Author: Tim Martin

Tim has spent the last 22 years in the VB sales world. During that time he has recruited and trained over 2,000 agents to get people to do what they should, but wouldn't do if we didn't come along. In addition to his leadership rolls at the two largest VB carriers on the planet, Tim has worked with outside organizations through consulting and sales coaching. His energetic and humorous key note addresses have also inspired and electrified audiences throughout the United States. Currently Tim is also working on his first book "Success Is Voluntary." Tim and the lovely Dizzy D reside in Peoria, Arizona. They have been married for 30 years and are the proud parent of two gorgeous grown young women, Brittny 29 and Victoria 26.

Shut Up Already! The More The Decision Maker Talks, The More They Like You!

Do you know Frank's two favorite topics?

It’s a strange phenomenon that Dale Carnegie noticed over 60 years ago. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t thinking about selling Voluntary Benefits or Decision Maker appointments when he wrote his seminal masterpiece “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”

 


But that doesn’t mean that we can’t take full advantage of this universal truth: The more the Decision Maker talks, the smarter you are and the more he likes you.

So how do we get good old Frank (the fictional owner of Frank’s Welding) to talk “more?” My experience is that to get Frank to talk “more” we have to get him focused on his two favorite subjects. Any idea what those two subjects might be?

The Decision Maker’s Two Favorite Subjects

1) Himself

  • This should go without saying. Most business owners/Decision Makers are Type A personalities with fairly healthy egos.
  • They love to bask in the sunlight of admiration and attention.
  • Often times their personality pervades the entire organization.
  • They love, love, love to talk about themselves and are by far their own favorite subject.
    • Before you dismiss these Decision Makers as vain, please understand that you are your own favorite subject. Don’t believe me? I can prove it to you. Have you ever been in a group photo? Who’s the first person you look for? If you are like every other person on the planet, you have a pecking order when you look at a group photo. You look at yourself first. Were you blinking? Did you smile? Did your outfit make you look fat? Then, and only then, do you start to look at others. Next comes your sweetie, then the kids, after that your friends in order of how much you like them. But you always start with you.

2) His business

  • Many business owners consider their business to be an extension of who they are as a person.
  • They are the ones who sacrificed and worked a trillion hours a week to make their business survive.
  • They are the ones who paid themselves last to make sure that their employee’s payroll didn’t bounce.
  • Their business is almost sacred to them and they can talk wistfully about it for hours.

How I Learned This Lesson

The week I started in the Voluntary Benefits arena I called on a fairly large communications company. They had around 100 employees and their owner Les was rumored to be a great guy. I didn’t know that first hand because Les had a barracuda (or some other word that begins with b) for a gatekeeper. I mean she was downright brutal. Finally two years later I ran into Les at a Chamber of Commerce event and he was gracious enough to schedule an appointment with me.

The day of the appointment we hit it off famously. He was talking my ear off and I was encouraging him to continue. Early on in our conversation, I asked Les the very simple question, “How did you get started in the business?” The magic of this question is that it focused on both of Les’s two favorite subjects: Himself and his business. Once he started on these two subjects, Les lost track of time.

45 minutes later Les looked down at his watch and said, “Holy crap! I have to be at an appointment across town in 15 minutes and it is going to take me 20 minutes to get there. What did you want to talk about?” Les and I both had lost track of time and had truly bonded over his fascinating story. He had detailed the incredible challenges he and his business had faced and how they were able to survive. I also realized that Les was actually lonely. His gatekeeper was so good at guarding his time that he rarely got a chance to interact with his customers and vendors.

Knowing how hard it was to get on Les’s calendar I just gave him a very bottom line, two-minute overview on what Voluntary Benefits could do for his business and how the programs could help his employees. I stressed the importance that we see all his employees and asked him to make a payroll deduction. The only question Les asked was, “Do we need to hold a special meeting for this or can you just come to my all employee meeting next Monday?” (For those of you scoring at home, that is a buying sign.)

Conclusion: Les had talked for about 45 minutes. I talked for 2. He must have liked me and thought I was pretty smart.

Question: Who talks the most during your sales presentations?

The Secret Magic Bullet of Sales Success

It does exist(ish)

“What is the one thing I can do to be successful?” Jesse asked. “Is there a secret to success?” My mind raced fervently. He wanted to know the key to success and the reality was, I didn’t have a good answer for him. Not because I had never been asked that question before. In fact, I had been asked it many times, by many different people. In the past, I had always blown that question off by saying, “There isn’t any ‘One Thing’ in this business. There is no magic bullet that will propel you to success.” I knew that their question was really from the wrong motivation so I hadn’t taken them seriously. They had wanted the shortcut to success. I couldn’t blame them…to a point. I mean who wouldn’t want a shortcut? The problem was there are no shortcuts to success in this business.

The difference with Jesse’s question was that he was asking from a pure heart. He wasn’t looking for a shortcut. He was looking for wisdom.  I didn’t give Jesse my stock answer that afternoon. His earnestness made me dig deeper. As I looked at his question through the lens of my own experience, it dawned on me that I actually did possess a magic bullet. I realized that the secret of my success wasn’t a trick or technique that could be learned. It certainly wasn’t a shortcut. The fact is it took a lot of hard work. But it was magical.

I was so excited that I knew the answer that I blurted out, “Two a day!” Jesse’s quizzical look made me continue, “Set two Decision Maker appointments per day, every day without fail. No excuses, no exceptions, come Hell or high water just set two appointments with decision makers every day. If you do that, I guarantee you can’t fail in this business.”

The Back Story

When I first meet Jesse he was the ticket writer at the local car wash. He convinced me to get my car detailed.  I must have told him no at least a dozen times, but Jesse asked thirteen.

I convinced him to come in for an interview. I’m confident that there isn’t a personality/skills test that would have predicted Jesse’s success. I’m also confident that most sales managers wouldn’t have given him an interview. But at the carwash, I saw a glimpse into Jesse’s determination.  That determination made him a six-figure earner in this industry.

Jesse Listens

Most new agents would have nodded politely, promised they would “try to set two decision maker appointments per day” and continued on their path to failure. Not Jesse. Jesse took it to heart. He became a man possessed. When we had full-day training classes, Jesse would bring his lead list with him and call them on breaks. When he had enrollments going on, Jesse would call prospects between employees.

