Tom Hopkins is a sales training legend having trained over 5,000,000 salespeople in person. He is the author of eighteen books, including “How to Master the Art of Selling,” which has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.
On today’s episode of The Salesman Podcast, Tom explains how the words we use can make or break when prospecting for new business.
Featured on this episode:
Resources:
- TomHopkins.com
- Tom on Linkedin
- Tom’s books – Sell It Today, Sell It Now / How to Master the Art of Selling
Transcript
Will Barron:
Do you want to know the 10 words that very likely you are using that are striking fear into the heart of your potential customers and stopping deals happen? Then this episode is for you.
Will Barron:
Hello, sales nation, and welcome to today’s episode of the Salesman Podcast. On today’s show, we have Tom Hopkins. He is a complete legend in the sale training space. His book here was given to me by my first ever sales manager. It stinks of smoke, it’s actually getting a bit disgusting. Tom reckons this was printed in about 1970, so before I was even born; that’s how OG, original gangster, Tom Hopkins is in the sales space.
Will Barron:
On today’s show. We’re diving into vocabulary, what you’re saying, essentially. What is holding you back, what you can use to improve your vocabulary, and how it affects the emotions that the buyer is feeling as you are selling to them. You can find out more about Tom over to TomHopkins.com. And with that all said, let’s jump straight in.
Will Barron:
Tom, welcome to the Salesman Podcast.
Tom Hopkins:
Well, thank you, Will. Excited to be on Salesman Podcast and get a chance to talk to the most important people in our country, which are salespeople.
How Using Influential Words Can Mean Success in Sales · [01:21]
Will Barron:
Love it. Tom, I’m excited to have you on. I’ve, hopefully at this point, given a really good introduction to you about how I found out about you, this book that I’ve got on the table, and a whole lot more. And so, we’ll jump straight into the questions here. I think for some people this is going to seem like a slightly odd topic of conversation for salespeople to talk about vocabulary, but let’s do the surface layer of this first. What does a vocabulary… How does that reflect in the conversations we’re having with potential customers? What do they read into our vocabulary that’s, perhaps, we are not conscious of the messages that we’re putting out there through it?
“If you’re in sales, you’re in the ‘word’ business, and every word that you say enters the person’s ear, and creates emotions and feelings. So it’s very important that you don’t use words that create an enemy called fear.” – Tom Hopkins · [01:49]
Tom Hopkins:
Well, first of all, I try to teach people that come to my training that in a way, if you’re in sales, you’re in the word business, and every word that you say that enters the person’s ear creates emotions and feeling. And there’s a basic truth that people don’t buy anything logically; they buy it emotionally, then they defend it logically. So it’s so important that you don’t say words that create an enemy called fear.
“In sales conversations, you want to speak differently than the last or the next salesperson your prospect talks to.” – Tom Hopkins · [02:32]
Tom Hopkins:
And so the vocabulary is so important. There’s positive vocabulary, which I call glamour words. Now a glamour word is commonly known but uncommonly used words that make you sound different than your competition. And that’s one thing about words, you want to speak differently than the last or the next salesperson that they talk to. So the glamour words would be words like dynamic, exciting, “It’s so wonderful to see how our company is expanding because of the wonderful things we’re doing for salespeople.” So those are positive words. A word like unique, “The service our company gives in selling is very unique and makes us different, and I think that’s one of the reasons why we are growing so beautifully because we’ve tried to be special with the way we handle our clients.” So those are the positives.
Tom Hopkins:
Now on the other side of the coin, you have negative words. And let me preface this, Will, by saying many people in our country don’t like the thought of being sold. They want to own, we have the greatest consumer nation in the world, but yet there’s a feeling, “I don’t want you to sell me. If I want it, I’ll take it.”
