SalesCode

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ISBN: TBC

SalesCode - Version 0.6

04 | INTRODUCTION
 Why You Should Read This Book

SalesCode What this means

Youʼll love
will help you for your sales
SalesCode if -
successfully - career -
• Youʼve had some • Learn your selling • Increase your sales
success in sales but strengths so that you performance by
you havenʼt managed can lean into them. eliminating the times
to get things to the that you get in your
elite level. • Uncover the 10% of way.
weaknesses that are
• You feel like there has giving you 90% of the • Make more money
been something issues in your sales than ever before.
holding you back from performance.
reaching your
potential.

INTRODUCTION | 05
 Contents
The 18 sales skills and personality traits required to beat quota, like clockwork, every single time.

1) Skills 2) Beliefs 3) Actions

Logical Negotiations / p. 28 Caveman Brain / p. 160 Habits / p. 292

Influence / p. 50 Become Extroverted / p. 178 Goal Setting / p. 311

Objection Handling / p. 74 Optimistic / p. 200 Assertiveness / p. 340

Sales Simplification / p. 98 Comfortable with Money / p. 222 Emotional Intelligence / p. 356

Identifying Key Accounts / p. 116 Self-Esteem / p. 244 People-Pleasing / p. 380

Storytelling / p. 138 Personal Accountability / p. 268 Bucket Productivity / p. 398

06 | INTRODUCTION
 Introduction
Welcome to SalesCode.

This book and the free SalesCode

Assessment ([Link]/Assessment)
work hand-in-hand together. They will
identify and then help you implement any of
the missing 18 sales skills and personality
traits that are required for you to smash
quota, like clockwork, every single time.

Thatʼd be pretty cool, right? Beating quota,

with style, and less effort than youʼre putting
in to miss it right now.

The crazy thing is, that reliable sales quota

attainment is entirely possible and all it takes
are a few simple changes in your daily
activity and mindset.

So letʼs get stuck in.

Complete your free SalesCode assessment

at [Link]/Assessment today.

INTRODUCTION | 07
 Input X

Variable
outcomes

$$$

Feedback loop

Recap
The first book in the series, Selling Made A. Inputs – You are in control of your C. Feedback Loops – Got rejected on a
Simple, introduced the four rules of sales. sales activities. Both in the quantity of cold call? That's immediate feedback
Letʼs quickly recap these rules before we output and the quality of their that your strategy wasn't quite right.
introduce the final rule of sales success: effectiveness. So, itʼs time to try again with a
different strategy.
Rule 1: Sales Is a Game B. Variable Outcomes – Some deals are
large, others small. Some sales come
The first rule of sales is that it is a game. All in easy as youʼre in the right place at
games have inputs, variable outcomes and the right time, others take years to
feedback loops. Sales does too. materialize.

08 | INTRODUCTION
 REALITY
BRIDGE

CURRENT FUTURE
REALITY REALITY

Rule 2: Youʼre Not Selling a The entirety of the worlds economy is built
upon people wanting to buy a better reality
Product, Youʼre Selling a for themselves.
New Reality
If you can help the buyer understand where
The second rule of sales is that youʼre not they are, the brighter future that is available
selling a product. Instead, youʼre selling the to them, and the process to get there, selling
bridge between your buyerʼs current reality becomes simple.
and their future, more desirable reality.

INTRODUCTION | 09
 A. Right B. Right
message person Easy to book
meetings
and close
deals

C. Right
timing

Rule 3: Right Message, These elements are also known as your Value • Am I in front of the person who can
Proposition, Ideal Customer Persona, and move the deal forward?
Right Person, Right Timing Trigger Event. • Has there been a trigger event big
Books the Meeting enough to get the buyer to take
If youʼre having issues in any step of the action?
To close a sale, you need to book a meeting. Selling Made Simple process, ask yourself:
To book a meeting, put the right message, in If any of these variables are broken, the sales
front of the right person, at the right time. • Am I sharing a message that the buyer process will grind to a halt.
cares about?

12 | INTRODUCTION
 Zero-sum
I win You lose game

I You You Lose/ You Non

Win/win zero-sum
win win lose lose lose game

Rule 4: Sales is a Zero-Sum better than both the competition and the Understanding the first four rules of sales
status quo to win every time. and implementing the frameworks from
Game Selling Made Simple will get you most of the
If your competition suck, then you've got it way towards your goal of sales success.
The fourth rule is that sales is a zero-sum
easy. If the status quo or the pressure to not
game. A zero-sum game is a game where
take action is strong, then it's going to be But unless you master the fifth rule of sales,
there is only one winner and many losers.
tough. you will never reach your potential.

In B2B sales you will either win the deal or

Fundamentally you are in control. If you keep You will always feel an invisible force-field of
lose it. There is no second place.
getting wrecked by your competitors, then resistance stopping you from smashing
you need to put in the work to get 1% better quota. You will feel like there is something
This is empowering because it means that
than them and you'll eat their lunch. grabbing at your ankles, pulling you back
you don't have to be the greatest seller in the
towards mediocrity, even when youʼre
world to win big. You only have to be 1%
putting in lots of effort to reach success.

INTRODUCTION | 11
 B. Tunnel to
sales success

Wonʼt fit

A. Current C. Future
you you

Rule 5: Before You Can Hit The current version of you (A) is unable to never reach your goals, if you donʼt have the
enter the tunnel of sales success (B). If you sales skills and personality traits that
Your Goals, You Have to were capable of having success, you would required to achieve those goals.
Become the Person Who is have already achieved it (and you wouldnʼt
Capable of Hitting Your be reading this book). It doesnʼt matter how hard you #hustle or
Goals how many hours you throw at it. You will self-
So, you need to upgrade your skills and sabotage. You will procrastinate. You will
become the person who is capable of hitting bump into insurmountable road blocks
Read that title again.
their goals (B) before itʼs possible to do so. whenever you get close to success.
When I first understood this rule of sales
This process of becoming the person who is You need to change who you are if you want
success, everything in my life changed
capable of hitting your goals is the most to go from average to exceptional. There is no
forever.
overlooked part of sales success. You will other way to make the leap.

10 | INTRODUCTION
Becoming the Person
Who Can Achieve Success
Now, I appreciate this is going sound a little To become capable of taking the action that
bit out there, but when you understand and leads to success, you need to understand
then implement the training that follows this three facts:
in this introduction chapter, you have a
opportunity to change your entire life. 1. There is no free will.
2. You are a myth.
There are lots of sales nerds out there who 3. You can choose who you become.
have done training, read books, and listened
to podcasts. They know what they should be
doing each day to have sales success, but
they never implement it and so never hit
quota.

INTRODUCTION | 13
 Motivations

Productive
Emotions Judgments result

“YOU”
High velocity
Point
of decision
Experiences Memories Doing dumb
stuff

Views

A. There Is No Free Will Now look, Iʼm not going to argue that from When you think youʼre consciously making
the second of your birth, everything thatʼs decisions, what is really happening is that
ever happened is out of your control. What “you” are moving forward through time and
There is no free will.
Iʼm going to show you is that the choices hitting points of decision that are in your
youʼre going to make over the next few hours, environment. When “you” hit the points of
Sounds crazy, right?
if not, the next few days, have already been decision, they bounce you off in different
predetermined. directions based on the shape that youʼre
Well, give me a few pages and Iʼll prove it to
made up of.
you. Then we can look at how you can
Think of it like this, you are a bundle of
leverage this fact to smash your quota,
experiences, emotions, views, judgments,
effortlessly, every time.
motivations, and memories and this makes
“you” a specific shape.
The first thing you must understand is that
you have absolutely no free will. Most of your
life is completely out of your control. Youʼre a
slave to cause and effect.

14 | INTRODUCTION
 Motivations

Hitting
Emotions Judgments target sales

“YOU”
High velocity
Point
of decision
Experiences Memories Self-sabotage and
missing sales target

Views

When you reach a point of decision, it can For example, if I offered you a big, juicy, ham, Feeling depressed right now?
sometimes seem random whether you get lettuce, and tomato sandwich right now, your
pinged into something productive or doing decision to accept or decline it has already Well, donʼt be. Itʼs exciting.
dumb stuff, but itʼs not random at all. Itʼs all been made.
predetermined by the shape of “you” that is Now that you know the mechanism that has
hurtling toward the decision. You already like or hate sandwiches. You been bouncing you through life, decision to
have already brought your lunch to work decision in a predictable way, you can now
The shape of “you” is made up of your entire with you or youʼre hungry as you forgot it. take control of the process.
past and history, the decision your facing as Youʼre already a meat lover or a vegan.
already been made by your previous If you rebuilt “you” into a different shape. A
experiences and choices. The point is, youʼre not consciously deciding different collection of experiences, biases,
most things, youʼre being bounced through motivations and judgments… then you can
When you hit the decision, you will react in a life, depending upon previous times youʼve nudge your automatic decision-making
specific, predictable way almost every time. been bounced through life. toward success rather than mediocrity.

And this is happening to you day-in-day-out, If we could measure enough variables, your You can rebuild yourself in such a way that
whether you realize it or not. entire existence would be almost perfectly success is the difficult direction that you
predictable. head in.

Hence, you have no free will.

INTRODUCTION | 15
 Success

No sacrifice Sacrifice made

HINT:
The more that youʼre willing to Here are a few examples: Do you see how that works?
sacrifice, the quicker you will become
the person who is capable of • If you want to smash your Even if the change youʼre trying to
achieving your goals. sales quota, you must become make is net positive, you must
more assertive. To become sacrifice something to achieve the
Imagine all the shit that youʼre more assertive, you must change.
sacrificing to become the person who sacrifice the ability to hide
achieves success as big, heavy from confrontation.
objects, being overboard from a ship.
• To beat your quota, you will
The less weight in the ship, the more have to become more
focused you become, and the faster it productive. To become more
will arrive at your destination of productive, you will have to
success. sacrifice some of your
unproductive daily activities.

16 | INTRODUCTION
B. You Are a Myth Letʼs break that down into simpler English: Shakespeare was explaining that you can be
whoever you choose to be. You get to design
the character that youʼre playing through life.
The object that is hitting the points of
“You are the story that you tell yourself
decision and flinging you towards success or
you are.” So, if you want more sales success, create
failure is completely made up.
and then become the person who
And finally, letʼs get Shakespeareʼs take on it: automatically makes the correct decisions,
You are a “myth”.
that leads you on a pathway to sales success.
You, your identity is series of stories that you
“All the worldʼs a stage, and all the men You can do this very quickly by changing the
tell yourself each day. And that is exciting.
and women merely actors. They have stories that you tell yourself each day.
Let me explain. their exits and their entrances and one
man in his time plays many parts. To
The definition of a myth is: be or not to be, that is the question...”

“A legendary story, concerning a hero,

with or without a determinable basis of
fact, that explains some practice, rite,
or phenomenon of nature.”

INTRODUCTION | 17
 Computer

Input Stories

Habitual
response

Output

C. You Can Choose Who You 3. The Computer brain then creates an If you tell yourself the story that “I hate
output, based upon the previous prospecting”, the next time there is an input
Want to Become story. If the results from this action that you must do some prospecting, your
are positive, it will reinforce the Computer Brain latches onto the story that
The stories that determine your actions are
story that leads to the original non- youʼve told yourself, and your output will
stored in your “Computer Brain”. They get
catastrophic output. likely be procrastination.
implanted in the Computer Brain in a three-
step process:
For example, you touch something hot. It See how that works?
hurts. Your Computer Brain learnt the story
1. There is a sensory input fed into
that hot stuff is painful. So, the next time you The habitual decisions that youʼre making
your brain. Like a decision that has
have an input that an object could be hot, it every day, are 100% predetermined by the
to be made.
tells your conscious brain to move away from stories that are stored in your Computer
it. Brain.
2. This information travels through
your Computer brain and the
Letʼs bring this back to sales success.
sensory input is compared to other
sensory inputs that are stored in
your Computer Brainʼs story vault.

18 | INTRODUCTION
 A) Computer B) Caveman C) Human

Input Stories Threat? Logic

Habitual Emotional Logical

response response response

Output

Now, obviously we do not run through life in Think of the three parts of your brain acting • Finally, if you can convince the Caveman
a computer-like state of automated like a network—a set of systems hooked Brain (B) to pass the data to your Human
responses to our environment. together, passing data from one to the other Brain (C), then youʼll get a logical
to determine which takes control, depending response to the input stimulus.
That is because there are two other layers to on the situation. For example:
our decision-making process. They are the Letʼs look at the three systems in a little more
Caveman Brain and the Human Brain. • If the Computer Brain (A) takes control, detail.
you get an automated, habitual
response. If the computer passes the
information to the Caveman Brain (B),
then you get an automated, emotional
response.

INTRODUCTION | 19
 Computer Caveman Human

Input Stories Threat? Logic

Habitual Emotional Logical

response response response

A) The Computer Output

Examples of The Computer:

• Automatic bodily
functions like breathing.
• Reacting to pain. The rear brain (a.k.a. The Computer) handles Your Computer Brain has no opinion of its
• Walking (once youʼve all the administrative details of keeping you own and generally, you arenʼt even aware
learned how). alive. Itʼs the autonomic functioning system when itʼs at work.
• Following deeply of your brain. It lives in the moment.
ingrained habits. You can reprogram its default responses by
Animals like insects live their lives entirely changing the stories it stores. But day-to-day,
through their Computer Brain. Theyʼre the Computer Brain is mainly out of your
programmed to do X, then Y, then die. They hands.
donʼt think about what theyʼre doing, they
just do it.

20 | INTRODUCTION
 Computer Caveman Human

Input Stories Threat? Logic

Habitual Emotional Logical

response response response
B) The Caveman
Examples of The Caveman: Output

• Desire for food or sex.

• The fight or flight
response in the face of
danger. The center brain (a.k.a. The Caveman) is a bit Itʼs where many of your wants, desires, and
• Need to fit into a social more complex than the Computer Brain. even fears stem from. It lives in the next few
group or hierarchy. moments of existence.
• More complicated wants The Caveman Brain thrives on emotion and
like consuming social instant gratification. Its processing is based Unlike the Computer Brain, when the
media or binge-watching on whether there is an immediate threat or Caveman Brain runs things, youʼre fully
TV. the opportunity for an immediate reward in aware of whatʼs happening. You “observe it”.
its presence. You feel Caveman like emotions and urges.
And when you do, thatʼs The Caveman taking
over from the final part of the 3-brain system.

INTRODUCTION | 21
 Computer Caveman Human

Input Stories Threat? Logic

Habitual Emotional Logical

response response response

C) The Human Output

Examples of The Human:

• Investing in a retirement
fund. Finally, thereʼs the frontal brain (a.k.a. The make calculated decisions. It can sacrifice a
• Exercising regularly Human). small reward now for a much larger payout
(even on the days you later. It lives in the distant past to an entirely
hate it). The Human Brain is the part of the brain that imagined future.
• Dieting. evolved last. While the rear brain drives
• Going to college to lesser life-like insects and the center brain This part of the brain knows that building a
increase your earning steers most animals, the frontal brain is sales pipeline rather than gambling at
potential. much rarer in nature. Itʼs only found in a few casinos is probably more likely to lead to
species like elephants, dolphins, and yes— financial success.
humans.
And that this financial success in sales will
The frontal brain is all about logic, planning, likely lead to a bigger, more fulfilled life
and deduction. It can predict the future, and overall.

22 | INTRODUCTION
 HINT:
Itʼs often the speed of the output that
is required that determines which
part of the 3-brain system responds
to an input:

• Instant - If youʼre walking Now

along the pavement and a car
bumps up the curb, then your Time
Computer Brain is going to fire
neurons, muscles, and deliver
the movement to get out of
the way. Human:
The distant past
• Fast - However, if youʼre the and imagined
one in the car and another future
Caveman:
vehicle pulled out on you Next few
causing you to swerve to avoid moments
it, youʼre likely to have the
Caveman Brain hurl some
verbal abuse at the other Computer:
driver. This
instant
• Slow - Finally, if youʼre a by-
stander to the near miss, your
Human Brain logically works
through the situation and
imagines how bad it could
have been.

INTRODUCTION | 23
 The Battleground in Your Brain
Now, thereʼs a problem with having all three So, you have no free will for a lot of the These sales skills and personality traits have
of these systems in your brain, trying to decisions that you make each day because come from over eight years of research and
operate simultaneously. They compete with theyʼre being made instantly by the experiments at [Link]. Over 14,000
each other. And theyʼre all fighting to take Computer Brain. And these decisions are sellers have completed our free SalesCode
what they think is the best output. based on the stories that your Computer Assessment. We tracked over 250+ different
Brain has stored within it. potential sales skills and personality traits
When the three brains compete, the result is and looked for alignment between the data
a feeling of conflict—like youʼre being pulled Iʼve also explained how the three-brain and the individuals that were consistently
in two (or three) directions all at once. system works at a high level, too. smashing quota (people taking home
$500,000-1,000,000 in commissions).
For example, have you ever: That leads us to the question…
After many evenings with a sore neck,
• Planned on doing a bunch of How Do I Take Control of hunched over a spreadsheet, we whittled
prospecting and then later on, down the potential skills and traits of success
convinced yourself that you would do
My Brain, Rebuild My Myth into the 18 featured in this book.
it tomorrow instead? and Make Sales Success My
Default State? Other than mastering the sales process
• Overate when you were on a diet and (which we cover in Selling Made Simple)
then asked yourself why you did it? Great question and that is what the rest of learning the sales skills and implementing
this book is all about. the personality traits that follow are easily
• Overreacted to something in the the most impactful shift you can make to
moment and then 5 seconds later High-performing sellers own most of the 18 your selling performance.
wondered what made you act that sales skills and personality traits that I cover
way? in this book. If you can change some of the So, itʼs time to rebuild your myth and start
stories held within your Computer Brain and becoming the person who is capable of
If so, donʼt worry. You arenʼt alone. Iʼm going then become better at bypassing your smashing your sales goals.
to show you how to manage your three-brain Caveman Brain, you can implement them,
system in this book using a proven series of too.
step-by-step frameworks.

24 | INTRODUCTION
Everything that you experience right
now, your brain is able to use in the
future to help construct another
experience. So in a sense, weʼre
always cultivating our past as a way
of controlling our future.”
Dr. Lisa Feldman, Neuroscientist, [Link] Podcast

INTRODUCTION | 25
Section 1:
Skills
 01.
Logical
Negotiations

28 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
Negotiations
Sometimes you have to give a little to get a Walter was happy to negotiate with his Inversely, when a buyer wanted all the bells
little. buyers. and whistles, Walter would dramatically
increase the pricing to match the value being
Knowing how to negotiate can be the offered.
difference between a deal closing easily or
being missed by a mile. This chapter explains how to take all of the
emotion out of the B2B negotiation process
Sam was nervous about negotiating with his so that both sides can quickly agree to a deal
buyers, so he avoided it at all costs. This led and be happy with the outcome.
to deals falling through the cracks at the last
minute.

A buyer wanted a lower price? Walter

eliminates part of the service and gets the
deal done.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 29
 Logic Emotion

A Logical Framework for Win-Win Deals

Sooner or later, every seller will need to sit theyʼre a good fit—and that approach can get So, what negotiation strategies and
down at the negotiation table. And when it you far. techniques do you need to use to ensure the
comes your time, youʼd better hope youʼve best outcome? And how do you navigate
prepared by learning the most effective But when you start dealing with bigger, more discussions diplomatically without ruffling
negotiation tactics beforehand. complex deals, a negotiation to close the sale feathers, inciting emotions, and sending
becomes likely. buyers off in a huff?
Now, maybe youʼve never had to negotiate
before. Youʼd lay out your product specs and Letʼs take a deep dive into the Logical
price points, and end-users would decide if Negotiations Framework.

30 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
Why Negotiate Logically?
In the world of B2C sales, emotion tends to A. Manipulation Doesnʼt
rule the day. When consumers are hit with a
dopamine rush, fueled by beach-side images,
Work Anymore
catchy tunes, and scantily clad models, they
Most deals donʼt get made in a single phone
become easy to influence. B2C marketers rely
call. Instead, sales cycles are getting longer
on their prospects Caveman Brains taking
over the decision-making process and buying
and longer with each passing year. HINT:
on emotion rather than logic. Buyers spend just 5% of the buyerʼs
Demand Gen Report found that sales cycles journey talking with sellers (Gartner).
were up as much as 33% in 2021 compared to The majority of their time is spent
But when it comes to the world of B2B sales,
2020. researching your product, digging
those same emotion-laden tactics tend not
to apply. At least not to the same degree. into competitors, and getting
Added to that, Gartner reports that there is stakeholder buy-in.
an average of six to ten stakeholders involved
On the one hand, B2B buyersʼ emotions
in a purchase decision. Thatʼs why during your negotiations,
arenʼt always easy to interpret. One study
from Washington University that found itʼs so important for you to offer real,
Both a longer sales cycle and purchase tangible value—not sleazy
professional negotiators detected emotions
decisions by committee mean putting the manipulation tactics.
accurately only 58% of the time. Working off
charm or pressure on a single contact isnʼt
of emotions during negotiations, then, isnʼt
going to convince the entire team that your Otherwise, youʼll waste the limited
the best strategy.
product is their solution. precious time you have with them.
But beyond that, there are a few other
important reasons why you need to ditch the
emotions while negotiating, nudge the buyer
into using their Human Brain, and take a
more measured approach.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 31
 Before internet After internet

A. Local
supplier
X. Infinite
local suppliers HINT:
B. Local A whopping 48% of salespeople said
supplier competing with low-cost competitors
was the biggest challenge to closing
deals (Richardson). Many markets are
flooded with similar alternatives to
your product, some of which may be
substantially more affordable.
B. Buyers Have More Power buyers now have plenty of options for
products similar to yours. And that puts the
Itʼs your job to pick out the
walk-away power in their hands.
It hurts to hear, I know. But in the changing differentiating points and drive them
landscape of buyer and seller relationships, home. Why should they work with
Added to that, the shifting buyerʼs journey is
buyers have most of the power. you instead of the competition? What
empowering buyers as well. Thanks to the
can you offer? With a bit of creativity
near-endless amount of content that buyers
Why? and the logical negotiation tactics to
can use to research solutions without talking
come, you should have plenty of
to a seller, buyers are more informed. That
First off, you have more competitors than unique offerings to separate yourself
means they can make clearer, more strategic
ever before. Some offer different or better from the competition.
decisions before even engaging with you.
features. While others hinge on their value
proposition on lower costs. In both cases,

32 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
C. Your Buyers Still Need • Creative Deals – Depending on your
role, you should have the latitude for
You making creative deals. Sales shouldnʼt
come down to price alone. A skilled
The changing world of B2B sales isnʼt all bad
seller may be able to negotiate flexible
news for sellers.
deals that include additional benefits
like free onboarding, two weeks of
True, the old-school negotiation strategies
cost-free consulting, or added users at HINT:
wonʼt work anymore. But that doesnʼt mean
no cost. It all comes down to weighing Only 3% of buyers trust sellers
buyers donʼt need you. There are a few things
buyer paint points vs. what you can (HubSpot). Itʼs true—we as sellers
buyers still look to sellers to provide.
afford to offer. Letʼs see a sales have to overcome a lot of skepticism.
automation tool do that.
• Solutions – While they can typically
get all the product specs and use Thatʼs why itʼs so important to go
• A Trusted Adviser – Last but not least, above and beyond simply selling to
cases they want before hopping on
a buyer doesnʼt view a skilled seller as buyers. Instead, you should focus on
the phone on the phone with a seller,
someone who just closes deals. Sellers solving their problems. Itʼll build trust
they donʼt have the expertise to know
arenʼt just a contact for when and turn that skeptic into a true
what to do with all of the conflicting
something goes wrong. Instead, they believer.
information that is out there. Your job
see skilled sellers as trusted sources of
is to assess the problems facing
information. They can help solve
buyers, decide if you offer a solution,
problems with new solutions. They
and show them how that solution
can offer invaluable insight. And they
could help.
can help buyers in more ways than
just hawking some crap in their
direction.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 33
 The Logical The Logical Negotiations Framework is the Weʼre going to document all the options that
best way to create a win-win outcome that we have to make the deal happen, find the
Negotiations everyone, both you and the buyer, can walk point at which both sides are willing to walk
away happy. away, and then build from there to get to a
Framework point of agreement where everyone is happy.

LIST START INVENT "THAT'S "IF I...

VARIABLES WITH "NO" VARIABLES FAIR" WILL YOU..."

34 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
Some of the biggest mistakes I see
salespeople make, is when it comes to
negotiation. All of a sudden they speak a bit
faster. They fidget slightly, you can tell
theyʼre nervous. Sometimes their voice goes
up an octave or a semi-octave. Thatʼs the
worst thing you can do. Itʼs absolutely
vital when it comes to negotiation and
discussing price, you maintain calm.”
Niraj Kapur, Expert Sales Trainer, [Link] Podcast

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 35
 01. List Variables
If you donʼt know the rules, you canʼt play the Itʼs important to understand the variables in But youʼre going to stay strong, let them
game. And to have a logic-driven negotiation, the negotiation and we do that by finish, and then repeat, “The way these
everyone must agree to the variables that are immediately taking control of the negotiations usually work is…”
in play before the game starts. negotiation. At the beginning of the
negotiation, you can take control by saying: Eventually, the buyer will say OK, and you
Thatʼs why the first step of the framework is can start laying out all the options that you
to work with the buyer to establish what it is “The way these negotiations usually work have to work with.
you two have to work with. is that Iʼll share all the options I have to
negotiate with and then you can share how
What do they hope to leave these things look on your side. Does that make
negotiations with? What resources do they sense?”
have to make this a fair exchange? And in the
interest of transparency, what are your The buyer might push back and start trying
available resources? to make demands. And thatʼs OK.

36 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
Communication: The And the more readily available information is
from both parties, the easier it will be to
Foundation of Any settle on a mutually beneficial outcome. HINT:
Successful Negotiation
Keep Your Cool
If the buyer thinks you are playing games,
Listing your ideal outcomes and available then they will do the same. This tip is easier said than done. But
resources is valuable because it facilitates still, itʼs so crucial that you learn to
clearer communication throughout the At that point, youʼre both trying to screw exude calm, assertive confidence.
negotiation. each other, whilst playing 4D chess and so
someone always loses. Calm confidence signals that youʼre
As youʼll see with the later steps in the coming into these negotiations from
framework, the most effective negotiation a logical, unemotional perspective.
process isnʼt a cloak and dagger deception. And it nudges your buyer to respond
Instead, a solid B2B negotiation is a in kind.
problem-solving exercise that leads to a
positive outcome for both parties.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 37
 02. Start With a “No”
In step one of the framework, itʼs very likely only when the buyer says, unequivocally, The goal here isnʼt to bully the buyer into
youʼve only identified the surface-level “no” to a variable that you know itʼs not in saying “no.” The goal is to politely test their
variables that can be used to wrap up the play. boundaries so you can say logically, “This is
negotiation in a package of value that both where you are, this is where I am.” If there is
sides are happy with. This process also forces the buyer to use some overlap, then there is room to make a
their Human Brain to think logically about deal happen.
Most buyers wonʼt tell you the full picture up what they want, rather than using their
front as theyʼve been burned by other sellers Caveman Brain to share what they feel they You can use the Selling Made Simple Closing
in the past. Additionally, the media machine should get. Framework to uncover the “no” by asking:
portrays negotiations as battles rather than
friendly exchanges and so the buyer might Thatʼs why your next move is to uncover the
still have their guard up, too. real boundaries by getting your buyer to Would it make sense to [low
refuse a deal parameter.
offer], for [high exchange in
Itʼs not until somebody says “no” that you
resources]?
understand where theyʼre willing to go. Itʼs

38 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
If the buyer says yes, then youʼve closed a
much more advantageous deal than youʼd
have probably done otherwise.
Buyer
Not the “win-win” weʼre aiming for but weʼll
take it.
NO
But most likely, theyʼll just say “no.” At which YES
point you ask the second closing question:
NO

OK, what would make sense

for you? Seller

Identifying where the buyer

Expect the buyer then to try and haggle with
will say “yes” by getting a “no”
you. This is normal, but itʼs not what weʼre
trying to achieve here.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 39
 Your Their
value value

No deal
zone
Deal
zone

The scales of negotiation value

HINT:
The Deal Zone You must handle this step tactfully. This isnʼt Think of the Future
an opportunity to bully a buyer into an
unreasonable sale. And in fact, doing so can Donʼt forget that retaining customers
Now that the buyer has given you a firm “no”
instill resentment and ruin your chances for is 5x to 25x more cost-effective than
you have the intel needed to start adding a
follow-up purchases and continued loyalty. acquiring new ones, according to the
few more variables to the deal until you tip
Harvard Business Review. The more
the scales of value into the Deal Zone.
Instead, to get your first “no”, offer just a bit reasonable you are during this step of
outside what youʼd expect them to agree to. the negotiation framework, the more
Getting this “no” out of the way allows you to
Test the limits. But avoid being insulting at all likely your buyer will be to upsell later
reference logical anchor points that you and
costs. on.
the buyer can work from. Instead of you both
saying, “I want,” you can now say:

You said “no” to [X] and so

would [Y] work for you?

40 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
If you happen to work for a business where
you donʼt need to have any repeat
customers, where you donʼt need to have
relationships with your customers, where
you donʼt need to perhaps meet that
person in another business context, then
yeah, go in and negotiate like an asshole.
Go in and try and win.”
Gavin Pressman, Media Sales, Leadership, & Organizational
Development Trainer, [Link] Podcast

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 41
 03. Invent New Variables
At this point in the negotiation, you have These creative deal options give you a lot Let the buyer coach you on exactly what they
labeled the obvious variables that both sides more freedom when it comes to maximizing want and pay attention. They might desire
have to get a deal done. You then uncovered the value of your deal. They can also serve as something that is really easy to implement
what the buyer absolutely wonʼt agree to by enticing perks that bring buyers back from like a meeting with your CFO to discuss
getting a “no” out of them. the brink of walking away. industry strategy or extended payment
terms. You donʼt know what will get them
This step is simple: invent new variables to So ask the buyer: excited about a deal unless you ask.
help the deal get made.
Allowing both sides to think a little outside of
You might have lots of leeway here. You the box at this step of the negotiation can
Is there anything else that
might be able to adjust pricing, give extra accelerate the rest of the process
you think we can add to the
consulting/training, or change up the other dramatically.
variables that have been outlined so far in
conversation here, that we
the negotiation. If you do have that power, havenʼt discussed already
you can use those adjustments or added to make this process quick
benefits to sweeten the pot for your buyer. and simple?

42 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
04. Get to a “Thatʼs Fair”
So far we have been laying the groundwork And for the buyer to win, you must lose. As weʼre negotiating logically and weʼve
for the negotiation. Now itʼs time to take already uncovered the data on what the
some action. There is one thing however that Instead, the goal of a negotiation is to make buyer will and will not accept, we can be very
you must keep in mind… sure everyone involved agrees that the literal in this step of the framework.
outcome is fair. Itʼs to find options with
The goal of a negotiation is not (I repeat, is enough overlap that everyone will leave Weʼre going to ask the buyer:
not) to win. satisfied.

For you to win, the buyer must lose. You said you couldnʼt do [X], I
canʼt do [Y]. Is it fair to do [Z]?

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 43
 Your Their
value value
No deal
zone
Deal
zone

The scales of negotiation value

We know where both sidesʼ boundaries are Hopefully, the buyer agrees that the deal is This question will either lead to the
and weʼre pitching an exchange of value that fair at this point. If not, ask them: successful conclusion of the negotiation or
brings us into the Deal Zone. Remember, end it. If the buyer doesnʼt have an
youʼre not trying to get the buyer to agree alternative method of putting the pieces
that theyʼve won. We want the buyer to agree OK, using the variables that together in a way that they think is fair for
that the deal is fair. weʼve agreed on already. What everyone involved, then itʼs time to walk
away from the deal.
do you believe is fair?

44 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
 Fair exchange of value
HINT:
Establish a BATNA
Though you certainly donʼt want
On-going relationship

You lose, You win, anyone to walk away from a deal,

they win they win sometimes itʼs unavoidable. As such,
youʼll want to be sure you have a
BATNA ready.