One night I came back to the office from a Chamber of Commerce networking event around 7:00 p.m. and Jesse’s car was in front. This wasn’t unusual as Jesse had a key to the office. Jesse was so broke when he started in this business he asked me if he could clean the office at night for a little extra money. Instead of finding Jesse cleaning, I found him pounding the phone. I asked him why he was still dialing at 7:00 at night and his answer was, “I only have one appointment scheduled so far today.” When I asked him who he was calling on at that time of night he simply said, “Retail stores are still open. Not all of them are owned by big companies. I’m not leaving until they all close or I get my second appointment.”

I learned four things about Jesse that night.

Do You Possess Jesse’s Four Things?

  • I had to be careful what I told Jesse to do.  He took me at my word and would follow through regardless of the cost.
  • Jesse’s word was his bond. If he said he was going to do something, he was going to do it.
  • Jesse was a warrior. He would not be denied and he put his heart into everything he did.
  • Jesse’s enthusiasm was contagious.

I was so impressed that he was still working that I offered to help. I asked him if he would give me part of his call list. Jesse refused to give me his list as he felt he needed to set the second appointment himself. There was no way I was leaving until Jesse had his second appointment. I went into my office and started calling on resumes. Jesse had fired me up so much that I knew I couldn’t leave until I had set two recruiting appointments. Jesse and I both set our second appointment about 20 minutes later.

Conclusion: Set two Decision Maker appointments per day, every day, without fail, no excuses, no exceptions, come Hell or high water. If you do that, I guarantee you can’t fail in this business. Don’t try. Don’t rationalize why you can’t do it. Rationalization is for losers.

Question: How many Decision Maker appointments did you set today? Be brave, post your answer in the comments below.

Heath Oakes – Run Forest, Run – SIV #014 Shownotes

Ignorance on fire!

I first meet Heath Oakes about a year ago when he became the Territory Manager for North Texas (the Dallas/Fort Worth area.)

I’ll be honest with you I was skeptical about Heath at first. His track record was impressive, but I wasn’t sure if he was genuine or had just memorized all the right things to say.  As I have got to know him, I have to tell you, there isn’t a disingenuous bone in his body.  You will hear his passion and energy level today I promise.  As Heath would say, “If this podcast doesn’t light your fire, your wood is wet.”

Things Heath and I Talked About:

  • Forrest Gump
  • Ignorance on fire
  • Spare Me Your Creativity
  • Setting expectations
  • Opening groups
  • Why he is so passionate about Voluntary Benefits
  • Why his best friend thought he was dealing drugs.
  • Why he hates the word realistic.
  • Two of our favorite Zig Ziglar quotes


This is part one of a two-part interview. “Tune In” next Saturday (May 31, 2014) for part two! I promise you Heath gets even more passionate. Thanks for listening!!!

We Can Never Expect Them To Fail

Can you believe in your people before they do?

“You know Tim, we have to be prepared for the fact that they might not make it.” That simple statement, by a veteran manager the other day, ruined my evening. I knew what he was saying was based on some truth. I knew that only 11% of new Insurance Agents survive their first two years… But his words just didn’t sit right with me. In fact, his words wore me out that night. They kept swirling around over and over again. I lost sleep….. For those of you who know me, this is a very rare occurrence. I have always been someone that, no matter what is going on in my life, is asleep before my head hits the pillow.

Around 3:30 a.m. I finally wrestled it down. I knew why that statement had so unnerved me. The reason I was so disturbed was that for a split-second I had agreed with him. You see, having lead sales teams in the Voluntary Benefits arena for 16+ years I have somehow avoided getting jaded. Despite the overwhelming odds, I truly believe that everyone I ever hire is going to join that 11% who makes it. In fact, I think that maintaining this unshakable belief in the new recruit is the ONLY WAY to effectively lead your team. The day you start planning for people on your team to fail is probably the day you should step out of leadership. (Tweet That) John Maxwell says it like this, “It is impossible to make someone feel like they are a 10 if you secretly see them as a 4.”  Every leader wants their people to believe in them. But imagine how powerful your organization could be if all of the leaders believed in their people!

One of the challenges of leadership in the sales arena is knowing that most of the people you lead are not going to finish the journey with you. It can be overwhelmingly, emotionally draining. Often times the leader takes the failure of someone on their team extremely personally. This leads to that leader putting up walls with their next recruit so they don’t burned again. Subconsciously they figure that if they don’t get so close and emotionally invested in that new recruit, it won’t be so devastating when they don’t make it.

If you have lead sales teams for any length of time your head is probably nodding right now…. But did you notice a subtle word I used in the last sentence of that last paragraph? I said WHEN they don’t make it. We are already assuming they are going to fail. This is so wrong…. on so many levels. If we assume they aren’t going to make it, how much effort are we going to put into their training? How willing are we to allow them to interrupt our family time with a quick question? How excited are we to go cold calling with them? This lack of faith leads us to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Unfortunately, we aren’t just hurting our business, we are impacting that new recruit’s family.

So how do we as leaders manage this tension? How do we keep faith that the latest recruit we are working with is going to be a life-long agent with us when we know that the odds of any one particular person surviving their first two years is barely double digits? I think the answer is found in these three tips.

Tim’s 3 Tips To Avoid Getting Jaded

“Never tell me the odds!” – Hans Solo.  It is critical that we see each person as an individual. Every year millions of people go to Las Vegas and gamble their hard-earned paychecks believing they can somehow beat the odds. Some do. In fact, enough people win that others are willing to risk their money too. You have to believe that this recruit is going to draw to that Royal Flush!

What makes you so special? – You made it, right? And you didn’t have near the training,  products, and opportunity that the new recruit has now. You had to walk uphill to school (both ways), in the snow, wearing your 3rd cousin’s worn-out shoes…… (At least that’s the stories you tell on the trips you win.) If you made it, there is no reason they can’t.