Tom Hopkins:
So in speaking words, there are 10 words that you should never say to a consumer, a client, a future buyer. And the reason is these words could almost be categorised, Will, as what I call rejection sales jargon. And what that means, there are words that are used in selling and when people hear them, up comes the fear that, “You’re trying to sell me.” So I’ll go through these, if you would like me, very quickly and we can give the folks these 10 words. Hopefully they’ll eliminate them from their vocabulary. How’s that sound?
Which is More Important? Eliminating Negative Words or Adding More Impactful Words to Your Vocabulary? · [04:18]
Will Barron:
Let me ask you, Tom, first, before you give us the 10, because we’ll definitely run through them, which is more important for someone who’s going, “This is all new to me. I’ve been thrown into my conscious. I’m going to have to…” We’ll suss out some ways to practically track down the words that we’re using, where we document them, how we change the habits, later on in the show. But which is more important, to focus on using more positive words or to eliminate the negative ones?
Tom Hopkins:
I think it’s a combination, Will. I think that you want to sound more professional than your competitor, and that’s just what the glamour words will do for you. Then you don’t want to create fear by using sales jargon, which are the 10 words that are totally used in selling, that it’s almost like saying to the person across the desk or table, “I’m trying to sell you and these are the terms that salespeople use.” So that’s why these 10 words should really be eliminated. Now I’ll give you the 10 wrong words, then the 10 right words that replace the 10 words.
Will Barron:
Perfect, perfect.
Tom Hopkins:
Shall we do that?
The 10 Words That Are Losing You Potential Customers · [05:23]
Will Barron:
Let’s run for it. And I will just hesitantly tell you this, Tom, because I know you don’t know that much about me. I will probably interrupt and interject throughout this 10. We’re very unlikely to get through all of them without me throwing another 15 questions at you. Just to bear that I mind when you see me jumping out my chair with more questions to ask.
Tom Hopkins:
Okay.
“As a salesperson, you never want to use the word “price”. Because when you tell a person the price of the vehicle, the price of the insurance, the price of the home, subconsciously their mind goes, “Maybe I should shop around and see if I can get a lower price.” So we never say price, we tell them the “total investment”.” – Tom Hopkins · [05:42]
Tom Hopkins:
All right, good. Well, the first word you don’t want to use is the word “price”. Because when you tell a person the price of the vehicle, the price of the insurance, the price of the home, subconsciously their mind goes, “Maybe I should shop around and see if I can get a lower price.” So we never say price, we tell them the “total investment”. And so by the total investment, which is positive, we aren’t creating the fear of having them shop for a lower price. So that’s number one.
Tom Hopkins:
Number two is down payment. When you are selling a product where they give you a deposit or a down payment, when you use the words “down payment”, immediately their minds go, “I now have to write a check. I don’t know if I want to do that. I’m not ready right now.” So we always say the “initial investment”, rather than the down payment.
Tom Hopkins:
And then, of course, there’s a word that many people use and they don’t realise you’re scaring the people to death, and that’s the word “contract”. Now, there are people right now, still, that have some type of paperwork they fill out, although our selling world has changed to where a lot of it’s done electronically on the computer and so forth. But if you do have a paper that you fill out, don’t call it a contract, because immediately they go, “Oh, if we get my signature on that, then I’m bound, and I don’t know if I want to do that.” So we always call it either the “paperwork” or the “agreement”. See, people love to agree, so let’s just go over the agreement, or let’s just jot our thoughts down on the paperwork, or you can even just call it a form. Because when they hear agreement, paperwork, or form, they don’t put up their defences as much as when they hear, “Here’s the contract,” so that’s the difference.
Why You Need to Stop Using Words That Invoke Fear in Your Prospects · [07:40]
Will Barron:
Tom, why? So they are obvious, but not immediately what we would typically use. I would typically always say price. I’ve never been in a situation where there would be a down payment, so I’ve never really used that. I would always say contract or the… I’d probably call it a contract agreement, so I’m doing kind of half a dozen of one and a dozen of the other here, which obviously isn’t great. Why do we use these specific words? Because the example, three out of 10 here, I’m doing, and we’ve never talked about this before.
