Sales As An Introvert

If you met me at a party I wouldn’t have much to say. If you sat next to me on a long flight I may not say a word to you the entire trip.I’m an introvert.

If you saw me on YouTube, Twitter, Google Hangouts, in a TV interview or at one of my sales seminars you would never know it has never been easy for me to start a conversation with people I don’t know. After college I was terrified to go on a job interview, until I realized employers weren’t going to come to my house and hire me. I had been selling cars for seven years and still never got comfortable saying hello to a customer. Yet I still reached the top 1% of all the salespeople in the auto industry.

You can adapt, and be an introvert or an extrovert, depending on the situation.

If you are hosting a party you appear to become an extrovert to keep things going and keep the guests happy, but when you’re a guest at a party you appear to become an introvert. As a professional speaker and educator I become an extrovert in order to deliver information. But when I attend seminars as a guest I am much more introverted. So how do you become an extrovert in sales situations when you are naturally comfortable being an introvert?

I USE THESE 7 TIPS TO STEP OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE:

1. Get passionate. I get so excited about what I’m selling that I’m compelled to share it with the world! When you are passionate about your product, idea or service you pay less attention to how you are perceived. Instead youpay more attention to showing that excitement for what you have to offer and how it will benefit the customer!

2. Get out of your comfort zone once per day. It is very important for me to do things that make me uncomfortable. You need to be courageous and make it a point to face your fears, no matter how big or small. The single scariest thing for me was visiting my customers or prospects in person. So that is the first thing I did every day to get over my fear, which instilled me with courage, belief in myself andchanged my focus from limitations to possibilities.

3. Say hello to everyone you pass. I refuse to walk past any person without acknowledging them. I force myself to look everyone in the eyes and say hello. This is like exercising, it builds a muscle that enables me to decide at will when I want to be extroverted, whether I’m on a sales call or any other situation.

4. Go outside. Literally step out of your comfort zone by leaving your home or office often so you can socialize with people. When I move to a new city I will go to the same place over and over until I am comfortable and know everyone there. I have done this same thing with my children, bringing them to the same grocery store every morning until they are so familiar they can talk with the people working there as if they were family.

5. Help others make sales. If I go a few days without making a sale for myself I immediately offer my help to other salespeople. It’s a great way to get outside your own head, because with several failed closes it’s easy to become introverted and anxious. But by working with someone else’s prospects and having nothing to lose yourself you open up,feel more relaxed and regain your confidence. Once you score a sale for someone else, dive headfirst back into your own prospects again.

6. Be so persistent it bothers people. In life and business you won’t become successful if you never get criticized, especially in sales. You need to follow up on customers so much that they actually complain about it, and once they do you need to keep following up untilthey admire you for your persistence. When you believe in your product, company and yourself you will be willing to insist—and risk being criticized for it.

7. Keep busy. When you are constantly on the go you don’t have time to be uncomfortable or doubt yourself. If you’re busy you are always asking people for help, getting help, and talking to people because you are running from one sales meeting or event to the next—So get out and get moving!

Hope this helps.

Be great,

Grant Cardone

Source: https://grantcardone.com/blogs/grantcardone/sales-as-an-introvert-1

The REAL Wolf of Wall Street Story: Jordan Belfort

Jordan Belfort is a master of the art of influence and selling - if you haven't read his book, 'The Way of the Wolf' and you're in sales or any type of business then you're missing out!

Get it! Read it! And SELL!

How to Master Selling on the Phone

Do you have a love/hate relationship with selling? Why is that?

Selling is serving!

Someone Else’s Problem is Your Opportunity

YOU'RE JUST ONE PROBLEM AWAY FROM SUCCESS!

In this article, you'll learn: If you want to be successful, you have to talk, think, and approach situations, challenges, and PROBLEMS differently than most people.

INTRODUCTION

When I’m striving to achieve my full potential, one of the things that makes me the happiest is solving BIG problems (and I’m not just talking about my own problems)—I get more fulfillment when I solve other people’s problems.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that my goal is to be known by everyone on this planet. That’s 8 billion people! I’m not going to do that by talking about my own problems. It’s solving another person’s issue that brings me closer to my true potential.

If you want to be great, seek out other people’s problems. They are opportunities for you to shine, separate yourself from the rest, and solve their issue.