Who trained that guy? – I learned this concept back in my Domino’s Pizza days. We were growing very quickly and I had the privilege of training new managers. The management candidate would work in my store for 3-6 months and then be promoted to their own store. I’ll never forget the joy I got watching them win awards and perform at a high level. Whenever they were recognized, the director of operations would always ask, “Who trained that guy?” When was the last time you “sold out” to helping someone else win an award? I’ll caution you to be careful though, it is highly addictive.

Conclusion: If you see a turtle on a fence pole, you know it didn’t get there by itself.

Question: Would you please leave a comment below about the positive impact someone has had in your career and what that has meant to you?

Michael Gallagher – Serve and Synergy – SIV #013 Shownotes

ABC doesn't mean Always Be Closing anymore.

I’ve known Michael Gallagher for just over a year now, but I have gotten to really know him during the last couple of months.
I am incredibly impressed with his heart and desire to help coach and train salespeople. His techniques and the sales processes he teaches will have a dramatic impact on your business! So buckle up and get ready to learn.  If you get a third as much knowledge from this podcast as I feel I did, your sales can’t help but improve!

Things Michael and I talked about:

  • The difference between Always Be Closing vs. Always Be Connecting
  • The dreaded 6 words a salesperson hates most: “I need to think about it.”
  • Michael’s S.E.R.V.E. acronym.
    • Synergy
      • The Powers of Synergy
      • The Power of Acceptance
      • The Power of Approval
      • The Power of Empathy
    • Effective Communication
      • Being in the same state as your prospect.
      • Mirroring
      • Understanding social styles
      • Body language
      • Why it’s so important to have your sales process down so you can concentrate on what is going on around you.
      • Practice, practice, practice.
      • Clean slate versus grizzled veteran
      • Sharpening you saw.
        • “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” – Dr. John C. Maxwell
        • “The day I think I have arrived is that day I put one foot in the grave.” – Michael Hyatt
        • Brain-science and how learning something new releases massive amounts of dopamine in your brain.
        • “All growth starts with personal growth.” – Les Heinsen
        • TED Talks
        • Do things you love to do. Inside and outside of work.
    •  Relationship Building
      • Effective listening.
      • Finding common ground.
      • If done effectively everything else just falls in place.
      • People like to do business with people they know, like, and trust.
      • Most salespeople are afraid to ask multiple probing questions until you have no more questions to ask.
    • Various Influencing Techniques
        • Instant Influence by Michael V. Pantalon.

       Synopsis-If you want to motivate your employees to be more productive, convince your customers to use more of your products and services, encourage a loved one to engage in healthier habits, or inspire any change in yourself, renowned psychologist Dr. Michael Pantalon can show you how to achieve Instant Influence in six simple steps. Drawing on three decades of research, Dr. Pantalon’s easy-to-learn method can create changes both great and small in 7 minutes or less. This scientifically tested method succeeds in every area of work and life by helping people tap into their deeply personal reasons for wanting to change and finding a spark of “yes” within an answer that sounds like “no.”

      • The What.
      • The Why.
      • The How.
      • The Feeling.
      • The Experience.
      • The Commitment.
      • How to influence with an addict in 14 minutes.
      • THE DISTURBING QUESTION
    • Entering Into Agreement
        • If you have done everything right so far this is the easiest part.
        • Reinforce their decision.
        • Refocus on the feeling, the why, and the outcome.
        • Get them to live in the state that this has already happened, it’s done and now how to you feel?
        • The Art of War – Sun Tzu

        • The War of Art –Steven Pressfield

        • The Sandler Rules – You can never get mad at a prospect for doing something you didn’t tell them they couldn’t do.

        • How the maybes can kill you in this business.
        • It’s comfortable to talk to people who don’t tell you know.
        • Moving the maybes back to suspects.
          • We don’t want to spend too much time with suspects.
        • The Challenger Sale – Matthew Dixon

  • Reaching for a 25% increase every year.
  • Why you will make more money when you stop chasing it. We get paid in direct proportion to the quality of service we give and the number of people we serve.
  • How to see a significant increase in results and referrals.

Michael can be found on his blog at www.fitbodymindandsoul.com and has offered a free, one-hour consultation to my listeners.

He is also very active on LinkedIn and can be found here: linkedin

The Top 25 Sales Books of All-Time

Picking just 25 isn't fair.

In yesterday’s blog I ended with a challenge. I stated that if the reader would leave a comment, that included their all-time favorite sales book, then I would send them a link to my “Top 25.”  Well between emails, the blog comments, Facebook comments, and Linkedin replies, I have struggled to keep up! So I decided to make it the topic of today’s blog. I should let you know that not every book listed below is a “Sales Book.” Several of them are on time and attitude management, but I think these topics are critical for anyone in sales. Perhaps the title of this particular blog should be:

“The All-Time Top 25 Books for Sales People.”

Two Points Before We Scroll Down:

  1. I did not put them in any particular order other than I put “Action Selling: How to Sell Like a Professional, Even if You Think You Are One” first. It is my absolute favorite sales book of all time because Action Selling saved my sales career. I will write a full blog article on why I am so passionate about this book in the near future, but the short version is this: I was sucking at sales. I went to a two-day Action Selling seminar. I stopped sucking at sales. Simple right? If you don’t buy and read any other book on this list, you MUST read Action Selling!
  2. The synopsis you will see beside each book actually came right off of Amazon.com. I think they did a great job capturing the essence of each book.

To get further information on any of the books listed, or to purchase them through Amazon.com, just click on the picture of the book.

“Action Selling: How to Sell Like a Professional, Even if You Think You Are One” is the first book in the Action Selling Book Series. Told in a unique story format, ‘Action Selling’ presents a proven system for managing and conducting the entire sales process – one that applies to any industry and dramatically improves the performance of salespeople with any level of experience. The best part: It does this in 105 pages.

Jeffrey Gitomer’s Sales Bible was listed as one of “The Ten Books Every Salesperson Should Own and Read” by the Dale Carnegie Sales Advantage Program. Now completely revised, this book is available for the first time in paperback. The Sales Bible has helped tens of thousands of salespeople all over the world reach their potential and close the big deal. Gitomer gives sales professionals the right answers to the toughest questions:

  • How to make sales in any economic environment
  • Twenty-five ways to get that most-elusive appointment
  • Top-down selling
  • How to fill the sales pipeline with prospects ready to buy
  • How to use the right questions to make more sales in half the time
  • This book is everything its title claims to be

There has never been a sales book that gives you one-on-one, personal help to catapult your sales career and your personal income to a level that will surprise you and shock your sales manager!