Tom Hopkins:
Well, because, first of all, as I mentioned to you, the contract has the connotation that once you put your name on this, you’re bound; and now if you want to, you can’t think it over, you can’t sleep on it. So the words agreement or paperwork don’t create this feeling of, now you’re bound. And I just found by saying to a person, rather than, “Why don’t we fill out the contract and see how it looks?” To say, “Why don’t we draught up our feelings on the paperwork and see if going ahead even makes sense?”
The Language of Sales: Stop Using the Word Contract · [08:45]
Will Barron:
Sorry, I think I asked you the question incorrectly there. What you say makes total sense. I’m in total agreement with what you’re saying there, Tom, of the rephrasing, but why do we seemingly ubiquitously… From someone who hasn’t been through this training, why do we always use the word contract? Because that’s what I would use, default.
Tom Hopkins:
Yeah, because most people in sales have not really been trained, and their company maybe never let them be aware of the 10 fear producing rejection words. And so that’s why their company hires them and says, “Here’s our contract.” And so right away they look at the contract and they say, “That’s what I’ll call it.”
Tom Hopkins:
I just found that when I ask them to approve the paperwork, to draught up our feelings on the agreement and see if it makes even sense to go ahead, I found that I could move closer to the final closing of the sale because I didn’t create the fear of letting them know, “I’m going to put some words down on this printed form and ask you to sign it,” which is another word we don’t ask them to do. We don’t say the word “sign”.
Tom Hopkins:
Mom and dad taught us, “Hey, be careful. Don’t you buy anything unless you really talk to me about it. So don’t sign anything, especially a contract.” So we don’t ask him to sign, we ask them to “endorse” it, “authorise” it, to “approve” it. If you’ll just approve my paperwork, we’ll set up the delivery date for next week and look forward to serving you and your family for many, many years.
Tom’s Thoughts On What Goes Through a Prospect’s Head When You Use Words That Elicit Fear · [10:17]
Will Barron:
It makes sense. And why is it… Or I guess what is it that’s happening… To go layer deeper here, Tom, what is happening in the brain of the prospect as we go through these questions or use these words? Is it a conscious, “Oh crap, I don’t want to sign no contract,” and then sprints out of there, or is there subtle things going on in the subconscious?
“We don’t say the word “buy” instead we always use the word “own”. People love to own things, they’re just nervous about buying.” – Tom Hopkins · [11:05]
Tom Hopkins:
Yes, it is. And it’s not a real conscious thing, but it’s a feeling of subconsciously, “I don’t know if we should do this.” See, many of the husbands and wives, for you that do business with them, they talk before they meet you and they say, “We’re not going to buy anything. Now we’ll get all the facts and figures, but we’re not going to buy.” And so that’s another reason why, and that’s another one of the 10 words, we don’t say the word “buy” We never say, “When you buy our product, when you buy the vehicle, when you buy the home,” we always use the word “own”. People love to own, they’re just nervous about buying. So we replace buy with the word own and it’s amazing.
Tom Hopkins:
See, the reason I think I was the top real estate agent in all of California for five years is because I closed so many sales because I didn’t use these 10 words. And again, when I do seminars, the people go, “Wow, we’re going back to our company and we’re going to have everyone commit to not saying these 10 rejection, fear producing words when they’re going to try to make a sale.”
Tom Hopkins:
And I guess the proof’s in the pudding, there’s a lot of people that do seminars that didn’t have a lot of sales, but I had 1,553 homes. And every one of them, most of them, I had to start from the beginning of the not ready to go ahead, to ending up getting the check two and a half, three hours later. So I think that’s one reason why so many people have said, “Hey, I’m going to take Tom’s training.” And of course you and I have this brief little time together, but the 10 words are really important to eliminate.
