CHASE THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Kicking Ass, Taking Names, and Becoming a Dealmaker - The Philosophy and Principles of a Sales Champion Lawrence Rosenberg

Copyright © 2009 Lawrence Rosenberg ISBN 978-1-60145-753-0 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. Printed in the United States of America. BookLocker.com, Inc. 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I

FOR THOSE ABOUT TO SELL, WE SALUTE YOU!

PART ONE: CONTENDER OR PRETENDER? .................................11 1. HUNTER-KILLER............................................................................11 2. TALKING THE TALK.......................................................................14 3. WALKING THE WALK ....................................................................16 4. ARE YOU A COLD CALLING COWBOY? ......................................18 5. TELESALES VS. TELEMARKETING..............................................23 PART TWO: EVERYONE HAS A SHOT AT THE TITLE ...................25 6. DEAL PUMP ...................................................................................25 7. TALENT MULTIPLIED BY ZERO STILL EQUALS ZERO...............29 8. MIRED IN THE MINUTIAE..............................................................31 9. THE HUNGER: GREED IS GOOD .................................................34

II

THE MINDSET PART THREE: WINNER TAKES ALL ...............................................38 10. YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT ........38 11. CHASE THE CHAMPIONSHIP .....................................................39 12. IN ORDER TO WIN YOU HAVE TO COMPETE...........................42 13. IT’S A COMPETITION WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! ..........44 PART FOUR: LIVE BY THE SWORD ................................................47 14. SPOILING FOR A FIGHT .............................................................47 15. GET IN THE RING ........................................................................50 16. PUNCHER’S CHANCE .................................................................53 17. THE CHIP ON YOUR SHOULDER THAT CHIPS AWAY AT YOUR LIFE ....................................................................................................56 18. CONFUSING FAILING WITH BEING A FAILURE ........................58 19. ZERO TO HERO...........................................................................60

III

KICKING ASS AND TAKING NAMES: HOW TO CRUSH THE COMPETITION

PART FIVE: PREPARE FOR BATTLE ..............................................63 20. SHOW ME THE SALES PROCESS .............................................63 21. THE APPRENTICE .......................................................................67 22. TRAINING TO GET INTO SHAPE FOR THE BIG FIGHT.............73 23. BEGIN TO WIN.............................................................................79 PART SIX: THE ART OF WAR ..........................................................82 24. FIRST ONE IN, LAST ONE OUT ..................................................82 25. PSYWAR ......................................................................................85 26. OUT-RESEARCH THEM ..............................................................88 27. OUT-CALL THEM .........................................................................94 28. OUT-PITCH THEM .......................................................................99 29. THE ROAD TO NOWHERE: CONFUSING ACTIVITY WITH ACHIEVEMENT ................................................................................103 30. A (RECORDED) WORD TO THE WISE .....................................105 31. BECOME A SALES FLOOR CELEBRITY!..................................108 PART SEVEN: BRINGING VISION TO VISIONARIES ....................112 32. PITCH THE DECISION-MAKER .................................................112 33. DECISION-MAKER OR DECISION-FAKER? .............................114 34. PEOPLE DO NOT BUY LOGICALLY, THEY BUY EMOTIONALLY ..........................................................................................................119 35. PITCH WITH PASSION ..............................................................121 36. OUT-BELIEVE THEM: DEVELOP PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE....125