You’ll stop:

  • wasting your precious selling time with ‘non-decision’ makers
  • getting any rejection whatsoever from gatekeepers
  • working your keester off for itsy, bitsy sales
  • losing sales that you thought you were going to win
  • not making your sales quota

You’ll start:

  • making sales that are up to 65 percent bigger
  • cutting your sales cycle in half
  • getting as much as 120 percent more add-on business from your existing customers
  • getting VITO to VITO referrals worth pure gold
  • making the income that you really deserve

Neil Rackham is founder and former president of Huthwaite, Inc. Huthwaite researches, consults, and provides seminars for over 200 leading sales organizations around the world, including Xerox, IBM, and Citicorp. His academic background is in research.

In today’s world, yesterday’s methods just don’t work. In Getting Things Done, veteran coach and management consultant David Allen shares the breakthrough methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to tens of thousands of people across the country. Allen’s premise is simple: our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative potential. In Getting Things Done Allen shows how to:

Apply the “do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it” rule to get your in-box to empty

Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations

Plan projects as well as get them unstuck

Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed

Feel fine about what you’re not doing

From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done can transform the way you work, showing you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.

Each of us is born brilliant. Then we spend the rest of our lives having our brilliance buried by people, circumstances, and experiences. Eventually, we forget that we ever had genius and special talents, and our brilliance is locked away in a vault deep within. So we settle for who we are, instead of striving for who we were meant to be. Release Your Brilliance provides the combination to the vault where your brilliance is kept. After struggling for thirty-two years with disillusion, defeat, and despair, author Simon T. Bailey cracked the code to personal transformation, turning his life around and becoming a highly successful entrepreneur, respected family man and community leader. Using the metaphor that we’re all diamonds in the rough, Simon shares the four key steps to cut and polish the gem that is you in order to reawaken your genius, reignite your internal light, and release your potential. He guides your transformation with interactive tools such as Personal Appraisal exercises, Diamond Polishing action steps, and true stories of Living Diamonds. Join the thousands of individuals and organizations worldwide who’ve sat down with Simon and learned to create lasting change and release their brilliance!

An engaging book that brings new relevance to the old proverb “Give and you shall receive”

The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster he works, the further away his goals seem to be. And so one day, desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by his many devotees simply as the Chairman.

Over the next week, Pindar introduces Joe to a series of “go-givers:” a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial adviser, a real estate broker, and the “Connector,” who brought them all together. Pindar’s friends share with Joe the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success and teach him how to open himself up to the power of giving.

Joe learns that changing his focus from getting to giving—putting others’ interests first and continually adding value to their lives—ultimately leads to unexpected returns.

Imparted with wit and grace, The Go-Giver is a heartwarming and inspiring tale that brings new relevance to the old proverb “Give and you shall receive.”

With their national bestseller The Go-Giver, Bob Burg and John David Mann took the business world by storm, showing that giving is the most fulfilling and effective path to success. That simple, profound story has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers around the world-but some have wondered how its lessons stand up to the tough challenges of everyday real-world business.

Now Burg and Mann answer that question in Go-Givers Sell More, a practical guide that makes giving the cornerstone of a powerful and effective approach to selling.

Most of us think of sales as convincing potential customers to do something they don’t really want to. This mentality sets up an adversarial relationship and makes the sales process much harder than it has to be.

As Burg and Mann demonstrate, it’s far more productive (and satisfying) when salespeople think like Go-Givers. Cultivate a trusting relationship and focus exclusively on creating value for the other person, say the authors, and great results will follow automatically.

Drawing on a wide range of examples of real-life salespeople who have prospered by giving more, Burg and Mann offer tips and strategies that anyone in sales can start applying right away.

The definitive guide to turning casual contacts into solid sales opportunities
In this fully revised edition, Bob Burg builds on his proven relationship-building principles to bring even more clients to your door and helps you attract only those who are interested in what you sell. He shows how to maximize your daily contacts, utilize your tools both online and off, leverage your relationships, and generate ongoing sales opportunities.

“If you’re serious about your sales career, whether you are selling a product, service, or yourself, master the contents of this book and you will practically guarantee your future success.”
–Tom Hopkins, author of How to Master the Art of Selling

A revised and updated edition of How to master the art of selling, which educates on how to succeed in sales, including new information on using the latest research techniques and using e-mail and online resources to generate deals more quickly and efficiently.

The definitive guide to cold calling success!
For more than thirty years, Stephan Schiffman, America’s #1 corporate sales trainer, has shown millions of salespeople how to close a deal. In this newest edition of Cold Calling Techniques (That Really Work!), he’ll show you why cold calling is still a central element of the sales cycle and where to find the best leads. Updated with new information on e-mail selling, refining voice-mail messages, and online networking, his time-tested advice includes valuable discussion points that you’ll need to cover in order to effectively present your product or service and arrange a meeting. Schiffman teaches you how to use his proven strategies to:

Turn leads into prospects
Learn more about the client’s needs
Convey the ability to meet the client’s demands
Overcome common objections
With Cold Calling Techniques (That Really Work!), 7th Edition, you’ll watch your performance soar as you beat the competition and score a meeting every time!

Whether presenting a product or principle, service or idea, we all engage in sales. Zig Ziglar presents winning techniques for getting a positive response and establishing dynamic relationships. Readers discover how to project warmth, enthusiasm, and integrity to effectively use 100 creative closes to increase productivity and professionalism. And to overcome the five basic reasons people will not buy. How to deal respectfully with challenging prospects.

Double and triple your sales—in any market.

The purpose of this book is to give you a series of ideas, methods, strategies, and techniques that you can use immediately to make more sales, faster and easier than ever before.

It’s a promise of prosperity that sales guru Brian Tracy has seen fulfilled again and again. More sales people have become millionaires as a result of listening to and applying his ideas than from any other sales training process ever developed.

