The reply said…..”I hope this works…”

There was a movie, in the 90s, called “A league of there own”.  In the movie Tom Hanks sees a girl begin to cry and yells, “there’s no crying in baseball!”

Guess what.  There’s no “hope” strategies in sales.

It isn’t, “I hope this works.”

When it comes to sales you gotta get that thinking out of your head.

When I attempt different selling strategies I’m doing nothing more than TESTING.  I’m not hoping, I’m testing because if it doesn’t work I’ll head back to my Pre-Need Laboratory and begin further experiments.

The light bulb was not invented because of hope.  It was invented through trial and error until he got it right and had a light bulb.

Selling is implementing strategies to get sales.  There’s no hope in selling.  Selling is well thought out game-plans of action that result in sales or no sales.

If your strategy doesn’t work change the strategy.  If you are relying on one strategy you’re doomed for failure.  And if you’re hoping that’s even worse.

So, if you’re hoping this or that will work begin to change your mindset today and re-set your expectations properly. 

The goal is to implement your game plan.

You will get results from your game plan.

This may make you happy or may make you sad.

If the results aren’t what you want than add another strategy, tweak the existing strategy, and or implement more strategies because you need more than one prospecting plan.

Don’t rely on ‘door-knocking’, ‘walk-in’, mailing, drop-by, lawn-fishing, file research, mining your natural market, events, or any other one thing.

Do many things.  Develop many prospecting entry points for your sales.

But most of all, don’t rely on HOPE because it’s a sign of desperation on your part as if this doesn’t work I’m out of the business or I’m done.

There is hope in many things but when it comes to sales rely on your SELF and the activity you do that is necessary to generate the results you want.

Happy Selling!

David…

“I hear he has true grit.”
–Kim Darby, from the movie True Grit.

There’s no other way to describe the pre-need seller than fortitude and determination…grit.

You gotta dig deep down inside to discover the YOU that’s wanting to succeed.

The YOU that’s this close to breaking out and selling like there’s no tomorrow.

I received an email from a new seller of pre-arrangements.  He was telling me about recent weather and how he was hampered with his canvassing of neighborhoods.

Here’s my reply:

Incorporate more than one main prospecting strategy.  Do several things because you never know when one strategy quits working.  When you are depending on ONE THING you risk a lot.  It is similar to putting all your eggs in one basket.  Drop the basket and you’ve lost it all.  But, if you’ve got 12 baskets you cut your losses and can continue to sell.

Don’t just door-knock or wait for walk-in business or work the files or mailings.  Don’t depend on any one thing.  Do several things.  Do several things at the same time.

Massive action

“Never let your head hang down. 
Never give up and sit down and grieve. 

Find another way.  And don’t pray when it
rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.” 
–Leroy “Satchel” Paige

Don’t stair-step.  Do several things at the same time.  There is no ladder to success.  Make it a one step jump to the top.

And always be appreciative of what you have.

“Never give up… and never surrender.” 
–Jason Nesmith, from the movie, Galaxy Quest

Now, go out there and just do it!

Happy Selling

David…

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I often say many industry norms are difficult to change.  Industry innovation comes from outside the industry.

For years surgeons continued to operate on stomach ulcers even though medications had been developed to stop the bleeding.

We all resist change.

For the most part we prefer routine and comfort over blazing new trails.

Pioneers have the arrows in their backs.

I’m not an advocator of blazing new trails.  I’d much rather find a formula that exists or duplicate a successful system.

“When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”  –Benjamin Franklin

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”  –Benjamin Franklin

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else”  –Benjamin Franklin

“It’s a heck-of-a-lot easier to tweak an existing system than to start from scratch.”  –David Dassow

I had a conversation with a fellow pre-need seller the other day, as he was in awe of the number one producer in his category.

I remember saying to him, “he doesn’t know what he can’t do.”

It’s difficult to un-learn things.

For the most part it’s holding on to what doesn’t work that holds us back.

A tennis pro friend of mine used to teach.  I worked with him for 20 minutes one time and improved my game ten fold.

I asked him why people would take lessons.

He told me that when he teaches tennis he doesn’t really teach people how to play because they already know how to play.

His goal is to eliminate one or two bad habits. 

For me it was a slight change in my grip.  A very slight change. 

The bottom line is change is a good thing but tweaking small changes is a better thing.

I once heard someone, I think it was General Schwarzkpf say; he’d much rather make a hundred decisions quickly and be wrong 80% of the time but change quickly than make a hand full of decisions slowly and be right 80% of the time.  You’ve got to be able to adapt quickly.

If you’ve been planning that postcard mailing, door-knocking, letters, phoning, follow-up, do it all quickly.  Implement massive action NOW!

Don’t stair-step-it.  Implement several things at the same time.

Better to be wrong on a handful of things quickly than to be right on one or two that takes you forever to implement.  Implement a bunch of things and keep the stuff that works and dump the stuff that doesn’t work.  But, do it quickly.

