When I’ve written about the 80/20 Rules I was taken to task by several readers who vehemently disagreed with the concept that 80% of one thing comes from only 20% of something else.

One reader we’ll call him John, wrote : “I’ve just read your most recent success newsletter. I must say that I’m appalled that you refer to and believe in the old Pareto law.”

“Did you know that Mr. Pareto lived in the 16th century? Believing in the 80-20 law is like believing that Earth, our planet, is flat.” Read More »

The Alternate of Choice is a questioning strategy I teach in every seminar, every book, and audio recording. It’s truly a staple. The reason for that is simple: It works.

Typically, I teach it as a question with two answers. Either answer is a minor agreement leading towards the major agreement, which is a closed sale. The critical element of this question/close is to offer only two answers, both of which move the sale forward.

It’s most often used for things such as getting an agreement for an appointment, the location of your appointment, a color choice, payment options, and delivery dates. It might sound something like this: Read More »

After an Ogilvy & Mather board meeting in Frankfurt, 18 years ago, David Ogilvy told me over dinner that “Rosser Reeves and I were talking one day, and we agreed that everything we knew we had learned from John Caples.”

Rosser Reeves, who was Ogilvy’s brother-in-law, coined the initials USP that everyone now uses with such gay, and often inaccurate abandon.

John Caples, besides being a very good copywriter - They laughed when I sat down at the piano is one of the most copied lines ever – popularised systematic testing, though not enough to penetrate the thick skulls of most corporate drones. Read More »

You may do everything else masterfully but if you can’t close the sale, you might as well be a professional product demonstrator instead of a salesperson. The real pros in selling have certain skills and habits that make them stand out above average.

Here’s a Personal Inventory Evaluation. Take it and see how close you are to achieving “pro” sales status. Read More »

Remember Willie Sutton? Willie was a bank robber.

When asked why he robbed banks, he replied: “Because that’s where the money is.” (No! I’m not suggesting that you rob a bank. )

Willie’s story came to mind when I was recently asked by a sales consulting client, “How do I grow my business?” Read More »

You will often encounter people who are just poor decision-makers. Perhaps they’ve never learned some basic life skills and made some bad decisions. Now, they just procrastinate until they can’t wait any longer to make decisions, hence the cycle of making bad decisions continues.

As a professional salesperson, you need to know how to recognize procrastinators and help them learn sound decision-making skills. Read More »

Beth said to me, “I hate selling. I don’t know what to say and how to say it and I don’t want people to think of me as a salesperson.”

Let me tell you a secret. Thirty years ago I said the same thing to myself. In fact many, if not most people who aren’t in sales feel the same. What is it about selling that most people don’t like?

Ask yourself what you associate with sales people? Do the words pushy and tricky come to mind? Read More »

For too many people in business sales prospecting for clients is like fishing with only a string and a pole. They know if they throw something out there, they’ll draw attention. What they don’t understand is that you must first be at the right fishing hole. And, second, that you have to use bait that the fish you’re trying to catch like.

Let’s address the right fishing hole first. Answer this question: Who is your ideal client? You should be able to list at least five criteria of your ideal client without even blinking an eye. Read More »

Television star. Movie Star. Famous Comedian.

What do you do when you’re at a restaurant and a famous person sits down at the table next to you?

A. Pretend he’s not there.
B. Whisper to your friends that a famous person’s sitting next to you, but do it so subtly that he doesn’t know you’re talking about him? (But of course he does.)
C. Say ‘Hi’ and tell him how much you enjoy his program? Read More »