Do you feel like your career exists somewhere between your last sale and your next one? Are you always searching for the way to bridge the gap and create long-term success? Does it seem that somehow your life is only about your ability to perform on the job?

For too long you have bought into the idea that the business you do and the life you lead are completely separate. What Todd Duncan has learned in his twenty-two years of sales is the polar opposite: When you discover how to connect who you are and what you are about in your selling career, the results will be phenomenal and long-lasting.

No matter what industry you work in or what type of sales position you hold, adopting the practical principles in High Trust Selling will open the door to a new way of thinking and a life beyond your wildest expectations.

“Long-term sales success happens when high trust exists—when you are a trustworthy salesperson running a trustworthy sales business, and when it’s clear to your clients that you are a person of integrity who will not only do what you say but who also has the means to deliver.” —Todd Duncan

WHERE DO YOU SPEND YOUR TIME? The answer may shock you. In fact, as much as 75 percent of the time you spend at work is probably a waste of time. That’s right. 75 percent! If you’re looking to the exploding field of time-management tools for answers, you’re only wasting more time. After all, you can’t manage time. The only thing you can truly manage is what you do with your time.

If you’re ready to propel your career and your life to new heights, Time Traps is the book. And now is the time.

Endorsements:

“Time Traps teaches how balancing your time and using it effectively can get you the freedom you seek.” –Dr. Stephen R. Covey, Author of the international bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

“Todd Duncan knows what it takes to get the most out of a day, and you would be all the wiser for heeding his advice in Time Traps. It’s a career and life-changing book.” –John C. Maxwell, New York Times best-selling author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

“Don’t waste another second reading these quotes! Open this book and start learning how to expand your business without sacrificing your life.” –Gary Keller, Author of The Millionaire Real Estate Agent

“Todd Duncan shows you how to use your time rather than abuse it. He’ll teach you to make time an ally to become productive and prosperous. Make time to read this book.” –Mark Sanborn, author of The Fred Factor and president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc.

There are approximately 12.2 million salespeople in the United States. That’s about 1 out of every 23 people! Salespeople are everywhere, selling everything imaginable. Some are making a killing, but a greater percentage end up victims of the sales industry-and their own mistakes. Some are normal bumps in the road toward success. Others are more damaging. But many are fatal to a career.

Duncan addresses these catastrophic mistakes with clarity and directness. Whether you’re a seasoned sales professional or someone considering sales as a career, Duncan’s wisdom can help you avoid errors in perception, practice, and performance that could not only kill a sale but also your career.

An imbalance is natural. The key is to make it purposeful.

In Life on the Wire, New York Times best-selling author Todd Duncan challenges the status quo in search of a better, smarter way to work and live. He profiles several people striking out to find “balance.” You’ll meet an entrepreneur, a bartender, and an accountant, among others. You’ll hear their stories, their challenges, their insights, and the critical lessons they learned.

Duncan contends the last thing we need amid life’s inherent imbalance is another attempt at a how-to formula for perfect balance―equal parts work and life. In fact, he argues that such a holy grail does not exist. Instead, he has issued a more pragmatic formula he calls purposeful imbalance: the process of purposefully leaning toward work without sacrificing life and purposefully leaning toward life without damaging your career. It is precisely the way a tight-rope walker makes his way across a one-inch rope without falling.

“I’ve always believed that when you’re at work, you should work hard, and when you’re at home, you should play hard. That’s easy to say, but for a lot of people it’s hard to do. In Life on the Wire, Todd Duncan clears up the myth about the ‘balanced’ life and shows you how to rejoice in the purposeful—and planned— imbalanced life.”

—Dave Ramsey, Best-Selling author and host of The Dave Ramsey Show

A business classic endorsed by Dale Carnegie, How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling is for anyone whose job it is to sell. Whether you are selling houses or mutual funds, advertisements or ideas—or anything else—this book is for you.

When Frank Bettger was twenty-nine he was a failed insurance salesman. By the time he was forty he owned a country estate and could have retired. What are the selling secrets that turned Bettger’s life around from defeat to unparalleled success and fame as one of the highest-paid salesmen in America?

The answer is inside How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling. Bettger reveals his personal experiences and explains the foolproof principles that he developed and perfected. He shares instructive anecdotes and step-by-step guidelines on how to develop the style, spirit, and presence of a winning salesperson. No matter what you sell, you will be more efficient and profitable—and more valuable to your company—when you apply Bettger’s keen insights on:

• The power of enthusiasm
• How to conquer fear
• The keyword for turning a skeptical client into an enthusiastic buyer
• The quickest way to win confidence
• Seven golden rules for closing a sale

In a world inundated with sales books on getting to yes, this book recommends just the opposite, focusing on how increasing your failure rate can greatly accelerate your movement toward ultimate success. Go for No! chronicles four days in the life of fictional character Eric Bratton, a call reluctant copier salesman who wakes up one morning to find himself in a strange house with no idea of how he got there. But this house doesn’t belong to just anyone! It belongs to him… a wildly successful, ten years in the future version of the person he could become if he learns to overcome his self-limiting beliefs and overcome his fear of failure. Through the dialogue of the two main characters, the authors have fashioned an entertaining story to present the key concepts essential to sales success. Readers learn… …What it takes to outperform 92% of the world s salespeople …That failing and failure are two very different things … Why it’s important to celebrate success and failure … How to get past failures quickly and move on …That the most empowering word in the world is not yes… it s NO! Written to be intentionally short and to the point, Go for No! is a quick, fun read with valuable lessons that can change the way you think, sell, and live!

The new edition of the bestselling business development guide Book Yourself Solid, Second Edition reveals why self-promotion is a critical factor to success, giving you a unique perspective that makes this guide much more than an ordinary “how-to” manual for getting more clients and raising a business profile.

Book Yourself Solid, Second Edition enables you to adopt the right promotional perspective and provides the strategies, techniques, and skills necessary to get more clients and increase profits. Through verbal and written exercises, you’ll discover the keys to developing a strong marketing plan and brand image.

