A Theme for your Pursuit

Our team was preparing for an important meeting with customer executives. Our sales lead asked our sponsor within the customer’s company for guidance so we could confirm what we needed to accomplish in the meeting and gain their commitment for the deal. 

Our customer sponsor told us this:

“It’s Simple.”

“Trust Your Game.

Bring Your Game.

And you will 

Win The Game.”

We believed we had a well-thought-out plan, but unexpected events and unforeseen circumstances occurred throughout our sales cycle and our engagement with this customer. There was some adversity along the way and even though we had a solid plan, we were still uneasy and it impacted our confidence. 

The important thing is not the circumstances that created the adversity—it’s how you respond to that adversity. Always consider that adversity is the preparation needed for greatness.

We won this deal and then adopted this theme as a motto for future opportunities… Each time we ran into adversity in a sales opportunity, we called up our customer’s sage advice: 

Trust your game, 

Bring your game,

And you will 

Win the game. 

Love this!

I’m DJ Sebastian, for more info on what it takes to become an Elite Seller, visit my website at thetechseller.com

Unbeatable Work Ethic

How would you honestly rate your work ethic? 

Are you doing just enough to get by? Or are you going all out as you strive to be the best?

Pat Summit, champion women’s basketball coach at the

University of Tennessee, said this:

“Here’s how I’m going to beat you. I’m going to

outwork you. That’s it. That’s all there is to it.”

Just like champion coaches and athletes, strive for an unbeatable work ethic. Show up prepared and outwork your competition. 

Elevating your Work Ethic to an unbeatable level will help you in five ways: 

1) Generate a high level of production for your organization by delivering solid revenue numbers. 

2) Learn more about your customer’s business than any competitor—maybe even more than some of your customer contacts.

3) Leverage a strong set of sales skills you are continually developing. Use your spare time to strengthen those selling skills, while developing more sales savvy and greater intuition. 

4) Attain a good attention to detail that results in solid execution. Constantly qualify and re-qualify your deals, then re-analyze and adjust your approach to maximize your potential for success. 

5) Focus on what will make a difference in your selling efforts. Don’t waste time on bad deals that continually stretch out with little or no progress towards a decision. Avoid time-wasters… To start, minimize the time you spend mindlessly scrolling through social media.

Even when you are the perceived underdog, your Unbeatable Work Ethic can help you win against any competition. 

I’m DJ Sebastian, for more info on what it takes to become an Elite Seller, visit my website at thetechseller.com 

Speak the Language of your Customer 

How well do you speak the language of your Customer?

Gain a basic understanding of the major terms used in your customer’s industry and use those terms in your communications. It’s not necessary to understand all the details, but articulating your messages in the language of your customer will enable you to quickly be viewed by your customer as “one of us” who “understands our business.”

Use the words and phrases your customer uses. Examine how your customer describes their mission, their key initiatives, and their customer focus. Pick out the main phrases that define them and incorporate these phrases into your messaging for your customer communications.

How do you go about doing this?

1) Study the language of your customer: 

Go to their website to learn 

– how they position their company’s theme and mission

 “the worldwide leader in widget technology”

Scan through their Annual Report and Investor Presentations to learn 

– their “promise” to their customers and stakeholders

– their key initiatives where they plan to invest

– and stated areas where they need to improve.

2) Understand how their top competitors position their company and solutions. It might be similar, It might be different. And be sure to note this for future reference.  

3) Subscribe to industry journals and web content to study the key business challenges of your customer’s industry and gain a working knowledge of these items. 

Industry journals will also often analyze and rank companies in these industries in terms of revenue, profit, and growth potential. 

These information sources can help you quickly elevate your messaging so you can effectively speak the language of your customer. 

I’m DJ Sebastian, for more info on what it takes to become an Elite Seller, visit my website at thetechseller.com 

Creativity

How are you applying your creativity to advance your sales opportunities?

Creativity is essential to your selling efforts and is an important skill for you to develop. Not everyone is born to be a creative genius, but you can begin cultivating your creativity by applying innovative and unique selling techniques you learn from others.

Here are three ideas to build your creativity:

1) Think outside the box. Explore a situation from many different angles. Be unconventional. Understand the limitations and the constraints you cannot change and identify what is possible, achievable, and ethical.

2) Be open to an iterative creative process. Applying a creative approach means you will need to test, adjust, rework, and reset your approach over time—possibly many times—and with relevant experiences.

3) Experiment. Try new ideas and apply them in different ways in the areas of prospecting, communications, leading a meeting, or conducting a presentation.

When brainstorming about the areas where creativity can be a powerful tool for you to use, consider the following: 

– Use props to serve as a visual reminder and concrete example of a business issue that leads to your solution that resolves the issue.  

– Make sure that your examples are relatable and show that you listened when the customer relayed their business issues.

– Find examples for something that will be memorable, so that example can be used further down the road, and so that your customer can repeat your example with their internal team. 

I’m DJ Sebastian, for more info on what it takes to become an Elite Seller, visit my website at thetechseller.com 

Perseverance 

Do you have what it takes to overcome tough times during your selling career?

You are bound to experience trials that threaten your path to success. Enduring these trials will make you tougher, stronger, and more resilient. 

I have a framed quote in my office to illustrate the importance of perseverance. The quote is from Tommy Lasorda, championship manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers… he said:

“When things get tough, we like to refer to a little piece of paper that Dusty Baker [a star player] carries in his pocket. I’d like to share it with you—it’s from 

Romans 5:3–4. 

‘Tribulations bring about perseverance, 

and perseverance brings about proven character, 

and proven character brings about hope, 

and hope does not disappoint.’”

Like a roller coaster, the sales profession is full of ups and downs. You will experience good days as well as character-building days. But as Lasorda illustrated, adversity builds perseverance, and perseverance is a personal quality that separates Elite Sales Professionals from average performers. 

Perseverance includes three main attributes:

1. Persistence: To press on in the face of challenges, disappointments, and failures. Sales opportunities often seem to be lost several times before you finally win. But you remain determined to continue, adjust your plan, and find a way to succeed.

2. Grit: The mental toughness needed to win in a highly competitive market. You keep coming back with a strong belief that in the end you will achieve the desired result.

3. Embrace the Grind: Nothing is given; everything is earned. After getting knocked down, you pull yourself back up, take a deep breath, and press on. You tackle difficulties head on with energy. Each day, you reflect on what you have learned and what you need to do to get better.

I’m DJ Sebastian, for more info on what it takes to become an Elite Seller, visit my website at thetechseller.com