Change is inevitable, and if you avoid it you will feel pain in your sales career.

One thing is for certain is that the way salespeople sell today is different with the advances in technology and being able to connect with so many people so quickly and easily and in some cases even for free! Some salespeople refuse to change once they get used to something, while others with methods more modern refuse to see any use in "older" techniques that still have value.

Willingness to accept and adapt to change is how you will realize your potential.

If you stay in the same place all the time you see the same things all the time. If you want to see something new you need to go new places, meet new people, and look for opportunity beyond your comfort zone. Like Zig Ziglar used to say, "You go as far as you can see and when you get there you'll always be able to see further!" This is very true, but we tend to get stuck in our comfort zones and refuse to accept change when something new comes along and when you do this you always lose because you never get the chance to see the next horizon and go for it. Be ready for a change by continually growing into a better version of yourself every single day.  

Right now you could be a successful young salesperson reading this using modern day techniques and marketing practices second to none to reach your customer base and generate leads, etc. But I promise you at some point there will be new technology, new ideas, and new ways of doing what you're doing that someone else just like you someday will think is THE BEST way to do it. That doesn't mean what you're doing right now won't have some value in the future, and maybe it will still work best for some people, but being open to trying new things and technologies is a crucial mindset to have especially learning it early on when you're New to Sales!

There is a lot of debate between MANY high profile, high performing, Type A personalities out there in the sales world about whether or not cold calling is dead for instance. Yes, cold calling is one of those highly debated topics in sales and if you're new to selling I am sure you have heard about cold calling and the varying opinions salespeople have. Of course, it's important that you decide what you think and feel to find a way to be successful selling yourself, your product or service, and your company. If you know of a way to accomplish your goals without cold calling, good for you then go for it!

But does cold calling still play an important role in the success of many salespeople? Grant Cardone who has built 4 companies on cold calling that produce a $100 million a year or more in sales believes it's one of if not THE most important things you need to be doing. When someone like that still advocates for it then I listen and take note. Cold Calling my friends has its place in the sales process for almost all salespeople and companies. That's why big companies spend big money on cold calling. People hate cold calls yes, the stats stink and if you go by the stats then you wouldn't do it, but there's something more to it than the crummy stats and that's what made Cardone a sales and business superstar!

One tip on Cold Calling that Cardone gives is to "blanket" a market with cold calling for a few days. Make calls and focus on getting appointments for later in the week when you spend two days than calling on those leads in person. He says to even be sure to visit the prospects that hung up on you when you called! That's right because most people forget 75% or more of what they talked about the previous day and 94% of people don't remember a single cold call they received in the last 24 months! So CALL and CALL again he says, and be sure to even follow up with a visit!

Now others like the "Hardcore Closer" Ryan Stewman have figured out how to generate leads and make a ton of sales from them in the process. His way works, it's modern, and it's a change from what would be considered an "old school way" in what I described Cardone advocating. Both of these men are successful, I mean c'mon GC owns a jet! So who is right and who is wrong? I say neither is right and neither is wrong, they both just found what works for them and that's what we all need to do to be successful.

So the best advice I can give you is to be open to change when you're New to Sales and willing to learn new things every day you can. But ultimately you have to find the things which work best for you and how you are most likely to succeed consistently long term. We are all different and selling is very personal and unique, the salespeople who find a genuine sales persona and process do the best and have the most success.

Wrapping it all UP!

Remember, it is very hard to act like someone and something you're not for too long before you have a hard time keeping up with the unhappiness. You have to be yourself in sales and that will lead to you finding success on your terms. Cold Calling works, Funnels work, social media works, etc. etc. so use them all, get good at them all and maximize your efforts by doing what works for you with an attitude of acceptance towards change so that you're always in a position to grow and get better, to reach your potential.

This is a very powerful mindset to establish when you're New to Sales, but you can do it I'm rooting for you and I'm always here to help!

Did you like this blog? Are you new to sales? I want to connect with you!