Tom Hopkins:
The word “sell” or the word “sold”, those are fear producers. “John, we sold your friend.” Well, all the buyer heard was you sold or manipulated, you used high pressure, and we’re not going to get sold. Or when you say to someone, “When I sell you,” right away, they go, “Well, you’re not selling us. My wife and I said we’re not going to buy today.” So we never say sell or sold, we say “get them involved” or “help them acquire”. “We’ve had so many people get involved in this vehicle that love the performance, the economy, the gas mileage, and I think you’re going to feel the same way. And that’s why I’d love to help you acquire it and see how happy we can make you.”
Ways to Create a Sense of Ownership In Your Buyers · [13:03]
Will Barron:
Is there a trend here, Tom? I’m processing this as we’re going through and I’ve got a big grin on my face, but then this is particularly useful. Is there a trend here that these words are taking people out of the moment and putting them into the future? So for example, buy versus own, the buying process is what they’re doing right now, whether they realise it or not; owning it is taking them out of that somewhat stressful situation and putting them in the position where they’re imagining, where they’re feeling, where their gut is giving them a pull one way or the other. What’s happening in the future versus right now, is that what we’re trying to aim with some of this?
Tom Hopkins:
Yeah. In fact, that’s right on, Will. What you’re really doing with the right words is mentally having them have the feelings of ownership, the enjoyment, the benefits, the features of whatever your product or service is. And these words are really doing that.
Tom Hopkins:
It’s kind of like, “We’ve gotten so many families involved in this neighbourhood.” Well, see, that’s kind of letting them know we didn’t sell them, we got them involved in owning these beautiful properties. Or, “We’ve had so many happy people that we’ve helped acquire this vehicle, and that’s one reason why our dealership is marketing more cars than almost anyone in the city.” See, that type of feeling is throwing them into future benefit, future ownership. And that’s one of the reasons why I keep saying, try to eliminate these words.
Tom Hopkins:
And another word you don’t want to let them hear you say is the word “objections”. Because, here again, subconsciously when I say to you, “I’ve heard that objection before,” right away, the human mind has envelopes and it opens up what we call the objection envelope and they may come up with an objection they hadn’t thought about, but you said, “Objection,” so now the envelope opens. So we always say “areas of concern”, “We’ve helped so many folks overcome that area of concern, and most of my happiest clients are thrilled that we did,” and there’s, again, another word.
Tom Hopkins:
Another word people should never use is the word “deal”, and many people say, “This is a good deal.” And there are people who were told something in the past was a good deal and they did own it and they were upset that they did, they never liked it. So we never call it a deal, it’s an “opportunity” or a “transaction”. “Gosh, we’ve helped a lot of people with this opportunity to own this wonderful whatever.” And so instead of the deal, we say opportunity or transaction.
Tom Hopkins:
And also, don’t use the word “problem”. Because if I say to someone, “I’ve talked to folks about that problem,” right away, the envelope in the mind of problems opens up, and they come up with a problem we hadn’t thought of. So drop problem and use the word “challenge”. “We’ve helped so many people overcome that challenge.” And of course, “Because they own this wonderful…” And, “They’re happy we got them involved,” and, “They feel that the investment, it was good,” and, “This is how we built the reputation in our company for selling more homes,” or whatever it is, “than any other company in the area,” that type of feeling, you see?
Will Barron:
Tom, I want to go a layer deeper in this. And this makes total sense and I will put all of these in the show notes to this episode, so everyone who’s driving and trying to scribble on the back of their hand on the steering wheel to jot some of these down, don’t worry, it’s going to be in the show notes to this episode. But, Tom-
Tom Hopkins:
I’m trying to give you all 10 though, you got to let me know, how many do you have now?
Will Barron:
I’ve scribbled it down. As long as I can read my own handwriting, after the show, we’ll go back, but I’ll get the 10 off you for sure so we don’t miss any out.
Tom Hopkins:
Okay.