BATNA stands for the Best Alternative

You lose, You win, To a Negotiated Agreement. And with
they lose they lose it, youʼll be establishing two things:

1. A plan of attack should a large

deal falls through.
2. A talking point if your buyer
threatens you with walking
away from the deal.
The Zero-Sum Fallacy Zero-sum games often lead to buyer
resentment. If they walk away feeling like Both will increase your level of buying
theyʼve been screwed, then theyʼre not likely power but more importantly it will
Weʼve hit on this point already quite a bit, but
to call you back up when itʼs time to renew. give you an extra layer of confidence
itʼs worth reiterating here. Negotiations are
not meant to be a game of winner and loser— as you go through the negotiation
And since return buyers are massively more process. Even if the BATNA never
also called zero-sum games. In fact, these
valuable than new buyers, avoiding zero-sum seeʼs the light of day, youʼll know that
types of negotiation strategies are often bad
and investing in win-win outcomes is a smart youʼve something to fall back on in
for business.
move. case things go to shit.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 45
 If you donʼt have a way of walking
away, if you donʼt have a thought
of what youʼre going to do if you
donʼt get a deal, then youʼre in
trouble.”
Gavin Pressman, Media Sales, Leadership,
& Organizational Development Trainer,
[Link] Podcast

46 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
05. Solidify the Commitment
Now that the buyer agrees that the terms of All you have to do is ask the question: This ask is essential in establishing
the negotiation are “fair”, your job is done, commitment, pushing the deal forward, and
right? ensuring your buyer doesnʼt bail at the last
OK, you agree that [A] for [B] is minute.
Wrong. fair. If I now organize [X], will
Once youʼve got the commitment, all thatʼs
you [Y]?
Many sellers negotiate with a potential buyer, left is following up until the contracts are
walk away thinking the deal is done, and signed.
then find out three weeks later that the buyer
is pulling out. It could sound something like this: Easy peasy.

Thatʼs why we need to nail the “If I [X], you

will [Y]” confirmation at the end of the logical OK, you agree that you need
negotiation process.
15 seats for the Selling Made
Simple Academy, and we can
do that for $X per seat. If I get
the contract over you to in the
next 30 minutes, will you sign
the contract before lunch?

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 47
 Sales cycle length
HINT:
Negotiation Commitment Counts
No commitment
Once they agree to our commitment
Deal closed request, it cements everything else
that weʼve done until this point, and
it makes it very painful for them to
want to change their minds after the
Importance of Standing Hold your ground. Here weʼre leveraging the fact.
influence principle of “commitment” with the
Your Ground buyer that youʼll see in the next framework. Most people donʼt want to be seen as
liars. They donʼt want the weight of a
After you drop your commitment statement,
This step alone will dramatically reduce your negative self-image. If they break
be sure to stand your ground.
sales cycle lengths when winning complex their promise, itʼs a hit to their view of
B2B deals. themselves as an honest
Make the ask and shut up. Wait in silence
businessperson. And thatʼs why once
until you get a response from the buyer.
they seal their commitment, theyʼre
much less likely to double back on it.
Donʼt help them along. Donʼt start
negotiating against yourself by saying, “But
after lunch is OK for the contracts too…” if
they donʼt reply immediately!

48 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
Wrapping Up
Old-school negotiation tactics donʼt work Because when you do, youʼll boost your
anymore. And when you or the buyer bring chances at a closed deal, improving the deal
emotions to the negotiating table, youʼre outcomes, and creating long-lasting rapport
more likely to end up with a power struggle, with buyers.
awkwardness, and a general mess.
No more negotiation-day nerves. No more
Thatʼs why itʼs vital to keep your negotiation tanked deals, thanks to unchecked
strategies grounded in pure, untarnished outbursts. And no more wishing you knew
logic. how to handle negotiations like a pro.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 49
 02.
Influence

50 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
Instant Influence
Sometimes good people make bad decisions. Sam could see that Harry was losing money Sam influenced Harry into getting signed up.
when his product could fix Harryʼs problem. Harry immediately received value from the
Thatʼs itʼs necessary to influence people to product and thanked Sam for getting him
get them back on the right track. over the line.

Harry knew he needed Samʼs solution but This chapter explains how to nudge your
something was holding him back from buyers in the right direction when they get
buying it. stuck or are sidetracked by other priorities.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 51
 Influence Gets a Bad Rap
Sales influence techniques get a bad rap. So if you want to cut through the crap of But ultimately, some decisions get made
persuasion psychology and find out what based on the “feeling” the buyer has about
With the right mastery, certain sales gurus really works in sales, letʼs jump in. the deal. Here we need to satisfy the
claim, they can be used to hypnotize emotional needs of the Caveman Brain if
prospects into buying practically anything. Influence: Because Facts weʼre to get the deal over the line.
Much like a golden retriever obeying all the
commands that are shouted across a field at
Donʼt Sell As the old saying goes:
it.
No matter how revolutionary your product is
But sales influence isnʼt for ripping off marks or how much of a game-changer your service
and suckers. has become, if your conversations with “People buy on emotion and
buyers only focus on the numbers, youʼre justify with logic.”
Instead, theyʼre for boosting your rapport, letting sales slip right through your fingers. Every Sales Trainer Ever
demonstrating your expertise, and quickly
building trust with buyers. And that puts you True, logic is a strong sales motivator,
in a better place to truly serve your buyersʼ especially in the B2B space. And, as we
needs. covered in the previous chapter, when it
comes down to negotiations, logic is the only
thing to focus on.

52 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
But why? Why are we so compelled by our So donʼt spend all your time on the numbers. It isnʼt surprising, then, that the opinions of
guts when the numbers—the real logic Because deep down, weʼre cavemen driven others and the society we live in factor
behind a purchase—are staring us right in the by our emotions. heavily into our decision-making. Learning
face? from the experience of our peers is
B. We Are Social advantageous. And the more our associates
There are three reasons why people buy with trust something (product, service, whatever),
feelings over logic: Whether you believe you are a people person the more likely we are to trust it too.
or not—and if youʼre not the chapter on
A. We Are Emotional extrovertedness will change that in an Itʼs why the influence techniques that focus
instant—the truth is that humans are on social proof (more on those later) are so
The majority of purchasing decisions (95%) incredibly social. More social than any other powerful in sales.
happen in the subconscious, Caveman Brain, animal. Heck, we even have a specific area of
according to research from Harvard Professor our brain devoted entirely to recognizing the
Gerald Zaltman. While we like to believe we faces of others.
are driven by logic, our emotions tend to play
a much larger role than we think. It is a part of our complex social behaviors
that have led us to create culturally rich and
If you suffer from an inability to keep track of distinctive societies all around the globe. And
your own emotions in charged business itʼs these behaviors that allow us to thrive as
situations, then I have a framework that will a species when the odds were stacked
help you out in the Emotional Intelligence against us.
chapter later in the book.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 53
 Risk averse
(no trust)

Aversion
Risk accepting
(has trust)

Risk

C. We Are Risk-Averse Yikes. That one stings a bit, doesnʼt it? Thatʼs because as humans, we are hardwired
to be risk-averse. When we lose something, it
A whopping 97% of buyers immediately hurts deeply. It hurts more than not gaining
distrust what youʼre saying based on your something. And as a result, weʼre less likely
“Only a mere 3% of people profession alone. to risk what we have and are more likely to
consider salespeople to be maintain the status quo.
trustworthy.” So even if your buyerʼs already seen all those
HubSpot. amazing numbers and product specs, theyʼre Facts matter. But if you can get a buyer to
still going to hesitate. Why? Well, theyʼre truly trust you, then you can get over that
probably wondering, “What is this person risk-averse hump.
after from me?”

54 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
The zone of peak performance is not a
crowded place. And so you have to want
to get there, but there can be a high price
of entry, because it takes commitment
and dedication and sacrifice and trust
and an element of risk.”
Derek Daly, F1 and Indy 500 Driver, [Link] Podcast

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 55
 Okay, okay, so weʼre not as logical as we We will start to influence the stories that the
think. And with the right influence buyer has in their Computer Brain so they
Influence techniques, we can tap into the less
quantitative side of our buyerʼs brains, earn
favor our product.

Framework trust, and nudge them closer to a purchase. Weʼll do this by implementing the Influence
Framework.
Now, the question is how?

COMMITMENT PROOF RECIPROCITY SCARCITY AUTHORITY

56 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
01. Commitment
Once we agree that a product works, weʼre This bias towards commitment is how our theyʼre much more likely to keep on agreeing
more likely to continue to agree over time. brains reduce their daily cognitive load. By with you throughout the rest of the buying
choosing the path of least resistance, we process.
Hereʼs why. conserve our energy so we can spend it more
efficiently.
We donʼt like to change our minds. Back in
our tribal days, if we made a decision that And believe it or not, the same principle
didnʼt harm us (or better yet, benefited us), applies to sales. If you can get your buyer to
we werenʼt going to question making that agree with you (even on small matters), then
decision next time. Weʼd do it again.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 57
 Meeting Contract
booked signed

Agreement Deal
Meeting you might Contract
agreed in
booked be able signed
principle
to help

Micro-closing to program the buyerʼs Computer Brain

Micro-Closes: The Key to Each time the buyer says yes to a micro-
close, they positively reinforce the story in
Commitment their Computer Brain that they should
automatically agree to our requests as it has
The best way to leverage the influence previously led to good outcomes.
technique of commitment is to use “micro-
closes” throughout the sales process.

I covered micro-closes in the first book,

Selling Made Simple.

58 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
 HINT:
You should be micro-closing the buyer in Closing the budget:
every conversation, at all stages of the sales Aim for commitment, not
cycle. Micro-closes look like this: compliance.
If you have a budget of $X,
Locking the buyer into an agreement on The beauty of micro-closing is it
does it make sense to look reinforces that the buyer/seller
your goals: at Y? relationship is built on mutual
exchange.
Does it make sense to move
No one needs to strong-arm the other
forward with this if you can Ultimately, each yes you earn makes it more
party. As a result, buyers donʼt feel
achieve XYZ? likely the next time you micro-close the
like theyʼre being taken advantage of,
buyer, they will say yes again.
boosting rapport, and increasing the
chances of closing.
Getting the buying group together for a
These frequent micro-closes
meeting:
continually remind your buyer theyʼre
still in control. If somethingʼs holding
them back from moving forward, they
Does it make sense to get will say “no” to your micro-close.
Barry and Jenny involved in Then you have the opportunity to
the next meeting? address that objection and deal with
it in real-time (which we cover in the
next chapter).

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 59
 In investigations and in sales, we are
striving for a commitment, not compliance.
Compliance is essentially obeying an order.
Itʼs very short-term, it breeds resentment.
Commitment is achieved when people have
the opportunity to at least take some idea
ownership for the process, and the linchpin
behind all of this is encouraging people to
protect their self-images throughout the
entire process.”
Michael Reddington, Certified Forensic Interviewer
& President of InQuasive, Inc., [Link] Podcast

60 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
02. Social Proof
Buyers have a hard time trusting sellers right Social proof is any proof that shows you and When you pepper in social proof throughout
off the bat. Remember, just 3% of buyers your product are credible. This could include: your interactions with buyers, you subtly
consider salespeople to be trustworthy. This shift them closer to trusting you and have an
is because most buyers have been burned by • Testimonials opportunity to rebuild the stories that the
salespeople in the past. Therefore, they have • Customer ratings buyer has about you in their Computer Brain.
that story stuck in their Computer Brain. • Case studies
• Social media clout (likes, shares,
We can debate the merits of this distrust, but followers, etc.)
the fact remains—youʼve got to do some • Influencer endorsements
serious trust-building before you can close. • Credentials
And thatʼs where social proof comes in. • Certifications

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 61
 HINT:
Here are a few ways to turbo-charge same desires as your potential
B2B Social Proof your social proof efforts: buyer received the value
youʼre pitching.
1. Use Faces – Include the faces
You canʼt just throw testimonial after
of previous buyers in 4. Fit the Type – Each social
testimonial at a B2B buyer and continue to
testimonials, quotes, and proof type has optimal
see results. Thereʼs the law of diminishing
other forms of social proof. It formats. Use the most
returns to consider here. There is also the risk
adds credibility and helps impactful. For instance,
of coming across like a late-night TV
buyers connect emotionally written testimonials shouldnʼt
advertisement which is off-putting.
with the story being told. be six paragraphs long. And
case studies should be in-
Thatʼs why if youʼre going to use social proof
2. Get Quantifiable – Focus on depth reports that dive into
(and you should), youʼve got to do it right.
numbers if you can. A quick the weeds.
“Sam was great!” doesnʼt hold
Include a customer testimonial as the
the same weight as “Samʼs Donʼt fret too much over modesty
opening slide to your presentation rather
recommendations directly led with social proof. You offer a valuable
than a company logo. Or include your
to a 1.5x increase in our service. And it benefits your potential
credentials and certifications in your email
revenue and a 2x reduction in buyers to know youʼve helped other
signature. On your diagnosis calls, include a
our overhead!” people just like them.
case study to back up each claim of value
that you offer to the buyer.
3. Feature > Benefit > Desire – While youʼre engaging with buyers,
Donʼt use social proof to prove they are probably already looking for
Be subtle with the social proof, but share it
the features of your product. reasons why your product is the
often.
Thatʼs easy. Go a few steps solution to their problem. All youʼre
deeper and use testimonials to doing is making their job justifying
show that customers with the working with you easier.

62 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
03. Reciprocity
Tribes, towns, cities, countries—they all stem Making use of reciprocity is easy. And it • When doing a demo, give the buyer
from one thing: reciprocity. Itʼs the social doesnʼt involve any weird hacks, tricks, or what they need to know without
contract we all live by. When weʼre given manipulation techniques. All you have to do wasting their time. Theyʼll make a
something, weʼre hardwired to want to give is offer value and respect your buyer. buying decision quicker in return.
something of equal value in return.
• Start your buyer conversations by • Use logical negotiations to get the
But donʼt get it twisted. This bias to providing insights, free of charge. deal done seamlessly with little stress
reciprocate comes from a selfish place. Each When you teach the buyer something and the buyer will want to work with
gift leaves a hole, a debt dent if you will, that new upfront, theyʼll reciprocate with you again in the future.
weʼre compelled to get rid of. And as a seller, their time.
you can leverage that need for reciprocity to And if youʼre following the training within
boost your sales effectiveness. this book, youʼre doing all of this already.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 63
 Reciprocity has a powerful pull. But doing For instance:
the opposite and asking for something, in
turn, indebting yourself to the buyer, works • Ask a buyer for insights on their area HINT:
similarly. of expertise. Quality content is an invaluable
component of this step of the
Itʼs known as The Benjamin Franklin Effect. • See if you can feature a quote from a influence framework. Whether youʼre
And it was discovered by none other than the buyer in an upcoming piece of an industry thought leader or
founding Renaissance Man himself. In his marketing content. someone who has a good handle on
words: the biz, when you create and share
• Get the buyer to participate in a poll content that brings real value to the
“He that has once done you a Kindness will youʼre conducting. table, youʼre already planting the
be more ready to do you another, than he seeds of reciprocity in your readersʼ
who you yourself have obliged.” Donʼt get pushy (of course). But try minds.
requesting small favors from buyers
Essentially, asking for a favor, then repaying throughout the sales process. You may be Sharing your best content with
the debt accrued to you by doing them a amazed at how much it influences their buyers at the earliest stages of
favor, allows you to keep asking for more purchase decisions. conversations primes the pump.
favors in the future. Theyʼll want to give back, because
youʼre bringing real value to their
Now, this isnʼt to say you should be wasting business with your content. And
your buyerʼs time or holding back on consequently, theyʼll be compelled to
providing valuable insights. Instead, try using pay that value forward to you.
The Benjamin Franklin Effect in tandem with
the reciprocity techniques already described.

64 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
If you want to create attraction, you
have to create content. So if youʼre
going to be perceived as a salesperson
of any kind of value, then I want to
know what you think about how I win.
Content has to be prepared in a way
where the customer feels they win.
And if they do, then you win.”
Jeffrey Gitomer, Best Selling Sales Author & Speaker,
[Link] Podcast

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 65
 04. Scarcity
We all want the stuff that is hard to get. food and shelter in our pre-tribal days.
And an innate drive to value scarce resources
That super attractive partner. That limited overabundant ones often meant the
edition Rolex youʼve been trying to acquire. difference between life and death.
Whatever it is. When itʼs in demand, it
becomes more desirable. In the world of B2B sales, the same is true!

Like the other influence techniques in this

framework, the appeal of scarce goods goes
back 10,000 years to a biological and
evolutionary desire. Scarce resources were

66 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
 How Scarcity Becomes Contagious

So it must be
good

Other Person 1: But itʼs Person X:

people Scarcity difficult Scarcity
want it Loop to get Loop

I must
have it now

Buyers want to work with sellers who are Think of it like this—if you find out you have For sellers, the best way to appeal to this
oversubscribed. They want to meet with the cancer, you donʼt want visit the doctor with scarcity bias is by appropriately valuing your
best of the best. And they want to buy from zero patients. No, you want to be checked time.
people who have clients jam-packed in their over by the doctor who can just barely
pipeline. squeeze you in this week because heʼs so
damn successful.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 67
 Weak Strong
boundaries boundaries

Buyer allowed to Buyer not allowed to

infringe boundary infringe boundary

Buyer increases Buyer feels scarcity

their expectations increased desire to
work with you

Value Your Time (And Have tell the buyer youʼll call them at a time that When you set clear boundaries on what you
fits your schedule. will and wonʼt accept in your role, youʼll have
Some Self-Respect!) people falling in line with how you want to do
Equally important, stop begging for meetings business.
You are not a pesky salesperson trying to con and be happy to walk away when the buyer is
and trick your way into a deal. You are a not a good fit (or is being rude). Doing so sets Stop bending over backward to please
consultant. You are an expert. You are a deal- the ground rules for your business everyone (youʼll learn more about this in the
maker—so start acting like one! relationships. And paradoxically, youʼll find people-pleasing chapter later in this book).
yourself closing more business because of it. And embrace a reasonable level of scarcity
And that means you should value your own with your time. Youʼll become immediately
time. When you position yourself as an expert in more influential as a result.
your field, youʼll have buyers coming to you.
Be prompt with your responses to buyers,
sure. But you donʼt need to miss your kidʼs
school play to jump on a sales call. Instead,

68 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
I guess the key message is you donʼt
have to hit bottom, reject the job or
create arguments or send shitty emails.
You donʼt have to hit that point in order
to start to find some wellness.”
Tim Clarke, Senior Marketing Leader at Salesforce,
Co-Founder & CEO of UNCrushed, [Link] Podcast

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 69
 05. Authority
Humans wouldnʼt have gotten anywhere For instance, if I got a call from Warren Buffet Authority matters. And if you appear more
without social hierarchy. There have always about changing my investment strategy, authoritative, you can influence your buyers
been experts who knew more than others on youʼd better believe Iʼd listen. But if I received to close more lucrative deals, more easily.
a subject. And we have turned to them for a call from a deadbeat friend who dropped
advice, guidance, and reassurance. It is a out of high school and still lives with his dad,
story that has been drilled into our Computer Iʼd be less likely to take his advice seriously.
Brain from birth.

Authorities—are the individuals whose

opinions hold more sway than everyone else,
and who spur more action, too.

70 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
How to Boost Your Beef Up Your LinkedIn
Authority
Complete your entire profile.
Add skills and endorsements. HINT:
Here are the five best techniques Iʼve found
Showcase your certifications.
to appear more authoritative in front of Quantify your authority. Sales tends
And bring in more followers.
modern B2B buyers: to be a numbers game. And when it
comes to the persuasive power of
your authority, the same principle
holds true—the better your numbers,
Create Valuable Content Be Assertive the more respect you earn.
Publishing and sharing insights
If you have expertise on a subject,
on LinkedIn is the first step For instance, pick out testimonials to
speak about it confidently. If you
towards building your authority. highlight how much a past clientʼs
need something from a buyer, ask
Just make sure those insights are revenue shot up after adopting your
for it. And always remember, you
truly valuable (no oneʼs going to product. Shine a spotlight on exactly
are a professional with real value
read them if they arenʼt). how much more efficient (%) your
add.
services made a past customer.

When you anchor your solution to

real, tangible numbers, it not only
Build Your Own Website
Have Some Class makes your value more concrete. But
You can use your website to host it also proves that youʼre the real
Finally, donʼt be afraid to invest in
testimonials, new content, and deal. And your words will hold some
your appearance. Always look at
contact forms. Plus, your own site serious weight.
least as smart as the people you
goes a long way towards showing
are meeting with. Even if youʼre
youʼre serious about what you do.
meeting with them over Zoom.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 71
 Results are the thing. If you
want to know if someone is
as good as they say they are,
you want to look for
tangible results.”
Daniel Disney, Founder/Owner of The Daily Sales,
Keynote Speaker & Author, [Link] Podcast

72 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
Wrapping Up
Humans are inherently emotional and risk- easy to subtly influence others into making The result? More closed deals. Happier
averse. And unfortunately, that means solid purchasing decisions. buyers. And a fatter commission bonus.
numbers alone often arenʼt enough to turn
an on-the-fence prospect into a satisfied If youʼre already providing comprehensive How do you feel about that?
buyer. They need that extra nudge of trust to numbers and data for your prospects during
get over that final hump of getting the the sales process, adding these influence
contracts signed. techniques into the mix will help you better
appeal to both their logical and emotional
On the flip side, our tribal nature and side.
constant search for social approval make it

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 73
 03.
Objection
Handling

74 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
Objection Handling
Every deal will come with at least one sales Walter sat in one of Samʼs meetings. Walter Walter showed Sam a simple process to
objection. noticed that Sam got stopped in his tracks break through the objections that all buyers
during the meeting a number of times by throw at sellers. Sam went through the
Samʼs closing rate with large accounts was polite questions that he didnʼt know how to process and never got side tracked by a sales
20%. Walterʼs large account closing rate was answer. objection again.
over 50%.
This chapter explains how to go around or
break down sales objections when theyʼre
given to you during the sales process.

This sucked all the momentum out of the

conversation and so it didnʼt progress to a
sale.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 75
 Stop Getting Stopped
Few things are more infuriating than having a These are sales objections. And unless
product you know is perfect for a buyer but theyʼre dealt with, they can stop your sales
continually getting shut down time and time process dead in its tracks.
again as you try and get it in their hands.
But, when addressed correctly, beating sales
objections can build rapport, provide
We donʼt have the budget. valuable buyer insights, and (of course) lead
to a serious sales win.

So, letʼs look at a framework that will help

Weʼre happy with what we you defeat any sales objection, and Iʼll share
have now. a few examples, too.

Weʼre using a competitor.

76 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
 Micro Micro
Objection Objection Commitment
Close Close

Time needed to commit and not feel rushed

A Sales Objection Is Not water. Buyers are people. And when people But no matter what type of excuse youʼre
are unsure about making a change (e.g., dealing with, you can handle sales objections
Always a “No” buying your product), theyʼll throw out sales in a way that still leads to closing the deal.
objections to buy time to avoid deciding in
Weʼve all been hit with sales objections when
that specific moment.
talking with buyers. In our role, itʼs inevitable.
Now, some of these excuses are legitimate, to
But getting a negative response doesnʼt
be sure. Others are just knee-jerk reactions.
necessarily mean the dealʼs dead in the

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 77
 3. Demonstrates Your
Knowledge
People want to buy from
1. Needed to Close
someone who knows what
Addressing sales objections gives theyʼre talking about. If youʼre
buyers peace of mind. It helps scrambling to come up with an
them better understand why your answer to an objection, youʼre
Why Do I Need to Master It? product is right for their proving that youʼre not the expert
organization. And that means that you claim to be. But
youʼre one step closer to “yes”. someone who effortlessly and
Objection handling can be a challenge if you
donʼt have a framework to deal with them. effectively moves through the
HubSpot found 42% and 35% of salespeople objection-handling process will
think addressing objections involving look like an a pro.
urgency and price respectively were the top 2. Provides Buyer Insights
challenges they face.
Sales objections are a window
into the mind of your buyer. What
However, there are some benefits to better 4. Builds Serious Trust
issues are they concerned about?
sales objection handling:
Whatʼs most important to them? When you address your buyerʼs
These details help clue you into objections, youʼre proving you
what points to focus on during take them seriously. You arenʼt
your pitch to maximize your just some smarmy salesperson
closing success. only looking to close. Instead, you
want to truly solve their
problems. And that means more
loyal, enthusiastic buyers for you.

78 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
 HINT:
When it comes to the objection So, to get ahead of the objection I
handling process, the best offense is bring it up proactively with my buyers If your team isnʼt
typically defense (i.e. avoiding the on our initial discovery call: finding and closing
objection in the first place). more sales at that
point, weʼll give you
The best way to prevent sales Something that I get your money-back.
objections from happening in the first Thatʼs how quickly
asked when people
instance is to bring them up in your youʼll see results.
see the content
sales conversations, deal with them
and then move on before the buyer
available in the
has the mental processing capacity to training program is
ask further questions about the “How easy is it to Here I bring up the common sales
potential issue. implement all the objection, give a logical response,
training when the and then improve it further by
For example, when selling team is already busy transitioning to our money-back
[Link] Academy, I often get selling”? Well, it only guarantee. After this, the buyer is
the objection: takes 30 minutes a unlikely to raise the time
day to implement the commitment objection later in the
training over the first sales process.
How easy is it to 30 days.
implement all of this?
Iʼm not sure my team
will have the time.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 79
 The Objection Now that we have a better idea of what
Handling successful objection handling does for us,
letʼs take a look at how to do it right using the
Framework objection handling framework.

A
SOLVE CONFIRM
ISSUE SOLVED

LISTEN REPEAT
IT BACK
B

MOVE
PAST IT
80 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
01. Listen
People like to be heard. Thatʼs a fact. objection 50 times already this week. I donʼt And most importantly, shut the hell up.
care if youʼre put-my-life-on-it certain you
And knowing youʼre really truly being know what theyʼre saying after the first few Donʼt interrupt them with your answer. And
listened to is vital when it comes to words leave their mouth. And I especially give a slight pause after theyʼve posed their
addressing sales objections. donʼt care how much experience you have in objection so they know itʼs sinking in.
the business.
Thatʼs why the first step of the framework is Only then can you move on to the next step
to listen closely to the buyer when theyʼre Instead, you need to stop yourself and really in the framework.
describing their sales objection. listen. Listen to the nuance of what the buyer
is telling you is holding them back from
Half-listening just wonʼt cut it here. I donʼt closing the sale.
care if you think youʼve heard this sales

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 81
 Active Listening Is Key talking. For reps in the bottom 20% of HINT:
performers, that number was closer to 68%. Itʼs New to Them
However, the top closers spent just 42% of
the time talking, leaving a whopping 58% of Remember, youʼve heard this
Active Listening the talking to the buyer. objection countless times, it numbs
[ak-tiv lis-uhning]; noun: your mind, but the buyer has never
Making a conscious effort to Active listening comes with plenty of said it before. If youʼre selling a
benefits. Benefits like: complex B2B deal, this is likely the
not just hear but really
first (and if youʼre good at upselling,
concentrate on listening to • Not missing critical information. the last) time the buyer will ever go
what the buyer is saying. • Avoid misunderstandings. through this process.
• Having a better idea of the core
problem (not always stated outright). So, listen and acknowledge the
• Showing you care about what the objection appropriately so the buyer
I cannot overstate the value of investing the
buyer has to say. knows you were listening to them.
time to develop your active listening skills.
• Improve relationships.
• Qualifying leads. Itʼs counter-intuitive, but the more
Most sellers are natural-born talkers. It may
you slow down and really listen, the
be why you got into the business in the first
Next time you run into a sales objection, be fewer objections youʼll face. The
place.
sure you are consciously engaging in active quicker you try and fly through the
listening. Itʼs the foundation the rest of this sales objections, the more the buyer
But talking too much is detrimental to sales
framework is built upon. will think youʼre not really paying
success.
attention, so theyʼll throw even more
objections at you to slow the sales
To put a number on this, the sales
process to a crawl, so that they can
intelligence platform Gong found the average
look at their options without feeling
B2B sales rep spends about 53% of calls
rushed.

82 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
02. Repeat It Buyer It looks pointless, I know. But, there are
several reasons why this step is so essential:
Iʼm not sure if you can do
Back the color I want. 1. It avoids any misunderstandings.
2. It shows the buyer youʼre listening.
Now that youʼve put the effort into truly 3. Itʼs an effective way to deal with
Seller
listening to what the buyer is saying, itʼs time habitual objections.
to move on to the next step of the objection So youʼre unsure if we can
handling framework—repeating the issue The first two points are pretty obvious. So
provide you with the letʼs take a closer look at the third point.
back to the buyer.
correct color?
It is as simple as:
Buyer

Yes, can you show me the

colors you offer, and weʼll
see if you have the
correct green?

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 83
 Computer

Input Stories

Habitual
objections

Output

Habitual Objections These Computer Brain objections are not To break through these objections, we need
thought up rationally in the buyerʼs mind. to get the buyerʼs attention. Weʼll do this with
They are literally flung out by their a pattern interrupt as we repeat back the
Often the buyer will have dealt with so many
subconscious, usually to buy the buyer a buyerʼs question.
sellers over their careers that they will have a
little time to think about their buying needs
bunch of Computer Brain objections that
in the moment.
they give to sellers to get them out of their
hair.

84 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
 Computer Caveman Human

Input Stories Threat? Logic

Pattern interrupt

Logical
response

Output

The Value of Pattern A lot of times when you use a pattern

interrupt, the buyer will think about the
Interrupts objection they brought up and then dismiss
it themselves.
A pattern interrupt makes the buyer think for
a split second before we repeat their
objection back to them so they can confirm if
itʼs a real objection.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 85
 When we implement a pattern interrupt, we Here the buyer is trying to use the budget as Weʼre doing two things here.
short-circuit the Computer Brain and force an excuse. But unless youʼve just explicitly
the buyer to use their Human Brain to told them the pricing, how the heck do they First, weʼre avoiding those usual phrases
respond. know youʼre out of budget? salespeople typically use like “reaching out,”
“checking in,” “I just wanted to,” etc. If you
Let me give you an example: Hereʼs another example: use the same language as everyone else,
youʼre going to be ignored like everyone else.

Second, weʼre also proactively saying the

Objection Objection
opposite of what other sellers do, too. If a
buyer gives you the objection “email me the
I donʼt have the budget. Iʼm not interested. details,” instead of ending the conversation
and agreeing to their demand, youʼll use a
Pattern Interrupt Pattern Interrupt pattern interrupt of “Sure, do you know the
details that you want me to send over”?
Ah, so youʼve worked with Ah, thatʼs why we should
us before and you know talk. It sounds like your Pattern interrupts snap buyers out of their
our pricing? current supplier must be a Computer Brain habitual responses and
pain to work with, and youʼre make them more receptive to your
conversation.
trying to avoid more of that
pain by cutting this call short.

86 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
One of the best objection handling techniques we see is
patience. Donʼt jump, ask a question, or just pause. Just
wait. We call it the socially awkward silence technique.
The customer says, ʻWell, I donʼt think we can afford this.
Itʼs way more than I thought.ʼ And a lot of the salespeople
just jump, ʻYeah, but itʼs an incredible deal and weʼre the
best thing since sliced bread.ʼ A good response would be to
say absolutely nothing. Just sit back, and wait. It gets a little
awkward and then the customer says, ʻBut maybe if we do
it now...ʼ Theyʼll start handling their own objections.”
Amit Bendov, CEO [Link], [Link] Podcast

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 87
 03. (Option A) Solve the Issue
Listening and repeating the sales objection Now, “issue” might be a strong word here. So with that knowledge in mind, itʼs time to
back to the buyer has hopefully helped you Because, when a buyer offers up a legitimate buckle in and solve the issue theyʼre worried
understand whether this is an actual sales objection, it means two great things for about.
problem or a Computer Brain-generated you:
objection. If itʼs an issue of price, start talking numbers.
1. It allows you to demonstrate expertise If itʼs functionality, hit some of the productʼs
People donʼt buy when they have real and earn the buyerʼs trust. core features. If itʼs implementation, talk
concerns. And they sure as hell donʼt buy 2. It indicates a strong buying signal about your extensive onboarding program.
when those concerns go unaddressed. (after all, a buyer wonʼt go through the
steps of an objection if they werenʼt You should be able to hit each objection the
If it turns out the issue is real, then itʼs up to seriously considering your product). buyer has with a clear, effective response
you to solve it. that solves those woes.

88 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
04. (Option A) Confirm Solved
A short—but entirely necessary—sub-step is “Yes, that makes sense,” out loud. Otherwise, If youʼve solved the objection, move forward
next. their brain just wonʼt register that this in the sales process. If you havenʼt, ask:
objection has been solved.
Once youʼve addressed the issue, itʼs up to
you to confirm that youʼve satisfied the This step doesnʼt have to be aggressive or What else is unresolved
buyerʼs concerns. complex. that I can help explain?
This involves confirming your buyer: Just ask:

1. Heard your answer. Keep going deeper and deeper until the
2. Understood your answer. Did that answer your concern? buyer publicly and verbally admits that their
3. Accepted your answer. objection has now been solved.