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I started setting goals years ago when I first began listening to Zig Ziglar. I believe you will win by setting goals because I have, so in my latest video blog for New to Sales, I give some advice how!

Happy Selling!

Establishing your personal brand when you're New to Sales is critical if you want to have extraordinary results. Here are a few tips on how to get started! 

Building your personal brand around values focused on delivering a great customer experience is smart. Here are a few ways to establish your brand and deliver a customer experience that creates raving fans when you're

New to Sales.

Do you think about self-driving, fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) often? I'm in the car business so of course, I talk about them way more than the average American does, but who really thinks about that stuff outside of the movie theatre other than people like Professor Iyad Rahwan? After listening to his TedTalks speech on YouTube I can see that the future of Autonomous Vehicles is dependent on figuring out some ethical issues more than anything else.

It's a very interesting dilemma. 

Did you know that 40,200 people died in 2016 (first time more than 40k people have died in a single year in 10 years) due to traffic accidents, and 1.2 million people died worldwide? Neither did I until I listened to Professor Rahwan's speech. The majority of these accidents were due to human error, so let me ask you this, what if there were a way to eliminate the majority of the accidents by removing the human error with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and self-driving fully autonomous vehicles?

This is the question Professor Rahwan asks, but it's not a simple solution even though eliminating accidents caused by human error would be for the "greater good" in reality. When people were surveyed in his research he found that the people who thought a self-driving car should make choices to protect the greater good also said they would never buy a car like that. What they really wanted, he found, was a car that always kept them the passenger safe but everyone else's car should make choices for the greater good. Yeah, OK.

So what is this greater good I keep mentioning anyway?

Well think of it this way, your self-driving car malfunctions, and it happens in a populated area. Remember that you're just a passenger and the car is in control. The car's artificial intelligence (AI) is going make a decision due to the malfunction to either continue on its current path and run right into a group of people crossing the road and kill them all, or it can swerve to the left hitting one pedestrian killing him/her but coming to a stop and saving the group and you. Making a decision for the greater good would mean the one person dies in order for the car to stop and not kill many.

Make sense?

Well here's where the major dilemma is, you're in the car too and your life matters for something right? So when you're faced with your own life being in jeopardy what do you think the right choice is? Hit the group, the single pedestrian, or how about a third option. Let's say the car could swerve to the right and run smack into a building stopping the car from hitting anyone except in the crash you're guaranteed not to survive?

Different scenario now huh?

Some people as Professor Rahwan points out choose to take their own life and save all the others for the greater good. Others save themselves and take out the one pedestrian, and of course, some choose to allow the car to run its natural course and possibly kill many in the group crossing the road. Who is right and who is wrong? No one really, everyone is right in this case and there are points to be made for any of the points of view.

So what do we do? Regulators will figure out regulations and debates will take place by debaters, but ultimately I agree with those that believe the manufacturers of the vehicle technology, the artificial intelligence inside the vehicles will play a key role in all of this. Imagine an algorithm that decides how your car chooses to act in the scenarios we talked about based on how you program your vehicle's settings?

Crazy right?

Maybe someday I will be delivering a fully autonomous self-driving Nissan X038 and instead of showing my customer how to operate their navigation system or program their Homelink I will be walking them through what is mostly a personality/psychology test to help the car understand how the passenger/owner would want it to respond and react to different traffic scenarios.

My Mind is blown!

How far away are we from this being a reality? Would you want to drive a self-driving vehicle? More importantly, would you be comfortable programming a vehicle's computer to think for you in life and death scenarios inside that vehicle? I mean we have idiots all the time doing stupid things in vehicles that cost innocent lives. Think about the lunatic that "heard voices in his head" telling him to swerve his car onto the sidewalk in New York City and wipe out tens of pedestrians not long ago. 

There is definitely a lot to think about in the coming days for the future of self-driving autonomous vehicles, and that future may be closer than we think! 