Before you can help someone, you have to open up the conversation to other people's problems. This involves asking hard questions and dealing with difficult personalities. Don’t let that stop you. Your job is to take care of it for them.

Here’s a tip: change any objection, refusal, or problem to a COMPLAINT. That’s all they really are...

Do you know what a complaint is?

Complaints are the most overlooked opportunities.

It’s a sign of interest. A customer has an unmet need. That’s where the opportunity is waiting for you. Your job is to solve that issue. Turn it into a win.

THE TRUTH ABOUT COMPLAINTS

I ask my staff to send me all the complaints that we get. Why? Because I know that complaints are a sign of interest. They are an opportunity for me to solve that person's problem with one of my products or services. Solving their issue brings me one step closer to reaching my true potential.

One of the major difference between successful and unsuccessful people is that the former look for problems to resolve, whereas the latter make every attempt to avoid them.

Next time you hear someone complaining, seek out the OPPORTUNITY. Pay attention and look to resolve that person’s issue. You should be doing this all the time. Be like a deer in the forest with ears held high, listening for the beast. Then become the beast...

SUMMARY

You will never be polished at selling your product, service, or idea if you only get a handful of opportunities. The more actions you take, the more business you’ll have. If you get good at solving problems for people, the more SUCCESS you’ll have and… You’ll solve your own problems at the same time.

Be great,

GC

P.S. Check out the LIVESTREAM and Official Recording of 10XGrowthCon Feb. 22-25th. Deal ends at the current price this week, so get in now!

Grant Cardone is a New York Times bestselling author, the #1 sales trainer in the world, and an internationally renowned speaker on leadership, real estate investing, entrepreneurship, social media, and finance. His 5 privately held companies have annual revenues exceeding $100 million. Forbes named Mr. Cardone #1 of the "25 Marketing Influencers to Watch in 2017". Grant’s straight-shooting viewpoints on the economy, the middle class, and business have made him a valuable resource for media seeking commentary and insights on real topics that matter. He regularly appears on Fox News, Fox Business, CNBC, and MSNBC, and writes for Forbes, Success Magazine, Business Insider, Entrepreneur.com, and the Huffington Post. He urges his followers and clients to make success their duty, responsibility, and obligation. He currently resides in South Florida with his wife and two daughters.

Source: https://grantcardone.com/blogs/grantcardone/someone-else-s-problem-is-your-opportunity

Think You're Not a Salesperson? Think Again

PART 2: EVERY SALE IS A COMMISSION!

In this article you'll learn: Commissions are the only real way to create financial security for yourself.

To Read Part 1, go HERE

INTRODUCTION

The word commission represents insecurity for a lot of people. But insecurity and commission have nothing to do with one another. You should never be insecure about your ability to produce.

The only way to keep a job is to produce. And look, you want to get paid on what you produce, right?

COMMISSION TRUTHS

Every time you get your way in life that’s a commission. The payment for getting your way made you feel good. See you had to sell someone on, "let’s go eat Chinese rather than Indian", and they say, "okay", that made you feel good, you got your way.

While most people think of money when they hear the word commission, that’s not the issue. Not all payments in life are monetary. In fact, the things that reward me the most have nothing to do with money.

Recognition for a job well done, that’s a commission.

See I find it comical when people tell me, "I could never be a salesperson, I could never work on commission", and I’m like, "your entire life is a commission."

Every moment of every day you spend happy or not happy. Those are commissions. They’re rewards for something you’re doing in your life.

NO GUARANTEED SALARY IN LIFE

I don’t care what your company tells you, we’re going to give you this much money every week, or we’re going to give you this much money every month, or this much a year. There’s no guarantee. If the company collapses, your salary goes away. The whole world is on commission, they just don’t know it.

The whole world is required to sell, to produce, to drive revenue in order to keep the company working.

FREE?

It’s been said that the best things in life are free. Look, I don’t agree. I know that it’s a nice little saying, but the truth is the best things in life are those things that come as a result of something extra that I did, some well-done effort, some obstacle I overcame.

I overcame the obstacle, and I get rewarded with something:

• happiness
• security
• safety
• a great home
• a great family
• love
• confidence
• friends 

All of these things are commissions for something I did or for something I participated in. And the more I produce, the more I’m able to enjoy the true commissions of life.

LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE

True love is purely a commission for finding the right partner, taking care of that right partner, continuing to create with that right partner so the relationship gets better, and then keeping that thing growing.  

There's no guarantee in life that you’ll be loved. That marriage day, the ring you put on your hand, that’s not the guarantee, okay? The guarantee is the work you do afterward. First, you’ve got to persuade the person, first to take interest in you, then you have to find out what they want, and what makes them happy, then you have to produce it, and then you’ve got to keep producing it.

But somewhere along the line, you’ve got to sell that other person on the ideal that you’re the right person. All the benefits of that relationship are then commissions.

Is your relationship insecure? To the degree you don’t produce in it, it will be insecure. If you aren’t getting commissions from your relationship, look, take a look at it, you’re not giving her the right attention, or him the right attention, you’re not giving them what they want.

COMMISSIONS ARE EVERYTHING

Health isn’t a guarantee. The government might guarantee you health insurance, but they’re not promising you good health because health is a commission for taking care of yourself, taking care of your mind, what you eat, and what you smoke or don’t smoke. When a person successfully sells himself on eating right, working out, taking care of his attitude, he gets a commission. For what? Good health.

SUMMARY

All of life is a commission. Every reward you will get is a commission. Your production, your ability to produce, your ability to perform in the marketplace is where you get your security from, and commissions are the way to create financial success for yourself and your household, so don’t be scared of the idea!

Be great

GC

P.S. Want to become a master in sales and commissions? Check out my Certification Programs.

Grant Cardone is a New York Times bestselling author, the #1 sales trainer in the world, and an internationally renowned speaker on leadership, real estate investing, entrepreneurship, social media, and finance. His 5 privately held companies have annual revenues exceeding $100 million. Forbes named Mr. Cardone #1 of the "25 Marketing Influencers to Watch in 2017". Grant’s straight-shooting viewpoints on the economy, the middle class, and business have made him a valuable resource for media seeking commentary and insights on real topics that matter. He regularly appears on Fox News, Fox Business, CNBC, and MSNBC, and writes for Forbes, Success Magazine, Business Insider, Entrepreneur.com, and the Huffington Post. He urges his followers and clients to make success their duty, responsibility, and obligation. He currently resides in South Florida with his wife and two daughters.

Source: https://grantcardone.com/blogs/grantcardone/think-youre-not-a-salesperson-think-again

4 Things to Avoid When Investing in Stocks

In 2016 I churned over $1M dollars in trades on one of our retirement accounts. (a more detailed post on that is in the works) My return at the end of the year? About $2K. Wah Wah. We're you expecting a bigger number? So was I.

I don't use that strategy for all our accounts, but trying to "beat the market" I wanted to see how well I could do.

Over the years I've tried a lot of different strategies and have been affected by market psychology just like many people, but looking back after investing for 30 years, my biggest mistakes stand out. I've highlighted here, what I estimate to have cost me by biggest losses during that time. Let's get to it.

#1 Asking friends if a stock is a good or bad investment 

I had a friend who was a heavy user of Adobe products. A lifetime customer, who was intricately immersed in the features and had used their software for many years. When a recommendation to buy the stock popped up, I bounced the idea off of her, and she hedged and wouldn't commit that she thought that there was still growth available within the company. I took that as negative commentary and passed on the stock. The stock has steadily marched from about $40 to topping $170 recently. Asking a friend for a green light or red light on such an investment is the same as throwing darts at a stock chart. You can value their opinion as a customer, but don't read any more into than that.

Fix: Do you own research and trust your gut.

#2 Paying too much attention to news sources 

I often evaluate my investment sources, based on what they cost me, and my subsequent return on investment ideas that I garner from their content. Based on that formula, Barron's magazine has probably cost me in excess of $15K for the price of going too heavy on Transocean (RIG), based on a 500 word article written about the offshore drilling company in 2013. The parent company of the Deep Water Horizon rig tragedy that flooded the Gulf coast with oil for 30 days in 2009, looked good on paper. It wasn't and it proceeded to sink from $50 to below $10 over a period of 3 years. With so much noise on all the investment channels it's hard not to be influenced by the stock pick of the day.