Features unique, personalized, updated social media marketing strategies for service professionals
Provides new pricing models and sales strategies for simpler selling
Delivers fresh networking and outreach strategies guaranteed to take only minutes a day
Offers new solid product launch strategies and tactics for creating instant awareness
Author a New York Times bestseller, TV personality, and highly recognized professional speaker
Get the proven tools you can put into effect today with Book Yourself Solid, Second Edition, and watch your business grow exponentially!

#1 New York Times Business Bestseller, #1 Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller. #1 Washington Post bestseller

From the bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind comes a surprising–and surprisingly useful–new book that explores the power of selling in our lives.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. Every day more than fifteen million people earn their keep by persuading someone else to make a purchase.

But dig deeper and a startling truth emerges:

Yes, one in nine Americans works in sales. But so do the other eight.

Whether we’re employees pitching colleagues on a new idea, entrepreneurs enticing funders to invest, or parents and teachers cajoling children to study, we spend our days trying to move others. Like it or not, we’re all in sales now.

To Sell Is Human offers a fresh look at the art and science of selling. As he did in Drive and A Whole New Mind, Daniel H. Pink draws on a rich trove of social science for his counterintuitive insights. He reveals the new ABCs of moving others (it’s no longer “Always Be Closing”), explains why extraverts don’t make the best salespeople, and shows how giving people an “off-ramp” for their actions can matter more than actually changing their minds.

Along the way, Pink describes the six successors to the elevator pitch, the three rules for understanding another’s perspective, the five frames that can make your message clearer and more persuasive, and much more. The result is a perceptive and practical book–one that will change how you see the world and transform what you do at work, at school, and at home.

Chet Holmes helps his clients blow away both the competition and their own expectations. And his advice starts with one simple concept: focus! Instead of trying to master four thousand strategies to improve your business, zero in on the few essential skill areas that make the big difference.

The Ultimate Sales Machine shows you how to tune up and soup up virtually every part of your business by spending just an hour per week on each impact area you want to improve—sales, marketing, management, and more.

What’s the secret to sales success? If you’re like most business leaders, you’d say it’s fundamentally about relationships and you’d be wrong. The best salespeople don’t just build relationships with customers. They challenge them.

The need to understand what top-performing reps are doing that their average performing colleagues are not driven. Matthew Dixon, Brent Adamson, and their colleagues at Corporate Executive Board to investigate the skills, behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes that matter most for high performance. And what they discovered may be the biggest shock to conventional sales wisdom in decades.

Based on an exhaustive study of thousands of sales reps across multiple industries and geographies, The Challenger Sale argues that classic relationship building is a losing approach, especially when it comes to selling complex, large-scale business-to-business solutions. The authors’ study found that every sales rep in the world falls into one of five distinct profiles, and while all of these types of reps can deliver average sales performance, only one-the Challenger- delivers consistently high performance.

Instead of bludgeoning customers with endless facts and features about their company and products, Challengers approach customers with unique insights about how they can save or make money. They tailor their sales message to the customer’s specific needs and objectives. Rather than acquiescing to the customer’s every demand or objection, they are assertive, pushing back when necessary and taking control of the sale.

The things that make Challengers unique are replicable and teachable to the average sales rep. Once you understand how to identify the Challengers in your organization, you can model their approach and embed it throughout your sales force. The authors explain how almost any average-performing rep, once equipped with the right tools, can successfully reframe customers’ expectations and deliver a distinctive purchase experience that drives higher levels of customer loyalty and, ultimately, greater growth.

What you are today is not important… for in this runaway bestseller you will learn how to change your life by applying the secrets you are about to discover in the ancient scrolls.

In the age of e-mail and instant communication, great sales copy is indispensable to closing a deal. But too many sales letters end up in the junk file or the wastebasket. In this new edition of his top-selling book, author Dan Kennedy explains why some sales letters work and most don’t. And he shows how to write copy that any business can use.

Among other things, he provides:
Completely updated text and examples
Great headline formulas
New exercises to spark creativity
The best way to use graphics
Kennedy is the most successful, highly paid direct-response copywriter in the country. In this book, he shares his step-by-step formula so everyone can write letters that will nail the sale.

Didn’t see your favorite sales book on the list? Leave the title in the comment section below and maybe I’ll add it to the list.

Tim Martin – Insurance is Sexy – SIV #012 Shownotes

Your "Genius Work" is what you were created to do.

This podcast is spurred by a Facebook message I received earlier this week from a recent college graduate.

I’m sure you are aware that It is graduation season around the United States. If you are like me, you can’t go to your mailbox without finding a graduation announcement from one of your relatives, or your friend’s kids, or your kid’s friends. In the past week, I have congratulated and sent checks to 2 freshly minted college graduates. It got me thinking about their future.

As college graduates, their life should be better right? Perhaps long-term they are. According to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, workers with bachelor’s degrees can expect to earn 84 percent more than their counterparts without degrees over their lifetime.

Unfortunately, the job prospects of these graduates right now aren’t extremely strong. A US News and World Report article earlier this year stated the following: “The number of college graduates working minimum wage jobs is nearly 71 percent higher than it was a decade ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest figures. As of 2013, 284,000 college graduates were working at or below the minimum wage, up from 167,000 in 2002 and more than two times the pre-recession low of 127,000 in 2006. The cohort includes an estimated 30,000 people with masters’ degrees, a figure that is more than twice as high as it was in 2002 and three times as high as in 2006.

That spells trouble for college graduates with low wages, especially when student debt is climbing. The Institute for College Access and Success reported Wednesday that the average class of 2012 graduate left college with $29,400 in debt, a figure that has climbed an average of 6 percent year over year for the past four years.”

Of course there are certain professions that boast very high starting wages for new college graduates: The median annual salary for a graduate with a petroleum engineering degree is $120,000, while graduates in counseling psychology, at the bottom of the spectrum, earn $29,000, according to Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce.

As I said earlier, this podcast was spurred by a Facebook message I received this week.  Courtney, The daughter of one of my friends, who is also a recent college graduate, wrote to me the following message: “Hi Mr. Martin! Hope you and your family are doing well. I’m in the process of job searching as life and marriage will be moving me to the Chicago area soon. After posting my resume online I’ve had quite a few responses in the area of insurance sales. Today a recruiter from Aflac contacted me and prior to that, I have had Farmers and a few small names. I was curious as to your thoughts on the companies and what kinds of advice you could give me since you’ve been successful in the industry. Any direction would be much appreciated, thanks!”