If you want to have some fun with this, check out the Moral Machine and run through the scenarios and see what the data says about you, plus watch Professor Rahwan's TedTalk here!

Oh, and Please leave a comment below and Share on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google + or any of your other favorite social sites, thanks!

How are you getting your message out so customers can learn what makes you different? In today's world you have to get the word out about who you are and what you do... you have to get above all the noise that distracts your customers on a daily basis. As some would say, if you're not going to honk your own horn, what's the point in having a horn?

Customers can do business anywhere, with anyone they choose. But you and I both know the best person for them to do business with is you and your company. But why is that? What makes you different than the other 15+ salespeople on your sales floor? What makes you different than any of the other salespeople at the other dealerships selling cars just like yours?

If you can't answer those questions with confidence, and with some passion and conviction then maybe you should start right there and give these points some thought. Once you have a clear personal branding message you want to get out, you need to fully commit to it and let people know!

For me I have built my personal brand on a few key values. I work hard to offer my customers a hassle free, transparent, and professional experience each and every time.

Buying a car should be an enjoyable process, where in the end the customer drives off completely satisfied with their experience with you, the dealership, and of course with their new ride. Buying a vehicle truly doesn't have to be a dreadful experience.

So what are some things that I started doing that have helped me?

One of the best things someone new to sales can do for personal branding is establish a social media presence. I created a business page on Facebook a couple years ago to promote my personal brand to prospective customers as well as current customers. I use this page to deliver quality information to my followers, stay in contact with my customer base, help prospective customers get to know me better, and keep all customers informed of opportunities happening in real time in the dealership that might benefit them and save them time and money!

Creating and running this page has been a learning experience for me, and over time my efforts have evolved and gained momentum. I'm now seeing leads being generated more consistently from the page. I get referrals through the page, and I make sales because of the page. But, my point is that you have to start somewhere and be willing to fail, learn from the failure, and then try again as many times as you have to in order to succeed!

If you don't start and you don't take action, nothing will happen for you.

What will happen if you don't start taking action with social media is you will get left behind. Actually, some studies have shown that salespeople who use social media outsell their peers who don't by more than 78%! [source] That right there is reason enough to get on social selling!

Another great idea to establish personal branding when you are new to sales is to start a blog. I have started a simple blog and use it as a way to communicate my messages to customers. I bring a ton of added value to what I do because I create content that is useful for my customers. I am seen as a current voice in my industry, and more of an authority in my field.

For example I sell Honda Autos, so it would be smart for me to write a blog about why the All-New 5th Generation Honda CR-V is a great choice for families, it would also be an excellent way to communicate with customers who have families that are shopping for a Crossover SUV. Blogging gives you a way to reach your customers without being all about sales. This is a great way I bring value to my customers that other salespeople don't.

Another point to remember about developing a blog and posting your own content is that the content stays online working for you long after you post it. It's not just one day and done with blogging. Potential customers can come across your content weeks, months, and even years down the road as they do specific searches online that your content may rank for in the search engines. Don't underestimate the power of a blog and what it can do to drive traffic and turn readers into leads, and potential customers!

One last thing to think about if you really want to get your message out there and promote what doing business with you is all about, is Customer Reviews!

Customer reviews are absolutely huge in today's world of online browsing, researching, and shopping. Knowing how to get your customer to leave reviews and how to leverage them for personal branding is critical! Customers read reviews and many studies on this show customers can find them to be one of the biggest motivating factors to why they choose a brand, dealerships, or even a particular salesperson.

Actually, did you know that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation? [source] That's huge because we all know how strong referral business is and reviews can do this for you!

The goal here is to make sure you deliver on the experience both online and in store. Then you need to assume responsibility for getting the review you and your business deserve, as well as help the customer get a review out there on a platform that benefits you the most.

You can try telling a customer you've met for the first time how great you are to do business with, but it's more powerful when you can show them hundreds of positive reviews written by customers who have already decided to do business with you.

