SELLING IS EASY

(Excerpt from “Secret of Selling Anything” by Harry Browne - one of the greatest books ever written on sales)

Success in salesmanship depends upon factors quite different from the common conceptions. You don’t have to be a showman, an extrovert, forceful, flamboyant, domineering, tireless, single-minded, or even energetic.

But you do have to be sensitive, alert, imaginative, honest and a good listener.

If you look at the real world, just the way it is, you can see there are certain things you’ll have to recognise to succeed. None of these things is out of your reach. Let’s summarise them:

- You must recognise that every individual is already motivated. Every prospect has a multitude of hopes, aspirations, dreams, plans, goals and ideas. Don’t try to motivate him. Instead, discover his present motivation.

- Since every individual is different, there’s no way of knowing in advance what will make this prospect buy. Your job is to discover what it is that motivates this individual, and then offer your product/service in terms dictated by that motivation. The secret of salesmanship can be summed up in the simple rule: Find this prospects’s motivation and appeal to it.

- Never present your product/service until after you have discovered what motivates the prospect. There are literally hundreds of possible motivations to which your product/service might appeal. Don’t make the mistake of trying to outguess the prospect - it isn’t necessary. Wait until you’ve found out what he’d be willing to buy before trying to sell him anything.

- To increase your chances to make the sale, follow the five-step procedure:

1. Discover the prospect’s motivation. Ask leading questions that encourage the prospect to talk about those areas of his life or business that will reveal the motivations to which you can appeal. Take an interest in all relevant problems that face the prospect. He’s telling you how to make the sale.

2. Summarise the prospect’s motivation. Sum up the material presented to you in step one. Define the problem or summarise the objective so that you understand together what must be done to achieve his goals. In effect, you are confirming the qualifications you’ll have to meet to make the sale.

3. Present your solution. Now that you know what the prospect wants, you can present your product/service as the answer to that quest. Build your presentation around those matters (and only those matters) the buyer has said are important.

4. Answer questions. Handle any reservations or objections the prospect may have; make sure he fully understands the proposal and the way it will satisfy his motives. In handling objections, don’t try to overrule the prospect’s thinking. Instead, use the listen-agree-suggest technique.

5. Close the sale. You should never find yourself locked in a life-and-death struggle with the buyer when it comes time to close the sale. If you’ve done your job properly in the first four steps, you only have to encourage him now to do what he wants to do.

- Selling is easy if you don’t try to put anything over on the prospect. Think of yourself as a representative of the buyer as well as of your company. Look for motivations that will create a mutually profitable exchange between buyer and seller. Never think of yourself as someone who tries to “talk people into things.”

- Be honest at all times. Honesty is not a self-denying virtue. It’s on of the greatest assets a salesman can have. If you’re honest at all times, you can relax completely - knowing you have nothing to cover up. And your honesty will be recognised by many prospects who will then prefer to do business with you. In addition, there is an indefinable confidence that the honest person expresses that can never be impersonated fully.

- A salesperson’s field is communication. Your success depends upon your ability to understand your prospects and prescribe solutions to their problems. But the prospect’s solutions must be presented in terms that fit his motivations (not your motivations or opinions).

Most salespeople never learn that the essence of salesmanship is a two-way communication. Your success depends as much upon your ability to HEAR and UNDERSTAND as it does upon your ability to talk.

============END OF EXCERPT==========

This is the EXACT philosophy, and almost the exact methodology/process we teach in the AUTO-CLOSER Fitness Sales System. It is timeless, tested and proven, and the results are, to many, mind-blowing. If there is just ONE skill/system/”thing” you MUST master in order to achieve your goals and dreams for 2009, it is sales. Because nothing happens until something is sold.

Please note that our office will be closed until Monday, 5th January, 2009. If you need to contact us you can do so by emailing support@fitforprofit.com.au, and if you’re a member, you can use the discussion forums.

From all of us here at FFP, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

- Ric Isaac

Hi everyone,

NOTE: This post is lengthy. But if you need or want new fitness clients fast, and you don’t want to pay anything to get them, I suggest you read it all now.

Not counting today, you’ve got 12 days til the New Year.

Let’s talk about a plan for capitalising on the unique opportunity you get in January: The fitness and weight loss resolution rush.

Your plan starts with understanding this:

Y.C.D.B.S.O.Y.A.

It stands for…

You Can’t Do Business Sitting On Your Ass

I’m not making any assumptions about your gumption. I’m not implying you’re sitting on your ass watching Simpsons re-runs and eating bon-bons all day.