PART EIGHT: UNCOMFORTABLE ANSWERS TO UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS ...................................................128 37. OUT-CLOSE THEM ....................................................................128 38. MOVING BEYOND THE COMFORT ZONE ...............................131 39. NO...............................................................................................133 40. MAYBE .......................................................................................135 41. LOVE EM OR LEAVE EM: IS THE PROSPECT SOLD ON YOUR IDEA?................................................................................................139 42. PROCRASTINATION NATION ...................................................141 PART NINE: MOTIVATED TO TAKE ACTION - URGENCY AND OBLIGATION IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD ....................................145 43. URGENCY ..................................................................................145 44. US VS. THEM: IT’S YOU AND ME AGAINST THE WORLD ......149 45. PROSPECT OR SUSPECT? ......................................................151 46. OBLIGATION ..............................................................................153 47. THREE-STAGE OBLIGATION STRATEGY................................155 PART TEN: NEGOTIATION .............................................................160 48. CUT TO THE CHASE AND LOSE THE RACE ...........................160 49. THE PRICE IS RIGHT ................................................................163 50. PREMATURE NEGOTIATION....................................................171 51. PRE-NEGOTIATION STEPS ......................................................175 52. NEGOTIATE OR DIE ..................................................................178 53. NEGOTIATING RATE.................................................................179 54. LET’S MAKE A DEAL .................................................................181 55. DEAL OR NO DEAL....................................................................186 PART ELEVEN: DEALMAKER!.......................................................190 56. THE RIGHT TO DO WELL..........................................................190 57. OPTIMUS MAXIMUS ..................................................................192

If there be no enemy there (be) no fight. If no fight, no victory and if no victory there is no crown.

- Thomas Carlyle

2. TALKING THE TALK

I thought he was a young man of promise; but it appears he was a young man of promises - Arthur James Balfour.

In the following pages, I will divulge the values, ideals, and frame of mind that a person must be devoted to in order to crush the competition and sell their way to the top of the food chain. Be warned, the methods revealed in this publication are not intended for the weak, the lazy, or the unambitous. It takes blood, sweat, and tears to fuel my strategy for sales supremacy, and an intense passion for victory to ensure that the results envisioned on these pages come to life. Unless you are full of piss and vinegar, unless you are ready to eat napalm and spit fire, then don’t bother reading any further – just put the book down in a gingerly fashion and scamper back to your hamster wheel! An uncommitted soul who is interested in nothing more than a curious, casual read would be a disaster for me and for the rest of the sales profession because this book’s aggressive ideology will empower even half-steppers and time-wasters with a belief that they too may have a shot at the title. They don’t. It is said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, so be wary of a slapdash, half-hearted read through the powerful and urgent passages of this book, which is bound to provoke much derring-do from contenders and pretenders alike. Along with invaluable instruction, the pages that follow are peppered with jabs, jibes, insidious dares, and incitements to action which will not only provoke the starry-eyed dreamers in search of a better life, but also the useless wannabes. Although the latter will acquire just enough knowledge from the first two-thirds of this book to ace

their next job interview, being devoid of even a modicum of true perseverance, they will never make it much further than the front door.

3. WALKING THE WALK

Let us do or die - Robert Burns.

What I need, and what the sales profession needs, are courageous and devoted competitors who are willing to follow that old Spartan battle code, that do-or-die mantra, that the beloved of a famed Greek fighter sang as her man was heralded into combat: “Come back with your shield or on it!” In order to staff my team with modern-day business warriors and sales floor superheroes, I endeavor to acquire pumped-up and eager candidates with the guts and grit to get up off the floor when life knocks them down. I seek up-and-comers with the inner strength and humility to enter my squared-circle as a keen student willing to learn or re-learn a number of the business world’s toughest lessons. For contenders who are intent on mastering my sales methodology and “winner take all” approach, it is execution, not promises that will make or break your future with my firm or any sales driven organization for that matter. In my seemingly never-ending quest to recruit hungry, aggressive young Turks (in spirit, not age), I have conducted interviews with thousands of inspired candidates. During these meetings, the only thing that interests me is discovering whether the aspirant has what it takes for me to train them, not simply to survive a career in sales, but to join the ranks of the elite, to become a dealmaker and a sales champion! It has proved to be a very challenging search. While almost anyone is capable of cold selling their way to extraordinary riches and astonishing levels of success, very few are willing to take on the work ethic involved, or to practice consistently the stunningly

