I often write about the questions….not to insult, but to instruct.  Not to embarrass, but to shine.

You really can shine selling prearrangements.

Don’t think so?  I do…I know you can shine.  I know you can stand out above the rest of the mediocre sellers because you’re doing something none of them will do.

You’re improving your SELF.  You’re reading this site.

A recent question, “How long does it take to really get going?  To really sell lots of pre-need?”

I wish I could have asked, “how long do you think it takes?”

Do you think it will take a year?  A month?  A week?  A day?

Your belief system is very strong and powerful.

Did you know after WWII officially ended there was a Japanese Soldier who didn’t get the news?  Actually, there was more than one.  But, one in particular wouldn’t give up.

Our belief system is pretty powerful.

Lt. Hiroo Onoda was sent by the Japanese army to the remote Philippine island of Lubang.  His mission was to conduct guerilla warfare during the war.  He was never told the war had officially ended, for 29 years.  Oh, he did get some hints in the form of fliers that talked about it.  He continued to live in the jungle, ready when needed eating coconuts and bananas and evading search parties he believed were enemy scouts.

Our belief systems are powerful.

Even though Lt. Onoda was wrong and the war had ended he believed the war never ended.  Belief systems are strong.  It took his former commander to convince him the war was over…29 years after the war ended.

One thing I like to share with pre-need sellers is there is no limit to how much they can sell.

Do you believe you can sell lots of pre-arrangements?

I have a good friend who has studied persuasion and he has shared a few secrets with me about “belief” and how you can change your belief.

He’s putting together some materials I’ll be showing in the near future.

For now, I’ll be putting out tips on how you can change the way you think in order to change what you’re doing in order to sell more pre-need.

There will be some home work, the test will be whether you achieve number one status in your company or beat your own personal records…much like a golfer who wants to beat his personal best game.

The real test is going to be the bank.  The real test will be the deposits you make at the bank.

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  check out the catalog page for the latest materials designed to equip you to double your sales in half the time.

P.P.S.  I’ve expanded the TOP TEN POSTS.  Click here to get the information.

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            There once was a Memorial Pre-Need Sales Counselor who had managed to secure 4 appointments for presentations in one day and none of the prospects owned cemetery property or a pre-need funeral and all seemed interested in meeting with him.

            Our Pre-Need Memorial Sales Counselor’s name is Ralph.  Ralph felt like he was on a roll.  He had several more appointments for the coming week.

There’s a problem

            Ralph knew he should probably take a look at his presentation but he decided against it because he figured he’d wing-it.

            Ralph did not want to appear push-ie and he figured if he had a conversation with his prospects he could go-with-the-flow and get the sale.

Here’s the analogy:

            The car is packed, you know where you’re going, and you’re ready to go.  You’re taking a trip from __________ to Phoenix Arizona.

            It’s your first cross-country trip and you’re really excited.  The scenery will be lovely and you’re going to enjoy every minute of it.

            A few hours into the trip you need to check the map because you’ve reached your first decision and cannot remember the highway number you’re taking.

            You panic for several moments as you realize you left your map on the kitchen table next to a stack of bills you were going to mail out before you left the house.

            But, you say to your self, the heck with it because I know where I’m going and I don’t need, NO STINKIN’ MAP!

For many of us

            The way we determine our goals is through a Hap hazard, wing-it approach.

            Eventually you determine your hopelessly lost and wondering why you didn’t achieve your goals.

7 Secret Steps to Achieving Your Goals

1.  Is your goal something you really want, or does it just sound good?

            Years ago (when determining my goals) I used to write down how much money I wanted to make.  From that point I’d break it down into average dollars I make from each sale and divide that number to figure how many sales I would need to achieve my goal.

            To make matters worse I spent so little time actually thinking about my goals that the piece of paper I wrote them on went into my desk and was forgotten about.

            Once or twice a year I’d see the goals sheet when I cleaned out my desk.  Occasionally, I’d even glance at the goal sheet just before I buried it in my desk.

How to figure out what you want

            Turn your goal setting into wants, not dreams.  Spend a little extra time and shift your paradigm on setting goals.  For example, instead of figuring out how much money you want to make figure out what it is you want.  Maybe it’s a new car you want? 

            Take out a fresh sheet of paper and describe the perfect car, from the color, to the look, to the smell on the inside. 

To the feel of the…

leather seat, to the speed, comfort, and design, and sound of your car

            The more detailed you make it, the more you’ll be able to visualize yourself owning, operating, and enjoying your new vehicle. 