Why You Need to Stop Using Fear-Inducing Words · [16:50]
Will Barron:
But to go layer deeper than this, do we sell in language that we have? We’re talking about the buyer here, we’re talking about the buyer has negative associations or positive associations with certain words. Do we sell in certain words with our own negative or positive connotations attached to it of, for example, when you said deal versus opportunity. Deal to me is the stereotype with the used car salesperson running over and saying, “I’ve got this on a deal. It’s only here for 24 hours. Someone else is going to pick it up tomorrow if you don’t,” and it sounds a bit sleazy, but to other people it might not. To other people, they might have really good experiences and tie positive things to it.
Will Barron:
The opportunity is a less loaded word, I think, perhaps. But in sales, do we choose vocabulary, do we choose wording that perhaps we haven’t consciously chosen to use? And is it wording that perhaps we’ve learned from our sales managers, we’ve learned from being around mentors within the company that we’re working for? What I’m getting at here is, how much of what we say is actually what we are meaning to say, and how much of it is just being regurgitated from random places in our past experience, history, and from other people?
Tom Hopkins:
Well, many of the companies that have done well with my training, the first thing they have in session number one of what we teach is we’re going to teach you 10 words that we would like you to eliminate and watch how your sales will continue increase. So I would say that the reason I chose this whole subject and that I think it’s so great is because there’s people right now, as you said, driving or listening to us that maybe weren’t aware that we have a four-letter enemy that sits down at the desk or table with everyone that we’re talking about our product with, and that four-letter word is the word “fear”. And most people who don’t invest in a product when they should, there’s some underlying fear that is holding them back. So the words, “price”, “contract”, “deal”, “buy”, “sell”, all those words, I call fear producers because they are words used in the selling language.
Tom Hopkins:
And if I met you at a party and I said, “Hey, I’m curious, what do you do, Will?” And you said, “Let me give you a hint, I work with a saw, a hammer, and nails.” You don’t need to tell me because I know you’re a carpenter, and that’s not [inaudible 00:19:24] going to make me think [inaudible 00:19:25] of you. But if I meet you to party and I go, “What do you do?” And I go, “I sell insurance and I’m so glad we’re talking tonight, and I hope I can convince you to buy someday from me.” Well, see, right away, smacking you with fear, and you’ll run to the other side of the room to get away from me, okay?
Overcoming The Negative Perception of Salespeople · [19:40]
Will Barron:
And is this something that is integrally loaded within being a salesperson? Is this something that no matter how good of a salesperson you are, no matter how much the industry shifts from one stereotype and hopefully over time it shifts to what we focus on, which is the B2B, the complex sale, the sales professional, is this always going to be… If your title’s a salesperson, is this something that we’re always going to have to negate and battle against?
Tom Hopkins:
I think it will continue the way it has been. I feel that there’s a lot of people out there that are a little dubious, afraid of the field of selling. And the sad part about it is our free enterprise capitalistic country is built on companies making a profit, and that profit is normally generated because someone, either on the phone or in person, sold something to someone to generate the income. So selling is the foundation of, I think, our free enterprise system. And most companies that prosper, allowing them to pay taxes, which is another interesting subject, but all of these things add up to, I think, people doing better, because they say the right words and eliminate the wrong words. And I would love our listeners to give this a try, maybe just the next buyer you’re talking with, just get them involved, don’t sell them; help them acquire; have them own it, not buy it. And just try these words, and you watch how you’ll close more sales because you’re eliminating a part of that four-letter word called fear.
How Sales Leaders Can Train Their People Against Using These Negative Words · [21:31]
Will Barron:
How do we implement this, Tom? Because I feel like there’s a product here that sits on our arm and electrocutes us every time we say something… Well, it’d be useful for me, every time I said something just stupid it electrocutes me, never mind these specific words. But if we could train it to electrocute us when we said these words, that would be the Pavlov’s dog, that would be the reminder to use the correct ones. But clearly that’s not practical. How do we implement this? Because it’s one thing to listen to a podcast like this, I think it’s another thing for the audience to take action on it.
