Transcription
In my eight years of experience, I can confidently say that the single fastest way to increase your income is to master the art of selling. No matter if you're building a business or advancing your career, there's no other skill that determines your earning potential more than knowing how to sell.
But here's the issue. There are dozens of gurus online trying to over complicate sales so they can sell you a $5,000 membership. The truth is, you don't need any of that. Being good at sales comes down to understanding a handful of core principles that anyone can learn.
So, if you just give me your undivided attention for the next eight minutes, I'll walk you through five proven techniques that will help you how you approach sales and help you cut through objections, close more deals, and significantly increase your revenue.
First technique, it's more about how you say something versus what you say much more than what people realize. Morabian's rule, or more commonly known as the 73855 rule, states that 7% of communication is words, the explicit content of what's being said. 38 is tone of voice, the pitch, the rhythm, and the cadence of your voice. and 55% is body language. So gestures, facial expressions, posture, and other non-verbal cues.
So when you're selling, that rule holds mostly true if you're selling in person. But in the modern age, sales also takes place virtually. So for example, Zoom or Teams, and over the phone. What happens when you communicate over a virtual call, you lose about half of your body language signals from things like only seeing your upper body, weaker eye contact, environmental cues missing, and so on. and over the phones, you lose all body language communication. So, an overweighted focus should be placed on the actual delivery of your pitch or conversation.
There's a great TED talk by Julian Treasure that goes over your arsenal of verbal delivery components. A fun practical exercise is to say this next sentence in as many different ways as possible to communicate a different meaning each time. So, the sentence is, "I did not say John beat his wife." I know it's a bit edgy, but bear with me here.
So, for example, if I said, "I did not say John beat his wife." What does that imply? It communicates that someone else said that statement. Or if I say, "I did not say John beat his wife." I'm telling you implicitly that I was referring to someone else. I encourage you to try this and emphasize as many other words in that sentence as possible and figure out what's really being communicated.
So, the second technique is to seek to understand and to be ruthlessly curious about the prospect first. A lot of times, especially if you're a newly minted sales rep or dealing with a brand new vertical product or persona, it's easy to get overloaded with the features and benefits of what you're selling. And by the time you're talking with the prospect, you're so focused on getting the sale or explaining your product, you forget to actually listen.
When you're just getting started, it's actually more important to figure out what the hell is going on in the market and in the mind of the prospect than it actually is to get the sale. Over time, you need to be able to describe their problem better than they can themselves. That's where your expert or peer status will come from. Once you're on that level, it's much easier to build trust and get the prospect to honestly open up.
So to implement this, you can start your ruthlessly curious question with a statement like, "Hey, Mr. Prospect, just trying to seek to understand here. How are you handling XYZ today?" Again, pay really close attention to how they're describing their situation.
Third technique, framing is everything. The way you frame your questions, your statements, and your big idea sets the stage for how your prospect perceives everything that follows. So, the reason why this matters so much is if you just dive straight into a pitch or a line of questioning without any framing, it can feel abrupt or inconsiderate. The prospect will tend to be more guarded or confused about why you're asking certain things.
But when you frame things well, you're basically giving them a heads up, saying, "Here's why I'm asking," or "This is why it matters to you." This makes them much more open and engaged because they understand the context.
So, a couple of examples. Say you're on a cold call. You can frame the conversation by saying, "Hey, Mr. Prospect, feel free to cut me off if this isn't in your wheelhouse." That little phrase frames the conversation as a two-way street. It tells them, "Hey, I'm not here to monologue at you. This is a conversation, and it's totally fine to let me know if we're off track." It makes them feel like they're in control, which actually makes them more open to hearing what you have to say.
Another example is when you're about to share your big idea, you might say something like, "Our big belief is..." followed with your pitch. That frames what you're about to say as something as important and worth their attention. You're signaling, "Hey, this is the part where you might want to lean in a bit." And that naturally helps them tune in.
And then when you're kicking off a discovery call and you know you'll ask a lot of questions, you can frame that, too. So you might say something like, "Hey, Mr. prospect. We can take this conversation in a lot of directions, but to respect your time, we typically tell folks to be selfish with this meeting and really test us to see if we can move any of the 800 lb gorillas standing in your way. So, if you don't mind me asking..." and then go ahead and ask your question. So, that frames the Q&A part as purposeful and respectful rather than just an interrogation.
So, in short, framing is about priming the prospect's mind so they understand why you're asking what you're asking and why it matters. And with a few well-placed framing statements, the whole conversation flows a lot more smoothly.
The fourth technique is understanding that sales is a transfer of belief, energy, and emotion. Essentially, as a salesperson, you're not just conveying information, you're actually transferring your own certainty and confidence to the prospect, helping them feel more assured and comfortable about moving forward.
So, as humans, we naturally respond to the emotion and energy of others. We are sympathetic beings. So, if you come into a conversation with a genuine positivity and confidence, that feeling is contagious. Prospects are often looking for a sense of certainty, something that makes them feel like they're making the right decision. When you radiate that certainty through your tone and your words, it helps them feel at ease.
To implement this, focus on bringing your own authentic energy into the conversation. One way to cultivate conviction is to remind yourself of your past successes or why you truly believe in what you're offering. Then let that belief naturally come through your tone. Speak with warmth and confidence, leading the prospect by example, showing them that through your own certainty that they can feel certain, too. It's less about just the words and more about the energy and conviction you bring to the table.
The fifth technique is that your character is your signature. To put it simply, you need to maintain a consistent persona throughout the sales process rather than switching roles midstream. Think of it like a character in a movie. So, if you're a Star Wars fan and you know the bad guy Darth Vader suddenly turns into a wise sage, a lover, and then a wolf all in one scene, it would be confusing and jarring. Yet, sales reps often do this in their sales process. First, they're the ultimate nice guy building rapport. Then, they turn into the ShamWow pitch guy, you know, pushing features. Then, a sorcerer promising miracles, right? "It'll make you beautiful. All your pains will melt. You'll be rich and loved by everyone." Then, they convert into the angel asking for the clothes. And then finally, the wolf at the first sign of any resistance.
So in short, consistency builds trust. When you stick to one clear, authentic persona, the prospect knows who they're dealing with and can relax in the conversation. It removes confusion and helps them feel more comfortable. So choose the character that fits you best. Maybe you're the trusted advisor or the straight shooter, maybe the showman, and stick with it all the way through. Keep that character consistent from the first hello to the final ask. And that continuity will make the prospect feel like they're talking to a real reliable person rather than a shape-shifter, you know, making it easier for them to trust you and move forward.
Now, there's one last tip I need to mention that isn't quite like the rest. You see, in just about any sales position or business model, the cold call is still one of the most effective and direct ways to generate revenue this year. But it's also one of the hardest to crack. So, to help you get better at it faster, click here to check out the next video where I show you what it actually looks like to cold call leads in real time all the way to getting the first sale because I believe that watching someone else do something in real life is way better than going through anyone's $5,000 course.
So, I'll see you over there and good luck.