I know you WORK hard. Lemme show you how to MARKET hard… and smart.

Particularly now, in this crazy economy, you have to capitalise on EVERY opportunity.

Cause the winners in this game go all-in when the chips are down. They don’t fold. And times have changed over the past few months. The chips are down. So it’s time to go all-in. Here’s how…

Get in front of people, teach them stuff, motivate and inspire them, then ask for their business. Public speaking, presenting, talking, influencing. That’s your ticket to more clients, faster.

You know that. It’s nothing earth-shattering.

How To Get The Speaking Gigs

What you may not know - what most fit-pros struggle with - is finding opportunities to present. Good opportunities, good groups with a common interest to which you can cater a specific solution that resonates with the majority and compels them to action.

Here’s how to get those sweet opportunities:

http://www.MeetUp.com

This amazing web site lists hundreds of different groups right in your town that are formed around a common topic/interest.

Start at the home page by entering your city in the upper right search box. Don’t enter a topic/interest, just your city - this will show you a listing of all groups in your area.

I entered Perth, and then clicked on the topic/interest:

Health and Support

- The Perth Social Sports Meetup (64 members)

This meetup is for people who are looking for others to join a yoga class or start a mixed netball team, indoor soccer team or just get together for some beach volley ball (and enjoy following up with some post-exercise food and beverage consumption)

Another category:

Culture & Languages

- The Perth Expat American Meetup Group (96 members)

Meet other American Expats in Perth. We hope to develop a real world community, with regular face to face meet and greets. Wining and dining around Perth, a chance to get out and see this gorgeous city.

Are you American? If so, you have an AFFINITY to this group (BIG point there, which applies to all these groups. If you are ONE OF THEM, you have almost immediate rapport.) Take them on a Boot Camp in your area, a hike in the mountains, show them the city and get them fit at the same time.

The thrust of your presentation to almost any group in this category is:

Times are tough. People are getting laid off. Jobs are harder to find. You’ve got to make yourself as desirable as possible if you want to move up in this hyper-competitive marketplace; find a great job; or just keep the one you’ve got. Exercise sharpens your look and your mind. It gives you the cofidence and the energy to compete, and win, at the highest level.

Business and Career

- The Perth Small Business Meetup Group (79 members)

Same theme as above, with a twist. For this group it’s not about getting/keeping a job, it’s about getting/keeping clients. Exercise and fitness makes you more confident, sharper looking and way more productive.

I’d go in there and offer them small group training with other business owners. Cause they always want to find more ways to network (that’s why they joined the meetup group).

Okay, I think you get the picture and I hope you found this helpful.

I also hope you didn’t take offense to my YCDBSOYA bit. I know the real ‘ballers’ (as Sean says) didn’t. Cause ballers don’t get offended, they rise up. And that’s what this email is about: challenging you to do more and be more. That’s what I’m about. That’s part of my role.

The point is, opportunity is EVERYWHERE. It’s your job to capitalise on it.

And we’re here to help you with that.

2009 in two weeks. Time. It flies.

Cheers,
Ric

P.S. Speaking of opportunity, some BIG news and BIG opportunity coming your way next week. Stay tuned.

P.P.S. If you have experience with www.MeetUp.com, we’d all love to hear about it. Post your comments to the blog by clicking the “comments” link below.

P.P.P.S. Two more public speaking resources for you (beyond MeetUp.com):

Newcomer’s Club:
http://www.newcomersclub.com

Mommie’s Network:
http://www.themommiesnetwork.org

Got a great video to share with you today.It was sent in by NPE VIP Member Coach R.B. Berry, from Dare To Be Fit Studio, in California.You may have heard me talk a couple weeks ago about Coach Berry being the KING of social proof.Well, would you like to see how Coach Berry combines social proof marketing with powerful public speaking for a 1-2 fitness marketing punch?

Watch some video of Coach making a presentation live on stage during a community wide seminar and you’ll see how it’s done, using Gold Rush.

There is some GREAT stuff you can model and use in your upcoming New Year’s marketing campaigns here.

Use it!

To your success,
Ric

P.S. With the social proof and public speaking marketing combo, Coach Berry has become a true ‘local celebrity’. And not only is his business extremely successful, but he is loved and respected by all. Coach absolutely ‘makes a difference’ in the lives others, and you’ll see how his audience reacts and responds to that in his presentation.

P.P.S. As everyone gears up for 2009, we’ve had a ton of requests for info-packs on our done-for-you area-exclusive fitness marketing tools. If you haven’t requested yours yet, then email us at:

VIP@fitforprofit.com.au