If you donʼt complete this step, the buyer will

likely bring the same objection up over and
over again in different forms. They will say

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 89
 On an opening cold call, a large
percentage of what you hear
are not true objections.”
Jarrod Glandt, Chief Sales Officer, Grant Cardone
Enterprises, [Link] Podcast

90 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
03. (Option B) Move Past It
If after repeating the issue back to the buyer, sales objection unconsciously, they barely And then carry on moving through the selling
they admit that the sales objection they remember the excuse they gave you. conversation. Unless the buyer brings you
raised wasnʼt important, move past the issue. back to that specific objection, never discuss
If when you repeat the objection back to the it again. It wasnʼt important to the buyer in
Not all objections are worth debating. And if buyer, they look at you blankly or donʼt give the first place.
youʼre confronted with a Computer Brain- an immediate response, say this:
generated habitual objection thatʼs not Youʼre going to find that, once you learn to
important, you can often move straight past recognize them, around 50% of the
it. OK, fair enough. Letʼs objections that you get day-to-day can be
come back to that in a skipped over just like this.
This might feel sneaky the first few times that minute. We also do…
you do it. But if the buyer has thrown out the

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 91
 Common Sales Objections & Responses
It pays to study common sales objections for A. “The price is too high.” Follow Up:
your product and come to calls with your
responses ready.
Objection Type: Budget You said this problem costs
Now, you may be wondering, “How am I your business about [$X] per
This will likely be the most common sales month, but our service is
supposed to know exactly what kinds of sales
objection you come up against. Business is
objections the buyer will have? Arenʼt all just [$Y] per month, leading
money. And money is important.
buyers different?” to savings of [$X - $Y] per
But you can use a few objection-handling
month.
And thatʼs true, there are plenty of variations
responses to overcome it.
out there. But in general, you can boil down
nearly all sales objections into one of four
Responses Use price ranges to qualify leads and keep
categories:
the conversation going:
Compare the cost of not solving the issue to
A. Budget
the cost of your product:
B. Value
Our price is within the [$
C. Urgency
How much is [the problem range] range per month.
D. Trust
you solve] costing you Where in that range could
Letʼs look at some of the best sales objection each month? you see yourself investing
handling examples to help you overcome to solve [the problem]?
buyer concerns.

92 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
B. “Weʼre happy with your Response C. “This is not a priority for
competitor.” Give a light nudge for the buyer to compare
us right now.”
options by offering a free trial or demo.
Objection Type: Value Objection Type: Urgency

This is the old “if it ainʼt broke, donʼt fix it” I completely understand This is tricky because it could be a sign of a
mentality at play. Change can be tough. And where youʼre coming from. blow-off, itʼs truly not on their to-do list right
most people are naturally resistant towards Many businesses looking at now, or that they donʼt fully understand the
it. other potential solutions to value that you offer.
their problems, even it is
However, that doesnʼt mean putting the As a result, there are a few ways you can
just to compare with what
effort into that change isnʼt worth it. handle this one.
they have now. Who knows,
Sometimes all the buyer needs is to take a
minute or two to really learn about your
we may be a better match. Response
product. How would you feel about
attending a demo to see Narrow down the real reason behind the
how we compare? objection.

If money and resources

were no object, would you
be willing to start with our
product today?

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 93
 Ask them straight: D. “Iʼve never heard of your Response
company.” Ask if itʼs okay to give them a quick elevator
When would be a good
pitch highlighting your organizationʼs
time to buy? Objection Type: Trust authority:

This type of sales objection indicates a lack

What are your companyʼs of trust. But donʼt abandon the call just yet, No problem! Lots of our loyal
other priorities right now? no matter how embarrassing it might be. customers hadnʼt heard of us
Instead, take this objection as an opportunity before they signed up. Does it
to give them a bit more information about make sense for me to quickly
the value you offer. explain the value that we can
Take time out of the picture:
bring to your business?

If I call you back next quarter,

what circumstances will have
changed?

94 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
E. “Email the more info and HINT:
Iʼll get back to you.” Identifying Common Additionally, spend a few minutes for
Objections each objection that comes up more
Objection Type: Urgency than once and create a rebuttal to it.
Keep a sales objection journal. If the
same objection is coming up in more There is scientific literature that
This is often a habitual objection. In most
than 20% of your meetings or calls writing, rather than just thinking of
cases, the buyer is just looking to get rid of
then you need to deal with that conversational responses helps them
you. But that in no way means the
objection ahead of time. stick better in your memory. So grab
conversation has to be over.
Instead, use a pattern interrupt to keep the that pen and paper (or at the very
I like to split a page into two columns least your keyboard) and document
conversation going.
and then document the following: the perfect response.
Response
1. A brief description of the That way, the next time you hear the
objection. same objection come up, your
Keep the conversation moving forward with
a pattern interrupt. Computer Brain will be able to
2. A tally chart of how many instantly throw out a rebuttal as itʼs
times it has come up. been memorized, rather than your
I can do that. What particular Human Brain trying to think up a
details are you interested in This allows me to very quickly, at a response on the spot.
learning more about? glance see my top sales objections so
I can start to hit them ahead of time
in my conversations.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 95
 Wrapping Up
At first sight, a sales objection can seem like a The sales objection process can even make
deal-breaker. From price point ultimatums to closing the deal more likely. You just have to
sly brush-offs, running into these pesky put the Objection Handling Framework into
issues can leave you wondering, “whereʼd I practice.
go wrong?”

But when youʼre a pro at objection handling,

you can turn these dire situations around.

96 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
The one solution to pretty much every
other problem at every stage of the sales
process is having a big fat pipeline. If you
have a big fat pipeline, you donʼt have
to try too hard at the rest of that stuff.
Negotiation, objection handling,
discount.”
John Barrows, Sales Expert, [Link] Podcast

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 97
 04.
Sales
Simplification

98 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS
Simplification
The simpler a process, the easier it is to He often missed out on whole segments of Walter has a simple 7-step cadence. Each
implement. the cadence as it was so overwhelming. step of Walterʼs cadence has been carefully
refined and improved over the years and so it
In business, simpler communication, has become deadly effective at booking
onboarding, processes and implementation meetings.
always leads to better use of time.

Sam has a 25.5-step sales cadence. He is

often confused and overwhelmed with all the
different types of outreach it includes.

This chapter explains how to identify the 20%

of sales activities that give you 80% of the
results. Why? So you can cut the crap and do
more of what works.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 99
 Simplify to Unlock Maximum Results
How do you squeeze more productivity out So letʼs look at how we can focus on our most Think of it like this, humans, are finite beings.
of each hour? How do you cross 3x the to-dos important tasks while eliminating the less We only have two things that we trade for
off your list compared to your competition? important ones through extreme success—time and energy.
simplification.
While there are some very specific • Time – You arenʼt going to live forever.
techniques you can use (which weʼll cover in The Sellers Biggest Asset Time is the only non-renewable
the Bucket Productivity Framework later in resource that we have. Once we use it
the book), one of the hardest truths youʼll Whatʼs the most important asset towards up, itʼs gone forever. And in all
learn about success is: sales success? likelihood, you donʼt value it enough.

What you choose to focus on matters more You may be surprised to learn it isnʼt your • Energy – Your energy depletes
than your efficiency at the task. email templates. Itʼs not your CRM. And it throughout each day and resets each
damn sure isnʼt that new sales automation time you sleep. Once itʼs gone, you can
Strategy trumps speed. And when you focus software you just spent loads on. try smart drugs, caffeine, or other
on the right tasks—the ones that move the “hacks” to ramp it back up. But
needle—you can drive your sales results Itʼs your time to win. generally, itʼs game over until the
forward with less effort, in less time. following morning.

100 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

The people who can deal with
the chaos and the confusion
simplify the facts around them
and actually act while other
people are frightened. Those
are the people who tend to be
the greatest opportunists.”
Jay Heinrichs, Best-Selling author,
[Link] Podcast

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 101

 Finite daily
energy
9PM today Tomorrow Average day Youʼre dead

Finite time

Remaining supply of mental energy

Now because these resources are finite, any But in the context of smashing a sales quota, Managers spend three hours per day
time or energy we spend on things that donʼt not purposefully managing your time is a on average handling unnecessary
provide a large return is uneconomical. huge competitive disadvantage. problems (Trafft).

Outside of business? Well, things here are Your Time Matters – The • Only 7% of sellers report they work
different. Itʼd be more “effective” to take Numbers Prove It less than 5 days a week (Gallup).
three of my mateʼs dogs on my daily walk
with Walter, my golden retriever. But would I • People lose most of their time on
Time and energy spent are huge deals for
enjoy it more? Probably not. unscheduled communications (33%),
sellers.
waiting for information (22%), and
Outside of business, my goal is life personality issues (16%), (The
And guess what? The stats prove it, too:
fulfillment. And sometimes that means being Alternative Board).
purposely inefficient and slowing things
• Sellers are disrupted 7 to 8 times per
down.
hour or 50 to 60 times per day.

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 The 80/20 principle in action

20% of 20% of
time spent sales results

80% of 80% of
time spent sales results

The Finite Fix

Your time as a seller matters—that much is The “80/20 Rule” states that certain activities • 80% of revenue comes from 20% of
clear. So how do you maximize the value of give 80% of the output for just 20% of the buyers.
your time? input. • 80% of pain comes from 20% of
customers.
By leveraging the “80/20 Rule”. A lot of the time, the “80/20 Rule” is used to
describe concepts in economics and Nearly everything in your life is affected by
The return on the effort you put into your computing. But whatʼs remarkable is that its the “80/20 Rule”.
sales activities is never a 1:1 ratio. Some sales effects can be seen in the inputs and outputs
activities are going to drive more revenue of all sellers too. So the question is, how do you leverage it?
than others. And some will be giant time
vampires that eat up your whole day leaving Here are a few examples:
you with nothing to show for it.
• 80% of profits come from 20% of
products.

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 If you want to get the most value from the And guess what?
limited time you have each day, you need to
The Sales spend time on the tasks that take the least This framework is simple to implement, but
amount of total energy but produce the when I run through this process with
Simplification biggest sales results. everyone who joins [Link] Academy,
it has some profound results on the revenue
Framework Thatʼs the lesson from the 80/20 Rule. they generate.

LIST ALL MORE HIGH LESS LOW LEVERAGE

ACTIVITIES OUTPUT OUTPUT GAINED TIME

104 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

01. Make a List
The first step of the Sales Simplification From the moment you step into the office, to
Framework is the easiest. But it may also be the second you drive home for the night.
the most important.
It will be a tedious process. The deeper you
Make a list of all the tasks that you complete go in breaking down larger tasks into smaller
each day in your sales role. And not just the ones, the better your results will be.
most “important” ones. But all of them.

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 Itʼs best to organize these tasks into daily, Now will not remember every single thing
weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks. you do each day in just one sitting. Thatʼs
why I recommend you spend a week or two
For example, when Iʼm selling [Link] jotting down tasks as you do them each day.
Academy, my (very) abbreviated task list
might look something like this: It may also be helpful to go back through HINT:
your work calendar and pick out important Want to go further? Take note of how
• Daily – Add five new buyers to our dates, recurring deadlines, or regular much time each task takes to
prospecting list. Import prospecting meetings. complete. This will make it easier to
list to cadence. Complete tasks in pick out which tasks are results
cadence. Sales meetings. The goal here is to be exhaustive. drivers and which are the time
• Week – Schedule ahead content for vampires.
the team. Check-in on cash flow. Pay Because once you have a long,
bills. Weekly all-hands company comprehensive list to work with, you can You might be shocked at how much
meeting. start organizing these tasks by their time has been spent with completely
• Month – Accounts and bookkeeping. importance in the following step of the unqualified buyers, for example, who
• Year – Yearly accounts. 12-month framework. youʼre too polite to cut off from your
strategic plans. Yearly review with sales pipeline.
team members.

Each of these tasks can then be broken down

into even smaller tasks. At a certain point you
will find a point of diminishing returns.

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02. More Big Outputs
Once youʼve documented your tasks, itʼs time You can start by looking for tasks that directly • Do Better – Devote time in your
to organize. lead to revenue generation. weekly schedule to improve at
completing these types of tasks, too.
Schedule a solid hour or two into your For example, you wonʼt get fired if youʼre a Compound the effects of the 80:20
calendar to check the list and evaluate which little late to submit your expense reports. Or Rule by getting better at what youʼre
tasks have an 80:20 results-to-effort ratio. if you check email once a day rather than 50x already good at. Consider enrolling in
times a day. a course, doing research, or
Which of these tasks are important? Which developing a new strategy.
donʼt drive any results for your business? And But you will fail if you neglect to make sales
which are the biggest time wasters of the calls and bring in new buyers. Once youʼve got your 80:20 tasks, block some
bunch? time into your calendar to make this happen.
These are the kinds of tasks you need to Remember, all this work has been for nothing
If you followed the HINT from the last step, document: if you donʼt take action here.
picking out the most time-consuming tasks
should be simple. That being said, • Do More Of – What tasks deliver 80%
understanding which of the tasks drives the output with only 20% energy? Do
most results is a little bit more tricky. more of these.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 107

 Not important Important
& urgent & urgent

Urgent
Not important Important
& not urgent & not urgent

Important

A fantastic system for organizing your tasks is These two groups of activities are the only 2. Important & Not Urgent – Filling the
called the Einstein Matrix. tasks you should be looking at in this step of funnel. Itʼs important but not
the framework: necessarily urgent as it might be
Put each task into one of four boxes: months before any of these potential
1. Important & Urgent – Time-critical buyers close a deal.
1. Important & Urgent selling tasks like a sales meeting to
2. Important & Not Urgent wrap up a large deal. We will talk more about tasks that fall into
3. Not Important & Urgent boxes 3 and 4 in step #3 of the framework.
4. Not Important & Not Urgent

108 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

 HINT:
Time Blocking: Putting the So, instead of getting to the impactful Work on the single task from start
Time In Where It Counts tasks whenever you feel like you time to finish time. No more, no less.
might be able to, start scheduling
How many times has this happened them directly into your calendar. Here are your most productive selling
to you? tasks that should be time-blocked
This is called ʻtime blockingʼ. And itʼs into your calendar, every-single-day,
You show up to the office energized a powerful productivity technique. with no excuses:
and motivated. Youʼve got your to-do
list, and youʼre ready to go. Be deliberate here. Choose times and • Adding new potential buyers
windows that you know are realistic, to your sales cadence.
But as the day wears on, one thing and that you can stick to. Because for • Pre-meeting check-in emails
after another keeps coming up. A it to work, youʼve got to stick to your for the people youʼre meeting
buyer question here. An inquiry from timeline like your life depended on it. with that day.
your sales manager there. An absent- • Completing personalized steps
minded colleague asking for help That means: in your sales cadence.
(again!). And when quitting time
finally rolls around, you havenʼt • No handling other little tasks Time blocking requires discipline. A
crossed anything off your to-do list. while youʼre working on a big hell of a lot of it. But when you get the
one. system down, youʼll find yourself
Sellers often get pulled away from • No spending an extra half an finishing big tasks faster and fitting
their most important selling activities hour of unscheduled time on more of them into your day.
because of distraction from other it.
spur-the-moment tasks. And because • No fudging the numbers.
of it, their sales growth gets derailed.

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 03. Less Small Output
Alright, so youʼve got all your tasks plugged Tasks that ended up in these boxes, well When you smash your quota every time, you
into your Einstein Matrix. And youʼve picked theyʼre the ones you should avoid doing. get to play a different game to those sellers
out the biggest revenue drivers from boxes #1 who are less successful. Top sellers get to:
(Important & Urgent) and #2 (Important & Seriously. If you can get away with skipping
Not Urgent). them then you should.
“Ask for forgiveness, rather than
Now itʼs time to deal with the other two permission.”
boxes—Not Important & Urgent and Not
Important & Not Urgent.

110 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

 HINT:
There are so few capable sellers out there Is there a non-revenue generating • Automate - For everything that
that if you can drive revenue,reliably, itʼs sales task that you feel you need to isnʼt direct communication
unlikely that youʼll get sacked if you avoid complete? Then you either outsource with a potential buyer, there is
unproductive tasks. or automate it: likely a tool to automate the
task. Be careful with this. Itʼs
When youʼre a winner, you get to skip all the • Outsource - There are online very easy to build a “sales
crap that weaker performers have to do to services that will complete stack” of software that takes
keep their jobs. menial tasks on your behalf. more time to manage than it
Have to pull 250 contacts from would take to complete the
Sales tasks that donʼt drive revenue should a spreadsheet from a recent jobs manually.
be put on the back burner. This is binary. conference? Hire someone to
There is no gray area between the 80:20 split complete the job at $10/hour
of tasks. to complete it. Your hourly rate
is much higher than this when
youʼre focused on high-output
tasks and so youʼre essentially
making money by outsourcing
the unimportant stuff.

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 04. Leverage Gained Time
If youʼve followed the other steps of the My message to you is this—it is absolutely The irony is that when you leverage the Sales
Simplification Framework, congratulations! appropriate to become more efficient with Simplification Framework, this happens:
Youʼre already ten times more productive the goal of working fewer hours and
than you were before. Itʼs as simple as that. spending more time doing activities that you 1. You free up some time.
love. 2. You spend the increased revenue on
Now, greater productivity can mean two your hobbies, family vacations, or
things for you: Seller productivity doesnʼt always have to be whatever it is that makes you happy.
about squeezing out ever bigger commission 3. You come back to the battle of sales
• Higher output working the same bonuses. Instead, it can just be about with more energy.
hours. building the systems you need to live the life 4. You become even more productive
• The same output but working far you want to live. That might mean working and the cycle starts over again.
fewer hours. less, traveling more, spending time with
family—whatever floats your boat. See how that works? Itʼs a vicious cycle but in
a positive way.

112 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

The Unexpected Upside of Working 55 or more hours per
week is associated with an
Extra Time – The Facts estimated 35% higher risk of a
stroke and a 17% higher risk of Most US workers (83%) suffer
Just to put a cherry on top of things, letʼs
dying from ischemic heart disease from work-related stress, with
take a look at some facts to show how extra
compared to working 35-40 hours 25% saying their job is the
leisure time and less stress at work will
a week (WHO). number one stressor in their lives
improve your life as a whole:
(Zippia Research).

Managing stress effectively leads Nearly 3 out of 4 people

to better sleep, healthy weight experience a significant health Nearly 3 out of 5 business owners
control, less muscle tension, benefit before, during, and after a (57%) report being overly
improved mood, and stronger vacation. Unexpected benefits stressed (Gallup).
relationships (OASH). include better sleep, more energy,
and increased productivity) (AARP
Travel).

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 It doesnʼt matter how simple
you make a step. What if you
donʼt have a step? Thatʼs
always a better option.”
Greg McKeown, Best Selling Author,
[Link] Podcast

114 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

Wrapping Up
So many sellers get caught up in the cycle of Your time is your most valuable selling asset.
focusing their time and effort on the wrong And the sooner you start using it more
tasks. And their revenue growth and success effectively, the sooner you can start living the
are hurt because of it. life youʼve always wanted.

But with the Simplification Framework, you

can stay laser-focused on the most impactful
tasks in your sales process.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 115

 05.
Identifying
Key Accounts

116 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

Identify Key Accounts
In B2B sales, itʼs often easier to close one But Walter turns over 3x the revenue of Sam The only difference? Walter always manages
deal for $100k than to close two hundred at and so earns much, much, much higher to close at least one key account each
$500. commissions. financial year.

Having a process to identify and then close This chapter explains how to identify the
key accounts can be the difference between potential key accounts on your territory and
making quota and smashing it. book the first strategy meeting with them to
see if they think thereʼs an opportunity to
Sam and Walter close the same number of work closer together.
deals each year.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 117

 Why Key Accounts?
Key account management separates the So enough hype, what is a key account?
sellers who do okay, from those that crush it.
In B2B sales, a single large key account can • Key Account: An account where you
often bring in 30-50% of an individualʼs sales go beyond offering a product or
target. service and create a strategic
partnership.
With these kinds of numbers at play, it makes
sense to target at least a couple of potential Sounds great for the business and your
key accounts each quarter. customer, but what is in it for you as a seller?

118 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

 Key accounts

Number Revenue
of buyers Good accounts potential

General riff raff

A. More Revenue B. Puts You in High Demand C. Locks Out the

Competition
Gartner found that key accounts are Gartner also found that 82% of CSOs view
responsible for 33% of all the sales revenue sellers who can close key accounts as equally When you create a key-account relationship
across the Fortune 500. or more important than the overall key with a buyer, it becomes very difficult for a
account program to increase revenue. competitor to come along and displace you
Itʼs usually much easier to prospect, manage from the account. This means, more
and then close a handful of larger deals If you can find, close, and grow key accounts, commissions, like clockwork, without hours
including key accounts than closing youʼll always have a high-paying job in the of mindless outbound prospecting every day.
hundreds of smaller ones. So, key accounts sales industry.
are likely to bring in more revenue with the
same amount of effort.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 119

 The Identifying If you want to close fewer, bigger deals and
dramatically increase the revenue youʼre
Key Accounts generating each year by targeting the key
accounts on your territory, then follow the
Framework four steps in this framework.

RANK RANK UNDERSTAND BOOK STRATEGY

REVENUE SUCCESS NEXT STEP MEETING

120 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

You want to make sure that they
are qualified to buy. Once you know
you have a qualified buyer, again,
depending on how big a ticket item it
is. A smaller ticket item, you will
invest less time. A bigger ticket item,
you will invest more.”
Freddy Freundlich, Sales Expert , [Link] Podcast

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 121

 01. Rank the Revenue
The goal of sales is to drive revenue. Thatʼs We do this in two steps:
what you get paid for. The goal of identifying Step 2 – Rank Via Revenue
a key account is to drive more revenue from a
Opportunity
single account efficiently.
Step 1 – Identify Potential Not all key account opportunities
Therefore, the first step in identifying your Accounts are created equal.
potential key accounts to win should always List the top 25 accounts on your
be to rank them by the amount of revenue Donʼt assume that your current
territory that at a glance are big
you can generate from them and the ease at larger partners are your most
enough to support a large, on-
which that revenue could come. worthy key accounts
going key account deal with your
automatically. Your focus should
organization.
be on spending time and
developing key accounts with the
biggest potential revenue upside.

122 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

 Key account revenue growth matrix
HINT:
Over the past 40 years, purchasing
has moved from an administrative
revenue growth
B A
role to a strategic function because of
Potential

the maths behind profit. Letʼs look at

an example:

D C • If costs are 80% of revenue,

profit is 20%. If you can cut
costs by half, profit has now
gone up 3x to 60%.
Current revenue
No product launches, no market
development. The company has
doubled their profits by reducing itʼs
The four types of key accounts are: Here itʼs clear that our targets for key costs. This is why the procurement
accounts are the top two layers of the chart teams over the past decade have
A. These are accounts where you are as thatʼs where the biggest potential upside gained so much power. Itʼs much
currently driving high revenue and is. easier for them to reduce spending
there is high potential for additional rather than improve the performance
revenue. But we should be specifically focused on the of other segments of the business by
B. Here you currently get a small amount top right-hand side as we already have innovating new products and
of revenue from the account, but there relationships here, and the upside is great bringing them to market.
is a big potential upside. which means that we have the potential to
C. You bring in good revenue now, but build a powerful key account quicker than Because the procurement team is so
there is little room to expand. anywhere else. often involved in the key account
D. There is no current revenue or future generation process, itʼs worth
potential revenue. So to complete this step of the framework, including them in your prospecting
rank your list of 25 potential key accounts efforts when dealing with larger
with the current revenue and future potential accounts.
revenue numbers in mind.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 123

 02. Rank Success Probability
Next, we need to better understand which Weʼve been selfish about ranking our
accounts are most likely to develop into a key potential key accounts by revenue
account. opportunities in step one of the framework.

We only have a finite amount of time each Itʼs time to add another layer of ranking to
day, so going after the lowest-hanging fruit is our list by looking at how these accounts
always the most productive option. might look at us as a service provider.

124 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

 Key account revenue opinion matrix sit. The goal is to become more
indispensable and get to core seller status as
quickly as possible.
Temporary Core

Risk of working
with supplier
seller seller 3. Temporary Seller

Where the impact on profit is low but there is

a risk of doing business with that seller, it
Pest Dispensable
seller seller makes sense to secure a regular supplier
while waiting for conditions of the supplier
market to improve.

Importance of the supplier 4. Pest Seller

to the buyerʼs business
Finally, where impact on profit is low and the
risk is also low, purchasers will not give you
the time of day. You are seen as a pest and so
the only hope you have is to make it
Your Perceived Value competition, no exclusivity, short contracts,
incredibly easy for your customer to do
etc.) they become a core seller.
business with you.
When attempting to win key accounts, itʼs
This is the most profitable place for a seller to
important to understand how the buyer
be but procurement will always be on the One slip-up from your side and a
perceives you. Key account deals are often
lookout for new competitors to the service procurement team will drop a pest seller like
more complex than a straightforward
you offer to reduce the risk of these itʼs hot.
transaction and so if the buyer doesnʼt see
partnerships.
you as an organizational partner, they are
To wrap up this step of the framework, add a
unlikely to want to work closely with you.
2. Dispensable Seller number from 1-4, with 1 being a low
perception of your companies value to the
Buyers split sellers into one of four
When the impact on profit from working with key account and 4 being a strong perception,
categories:
the seller is high and the risk of losing them for each account in your ranking list.
as a partner is low, professional buyers will
1. Core Seller
likely bounce along between different sellers
and see them as exploitable.
When a seller is important to a buyer and
This is where most seller-buyer relationships
there is risk in working with them (no

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 125

 The bigger thing that buyers want
in B2B now, is they want someone
to walk in and really understand
the business and the job that they
have, they donʼt want to take the
time to educate you, they expect
you to come in educated.”
Ken Rutsky, Sales Expert, [Link] Podcast

126 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

03. What Value Step Are You On?
Not all sellers offer the same level of value to understand what step of value you currently So, letʼs run through each of the steps of
their buyers. If you sell me a Macbook to do stood on which each potential key account value so you can see where you stand with
my video editing on, that is of course useful. and what the next step is, too. the accounts that you want to turn into key
account, target crushers.
Alternatively, if we buy a service from you Then you can communicate this leap up the
where you do all of our editing and our entire value steps when meeting with the buyer and
business relies on your video content to drive see if they agree that there is an opportunity
leads, youʼre a more important partner. for a strategic alignment between the two
companies.
There are four levels of value that you can
offer to a key account. Itʼs important to

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 127

 Key account value steps

Contributes
#4 to business

Delivers
#3 customized service

Provides a
#2 good product

Meets
#1 specifications

Step 1 – Meets Specifications but you are still seen as providing a differentiated relationship with a specific
“product” which is a tenuous relationship supplier that separates them from the wider
At this first and lowest level of business position because there is still lots of supplier marketplace.
value, you are a commodity with zero competition in the market.
leverage to build a key account. You are Step 4 – Contributes to Business
replaceable at any time and have lots of Step 3 – Customized Service
competition with small variance in quality Across the first three steps of value, the
between them. You have virtually no control The third level of value is a customized number of competitors remains high, and
over what happens within the account. service. Your customer sees you as a supplier your customersʼ sensitivity to product, price,
that goes “above and beyond” in serving and any innovation that hits the market can
Step 2 – Provide a Good Product them, and a genuine relationship has been derail your key account ambitions instantly.
built.
On the second level of value, your customer But on this fourth, slightly magical step,
sees you as a supplier of “good” products. Itʼs not just the fact that there is a better level things change dramatically.
This is an improvement over the first step, of serviceoffered, but the fact that there is a

128 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

At level four of the value steps, customers profits, and productivity. You provide specific your product, buy they are also paying for
perceive your company as not just providing products and services but a wide range of everything else that comes along with it.
great products with a dedicated or ancillary support that has virtually nothing to
customized service, but as a partner who is do with your core product like regular Getting to this step on the value ladder is a
fundamentally helping them understand meetings with your CFO to discuss changes much bigger jump than climbing the other
their business issues. You understand your in the marketplace. steps. But once you get there, if the key
partnerʼs business problems and objectives account has good revenue opportunities and
almost as well as you understand your own. The incredible thing here is that price they perceive you as a core seller, the sky is
becomes a non-issue. When you get onto the the limit to the quota-smashing potential.
You will share ideas for helping your fourth step of value, customers will pay you
customerʼs day-to-day operational needs and more than the competition, happily, because
ongoing concerns like product development, they realize that they are not just paying for

Contributes
to business

Delivers
customized service
Provides a
good product
Meets
specifications

Key account value steps

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 129

 HINT:
Rank Your Success Key accounts come and go over time. • A misuse or over-leveraging of
power – such as a customer
Probability All sellers should be prepared to demanding an excessive
manage the transition of a key discount.
Again, like the last step of the framework,
account back down to a non-key
add a number from 1-4 next to each account
account. No matter how good you are • Complacency and assuming
in your list with 1 being that you are in the
at selling, it will happen eventually. that this account is won and is
position of meeting specifications and 4
Typical reasons this happens include: ours forever when the
being that you already contribute to the
competition is working hard
buyerʼs business.
• Poor handling of a change of behind the scenes to win it
key staff, either on the vendor back.
or the partners side.
• Financial issues. You could be
• A breach of trust where providing the perfect product
something was promised and to your customer, but if they
did not happen. Again, this go bust, they will run out of
breach of trust could come money to spend with you.
from either side of the
equation. These are all things to look out for
and to try and mitigate if you want to
have your key account delivering
revenue over the long term.

130 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

 Key account life cycle importance of working together. At this
point, the seller may be the sole supplier for
Risk for
a particular product or service and there is
the buyer
lots of information sharing and a large degree
of cross-organizational trust between each
organization.

There are regular cross-company strategic

planning meetings with excellent
opportunities to grow the incoming revenue.
Revenue for These are typically the best kinds of key
the Seller accounts as the competition is locked out,
and you still have room for growth within the
business.
A. B. C. D. E.
Basic Cooperative Key Integrated Goes
account account account key to shit D. Integrated Key Account
account
This is the highest level of key account. You
are now on step four of the value ladder. The
seller and buyer work almost as a single
The Finite Key Account B. Cooperative Account
organization to create value for both parties.
This is a stage where the seller is one of the
Regardless of how well you manage the key E. Goes to Shit
few preferred by the buyer. There are
account, eventually, it will fall to pieces.
multiple contact points between the seller
There are five stages to a typical key account: Unfortunately, all good things come to an
and the buyerʼs organization. However,
thereʼs somewhat limited information end. Most key account relationships decline
A. Basic Account gradually as commercial interests between
sharing, and the supplier is not quite fully
trusted by the customer. the seller and buyer diverge or one party is
This is mainly transactional, and the seller hit by a crisis.
needs to prove their efficiency and reliability
C. Key Account
to the buyer. At this point, it is easy for the
buyer to exit the relationship.
Youʼre now considered a key supplier by the
buyer. Both sides acknowledge the strategic

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 131

 04. Book Strategy Meeting
Now that you have your ranked and The fastest way to book a key account
organized list of potential key accounts, letʼs strategy meeting is to send over a Key
get a meeting booked with the top three this Account Plan and ask, “Would it make sense
quarter. to book a quick call to discuss this further?”

Once the meeting is booked, we have the

opportunity to deliver how we think we can
become a strategic partner, and we can see if
they agree.