I’m thrilled for this young lady. Courtney is starting her life with her soon to be husband and also beginning her career.    She is a wonderful young woman who has amazing talent. The reality is that regardless of what she attempts in life, she will be successful.  I’m proud that she is considering a career in insurance. It gives me great hope for the future of this industry. We need sharp, young, talented, men and women to breathe life into our profession. It is a shame that most people coming out of college don’t even explore a career in insurance. I have been involved in dozens of College Career fairs over the years and it amazes me the number of young men and women that stand in line to talk to the pharmaceutical companies but won’t give the insurance booths the time of day.  My theory is that they don’t see the insurance industry as sexy. When they think of the insurance industry, they well….. think of people like me, middle-age white guys, who wear loud sports jackets and sit around in boring meetings.  Even though my sports coats aren’t THAT loud, and most of my meetings are actually fairly interesting, that is their perception.

But I would contend that a career in insurance IS sexy.  I am going to give you 7 reasons that I am convinced that you need to pass on this podcast to anyone you are sending a graduation card to. So without further ado, here we go.

Seven Reasons Insurance IS Sexy

1. There are many career paths available.

Most insurance companies have full career paths in every one of their departments. A VERY partial list of departments in most insurance companies include:

  • Training
  • Curriculum development
  • Accounting
  • Marketing
  • Underwriting
  • Product development
  • Claims
  • Broker Development
  • Sales
  • Public Relations
  • Legal
  • Actuarial

In fact, many companies offer recent college graduates entry into a Professional Development Program. In this program, they get the opportunity to work in multiple departments over the course of 2-3 years.

From here on out I am going to talk about a career in Insurance sales. It’s where I have spent my entire insurance career and what I know best.

2. It gives you the ability to start your own business.

  •  Entrepreneurship programs in colleges are blowing up due to intense interest by the current crop of business majors. They are more interested in starting their own business than they are working their way up through Corporate America.
  • Where else can you start a business for less than $500 and some sweat equity? When I bought my two Dominos pizza stores it cost me almost $400,000.  I make more money in insurance than I ever did there.
  • No product to purchase and carry.
  • No warehousing cost.
  • No product development worries.
  • Very little variable costs

3. You can achieve stature in your community.

  • Becoming a trusted advisor.
  • Working with civic organizations and charities (time freedom).

4. You are in control of your own destiny.

  • As much as we ever are.
  • Your income is determined by your effort. If that is true, then I like my chances!
  • The News? – You get paid exactly what you are worth – not a penny more or less. – It’s up to you to determine if that is good news or bad news.
  • Your promotion is based upon merit.
  • If you are a high producer you can go anywhere in the United State with a simple phone call.

5. You are in control of your own time.

  • The best part about this job/worst part about this job.
  • Avoiding the “Freedom god.”
  • It means I am free to work 60 hours if I want to.
  • Work-life balance.

6. The income potential is staggering.

  • We undersell this opportunity. I know numerous people in this industry that make seven-figure incomes.
  • What does the average agent make?  I haven’t met them yet….
  • Why I hate that question.
  • If you are coachable & trainable, go to work every day, keep a positive attitude there is no way you can fail.
  • Every year we have agents break $100,000 and we also have agents that struggle to get to $30,000

7.  We change peoples lives!

  • The most important reason that a career in insurance is sexy!
  • We get to be significant in peoples lives and make significant money.
  • We often look at people who are significant in people’s lives as someone who almost has to take a vow of poverty: Priests, social workers, teachers, etc.
  • We think that people that make a lot of money, are people like Donald Trump or Mark Cuban who have a reputation of being hard people to work with. Perhaps they are even seen as predatory. I’m not sure that is fair, but that is a lot of people’s perceptions.
  • In this industry, we get paid in direct proportion to the number of people we serve. What could be sexier than that?

Conclusion: This industry is sexy. I have a huge passion to see young college graduates join us in this industry.  In fact, I am piloting the very first college internship program ever with my company at the field level this summer. The interns may or may not find insurance something they want to continue their career in, but isn’t that why there are college internships?  My guess is that 4 out of the 5 interns we hire will end up in the industry long-term. I just wish more young men and women would take a hard look at a career in insurance.

Question: Would you please pass this article/podcast on?  Like I said earlier, if you know of anyone getting ready to graduate from college that you think could benefit from this article, I would be honored if you would pass it along. You can just click the email share tab at the bottom of this article.  You can also share it on your Facebook page or via Twitter the same way.

Thanks so much for listening/reading! I look forward to seeing you back here next week!!!

How to Avoid Voicemail Hell

You're telling me there's hope?

Decision makers are busy people. Not only do they rely on “gatekeepers” to screen you out, increasingly they also use voicemail. So how do we as salespeople deal with it? We better develop some solid skills in leaving a compelling voicemail message. It is important to remember that never in the history of sales has leaving a voice mail closed a sale. Unfortunately, poor voicemails have lost more sales than we will ever know. Of course, there is no magic bullet anywhere in sales. Getting a prospect to call you through leaving a voicemail is no different. Having said that, I am amazed at how often the following tips and scripts do actually work.

Six Tips That Will Keep You In The Game

  •  Be polite! Never sound frustrated or upset you got their voicemail, even if this is the 10th voicemail you have left this person. (Don’t blow the sale before you even meet.)
  • Give your phone number and name clearly and slowly at least twice. (I’m glad you have your own phone number memorized. There is no need to show off in front of the client.)
  • Remember, you are doing them a favor by contacting them, sound enthused! (You do believe that, right?)
  • Call multiple times during the day/week but only leave one voicemail per week. (Don’t come across as a creepy stalker.)
  • Leave a time that you will be calling back. Often I have found that even if they don’t call me back, by calling at a set time it shows that I am dependable and serious about earning their business. (Seriously!)
  • Once done with your message, try pushing the # sign. Usually this will allow you to replay and/or delete your message. If you need to, re-record. (Don’t rely on this however. A few years ago I was leaving a prospect a voice mail and flubbed up what I wanted to say. My frustration led to a swear word escaping as I pushed the # sign to start over. Instead of hearing the reassuring sound of, “If you are satisfied with your message, please press one.” I heard a dial tone. That really led to a swear word or two…..)

