humor. Not skills. Traits. You have them, or you don’t. And every buyer will see the truth in moments. Moments. Happy selling, Jeff

*** Why Your Top Rep ISN'T Quite Ready for that Enterprise AE Job *** Enterprise sales is different. And it has nothing to do with the size of the deal. And the top reps that are successful in this role are different as well. There are two characteristics that are required: 1 - A reps ability to navigate on the HORIZONTAL line of an org chart. 2 - Her ability to close the PROCUREMENT stage of the process. Enterprise deals are UNIQUE in that they often demand approval from multiple budget owners (often competing) as well as a defined and FORMAL procurement approval process. These two elements add significant time and complexity to Close. Big commercial deals, while sometimes large, may indeed require multiple APPROVALS, but that's not the same as requiring multiple SIGNATURES. That fact, plus the ease in moving north/south in an org chart (v east/west,) means that most commercial deals approx take the same amount of time to close - regardless of size. Which is why ABS ("Account-based Selling")or TBS ("Target-based Selling") is still the best approach for Enterprise sales. But it is important to note that this motion is a unique one, and ABS doesn't work when applied to a traditional commercial/full-cycle sales due to its inability to scale. So....GREAT Enterprise AEs aren't overly concerned with always getting to their Buyer's boss and staff (north/south.) They are, however, obsessed with navigating to the concurrent groups that share some workflow with their buyer, but have independent lines of sight and dollar (east/west.) Additionally, they close for intros to Procurement whenever they are asked to create quotes and proposals, insuring appropriate and early access. HOW your customer buys generally dictates the strategy (as opposed to HOW MUCH.) Enterprise isn't just "big." Its different. Start with how different before your map out your GTM strategy by sales role. Happy selling, Jeff *** A few remaining slots still available for our FREE LIVE webinar CeCe Aparo and I are hosting this Wed 7/17 at 11a ET on how to tweak your summer outreach to take advantage of marketing events - customized to fill your pipeline with prospects ready to engage. Replays ONLY available to those who pre-register, so don't delay! Link below.

'Three' SUCKS... In sales, anyway. Because when facing a choice of 3 solutions, most Buyers will eliminate the greatest outlier FIRST. (This has to do with the strange psychological "Rule of Contrast" that was outlined in Dr. Robert Cialdini's seminal book "Influence.") And by outlier, I mean either the MOST expensive choice (which may be YOU,) or the LEAST expensive choice (which also may be you after you discount to try to win the business.) This horrible paradox is the source of legions of lost and under-realized deals for centuries! So what's our solution, gentle Closers? Quite straight-forward, really: Whenever faced with two competitors in an account, it is IMPERATIVE that you eliminate one immediately. Like at DISCO. BEFORE the demo. First 1-3 sales stages. For me, I always like to target the cheapest vendor to absorb my wrath. It tests the mettle of the Buyer, while forcing the value conversation northward. I use expressions like "unsophisticated," and "thinly supported," and "immature for the Enterprise" to cast doubts on the veracity of the cheaper company's offering and leadership. And I am equally careful to NOT dismiss the other competitor this early to avoid appearing overly insincere. Buyers have a lot of self doubt in their selection process EARLY, so Closers are wise to take full advantage. By eliminating one of the three vendors at the early stages, we instantly improve our odds of winning the deal from 33% to 50% - and I'll make that bet every day of the week. Otherwise we are left with a race to the bottom to avoid the dreaded silver medal in sales....second prize. All the effort and time spent like the vendor who won, but with a PO of nothing. :( Because in sales, three is definitely NOT the magic number. Happy selling, Jeff *** Only 3 days left before our ONLY free webinar this summer. Unlock one of sales' strongest intentional lead sources available (trade shows!) with a step-by-step guide on how to craft its outreach. Join CeCe Aparo and I in our Boston studios Wed 7/17 @ 11:00 a ET for a fun, intense, and interactive hour. And you MUST pre-register to get the replay. Link below!

The moment you send a cut and paste email, you are no longer in sales… …you are in marketing. Happy selling, -Jeff

Do people REALLY buy from people they like? NO THEY DON'T!!!!! One of the oldest myths in sales. Comes from a poorly transcribed paraphrase from Dale Carnegie's seminal "How to Win Friends and Influence People." And yet...he never actually wrote that phrase. And thank goodness, because it isn't true. (Be HONEST! Do YOU like salespeople????? Exactly.) "You know I wasn't going to blow out my infrastructure budget with any new technology this year, but I liked that rep so much, I couldn't resist!" - no IT buyer EVER. The truth is, what Dale Carnegie wrote was far more nuanced (and accurate:) *** People DON'T buy from people they DON'T like. *** See the difference? Just make sure they don't hate you (easy to do) as opposed to getting them to like you (VERY hard to to pre sale.) So..when prospecting...your FIRST step is.... Lose the smile, the toothy grin, the happy head nod, and the sugary tone. I know it "feels" counter-intuitive, BUT The reason is that your over-cheery disposition is grossly inappropriate for the moment. This cold call is unsolicited, so the Prospect doesn't know who you are. Any super-friendly tone triggers the belief that the Prospect must previously know you - which they don't. Which they will also realize in about 10 seconds. Which means precisely 10 seconds into the call, the Prospect feels TRICKED by you....and promptly ends the call. Do what Closers do. Slow down the tempo. Like molasses. Monotone. Low volume. Mildly bored. All the way until you reach 30 seconds. Shockingly, this tone is very hard to interrupt, and it increases the likelihood of a full 3-minute call. 0% instinctive. 100% effective. Happy selling, Jeff *** Still some slots left for our FREE LIVE webinar I am hosting w CeCe Aparo next Wed 7/17 at 11a ET on how to tweak your summer outreach to take advantage of marketing events -customized to fill your pipeline with prospects ready to engage. Replays only available to those who register, so don't delay! Link below.

"The two most important dates in our lives are... The day we are born. The day we discover why." (Mark Twain) Happy Selling, Closers. -Jeff