132 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

 HINT:
Key Account Plan You can use the PESTEL process to
uncover the need for change within
your key accounts.
Do not over-complicate this. A basic key
account plan should have the following
Here are a few examples:
structure:

• Political – Government pushes

A. Executive summary
Universities to offer sales
B. Why now?
training to business students.
C. Opportunities
• Economic – Huge market crash
forces leadership to stop
A. Executive Summary
spending on external sales
training or to sack large parts
A clear and focused summary that contains
of the sales force.
all the essential facts and points mentioned
• Social – Online training is seen
in the rest of the document. It draws
as a weak alternative to in-
conclusions and gives a 1 or 2-sentence
person-based training
summary of everything that follows.
programs.
• Technological – VR disrupts
B. Why Now?
the video-based sales training
industry.
This outlines the need for change within the
• Environmental – Sales training
account. Why should the most important
completed remotely to reduce
people within the key account meet with you
the environmental impact of
right now?
large company gatherings
from travel and hotels.
• Legal – New data management
laws make storing user data
too expensive or complex for
small businesses.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 133

 HINT:
C. Opportunities 2. Address high-level issues:
Opportunity =
This section of the key account plan shares a • How can we help this account Benefits - Costs
high-level overview of the opportunities increase sales revenue from its When pitching key accounts, it is
where you can the buyer transform their customers? important to understand that value is
business by forming a strategic partnership • What can we do to improve the not just created by a supplier and
with your organization. accountʼs productivity? then given to the buyer, it can be
• What can we do to help the created collaboratively between both
Here are some prompts to help create this account reduce its costs? parties.
section of the plan: • What activities could we do to get
higher up the value steps? The costs of working with you could
1. Solve customer problems: • What can we do to help this be a reliance on your service for the
customer untangle an ongoing, key account to operate. Or it could be
• What can you do to remedy a painful internal problem? a vendor lock-in where theyʼre
customer service problem. Either nervous that you might continually
your customer service to the buyer increase your pricing.
or its service to its customers?
• What can you do to solve the To have the most impact with your
buyerʼs product development opportunities, try to pitch them as:
issues?
• The last time we solved a problem • Distinctive – superior to the
for this buyer, how did we do it? Or competitors.
the last time the competition • Measurable – it is based on a
solved the problem for this buyer, tangible point of difference
how did they do it? that can be quantified in cold
• Is there a new problem on the hard cash.
horizon that we might be able to • Sustainable – shouldnʼt be a
solve before it hits them? fly-by-night deal of reduction
in pricing.

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Booking the Meeting
Once youʼve created a key account report for
each of the three top potential key accounts Hi [NAME],
from your list each quarter, itʼs time to send it
over and book a meeting with them. Weʼve been working together for
X months.
You can use this template to connect with
your buyer and influence them to meet with Y value has been delivered in our
you: initial partnership.

I put together a report that

outlines some opportunities that
may be worth investigating.

Would it make sense for me to

send it over?

Cheers,

Will

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 Wrapping Up
We have covered a lot of ground in this For many of sellers, one to three new, large
framework. key accounts each year is all it takes to
completely obliterate their sales quota.
Youʼve built a list of potential key accounts,
ranked them in order of opportunity, So run through the process, book those
uncovered if you can help them (or not), and meetings and letʼs go and make some serious
then booked a meeting to explore growing money.
the service that you offer.

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Account planning and
problem-solving go together.
And the core piece of the
account planning, strangely, is
understanding the customer
story and understanding what
we can do to make a significant
difference for them.”

Mark Donnolo, Sales Expert, [Link] Podcast

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 06.
Storytelling

138 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

Storytelling
We all enjoy hearing a good story. Walter doesnʼt use slides in his sales Walter has buyers who are eager to meet
presentations. with him, while Sam has to put his buyers on
When you want your buyers to pay attention, a caffeine drip to keep them awake for the
telling them a story is the best way to meeting.
communicate your message.
This chapter explains the power of
Sam shares facts in his sales presentations. storytelling in sales and gives you a simple
His buyers often fall asleep even though they framework so that you can implement it, too.
know they are a good fit to work with him
and want to progress the sale forward.

Instead, he tells the success stories of people

similar to the buyers heʼs presenting to.

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 Stop Boring Buyers
The average sales pitch is boring. But it doesnʼt have to be this way. You can Letʼs look at how to incorporate effective
deliver a powerful, effective message while storytelling during your sales conversations
Running through features, hitting on target driving engagement, stirring emotions, and using a simple five-point framework. Iʼll also
metrics, going through product slide after generating buying intent. cover why storytelling drives serious selling
product slide after produ… Zzz. success, pro tips for how to tell a good story,
And all it takes is some simple sales and the three elements every sales story
Truth be told, the everyday sales pitch sucks. storytelling. should have.
And your buyers think so, too.

140 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

 Computer Brain

Story
“This person who is
like you had success
this specific way.”

Human Brain Caveman Brain

Behavior Feeling
“Letʼs give “I bet I can have
this a try.” that success, too.”

How stories are processed across the 3-brain system

Why Storytelling in Business Works

There is one thing that unites all humans-no See, weʼve been hard-wired for thousands of Stories get stuck in our Computer Brains.
one likes change. It can be scary. And years to pass on important information via They can become the foundations of
adapting to it takes work. So, why should you storytelling. Some of the earliest evidence of emotions in the Caveman Brain and can even
bring storytelling into your sales processes? stories come from cave drawings in France shape our more logical and thoughtful ideas
that go back as far as 30,000 years ago. in the Human Brain. Stories are the
There are four reasons why sales storytelling foundation of knowledge that makes us who
is so effective: Studies have shown that a character-driven we are.
story can predict how much people are
A. Engaging on a willing to donate to charitable causes. A Humans are storytellers and story-listeners.
message wrapped in a well-constructed story And when you incorporate that nature into
Fundamental Level is more likely to be understood (and even your sales process, youʼre tapping into a
recalled weeks later). And even our biological process that is more capable to
First, storytelling is engaging. And not just conception of ourselves, our identity, is built change peopleʼs behaviors.
“meh” engaging. But engaging on a on a storytelling foundation as we learned
fundamental, biological, addictive level. when we looked at your “myth” in the first
chapter.

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 Modern buyers Emotion Logic
journey

No awareness

Awareness

Exploring
solutions
Comparing
vendors

Purchase

Onboarding

B. Taps Into Emotions Itʼs often an email that tugs on the buyerʼs When youʼre telling your story to potential
emotions that gets them to book a meeting buyers, youʼre helping them feel the same
with you or an emotional customer success ups and downs as the “characters” in the
Logic is an important aspect of any sale. If
story that gets them over the line to story. And as a result, youʼre priming their
you canʼt make the numbers work, the buyer
purchase. emotions to make a purchase decision.
isnʼt going to give you a try.

Itʼs the excitement, the trust, the

But winning sales takes emotion, too.
gravitational pull that causes buyers to say,
Especially during the begging of the sales
“Yes! I want this.”
process when the buyer doesnʼt quite know
and trust you yet.

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Fundamentally, we make decisions
emotionally, and if all weʼre doing is spouting
features and benefits, weʼre really engaging
the logical part of the brain. The logical part
of the brain does not make decisions. But
analyses and captures information to weigh
pros and cons, but decisions are made
emotionally. And what stories do is they tap
into the emotional center of the listener,
and thatʼs where the decisions are made.”
Adrian Davis, President & CEO of Whetstone Inc.,
[Link] Podcast

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 143

 C. The Buyer Feels Like the On a human-to-human level, of course, they As we covered in the Influence Framework,
do. But when theyʼre faced with serious social proof is the undisputed king of tools
Hero change (switching vendors, putting their for building trust. But if you bombard
reputation on the line, etc.), they need to feel prospects with testimonials and case studies
In the same vein as the last point, when your
the jubilation that comes from being the right off the bat, theyʼre going to head for the
buyer feels the emotions of your narrativeʼs
reason for a massive business success hills. Theyʼre just not at that stage of the
hero, they start feeling like the hero
themselves. buyerʼs journey yet.
themselves. And that is key to driving real
action.
And itʼs up to you to help them feel that way. Alternatively, when you tell a story that
connects with your buyers, youʼre helping
Unfortunately, a lot of sellers donʼt get this
D. A Subtle Way to Boast them understand the problem, explore the
point until far later in their careers. They try
solution, and see that you are ultimately the
to make themselves look like the hero—the Success gatekeeper to their success.
seller who knows it all, who has all the expert
knowledge, and who has helped countless Last but not least, a story is a way to hint Nothing wrong with that!
others. (just hint) at your success. Without straying
too far from the real hero of the story—the
But the truth is, the buyer does not care buyer—telling a story about a past client lets
about you. you say, “Hey, Iʼve helped plenty of people
like you. See?”

144 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

I think most of us want to come in as
salespeople, and I sell all the time, so
Iʼm no different, and we want to be the
hero. Well, Iʼve got bad news, weʼre not
the hero, we need to make our
customer the hero.”
Ken Rutsky, Consultant, Speaker, Mentor, & Author,
[Link] Podcast

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 Now that you understand why storytelling in works the best is following a simple five-step
The B2B sales is so important, itʼs time to dive process I like to call (unimaginatively) the
into the how. Storytelling Framework.
Storytelling There are plenty of different ways to
Framework approach storytelling. But what Iʼve found

REALITY
BRIDGE

CURRENT UNRESOLVED BLOCKERS FUTURE

REALITY PAIN REALITY

146 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

01. Current Reality HINT:
Do Your Research
The first step to telling an effective sales story Some points to drive home here are:
is to start with a previous customer you The more intimately familiar you are
helped. This is most powerful when itʼs • Their current reality, well… it sucks. with your buyer (the problem theyʼre
strikingly similar pain to what your current And frankly, it might always suck. facing, pain points, goals, etc.), the
buyer is going through. Unless somethingʼs done about the more this introduction to the story
situation, of course. will resonate with them. And
Maybe itʼs that their business growth has • It might not be the heroʼs fault. Things consequently, the more effective the
stalled in recent months. Or their team isnʼt change in business. And most things story will be.
working nearly as efficiently as they should. are out of peopleʼs control. Theyʼre a
Or it could be that theyʼve hit a success victim of circumstance.
roadblock they canʼt overcome.
This stage lays the groundwork for the
Whatever the problem is, it should be a amazing solution to come later. So the
problem that resonates with your buyer. And bleaker you make this part of the story, the
it should be a problem they are encountering better.
in their current reality.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 147

 HINT:

02. Unresolved Pain Come at the problem from all angles.

Money is a motivating factor, sure.
But itʼs not the only thing people
Once youʼve introduced the hero and the Here are some prompts to help you dig into consider when making a buying
broad strokes of the problem, itʼs time to the buyerʼs unresolved pains: decision.
drive the pain home. In copywriting terms,
this is whatʼs known as “agitating” the pain. • What are the consequences of this Donʼt be afraid to lean into the social
And itʼs an essential step to get your buyer to pain? – Missed revenue goals, delayed consequences of the buyers situation.
connect with your story on an emotional product launch, costly inefficiencies,
level. etc. Ask the buyer how this issue affects
• Who do they look stupid in front of them out of work, too.
Your goal here is to make your buyer feel because of the pain? – Their boss?
what the hero (previous buyer) is going Their colleagues? Their family
through at this point in their story. And you members and friends?
do that by adding detail, fleshing out the • Who is judging them? – Saying they
thoughts and emotions of the hero, and could do the job better? Thinking the
upping the tension. hero should never have had the
position in the first place?
• What is on the line? – A raise or
bonus? A job? An entire department?

148 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

03. Blockers
At this stage of the story, the unrelenting pain Blocker #1: The Status Quo from finding a new (and more effective)
points should force the hero into action. But solution to their problems. And it needs to be
before they settle on a solution (your dealt with before they adopt your solution.
The status quo is the existing state of affairs.
solution), they will encounter two roadblocks
Itʼs where everything stays the same, and
to success: In our story, the status quo can be split into
nothing changes, for the worse or the better.
four elements.
1. The Status Quo
As a seller, you should know that the status
2. Theyʼre Lost
quo is generally the enemy. It keeps buyers

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 149

 2. Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias is one of the
tougher aspects of the status quo
to overcome. This bias is our
mindʼs tendency to stick to our
previous decisions and defend
them. The reason we have this
bias is because it protects our
self-image. If we admit that the 4. Initial Cost of Change
1. Selection Overwhelm
previous solution we chose isnʼt
Finally, the initial cost of change
Selection overwhelm is when a up to snuff, itʼs a blow to our ego.
is the first chunk of energy the
buyer knows that they have a And rather than finding a new,
buyer needs to spend to start
problem, but they donʼt take better solution, we stand by our
using your solution. Fighting for
action because they see so many old one. Itʼs your job to prove that
the budget, implementing your
potential solutions in the standing still would be a mistake.
product, and any other number of
marketplace. This is where
time-consuming tasks may all
product differentiation comes in,
need to be taken care of before
and at this stage in the story, itʼs a
the buyer starts seeing benefits.
great spot to reiterate what
3. Blowback Risk The easier you can make it for the
makes your solution so superior
buyer, the more likely theyʼll be to
to the competition. The blowback risk is the real risk
sign on.
that your potential buyer will look
stupid if your proposed solution
does not work out. Your
reputation and brand in your
industry will make a massive dent
in this fear when you demonstrate
your expertise and explain that
you have a network of satisfied
customers.

150 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

 Few options
means risk of Decisions
poor service made quickly Too many
option leads
to overwhelms

Aversion

Number of competitors in the market

Blocker #2: Theyʼre Lost They donʼt have all the answers. At least not Thatʼs why theyʼre looking for help. Theyʼre
yet, anyway. looking for a guide, a mentor of sorts, that
can simplify the process and tell them what
That status quo is the biggest barrier to a
And in the complicated world of B2B buying, they need to know to make the right
prospect making a buying decision. And
knowing which solution is suitable for their decision.
when you deal with it effectively (or rather
problem (and how to implement it
show how you dealt with it with past
effectively) is confusing. Sound familiar? Yep, thatʼs you!
customers), thereʼs only one blocker left: the
buyer is lost.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 151

 HINT:
Get visceral with the future. Details
04. Future Reality are key here to driving real
connection here. The more detailed
and relevant you can make this for
Now that weʼve explained the current reality professional goals? Did their stress levels the buyer, the better theyʼll be able to
for the hero, dug deep into their pain points, drop? Did the higher-ups recognize all the imagine themselves in the shoes of
and effectively described their success hard work the hero went through to achieve the hero. And thatʼs exactly what
blockers, itʼs time to paint a picture of their these results? weʼre after here.
reality after implementing our solution.
Nowʼs the time to show just whatʼs possible
The goal of this step is to generate when your buyer breaks through their wall of
enthusiasm in the buyer and to put them in status quo and finds the right guide to get
the shoes of the hero. them the results theyʼre after.

How did the heroʼs life improve after

adopting the solution? Were they able to
achieve or even outperform their

152 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

05. Reality Bridge
Finally, itʼs time to tie everything together. Itʼs implementing your solution doesnʼt have to If youʼve done everything right up until this
time to explain that you are the guide/ be stressful and time-consuming. point, youʼll now be talking to an engaged,
mentor that took the hero from their current excited, and ready-to-start buyer whoʼs dying
reality to their better future reality. You that helped them achieve those jaw- to work with you.
dropping performance results, reduce their
You that let them bridge the gap across their stress, and show the C-suite why the buyer is And itʼs all because you told an excellent
success blockers. the best person for the job. story.

You that helped them see why your product And yes, you can do the same for the
stood out from the competition. Why prospect, too. You can make them the hero in
adopting a new solution is a good their own story. All they have to do is say,
investment. Why they donʼt have to be “Yes.”
concerned about blowback. And why

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 153

 The sales storytelling pathway:
From status quo, to unknown land,
to a new, better status quo

Start

New Status quo

status quo Current
reality

Unknown

Reality
bridge
Future
reality

Blockers

154 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

The Three Goals
Now that you understand how to tell a good You want the buyer to feel like they are the Phrases like:
story during your sales conversations, letʼs go heroes of the story. They are the ones that
over three guiding principles that will take can achieve all the success you touched on.
your sales stories to the next level. And to do that, you need to drive buy-in. Does this sound familiar?

When you hit these three goals, youʼre using So, how do you get your buyer into the
storytelling in business to its maximum heroes shoes?
How would you have
effect.
solved this?
First is research. Match your story to the real
Goal #1: Connect to the problems, pain points, and other details of
the buyer youʼre engaging with.
Buyer Could you see
Second, try dropping in key phrases that yourself there, too?
Above all else is connection. “transport” the buyer into the story.

Beyond just putting the buyer into the role of

the hero, they also keep your audience
engaged and part of the story.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 155

 Goal #2: Requalify the If their response is “no”, thatʼs fine. Just pivot If the buyer has been nodding their head
to a different story or hypothesis of their pain throughout the story, you know itʼs time to
Buyer and test that instead. pounce. After you share that youʼre the
mentor theyʼre looking for to achieve similar
Your story is also a great way to requalify the
But if you arenʼt making any headway and outcomes, ask:
buyer to see if theyʼre a good fit for your
continue to get negative responses, itʼs a
solution.
good sign that this potential buyer isnʼt right
for your product. And from there, you can Would it make sense for
Ask the buyer outright:
take the appropriate actions to refer the lead me to help you navigate
to someone else. this too?
Do you have these issues?
Goal #3: Close, Close, Close
Asking this question is a powerful way to
Finally, the goal of the story is to (duh) close,
Is this something that close the emotional side of the sale right
close, close!
youʼd also like to solve? then and there.

156 | SECTION 1 - SKILLS

Wrapping Up
Storytelling is a powerful tool for any seller With this framework, you can add some life Instead, when you leverage the power of
who wants to improve their communication to your sales pitch. stories, your buyers will be more engaged,
during the sales process. more receptive to your solution, and (of
No more driving buyers to sleep by endlessly course) more likely to buy from you.
Thatʼs because storytelling is fundamentally slogging through features and metrics.
human, taps into your buyerʼs emotions, lets
them feel like the hero, and subtly sells your
success.

SECTION 1 - SKILLS | 157

Section 2:
Beliefs
 07.
Control the
Caveman

160 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

Controlling Your Caveman
We all have a voice inside our heads. Sam had a series of rejections on the phone. Walter listened to the caveman and moved
Sometimes itʼs positive, sometimes it holds His inner caveman told him he was wasting on with his calls regardless. He booked a
us back. his time and so he gave up. meeting on the very next call.

If you canʼt control your inner voice when it

tells you to give up on your sales activities,
your chances of smashing your sales quota
are slim.

Walter had a similar number of rejections, he This chapter explains how to quiet the
heard his inner caveman asking him to slow caveman voice in your brain that second
down and find an easier approach to booking guesses your sales activities so you can get
meetings. them done.

SECTION 2 - BELIEFS | 161

 Controlling Your “Caveman Brain”
No matter who you are, what your market is, Your caveman is sapping your productivity. At any moment there might be a group of
or how many accolades youʼve collected over Itʼs keeping you from achieving all those lofty hairy folks with big clubs sprinting over the
the years, thereʼs one thing that ties us all goals. And itʼs holding you back from the hill ready to bash you on the head and take
together. success you know youʼre capable of. your stuff.

Youʼve got a stupid caveman in your brain. But thereʼs good news. And in a harsh world like that, survival and
passing on your genes were all that mattered.
Yep, a caveman—walking around, making You can learn to control your Caveman Brain. Nothing more.
decisions for you, and for the most part, And once you do, you can stop holding
running your life. Itʼs that little part of you yourself back. Anger, fear, lust, territorialism, and needing
that responds instantly, emotionally, and to belong to a group—these all helped our
without calculation. Understanding Your ancestors survive. And so theyʼre a deep part
of us modern humans.
Itʼs the part of you that talked you out of
Caveman
spending an hour prospecting this morning, The need to make quick decisions is why our
when you know you should be doing it. Itʼs crucial to make a few important points. Caveman follows an automated flow diagram
of decision-making rather than a more
And guess what? Your sales performance is First, the Caveman Brain was super Human-like, complex decision tree approach
suffering because of it. advantageous for our ancestors. Imagine the in making decisions.
environment that this part of the brain
developed in.

162 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 Computer Caveman Human

Input Stories Threat? Logic

Habitual Emotional Logical

response response response

Output

A classic example of the Caveman Brain in to club someone over the head and escape Heck, sometimes you need to kick someone
full swing is when you argue with a loved the danger. Thatʼs why silly in the balls and run away if youʼre in danger,
one. Someone does something slightly misunderstandings or mistakes can escalate too.
annoying. The other person calls it out so quickly.
because the Caveman Brain sees the small With those points in mind, hereʼs the major
mistake as a threat. The other person doesnʼt Which leads us to point #2, the Caveman takeaway—you shouldnʼt try to kill your
back down, and things escalate very quickly. Brain is not bad. Sometimes, itʼs okay to Caveman Brain. You canʼt. Itʼs a part of you,
gorge on a juicy burger when you should be and it always will be. Instead, try to control
Most of the time, stupid arguments like this eating a salad. Sometimes itʼs okay to take an it.
are laughed at an hour after the fact. That is afternoon nap. And sometimes, itʼs even
because the Human Brain has come along healthy to indulge a bit. It keeps life
and rationalized the stupidity. But in the interesting.
moment, the Caveman Brain is always ready

SECTION 2 - BELIEFS | 163

 When you learn to control your inner • Create and implement strategies that
Controlling caveman, you can:
•
lead to growth.
Get more done each day so you can
Your “Caveman” • Stop procrastinating on tasks you
need to complete.
stop stressing so much.

Framework • Prioritize working on the important

things in your business.
So, letʼs look at how we can beat the
Caveman for good.

CATCH LABEL HUMAN

THOUGHT CAVEMAN DECISION

164 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

Thereʼs no such thing as laziness really,
because everyone works hard when
theyʼre really, really passionately engaged
with something. Thereʼs only difficulty
in controlling your reaction to your
emotional states or being able to
manage your emotions.”
Anthony Sammeroff, Expert Therapist, [Link] Podcast

SECTION 2 - BELIEFS | 165

 01. Catch
The first step in controlling the Caveman • Youʼre driving along, and someone some extra work done. Now, you
Brain is to understand when the different cuts you off. So naturally, you flip might still end up at the game if your
decision centers in your brain are activated. them the bird, shout something Caveman Brain has anything to do
obnoxious at them, and then wait for with it. But in this moment, your
And it all comes down to this—the situation the fumes coming out of your ears to Human Brain is looking into the future
youʼre in. wind down. This was the emotional and planning your actions.
Caveman Brain at work, reacting to a
Here are a few examples: threat by activating your emotional Depending on which situation youʼre in, one
center. of the three brains will take over.
• The doorbell rings, so you stand up
and walk over to the door. You didnʼt • You sit in front of your calendar, and We cover the Computer Brain in more detail
think, there was no emotion. It was plan the next 2 weeks of work. You in the Habit Framework later in the book so
habit. This was the Computer Brain write down that next Friday afternoon weʼll pass over that for now.
controlling your actions. youʼre going to skip going to the big
game with your friends so you can get So, that leaves our Caveman Brain.

166 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 Caveman Human

No
Threat? Logic

Yes

When the Caveman Takes Think about your day-to-day sales activities. Caveman Brain takes over the decision-
When are you most at risk of acting making, grabs its club, and goes to war (or
Over emotionally, instantly, and without has an emotional outburst).
considering the logic behind such a rash
To catch the Caveman Brain before it rules
decision? There are four situations, in particular, to be
your actions, you need to be aware of what
on the watch for:
situations cause it to attempt to take control.
Typically, you will react emotionally when
there is a perceived threat. That is when the

SECTION 2 - BELIEFS | 167

 1. People 2. Stress • Immediate Gratification – Your
caveman wants an easy life with
immediate gratification (food, sex)
Weʼre social animals by nature. But that The mind is a funny thing, your mood in
because it doesnʼt understand that it
social connection (or disconnect) is also particular. If youʼre in a certain state of mind,
has a “future” (no exercise, no saving
notorious for bringing out the Caveman Brain the outside world can look entirely different
money, etc.).
in all of us. than any other day.

So if you want to catch your inner caveman Thatʼs why you need to be extra careful 4. Selling
before it does any damage, you should be during times of heightened stress.
extra watchful in social situations. And, of course, thereʼs within your sales role.
• Fight, Flight, or Freeze – Understand
• Arguments – Most arguments happen that your caveman only has a few The Caveman Brain is terrible for business. It
when your inner caveman starts options – fight, flight, or freeze. It makes rash decisions. Reacts to slights
talking emotionally to another doesnʼt understand, chill, love, fun. If emotionally. And is an ineffective negotiator
personʼs inner caveman. youʼre constantly stressed, itʼs likely as we discussed in the Logical Negotiations
• Prejudices – Be aware of your that your caveman is the one doing Framework.
prejudices. Your caveman is shaped by most of the thinking in your brain.
your upbringing and what people tell It all comes down to its inability to plan for
you about the world. 3. Physical the future.
• Unfamiliar Territory – Understand
that if you or the person youʼre • Planning – Your caveman doesnʼt
For the Caveman Brain, there is no other time
engaging with is in unfamiliar understand what a business is. Nor
than now. And that means itʼs especially
territory, the Caveman Brain is more can you ever teach it this concept. If it
prone to giving in to situations with
likely to take control. isnʼt immediate gratification, the
immediate gratification.
Caveman Brain will never understand.

168 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

Every word you say
creates feelings. If you
create the wrong feelings,
the emotions will be a ʻnoʼ
instead of a ʻyes.ʼ”
Tom Hopkins, Sales Trainer,
[Link] Podcast

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 02. Label
Okay, so youʼve done the prep work. Youʼve This is anger. That is sadness. Right now, Iʼm Well, it turns out labeling our Caveman Brain
learned when to become hyper-aware of your feeling anxious, depressed, or ravenous—you reactions is incredibly powerful. So powerful
thought patterns. And that way, you can get the picture. in fact that itʼs actually been scientifically
catch the Caveman Brain before it takes over. studied.
Now, this might sound trivial at first. After all,
The next step is to label those feelings once how can giving something a name do much
they pop up. of anything at all?

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“Affect Labelling” – The And thatʼs when something cool happened. Labeling is powerful. The science proves it.
Science Every time the participant self-labeled their So next time you feel emotional, label what
emotion, the researchers saw reduced youʼre feeling. When you find yourself being
In the scientific literature, this process of
activity in the amygdala, the brains emotion pulled away from your work to play Xbox,
labeling emotions is called “affect labeling.”
center. By simply giving their negative label it as procrastination.
feelings a name it lowered their emotional
In these experiments, scientists place
response! The sooner you do, the easier it will be to
subjects in an fMRI machine. It lets them see
manage that feeling. And then you can move
the electrical activity in their brains. They
The Caveman was calmed. on to step #3 of the framework.
then induced a negative emotion by showing
the patient an emotionally charged photo—
Scientists have also found “affect labeling”:
depicting poverty, war, someone crying, etc.
• Decreases heart rates in stressful
After the subject starts feeling the emotion,
events.
the researchers ask the participant how they
• Reduces the emotional effect of
are feeling. Put another way, they would
similar events in the future.
force them to put their feelings into words.
• Lowers skin electrical resonance (a
They would label them.
measure of stress).

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 03. Decide
Youʼve recognized the situations where the And now, itʼs time to do something about it.
Caveman Brain comes out and tries to pull Now you can decide whether to follow your
you away from your selling goals. emotions (The Caveman Brain) or react
logically (The Human Brain).
Youʼve labeled your feelings to make them
more manageable.

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Itʼs important to remember here that
sometimes the caveman is correct.

Have you ever had a gut feeling that

something was wrong? That you shouldnʼt
walk down that specific street or that you Caveman Human
shouldnʼt take a risk and speak to that dodgy
person?

Those are situations where it was an

No
Threat? Logic
advantage to listen to your caveman. But you
should never listen and act on what your
Caveman Brain wants from you blindly. YOU
should decide on whatʼs the appropriate
thing to do next. Yes
Emotional Logical
Making the Human response response
Decision
Output
In many cases, itʼs better to go with your
Human Brain over your Caveman Brain.

Letʼs revisit the scenarios from step #1 and

see how they play out when you use this
framework.

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 1. People those thoughts as prejudices, you can But once you label your emotions, you can
choose not to act on them. decide to act with your Human Brain instead.
When it comes to dealing with people
• Unfamiliar Territory – If youʼre • Fight, Flight, or Freeze – Observe the
(especially in sales scenarios), it pays to be
planning a meeting with a potential want to react, take a breath, and let it
logical and rational.
buyer or important business contact, pass. Acknowledge that these feelings
schedule it in a neutral location. are fleeting if you donʼt feed into
Not only will doing so result in better sales
Unfamiliar territory can easily bring them. They will pass with time. So
results. But itʼll also help you maintain those
out the caveman in all of us. So rather rather than making rash decisions,
relationships for years to come:
than asking your prospect to come form a plan to force you to leverage
into your office or even going to theirs, your logic, not your emotions.
• Arguments – Arguments are bound to
choose a nearby coffee shop instead.
happen. But even if the other person is
getting emotional, you must spot the
Caveman Brain early, stay calm, and 2. Stress
theyʼll talk themselves down to your
level. When it comes to stressful situations, your
Caveman Brain will activate. Even the
• Prejudices – When you find yourself slightest added anxiety can kick it into gear
jumping to conclusions and about to and force you to react irrationally and
act on a bias, thatʼs the Caveman emotionally to any situation.
Brain at work. But once you label

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3. Physical more important, that pizza or the • Planning – Never get business advice
beach body on your big holiday? The from your caveman. Imagine trying to
new Porsche now or retiring early and explain the internet, marketing, profit,
Physical drives are powerful for the Caveman
living the rest of your life with and loss to a hairy dude with a club
Brain.
freedom? So much of what we do is and a loincloth from 90,000 years ago.
based on immediate gratification, that Logic always wins in business. So take
A greasy burger when youʼre on a diet, the
quick dopamine hit. But in many that burden away from your caveman
pull of a video game when you should be
cases, delaying that gratification now and leave it to your Human Brain
working, skipping that training session
will lead to greater gains later. instead.
because youʼre a bit tired—these are all the
Caveman Brain at work.
4. Selling
But once you recognize these feelings for
what they are, you can then choose not to act As we know, following the Caveman Brain is a
on them. surefire way of sinking your selling efforts. So
the sooner you start taking your caveman out
• Immediate Gratification – Before you of your business thinking entirely, the sooner
act, spend 3 seconds weighing up the you can start seeing more success and
pros and cons. Ask yourself which is growth.

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 The only thing that actually helps
you create a relationship with
someone is emotion. And the only
thing the brain decides is emotional
is sound: the pitch, pace, tone,
melody, and volume.”
Roger Love, Vocal Coach, [Link] Podcast

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Wrapping Up
Following this framework is a fantastic way to Oftentimes we have been acting and reacting there is a shadowy force, pulling at your
train yourself to be more logical in the face of the same way all our lives. And if youʼre used heels, trying to derail your pathway to
stress. to following your Caveman Brain all the time, success. Youʼll be able to set your own rules
making the switch can be tough. for life rather than feeling like youʼre a slave
But itʼs important to remember that big to your impulses.
changes donʼt happen overnight. But the more you put this framework into
practice, the more you will feel in control of
your destiny. Youʼll reduce that feeling that

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 08.
Become
Extroverted

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Turn On Extroversion
To close deals, you need to speak to people. Christopher walked by Walterʼs desk one day Walter explained that heʼs introverted.
and noticed that he didnʼt have any calls or Christopher shocked Walter by explaining
Itʼs impossible to hide behind a keyboard and in-person meetings planned in his calendar. that heʼs also an introvert but can turn on a
close large, lucrative B2B deals. level of extroversion when needed.

Walter is an introvert. He spent the first half Walter tried it and felt much more
of his career trying to close deals by sending comfortable calling and meeting with his
sales content, emails and occasionally doing prospects.
virtual meetings with his buyers.

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 Revenue

Time spent talking to buyers

Getting Paid to Speak

Sales is a people game. But for some, the social aspects of the job feel like a fish out of water. But with little
can be draining. And that spells out serious work, you can train yourself to become a
Conversations, collaboration, discussion, problems for earning potential, career social butterfly. And in doing so, you can
partnership, and yep, even disagreement is trajectory, and professional success. unlock all the sales benefits that come with
all part of making it in this space. this personality trait.
If youʼre a seller that leans more toward
introversion than extroversion, you might

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 Introvert Extrovert

Energy levels

Time spent with buyers

What Is an Extrovert? interacting with the outer world (as opposed • Think out loud.
to the inner world). • Enjoy working in teams.
• Be more forthcoming with personal
Before we dive into how to be more
But these days, people use the term to information.
extroverted, we need to agree on what that
describe social interactions, not necessarily • Strike up conversations with friends,
means.
the “outer world” as a whole. family members, and even strangers.
• Be friendly and approachable.
Extroversion: The personality trait of being
energized and gratified by interacting with
Examples of Extroversion
Remember that extroversion is not
others.
An extrovert will usually: arrogance. Arrogance is a need to tell others
about how great you are, extroversion
First introduced by Carl Gustav Jung in the
• Seek out and enjoy social interactions describes how energized you feel while
early 1900s, this trait was originally meant to
with others. interacting with others.
describe personalities that focus energy on
• Thrive in large groups of people.