            Take the same concept of what you want and apply it to a new goal by detailing it, specifically describing your goal on paper.  Once done, read your description of your goal once in the morning and once in the evening.

Tomorrow, part two.

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  Get over to the catalog page and invest in your SELF.  No one can tak away your education or experience.  Click here

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            You will be able to DO the things that no one can do.  I stole this basic saying from Dave Ramsey (paraphrased:  If you’ll do what no one else will do you’ll be able to do what no one else can do).  Dave’s premise is about finance.  He believes that if you save money now and live debt free you’ll be able to do what most won’t be able to do later on.  He also believes that if you spend now you’ll have nothing later (see my book: 50 Ways to Get Rich and Stay Rich Selling – shove it money).

            Earlier we talked about how a colleague of mine used a list every day.  He had 5 items on his list that he did know matter what, know matter how long it took him, and no matter the interruptions of his day.

            When I first started this business I was told to prospect every day for two hours.  If I prospected 2 hours everyday I’d always have people to meet.  Obviously, I can make an easy analogy here and tell you that you will always have people to meet with if you prospect two hours a day.

            I could, but I won’t.  I have a real aversion to working hard.  I’d much rather work smart.  In my book:  50 Ways to Get Rich and Stay Rich Selling, I talk about working smarter.

            When I first got into this business my attitude was to “out work” everyone and lead the office in sales.  Prospecting a couple hours a day, door knocking, and cold-calling were my main forms of generating new business.

            I figured I could overcome any weaknesses I had in selling by working harder.  It took me a long time to change my attitude about working harder, but I did and haven’t regretted it at all. 

How to Do the Things No ONE Else Will Do to Make Loads of Sales

            The whole purpose of MINING YOUR NATURAL MARKET is to work smarter not harder.  One way to work smarter is to have “bird dogs” work for you.  A bird dog is a “FEEDER”.  A feeder is someone that sends you referrals (leads).  By asking your natural market for referrals you are doing what no one else seems willing to do.

            If you want to make a sale a day and your closing rate is 30% then you need to make 3 presentations a day to secure that sale.  I can guarantee you that if you do what you need to do to make those 3 presentations a day you will be doing what no one else is willing to do.

Here are some tips for doing the things no one else will do

• Work smart
• Present and Prospect at the same time
• Know your job description (50 Ways to get Rich & Stay Rich Selling)
• Make sure your licensed to sell both cemetery and pre-need funerals (some states won’t allow dual licenses)

            We’ve covered the “work smart” and “Present and Prospect at the same time”.  If you are not dual licensed get dual licensed now.  If you can’t be duel licensed than do a JV (joint venture with a funeral home/cemetery) to exchange leads.  You’re leaving money on the table by not offering both pre-need cemetery and pre-need funeral.  Having said that, I realize that some of you cannot be dual licensed depending on the state you work in.  Network with people in the business.  Create relationships and leverage those relationships into win/win situations.

            Know your job description.  Your primary task should be selling pre-need.  If someone walked up to you and asked what you do what would you say?  In my book:  50 Ways to Get Rich and Stay Rich Selling, I talk about your job description.

            What is your job?

            What is your position?

            What do you tell friends and family that you do for a living?

            What do you tell your Prospects?

            What do you think your job is?

My Job Description:

            “My job is to help a husband and wife, together, make the decisions today, that would have to be made tomorrow, if a death occurred, and record those decisions.”

            The more comfortable you are in what you do for a living the more comfortable your Prospects will be.  The easier you can describe what you do for a living the more at ease and comfortable your Prospect will be.

Which brings up a side note

            The more relaxed, confident, comfortable, you are the more likely your Prospect will accept you as a Cemetery/Pre-Need Funeral Professional.  The better you understand your products/services, the better you can help your Prospect understand.  What does all this stuff mean? 

Let’s summarize

            Prospecting is critical in this business.   Prospect and Presenting is a beautiful thing and will allow you to work smarter not harder.

            Develop a sound-byte job description.  Use my job description if you’d like, I picked it up from a previous Sales Manager.

            If you can license for both pre-need cemetery and funeral do it and you’ll add a lot more sales. 

            I started this by saying if you’ll do what know one else will do you can do what no one else can do.  Do the above and you’ll be doing what nobody else is doing and you’ll ultimately be able to do what nobody else can do.

Until next time, all the best as you work SMART not hard!

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  I’ve got a special package of EVERYTHING I’ve got in a special package.  Click here for details.

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If you’ve been keeping up with this site for any amount of time you’re aware that I believe you can double your sales in half the time.

