Advanced Selling for Dummies (ISBN - 0470174676)

387 Pages·2021·3.67 MB·English

by Ralph R.Roberts with Joe Kraynak

Advanced

Selling

FOR

DUMmIES

‰

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01_174678 ffirs.qxp 8/1/07 11:25 PM Page i

by Ralph R.Roberts with Joe Kraynak

Advanced

Selling

FOR

DUMmIES

‰

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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

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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.

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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.

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Ed Primeau (www.PrimeauProductions.com), is the founder of Primeau
Productions Inc., a full-service multimedia production company to help pro-
fessional 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 sec-
tion “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 con-
trol 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 tech-
nical errors in the manuscript, helping guide its content, and offering his own
tips and tricks and insights from the world of corporate sales.

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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
Media Development

Project Editor: Jennifer Connolly

Acquisitions Editor: Lindsay Lefevere

Copy Editor: Jennifer Connolly

Technical Editor: Jeff Lee

Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker

Editorial Supervisor: Carmen Krikorian

Editorial Assistants: Erin Calligan Mooney,
Joe Niesen, Leeann Harney

Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Heather Kolter

Layout and Graphics: Jonelle Burns,
Carl Byers, Joyce Haughey,
Alicia B. South, Julie Trippetti

Anniversary Logo Design: Richard Pacifico

Proofreaders: David Faust, Tricia Liebig

Indexer: Aptara

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

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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

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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

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