Real World InTheTrenches Sales Tactics [That work] Ep 170

In this episode, the host delves into practical sales strategies drawn from personal experience in the fitness industry, highlighting the disparity between perceived and actual closing rates, as evidenced by data from their software, Allen. The host candidly shares early struggles with sales, emphasizing the effectiveness of simple tactics like the "just how we've always done it" line for compliance, the "which one do you want" method for assumed closes, and the "if you change the variables, you change the outcome" argument to tackle objections. Additionally, the host underscores the paramount importance of conviction in one's product or service, arguing that genuine belief can overpower customer doubts and excuses. The host's co-speaker, briefly interjects to promote their book, "100 Million Dollar Offers," as a resource for listeners. The core message is that while various sales techniques can be helpful, the ultimate driver of success is the seller's unwavering belief in the value they offer.

• Speaker A reflects on their experience with sales and expresses a desire to revisit sales topics.
• They introduce the context of their current project, Allen, which tracks sales performance.
• Speaker A shares a discrepancy between self-reported closing rates and actual rates observed through Allen.
• The speaker admits to their initial struggles with sales, especially with closing free trials at their gym.

"I wanted to go back to some in the trenches sales stuff. It was on my mind, and I haven't talked about sales in a while, and I do love talking about sales." "So they say they close 51% of people walk in the door. But with Allen, they're forced to mark every single appointment as show, didn't show, closed, didn't close, how much, et cetera." "I sucked at sales when I started. I couldn't close free trials."

Speaker A sets the stage for a discussion on sales techniques by sharing their passion for sales and the importance of accurate sales tracking. They also establish credibility by admitting past difficulties in sales, particularly with something as seemingly simple as free trials.

• Speaker A discusses a common sales challenge with free trials and the importance of getting credit card information.
• They share a successful line used to overcome customer hesitation: "It's just how we've always done it."
• The speaker emphasizes the effectiveness of the line and the human tendency to follow established norms.

"I would give people the contract, and then they would get to the credit card part and be like, this is free trial, so I don't need to fill this out, right? And I'd be like, no, you do." "Just how we've always done it."

The speaker describes a tactic for handling objections during the sales process. By asserting that a procedure is standard, they leverage social proof and the comfort of tradition to persuade customers to comply with requests, such as providing credit card details for a free trial.

• Speaker A decides to sell supplements at their gym after learning about a college friend's success in the supplement business.
• They initially struggle with selling supplements, realizing that technical jargon doesn't resonate with customers.
• Speaker A identifies the importance of understanding customer needs and goals when selling products.

"I was just like, I'm selling supplements." "I was like, what, selling protein powder? Are you kidding me?" "I sucked at it."

The speaker shares their motivation for entering the retail supplement space, driven by a peer's financial success. They acknowledge the initial difficulty in selling supplements, which leads to the realization that a different approach is necessary to effectively connect with customers and sell products.

• Discusses the speaker's initial experience making a sale through simple choices.
• Emphasizes the effectiveness of the 'assumed close' technique.
• Highlights the importance of offering an either/or choice to facilitate decision-making.

"I got through the orientation and at the end of the orientation, I just was like, so do you want chocolate or vanilla?" "And then knowing what had just happened, I was like, for intrawork, I was like, we have strawberry and we have kiwi. Which one do you want?"

The quotes reflect the speaker's use of direct, binary choices to guide the customer towards making a purchase, which ultimately resulted in their first successful supplement sale.

• Introduces the 'assumed close' as a sales technique.
• Describes it as presenting options as if the purchase is already decided.
• Notes the speaker learned its effectiveness after initial struggles.

"Simply asking which one someone wants is one of the easiest and best ways to sell something because it's an assumed close."

The quote explains how presenting options assumes the sale is already happening, which can lead to a successful transaction without pressuring the customer.

• Combines 'assumed close' with 'how we've always done it' to reinforce decision-making.
• Suggests using these tactics together to increase sales success.