You can not only double your sales in half the time but you don’t have to work any harder just smarter.

If there are sellers of pre-arrangements making six-figures a year why not YOU?

Common, before you quit listening let me finish my thought.

If there are sellers of pre-need making plus one hundred thousand a year why can’t you?

And, if you made considerably less than a hundred thousand dollars last year you need to keep reading this post.

Or, you’re close to 6-figures a year and just can’t quite hit the magic number?

Think about this for a moment.

What does a seller of pre-arrangements need to do different to make 6-figures?  Well, for one thing, quit doing the time wasting things that don’t put you closer to a sale.  You might want to make a change.

The Definition of Insanity…is to do the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

Dave’s rule of thumb:

If it isn’t working, try something else.

But, instead of a radical change make it a small and simple change.

Here are a few strategies to get you to the $100,000.00 mark.

First; spend 5 minutes a day on your goals (if you don’t know where you’re heading any road will get you there).

FOCUS!

Second; spend an hour a day improving yourself (NO one can take your knowledge or experience)

Third; do something every day that gets you closer to a sale.  This is by far the easiest thing to do that most mediocre sales people won’t do.  Let me repeat that.  Whether it is making an appointment, making a presentation, making that phone call, mailing a letter, knocking on a door, hunting for a referral, you name it.  Just one thing every day that gets you closer or a sale.

Fourth; mine your natural market.  Leverage your spheres of influence to generate referrals

Fifth; capture an additional niche market

Sixth; add one more prospecting strategy

Seventh; organize your schedule (time block, build a list of tasks, ignore your email, skip the gossip) and focus

Eighth; go through previous posts on this site (ther are numerous specific strategies to help you)

Nineth; one of the most difficult things to change is your belief system.  If you believe you can’t do it you probably won’t do it.  This maybe the most difficult thing to change but you’ve got to do it.  I’ll be posting more on mindset and “persuasion” in the coming days. 

I guess the bottom line is to ABL (always be learning) and believe in your SELF because you can do it.  I can tell you that I believe you can do it all day long BUT DO YOU BELIEVE IT?

Happy Selling!

David…

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The fear of rejection leads the seller of pre-arrangements to do nothing.  Most sellers rely on walk-in, slam-dunk, lay-down, easy business.

The problem is there isn’t a ton of walk-in slam-dunk business out there.  You’ve got to augment the easy stuff with your own outside prospecting.

This is another reason to prospect/present at the same time and have a referral generating program in place.  Follow-up and stay-in-touch programs are critical to your success.

But, we’re talking about fear.

Without getting into a lot of psychology one thing you can do is to confront your fear with the attitude of “what can that prospect really do to me?”

Yell?  Scream?  Tell you to get lost?  Delay meeting with you?  No show you with appointment times?

The reality is your FEARS are in your head.  Every “NO” you get brings you  closer to a yes.  In fact, I encourage you to get your prospects to tell you “no” as fast as you can.

Your Prospect is doing you a favor by telling you “no” as soon as possible in the process.

Confront your fears head-on, develop a thick skin, and realize that your reward for selling is way more positive than any amount of “no(s)” you might receive along the way.

Every yes you receive will make it beneficial to your bank account.

The difference between a mediocre producer and a Top Achiever is just a little bit.

For the Top  Producer that little bit is a little thicker skin and an attitude of getting the “No(s)” out of the way to get closer to a “yes”.

Happy Selling!

David…

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I refer to this as a Champion Endorser® (see more on this in the Ultimate Package)

The best time to get referrals is early in the presentation.  The second best time to get referrals is to mention throughout the presentation and the third best time is after the sale.

In other words it is always a good time to ask for referrals.

Your monthly newsletter is another perfect opportunity to ask for referrals.

Whatever you do always be asking or bringing up the topic of referrals all the time.  People forget.  As soon as your new customer walks out the door he/she has forgotten all about it.  Remind them of referrals.

Finally, think about your process from beginning to end.

Put together a ‘referral’ opportunity into each step of your Marketing/Prospecting/selling/stay-in-touch/follow-up program. 

If you don’t ask you don’t get.

And, for Pete’s sake, don’t forget to reward your Referrer.  It can be a personal note, a pat on the back, dinner, candy, flowers.  Don’t forget to acknowledge your Referrer somehow some way.  I’m guilty of this mistake myself but you’ve got to do it (another one of my many New Year resolutions).  Better late than never but acknowledge your Referrer.  If you haven’t done so, do it now!

Happy Selling!

David…

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