These stories, or reviews, will mean more than your words do... trust me on that one! Be sure to encourage your customers to tell their story in their reviews, and of course be sure to share the reviews with other customers. But you also have to make sure you stay consistent and continue getting reviews. In fact, if reviews are older than 90 days 73% of consumers say the reviews are no longer relevant to them! [source] WOW!!

So think about all the things you do, everything that makes doing business with you and your dealership better than the other guy, maybe make a list for yourself. Think about why doing business with you is different than the other guy or gal they could buy from. Then, get the word out and make people aware of it!

Use the Free social platforms available to you, get creative and create some of your own content with blogs or videos or even better both. Make sure you bring a ton of value to everything you do so you continually receive positive online reviews. If you do this, you will be giving yourself a tremendous advantage over your peers and you will experience a successful career in sales!

Feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts, and please be sure to Share!

Trust is something that people have a harder time with today than maybe ever before. There are so many people online telling their stories, selling their ideas, who do you trust? We live in a time when major news outlets are called out for being "fake news" and Donald Trump is our Commander in Chief. Can you blame us for having trust issues?

So how do you establish yourself as trustworthy and gain the loyalty of your customers? It takes some time, but there are a few tips I want to share with you that have helped me establish myself and my personal brand as a trusted resource for my customers over the years. If you are New to Sales and want to have a long career in your industry, focus on these things and you'll be certain to gain the trust of your customers, and their loyalty to you and your company.

Do what you say you'll do

Relationships are based on trust, and if you're in sales you better be all about relationships. Great salespeople do what they say they'll do and they follow through on their promises. One thing I will never do is tell a customer I will do something that I know I cannot do or that I have no control over. I only make promises I can keep, and I always make sure to follow through on those promises.

If you want to be known as a trustworthy and as someone who can be relied on you need to make good on the things you say you'll do. Don't even consider letting something slip no matter how small you may think it is. People will remember when you make a promise and don't keep it. When you do that you lose some credibility, and it's very hard to gain it back.

Customers will appreciate your high level of integrity and the fact they can rely on you to do what you say you will. This will translate into repeat and referral business which will make your sales career successful.

Don't talk out of school

One of my first professional mentors taught me this years ago. Whenever I get asked a question I truly don't know the answer to I make it a point to find the right information, I don't make something up. This has served me very well over my sales career.

Customers want to work with someone who knows their stuff, so it's very important that you educate yourself on your products and services. You should know your competition and be prepared to answer the tough questions you may get when working a deal. But there's nothing worse than a salesperson who gets asked a question they don't know the answer to and they begin talking out of school, major turnoff!

If you don't know, that's OK! Some sales trainers will make you think and feel as though it's never a good idea to tell a customer you don't know something. While I agree the customer wants to work with a knowledgeable professional, I think more than anything they want accurate, and honest information. When you don't know the answer to a question, or when someone needs help beyond your current level of expertise, handle the situation professionally and seek help.

Follow up on things

It's one thing to be a good salesperson and write lots of orders, that's what we do! However, it's another thing to live up to the customer service end of the deal after the sale. Service after the sale is crucial to building the kind of relationship you want to have with your customers, and how you are viewed by your customer base.

Are you following up your customers after the sale to ensure their satisfaction? I know from first hand experience as a customer myself that not every salesperson follows up their customers post sale. This was something I learned early on and I believe is one of the biggest factors to my success in sale.

It's one thing to tell customers you and the company you represent will take care of them, but it's another thing to live up to that. Making sure you are available for questions after the sale, service, add on sales, and just simply continuing to build the relationship through follow up turns a good salesperson into a great one. The effort involved in follow up is most definitely worth it!

Follow up goes a long way towards maintaining trust with your customers. They trusted you enough to do business with you, now it's time to show them that you do what you say. If you haven't closed the deal yet, following up shows your potential customer that you care and truly want to help them and earn their business. Again, this builds trust and separates you from the competition who hasn't thought about them since they left their last meeting.