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.”  –Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.”  –Dwight D. Eisenhower

“If a problem cannot be solved, enlarge it.”  –Dwight D. Eisenhower

Make lots of little changes and don’t worry about what anyone tells you. 

“If you don’t know what you can’t do there’s nothing you can’t do.”

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  There’s a few packages left “Whole Enchilada” of everything I’ve got including the kitchen sink.  It’s available to all subscribers at a One-time-Offer.

If you aren’t a subscriber head to the top right of the page and subscribe now.

If you are a subscriber check my latest email with the special top secret “whole enchilada” link.

….

So, I’ve made a slight turn again to cover a topic that seems to get ignored a lot.

So….Yes…

We’re still in our series:

Selling Opportunities Come From Everywhere

http://howtosellpreneed.com/prospecting/selling-opportunities-come-from-everywhere#more-2650

The above link will take you to the first part of the series but…

But, well, here I go again.

I received a rambling email and thought I’d address the rambling nature more than the problem which I think are one in the same.

You’ve often heard me talk about FOCUS and staying on track.

Even though I’m not a big fan of scripts it is important to outline where you are and where you’re heading.

So, scripts can help keep you focused on the task and yes, for some, internalizing the words of the presentation can help as well.  (I have scripts on the catalog page that will be available shortly).

By the way, this is another reason why I constantly preach the “4 Commitments to a Sale”  (check the catalog page)

Get those commitments and you’ll get the sale every single time.  Miss a commitment and you risk a “no” sale.

YOU are an expert Pre-Need Seller.

I don’t care if you’ve been in the business one day YOU are an expert.  You know infinitely more than almost anyone on the street including your prospect.

The worst thing you can do with all that knowledge is tell everyone you meet everything you know.

Because most prospects…heck, all prospects…are interested in ME, the ME being YOUR PROSPSECT.

It is way more important to share information with your Prospect that is applicable to your Prospect.

How do you know what information to share with your prospect?

Well, that’s the point I’m making today and the response I sent our email friend above.

You’ve got to listen to your prospect to determine the information your prospect is looking for and not the other way around.

You’re not a Preacher….

You’re a Presenter of info….

And that info must be relevant to your prospect.

The only way of knowing what is relevant to your prospect is to ask questions and listen closely to the responses.

The old formula of listening 80% of the time and speaking 20% of the time with a focused clear path of where you want to go solves the problem of TWADDLE.

And, twaddle was exactly what I found in the email I received from our friend.

How do you eliminate the twaddle?

Go back to the basics.  Go through the presentation script.  Go through the 4 commitments to a sale.

Go through and streamline what you’re doing by listening to what your prospect is telling you.

In fact, when you get really good at this you’ll hear your prospect tell you how to sell them.

It’s that simple!

Happy Selling without Twaddle!

David…

P.S.  Most of the answers to selling pre-arrangements can be found on the catalog page.  I’m about to launch the Whole Enchilada (everything I’ve got including the kitchen sink!)

All subscribers will be notified when the Whole Enchilada is ready.

If you’re a member I’ve got something even more special for you.

Stay tuned…

Catalog

…..

He admitted that his email would probably be ranting in nature and his frustration was at a boiling point.

What was he so upset about?

He had just received his tenth NO today and he had it.

He was ready to give up and chuck it all for greener pastures.

No seems to be the hardest word for us to take as sales people.  Many times we expect to hear the no even when we are pleasantly surprised to hear the yes instead.

First, let me give you a couple of comforting words to live by.

When you get a no it is nothing personal.

Your prospect isn’t mad at you or even upset with you or even directing the no at you.

Your prospect says no for many reasons.

But, your prospect is never ever saying no to you personally.

In fact, it’s nothing personal.

Your prospect says no for many reasons including having a bad day like my friend who emailed me his “no” story.

Often I tell pre-need sellers to develop a thick skin to deal with those no(s).

But maybe a better approach would be to develop a different mindset.  Your new mindset would be to think of no as a positive, honest, answer from your Prospect.

Think about it for a moment.

If your prospect is honest enough to tell you no why is this a bad thing?

I’d much rather clear my lead box of prospects who aren’t interested and tell me no than those prospects who can’t say no. 

It helps a bunch to keep your lead box clear of clutter.  Allowing leads who aren’t interested to stay in your box clutters it and wastes money and time and efficiency.

For some prospects it is difficult to say no and they are doing you no favors by hem hawing around.

There really isn’t anything bad about a no.

The no response allows you to move on to the next prospect, the next presentation, the next sale.

From now on think of the no you get as a good thing.  Think of the no as a way for you to clear some clutter out of your lead box and move on.

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  The more leads you have in your lead box the less it bothers you to get a no.  I’d also suggest that you really should streamline your box of leads.  Keep your lead box clutter free.

Check out the catalog page for strategies and training to equip you sell more in the next six months than the last 12.

http://howtosellpreneed.com/catalog

…

When I first started in the business the stock market was going up.  I ran into quite a few folks who told me they could beat funeral home/cemetery inflation through various investments.  Eventually we had the DOT COM bust.

