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Advanced Selling FOR ‰ DUMmIES by Ralph R. Roberts with Joe Kraynak Advanced Selling FOR ‰ DUMmIES by Ralph R. Roberts with Joe Kraynak ® Advanced Selling For Dummies Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2007933276 ISBN: 978-0-470-17467-8 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 About the Authors Ralph R. Roberts’ sales success is legendary. He has been profiled by the Associated Press, CNN, and Time magazine, and was once dubbed by Time magazine “the best selling Realtor® in America.” In addition to being one of the most successful salespeople in America, Ralph is also an experienced mentor, coach, consultant, and author. He has penned several successful books, including Flipping Houses For Dummies and Foreclosure Investing For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons), Sell It Yourself: Sell Your Home Faster and for More Money Without Using a Broker (Adams Media Corporation), Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman: America’s #1 Salesman Shows You How To Sell Anything (Collins), 52 Weeks of Sales Success: America’s #1 Salesman Shows You How To Close Every Deal! (Collins), REAL WEALTH by Investing in REAL ESTATE (Prentice Hall), and Protect Yourself from Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud (Kaplan). Although Ralph has many varied skills and interests, his true passion is selling . . . and showing other salespeople how to boost their sales and prof- its. In Advanced Selling For Dummies, Ralph reveals the practical sales tips and tricks he’s gathered over the course of his more than 30-year career and challenges you to put them to work for you. Ralph also serves as Official Spokesman for Guthy-Renker Home, a company dedicated to equipping home buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals with the tools, information, and community setting they need to achieve mutual success. Visit www.HurryHome.com and www.RealtyTracker.com to experience the exciting innovations that that Guthy-Renker Home offers now and is planning for the future. To find out more about Ralph Roberts, visit www.AboutRalph.com. Joe Kraynak is a freelance author who has written and co-authored dozens of books on topics ranging from slam poetry to computer basics. Joe teamed up with Dr. Candida Fink to write his first book in the For Dummies series, Bipolar Disorder For Dummies, where he showcased his talent for translating the complexities of a topic into plain-spoken practical advice. He then teamed up with Ralph to write the ultimate guide to flipping houses — Flipping Houses For Dummies and delivered an encore performance in Foreclosure Investing For Dummies. In Advanced Selling For Dummies, Joe and Ralph join forces once again to deliver the full-court-press approach to sales success. Dedication From Ralph: To the many salespeople, companies, and organizations I have mentored and coached who have actually had the sticktoitism to put into practice the lessons they have learned . . . and succeeded because of it. From Joe: To my brother Greg, the salesman of the family, whose talents and skills I appreciate infinitely more after working on this book. Authors’ Acknowledgements Although we wrote the book, several other talented individuals contributed to its conception, development, and perfection. We give special thanks to the following contributors, who collaborated with us on the development of chapters in their areas of expertise: Terry Wisner created the Personal Partnering Process™ to help people become more successful both personally and professionally. He shares his insights from over 30 years of sales and human performance improvement in Chapter 7. Kandra Hamric (www.KandraHamric.com), a top virtual assistant, speaks on the topic of maximizing productivity with virtual assistants, and she shows you in Chapter 13 just how to use assistants to take your business to the next level. Terry Brock (www.terrybrock.com) is a professional speaker and a colum- nist for Business Journals around the United States. In Chapter 14, Terry reveals the secret of R-Commerce — a powerful networking concept that calls for re- focusing your attention and energy on relationships—the unquantifiable factor in sales success. Richard Nacht is the founder and CEO of Blogging Systems Group (www. bloggingsystems.com), a partner in the social media consulting firm of Nacht and Chaney, and a Fellow with the Society for New Communications Research. In Chapter 17, Richard offers practical advice on how to use social media in your marketing campaigns. Michael Soon Lee (www.EthnoConnect.com), MBA, is a diversity expert who speaks around the world on selling to multicultural customers. In Chapter 19, Michael tests your Multicultural Sales Aptitude and then brings you up to speed in a hurry on how to improve sales to people from other cultures. Ed Primeau (www.PrimeauProductions.com), is the founder of Primeau Productions Inc., a full-service multimedia production company to help professional speakers and entertainers promote their talents using the power of multimedia formats. In Chapter 16, Ed reveals the tricks of the multimedia marketing trade he has picked up and perfected over the years. Dave Boufford (www.MrPositive.com), Mr. Positive, contributed the section “Revving up your mind with affirmations” in Chapter 2. In March of 1997, Dave made the leap to pursue his own dream of guiding others in developing and maintaining a positive attitude through his inspirational e-zines Positive Thoughts and Positive News. Paul Doroh, cash buy agent and foreclosure expert, is an NCAA All-American soccer player and captain of two National Championship runner-up teams, as well as a licensed coach for several nationally ranked teams. In Chapter 20, Paul reveals ways to out-compete your competitors by treating them with respect and courtesy. April Callis (www.springboard-consult.com) is a workplace issues and change management expert who has been featured in Time magazine and the New York Times. In Chapter 11, April contributed the section “Dressing for Success.” Pam Lontos (www.prpr.net), President of PR/PR, is a public relations specialist and consultant whose clients include Brian Tracy, Diane Ladd, and Ross Shafer. Pam was instrumental in guiding the content for Chapter 9. Special thanks also go to acquisitions editor Lindsay Lefevere, who chose us to author this book and guided us through the tough part of getting started. Jennifer Connolly, our project editor, deserves a loud cheer for acting as a very patient collaborator and gifted editor — shuffling chapters back and forth, shepherding the text and photos through production, making sure any technical issues were properly resolved, and serving as unofficial quality control manager. We also tip our hats to the production crew for doing such an outstanding job of transforming a loose collection of text and illustrations into such an attractive bound book. Throughout the writing of this book, we relied heavily on a knowledgeable and dedicated support staff, who provided expert advice, tips, and research, so we could deliver the most comprehensive and useful information. Lois Maljak proved invaluable not only as a resource person but also as the communications hub for the flurry of files and e-mail messages flying back and forth on a daily basis. We owe special thanks to our technical editor, Jeff Lee, for ferreting out technical errors in the manuscript, helping guide its content, and offering his own tips and tricks and insights from the world of corporate sales. Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition Services Media Development Project Coordinator: Heather Kolter Project Editor: Jennifer Connolly Layout and Graphics: Jonelle Burns, Acquisitions Editor: Lindsay Lefevere Carl Byers, Joyce Haughey, Alicia B. South, Julie Trippetti Copy Editor: Jennifer Connolly Anniversary Logo Design: Richard Pacifico Technical Editor: Jeff Lee Proofreaders: David Faust, Tricia Liebig Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker Indexer: Aptara Editorial Supervisor: Carmen Krikorian Editorial Assistants: Erin Calligan Mooney, Joe Niesen, Leeann Harney Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services Contents at a Glance Introduction .................................................................1 Part I:Mastering the Sales Success Mindset ....................9 Chapter 1: Boosting Sales with Advanced Selling ........................................................11 Chapter 2: Visualizing Yourself as a Power Seller ........................................................25 Chapter 3: Charting Your Roadmap to Sales Success..................................................43 Chapter 4: Making Selling Your Hobby and Your Habit ...............................................57 Chapter 5: Setting the Stage for an Unlimited Upside ................................................73 Part II: Pumping Up Your Sales Muscle .......................87 Chapter 6: Getting in Step with Your Customer ...........................................................89 Chapter 7: Teaming Up for Success with Personal Partnering.................................105 Chapter 8: Embracing Change as a Growth Strategy ................................................117 Chapter 9: Branding Yourself through Shameless Self-Promotion ..........................131 Chapter 10: Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone: Taking Risks................................149 Part III: Equipping Yourself with Advanced Selling Tools and Resources .......................................163 Chapter 11: Investing and Re-Investing in Your Success ..........................................165 Chapter 12: Putting the Latest Technologies to Work for You ................................179 Chapter 13: Picking the Right People to Fill the Gaps ..............................................197 Part IV: Prospecting for Sales Opportunities ..............213 Chapter 14: Harnessing People Power with R-Commerce.........................................215 Chapter 15: Prospecting for Untapped and Under-Tapped Markets ......................231 Chapter 16: Tapping the Power of the Multimedia Marketplace .............................245 Chapter 17: Exploring Opportunities in the Virtual World: Social Media ...............265 Part V: Teaming Up with Your Customers . . . and Competitors .......................................................283 Chapter 18: Focusing on Your Client’s Success..........................................................285 Chapter 19: Selling to Multicultural Customers .........................................................299 Chapter 20: Playing Nice with the Competition ........................................................315 Part VI: The Part of Tens ...........................................329 Chapter 21: Ten Power-Selling Tactics and Techniques ...........................................331 Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Break Your Sales Slump . . . or Avoid It Entirely..............337 Index .......................................................................343 Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................1 About This Book...............................................................................................1 Conventions Used in This Book .....................................................................2 What You’re Not to Read.................................................................................2 Foolish Assumptions .......................................................................................3 How This Book Is Organized...........................................................................3 Part I: Mastering the Sales Success Mindset.......................................4 Part II: Pumping Up Your Sales Muscle................................................4 Part III: Equipping Yourself with Advanced Selling Tools and Resources.....................................................................................4 Part IV: Prospecting for Sales Opportunities......................................5 Part V: Teaming Up with Your Customers . . . and Competitors ......5 Part VI: Part of Tens ...............................................................................5 Icons Used in This Book..................................................................................6 Where to Go from Here....................................................................................6 Part I: Mastering the Sales Success Mindset....................9 Chapter 1: Boosting Sales with Advanced Selling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Defining and Achieving Your Own Destiny .................................................12 Establishing a positive mindset..........................................................12 Setting stimulating goals .....................................................................13 Plotting your course ............................................................................13 Implementing your plan ......................................................................14 Weaving Advanced Selling into Your Life....................................................14 Envisioning your success ....................................................................15 Walking the walk...................................................................................15 Recruiting People Power to Fuel Your Success..........................................17 Selling Yourself: Self-Promotion ...................................................................19 Identifying your unique selling point.................................................19 Branding yourself .................................................................................20 Prospecting for Ideas and Leads..................................................................21 Unlocking the Secret of Mutual Success .....................................................21 Making your customers successful....................................................22 Making your customers’ customers successful ...............................23 Focusing your efforts on underserved clientele ..............................23 Declaring peace with your competitors ............................................23 Tapping the power of professional associations..............................24