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 Every sales professional wants to be
just south of arrogance. You donʼt
actively go out there to be arrogant.
You just drop below it and just create
that presence and that aura which
says, ʻIʼm here to do a job. Iʼm a sales
professional. Iʼm here to make my
company money, and Iʼll make you
some money, too.ʼ”
Matt Sykes, Sales Trainer, Host, & Podcast Host,
[Link] Podcast

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 Introvert 50% 25% 25% 50% Extrovert

Ambivert with Ambivert with

introvert functions extrovert functions

Am I an Introvert or an Extrovert?
In all likelihood, youʼre probably a bit of both. Maybe in the mornings and evenings you like Itʼs possible—and likely—that you feel like
your alone time. Before and after work, you you belong in both camps throughout the
See, introversion and extroversion arenʼt feel re-energized by reading a book, listening day.
binary—you donʼt have to be only one or the to a podcast, or simply taking time for
other. Instead, think of introversion and yourself. And even more importantly, itʼs healthy, too.
extroversion as a scale. You can be
introverted 70% of the time while extroverted But when youʼre at work, maybe you feel
30% of the time. And the opposite (as well as extroverted. You seek out conversations, are
any other ratio) can also be true. quick to speak up at meetings, and get a thrill
out of discussions with others.

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 Why Is Being Extroverted in a Sales Role Valuable?
Now, there are upsides and downsides to With introverted sellers, thereʼs plenty of B. GIVE Energy in Convos
both introversion and extroversion. And thought and consideration going on upstairs
having a blend of each isnʼt just normal, itʼs behind the scenes. But to buyers (who have
Rather Than Suck It Up
healthy. limited time with sellers), all that calculation
Extroverts bring the energy. Introverts can
isnʼt immediately apparent.
take it away.
But when it comes to being a seller in
particular, itʼs especially beneficial to be And as a result, introverted sellers have a
For instance, if youʼre an introvert that
highly extroverted. And there are a few more difficult time driving excitement.
doesnʼt bring enthusiasm to every
specific reasons for that.
conversation, buyers wonʼt just lack the
But with extroverts, itʼs easy to pass on
urgency to buy.
A. You Bring Energy to enthusiasm to the buyer in as little as an
instant. Thatʼs because extroverts are
Sales Interactions energized by talking with others. And since
More than that, theyʼll actively avoid talking
to you. Why? Because theyʼll constantly feel
that energy can be contagious, it can excite
One major difference between introverts and like theyʼre making up for your lack of
buyers about what you offer.
extroverts in the selling environment is their excitement. And thatʼll leave them drained
energy levels. and thinking, “Well, I never want to do that
again.”

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C. Itʼs Whatʼs Expected D. Easier to Connect Logic (product specs, price points, use cases,
etc.) has its place in B2B selling. But even
Emotionally still, emotion also drives decisions in this
I know, I know. There are TONS of articles out
space. And the more connected you are to
there these days on the value of introverts in Time is a huge factor in sales. The sooner and
your buyer, the harder your emotional pitch
the workplace. It seems like every day thereʼs more deeply you can connect—I mean
is going to hit.
a new Forbes listicle on the top professional connect—with your buyers, the better your
benefits of introversion in the office. chances of closing.

But in sales specifically, buyers want you to Extroverts are naturally easier to connect
be a talker. They expect it. with because they put themselves out there
more. Thereʼs less time spent breaking down
And if they have to work to get information communication barriers. And rather than
out of you, they will high-tail it out of there. teasing out who an introverted rep is,
extroverts tend to show buyers their true
The more you can meet and play to those colors right off the bat.
expectations, the less distracted (and
annoyed) prospects will be. And the more This more immediate connection makes it
seamlessly you can sell them why your easier to leverage emotional selling when
product is the obvious solution to their trying to close a deal.
problems.

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 Computer Caveman Human

Input Stories Threat? Logic

YES!

Habitual Emotional Logical

response response response

Output

The Introverted Sales Sales anxiety often is as simple as the But, your Caveman Brain has a hard time in
Caveman Brain feeling that youʼre being discerning the threat of having to apologize
Anxiety Cycle threatened. and start over and bigger threats like a tribe
of savages, coming over the hill ready to
As an introvert, as you start to approach your
Now, there is very little physical threat to murder their family.
sales position with more extroversion
having a poor performance on a sales call or
(bringing more energy to conversations, cold
screwing up the introduction to your sales So, the Caveman Brain responds in a similar
calling with confidence, being more open
presentation. way to both threats.
with buyers, etc.), youʼre going to run into
sales anxiety.

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 The introverted sellerʼs sales call roller-coaster

You want to do
a follow up?!
How do
I close
Crap! They this call?
picked up.
OK, Iʼll call.
Selling anxiety

Hopefully they OK, weʼre done.

donʼt pick up. Why are they Only
still taking? another 19
Can I not calls to go…
email them
instead?
Iʼm doing it! Phew,
weʼre done.

Time

This chart breaks down how a simple sale If your coping behaviors hold you back from To do that, we first need to understand the
call could look to an introvert. engaging with buyers then youʼre going to anxiety cycle:
fail to win business from them.
So, the trick to turning on a level of • External Event
extroversion is to manage how you cope with That is why changing the coping behavior • Internal Anxiety Alarm Triggered
selling anxiety. will make you feel and appear more • Coping Behavior Initiated
extroverted. • Others See Your Coping Behavior
• Opinions of Others Restart Cycle

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 The Anxiety Cycle Steps
A. External Event Your head gets foggy, your palms sweat, and They may, for instance, hide in the bathroom
your heart is about to beat out of your chest. to avoid the angry boss. Or they might
pretend to make more cold calls but never
Anxiety doesnʼt come out of nowhere.
This isnʼt a pleasant experience. Being dial any numbers.
Thereʼs always an inciting external event that
anxious clouds your judgment. It causes you
sets off the adrenaline avalanche.
to do and say things that youʼd normally And these behaviors, while they might make
never do. And, of course, it feels like shit at you feel better in the moment, are passing
Maybe itʼs an especially tough rejection on a
the time, too. the buck to your future self. Youʼll have to
cold call. Or your boss is mad about your
deal with the consequences eventually. Just
numbers and about to take it out on you.
All of that unpleasantness leads you to the not right now.
Or maybe you have to speak on stage, and as
next stage of the cycle.
an introvert, you tell yourself that it is the last
thing youʼd ever want to do.
C. Coping Behavior
No matter what it is, this puts everything else
in motion. Since this anxiety is so unpleasant, you start
trying to deal with it. You want it to go away,
so you start doing things to make it stop.
B. Anxiety Alarm Triggered
For some, these coping behaviors are
Next, you react to that event with your
unproductive.
internal anxiety alarm.

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D. Others See Coping E. Opinions Restart Cycle So that leaves us with the question, how do
we break this cycle so that we can function in
Eventually, those bad coping behaviors catch When you become aware that others are a more extroverted state when selling?
up to you. forming a negative opinion of you because of
your coping behaviors, thatʼs when the whole We need to implement better coping
Your boss will eventually find you, even if you cycle restarts again. strategies and we can do exactly that with
hide in the bathroom for a bit. Your numbers the Extroversion Framework.
will reflect someone whoʼs avoiding cold Except the external event has shifted to
calling. Youʼre starting to sweat and fidget on others forming those opinions of you.
a discovery call.
And whether youʼre in the office or on a call
And when you realize others see your coping with a prospect, that added anxiety can
behavior for what it is, that sets off the next seriously hurt your effectiveness as a sales
and final (sort of) step of the cycle. rep.

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 As we saw earlier, thereʼs nothing wrong with You can train yourself to be more
Extroversion being an introvert. But in the world of sales, extroverted. The main thing that stops
it pays to turn on a level of extroversion. introverts from appearing more extroverted
Framework in the modern B2B selling environment is
“selling anxiety.”

FEEDBACK LOOP

OTHER PEOPLES'
OPINIONS
ANXIETY CHANGE FOR
ALARM BETTER
TRIGGERED STRATEGY
COPING
BEHAVIORS
INTERNAL EXTERNAL
190 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS
When your anxiety level goes up, you
actually become less effective, and
your customer will sense your state
of anxiety. They will then feel anxiety,
not knowing why, and when people
feel anxious, they donʼt want to
sign on the dotted line.”
Dr. Robert Glover, Writer, Coach, Speaker, & Author,
[Link] Podcast

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 Self- Self-
Self- consciousness
consciousness consciousness
flywheel

1. Attention switching
2. Killing anxiety with curiosity

01. Changing Your Coping Strategies

If you continue cycling through the same When you focus on yourself, you become Iʼve found two exercises to be effective:
anxiety loop because of your bad coping painfully aware of whatʼs happening and this
behaviors, youʼll be trapped there forever. leads to self-consciousness. 1. Attention Switching.
Youʼll appear fragile and introverted to your 2. Killing Anxiety With Curiosity.
buyers no matter what else you try and The flywheel of panic gets spun up, and at its
change. worst, self-consciousness can dominate your
attention and make it difficult to think of
The solution, is breaking that cycle by using anything else. In B2B sales, itʼs paralyzing.
better coping methods. And the best coping
method Iʼve found for tackling sales anxiety So, how do you break out of self-focused
by far is reducing self-focused attention. attention?

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Exercise #1: Attention • The Environment – What objects do First, focus on yourself for one minute. Focus
you see? How would you describe on your thoughts, your feelings, and your
Switching these objects to someone who is emotions. Then switch your attention to
blind? Whatʼs the boldest color you something else for another minute and keep
The anxiety problem stems from your
can see? What can you hear? How will going back and forth until this becomes
inability to focus on anything other than
this environment be different 12 hours seamless.
yourself in stressful situations. To fix it, you
from now?
need to draw your attention away from the
This may sound incredibly basic and simple.
self and towards something else.
Now, switching your focus (especially when But when you can consciously switch from
your anxiety has already kicked in) can be yourself to other people in a moment of
There are two things you can focus on to shift
tough. Which is why itʼs important to selling anxiety, you can instantly turn it off. It
your attention away from the self:
practice. is remarkable how easy this becomes with a
little bit of practice.
• Other People – Observe how they are
Try practicing where you feel calm and
sitting. Do they look stressed, or do
unthreatened—maybe when youʼre lying in
they look happy? Do they look willing
bed, going for a walk, or resting on the sofa.
to have a conversation, or are they
chilling out watching TV? Really think
about them. Try and understand what
their emotional state is. Ask yourself
how you can add value to them.

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 Exercise #2: Killing Anxiety curious about how they are feeling and how I and it allows me to break out of my own
can give them value, help them through a anxiety and get back to the job at hand.
With Curiosity situation, or better our relationship.
So, next time you start to feel yourself get
When I feel any anxiety, I let my curiosity take
As a natural introvert, I can sometimes start a anxious in high-extroversion activities, start
over.
little nervous at the beginning of an getting curious. Not only will you feel better.
important call. But as the call goes on and I But your buyer will appreciate the level of
When you force yourself to be incredibly
become more and more curious about attention youʼre giving them, too.
curious, there is little processing room or
whether I can help the buyer Iʼm speaking to,
overhead left in your brain for it to focus
any anxiety I started with melts away. Thatʼs a win-win!
inward on your anxiety. And so, rather than
getting caught up in your thoughts, you
Additionally, when I am speaking on stage,
become completely immersed in the person
and I feel a random bit of shyness or
in front of you.
nervousness, Iʼll pause, take a look into the
first row of the crowd and start to observe
I try to put myself in the position of the
how they are taking me in. I become insanely
person Iʼm speaking to and attempt to
curious about a couple of peopleʼs reactions,
understand their emotional state. I become

194 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 Optimal performance

High
Increased
attention/ Strong
interest anxiety

Performance

Boredom/ Complete
depression meltdown

Low Stress High

HINT:
We naturally fear what we donʼt mundane as trying the new Indian
know. restaurant across town.

Each time you step outside your But if you can learn to control that
comfort zone, youʼre going to feel anxiety, you can push through it and
anxious. Whether itʼs as monumental you will instantly appear more
as jumping out of a plane or as extroverted to the outside world.

SECTION 2 - BELIEFS | 195

 I think many salespeople come in and you can tell right
away that they have an agenda and something that
they have to get to. I teach people a lot to focus on being
interested, not interesting. So instead of how do I come
across, how do I position myself? Iʼm genuinely curious,
but I want to know what youʼre dealing with. What are the
struggles, what are you seeking for? How can I help you?
And in that approach, if I can be curious from that
standpoint, I demonstrate my willingness to jump in and
engage with you at a different level than hereʼs my
agenda, and hereʼs what I want to pitch you on.”
Ty Bennett, Speaker, Trainer, Author, & Coach, [Link] Podcast

196 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

Three Questions to Cultivate More Extroversion
Now that you understand the nature of the Until you get your brain imagining what the If thereʼs little downside to trying something
anxiety cycle and how to break through it, better outcome would be, it will struggle to different, thereʼs no harm in trying it, right?
you need the willingness to change. do anything other than what itʼs doing right
now. C. “What Have You Missed
I know, I know—we already talked about the
benefits of being more extroverted when So what would your future look like if you
Out On?”
selling. But until you bring those benefits could be more extroverted on the job? What
back to you, youʼre likely going to resist the would a higher income mean for you and Typically when our [Link] Academy
change. At least at first. your family? How would your social and students start answering this question, they
professional life change if you moved up get frustrated with themselves and slap their
So to help speed this process up, I ask these through the company ranks? What other foreheads.
three questions to all the introverts who join positions would you unlock that are off-limits
[Link] Academy in our initial one-on- today? If you didnʼt feel any selling anxiety, would
one call. Look at the question and spend a you have made more money in the past? If
few minutes pondering your responses: you were less anxious overall, would you
B. “What Could Go Wrong?” have asked out that girl or guy on a date ten
years ago?
A. “What is Your If you implemented the anxiety coping
Potential?” methods to become more extroverted, what If you knew that there was probably no real
could go wrong? downside to what you were doing, other than
What would it look like if you were extremely looking a little silly for a single moment in
confident in your selling activities? Get real with this question. Itʼs unlikely that time, what would you do with your life?
anything particularly bad would happen if
Think about this for a second. Seeing the you tried a different way of dealing with your
other side of being anxious is a powerful step selling anxiety. Maybe a cold call might not
to breaking through it. go as well as you planned. Or your coworkers
might notice youʼre doing something a bit
different. But so what?

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 Wrapping Up
Sales is an industry built for extroverts. I know this change can be hard—especially
when it comes down to something as deep-
You can be an introvert and still make a name rooted as shifting your personality. But with a
for yourself. But if you can learn how to turn bit of work, consistency, and optimism (more
on a level of extroversion when youʼre on this in the next chapter), itʼs not nearly as
engaging with buyerʼs you will close more difficult as you might think.
deals.

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When you notice that fear, that
anxiety is starting to come up just first
stop, take a deep breath and notice
and observe your feelings. Where is
that stress or anxiety in your body?
Your body has a wealth of
information for you.”
Michele Molitor, Coach, Hypnotherapist,
& Impostor Syndrome Expert, [Link] Podcast

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 09.
Optimistic

200 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

Optimist
Optimistic people see the brighter side of life. One day, Walter asked Brian to pretend that a Brian understood that his buyerʼs emotions
deal was certain to come in. Brian jumped on often mimicked his own and tried to be more
If youʼre not optimistic that youʼre going to the call with the home-run buyer, and optimistic about his teamʼs success moving
close the deal when you speak with buyers, everything went smoothly. forward.
they get nervous. Why should they be
optimistic about the value youʼre promising if This chapter explains how to become more
youʼre pessimistic that you can deliver it to optimistic which instantly rubs off on people
them? in a positive way.

Brian is a pessimist. Every time he jumps

onto one of Samʼs or Walterʼs calls to support
them, the conversation becomes a downer.

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 Optimistic About Sales Success
Thereʼs something to be said about the And in that same way, people—specifically
“positive thoughts bring positive outcomes” buyers—can sense your pessimism. They can
mindset. smell your desperation. And when they do, it
will send them running for the hills.
Now donʼt get me wrong, the “law of
attraction” is just plain mumbo jumbo. But donʼt worry, being an optimist isnʼt a
natural-born talent.
Iʼve been trying to “will” a winning lottery
ticket my way for years. Still no luck. And with just a bit of work, you can make the
mindset shift away from pessimism and
But if youʼre an optimistic person, you give toward optimism, too.
off a certain aura that people do respond to.
People feel your enthusiasm, your sunny
outlook, and your hopes for the future.

202 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 Not confident Confident
about the future
Pessimist Optimist about the future

What Does It Mean to Be Optimistic?

Optimism is an attitude in life that reflects Their goals will never be achieved. And the Optimists are healthier, less stressed, more
being hopeful and confident about the best thing to do in the face of a challenge is resilient, and more persistent when it comes
future. If youʼre an optimist, you expect good to give up because they were never going to to achieving their goals.
things to happen. And you believe obstacles succeed anyway.
arenʼt signs that you should turn back, but When you simply optimism further, itʼs just
rather chances to learn and grow. Of course, most people arenʼt one or the the stories that we tell ourselves about the
other. And in fact, a healthy bit of pessimism environment that we live in. These stories are
Pessimists, on the other hand, expect the can keep optimists grounded in reality. stored within our Computer Brain.
worst. That their efforts will go unrewarded.

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 Computer

Input Stories

Optimistic
habitual
response

Output

An optimist hopes for the best and sees the • I lost a client because of a mistake I The funny thing about optimism is that it
best in their world. And that optimism might made. However, I realized what I did isnʼt a trait youʼre born with. Instead, itʼs a
look something like this in the workplace: wrong and changed my processes so it choice. And the more you choose to think
wonʼt happen again. optimistically, the more you can start seeing
• My morning started miserably. But the benefits of this worldview.
instead of letting it ruin the rest of my • Iʼm behind on my numbers this
day, I stayed positive because I month. But rather than getting
believed it could only improve. depressed by this information, Iʼve
switched up my cadences and
increased my prospecting to make up
for it.

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Why You Need to Be Optimistic
So, how does optimism help anyway? • Optimists are 40% more likely to get a • Optimists save more. One study found
promotion over the next year, five that 90% of optimists have put money
Here are a few stats to give you an idea about times less likely to burn out, and six aside for a major purchase compared
the massive benefits of becoming a more times more likely to be highly engaged to just 70% of pessimists. And two-
optimistic person: at work (HBR). thirds of optimists have started an
emergency fund, while less than half
• The University of Pennsylvania found • Optimists tend to have a 15% longer of pessimists have done the same
that optimistic sales professionals lifespan and a 50% greater chance of (HBR).
outsell their pessimistic counterparts living past 85 than pessimists
by 56% (HBR). (Heart&Stroke).

• Researchers from Stanford University

found that optimists have higher
quality and longer-lasting romantic
relationships.

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 The life cycle of a complex sale

Optimistic
Blissful Realistic
ignorance optimism

Time
Pessimistic

Through
of despair

Okay, so optimism is associated with some demo presentations, the rejection—itʼs today being a morning for wins. That your
clear benefits. enough to make some people avoid getting efforts very well could pay off.
started in the first place.
But why does cultivating an optimistic mind Sometimes, it helps to have a level of
matter in sales specifically? Once you think about how many calls, “blissful ignorance” at the begging of a deal
emails, and messages you have to send to get to stretch the boundaries of what is possible.
A. Optimism Gets You Going a single bite, it can be pretty disheartening.

But optimism gives you that extra nudge out

Letʼs be real here. Making it in sales is tough.
the door each day. Itʼs the little fire burning
The daily grinding to find new prospects, the
inside that lets you see the possibility of
same old discovery call conversations and

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B. Optimism Keeps You Many pessimistic lose deals in the “trough of Think about this—if youʼre constantly
despair” that occurs in the middle of the complaining about the weather, talking
Going average complex sales cycle. about the terrifying changes in national and
international politics, and generally being a
Optimism is great for instigating action. But
But an optimist will see the light at the end hell of a downer all the time, buyers wonʼt
itʼs also the best way to keep moving towards
of the tunnel. Theyʼll dig a bit deeper to find want to pick up the phone when you call.
the finish line.
out if the budget can be reallocated, spread
across multiple departments, or use other But more than that, buyers will be put in a
Consider this example:
creative financial solutions. This is where pessimistic mindset when they do speak
they break through into the very profitable with you. And that will lead them to take
Youʼve been working with a prospect for the
realm of “realistic optimism”. fewer risks, close their minds to the prospect
past week or so to see if theyʼre a good fit for
of change, and close smaller deals with you.
your services. Your discovery call went great,
A pessimist, tends to give up more readily.
and the prospect ticked all the boxes.
But an optimist is resilient to challenges. And Take an optimistic approach to talking with
However, during your demo presentation,
thus, theyʼre more likely to turn deals around prospects, and the opposite will happen.
the buyer focused on price objections and
at the first sign of an issue. Theyʼll start focusing on the rewards more
slowed down the progress of the deal
than the risks. Theyʼll be open to exciting
significantly.
C. Itʼs Contagious new solutions, even if it means changing
legacy systems. And theyʼll want to work with
Now, a pessimist might approach this
Finally, optimism is contagious, especially in you to improve their business.
situation by simply dropping the prospect,
sales.
deciding that theyʼre not going to be a fit.
And that can be a powerful way of boosting
The deal is dead. And thatʼs all there is to it.
The more optimistic you are, the more your your sales success.
buyers will be hopeful about their future
when theyʼre working with you.

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 Alright, being an optimist is great. Whatʼs great about mindset is that it isnʼt set
Optimistic But how do you become more optimistic?
in stone. And with a bit of work, you can learn
to become more optimistic by re-framing
Framework What is an optimist in practice doing to keep
that glass-half-full mindset?
your pessimistic thoughts using the
Optimism Framework.

RECOGNIZE EVIDENCE? DIFFERENT IMPLICATION? USEFULNESS?

NEGATIVE POINT OF VIEW?
THOUGHT

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We think on average 60,000 thoughts
a day, weʼre aware of less than 1% of
them. 80% of them are said to be
negative. And so stress naturally
happens. Itʼs the function of the mind
to stress. But what we can do is, we
can better handle the stress.”
Nina Purewal, Best-Selling Author & Founder
of Pure Minds, [Link] Podcast

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 01. Recognize Your Thoughts
Itʼs difficult to change the things that you So to change those negative thoughts, you But for the most part, those thoughts sail by
donʼt realize are shaping your behavior. have to first become good at spotting them. our focused mind without us stopping to
examine whether theyʼre helpful or
Thatʼs why the very first step to cultivating an Now, the difficulty here is we tend to be on pessimistic crap.
optimistic mindset is stepping back and autopilot most of our day-to-day, living on
recognizing negative thoughts when they the habitual outputs of our Computer Brain. And thatʼs why youʼll need to work on getting
pop into your head. better at observing your thoughts.
Sure, you have thoughts that pop into your
We have around 60,000 to 70,000 thoughts a conscious Human Brain from time to time.
day. And most of those thoughts are
automatically created by your subconscious.

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Practice Observing Your To practice mindfulness meditation: Whatʼs great about this meditation is it only
takes five minutes per day. Seriously, thatʼs it.
Thoughts 1. Find a quiet place where you wonʼt be
disturbed. If you can commit to five minutes per day,
Becoming aware of your thoughts can be the
2. Sit comfortably and close your eyes. youʼll become more aware of your thoughts
most difficult part of the framework.
3. Focus on your breath as you inhale and in as little as a week . And thatʼll make the
exhale. next step of the framework even easier.
But there are techniques and strategies you
4. When a thought enters your mind and
can use to get better at becoming more
breaks your breath focus, acknowledge
thought-aware.
it, observe it, and let it pass as you shift
back to focus on your breath.
Mindfulness meditation is one of my
favorites. Once you get good at it, observing
your thoughts becomes much more natural.
And that means youʼll be in a better position
to change those pessimistic thoughts to
optimistic ones.

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 02. Evidence?
If there isnʼt evidence that something is true, that a negative thought is true, the facts find that any evidence is tiny and the
then itʼd be unwise to believe it. wonʼt be on your side. overreaction can be ignored completely. This
tells us that the thought either came from a
Pretty simple, right? Our pessimistic thoughts tend to come up previously held story in our Computer Brain
when we face adversity. These negative or we had an emotional response to our
This framework step is all about applying thoughts in the face of adversity are usually environment leading to a thought coming
that same logic to your own thoughts. emotional overreactions to the situation we from our Caveman Brain.
find ourselves in.
The most convincing way of disputing a This step alone will knock away most of your
negative belief is to show that itʼs factually But when we look for evidence to support pessimistic thoughts throughout the day.
incorrect. Often when you look for evidence these overreactions, most of the time weʼll

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 The different brains interpretations of danger

No threat
Reality
(Human Brain)

Overreaction
(Caveman Brain)
Threat

HINT:
Itʼs New to Them Acting on emotion is fast, and a lot of investigated the situation using only
the time, it happens without us logic, we likely wouldnʼt have enough
At this stage of the framework, itʼs realizing it. But logic is a bit slower. time to avoid becoming a lionʼs
important to approach the thought And that lost time assessing a dinner.
from a logical stance. And itʼs situation logically could mean life
important not to get too caught up in and death. But in this framework, you need to
the emotions connected to the make sure you arenʼt just reacting to
thought. So if we were in the wild and saw a your thoughts emotionally and
rustle in a bush, itʼs in our best letting your Caveman Brain run riot.
See, a lot of our first impressions are interest to be startled and run off. And instead, youʼre looking at them
driven by emotion. And thereʼs a real That rustle could be a predator ready from a logical, rational perspective
evolutionary benefit to assessing a to attack. And if we didnʼt have that via your logical Human Brain.
situation emotionally before jumping startling response and instead
into logic.

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 03. Different Point of View?
The next step of the framework is to look at For instance, if you did poorly with a Pessimists latch onto the worst of all the
the pessimistic thought and ask, “Is there customer, it could be that they were having a plausible causes. But when you look at the
another perspective to this?” bad day. Or maybe you caught them at the different points of view, you might find a
wrong time, or your vocal tonality was perspective that is much less drastic.
No two humans are the same. We all have slightly off. It could be you were still thinking
different abilities, tendencies, experiences, about the previous call where you were You might even be able to find an optimistic
and thoughts. And that means no two people rejected. Or perhaps they may have just point of view and turn problems into
will have the same point of view on a specific bought your product from someone else. opportunities.
situation.
There are usually limitless ways of looking at
Beyond that, most events have many a potential issue.
variables so you can look at any thought or
event with a many of different points of view.

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 Close Missed Find Create Get Open
minded opportunities opportunities opportunities scammed minded

Cultivate a Mindset of views of actions, events, and the world at result, they tend to be more creative, flexible,
large youʼll have to draw on. and adventurous.
Openness
Openness is one of the “Big Five” personality Regarding our framework, cultivating a more
Now you may be thinking, “But Will, how do I
traits that social psychologists believe open mindset will let you see your
come at issues from a different point of view
determine personality type. pessimistic thoughts from a different
if I donʼt see any others?”
perspective.
Individuals with high openness are willing to
Well, thatʼs where openness comes in. The
try new things, entertain foreign ideas, and
more open you are to learning about the
dive into unfamiliar experiences. And as a
perspectives of others, the more different

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 04. Implications?
“Itʼs no use crying over spilled milk.” Sometimes the facts or the different points of Often, the belief can be true. But if nobody
view of a situation wonʼt all be positive. else cares, why should you beat yourself up?
Weʼve all heard this saying. Simply put, itʼs
not worth worrying about problems with Occasionally, the negative thought that you How will this affect your performance? Are
little consequence. had might actually be correct. In this there any problems you see arising because
scenario, we need to reduce the impact of of this situation? Who stands to be hurt by it?
Believe it or not, worrying in situations like the negative belief by asking:
these spends an enormous amount of In many cases, youʼll be surprised to find that
energy. And as a result, optimists have a the results of this negative thought should it
distinct advantage over pessimists here “Even if the belief is correct, what are occur arenʼt as far-reaching as you think.
because their finite mental energy each day the real-world implications?”
isnʼt drained by useless activities. They have
more mental energy left at the end of the day
to compete.

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 Reinvestment into sales training
leads to bigger end results

Problem Learning Implementing Refining Success

Costs you Costs Things You get rich

money you time get easier

Take Solutions Into Simple book or join [Link] Academy, If eliminating the possible negative
and within 30 days this belief would no implications from your pessimistic thought
Account longer be valid. doesnʼt work, itʼs time to bring out the big
guns and ask yourself how useful the thought
If youʼre having trouble getting around the
So why worry about the negative thought is. Let's cover that in the final step of this
negative implications of a thought or
when you know that you can flip the framework.
situation, start looking at the solutions.
evidence that supports it on its head with a
little bit of training?
For example, maybe you do suck at cold
calling right now. This may be true. But with
See how examining the solutions can make
just a little bit of effort, it could change
even the most negative implications seem
entirely. You could grab the Selling Made
meaningless?

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 5. Usefulness?
We all do things that turn out to be a waste of If your thought is destructive, even if it is
time. true, it might serve you better to be ignorant
and forget about it. Bury your head in the
The same rules apply to pessimistic sand if there are no severe consequences in
thoughts. If you have a pessimistic thought, doing it.
and you donʼt think itʼs useful to be spending
energy on it right now, then you can choose Tough pill to swallow, I know. But learning to
to drop it. let go can actually be one of the most
valuable qualities you can have in this line of
Sometimes the consequence of holding a work.
negative thought in your brain matters more
than the truth of the thought itself.

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 Your influence

Things you can control

Things you can influence

Things you canʼt control

Remember, in life, there are things you can Letting Go Takes Practice Think of the process of dropping pointless
control, things you can influence, and things thoughts working like a muscle. The more
that are outside of your control. you work at it, and engage with it, the easier
This wonʼt be easy at first. But if youʼve run
it becomes. Eventually, letting go of
your pessimistic thought through every other
Iʼll never be the best-looking sales trainer inconsequential negative thoughts will
stage of the framework, youʼre better off
with this big nose… I donʼt care. I can be become second nature.
letting go.
ignorant of it, live a happier life, and not
suffer any consequences in doing so.

You can do the same, too.

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 Being positive and being able to recover
from negativity and set back at a more rapid
pace isnʼt about insight. Most of us know
that weʼre not serving ourselves when weʼre
completely being hijacked by a bunch of
negative emotions. And weʼve got all this
brain chatter and anger and frustration, fear,
et cetera. But our ability to actually shift
out of that is 80% a muscle response and
only 20% an insight response.”
Adam McGraw, CRO at Positive Intelligence Inc.,
[Link] Podcast

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Wrapping Up
We all have negative thoughts. And eventually, optimism (and the numerous But the more comfortable you get with
benefits of it) comes to them as naturally as recognizing your thoughts and questioning
But what separates the most successful riding a bike. their truthfulness and usefulness, the easier
sellers from the least is, in part, their ability and quicker itʼll come to you.
to move past these negative thoughts. You can start cultivating an optimistic mind,
Reframe them so they can keep learning. too with Optimism Framework. So stop dwelling in the muck and the mud.
Keep selling. And keep growing as a And start cultivating an optimistic mindset.
professional. Now remember—this type of mental work
isnʼt easy. And it takes consistency to be sure. Your earning potential, mental health, and
future self will thank you.

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 10.
Comfortable
with Money

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Comfortable with Money
Most people run away from discomfort. Every time Sam topped up his personal bank Christopher explained how to be more
account past $10,000, he went on a spending comfortable around money.
Thatʼs why itʼs important to become spree. Each time a deal started to go beyond
comfortable talking about money if you want $10,000 ARR, Sam self-sabotaged it and Sam stopped capping his potential because
to have more of it in your life. theyʼd never close. of his insecurities and went on to have the
best sales year of his career. All whilst
Sam didnʼt grow up with money. He thought working the same number of hours and
having $10,000 in the bank was an incredible making no greater effort with his sales
achievement. activities than before.

Christopher asked Sam about his average

deal sizes one day, understood the issue Sam
was having, and invited him out for lunch.

This chapter explains the steps to becoming

more comfortable around money and how to
reset your wealth thermostat.

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 Free Yourself
If youʼre like many other sellers, you got into prevent you from becoming rich. And I mean This framework covers the destructive
the business to make money. truly rich. Rich in fulfillment. Rich in time. money stories that are likely holding you
And most of all, rich in freedom. back from financial success, the process to
Six-figure cars, luxury clothes, a gargantuan rebuild your idea of money from the ground
house—thereʼs plenty of potential for it when Thatʼs why itʼs so important to cultivate the up, and what it takes to turn frivolous
youʼre selling the right product to the right psychology of money—a mindset where you spending habits into impactful, meaningful
person. see money for what it is. And a mindset that habits that creates a life true of freedom.
lets you spend smarter, boost your wealth
But even with all these trappings of wealth, more quickly, and build the life youʼve always
having the wrong stories programmed into wanted.
your Computer Brain about money can

224 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 Sphere of financial influence

Family

Our
selves Friends

Society

Where Do Our Money Stories Come From?