 Three Scripts That Are Devastatingly Effective.

Competitor Short

This one works because it plays on the fact that most small business owners are very competitive and can’t stand their competition having an advantage over them.

Hi (Frank)! My name is (Tim Martin). I can be reached at _________. I’m calling you regarding (name of their biggest competitor). If for some reason you are unable to reach me, I will try you again tomorrow at 2:15 pm. Again, my name is (Tim Martin, phone #). I hope you have a great day and I look forward to hearing from you!

The Hang Up

This one works due to the old adage, “Curiosity killed the cat.” The business owner can’t NOT call you back! By the way, you can only use this one time per prospect!

Hi (Frank)! My name is (Tim Martin). I can be reached at _____________.  Again my name is (Tim Martin, phone #). Frank, I am so excited about how……….Click (you hang up).

Competitor Long

I use this the week after using the Competitor Short script and it works for the exact same reasons. Don’t use this one first or you will have no reason to call back next week!

Hi (Frank)! My name is (Tim Martin). I can be reached at ___________. (Frank) I’m excited to talk you, even if it is over voice mail. My company, (insert carrier here), has just implemented a program that has helped (name of a competitor) attract and retain better employees, lower their payroll tax liability, drive money to their bottom line while looking like the hero to their employees. Best of all they didn’t have to invest a single dollar of their hard-earned profits into the program. Listen, I’ll be in my office accepting calls between (3:00 – 5:00 pm. on Tuesday and Thursday this week) and I look forward to hearing from you! If for some reason you are unable to reach me, I will try you again (Friday at 2:15 pm). Again my name is (Tim Martin, phone #). I hope you are having a great day and I look forward to hearing from you!

Conclusion: Voicemail isn’t going away anytime soon. The best way to get a business owner to call you back is to give them a reason to. I know that sounds simplistic, but I’m amazed at how many horrible voicemails I receive from salespeople every week.

Question: When was the last time you called a salesperson back based on their voicemail? What did they say that made you call them back? Please share your answers in the comments section below!

Final Thought: If you like these scripts, you should see what I teach during my coaching sessions!  I have a script that has an almost 80% return rate with small business owners.

 

Art Williams 1987 Classic Speech – “Just Do It!”

Tak a page from NIKE

One of the greatest speeches ever given about success in the insurance industry. I have included the full speech (1st) and also a truncated version (2nd) below. If you are going to watch the 1st one, make sure you don’t do it during “Green Time.” I don’t want to get in trouble with your manager or spouse!

The Full Version 

The Truncated Version

The Scarlet Letter – P ?!?

Seriously...

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic book The Scarlet Letter the main character, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a Scarlet A on her breast to (wrongfully) label her as an adulterer. Unfortunately, sales managers do the same thing, at least in their mind, with the Scarlet Letter P. The P stands for potential.

There are many ways to frustrate your sales manager.  The one that frustrates me the most is talking about someone’s potential.

The Honeymoon

Talking about someone’s potential doesn’t frustrate me when that candidate is in the interview process. In fact, I love the thrill of discussing with my team the potential of that high-potential, world-changing, rain-making recruit I just interviewed. At this point, we are in the honeymoon phase. Everything about that person looks shiny, new, and full of promise. More than once I’ve literally said, “If a guy/gal like that can’t make it in our business, I give up!”

First Warning Signs

I don’t mind talking about someone’s potential during their first few days and even their first couple of weeks. We are just starting to get to know each other and often times they are still transitioning from their previous job or life change. I get it. There are still a lot of loose ends to wrap up. But when they are working….”MAN are they brilliant!” Once they can really buckle down and work full-time on this VB thing, they are going to KILL it!!!

Descent Into Anonymity

At about the three-week mark, the bloom is coming off the rose. I’m tired of discussing their potential. To be clear here, I’m not talking about someone who is doing the right things but is getting off to a slow start as it pertains to results. I will put my money on that person all day, every day. I’m talking about the person that is finding creative ways to avoid the activity necessary for success. I start to notice that they are still “wrapping things up” and getting “organized.” They seem to always have an excuse as to why they can’t make the Monday Morning Meeting or need to skip out early from the role-playing. It’s also at this point when I usually notice that instead of “sparing me their creativity” and attacking the small groups like I have told them repeatedly, they are asking questions like, “Would you be willing to cost-share an add on cable t.v.?” or “Has anyone at this company ever approached Home Depot? I was there last weekend and I got into a great discussion with the store manager. He wants me to drop off some stuff so that he can send it up the chain. Do you have time today to help me write a cover letter?” The reason I titled the subheading Descent Into Anonymity it that if they don’t get these habits turned around quickly, I won’t remember their names a year from now. They will have gotten a J.O.B. by then.

Can They Recover?

If the leadership team and I are still talking about someone’s potential past three weeks, it is because they don’t have any results for us to discuss instead.  I have hired and trained over 2,000 VB agents in my career, and I can think of nothing more tragic than continuing to talk about someone’s potential more than three weeks from their start date. The fact is that once that label of unrealized potential is slapped on someone, it is hard to get it off.  And even if that recruit starts to listen, and finally begins to do the activity necessary for success, the stench and stigma of the Scarlet P lingers.

There is a great video featuring Art Williams (watch it here) where he challenges the audience to, “Do It!” At one point he mentions that people come up to him with all sorts of excuses as to why they haven’t been successful yet, despite their high potential. I don’t know Art, but I’m guessing from his response to these people he is as frustrated about discussing someone’s potential as I am.

Conclusion: How do you avoid the Scarlet P? By giving your leadership team something else to talk about like:

  • Your work ethic.
  • How you are front-and-center at every meeting/training.
  • Your daily preparation.
  • Your attitude.
  • Your high energy level.
  • Your results.
  • The fact that you are “Doing it!”

Questions: Are you guilty of not living up to your potential? If so, why? More importantly; what are you going to do to get rid of the lingering stench and stigma of the Scarlet P?!?!