"And what's great is that the first tactic I gave you about this is how we've always done it works perfectly, even in conjunction with this."

The speaker is advocating for the combination of two sales tactics that complement each other, leading to a more convincing sales pitch.

• Discusses the 'change the variables' line as a response to objections.
• Addresses common objections about the necessity of purchasing specific products or using existing ones.
• Stresses that changing the product can alter the desired outcome, which helps close sales.

"If you change the variables, you can't expect the same outcome. That was the close."

This quote is a strategic line used to counteract customer objections by implying that not purchasing the product could result in a less successful outcome.

• Mentions the effectiveness of suggesting what 'most people do' to influence customer decisions.
• Talks about bundling products and assuming the close as part of the sales process.
• Highlights that customers often prefer to follow the majority to avoid the risk of decision-making.

"Most people just want to know, what do most people do? They just want to follow the pack and not have to risk making decisions."

The speaker points out that customers are influenced by the choices of others and are more likely to make a purchase if they believe it is the common choice.

• Reflects on the simplicity of effective sales strategies.
• Emphasizes that straightforward approaches often yield better results than complex ones.
• Addresses the 'I need to think about it' objection with a simple question about concerns.

"I think there's a lot of really fancy sales stuff, and usually it's the simple stuff that works."

This quote underlines the speaker's belief that simple, direct sales tactics are more successful than complicated strategies, suggesting that salespeople should focus on the basics.

• Identifying the root cause of concerns is crucial in overcoming sales stalls.
• Directly confronting issues can lead to a resolution and progress in sales conversations.

d have to say what their concern was, which then got me away from what the stall was and got me to confront the issue.

This quote emphasizes the importance of understanding the customer's concerns to effectively address sales stalls and move the conversation forward.

• Speaker B has written a book titled "100 million Dollar offers."
• The book is positioned as a valuable resource for the community with a high number of positive reviews.
• Offered at a low price on Kindle as a strategic move to build rapport and future business partnerships.

Hey, guys, real quick, if you're new to the podcast, I have a book on Amazon. It's called 100 million Dollar offers. At over 8005 star reviews, it has almost a perfect score. You can get it for ninety nine cents on Kindle.

Speaker B uses the podcast platform to promote their book, highlighting its success and value to listeners, while also mentioning the low entry price to encourage purchases.

• Conviction in one's service or product is paramount to sales success.
• Initial sales tactics can boost performance, but long-term success relies on belief in the service.
• High conviction in a product can be persuasive and cause others to question their own beliefs.
• Entrepreneurs must maintain conviction to continue acquiring customers despite product imperfections.
• Comparing alternatives can strengthen conviction and is used as a sales strategy.

So anyways, the last piece that I wanted to go over was conviction. So this is a little bit all hands on deck video, lots of little tactics. The most important sale is between you and your service.

Speaker A introduces conviction as a critical element in sales, emphasizing that belief in one's service is the most significant sale that needs to be made.

The thing is, their level of conviction makes you question yours, and the depth of their conviction will make you question. You're like, what do they know that I don't know, man. They really believe this.

This quote illustrates how a seller's strong conviction can influence potential buyers to reconsider their own positions and potentially be swayed by the seller's confidence.

But there may be times when your product or your service is not as good as you want it to be. And let me just give you the surprise here. It will never be as good as you want it to be, but what you need to do is think about the alternatives.

Speaker A acknowledges that products and services may never reach perfection, but suggests that considering alternatives can help maintain conviction in the value of one's offering.

And so I think one of the biggest things that helped me with my conviction in selling in general is considering the alternatives.

The speaker shares a personal insight on how comparing alternatives has bolstered their own conviction in selling, which is also a technique used in sales presentations.

• No service can be perfect, and the results are influenced by the customer's effort.
• In industries like coaching, the provider cannot directly control the outcome.
• Understanding this disconnect is important for maintaining realistic expectations and conviction.