To adopt a psychology of wealth, you need to A. Our Family For sellers, these stories are solidified by a
understand where the stories stored in your working parent who spent all of their free
Computer Brain about money have come time at the office. Or perhaps a mom or dad
Our very first models for acceptable human
from. who can only spend on necessities, never
behavior come from our parents. And in
niceties. Or maybe itʼs a role model thatʼs
addition to being the first to teach us about
These stories arenʼt derived from a single living paycheck to paycheck.
friendship, honesty, duty, and purpose, our
source. And instead, you develop and
parents are also the first to teach us about
combine them throughout your entire life. Whether you know it or not, these subtleties
money.
have helped form your ideas surrounding
However, our money stories typically come income, spending, work-life, fulfillment, and
These stories start early, too. PBS reports that
from four sources: personal freedom.
“By age 3, your kids can grasp basic money
concepts. By age 7, many of their money
habits are already set."

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 B. Our Friends C. Our Society D. Ourselves
As we age, the influence of our friends Society as a whole comes next. And Finally, the last thing that blocks a positive
becomes ever more important. depending on what type of society you psychology around wealth often comes from
interact with, your college years and 20s may ourselves. Our self-esteem, ambition, and
Think of your middle school and high school have been an extension of high school (i.e., understanding of our potential all influence
years. Who were the popular kids? What those with the best toys live the best life). As whether or not we think we deserve money.
kinds of clothes were they wearing? What you might expect, this mindset leads to even
types of toys did they have? And how more ridiculous spending habits. All of our story influencers up till now
important was having the new “in” thing to (parents, friends, society) have instilled in us
climb the social hierarchy? But for others, becoming more integrated a particular money personality. Once we
into society as an adult could lead to have an idea of what type of person we are
If youʼre like most, you probably felt despising wealth. The better-off are simply (“Iʼm not good with money,” “I donʼt have to
compelled to spend your hard-earned hoarding wealth to keep it out of the hands worry about my future,” “I love shopping”), it
grocery store or pizza shop paycheck on the of others. And anyone with a BMW and a can be hard to break free from that
flashiest wares and items. Frivolous Rolex is an expert at screwing over others in programming.
spending, may have been directly connected order to boost their bank account.
in your mind with what so many kids desire
above all else, popularity. These kinds of stories (and many others)
arenʼt built on facts. And beyond that, theyʼre
holding you back from attaining the value of
money—freedom.

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 HINT:
There are five types of money about making a statement or decisions with their money,
personalities. Take a look and note feeding an emotional need to and try to achieve financial
which one most suits where you are buy. Instead, they donʼt keep independence so they can
with your beliefs about money right track of their spending. And as pursue what they want from
now: a result, they carelessly rack life.
up debts.
1. Big Spenders – They love the The individuals who have the most
flashier things in life—the 4. Savers – Conservative and success financially, over the longest
fancy car, the gaudy shoes, the risk-averse, a saver will shovel period of time tend to be the
luxury clothing. Spending is a away their hard-earned coin investors who have an additional side
social statement. And they without investing to grow their personality. For example, someone
donʼt care what it costs to wealth. The most responsible who is at their core an investor but
make that statement. money personality so far, a who understands that being a Big
saver is also victim to their Spender can bring social proof and
2. Shoppers – These people buy own unwillingness to spend allow them to live a bigger life, too.
because it gives them an money to make money.
emotional kick. Theyʼre
bargain hunters, sure. But they 5. Investors – This money
canʼt help buying items they personality understands the
donʼt need. value of money. And they
know that accumulating
3. Debtors – These are spenders wealth is a means to an end.
with no eye for the future. Investors make informed
They donʼt care too much

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 Now that you understand where your current about money is worth it. Because doing so is

Comfortable psychology of money comes from, itʼs time to

look at how to change it.
the only way to achieve the freedom to live
your life like you want.

With Money Your stories are always malleable. And if Thatʼs what Comfortable with Money

Framework youʼre like most sellers, it should change. Itʼll

take a bit of work, sure. But adopting a
Framework is all about—freedom. And it
breaks down into four steps:
different (and healthier) way of thinking

CURRENT DECIDE
FINANCIAL WHAT YOU
STORIES INJECT WANT
POSITIVE MONEY
STORIES

TAKE ACTION

228 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

Sales is one of the professions where
you can make an embarrassing
amount of money and have so
little responsibility.”
Kent Billingsley, Business Author, [Link] Podcast

SECTION 2 - BELIEFS | 229

 01. Current Financial Stories
The first step is often the hardest because it These are the ideas of wealth youʼve picked So, letʼs look at some of the foundational
requires you to look at and question your up over the years from parents, friends, stories about money that drag you down, by
longstanding stories around money. Stories society at large, and yourself. addressing your:
youʼve probably never questioned before
that have been sitting in your Computer Whatʼs more, you may not even be conscious A. Wealth thermostat
Brain, controlling your life. of the fact that you hold these stories. But B. Definition of money
that doesnʼt mean those stories donʼt still C. Destructive money stories
permeate your goals, your actions, and your
thoughts, all day, every day.

230 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 Poor person Panic - save Comfortable Panic - spend
and grow

Rich person
Panic - save and grow Comfortable Panic - spend

Money

A. Money Thermostat The goal is to understand the numbers you The setting on a personʼs money thermostat
are currently bound by and start shifting is often the only difference between people
them upwards. who become rich and those that stay poor.
Most people live financially between two
People born into money often have higher
numbers. A number they never get over and
If you can program your Computer Brain that expectations than people born into poverty,
a number they rarely go below.
the minimum number it that you are so they fight to live up to those expectations.
comfortable having in your bank account is
The gap between these numbers is called
$1,000,000, it will start to panic and motivate If you want to become rich, you must set a
your money thermostat. For example:
you to get there. You will make bigger new standard that being poor is not an
decisions, take more risks and work harder option.
• When Sam gets to $100K in his bank
until you reach your new baseline.
account, he feels comfortable and
Raise that money thermostat. You need to
starts spending fast.
We will make this happen in a few pages time make it uncomfortable to be broke and broke
by injecting better, more positive money is relative to how financially free you want to
• Then when Samʼs account (inevitably)
stories into our Computer Brain. be.
goes below $20K he panics, stops
spending and works twice as hard at
work to close deals.

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 Your Create something / Your
life provide service money

Someone Create something / Their

elseʼs life provide service money

Someone Create something / Their

elseʼs life provide service money

B. The Definition of Money Hereʼs an example—Iʼm creating this content And this cycle goes on and on.
for you right now, and Iʼm spending my non-
renewable resource, which is time. The Money, isnʼt inherently anything other than a
Money in and of itself is not an end goal. It is
market will reward me for spending my time way to trade one personʼs time for another.
not happiness. It is not power. And it is
and give me some money in exchange
certainly not the root of all evil.
(people reading the book and then signing
up for [Link] Academy).
Instead, money is simply a medium to
exchange what you spend your life doing for
Simple enough, right?
what other people are spending their life
doing.
Now, I am currently spending some of this
money having a new driveway laid at my
Put another way:
house. The driveway workers are spending
their non-renewable resources of time laying
the driveway. And theyʼre doing that so they
Money = The exchange of your
can spend their money on something else
life for something that
that someone else has spent their non-
someone else has exchanged renewable resource of time creating.
their life for.

232 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 “Rich People Are Bad”
C. Destructive Money
Stories People can be evil with or without “Money Has a Mind of Its
money. And just because youʼve Own”
adopted a psychology of money
Once we understand that money is in Money is not inherently evil
and grown your wealth (again,
essence just an exchange of time, that opens because it doesnʼt have a mind of
just an exchange of time) doesnʼt
up the door to reinterpreting a slew of its own. Instead, itʼs just a tool. It
mean it will change who you are
destructive stories that you might have about does what you tell it to do.
as a person.
money. Accumulating more of it doesnʼt
mean youʼll fall under its “spell”.
Letʼs go through them and how this different
interpretation turns things on their heads:
“Money Doesnʼt Renew”
Because money is a medium to “Money Spent Is Money
“Money Is Finite” exchanging time, it is constantly Wasted”
The idea that thereʼs only so renewing. New people, products,
Thereʼs nothing wrong with
much money to be had (and that and services are entering the
saving. But just because youʼre
you only deserve a finite chunk) market all the time. And as long
spending doesnʼt mean youʼre
goes out the window when you as individuals are still producing
wasting. Investing your money is
realize that money is just a something with their time, the
key to building a self-sustaining
translation of time. stockpile of money will keep
stream of income and to living
renewing (i.e., donʼt be afraid to
with more freedom.
spend—wisely, of course).

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 02. Decide What You Want
Now that youʼve reconfigured some of your Understanding Fulfillment larger sense, we need buy useful objects that
destructive stories about money, letʼs dive move us towards building a sense of purpose
deeper inward. and a good life.
From a scientific perspective, when we track
neurochemical activity in the brain,
The goal of this part of the framework is to The real value of wealth is that it provides
fulfillment comes when we accomplish a goal
help you evaluate your priorities and freedom. Freedom to do what you want and
or enjoy a moment of contentment. Itʼs that
understand if youʼre working hard to earn to seek lasting (not temporary) fulfillment
deep satisfaction when you say, “Hell yeah,
money that allows you to live a great life OR if from whatʼs truly important to you.
that was delicious!” Or, “That was a job well
youʼre working hard to earn more money to
done!” or “That was well worth the money.”
waste on more crap that wonʼt make you
happy.
Itʼs easy to understand fulfillment in terms of
a nice meal or other temporary pleasures we
And before you can make that distinction,
can purchase. But to have fulfillment in a
you need to learn about fulfillment.

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What Do YOU Want? The corporate environment has turned you • What have you done in your life that
into a round peg to fit into a corporate round youʼre proud of and want to do again?
hole, with all of your aspirations getting • If you knew you were going to die
For many of us growing up, getting a job, and
knocked off so that you fit. within the next 12 months, how would
having responsibilities mean outgrowing our
you spend your remaining time?
dreams. Our goals of traveling around the
At one time or another, every one of us has • If you didnʼt have to work for a living,
world become two weeks hitting the tourist
had a dream of what we wanted our lives to what would you be doing?
traps each summer. The dream of writing a
be. And the majority of people have long left
best-selling novel becomes reading books
this dream behind. You should now have a decent idea of what
about publishing books and never putting
you want from life. Itʼs not to close more
pen to paper.
So, letʼs refocus. To determine whatʼs deals. The goal is to close more deals so you
important (and what financial goals to shoot can fund your dream.
You (and millions of others like you) have
for), ask yourself the following questions:
spent countless hours, days, years, and even
decades devoting your time at work to
• What have you always wanted to do
completing someone elseʼs agenda. And
that you havenʼt yet done?
along the way, those hours have whittled
away your uniqueness.

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 03. Taking Action
Up till now, weʼve covered two important to understand whatʼs important to Start asking the following questions for
points: you. Spending more time in these everything single thing that you buy over the
areas requires ignoring frivolous next 7 days.
1. Money is an exchange of time. And the spending and investing in the
destructive stories many people hold important. It doesnʼt matter if the price is small or large,
about money simply are not true. ask the questions and think hard about if the
Now itʼs time to get out of your head and answers tell you youʼre moving in the right
2. If you want to get the most fulfillment start the process of changing your money direction or not.
possible from your money, you need mindset.

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A. “How long did it take to So, thatʼs why we have to go deeper and ask • Doing what I love, when I want to, with
the follow-up questions. the people I love?
earn the money Iʼm about
to spend?” Of course, at this point, you might be
B. “Is the value of what Iʼm
squirming in your seat slightly. When we do
This question is incredibly powerful because about to buy equal to the this training live inside [Link]
it draws a direct comparison between your price of the time I would Academy, I see our students looking
purchases to your time. have spent to buy it?” confused.

Say, Iʼm looking to buy a new car. The first Imagine you are lying on your deathbed, “But I got into sales to earn more money, to
thing I do is calculate how many hours a looking back on your life. Would you rather buy nicer shit!” I hear you cry. “Do I have to
$120K car would cost me. Letʼs say for a have traded four weeks for that specific car give up the exotic car to buy more freedom to
round number that I earn $500 an hour. or traded two weeks for a cheaper one and do the things I love?”
Thatʼs 240 hours of my life (which I can never spent the rest of the time doing what youʼre
get back) that Iʼd have to “spend” to buy this passionate about? The answer is a resounding no!
car.
When you compound this question across
Working 8-hour days, thatʼs 30 days. And at your big purchases in life, you start to ask the
five days a week, itʼs four weeks of my life bigger question—would my life have been
that I need to trade to earn the car. better:

Now that might not seem like a lot of time, • Buying crap I ultimately donʼt care
right? You traded four weeks of your life for a about OR…
sick car?

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 Effort
Effort

Goals Goals

High leverage Low leverage

purchase purchase

This is where we get to understand the So, if you want to buy cooler stuff and live a • If I didnʼt meet my customers at their
relationship between money and leverage. bigger life, then you have to be willing to: offices, would I want to spend $120K
on a car?
A. Trade more hours of your life for that
Leverage = Allows you to give stuff OR… • If I had hit my fitness goals, would I be
less of your life away to own, B. Increase your leverage to the buying this pizza?
see, do, and buy cool stuff. marketplace (your hourly rate, for
example) by getting better at your • If I wasnʼt training groups of people, in
skill—which in our case is selling. posh cities, whilst trying to network
In our car example, letʼs say your hourly rate with high net-worth individuals, would
wasnʼt $500/hour. It was $2,000/hour. That C. “If I was living my best I wear expensive watches?
changes the numbers completely. Weʼre now life, would I have made the
trading just five days of our lives rather than Do you see how most people buy lots of stuff
ten weeks.
same purchase?” each year because theyʼve given up on their
real goals?
That looks like a more reasonable exchange, Last but not least, the final question “Would I
right? have made this purchase if I was already Unless the purchase is going to increase your
living my best life?” is a great sanity check on leverage, donʼt trade more of your life than
large purchases youʼre making in your life. you need to.

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 D. Invest the Difference
Between Income &
Expenses
HINT: B. Increase Your Income
Put your money into skill-building
Goals to Strive For Time is money. And your time on workshops. Start setting the
Your unique situation and financial desires this earth is limited. Thatʼs why financial foundation for an
will determine which goals youʼre striving to you need to find ways to boost additional income stream. Max
complete. But in general, youʼll want to shoot your leverage and increase your out your 401(K) contribution.
for achieving some degree of the following. income. This doesnʼt necessarily Make sure youʼre investing in a
require a new employer. Instead, brighter future, not just hoarding
it could be earning more and your dough.
bigger commissions.
A. Reduce Your Spending
This goal is all about cutting
expenses, both on frivolous costs E. Generate More Freedom
and on necessary expenses. C. Increase Spending on
Lastly, try investing in revenue-
Canceling unused channel Fulfillment generating assets. The stock
subscriptions, reducing your
If youʼve really examined the market and other traditional
takeout, and yes, drinking fewer
questions in steps two and three, investments are options here. But
lattes is a start. But youʼll also
youʼll know what brings you more efficient lead generation
want to really question big
fulfillment and whatʼs frivolous systems, a stronger personal
purchases like a new vehicle or
spending. Try to start putting brand, and thought leadership
home cosmetic upgrade (“Will
more of your hard-earned money materials like books and speaking
this give me lasting fulfillment?”).
into the former than the latter. roles all fit in this category too.
Youʼre doing the right thing since
it gives you more freedom to do
what it is that you love.

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 04. Inject Positive Stories
Once youʼve started seeing results based on and conceptions of money were bunk and Restarting the cycle lets you dig deeper into
the goals youʼve set for yourself, itʼs time to verifying that with the results youʼve just your earning potential.
inject positive evidence into the stories held achieved.
within your Computer Brain, so that you can In my experience, you need to reset your
habitualize positive thoughts, beliefs and It took hard work to overcome your money thermostat multiple times from
actions around money. destructive psychology of money. But when $2K-200K, then $200K-$2m and hopefully
you did, you were able to earn more, invest in beyond!
This turbocharges the process of financial your future, and open up the door to
success, and you can continue injecting more spending more time doing what you truly Letʼs look at how you can re-evaluate the
and more positive stories about money, love. steps of this framework as you repeat the
indefinitely. cycle.
So, what other stories can you cut down and
What I mean by “injecting positive stories” is build from the ground up?
taking notice of how your previous stories

240 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

A. Stories In all likelihood, everything youʼve Is it time to start going after key accounts
accomplished should add up to your time rather than standard deals? Should you start
becoming more valuable. working on generating more passive income?
One of the most common stories that hold
Are there any career options within or
people back during the beginning of their
B. What do You Want? outside of your current company that youʼd
sales careers is this:
like to pursue?
“I donʼt deserve more money.” Next up, itʼs time to re-evaluate what you
Remember, youʼre more skilled than when
now want.
you last went through this process. So be
Also known as impostor syndrome, we all
sure to factor that into your earning
think we are frauds at one stage in our Whatʼs been giving you more fulfillment
potential.
professional lives or another. That weʼre lately? What new passions have you
overpaid. Or that, at best, weʼre already developed that youʼd like to spend more time
The key is to stick with the cyclical nature of
earning what we should be earning. on? What about new social pursuits involving
the framework. Get smarter. Get better. And
friends and family? And what other pursuits
get wealthier.
This becomes even more common as we start do you think youʼd develop if you only had
to earn more. more time?
If you do that, eventually youʼll have the
freedom to live the life youʼve always
But itʼs important as you continue to adopt a C. Actions wanted.
psychology of wealth that you reconsider
your “worth” in the field.
As you move through the framework, you
should continually be assessing the
What new skills have you developed as you
opportunities that you have to skyrocket
achieved your previous goals? How have you
your ability to make money—your leverage.
become more valuable? And why, now,
should you start charging more for your
time?

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 HINT:
Want to rapidly improve both your If like me you didnʼt win the generic
stories about money and also your lottery from a wealth perspective,
Input: ability to stack the cash? Start then you should focus on the next
Environment of spending more time with wealthy two layers of the sphere of financial
people with Stories people. Itʼs that simple. influence.
positive
money beliefs
Some people win the lottery and are How can you make friends and spend
born to wealthy parents. Sure, they more time around wealthy people?
can fund your education, seed-fund Additionally, from a societal
Habitual your first business and remove the perspective, how can you start
response financial burden that follows most hanging around where wealth is?
people on this planet like a storm
cloud floating overhead. But, the You can reprogram your Computer
most valuable thing that people get Brain with better stories about money
Output from having self-made, wealthy by hanging around in the right
parents is their strong, positive environment.
stories about money.

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Wrapping Up
Money is complicated. And managing it with accumulate more, you can start building your When you do, youʼll stop wasting money on
the wrong mindset is a bit like trying to build life into the one you want . the superficially fulfilling, start earning your
with marbles—each time you take things up financial potential, and live a life built on
a level, everything falls back down. With the Comfortable With Money fulfillment, passion, joy, and (most
Framework, youʼll learn to adopt a wealth importantly) true freedom.
But when you re-frame what money is, you mindset and use money as a tool for creating
turn those marbles into blocks. And as you more freedom.

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 11.
Self-Esteem

244 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

Self-Esteem
When you feel good about yourself, itʼs Walter gets rejected now and again on his Walter knows he is a good person and so
harder for other people to bring you down. sales calls. He understands that the buyer catching somebody at the wrong moment
isnʼt rejecting him as an individual because and listening to them give an earful of grief
In sales that means a high level of self- theyʼve never met him. doesnʼt affect his day.
esteem can act as a bulletproof vest against
any incoming rejection shrapnel. In this chapter, youʼll learn the benefits of
increasing your levels of self-esteem and a
simple step-by-step framework for becoming
more confident in yourself.

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 Power Through Rejection
Sales is hard. Rejection is a given in this industry. And some Whatʼs the secret? High levels of self-esteem.
sellers take it more personally than others.
You know it. Your family knows it. And (if And with a bit of work, you can cultivate a
youʼre lucky) your employer knows it, too. But then there are the standouts. healthier sense of self-worth by following this
framework.
Despite the high potential earnings a You know the type—they get rejected just like
successful sales career offers, many people everyone else, but theyʼre always quick to
would never take on a sales role. bounce back. Theyʼre confident, self-assured,
but never cocky. And when they speak to
Why? prospects, they have a natural magnetism.
This ability to instantly ease skepticism and
For many, it all has to do with rejection. let buyers know, “Hey, you can trust me on
this.”

246 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 Computer Caveman Human
2) 3)
1)
I have been No
Input rejected Threat? Logic
before and
I was fine.

Logical
response
4)

Output

What Is Self-Esteem? beliefs you think other people hold about 3. Threat - Because of the story, there is
you. no threat.
4. Output - Pick up the phone and make
Pride, confidence, self-assurance, dignity—
Your self-esteem is mainly made up of the more calls.
there are many words to describe self-
stories stored within your Computer Brain.
esteem. But what does it mean at a
For example: Here you can see how the stories that you
fundamental level?
hold about yourself, (self-esteem) determine
1. Input - Got rejected on a call. how the three brain system reacts to your
Self-esteem is your general sense of self-
2. Story - Iʼve been rejected before, but I environmental inputs.
worth. Itʼs how much you value your
was fine. I made a few more calls and
thoughts, emotions, and actions. And itʼs
then booked a meeting.
influenced by beliefs about yourself and the

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 Why Is Self-Esteem Important for Sellers?
Self-esteem is integral for a healthy personal There are three reasons:
life and a successful professional one. That
much is clear. A. It makes you rejection proof.
B. Buyers want to spend time with
But why is it so critical for sellers in winners.
particular? C. Your confidence rubs off on prospects.

And why is knowing how to improve self-

esteem a game-changer for career-minded
sellers looking to grow?

248 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 Thinks they Realises sales
know it all is tough

Reaches
sustained
sales success
Self-esteem

Quit sales

Experience

High self-esteem keeps you in the game long enough to get good

A. Self-Esteem Makes You Do they lose motivation because of a “no”? Healthy amounts of self-esteem makes it
Do they lose faith in their process? And do easier to recover from rejection, get back on
Rejection-Proof they see that negative response as a the horse and, continue your selling
judgment on their abilities and worth as a activities.
In the world of sales, youʼre bound to get
seller?
rejected. Thatʼs just the nature of the
And given how sales and rejection go hand in
business.
Or… hand, getting this benefit alone is worth a
small fortune in this business.
But what defines an effective seller isnʼt so
Do they let that rejection roll off their back?
much how many times they get rejected.
Do they continue to power through each
Instead, itʼs how they respond to that
day? And do they tell themselves, “Hey, itʼs
rejection.
just business”?

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 Arrogant

Confidence
Winners

Humble

Competence

B. Buyers Want to Spend you all about their wins and promise their They want to know that when they listen to
product will change your entire life (hint: it you, their business is bound to grow. And
Time with Winners wonʼt). These sellers are seen as arrogant. they want to be better off because they have
a relationship with you.
Thereʼs no point in denying it—confidence
Instead, buyers are attracted to sellers who
closes deals.
know what theyʼre talking about, that are Do you know how you communicate that
smart, savvy, and successful. They want to feeling? You guessed it—by demonstrating a
And I donʼt mean the overly confident sellers.
spend time with sellers who appear humble level of self-confidence.
The ones that wear diamond-encrusted
competent.
watch bands are quick to name-drop and tell

250 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 HINT:
Healthy levels of self-esteem comes permeates through and influences so
about when you are close to the ideal much more in your life. Self-
version of yourself that you want to confidence, whether low or high,
C. Your Confidence Rubs become and you are accurate at affects:
Off on Prospects assessing how close you are to
becoming that person, too. • How you interact and connect
Trust is obstacle #1 for sales sellers. with others.
If you want to be a great seller, but • Risks youʼre willing to take.
Youʼve probably already figured out, buyers you suck, then your self-esteem will • Goals youʼre driven to make.
are often inherently skeptical of any seller, no be low. On the other hand, if you • Motivation and ambition.
matter how good they are. want to become a great seller, you are • Decision-making.
great at sales, but you have a warped • Physical and mental health.
In fact, a study from HubSpot found that just assessment of your skills, and you • And much, much more.
3% of people consider B2B salespeople think you suck, your self esteem will
trustworthy, beating out stockbrokers, still be low. Ultimately, your self-confidence
politicians. and lobbyists. affects nearly everything in your life
Your self-esteem doesnʼt just affect because your self-esteem is directly
But when you know how to improve your your you-focused feelings either. The connected to how you move through
self-esteem and speak confidently about the opinion you hold about your value the world.
product youʼre selling, you build trust. You go
from appearing like a scammer, to an expert
your buyers can turn to for valuable
information.

And the more your buyers trust what you

have to say, the more likely theyʼll close a Ideal Self- Self-
deal with you. self esteem assessment

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 Now that weʼve covered why growing your thought and emotion we have. Theyʼve

The self-esteem is so important (especially in

sales), letʼs dive into the meat of it all—how
probably been that way since early
childhood.

Self-Esteem to increase your levels of it.

But when you put in the consistent and

Framework The truth of the matter is that growing your

self-esteem is hard. For many of us, self-
concerted effort, you can learn to be more
self-confident on the job. You just need to
defeating behaviors are ingrained into every follow the Self-Esteem Framework.

INCREASE INCREASE INCREASE

SELF-TRUST ACTION-TAKING FLEXIBILITY

252 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

01. Increase Your Self-Trust
At the core of the framework is boosting your Someone with a high degree of self-trust pull you in one direction, and your self-doubt
self-trust. feels safe in relying on their mental, pulls you in the other. Until you can trust
emotional, and physical abilities to tackle your abilities, you will feel unsure.
lifeʼs difficulties.
Self-Trust = Having the mindset A lack of self-trust often doesnʼt happen all at
that whatever comes your way, If you canʼt trust yourself, others wonʼt trust once. Instead, itʼs a slow degradation caused
you will be able to handle it. you either. And when you lack self-trust, you by consistent self-denial.
often feel conflicted—your wants and needs

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 Four Self-Trust Boosting A. Spend Time With Yourself B. Make a Self-Like List
Practices
Just like any relationship would struggle to While your lifeʼs choices shouldnʼt be led by
thrive if the people in it didnʼt spend quality external validation, we all crave validation.
No matter where your lack of self-trust comes
time together, you must also spend quality And one form of validation that we often
from, there are ways to fix it. And these four
time with yourself. under-utilize our validation.
self-trust boosting practices are a fantastic
start.
Make time to reconnect with yourself—your Thatʼs why making a list of things you like
thoughts, feelings, and desires reguarly. about yourself can be so powerful.
As with any relationship building (regardless
of whether that relationship is with us or with
If your schedule is so tightly packed, that you Take out a piece of paper and get started.
others), boosting trust should be seen as a
donʼt have moments of quiet and solitude, Write out fifty things that you like about
war of attrition as opposed to a war of
your self-trust has likely suffered. yourself. Anything goes—from past
annihilation.
experiences and accomplishments to
Do you go to bed with a racing mind? personal qualities, aspects of your
In other words, do as many of these practices
Thoughts shooting at you from every angle, relationships, and unique abilities.
as often as possible, and let them grow with
begging for your attention? Then you might
time. There is no one-size-fits-all,
be overdue for some quality “me-time”. Itʼs challenging for others to like us for who
immediately actionable silver bullet that will
we are if we donʼt like ourselves for who we
help you build a bone-deep sense of self-
are. So grab the bull by the horns and give
trust overnight.
yourself the validation that you may, at
times, be seeking from others.
Do your best to be compassionate and
patient with yourself as you cultivate your
self-trust. This process will take time. But
trust me—it will be worth it.

254 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

C. Reward Yourself D. Mark Down Your Achievements If Iʼm ever doubting my abilities, I just thumb
through the accomplishments in my
When you deprive yourself of rewards, your Our wins (both big and small) get lost in the notebook and my self-trust is restored.
brain doesnʼt give you the motivation needed hustle and bustle of daily life. And we forget
to accomplish your goals. about everything weʼve accomplished over
the past week, month, year, decade.
Thatʼs why itʼs so important to regularly
reward yourself when you achieve your sales The more we forget what weʼve achieved, the
goals. less we remember the activities that we used
to get to the point of achievement.
Whether youʼre rewarding yourself for hitting
quota or youʼre gifting yourself a reward So buy a small notebook and start jotting
because you were a badass in an important down your daily wins. A simple one liner each
meeting and you deserve nice things every evening, sharing the things that youʼve
once in a while, rewarding yourself is a quick achieved that day will work wonders for your
way to build self-trust. self-esteem.

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 One of my favorite things that I recommend to my clients is
to create a journal. Call it your “wins journal”. So every
time you have a win, small, medium, or large, write it
down. Like, ʻWoohoo, celebrate! Today I talked with John
DOE at Google, and heʼs always super excited about
bringing our stuff into his company.ʼ Write that down. So
when you do get caught in these anxious moments, go
back to your “wins journal”, like, ʻOh yeah, that happened.
That was real.ʼ Reminding yourself that you are good at
what you do. You are enough, youʼve got this.”
Michele Molitor, Coach, Hypnotherapist, & Impostor Syndrome Expert,
[Link] Podcast

256 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

02. Increase Action-Taking
One of the core influencers of healthy self- But taking action doesnʼt come naturally. But once you develop it, youʼll feel more
esteem is your ability to take action. After all, humans tend to favor the path of confident in your abilities. And youʼll know
least resistance. that with some elbow grease and consistent
When you take action, you take control. momentum, you will build the life you want.
Youʼre pushing closer to achieving your goals. As a result, this skill takes a bit of work to
Youʼre influencing the world around you. And develop. So, letʼs take a look at a few ways to turn
youʼre building up more and more yourself into an action-taker.
confidence with each new win.

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 A. Fear Is Normal (So Use It) And remember that fear is normal. It just If you make it a habit to avoid stressful
depends on what you do with that fear—act situations, youʼre going to become less and
on it or succumb to it. less courageous.
Most people think that to be brave is to not
feel fear.
B. Exercise Your Daily Your courage muscle is going to atrophy.
This is not true. Courage Your comfort zone is going to shrink.
In reality, being brave is to feel fear…and act Courage is like a muscle. If you stop using And in the end, youʼll be unable to take
anyway. It is to act in spite of fear. and training it, it atrophies. Just like a bicep, action in even the most minor stressful
quad, or calf. situations.
Taking action when thereʼs no fear doesnʼt
require any bravery. In these circumstances, Now, this doesnʼt happen overnight. But as On the other hand, if you keep training your
it isnʼt hard to take action. Instead, itʼs rather time passes, it becomes more and more courage muscle on a daily basis, youʼre not
easy. After all, whatʼs holding you back if not obvious youʼve lost your courage. And by the only going to maintain it. Youʼre also going to
fear? time youʼve realized whatʼs happening, you reinforce it (especially if you make sure to
find yourself succumbing to self-doubt in increase the difficulty of your training by
So, if youʼre wondering how to take more situations you would have breezed through increasing the level of required bravery to
action in life, the first thing you need to years ago. take action).
understand is that itʼs okay to be afraid.
To maintain (and increase) your courage
When you start to feel your heart flutter, your muscle mass, you need to use it. You need to
mind fogs up, and your palms begin to sweat, train it every week.
donʼt panic. Instead, recognize this as an
opportunity to become braver.

258 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 When you take no action, you still end up somewhere
(it just might not be where you want to be)

Regret
Start Shame Start Success
Disappointment

No action Action

C. Focus on the Youʼre so afraid of the consequences that you By focusing on what you will feel if you DONʼT
might suffer by taking action that you donʼt take action, you will feel a strong and
Consequences of Not make a move . And that means you miss out compelling urge to make your move.
Taking Action on the benefits of taking action.

You probably focus way too much on the Instead, start focusing on the negative
negative consequences of taking action. consequences of NOT taking action rather
Rather than the potential upside of making a than the negative consequences of taking
move. When itʼs time to act, you start to action:
invent all sorts of stories in your head about
how you are going to fail. • The regrets
• The shame
Not only does this lead you to focus on • The disappointment in yourself
destructive thoughts which will make you
feel less able to succeed. But it also keeps
you from taking action by making you afraid.

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 Action priority matrix
HINT:
Do you have lots of big actions you • Moving from sales into
could take but youʼre not sure which management.
one to commit to? Most people feel • Starting your side hustle (and
the same way. Itʼs completely natural. sticking with it this time).
Impact on self-esteem

#1
I find that using an Action Priority Then plot your potential self-esteem-
Matrix can help. Donʼt worry, itʼs less building actions on the Action Priority
nerdy than it sounds. Matrix which visualizes the amount of
effort you need to put into an action
List out the potential activities that if versus the impact it will have on your
#3 #2 you completed them, would level up life.
your self-esteem. They could be:
Look at the chart and then start with
• Getting back on the dating whatever task will have the biggest
scene. impact, with the least effort.
Amount of effort • Writing that book youʼve
to implement always dreamed about
creating.