Now, money won’t make the decisions and it forced me to really focus on the decisions not the money end of the equation.

Obviously, these are interesting economic times.

But, I still meet people who never even bring up the economy or jobs or the news.  These folks pre-plan cemetery/funeral arrangements.  By the way, people tend to focus on there personal circumstances more than what’s going on in the Nation.

These folks tend to focus on the problem and take care of pre-planning and finance or write a check depending on the particular financial circumstances. 

What’s interesting about today as opposed to previous downturns in the economy are general attitudes.  I think a lot of people are holding back spending or reducing spending because of uncertainty more than anything else.

We just don’t know what’s going on and the folks in Washington don’t seem to know what’s going on either.

But, for all the bad news out there I haven’t noticed much difference in people pre-planning one way or the other.  If a family I present does not have the money to plan ahead they probably didn’t have the money months ago and maybe not even years from now.

Some of the leads you’ll get in front of will have money problems no matter the economy.

I had an email from an individual who was a subscriber and she just un-subscribed to the website and left me a comment.  By the way, most people un-subscribing will leave the same response.  “I’m no longer in the business of pre-planning”.

In her case she mentioned the market she was after.  She said she had been approaching churches and they “all want to wait” on making the decisions.

I’d argue, though I can’t confirm it, that she may have had one, two, three comments from individuals who did not pre-plan with her because they wanted to “wait”, because of the ____________.  Fill in the blank with any excuse including what her excuse was….The Economy.

She went on to tell me she had been laid off from the company.

She further said that the jobs situation was bad and the unemployment high.

Let me share a secret with you and I’ll use a grocery store as an example.

People still go to the grocery store when they are unemployed.  People still go to the grocery store when they are working.  People go to the grocery store when they are hungry.  In other words, people continue to purchase gasoline, buy groceries, go to the Doctor, and live life.

If unemployment is 10% than 90% of the population is working.

That’s a large portion of the population.

Further, if you niche the group of people you prospect towards you can narrow the focus to people who fall into certain categories.  Those categories of people will have certain likes and dislikes and prefer to pre-plan or not to pre-plan.

In other words, if your market is “Dead” to use a pun.  If your niche market isn’t working you need to change to a different market.  If you are prospecting in churches and no one wants to pre-plan than move to a group who do want to pre-plan.

It’s really that simple.

The easiest place to start prospecting is your own natural market.  You know your spheres of influence better than anybody because you are your natural market.  You’re one of them.  We tend to hang out with like-minded people.  That’s what we do.

I started talking about growing and dying.  If your sales aren’t growing they are dying.  If you’re sales are dying YOU must do something to ‘jump-start’ those sales.  It begins and ends with YOU.  You’ve got to dig down deep inside your inner-self and do the things that bring you closer to a sale.

I’ve got numerous posts on various subjects from “success” to “selling” to help educate you, motivate you, and occasionally kick you in the butt!

Remember, NO ONE will invest in YOU.  You have the abilities to succeed.  Those abilities already exist deep within you.  Your job is to tap into those abilities.  The way you tap into your abilities is to invest in your SELF through education and experience.  As you gain knowledge you begin to experience through the exercise of that knowledge.

No one can take your education and experience.  NO ONE!

So, for Pete’s sake, quit watching the news and listening to those stories about the world coming to an end and get out there and tap into a niche market and help families pre-plan cemetery/funeral arrangements.

You can do it!

Speaking of doing it, get over to the catalog page and look up the “Starter Package”.  This package is designed to help you tap into your own “natural market”.  Your spheres of influence in a different way that keeps your friends……friends!

Also, as you gain more experience and move into the next level the “sales letter package” helps you to expand using letters, postcards, newsletters, and more.  In the manual I go through the rules of writing letters and give you real world examples.  Also, I’ve recorded an audio mp3 files (about two hours in length) where I go through the manual and give you tips and the results of many of my mailings. 

Here’s a tip.  If you have not invested in your SELF (i.e. you aren’t a member already or purchased the sales letter package) with me I’ve got a special offer for subscribers only.  Remember subscribing has priveleges including a series of emails I’ll send you to equip you with strategies, techniques, encouragement, and prodding to get out there and do it.

You can do it!

You can sell more in the next six months than you did in the last 12 months. 

I’ve got a special ONE TIME OFFER on the sales letter package if you are a subscriber.  This offer is good for a few more days but you’ve got to be a subscriber.  All you’ve got to do is subscribe by putting in your name and email at the top right hand side of this page, click the “confirm” link I email to you to make sure you’re you, and you’ll receive the special one time offer link for the sales letter package.

Hurry, the offer ends on Monday.  No exceptions!

Now go to it and Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  Click here to see the catalog page and the “starter package”.  The starter package is designed to help you tap into your spheres of influence to gain referrals and pre-need sales.

P.P.S.  If you’ve already subscribed than check your email for the one time offer or subscribe today and I’ll email you the offer.  Subscribe by filling in the info on top right hand side of the page.  Once you click the confirm button you’ll be sent the one time offer.

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