Like, Jim, lunch will never be perfect. As much as I want to, honestly, in any coaching business, you cannot eat the food for your client, you cannot work out for your client. I cannot call the leads for you. I cannot make your ads for you, right? I cannot coach your team for you. I cannot teach your classes for you. I cannot do that, right?

Speaker A highlights the inherent limitations of coaching services, where the provider cannot take actions on behalf of the client, emphasizing the importance of client effort in achieving results.

And therefore, there is a disconnect between my product and the results that are going to occur, period.

This quote acknowledges the gap between the service provided and the ultimate results, which depend on the client's actions, reinforcing the need for realistic expectations in sales and service provision.

• Susie has been struggling with weight gain for two years.
• Previous attempts at weight loss, including Planet Fitness and Weight Watchers, were unsuccessful.
• Susie's pattern of losing weight and then regaining more is a cycle that leads to further dissatisfaction.

"Well, I guess I could go to planet fitness. It's like, no, you already did that. We already know that that doesn't work for you." "I guess I could try weight watchers. Yeah, but then you lost it and you gained more back."

These quotes highlight Susie's past attempts at weight loss, which have not been sustainable, indicating that these methods do not work for her and have led to a cycle of weight loss and gain.

• Susie needs a personalized approach with someone to exercise with her and teach her proper eating habits.
• Accountability is emphasized as a key factor in ensuring Susie's success in weight management.
• The conversation suggests that a tailored plan with support is necessary to avoid past failures.

"So you really just need someone to work out with you. Make sure you learn how to eat the food the right way. And make sure you actually do it with the accountability, like actually hold you to it."

This quote underscores the importance of a customized support system that includes workout companionship, nutritional education, and accountability to prevent failure.

• The sales team was underperforming due to a lack of knowledge about recent changes in coaching processes.
• Layla's intervention by informing the team about the new processes led to an immediate improvement in performance.
• The anecdote suggests that informed sales teams are more effective.

"We recently had a call with them because they were doing a shit job on closing and, yeah, just sucking. And so they know that's all good. But one of the issues was they didn't know what we were doing on the coaching side."

"And so she just was like, we do this on day one and day two and day three and day five and day seven and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, right? And they were like, wow, that was amazing."

These quotes describe a situation where the sales team's performance improved after being educated on the company's current coaching processes, highlighting the importance of keeping the sales team informed and up-to-date.

• Conviction is crucial in overcoming a client's excuses and winning their belief in the product or service.
• The speaker emphasizes that a deep belief in one's argument can be more convincing than the client's doubts.
• The CEO should be the most convicted about the company's vision and the solutions it offers.

"If you believe truly more than they believe in their excuse, you will win." "If you can paint that picture and believe it, people will believe you and then they will want to come with you."

These quotes stress the power of belief and conviction in the sales process, suggesting that if the salesperson believes in the product or service more deeply than the client believes in their objections, the salesperson is likely to succeed.

• Sales professionals must deal with personal challenges such as cancellations, negative reviews, and unresponsive clients.
• It's important for salespeople to separate their emotions from the business to maintain progress and enthusiasm.
• The speaker encourages resilience and emotional detachment as part of a successful business mindset.

"And a lot of times, you just need to check yourself, because most of us know how to do the fundamentals of sales, right?" "And so that's where you have to remove your emotions from the business."

These quotes acknowledge the personal difficulties salespeople face and the necessity of managing emotions to stay focused and effective in sales. They imply that emotional detachment is necessary for business resilience.

• The speaker hopes the audience has a productive Wednesday and encourages them to share sales tactics.
• Five sales tactics were mentioned during the call, though not detailed in the transcript.
• The speaker wishes to inspire others to improve themselves and their client experiences through these tactics.

"There were five that I released on that call on this little podcast, and I hope you enjoy them and use them to the betterment of yourself and your clients."

This quote suggests that the speaker shared valuable sales tactics during the call and hopes that the audience will apply them to improve their personal and professional growth.