I was a little surprised when the story broke that even Jim Cramer doesn't beat the market. Most of this is about making sure that you're balancing your true risk (see below) and researching as much about the company as possible.

Fix: Don't go too heavy on a single investment and use multiple sources to balance your decision.

#3 Watching the market too closely every day

In the past, I've tried to micromanage my investments, in buying and selling, based on overall profit or loss, in a day, week, or monthly period. Most of the time, that has resulted in what is the standard for most people that try it. I end up selling my winners too early, and holding on to my losers (and a larger percentage of the losers) for too long. If you make it to the end of this article, and you can truly come to a reconciliation of your true risk exposure, then at the end of the day, you should feel very comfortable holding your investments, no matter what happens in the market on a day to day basis. (and that doesn't always simply mean "Buy and hold" forever)

One stock that I micromanaged too closely was Fitbit (FIT). It started out like gangbusters and I felt like a genius early on, but there was so much negative sentiment about the stock, even though the company was showing a profit, that when the tide started to turn, I was over exposed. I learned my lessons on that one, but I still hold onto some shares at a risk level that I'm OK with. I do that, because I still believe in the company and I'm an avid user of their products. Based on my current investment, I'm OK if the stock moves down by 10% to 15%.

Fix: Turn the news channels off. There is very little in the way of "Breaking news" that will make a difference in your returns.

#4 Selling too soon

This last one is really the flip side of the same coin, related to the one above. I've lost so much money by selling too soon, that I should long be retired on a beach somewhere. It reminded me of a note that I had sent to my niece that addresses long term investing strategies. From Microsoft to Amazon, many people have stories that include selling too soon, and they shouldn't because it's easily unavoidable.

My most recent premature trigger pull was with Weight Watchers stock (WTW). I had entered a position 3 years ago, and added to the position as the stock fell. I garnered a windfall when Oprah purchased 10% of the company, and made a nice little profit on the bounce. While the stock came off it's highs of around $25 and returned to the low teens for a year, I had always felt the stock was worth in the neighborhood of where I originally established a position, $50. However, after the ups and downs of another year, with no traction, I decided to exit my position of my remaining 600 shares at $17. Today, the stock is at $46.

Everyone has Win/Loss stories, but the bottom line here is, that I went against my own (and my wife's) better judgement of selling too early. The stock is at $46 today, and I would have garnered an extra $18K if I had simply held the stock. Dollar cost averaging works when you sell too. So if you're exiting a position that you think might turn around, simply don't exit it 100%.

Fix: Buy what you know and understand the fundamentals. Also understand the competitive landscape.

Understanding risk

When looking at a basket of recommendations from various sources, in the past, I've sometimes tried to "cherry pick" a guess, based on a gut feel or on buzz that was in the market. Don't try this. It doesn't work. What I realized about what I was doing was that I was taking on way too much "risk". Everyone knows that investments are risky, but you really need to objectively take a look at how much exposure you have, especially across multiple investment accounts. For example if you own offshore drillers in one account, and Exxon in another account, you should consider that as an investment in oil. The more accounts that you maintain, the more difficult that can be.

What gave me a better handle on understanding risk was reading the chapter on the topic from a basic investment book. The book provides practical examples about risk, and reality. When you pick a stock and it gradually slides from $40 dollars a share to $20 dollars a share, then you've lost 50% of your original investment. HOWEVER, the thing that most people overlook is that that same stock must rise by 100% now, just for you to break even. The chances of that happening, especially over a short period of time are very small. Now, I take a much smaller initial position in any stock, and decide over time if I want to subsequently add, subtract or exit from that position.

This also let's you get a feel for management's reporting style, during quarterly earnings reports. Some of these CEO's are maddeningly frustrating with what they say, and how they report their own numbers. Getting a feel for those skills might provide you with an indication of whether you're a good fit for that company, as an investor.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that you should really focus on learning as much as you can about yourself, as an investor. That includes both strengths and weaknesses. Do all the leg work that you can, and take into account what you know to be historically accurate. History repeats itself, and that is more true in the stock market than almost any other place.

For more content about personal finance visit my blog at https://www.MyCareerReboot.com

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jim_Powell/2474166

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9816627