Tom Hopkins:
Well, one thing I used to do when I was a manager and had 18 salespeople, one of the first things I did was we’d have a contest to where I would teach them the 10 wrong words and right words. Then I would say, “Now, tomorrow we’re going to have a little quiz, and whoever does the best I’m going to take to lunch. And all of you that get at least 50% of these right, I’m going to give you a little gift,” and I had them study. And when they come to my seminar, when I do my two-day programme, we have a competition where the students are competing to learn 50 words, phrases that they’re going to compete with. And we give away art, we give away gifts, and there are people that stay up all night to make sure they have the 10 right words mastered so that they can win some of the trophies.
Will Barron:
This is quite funny. This might sum how you motivate people versus how I motivate myself up here, because, clearly, you’ve got the carrot in front of them versus what I was thinking as you said that. If you’re in an office environment and you can hear each other, you could perhaps treat it like a swear jar. So every time you say one of the words, you put a dollar, pound, whatever currency you’re in, and you’re calling each other out in the office for that. I think that’d probably, as said, it’s the stick on the ass versus the carrot in front of you, which is doing the same role here. And Tom, so-
Tom Hopkins:
And you know what…
Will Barron:
Go on, sir.
Tom Hopkins:
You know what’s so funny, Will? At my two-day seminar, we used to, we don’t do it anymore, but we used to give out fake $100 bills. And they had our name on them and all that, but they looked like a $100 bill. And we’d all start the whole seminar with everybody having so many, and then the goal was to try to catch someone saying one of the 10 wrong words and they had to give you $100.
Will Barron:
Yeah, perfect.
“The last step to learning anything is actually saying that which you want to internalise.” – Tom Hopkins · [24:23]
Tom Hopkins:
And whoever won the most money got another big, nice prize. So, I mean, I’ve always tried to use competitiveness, tried to get people at the seminar to get excited about learning, and we do a lot of role play. I have found once you hear a concept… And under these 10 words I’ve written sentences using the words properly, then they get up and role play with each other so that they are hearing the right phraseology. Because there’s four steps to learn anything, and the fifth step is actually saying that which you want to internalise.
Will Barron:
Can we go a step further in all this? So we’ll have the 10 words, we’ll put them in the show notes, that’s the starting point for this for sure; clearly you’ve put a lot of thought and work into that. But if I look at me versus the language that my dad uses, I am a optimist. I will always define, share, describe… Which I guess ties into the emotion if we’re selling things, which is what we want to do. I always describe the positive elements of all this. My dad is definitely not a salesperson, will never be a salesperson because he’s very pessimistic. And it suits him fine, he’s been an entrepreneur, he’s an engineer by trade. So I guess as an engineer, you’ve got to focus on the downside, because you’ve got to hedge against that, versus as, I guess, an entrepreneur as a salesperson, you probably hedge in on the positive side of things. So numerous reasons, it makes total sense.
Using the Right Words to Fall in Love with The Art of Selling · [25:23]
Will Barron:
But if you transcribed a conversation that we both had, or if we both described something, you could probably tell whether it was me or my dad by the fact that it was positive language or there was somewhat of a pessimistic twang to it. Is this something that we need to focus on with the language that we use and the vocabulary that were using in selling in general? Is there an overarching trait, or numerous traits, we need to implement of, I guess, being positive is one of them. Is there any others that we need to think about with the words that we’re using?
“Every word you say creates feelings. If you create the wrong feelings, the emotions will be a no instead of a Yes” – Tom Hopkins · [26:20]
Tom Hopkins:
Well, I think also the words help you do another thing. It helps you fall deeper in love with the art of selling because you are really being more professional than many of the people out there. And my little game of catching people saying the 10 wrong words, they have fun with it, they stick with them. And of course, most of the managers and owners of companies who, 25, 30 years ago I trained that now own companies, they really follow the same philosophy, that every word you say creates feelings; you create the wrong feelings, the emotions will be a no instead of maybe we should do this today or take advantage of it if it’s a good opportunity or transaction for our family. So that’s kind of the feeling of it.
