I was recently invited to attend a sales seminar from a friend of mine named Mike Ferry. Mike is the foremost expert on Real Estate selling. There were 4000 people in the audience from all over the country and a few other countries, held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I thought I would arrive early so I could talk with Mike before he went on stage. I was shocked to find hundreds of people in line wrapped around the building waiting to get in hours before the seminar started. Luckily I had a VIP pass and an assigned seat.
After the crowd was let in I took my seat and was amazed at the turnout of 4000 people. As the President and co-founder of the National Speakers Association and the Past President of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of NSA I see and hear thousands of speakers. In my opinion Mike is not only one of the best speakers but has great content for all salespeople.
After the seminar I met with Mike and discussed why he gets 4 to 5 thousand people at his seminars. We both agreed that only a small percentage do what he tells them to do to be successful. We also agreed that most salespeople will not do the hard work necessary after the seminar to be successful. About 80% of the seminar is forgotten as soon as most attendees leave the building.
Thomas Edison said “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work”
The successful salespeople had signed up for a coaching program that goes on for a year or more. The smart salespeople continue with the program forever. I interviewed many of the audience during the breaks and they all said the same thing. If you follow the program you will be successful. If you sign up for coaching you will be consistently successful.
I started thinking back throughout my career and where I was most successful. I was most successful when I had a manager who liked me and wanted to see me get ahead. His name was Irwin “Jake” Jacobs and the company was Digital Equipment Corporation. You could tell Jake anything and he would never get mad but steer you in the right direction. He would hold you accountable for what had to be done without being critical. Do you have such a manager or are you afraid of being honest with your manager because of repercussions?
Today, it is extremely difficult to find a manager who wants you to be successful and will be your coach. They pretend they are interested in making you successful but can you really tell them about your problems and reasons for not making the sale. They are a dying breed but some do exist. What really happens is the manager will have a negative felling about you if he or she learns about your shortcomings. Most managers are too busy with their own problems to be your coach. They want results today. What you need is a non biased coach outside of the company that will hold you accountable.
Dr. Phil said “Without accountability, people are apt to con themselves, failing to recognize poor performance in time to adjust and keep falling short”
I asked MIke if I could sit in for a few days of coaching by some of his senior coaches. I was amazed at how many excuses salespeople had for not getting their job done but these coaches know how to get them back on track. They had weekly calls with each salesperson or groups of salespeople. Since the coaches did not have any ulterior motive the salespeople were put on a program to increase sales and profits. The salespeople are held accountable and they are successful.
After giving this coaching program a lot of thought I put a program together with the help of Mike Ferry and his coaching team for salespeople that are not in Real Estate. I asked several sales friends to work with me to prove the method and have had great results. The final product is now available for salespeople from all over the country. I suggest that you get a coach or put a coaching program together in your company. Remember the coach has to be non biased and not the immediate manager.
Good luck and make lots of money.