simple yet often uncomfortable methods that I guarantee will achieve this. I meet a lot of candidates who can talk a good game, but when the bell sounds for the first round, those who actually walk the walk are as rare as rocking-horse sh*t. Although the strategy outlined in this book will, if followed, completely ensure your success, it may be that, when push comes to shove, you turn out to be just as reluctant to as the next guy to pull the trigger and take action. You may discover that you are not as hungry for the bright lights and big city paychecks as you think. Contrary to the many times that you have told yourself and everyone else how eager you are to become a heavy-hitter and earn big money, you may be loathe to devote the time and dedication necessary to fulfill that ambition. Perhaps you will choose the path of least resistance and look for shortcuts, ignoring the arduous but definitive steps that promise victory; perhaps you will look to reinvent the wheel. As often as you may broadcast your woes to the world and declare a longing for a better life, you might wake up and find that you are simply incapable of committing yourself to the standards and the rigorous plan of attack that I suggest to hoist yourself from the muck and mire and grab the brass ring. Whoever wishes to realize the extraordinary bounty that a devotion to my philosophy promises must be prepared to tread the path of most resistance and be willing to adopt a win-at-any-and-all-costs frame of mind. Will you endure? Will you walk the walk?

9. THE HUNGER: GREED IS GOOD

Wealth may be an excellent thing, for it means power, and it means leisure, it means liberty - James Russell Lowell.

It is certain that you haven’t decided to enter the knock-down, drag-out profession of cold selling because you are an altruist or a tree-hugging do-gooder bent on saving the world. Bleeding hearts join Greenpeace if they want to rescue the planet; they do not become professional closers. Let’s not kid ourselves: there is just one reason why you have decided to put your balls on the table and enter the gun slinging world of sales where you eat what you kill. Your sole motivation, the one that propels you to forego a safe career, a secure future, and a steady salary, is money - lots of it! You want to get paid, and paid big! There is simply no other valid reason for stepping into the ring and going through the inevitable ass-kicking you are destined to receive, as well as the frustration and rejection you are sure to encounter, as you attempt to become a dealmaker. The job had damn well better pay off if you are going to endure the rough and tumble education and rollercoaster lifestyle that you will experience as you learn to master our trade. Take pride in your hunger for the good life and your ambition to crack the ranks of the world’s top earners. This is what separates you from the pack of hypocrites and fools who claim that money and/or winning aren’t everything – the same underachievers who never have a pot to piss in. When it comes to a career in sales, the question is not one of for love or money, it is: how do you convert your fascination with the

all-mighty dollar into astonishingly large commission checks? Just how, in fact, do you earn big money in sales? How do you achieve the kind of income that allows you to celebrate a good month by affording the lease on a new Porsche, buying a gold Rolex, or spending a few weeks in the finest Caribbean resort? (By the way, if the job you are in or chasing doesn’t offer this kind of uncapped earning potential, then it had better be because you are just getting your feet wet and looking to gain some experience from your first sales role; otherwise, don’t even bother going for the interview or quit that going nowhere job right now and hunt down the bigger, better deal. As mentioned above, selling for a living is just too damn hard to receive little or no money for your toil.) So, how do you make your time in the ring pay off? Whether you are an old pro selling private planes to the rich and famous, or a wet-behind-the-ears rookie telemarketing mobile phones to Jane and Joe public, how do you break through and make the damn thing sing your tune? Well, as honorable as your aspiration to attain wealth and prosperity may be, and as powerful a motivator as the need for money certainly is, as much as I applaud its pursuit and promote its virtue, there is one objective that is even more significant. In fact, if you are ever to attain the riches you so righteously seek, then we are going to have to direct all of your concentration and effort on what turns out to be a far more essential and life-altering ambition.

10. YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT

Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can? – Sun Tzu.

I would like to share with you my “higher-purpose,” the moral value that is at the very heart of my way of thinking and approach, the core of my sales philosophy. It is a concept that is so awe inspiring, a way of life so powerful at producing results, that should you strive to attain its standard, then everything will become possible and nothing will stand in your way. If you commit your struggle in life to this one principle above all others, then you will not only consistently generate as much income as possible from your sales career, but you will also achieve the highly coveted twin pillars of success; respect and power. The palace doors will open, you will be revered. If you want to have everything you desire, and in most cases way more than you ever expected, you must …

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