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Success isnʼt about working
harder, because people go,
ʻIʼve got to work harder.ʼ
Itʼs not about that. Itʼs
about doing the consistent
action on a daily basis.”
Marx Acosta-Rubio, Business & Lifestyle
Strategist, [Link] Podcast

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 03. Increase Flexibility
Life is unpredictable. And more often than The Biological Basis of This is what happens when we become
not, a plan (no matter how perfect) will fall cognitively inflexible—we start down one
apart when the time comes to execute.
Inflexibility path mentally and then refuse to change
Everyone makes mistakes. direction.
An area of the brain called the anterior
cingulate gyrus (ACG) tends to be overactive
But when you increase your ability to be The good news is that there are simple
in people who have difficulty with cognitive
flexible to the inevitable issues that crop up strategies you can incorporate into your life
flexibility. Located in the front part of the
in life, you reduce your chances of being to help you become more flexible and adjust
brain, the ACG is involved with shifting
affected by them. And in fact, you benefit more easily to change.
attention.
from those issues if youʼre smart with your
pivoting.
When the ACG works well, it allows us to
focus on something, let go, and then shift to
Whether itʼs starting a new job, taking a new
focus on something else. However, when itʼs
class, or getting married, being cognitively
overactive, there is a tendency for people to
flexible helps us grow and get along with
get stuck.
others.

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Becoming More Cognitively When thoughts are floating around in our Try writing down:
heads, theyʼre abstract. Theyʼre like
Flexible shapeless, undefined blobs. 1. The thought thatʼs stuck in your head.
2. What you can do to help offset the
So, how can you improve self-esteem by
But when we put them down on paper, they thought.
boosting cognitive flexibility?
become concrete. And that helps us look at 3. Things you have no control over in
them more rationally, decide if theyʼre valid, regard to the thought.
Two techniques will help you improve at
and choose whether or not to act on them.
going with the flow and adapting to tricky
When everythingʼs all down on paper, youʼll
situations.
Often the logical act of writing our thoughts likely be surprised at how different things
down takes them from our emotional look compared to when it was floating
A. Document Your Options & Caveman Brain and nudges them into our around in your head.
Solutions rational Human Brain.

One of the best methods Iʼve found for

dealing with negative thoughts that are
knocking chunks of our self-esteem is to
write things down.

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 HINT:
When I list of potential solutions to
any issues Iʼm facing, I ask myself
three additional questions:
Your Potential Broader Potential
1. “If I had unlimited money and perspective solutions perspective solutions
resources, how would I solve
this problem?”
2. “If I had zero money or
resources, how would I solve
this problem?”
3. “If [insert person who you think
has their shit together] had this
problem, how would they solve
it?”

Sometimes, these questions can

widen your POV so you can see all the
options that are actually available.

The biggest deals Iʼve ever done have

all come from stopping and asking
myself the third question and
emulating what someone better than
me would do.

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B. Think Before a Knee-Jerk “No” To help with this, before responding to a
question, take a deep breath. Hold it for three
Some people have the tendency to say “no” seconds and then take five seconds to exhale.
automatically—before thinking about what And while you do so, consider the best way to
was asked of them. This can be especially respond.
problematic in relationships. It is limiting and
unnecessary to always dismiss ideas or deny This shifts your decision-making from your
your partner his or her requests. Computer Brain to your Human Brain.

Itʼs a nasty habit that, when gone unchecked, Sometimes a quick break from automatic
can easily leech over to your professional life responses is enough to drive serious change
and sabotage working relationships (and and promote more cognitive flexibility in life.
career prospects).

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 I think by putting yourself out there and
having the confidence to show people who
you are, that's going to be reflected in the
results that you get. So what I want to say
to the salespeople out there is step outside
your comfort zone and go and meet
people face-to-face in a range of
situations.”
Samuel D. Osborne, Author, [Link] Podcast

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Wrapping Up
Three things determine your success in sales. With a healthy self-confidence, youʼll be able But if you use the techniques in this
to push through rejection, attract more framework, youʼll find yourself becoming a
First, selling a product or service you truly buyers, and build trust quicker than ever. little more confident every day.
believe in.
Changing the view that you hold of yourself And a year from now, youʼll look back with
Second, focusing on providing value, not just and the world around you doesnʼt happen amazement at how far youʼve come.
making a sale. overnight.

Third, having the self-esteem to sell

confidently, competently, and consistently.

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 12.
Personal
Accountability

268 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

Personal Accountability
When you become accountable for Walter has extreme levels of personal He often starts the year at a slower pace than
something, youʼre more likely to look after it. accountability. When he commits to doing Sam but by midway through heʼs doing 2x
something, he does it. the revenue.
To look after yourself, you need to increase
your levels of personal accountability.

Sam always starts the year with good

intentions. He knows his numbers, starts
strong but then talks himself out of working
hard a few months in.

This chapter explains how to make bigger

commitments to your success and see them
through to completion.

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 The Secret to More Sales Wins
How many times have you set a goal or made But itʼs when you shift the blame to others When youʼre personally accountable in the
a promise—maybe to follow up on a lead— that the behavior of failing to achieve goals workplace, you not only achieve more. But
only to drop the ball and forget entirely? becomes a problem. you also empower yourself to improve, to
better yourself, and to grow.
You say youʼll do something. And you know One of the most valuable skills you can learn
you should do it. But somehow, you get in this business is fostering a healthy sense of
caught up in another task. You break your personal accountability.
promise.

Hey, weʼve all done it.

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 Computer Caveman Human

Input Stories Threat? Logic

Habitual Emotional Logical

response response response

Output

What Is Personal This is important because your choices, and The highs, the lows. The joyous wins, the
your actions all have consequences. scathing losses. If anything comes about
Accountability? because of the actions, you recognize that
And when you have a healthy sense of you are the cause of the result.
Personal accountability is your ability to take
personal accountability, you understand that
ownership of your life.
you are responsible not just for making those You arenʼt quick to blame others. You donʼt
choices, you are also responsible for the give half-baked excuses. And when you do
It is the ability to beat the Computer and
consequences that occur as a result. mess up, youʼre quick to apologize and make
Caveman Brain to make important decisions
things right.
with your Human Brain.

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 Sales activities seeming to be disconnected from selling results

Feedback loop
disconnected:
when most
Sales people change Results
activities plan even
though it is
working

Time

HINT:
Long-Term Sales Success Humans find it difficult to tie all of processes, and activities. Because
these different events together their efforts and results are
When you become accountable for all because they occurred over a long disconnected.
of your actions, you get to benefit period of time.
from knowing that you have created But, if you take personal
all of the results. If we donʼt see a clear feedback loop accountability for your actions, and
from an action to a result, itʼs so create this feedback loop longer
This combats a common flaw that all common for sellers to stop doing the term, it becomes reinforced. This
humans have. People struggle to link initial action, even though it will lead allows for longer term thinking,
a sales activity that they completed them to success long term. planning and better sales results.
last month, to a productive meeting
they had yesterday, to the deal This is why sellers often flip flop Track your activities, set a course and
closing today. between different sales tools, stick to it.

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So the neat thing about
your personal credibility
is you take that with
you wherever you go.”
C. Lee Smith, Bestselling Author,
[Link] Podcast

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 Why Is Personal Accountability Important?
Personal accountability helps sellers When you have a low degree of personal You can always come up with a new excuse.
specifically in several interesting ways: accountability, you can easily fall behind in Because youʼve got a scapegoat other than
hitting these numbers. Why? Because you yourself.
A. Keeps You On Track will make excuse after excuse when you end
up falling short. But when you hold yourself personally
When you get down to it, sales is a numbers responsible, you put in the energy to get
game. better, to grow in the face of failure.
I was waiting on the numbers
You make a certain number of outbound from another department. When the issue is you, it can be solved much
touches which nets a certain number of more easily than when the issue is caused by
diagnosis calls. From there, it whittles down someone else.
to demo numbers, sales calls, and eventually
Leads have just been taking And that will keep you on track to achieve
closed deals.
longer than normal to close. your goals rather than get too comfortable
Sure, the numbers may vary. But on the underperforming.
whole, the proportions tend to stay pretty
consistent. No oneʼs calling me back!

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B. Promotes Stability If youʼre personally accountable for the Letʼs find something.ʼ You donʼt have to be
important things in your life, you only need beating the bushes and knocking on doors
to look to yourself to achieve those goals. for six months to get hired. People are
Itʼs a tough world out there. You need to be
You donʼt need to depend on others to, going to come to you. Thatʼs the value of a
able to rely on yourself. Buyers fall short on
advance your career, earn more money, or strong personal brand.”
promises. The market is subject to
forge better relationships.
fluctuations. And your company, your
I show sellers exactly how to improve their
employer, gives no guarantees of supporting
You are the missing piece, not someone else. personal brands inside [Link]
you the way they promised.
Academy. Because when you do, youʼre
One of the best ways to increase the control building a system that not only makes you
With all this chaos, the only thing you can
you have over your professional life is by unfireable. But it also helps you attract better
control is what you do. How you set and
continually improving your personal brand. clients and advance your career.
accomplish your goals. How you react in the
As personal branding expert Dorie Clark put
face of adversity.
it in a [Link] Podcast interview:
When you develop personal accountability,
“Your personal brand, in many ways, is
you can push back on the ups and downs of
long-term career insurance. Because we
the world around you. And you can create a
live in an unstable economy, unfortunately,
more stable, predictable life.
peopleʼs jobs can go away because of a
variety of factors outside their control. But
C. Sets You Free if you are known and respected by people
in your industry, the minute they find out
Piggybacking on that last point, taking that you are available, theyʼre going to say,
personal responsibility gives you the control ʻWell, Willʼs available. Letʼs bring him on.
you need to become free.

SECTION 2 - BELIEFS | 275

 The Personal There are benefits to increasing your levels of But the question is how to improve personal
Accountability personal accountability, in terms of potential accountability?
sales success.
Framework Just ask better questions.

UNDERSTAND LESS BAD MORE GOOD

THE FEEDBACK LOOP QUESTIONS QUESTIONS

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01. Understand the Feedback Loop
The first part of the Personal Accountability world through me-colored lenses. Because And to reverse that hard wiring, we need to
Framework is understanding that holding evolutionarily, this self-centered approach change up our feedback loop.
yourself accountable is hard. keeps us alive.

Our brains are hard-wired to make ourselves Isnʼt any wonder, why developing personal
the center of the universe. Our Computer accountability is so tough—it requires us to
Brain tells stories about our greatness, about admit to our faults, which the Human Brain
how we arenʼt the ones at fault. We see the isnʼt great at doing in the first place.

SECTION 2 - BELIEFS | 277

 Go
s od
on

ti

qu
es

est
qu

io
Good

ns
Accountability
Loop

To explain, when we take an action, thereʼs a

result. And over time, the brain connects that
action with the end result of taking that
initial action. But whether or not we take
responsibility for that action depends on the Situation
questions we ask ourselves.

Altering those questions is key to becoming

more accountable.

Victim
Loop

ns
Ba d

stio
qu

e
es

qu
on
ti
d
s Ba

278 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

 Computer Caveman Human

Input Stories Threat? Logic

Logical
response

Output

Questions—How Your Brain Who was supposed to

question in a way that shifts the blame from
ourselves to someone else inevitably leads us
Makes Sense of the World follow up with that lead? to feel victimized. Powerless. And yep, not
personally accountable.
We ask ourselves questions every day.
Questions help us make sense of the world. Thatʼs the focus of this framework—learning
And our internal answers to those questions how to ask yourself questions that take the
When will my partner get shape the way we act and think. These responsibility off others and put it onto you.
back with lunch? questions allow the Human Brain to leverage
the skills of the Computer Brain and
Caveman Brain to get better answers.
Why did it have to rain on my
But the way we ask questions also influences
vacation?
our view of reality. For instance, framing a

SECTION 2 - BELIEFS | 279

 You will not decide your future.
Youʼll decide your habits. And your
habits will then in turn, decide
your future. Are your habits
aligned with your own personal
goals or stretch goals?”
Derek Daly, F1 and Indy 500 Motor Racing Legend,
[Link] Podcast

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02. Less Bad Questions
Now, letʼs start with the bad questions that Only then can you re-frame them into
limit our personal accountability. something more positive that drives action. Why is our team always
so short-staffed?
These are the questions that put your So, what do these bad questions look like?
success in the hands of other people. The
questions that take away agency and put it Bad Questions When are my customers
on someone else rather than yourself.
going to understand our
messaging? Itʼs so simple,
Now, the problem is knowing how to spot
these bad questions as youʼre asking them. When is the company going even an idiot should know
to give us better products and understand what Iʼm
to sell? talking about when I call.

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 The “Why” & “When” Similarly, when we ask “when?” questions, When you ask lots of bad “when” questions,
what weʼre saying to ourselves is that we you feel like other people are holding you
have no choice in this moment. That weʼre back.
You may have noticed a pattern here.
waiting on someone else to allow us to move
forward. “Why” and “when” questions are two
Bad questions tend to contain specific key-
examples of bad questions. There are a few
words. And “why” and “when” are two of the
An example would be: others that you should avoid:
most common.

• Questions that start with “why”,

I assume it is the same for you, but when I
When will this buyer “when”, or “who”.
ask questions that begin with “Why donʼt…”,
call me back? • Questions that have the words “they”,
“Why is this happening…”, and “Why do…”, I
“them”, “we”, or “you”.
always feel like a victim.
• Questions focus on avoiding action
and keeping the current status quo.
An example of a bad “why” question is:
When will my sales manager
give me the information I Recognizing these keywords as you ask
need to pass on? yourself questions is vital for the next step,
Why is this happening to me? re-framing.

Why is my sales manager

making it so difficult for
me to do my job?

282 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

Reframing Bad Questions Your next thought is going to be a negative However, if you ask yourself a better question
and dis-empowering: like…
Now that you know what these bad
questions sound like, you can catch yourself
asking them and then reframe them to start I wish someone would do What else could I do to sell
asking “good” questions instead. something to help me here. the products I have?

For instance, if you ask yourself a bad

question like:
This thought pattern over a long period of You narrow down your next thought to
time will turn you into a miserable person something that is empowering, youʼll feel in
who blames everyone else for their lack of control, and are far more likely to make a
When is our company going success. better selling decision.
to have better products to
sell? This is where learning to ask good questions
comes in.

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 The thing with habits is you cannot drop
a habit, you can only replace a habit.
So we have to look at our ineffective
habits, identify them, and replace them
with the opposite habit.”
Bob Urichuck, Sales Speaker, Trainer, & Author,
[Link] Podcast

284 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

03. More Good Questions
If bad accountability questions have the If this seems simple, itʼs because it is simple. • Act on these better accountability
following: The hardest part is to change any habitual questions.
questioning patterns that your Computer • Repeat this cycle over and over until
• They open with “why”, “when”, or Brain might be stuck with. your default is to take responsibility
“who”. rather than blame others.
• They contain the words “they”, If youʼre blaming other people for the issues
“them”, “we”, or “you”. in your sales role, you need to:
• They focus on avoiding action and
keeping the current status quo. • Become conscious of all the occasions
that you are blaming others.
Then we can ask good accountability • Start to ask better accountability
questions by doing the opposite: questions that lead to a more positive
outcome, rather than trying to push
• They begin with “what” or “how”. responsibility off onto other people.
• They contain the word “I”.
• They are always focused on action.

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 Good Questions for
Personal Accountability
Letʼs look at how we can shift the bad
question examples and reframe them into
good questions.

These questions: Shift into:

What can I do to make these

When is the company going to
products more attractive to
give us better products to sell?
prospects?

How should I compensate

Why is our team always
for the lack of manpower
so short-staffed?
on our team?

When are my customers

going to understand our What can I change in our
messaging? Itʼs so simple, messaging that makes it
even an idiot should know easier for customers to
and understand what Iʼm understand?
talking about when I call.

286 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

“What” & “How” Contain “I” Focused on Action
Good questions tend to begin with “what” or Next up, good questions concentrate on you, Finally, good questions focus on action.
“how”. and contain words like “I”, “my”, or “me.”
What needs to be done here? How can we
As opposed to their ambiguous counterparts This quality is essential. After all, how can prevent it from happening in the future? And
(“why” and “when”), these words get to the you increase your personal accountability if what actions led to this outcome in the first
heart of the matter. They point to specificity you arenʼt thinking about yourself along the place?
rather than vagueness. way?
All good questions should steer away from
Instead of supposing the cause of a problem, If you find yourself asking questions that are the abstract. And instead, they should focus
focus on what needs to be done to fix it. focused on others, try shifting the questions on clear, concrete details, and actions.
back to what you can do instead.
The more often you shift your “wondering”
questions to those focused on action, the
better positioned youʼll be to take
responsibility in your life.

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 What makes great people great is
that itʼs not that they like to do
something, itʼs that they donʼt
like to do it, but they do it
anyway. You just cannot become
successful in anything if you
avoid it.”
Marx Acosta-Rubio, Business & Lifestyle
Strategist, [Link] Podcast

288 | SECTION 2 - BELIEFS

Wrapping Up
Taking responsibility for your actions leads to Shifting your automatic thinking like this
a slew of personal and professional benefits. takes some work. But when you do put in the
It keeps you on track, helps you build better effort consistently, it gets easier every single
relationships, promotes stability, and sets day.
you free from the control of others.
And when you hold yourself, and yourself
The Personal Accountability Framework is alone responsible for what happens in your
designed to grow your personal life, youʼll have the only thing you need to
accountability effectively and easily. achieve massive success—yourself.

SECTION 2 - BELIEFS | 289

Section 3:
Actions
 13.
System
Habits

292 | SECTION 3 - ACTIONS

Habits
If you do the same thing often enough, it Walter completes the same activities each He saves countless hours of planning per
becomes easy. day. week because his daily sales activities are
embedded as habits.
Just like how driving a car at first requires all
your attention, but a few years later you
barely think about it, turning sales activities
into habits makes them easier to perform,
too.

In this chapter, youʼll learn what an

automated habit is and how we can turn any
sales activity into one.

Sam starts every day from scratch. It takes

him 2 hours to work out what he should be
doing and to get started.

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 Building Better Habit Systems
You can say a lot about the power of If thereʼs one thing that separates Best of all, once theyʼve been set, habits are
motivation. Itʼs why people start eating consistently high-achieving sellers from completely automatic. You donʼt even have
healthier or begin an exercise program. Itʼs those who “get by,” itʼs their habits. to think about doing them. And that means
what drives you to take a risk that jump- there is no motivation required to become
starts your career. Where motivation is sporadic and unreliable, more successful.
habits let you stay the course. Want
Motivation drives action. consistent growth? Build better habits. More
productive days? Habits. Dependability in
But guess what? Itʼs not what drives results. your sales process that allows you to plan for
a brighter, more successful future? Thatʼs
right—it all comes down to habits.

294 | SECTION 3 - ACTIONS

How Are Habits Formed?
So, first things first, what are habits anyway?

Computer
Habits are automated
behaviors that get programmed
into your Computer Brain via
stories. Input Stories

If your Computer Brain holds a story that is

strong enough, it will play out the action
contained within the story without bothering
to pass it to the other parts of your brain to Habitual
be double-checked. response

For example:
Output
• The doorbell rings and you stand up
and walk over to the door. Itʼs only
when youʼre halfway across the room
that you start to wonder who it could
be. The story that you get up when the
doorbell rings has been implanted Now in sales, habits can work both for you Whatever the habit is, good or bad, whatʼs
into your head and reinforced and against you. For instance, they can help important to remember is that habits work
thousands of times. make daily tasks (finding prospects, because they create real, lasting change in
following up with leads, etc.) automatic so the brain. And that makes them tough to
• You brush your teeth before bed. You they arenʼt chores to do. form and tough to undo.
donʼt have to put “brush teeth” in your
calendar to remind you to do it. Again, OR they can push you to spend time doing
this story has been reinforced since unproductive tasks instead.
you were a child.

SECTION 3 - ACTIONS | 295

 Weʼre literally building new neural pathways
around these new beliefs, these new habits,
which then allows you to move forward
powerfully, taking off the blinders of fear
and doubt, and create new habits for success,
that creates massive shifts for people in a
very short period of time.”
Michele Molitor, Coach, Hypnotherapist,
& Impostor Syndrome Expert, [Link] Podcast

296 | SECTION 3 - ACTIONS

 Systems habits compound over time

Building
system habits

Revenue
Focusing on
end results

Time

The Problem with Habit Building

As you can see, building habits can be on achieving goals rather than building Studies show that habits take on average of
monumental for your sales results. With systems. 66 days to form. If you can stick to it that
them, you can: long, the system becomes automatic. And
“Achieving more sales” is goal-focused. The that means prospecting is no longer a chore.
• Boost productivity issue here is that there are too many Itʼs just… what you do.
• Enhance efficiency variables that weʼre not in control of.
• Build consistent growth And importantly, it becomes who you are
• Earn more revenue “Prospect 5 new people at 9 am each (more on that later).
morning” is systems focused. You are in
But the problem is most people focus on the control of completing this task and a habit
wrong types of “habit building.” They focus can be formed around it.

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 The
Building Habits Now that we better understand system
based-habits and their value, letʼs look at
Framework how to build them.

IDENTIFY CUE MOTIVATION ABILITY REWARD

FUTURE SELF

298 | SECTION 3 - ACTIONS

You will not decide your future.
Youʼll decide your habits. And your
habits will then in turn, decide
your future. Are your habits aligned
with your own personal goals or
stretch goals?”
Derek Daly, Keynote Speaker, Entrepreneur,
& Legendary TV Analyst, [Link] Podcast

SECTION 3 - ACTIONS | 299

 01. Become Your Myth
The first step to the framework is to So, before you start building your systems- • What does the person who achieved
understand the “myth” that you want to based habits, ask yourself who you want to your goals look like?
become. become: • And how does that stack up to you
now?
As we discussed in the introduction chapter • What qualities does this person have? • What traits do they have that you
of the book, a good percentage of who you • Are they relentless about sticking to donʼt?
are and what you do each day is habitual. deadlines?
Therefore, if you understand the myth you • Do they refuse to procrastinate on Once you know where you want to go, you
want to become and align your habits with important tasks? can identify which habits you need to build
that person, you will slowly morph into them. • Are they a audience-building to get there.
machine?

300 | SECTION 3 - ACTIONS

 Current
“myth”

You become Cycle of Implement the

the desired reinvention habits of your
“myth” desired “myth”

You habitually
complete the
tasks

The Future You This is where the “fake it till you make it” Once you believe that, youʼll perform those
mindset comes in. habits not because you choose to. But
because itʼs who you are.
Creating habits based on sales productivity is
As you adopt new habits, they continually
great. Choosing to implement the habits of
reinforce the perception that you have of And that is a powerful thing.
the “myth” youʼd like to become is much
yourself.
more powerful.

For example, if you want to become a

Remember, as we covered in the first chapter,
productive person, getting up early and
you can become anyone you want to become
knocking things off your to-do list will
by changing the stories that you hold about
become evidence that you are that person.
yourself inside your Computer Brain.

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 02. Create a Cue
OK, youʼve got a few system habits noted Being purposeful about creating cues is often The more we cue habits, the more likely we
down that youʼd like to implement, that will the step of the habit-forming process that are to complete them and so the more likely
transform you into the person you would like trips people up. Creating habit cues is they are to stick.
to become. important because even with the best will in
the world, everyone forgets the tasks that
Itʼs now time to develop a series of cues to they wanted to habitualize if theyʼre not
remind you to complete the activity that will constantly reminded of them.
over time create the habits.

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 Computer

Story: When
Predetermined I see, do,
environmental smell, feel,
cue taste, hear
“X” I do “Y”

Habitual
response

Output

Think of your cues as the environmental So sticking with the prospecting example,
inputs that will elicit your Computer Brain to you could say, “When I get into the office first
take the desired action. thing in the morning, I will prospect for two
hours.”
Cues are environmental nudges that kick
your desired habit into action. And theyʼre Your cue, is getting into the office. See how
also downright essential to creating that works?
automatic healthy behaviors.

Your cues should function like this—“When X

occurs, I will do Y.”

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 If you could start to build habits for
yourself through these methods,
and itʼs something that you can do,
you wonʼt get as distracted because
itʼs like brushing teeth, I donʼt ever
get distracted when I brush my
teeth, I donʼt get distracted when I
run, itʼs just a habit that Iʼve built
for myself.”
Josh Braun, Author, Founder, & Sales Expert,
[Link] Podcast

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 Use cues to get enough repetitions to cement the habit
Habits have
been formed,

completing task
cues no longer
needed

Ease of

Number of repetitions

How to Set Cues So, continuing the prospecting example, start But you can use that habit-chaining effect to
by setting a simple phone alarm for 9 am and your advantage. Rather than creating a cue,
another for 11 am. Then, commit to spending you can use other habits as the cue for your
Setting cues doesnʼt have to be complicated.
those two hours on your prospecting habit. new behavior.
But there are a few things you can do with
cues to make forming new healthy habits
No distractions. No multitasking. No hopping For instance, say you want to get in shape. So
more successful:
from one task to another. Just prospecting. you commit to going for a 20-minute walk
every morning before work. Now, early-
A. Schedule it
B. Habit chaining
B. Habit Chaining morning exercising can be tough. But youʼre
a regular coffee drinker. To stay on track, you
Another technique you could use for creating commit to drinking your morning coffee
A. Schedule It
a solid cue is habit chaining. while youʼre walking.
The best type of cue occurs on a regular
Habits have a tendency to follow one Now, your previous habit (drinking coffee) is
timetable. For you, that means scheduling
another. Watching lots of TV might lead you chained to the new habit you want to create
your desired behaviors in your work
to gorge on junk food and live a sedentary (walking in the morning).
calendar—at least until they become
lifestyle. Eventually, that can impact your
automatic.
self-esteem and make cold calling more That is habit chaining.
difficult.
When activities are scheduled into your
calendar, youʼre more like to complete them.

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 03. Motivation
Okay, youʼve got the desired myth. Youʼve got Doing an activity once, twice, or even three
the habit. And youʼve got the cue. Now all times is easy. But doing it again and again for
thatʼs left is sticking with it, right? 66 days in a row? Thatʼs tough.

Well, anyone whoʼs tried to create a new As soon as we fall asleep, we forget 90% of
habit knows that maintaining consistency is the motivation from the day before. So we
the hardest part of making a habit stick. need to remind ourselves of our motivating
factor each time we get cued to do the
activity.

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 What actually
happens
“Valley of
disappointment”

Results
What you think
will happen

Time

You have to get through the “valley of

disappointment” to start getting the results

How to Build Consistency every Saturday morning, you instead get Iʼm going on holiday in two months. Itʼs my
sucked into watching bad TV. first beach holiday in a while so Iʼm training
to get in shape so I look good. My motivator
Keeping consistent is tough. But luckily, there
Let yourself watch bad TV on Saturday to keep training every day is a note on my
are two techniques to help you break
morning if youʼve worked out prior. That way, fridge that says “beach body.” That way,
through the “valley of disappointment” when
your habit (working out) is sandwiched every day when I go to the fridge for lunch, I
forming habits:
between what you already do (wake up on remember my end goal of eating healthy. And
Saturday) and what you want to do (watch as a result, I reach for a salad instead of a
A. Habit sandwiching
bad TV). burger.
B. Imagining the finish line

There are an infinite number of ways you can By imagining the finish line (a body fit for the
A. Habit Sandwiching
make your habit sandwich to keep your beach) each time Iʼm tempted to break my
motivation strong. healthy habits, I hold on to the motivation to
Itʼs simple. Take the habit you want to
make it happen.
develop and put it between something you
already do and something you want to do.
B. Imagine the Finish Line
For example, if you want to exercise on
Another tactic to stick to your habit is to
Saturday mornings when you wake up. But
imagine the finish line.

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 04. Increase Ability
The more you engage in healthy behaviors, Thatʼs called habit streamlining. And the
the easier they are to perform. 2. You Get Better at Doing more you streamline your habits, the easier
they are to do.
Them
There are two reasons for this:
As you practice the habit, you get There are two things you can do to make
better at doing it. Your ability to streamlining your habits more successful:
prospect each day goes up. Your
1. They Become Habitual ability to make a healthy lunch A. Make small commitments
The Computer Brain hardwires increases. B. Remove obstacles
the habit into itself via stories.
The more stories that are written,
the more habitual the behavior
becomes.

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A. Make Small Commitments Once you get over that initial hump, youʼll be the closet, you set them out so theyʼre the
cruising along effortlessly. first thing you see when you get up. Heck,
For most people, the hardest part of doing you can even sleep in them to streamline
something is getting started. And thatʼs So if youʼre difficulty getting started, just further.
where the Reverse Pomodoro Technique commit to five minutes. Youʼll be surprised
comes in. how willing you are to keep going after that. Want to read a book before going to bed each
night? Place it right on your pillow. Looking
The Pomodoro Technique is this—commit to B. Remove Obstacles to cut junk food out of your diet? Donʼt have
an activity for 25 minutes. After that, you can any in your house. Want to stay focused on
take a five-minute break. This is a technique Another great way to streamline your habits prospecting every morning? Get rid of your
that can help enhance productivity and keep is by removing obstacles to getting started. social media apps on your phone.
you focused.
For example, say the habit youʼre trying to The fewer obstacles in performing the habit,
However, Iʼve found flipping that technique is create is going for a jog first thing in the the more likely youʼll be to stick with it over
far more effective at getting me started on an morning. So on the first day, you wake up, the long run.
activity. wander around your place, find your running
clothes, and get out the door. But on day
To explain, all you have to do is commit to two, just the thought of getting up and going
five minutes. Thatʼs it. through those motions completely saps your
motivation.
You can do anything for five minutes. And
once youʼve been engaging in your habit for So whatʼs the solution? You streamline.
five minutes, youʼll likely find yourself Rather than keeping your running clothes in
pushing through for the full hour or more.

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 05. Reward Yourself
Last but certainly not least, you need to build Think about it like this, if every time you But say you make one call and have a 10-
a reward system. The more enticing the picked up your phone to make a cold call, I minute coffee break. Then tomorrow, you
reward, the stronger your motivation will be jumped out from behind your desk and make two calls and do the same. And then
to stick with it whenyouʼre building your slapped you around the head. Guess what? three the next day and so on. Attaching a
habits. You will struggle to form the habit of cold desirable reward increases the chance of
calling each day. forming your habit.

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How to Build in Rewards When you skip rewards, you arenʼt showing This is why you should plan for that boredom
your strength or productivity. Youʼre and find ways to work through it.
depriving your brain of the pleasure it needs One way to do so is to make your habits more
There are two points to consider when
to form new synapses and, to make new challenging. Counter-intuitive, I know. But
building rewards for your habits:
connections. This process lays the physical adding a bit of difficulty to your habit over
groundwork necessary for making your new time—and then still succeeding—can be
A. Forcing rewards
habits automatic in your brain. reward enough to keep going.
B. Planning for boredom

So donʼt skip the rewards when you achieve For instance, say weʼre prospecting again.
A. Force Rewards
your goals. Instead, schedule them. And And on day 10, you will knock out five
force yourself to revel in your successful calls. If you want to stay motivated
Unfortunately, a lot of sellers skip the reward
accomplishments. to keep going, you should increase that goal.
step of the process.
By day 20, aim for ten successful calls. Then
They say “I donʼt have time,” or “I donʼt need
B. Plan for Boredom 20 by day 40.
a reward.” To be clear, this type of thinking is
You also need to be aware that you will get When you keep raising the bar, you push
a mistake.
bored with your habits at some point. yourself to improve. And while you should
still reward yourself along the way, reveling
Your brain is a reward-seeking machine. Itʼs
Prospecting for two hours every day can get in that improvement can be what actually
no wonder the brainʼs main pleasure
tedious by day 45. keeps you moving forward.
chemical (dopamine) is also its mechanism
for learning.

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 Wrapping Up
If you want to build real, sustainable sales If you can follow the steps of this framework
success, you need to form system-based for around 66 days, youʼll be building more
habits. But habit-building is notoriously hard than just system habits. Youʼll also be
to do. building the foundation for a wildly
successful and more effortless life.
Retraining the Computer Brain takes both
time and effort. But the results can be
transformational.