I have always prided myself on being a trusted resource for my customers whether I was selling insurance products, furniture, or automobiles. I want to be able to look each and every one of my customers in the eyes when they come in to see me or visit my place of business and know that I have no secrets, and I did what I said I would do for each and every person that has given me the privilege of helping them.

If you want to establish a solid career in sales and get the repeat and referral business that makes good salespeople great, focus on these points and I am positive you will have success! Remember, in the end we are in the people business, and people do business with salespeople and companies they like, and Trust.

I'd love to hear what you have to say on this topic, Comment below and please Share!

In automotive sales you have to establish your personal brand, or your niche. What is it that you stand for as a salesperson, and what kind of service and experience can your customers expect when doing business with you? These are question I ask myself, helping me establish values that my personal brand is now built on.

I value Time, it's the only thing I cannot get more of in this life. So naturally I value my customer's time. This is why I pride myself on...

A Hassle Free Experience!

Let's face it, people don't want to spend hours hanging around a car dealership. This is why so much research is done ahead of time online. Today the average car shopper spends 17 hours researching vehicles, makes/models, local dealerships inventory, third party review sites and more. Then after all that research guess what? 68% of people visit an average of 2 dealerships or less, while 40% only visit ONE DEALER!Customers want the least amount of time in the dealership as possible.

Personally, I love making new car day an enjoyable one for people because it should be! Other than buying a home it's one of the largest purchases a person makes in their life, and did you know the average person buys 12 cars in their lifetime? Earn the trust and business of someone at the beginning of their young car buying career and you'll potentially have someone buying cars from you for years! Not to mention ALL THE REFERRALS!

Another thing I value highly and which my brand stands for is...

Transparency!

When I started in the car business almost 6 years ago I really lucked out starting with Darling's Auto Group. Working for such an amazing company has made the growth of my career in the automotive business possible. So many people are excited to do business with Darling's, it makes it easy for me to align my personal brand message with that of the company I represent.

One of this most important values I share with Darling's Honda-Nissan-Volvo is transparency. Our General Manager has adopted some of the best technologies in the business, and it has allowed us to sell with confidence and REAL INFORMATION!

Regardless if it's working with a customer on a value for their vehicle, or finding a new ride that will fit the budget for someone, I can operate with full disclosure. It's important to me because that's how I expect to be treated, and that's the kind of person and company I do business with.

Doing business fairly and professionally is very important to me, and a couple of the biggest values my personal brand is built on. When I read through the reviews about doing business with me from customers I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to help them.

Being a trusted resource in the car business for the people in my community is important to me, and without professionalism and fairness I can't be that.

These are just a couple of the values my personal brand is built on. A major key in all of this when trying to build your brand is to be genuine, and live up to your message. Don't put something out there that you don't believe in, and don't say you'll do things you have no control over. Establish the things you truly value and are willing to stand for, then build your personal brand on them!

Please leave a comment below, and check out my top 10 quotes for salespeople here!

As I'm sitting here having a cup of coffee and enjoying some beautiful July Maine weather, I'm reminded of something that I have noticed SO much lately when talking with salespeople. Having a conversation can be a challenge with people, especially salespeople. As a salesperson I have to be a master of professional communication, really ensuring what I say is valuable and delivered in a positive way.

In today's 140 character world people tune out quick.

I often remind myself that as human beings we like to hear the sound of our own voice, and we get very bored with listening to others talk at us... QUICKLY! As a salesperson I can get a little wordy sometimes and I like to talk, we all do. However, I always get my chance to talk navigating through the sales process. For instance, when I do my demo I get to talk while I'm relating features and benefits showing my customer that I was truly listening!

You and I as professional salespeople have to be excellent at the skill of listening, professional communication, and waiting for our turn to talk. Customers want a salesperson to actually listen to them, and personally as a buyer I've always been impressed with a salesperson who takes a few notes, or repeats back to me my HOT BUTTONS!

