Love him or hate him (over here in the UK we have less passion either way) Barack Obama knows how to sell ideas, inspiration and stories.
Here are his top 5 rules for sales success –
1) Always be moving your prospects
Every time you speak to a prospect there should be one reason and one reason only that you’re taking the time and the mental energy to communicate with them – to move them further down your sales funnel.
No “happy birthday” or “did you have a nice holiday” calls.
They’re for amateurs.
“That is why we fight — in hopes of a day when we no longer need to.” – Barack Obama
There should always be a clear outcome that you’re attempting to achieve from each contact point.
This intent closes deals as people naturally like to be lead.
2) Don’t get complacent
You need to be constantly hustling.
As soon as you stop for even a second, you’re moving backwards, your competition is catching you and they’re more than happy to take your customers.
You also need to be constantly evolving.
The simplest way to do this is to subscribe to the Salesman Podcast on iTunes and listen to it in the car each morning.
3) Understand that it takes time and effort
Nothing in life comes easy. Succeeding in sales is no exception.
It’s very rare that a huge deal falls into your lap without you actively hunting it down and closing it.
Therefore it’s important for salespeople who are looking to bring in big commissions to embrace the grind.
“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.” – Barack Obama
Making X cold calls EVERY morning, following up with every email before you close your laptop at night. These are the traits that separate the salespeople who have long term success verses the ones that work in sales for 2-3 years and then move into something easier.
I’m going to reiterate this point because it’s the one thing that has held me back the most personally in business over the past decade, embrace the grind. If it was easy, everyone would do it so there would be no value.
Be thankful it’s hard frigging work!
4) Stop making excuses
So you lost that big opportunity.
So that particular decision maker thought you were a dick.
So what!
“You can’t let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you.” ― Barack Obama
Quit whining and move forward. The progress is all that anyone remembers, not the set backs.
That customer that was rude to you today? You’ll have forgotten about it by next week.
That deal you closed after you sucked it up, apologised for something that wasn’t really your fault and took the blame? That bought you a little bit of freedom.
5) Don’t take yourself too seriously
So you lost that big opportunity.
It wasn’t anything personal so don’t beat yourself up.
“Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you unfulfilled.” ― Barack Obama
At the end of the day we’re all grinding away to provide for our families and experience our own best version of life.
For me that means I want to be driving a Nissan GTR in the future. I’ve got to close a bunch of deals to make that happen.
That is my end goal and I’m happy to be hung up on, ignored, disrespected (slightly) and stressed to make that happen.
I don’t take it seriously because I know it’s just part of the journey.
Resources
More about Barack – BarackObama.com
Sources:
https://youtu.be/L88H2HWEXrw
https://youtu.be/t6NS9unm-OQ
https://youtu.be/Qbel5MhtDq4
https://youtu.be/qMlLjFPCO4M
https://youtu.be/qVQKTPHBdVg
https://youtu.be/oRPbfrkfCdc
https://youtu.be/AjLLhWHH4Ww