Powerful Words That Cultivate Trust in Sales · [26:40]
Will Barron:
Does it always come back to the no/fear? Or again, is there another layer to this of we should be using words that build trust? And I guess then when you break trust down, it’s whether there’s fear or not of the conversation of the end result. So you can always probably break it down to fear. And I think as humans, we’re somewhat wired to… Fear is the necessary emotion that we have that keeps us alive, so most things come back to fear, but can we layer this up? Sorry, Tom, could we-
“Work harder on yourself outside of your job to become a person that people like and trust and want to listen to. I found that if people like you, trust you, and then want to listen to you, not have to, but want to listen to you, you will be successful.” Tom Hopkins · [27:11]
Tom Hopkins:
And the word trust, I’m so glad you said it, because one of the first things I teach is work harder on yourself than you do on your job to become a person that people like and trust and want to listen to. I found that if people like you, trust you, and then want to, not have to, but want to listen to you… And I love what I heard you say when I was listening to some of your material, strive to be an expert advisor, and come across more like that than a salesperson. And I’ve always felt that if you are an expert advisor, they will not only like and trust you and want to listen to you, but they’ll refer people to you.
Tom Hopkins:
My last year in real estate, 96% of the people I found homes for were actually referred to me by other people, because I really tried to take good care of people, Will. I’ve tried to have a feeling of caring, of empathy for them. And I don’t care how much money you make, you got to remember back when you were starving, or craving, and trying your best to… When I got my real estate licence, I was 19 and had been a construction worker. I didn’t go to college so I was broke. So I try never to forget what it was like to be in that situation, and that’s why I’m so grateful for the wonderful life that I’ve been blessed to have for the last 40 years.
Will Barron:
It’s funny you should say that, Tom. And what is interesting to me is that clearly, without sucking up to you too much because then the conversation gets a little bit weird, you’re a legend in the sales space. The book here came from my first sales manager, he thought a lot from it and he passed it down to me and I’ve had it, and just you identifying the cover on it, it’s decades and decades old. I was born in ’86, so this book could be as old as what I am.
Will Barron:
So with all that in mind, what you just described in how you have looked after people, grown your business, grown the seminar, training, everything that you’re doing, it seems like that is what I feel sales should be like. In that, if you put the time up front, and clearly there’s a big hurdle, there’s a big push of energy it takes to do this. But when you are the expert within your vertical… And the example I always give is for me selling medical devices, which is my background. I only needed to be the expert for that particular type of medical device within the Yorkshire, where I live here in the UK, for about 40 urologists. That’s it. We’re not talking about having a million people follow you on Facebook and having a TV show, I’m not talking expert status of that. I’m talking about being a true product expert, niche industry expert within your vertical.
Benefits of Becoming a Niche Industry Expert · [29:50]
Will Barron:
When you do that, and this is why it’s so amazing that what you just said aligned up with… The whole point of the podcast is for me to push people down this direction. When you do that, you get more referrals, sales just gets easier, right? Am I right to say that? It becomes a nicer job and a nicer kind of existence 9:00 till 6:00 or whatever you’re working.
“In sales, you only need to do three things: educate them as to the benefits you’re offering, motivate them to take action and enjoy it, and then have fun with people.” Tom Hopkins · [30:16]
Tom Hopkins:
Oh, it becomes fun. And I’ve tried my best to say, “Hey, do three things with people: educate them as to the benefits you’re offering, motivate them to take action and enjoy it, and then have fun with people.”