But most importantly I try to remember that when I'm having a conversation with someone who constantly interrupts me or tries to finish my sentences because they're so anxious to talk again, I walk away not feeling very valued. I do this to my wife sometimes and it drives her crazy, Oops!

Pro Tip: Work really hard to wait a second before taking your turn, sometimes the other person is just collecting a thought and you'll end up interrupting them.

I figure if I feel this way most of my customers do as well. Learning to make communication comfortable, professional, and not feel forced for people will go a long way towards sales success.  I believe when you genuinely care about your customers needs, you want to listen to them.

My suggestion is to slow down and remember good communication skills. Offer that to your customers and it will result in a memorable experience with you. Another benefit is that you will enjoy the sales process so much more when you find yourself listening to needs and coming from a place of service.

Working with you will feel like a breath of fresh air, because your competition is WEAK on communication!

Commit to being a better listener and professional communicator more consistently, you'll be headed straight towards more sales, and happier more satisfied customers!

Leave a comment below!!

When I started selling cars five and a half years ago there were 3 pieces of advice given to me that have helped me succeed in this business. I want to share them here in hopes that they may have a positive impact on someone else who may be New to Sales in the automotive industry. We need more professionals selling out there on car lots across America, not a bunch of untrained, unprofessional clerks giving the sales profession a bad name.

So, here's 3 pieces of advice for anyone starting a career in car sales from the veterans when I started!

Have Fun!

It's easy to be excited and have fun when you're new to sales, especially in the car business. But something happens to some salespeople after a little while and they stop having fun and start taking things TOO seriously. I mean, at the end of the day you have to remember that you're selling cars, not solving world hunger.

YES, you do a great service as an automotive sales rep for the customers you serve. However, no one is running in with a gunshot wound asking you to save their life either.  Have fun with your co-workers, have fun with your customers, and enjoy yourself!

If you stop having fun, selling cars becomes a lot harder and unenjoyable. Since I have been in the car business I have met some great people, experienced some great successes, and grown as a professional. But most importantly I have had a lot of fun!

Sell Cars!

That's right, sell cars. So what does that mean anyway? Well, I took it to mean do whatever it takes to get the knowledge and skills to be successful enough to sell a lot of cars! Besides, selling a lot of cars is fun and it's the name of the game baby!

So for me, the advice directed me towards personal development and sales training. Through those two practices, I sharpened my mindset and began setting bigger goals and pushing myself to get good enough to reach them. I remember when I first set the goal to sell 30 cars or more in a single month. I had that goal many times before and failed to hit it, but I'll never forget the month I did and how it felt to get that commission check!

So do whatever it takes to get good enough to sell a lot of cars, you owe it to yourself. Being a car salesman that doesn't sell many cars doesn't make any sense and it's no fun. Sharpen your skills, watch some videos, read a book, take a course or go to a seminar. Invest in yourself because (as cliche as it is) it's the best investment you'll ever make!

Make Money!

Listen, this is sales and in my opinion, salespeople thrive on two things ... #1 Helping People, and #2 Making Money. To me, those are the most important things in my sales career in that order. I want to help my customer solve their problem, bring a tremendous amount of value, and make money. I want to cash big commission checks!

I know a lot of people get uncomfortable talking about money, but if you're not focused on how much money you want to make, you'll be inconsistent with your results in that area. You'll have good months, great months and even some not so good months instead of consistently great months. If you want financial success in sales you need to make money a priority.

If I want to earn $120,000 a year, I need to make $10,000 a month in commission, which means I have to sell X number of cars and so on. That's where my focus needs to be. There is a lot of money to be made in the car business if you learn how to sell like a professional, this business has made a lot of rich people! But hoping for a good month isn't going to cut it. You have to set your money goals and take ACTION!

So there you have it, Have Fun, Sell Cars, and Make Money!

I'm grateful that I started my automotive career surrounded by a great group of veterans and car people. These car guys taught me a few things early on, and I believe these 3 simple pieces of advice have helped my success in the car business. If you found this helpful please Share, and feel free to comment below!