Tom Hopkins:
Most of my clients became good friends and many of them… Every year I had a party, and the last year we had 600 people come to my home and backyard, of course, and these were people over the 30-some years of selling real estate that I’d found homes for. And I’ve always believed that if you have a long term relationship feeling with people, not just to make a sale, but to have a relationship where they like, trust, want to listen to you, and then refer people to you, that’s when you really are having fun in whatever your sales profession is.
Why You Need to Build and Prioritise Trust in Your Sales Strategy · [31:30]
Will Barron:
So this all comes from trust, I believe. How do… And we going slightly off topic here from vocabulary, but just to wrap up the show here, Tom, is there any how-to step by steps? Are there any principles? Are there anything that you want to share with the audience here to build trust, and how we prioritise that and make that the fundamental… I was going to say the fundamental essence of our selling, but that sounds total nonsense. The fundamental starting story, the foundation of our selling skills and strategy, how can we make trust at the centre of that?
Tom Hopkins:
Well, again, I think if you treat people properly, if they feel you care more about serving than selling, and if they know that you’re there for the long haul, and, here again, if they were talking to some people that said, “Hey, you got to call my friend Tom Hopkins, he helped us three years ago. He keeps in touch. He has a party for all of us every year at his home. We get letters from him, thank you notes.” Of course, I send Thanksgiving cards, but I don’t send Christmas cards because everybody sends Christmas cards. I have a Thanksgiving letter that I send all my people that just thanks them for being a valued client and letting them know how I’m looking forward to serving them, their friends, and family for many years. And that little Thanksgiving letter got me so much business over the years.
Will Barron:
Love it, I love it. And I like the way, this is how you’re a pro, Tom, of, it was something that is seemingly obvious, but you put your little twist on it of doing it for a separate date to differentiate yourself, and that’s the art of selling, right? There’s a step by step way of doing it, but the people who have huge success have that ability to just add that extra layer to it.
Tom Hopkins:
Exactly. You hit it right on the head, my friend.
Tom’s Advice to His Younger Self on How to Become Better at Selling · [33:09]
Will Barron:
Good stuff. Well, Tom, I’ve got one final question, mate. It’s something I ask everyone that comes on the show; I’m excited to hear your answer on this with your wealth of experience and years in the trenches and all the content. And this question is, if you could go back in time and speak to your younger self, what’s the one piece, and I’m sure there’s many pieces of advice you’d give him, but what’s the one piece of advice you’d give him to help him become better at selling?
Tom Hopkins:
I would try to convince myself to stay in college and end up with a degree. I went for 90 days and I quit, broke my father’s heart, and I really believe I could have still been a success and had a degree from college. So if there was one thing I might have changed, it might have been that. But other than that, I’ve had a glorious life with a wonderful family. And God has blessed me so much for working, again, in the people business, which is the business we’re in in sales, we’re in the people business, and got to give more service and better service and build a wonderful life.
Will Barron:
Perfect timing, Tom, because my brother is just about to hand in his dissertation. He’s just going through and doing all the references to finish off his degree. So I’m going to take this clip, I’m going to show it to him, and give him a kick in the ass to make sure that he gets done.
Will Barron:
With that, Tom, you’re touring the world, you’re doing new seminars, you’ve got books out there, tell us where we can find out more about you and then the best resources for the audience to follow on from this conversation.
Tom Hopkins:
Well, if they go to TomHopkins.com, and we do have a thing called the free resource page, as I mentioned, that they can get some wonderful resources at no cost. But they may see something they would like of my training, and if so, I would love that. And thank you so much for giving me a chance to let them know that, that’s very nice of you, Will.
Will Barron:
You’re rather welcome, Tom. It’s a sales podcast, mate. If you can’t share your sales tools, your resources, if you can’t do a bit of a pitch, then what podcast can you do that on? So with that, mate, I want to thank you for your time. I want to thank you for writing this book all those years ago because it had a huge impact on me, I appreciate that truly, I really do. And I want to thank you for joining us on the Salesman Podcast.
Tom Hopkins:
Thank you very much, Will, all the best.