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A way to control your day, control
your outcomes and control your
success is based on the habits
you create.”
Noel Wax, Former CBS Sports Executive & CEO of
Groundswell Group, [Link] Podcast

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 14.
Goal Setting

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Goal Setting
If you know where you want to go, youʼre Then, Walter sat down with Christopher to When Sam achieved his goals, nobody cared.
more likely to get there. set his goals. Walter was a little nervous However, when Walter reached his goals that
agreeing to the goals that Christopher helped year, the whole company celebrated and he
Setting effective goals both in and outside him put together because they were out of was recognized as the teamʼs top performer.
sales will dramatically change the trajectory his comfort zone.
of your life. You can go from imminent failure
to insane levels of success. All by having a
clear vision of where you want to end up.

In this chapter, youʼll learn how to create

achievable goals that will change your life.

Sam sat down with Brian to plan his yearly

sales goals. Brian isnʼt a big thinker, and so
there wasnʼt much to celebrate when Sam hit
his target.

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 What Goal Setting Works
Why should you be setting your sales goals? We can all agree that if you donʼt know where If, say, you need to close on 12 accounts this
And just as importantly, why should you start youʼre heading, itʼs going to be a real pain to quarter, that means you need to aim for four
setting your goals strategically so that you get there. And setting well-defined goals lets accounts per month. If youʼve only closed
donʼt give up on them four months into the you plan out your path to success milestone two in the first month, that means youʼll have
year? by milestone. to work extra hard to close five in the other
two months.
As it turns out setting sales goals is one of the Whatʼs more, when you continually improve
easiest low-investment, high-return wins you upon those goals (e.g., “Iʼm going to close 5% Your goals also help identify your busy
can make. more deals than last year”), youʼre creating seasons, your lulls, and when you should
the impetus you need to keep moving focus on other goals like filling your pipeline,
Hereʼs why setting your sales targets is such a forward. And that means less career streamlining your processes, or even taking a
game-changer: stagnation and consistent forward vacation.
progression.
A. Clear Path to Success
B. It Lets You Plan Ahead
First and foremost, setting sales goals gives
you a clear, indisputable path toward Setting sales goals also gives you a better
achieving massive professional success. indication of what lies ahead.

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 Computer

R
Input A Stories
S

C. Leverage Your Computer environment before itʼs passed over to the those cars have always been there but
other parts of your brain. because my RAS hasnʼt been tuned to let that
Brain information pass to the other parts of my
When you set clear goals, your RAS will allow brain, Iʼve never noticed them.
Last (but certainly not least), setting clear
information relevant to those specific objects
goals allows your Computer Brain to start
to filter through to the rest of your brain. When you set clear goals, you will start seeing
nudging you towards your goals without you
the opportunities to hit them that have been
even realizing.
The time I most see my RAS in action is when right in front of your face the entire time. But
I fancy treating myself to a new car. I do some you will no longer be blinded to them.
Your Computer Brain contains a system
research, find something I like, then I end up
called the Reticular Activating System (RAS).
seeing the car on my travels all the time. I get
Think of your RAS as a filter that pulls the
excited when I see it, too. Now, the reality is,
important bits of information from your

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 The Now that weʼve agreed on why setting sales With this framework, you can evaluate your
Goal Setting goals is so important, letʼs jump into creating priorities, identify areas of improvement,
goals that make a difference. establish impactful goals, and set yourself up
Framework for your best year yet.

1. WHAT DID I 2. WHAT WERE MY BIGGEST 3. WHAT DID I LEARN 4. HOW DID I LIMIT
ACHIEVE LAST YEAR? DISAPPOINTMENTS LAST YEAR? MYSELF, AND HOW CAN
LAST YEAR? I STOP?

5. WHAT ROLES DO I 6. WHICH ONE OF THESE 7. WHAT ARE MY GOALS 8. WHAT ARE MY TOP
PLAY IN MY LIFE? ROLES IS MY MAJOR FOCUS FOR EACH ROLE? THREE GOALS FOR THE
FOR NEXT YEAR? NEXT YEAR?

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01. What Did I Achieve Last Year?
The goal-setting process starts with an act Here are a few questions to get your juices • Did you get married? Have a child? Did
hated with a passion by some and adored by flowing: you get through a rough family patch?
others—bragging. • Did you finally start to get fit? Are you
• Did you hit your sales target? Did you exercising more than the previous
What were your finest moments over the past get closer than you have done in the year?
12 months? When did you feel unabashedly past? • Did you start to treat yourself to more
proud? Or when did you receive praise from a • Did you move house? Did you enjoyable things? Did you read more
supervisor, coworker, friend, or partner? decorate or repair your current home? books? See more friends?
• Did you start a new sales job or get a
Start with your professional promotion? How much money did you
accomplishments. But donʼt stop there. earn in the last year? Did you pay off a
Reach into your family and social life, too. debt?

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 Celebrate

Set
Achieve goal
Motivation bigger goal

Celebrate

Set goal Achieve goal Set goal Achieve goal

Celebrate Your First, youʼre essentially rewiring your brain to Added to that, this stage of the framework
associate completing goals with good helps you balance your perception of
Accomplishments feelings. When we skip the celebration phase yourself. Youʼre pulling up the celebrations
of the productivity cycle, our brains get wired that have been forgotten and weighing
As we covered in the System Habits
to associate completing a task with simply them against the losses in the next step.
Framework, you should force yourself to
starting the next one.
celebrate the wins no matter how small they
The cool thing is that often when people go
seem.
Thereʼs no reward here. And thatʼs going to through this part of the framework, and
make it harder to stay motivated and care they find that they are doing far better than
There are two reasons for this.
about achieving your goal. they thought they were.

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02. What Were My Biggest
Disappointments Last Year?
Next, is the opposite of the last step of the For instance, it can be cathartic. I have Instead, accept that your failures are a
framework: always felt a great weight lifted from my reflection of who you were a year ago. They
shoulders each time I write down what went are not reflective of what youʼre capable of
• When did you feel like your abilities wrong rather than trying to pretend it didnʼt achieving right now or what youʼre going to
fell short of your expectations? happen. be capable of in six months.
• When did you not stack up?
• And when did you miss the mark? Most people are more comfortable with Remember that you can create whatever
failures than successes, and so they tend to “myth” you want to become.
Writing out your disappointments shouldnʼt keep them around, like cozy old friends. But
be all doom and gloom. There is a lot of value when we hold onto our disappointments and
in documenting your disappointments. donʼt celebrate our wins, our self-perception
becomes unbalanced.

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 Document Your • Expectations were not fulfilled.
• You lost someone close to you.
Disappointments • Your clothes fit a little tighter, but
HINT:
youʼve not gained any muscle. Be honest with yourself. Nothing
Here are some prompts to uncover your good comes from sugarcoating the
• You were hoping to go on an awesome
disappointments from the past 12 months: past.
holiday away, but things didnʼt work
out.
• You didnʼt hit your sales target, or you If you lie to yourself about your
• You wanted more time to yourself, but
didnʼt get the bonus that you wanted. disappointments, youʼre preventing
it didnʼt happen.
• Your debt got bigger rather than yourself from avoiding those
smaller. disappointments in the future and
• You didnʼt find the man or woman that becoming a better, more successful
you wanted to bring into your life. sales rep.
• Your dreams didnʼt happen.

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What I teach people is, just change one word
around, from the prospect to I. How could I have
made them believe that they were ready to buy?
How could I have made them understand the price
was right? How could I have made sure that they
had everybody there? If you can change that one
word and put the onus on yourself, youʼ re going
to learn from your failures, and those failures
are going to start to diminish.”
Harvey J. Eisenstadt, Trainer, Speaker, Mentor, & Author,
[Link] Podcast

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 03. What Did I Learn Last Year?
Now weʼre going to put the two previous Take the time to move through both lists of Answering these questions gives you an
steps together. your wins and disappointments and find the opportunity to take on bigger challenges. If
lessons in each. Then, ask yourself these something failed last year, your answers to
You achieved some spectacular wins. You ran questions about those lessons: these questions allow you to learn what you
into some unexpected disappointments. So, can do differently next time to increase your
what did you learn from each? • What wouldʼve worked better? chance of success.
• What was the lesson I should have
What was the secret to your successes? What learned?
worked and what didnʼt? And why were you • Have I learned this lesson yet?
able to achieve what you did and what • Is there any evidence to prove that I
caused you to fail when you did? learned it? What is the evidence?

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Asking the REAL Questions • Do I let other people support me, or When you do that, you are changing the
do I avoid getting feedback and help? climate youʼre growing your seeds of success
• Do I support other people as much as I in. Youʼre increasing the amount of sunshine
Struggling to find the lessons? Ask yourself
should? and rain. And youʼre reducing the frost and
these questions to tickle your brain a bit.
• Do I need to be more proactive in pests killing your plants.
chasing my goals?
• What do I need to change in the way I
• Do I need to say “no” more often and Youʼre cultivating success in your life.
operate to have success faster?
focus on what really matters?
• Do I need more discipline?
• Have I been honest with myself and
As you learn from previous mistakes, you
others?
reduce the chances that failure happens
• Am I taking care of myself as well as I
again. And you also increase the chances of
need to be?
good events happening.
• Do I face problems head-on or do I put
my head in the sand?

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 04. How Do I Limit Myself & How Can I Stop?
We are often our own worst enemy. And in Most of these limits are either stories stored Ask yourself these questions to uncover your
many cases, the things that are holding us within your Computer Brain that are limiting beliefs and behaviors:
back the most are the things we do to constantly causing unwanted habitual
ourselves. actions. Or they are signs that you allow your A. How do I limit myself?
Caveman Brain too take over too much and B. What has it cost me to do so?
This crucial step of the Goal Setting would be better off spending more time in C. In what ways have I benefited from
Framework is meant to help you identify the logical Human Brain. limiting myself?
where these self-imposed roadblocks are. D. If I knew how, would I be willing to
Because once you understand them, you can stop limiting myself?
overcome them.

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 Progress always comes after your comfort zone has expanded

Learn
new skills

People
pleasing Rapid
growth

Comfort Boredom Making

zone excuses

Fear Dealing with

zone Fear of
unknown problems

Success Smashing
zone big goals

A. “How Do I Limit Myself?” • “I believe what other people say about B. “What Has It Cost Me to
me.”
• “I donʼt stand up for myself when
Do So?”
You may come up with tons of different
customers push me around.”
reasons here. Make note of every single one Next, analyze what each of those limits is
• “I donʼt follow through on what I say
of them. costing you.
Iʼm going to do.”
• “I spend more than I make.”
For instance, you may think: This step of the process immediately throws
• “I donʼt ask for what I want.”
everything into perspective. And as a result,
• “I donʼt plan and think ahead.” youʼll soon be able to identify that 20% of the
Write them all down.
• “Iʼm lazy.” issues, once removed, will give you 80% of all
the benefits.

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 HINT:
Adopt an abundance mindset.

An abundance mindset lets you see

C. “In What Ways Have I D. “If I Knew How, Would I the vast potential in the world rather
Benefited from Limiting Be Willing to Stop Limiting than being held down by scarcity and
Myself?” Myself?” fear. And that means you can set
better, more ambitious sales goals for
Donʼt be fooled here. There are always perks Donʼt worry about whether you think youʼll yourself.
to limiting ourselves. If there werenʼt, we going to be able to stop limiting yourself.
wouldnʼt be doing it in the first place. Instead, ask: Often an abundance mindset means
questioning the “facts” that your
Here are some of the benefits that you may “If I knew how, would I be willing to stop Computer Brain has stored:
come up with: limiting myself?”
• Scarcity: There are not enough
• Living an easier life. If the answer is yes, then this should be your buyers.
• Avoiding having too much expected of goal. • Abundance: How do I close
you. bigger deals?
• Living in ignorance and not having to
face up to your issues. • Scarcity: I canʼt afford it.
• Increasing the chance that people • Abundance: How could I afford
approve of you. it?
• Having something to blame when
something goes wrong. • Scarcity: I know all the
• Having the excuse that you could “do answers.
better if you tried” when things do go • Abundance: Who can I learn
wrong. from?

• Scarcity: Thatʼs a big risk.

• Abundance: Whatʼs the worst
that could happen?

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We have abundance on this planet. The only
limitations that are set, are set ourselves in what
we believe weʼre able to achieve in a world full of
abundance. Literally, when you open your mind to
that understanding, then why wouldnʼt you want
to go out there and get every single thing you can.
Because you know everything you could ever
want and more is right here in one place. And
itʼs nothing new. Itʼs just a matter of you getting
your hands on as much of it as possible.”
Ryan Stewman, Sales Coach & Business Consultant, [Link] Podcast.

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 05. What Roles Do I Play in My Life?
Next up, itʼs time to define your roles. And not A. It Provides Direction in Brazilian jujitsu can be fulfilling. But the
just your roles at work. But all of your roles in reality is that itʼs pulling me away from my
life. financial goals as a salesperson.
Identifying your various roles lets you see
how youʼre being pulled in different
Answering the question, “What roles do I play As you can see here, some goals in certain
directions.
in my life?” allows you to get an overall view roles may work in tandem while others will
of all the aspects and responsibilities in your pull away from each other.
For instance, I think of my roles as a
life. And doing so sets you up to identify
salesperson, entrepreneur, Brazilian jujitsu
which roles you want to focus on in the year
competitor, partner to my girlfriend, and a
ahead.
member of the Baron family. Spending a lot
of time at the gym, training, and competing
There are three benefits to identifying your
roles.

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B. It Generates Balance C. It Gives Role Dichotomy
On the flip side, if I spent all of my time in the You can hold multiple roles in your life. And HINT:
role of salesperson and entrepreneur, what you can act differently within those roles.
Unless youʼre a future Elon Musk (you
would be the point? This is called role dichotomy.
arenʼt, sorry), itʼs healthy to have
multiple roles in your life.
Sure, I love selling, sure I love building For instance, I canʼt take the aggressive
[Link]. But it is just a vehicle to version of me from a Brazilian jujitsu
No one is just a seller, a parent, or a
afford to do everything else I want to do in competition onto a sales call. If I do, I wonʼt
partner. We all play different roles. So
my life, which includes being a great partner close any deals.
be sure youʼre digging deep to find
and family member. It is very easy to spend
which ones you play.
too much time and attention on one area of Thatʼs one role, the version of me that hangs
your life and not enough time where it out with my missus is another.
matters.
Interesting people have a dichotomy of roles
and make sure that you do as well.

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 06. Which One of These Roles
Is My Major Focus Next Year?
Now itʼs time to pick which of your roles family will also have a massive effect on your • Which role has the biggest impact on
youʼd like to focus on. sales performance too, as you lose weight my overall happiness right now?
and get in shape. • Which aspect of my life is the biggest
Of course, I would like you to prioritize your drain on my energy and willingness to
sales career as your main focus over the next If youʼre having difficulty figuring out which take risks? Which role does this fall
12 months. But, you may have other things role to choose, ask yourself these questions: under?
that are more pressing right now.
• If you could put one problem behind
And thatʼs fine. As long as your sales role is at you, once and for all, what would it
least second on your list of priorities, you will be? Which role does that relate to?
still be able to crush your sales target. If you • In which role do I want to not just
are for example, massively obese, fixing the make progress, but get to the end
role of being healthy and being there for your game of?

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 Average person Goal achiever

End of year End of year

Spending Spending
Material Material
time with time with
wealth wealth
family family

Start of year Start of year

The Treading-Water-Trap year, and the other is to spend time with your But the most focused and successful
family. And, you start off the year, right in individuals understand this trap. So they
between the two islands treading water. swim over to one island, collect the treasure,
So, why do you need to narrow your focus?
and then swim back to the other island and
Canʼt you work on achieving all your goals at
You can only swim in one direction, towards collect the treasure there as well.
once?
one island or the other.
When you focus on one role at a time, you
In the first chapter, we looked at the
What most people do is zigzag between the become far more efficient in your goal
importance of making sacrifices to become
two islands for decades and never make any achievement. By focusing on less in the
your new “myth” quicker. This works the
real progress toward achievement in either short-term, you will achieve much more over
same way with goal setting, too.
role. the long-term.
Imagine that you have two major roles in
Donʼt waste your life treading water.
your life. One is to make a lot of money this

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 07. What Are My Goals for Each Role?
This is where things start to get serious. about each goal along the way to make sure That last question is incredibly important.
itʼs the right goal for you. Because if youʼre not willing to do whatever
Now, weʼre going to put together goals for you need to achieve the goal, you wonʼt be
each role. What do you want to accomplish • If I accept this challenge, will I make responsible for achieving it. And as a result, it
as a seller that you couldnʼt last year? How sure it happens? will never happen.
would you like to improve your family life? • Am I hoping I will achieve this, or is it
What do you need to do to feel more in possible? For all of your goals, no matter what the role,
control of what youʼre accomplishing • Is the goal specific and measurable? you must feel motivated to give it your best
socially? • Does this goal match my values? shot. Otherwise, scribble it out and replace it
• Are you willing to be responsible for with a few more potential ones.
Try to come up with five to ten goals for each achieving this goal no matter what?
role. And ask yourself the following questions

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SMART Sales Goals Defined
Achievable
Your goals should be actionable. The easiest
way to do that is to make sure theyʼre Is this even possible (be honest)?
“SMART”:

HINT:
Specific Relevant Listen to your gut when youʼre setting
goals. Cheesy as all hell, I know. But
Is it even important compared to
What exactly does achieving your when you choose goals that are
my role and my other goals?
goal look like? connected to your emotions, youʼre
much more likely to have the
motivation to follow through.

Measurable Time-Bound
When exactly does it need to be
What are the quantifiable metrics
achieved by?
you need to meet or fulfill?

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 08. What Are My Top Goals for Next Year?
Finally, itʼs time to narrow down your goals. But another reason weʼre narrowing things Ask yourself:
At this point in the framework, I typically down is there will often be larger goals that
have about 20 or 30 goals total, spread out cancel out the small ones. “What goals, if I achieve them, will make all of
across my different roles. But then I pick the the other goals I had written out obsolete?”
top five that will be the most impactful. For instance, if I want to build up an
emergency fund, buy a new car, start
We narrow things down because itʼs investing, and earn a million dollars next
impossible to focus on achieving 20 to 30 year, the million-dollars goal will make the
goals at a time (remember the treading water other three irrelevant.
trap?). When you split your attention across
so many goals, youʼre setting yourself up to See how that works?
fail to achieve any of them.

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 Eight goals that Two goals
donʼt get achieved that get achieved

Barrier of success

The 3-Part Test 2. Do they fit with each other? Or are After youʼve narrowed down your goals down
they pulling you in opposite to four or five solid ones, youʼre done! Now,
directions? If so, you will never itʼs up to you to stick with them and make
So, how do you narrow your goals down?
achieve both. your transformation happen.
Well, hereʼs a handy three-question test that
works wonders.
3. Does each of your roles have a goal?
Front-loading one or two roles with all
When evaluating your goals, ask:
your goals is a surefire path to
burnout. But spreading your goals
1. Do your goals fit your major role
across roles will keep you focused.
focus? Do they all (in one way or
another) support that role?

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 For people who want to achieve
extraordinary results right now, itʼs
actually not about working longer
hours. Itʼs actually about being clear
on what are the 20% priorities or
activities that if I focus on those
things, that drives 80% of my
results. How do I start investing my
time throughout the day instead of
spending it.”
Geoff Woods, Co-Founder & President of ProduKtive,
[Link] Podcas

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Wrapping Up
Setting sales goals is one of the most Running through this process alone will So now that you know how to set them, your
important sales success skills. In relatively make an incredible difference in your life. You first goal is simple, get started smashing
little time and for not much effort, you can will feel more motivated, focused, and driven them.
plan out strategic, effective goals for the to succeed. And best of all, youʼll have a clear,
whole year. achievable path to personal and professional
success.

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 15.
Assertiveness

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Assertiveness
If you donʼt ask for what you want, youʼre Walter is comfortable asking difficult Walter has fewer, but much better-qualified
unlikely to get it. questions to his buyers. He knows that the buyers in his sales pipeline. He spends more
sooner he understands their problems, even time speaking to people who are ready to
Likewise, if you donʼt have the assertiveness if itʼs uncomfortable for the buyer to talk buy and so drives revenue compared than
to ask your buyer to sign the contract, there about them, the sooner he can help them Sam.
is little chance in them signing it. solve their issues.
This chapter will help you become more
Sam does not feel confident asking his assertive when dealing with both your buyers
buyers difficult qualification questions. He and also your internal colleagues, too.
wastes lots of time each day speaking to
unqualified leads.

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 The healthy balance between your needs and others

Aggressive Assertive Passive

Your needs Othersʼ needs

What Is Assertiveness?
Few things are as frustrating as having a Developing an assertive mindset isnʼt as easy Alternatively, if you never give and always
game-changing idea, only to be ignored but anyone can do it. take then youʼre being aggressive with your
when you bring it up. communications.
You are assertive when your needs match the
Itʼs soul-crushing. Itʼs maddeningly needs of others. As long as there is some The most healthy relationships both in and
infuriating. And more likely than not, itʼs overlap, you are being assertive. out of sales have some give and take. If
your fault. youʼre walking all over other people to get
If you are being unassertive, you are putting deals done, this will get you in trouble.
If you want to be taken seriously and be even other peopleʼs needs ahead of yours.
remotely successful in sales, you must
become assertive.

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Four Benefits of Assertive B. Having More Authority
Communication The more authoritative you
appear, the more likely buyers are
There are real benefits to cultivating an to listen, value your opinion, and
assertive mindset: look to you as a trusted expert.
Consequently, youʼll find yourself
D. Better Communication
having more influence over not
just whether they buy but also Tiptoeing around an issue may
A. Closing More Deals what they purchase. seem like a good way to soften
You donʼt get the sale if you donʼt the blow and keep on your
ask for it. When you lack buyerʼs good side. But in B2B
assertiveness, you lack the sales especially, being clear and
confidence to push through the to the point is a more efficient
C. Voicing Your Good Ideas
awkward yet entirely necessary way to communicate. Your buyers
stages of closing a sale. But as So many sellers keep their will appreciate you being straight
you become more assertive, mouths shut, even though with what you think.
youʼll find yourself closing more theyʼve valuable business
often. knowledge to share. A lack of
confidence is again the culprit.
Assertive sellers donʼt feel out of
place offering good ideas when
they have them.

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 There are tangible benefits that come from And when you implement each one, youʼll be
The being assertive when selling. Some of those
benefits will boost your commissions, others
on your way to reaping all the advantages
that greater assertiveness provides.
Assertiveness help you reach your personal potential.

Framework This framework breaks down the four

principles of assertiveness.

1. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO 2. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE

OFFER NO REASONS OR EXCUSES IF YOU WANT TO FIND SOLUTIONS
FOR YOUR BEHAVIOR. FOR OTHER PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS.

3. YOU HAVE THE 4. YOU HAVE THE

RIGHT TO SAY, "I RIGHT TO CHANGE
DON’T KNOW". YOUR MIND.

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The easiest way to become
an action taker is the first
time that excuse pops up,
show it whoʼs boss.”
Ryan Stewman, World Leading Sales Expert,
[Link] Podcast

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 01. You Have the Right to Offer No Reasons
or Excuses for Your Behavior
During childhood, we were expected to But as adults, we no longer have to explain If somebody asks to borrow your car and you
explain why we took certain actions to our our behaviors to others. And we do not have donʼt want to give it to them, you shouldnʼt
parents, teachers, and other authority to justify our actions if we donʼt want to. feel the need to make up some story, white
figures. lie, or exaggerated truth. Instead, itʼs your
You do not need to respond to someone's assertive right to say, “No”, and leave it at
And at the time, it made sense. Doing so questions. It is perfectly okay to say you do that.
allowed those authority figures to explain not like something and then move on from
why our choices were good or bad. They were that comment without explaining anything.
learning opportunities for our younger
selves.

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 It is much quicker and less painless to say no rather than give excuses

Question
“No”
asked

Question Make Justify Make

asked excuse excuse excuse

Stress increases

The benefit of saying “no” rather than giving Your Computer Brain holds a story where you
excuses is it reduces the overall stress of made an excuse in the past and managed to
HINT:
confrontations. Most of the time, itʼs far less get away without saying “no” to somebody.
uncomfortable for everyone to say “no” Take responsibility. Quitting giving
clearly than it is to make an excuse, then try This took the pressure off you and your excuses does not mean becoming
and justify the excuse. The other person will Computer Brain figured that making an blameless. If anything, it means
often ask the same question but from a excuse is a viable strategy to avoid the pain of youʼre even more responsible for
different angle and youʼve got to continue to confrontation. your actions. You need to decide if
make excuses until they give up. your actions were right or wrong,
But if you rely on habitual excuses, you take correct or incorrect.

Start Spotting Excuses control out of your hands.

If youʼre in the wrong, take ownership
and apologize. But if pressed to say
Learn to identify excuses before they come sorry for something you were in the
out of your mouth. Often, excuses are right for, you do not need to offer
automatically spat out by your Computer excuses.
Brain.

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 02. You Have the Right to Decide If You Will (or
Wonʼt) Find Solutions to Other Peopleʼs Problems
This step of the assertiveness framework is people and their problems. They are they procrastinated on completing their
often the hardest to master. But itʼs also responsible for their problems. reporting and will be in trouble come
perhaps the most important. Monday morning if the work is isnʼt
But when we get too sucked into helping completed. They may even convince you that
Learn to say “No” to solving other peopleʼs others (especially when itʼs to our detriment), you should help because youʼre a part of the
problems when you donʼt want to solve we allow ourselves to be manipulated. ʻteamʼ.
them. Enlisting our help might be a quick fix. But in
the end, itʼs often the other person that Donʼt be fooled here—you have the assertive
This is because you are ultimately needs to go through the work, sweat, and right to say “No” to this request. In the end,
responsible for your psychological well- pain to rearrange their life. itʼs their problem, not yours. And they should
being, happiness, and success in life. And as be the ones to fix it.
much as we might want to do good things for For example, imagine your sales manager
one another, we are not responsible for other asking you to work late on a Sunday because

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 HINT:
Understand the power of “Me” Get Comfortable with No And donʼt feel obligated to give excuses,
either! Remember the previous step.
thinking. Weʼll talk about this more
in-depth later. But donʼt forget that This exercise is simple—start saying “No”
The more you do it, the easier it becomes.
ultimately, weʼre all responsible for more.
ourselves.
Youʼll be amazed at the amount of time you
Thatʼs it.
will save each week by focusing on what is
And if a team member or even a
important and saying no to everything else.
buyer presents a problem and asks If youʼre invited to an after-work party that
you to solve it, think about whether you donʼt want to go to, say “No” instead of
you want to help, whether you reluctantly going.
should help, and if helping will
somehow hurt your well-being. If youʼre asked to stay late when youʼve got
plans that have been in the works for
Only then should you decide whether months, say “No” rather than caving.
to offer aid.

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 03. You Have the Right to Change Your Mind
We donʼt always have access to all the Therefore, you have the assertive right to As the old saying goes, “The green reed
evidence. And when new evidence comes to change your mind. which bends in the wind is stronger than the
light, itʼs natural—even more, itʼs beneficial— mighty oak which breaks in a storm.”
to change your mind in light of that new If you are rigid in your responses to changes,
evidence. you canʼt react as well as you should. And
that can lead to blown contracts, angry
This is especially important in a fast-paced prospects, and poor performance overall.
business environment like sales. Variables
change all the time. And what was a given
about a deal or a lead will often flip and turn
the knowns on their head.

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 The scientific method

Action A

Evidence Decision

Further
Action B
evidence

HINT:
Follow the “strong opinions, loosely
held” mindset. This mindset is used
Adopt a Growth Mindset repeat them. And we have the power to learn
by business behemoths like Steve
to be better.
Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.
There are two mindset types: fixed mindsets
Next time youʼre faced with a challenge,
and growth mindsets. It means to be passionate about your
donʼt say, “I canʼt.” Say, “I canʼt yet.” Learn
from your failures. And know that you can beliefs but also open to re-examining
A fixed mindset characterizes someone who them in light of new evidence.
always become better.
thinks our intelligence and talents are innate.
Some people are born smart. Some are born Courage and humility are the keys
Use the scientific method to make a
brave. And some are born the opposite. here. And in the end, the outcome is
hypothesis, test it, and if the evidence
suggests a different outcome than what you the wisdom.
Thereʼs not much they can do to change that.
predicted is correct, adopt it.
A growth mindset, on the other hand, means
Live in reality. Most people live in their
that you believe your intelligence and your
delusions.
abilities can be developed. We learn from our
misjudgments rather than being doomed to

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 04. You Have the Right to Say, “I Do Not Know”
This assertive right is huge for sellers that sell Rather than rattling off white lies, itʼs better If itʼs a random question with no real place in
with a particularly technical product. to communicate that you donʼt know the the sales process or work environment, donʼt
answer to a question. be afraid to say, “I donʼt know,” and then shut
Despite what many people think, sales isnʼt up.
about bullshitting. If itʼs a specific product detail, donʼt fudge
the numbers. Instead, say, “I donʼt know,” But just because someone has asked a
Itʼs not about trickery or cons. Instead, itʼs and then assure the buyer that youʼll find the question doesnʼt mean you need to provide
about problem-solving. And if youʼre not answer. an answer, especially if the question was
providing the right information, your solution downright stupid, to begin with.
wonʼt fix the issue your buyerʼs trying to
solve, leading to low satisfaction, damaged
trust, and zero loyalty.

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 The sales mastery journey
A. Sales
is easy
C. Now
I get it

Confidence B. This is
much harder
than I thought

Ignorance Wisdom Mastery

Say It More Many sellers start confident in their role (A),

then hit a lull a few years in where they
realize that there is a lot to learn if they
Easy exercise here—get comfortable with
want to succeed (B).
saying “I donʼt know” more often. Cut the
excuses. Be direct. And donʼt feel nervous
This is normal. The quickest way to break
about not having an answer.
through the lull and get to the other side (C)
is to regularly say “I donʼt know”, rather
Just like saying “No,” this one gets easier the
than blagging it, and finding the answers.
more you do it.

You might even uncover, something that you

didnʼt realize, that you didnʼt know.

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 Goal setting is also extremely personal.
Some people might set a goal to be debt-free
and they feel great about that. Other people
set goals to accumulate assets, to buy cars.
Some people want X number of dollars in the
bank. Everybodyʼs blueprintʼs different.
Everybodyʼs life is different. Itʼs supposed
to be. So that's another thing. We canʼt get
into trying to judge ourselves by how
somebody else has decided to live their life.”
Duane Marino, Sales Strategist & Author, [Link] Podcast

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Wrapping Up
To be successful in sales, youʼve got to be And before you know it, youʼll have the
assertive—thereʼs no doubt about it. confidence and clear communication skills
needed to take your sales game to the next
Follow the steps, implement the hints, and level.
complete the exercises.

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 16.
Emotional
Intelligence

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Emotional Intelligence
Humans are emotional creatures. Sam asked to reschedule the meeting rather They both jumped on a call the following day
than trying to push through. Harry and the deal progressed smoothly.
Sam had an important call booked with appreciated it and explained that heʼd had a
Harry. Sam jumped onto the Zoom meeting family issue at home that morning.
and Harry seemed really off with him.

In this chapter, youʼll learn both, how to

control your emotions and how to shape the
emotions of the people around you, too.

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 Controlling Your (and Otherʼs) Emotions
Weʼve all lost our cool before. What Is Emotional As Founder and CEO of Whetstone, Adrian
Davis told me in our [Link] Podcast
Maybe it was that jerk cutting you off on the
Intelligence? interview:
way to the office. Or an uncle blurting out
Youʼve probably heard the term “emotional
conspiracy nonsense over a Thanksgiving “Fundamentally, we make decisions
intelligence” tossed around. But what is it?
meal. Weʼve all been there. emotionally, and if all we're doing is
spouting features and benefits, we're really
To lose control over your emotions every only engaging the logical part of the brain.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is
once in a while is to be human. The logical part of the brain does not make
our ability to identify, manage, decisions. But analyzes and captures
But when a lack of emotional control and regulate emotions. information to weigh pros and cons, but
becomes so frequent that your work starts to decisions are made emotionally.”
suffer, youʼve got a problem. And thatʼs
where cultivating your emotional intelligence This applies to our emotions as well as the It's clear, that if you can better recognize the
comes in. emotions of others. emotions of buyers and regulate your own
(think not losing your cool during price
Ready to get emotional? Letʼs go. Sounds simple enough, right? negotiations), youʼre going to close more
deals successfully.
Emotional intelligence plays a heavy role in
sales success. Logic plays a huge role in B2B
sales, of course. Much more so than B2C. But
even still, emotion still factors into your
buyerʼs decisions.

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Whatʼs the Science Behind • Emotional intelligence is the strongest • A 40-year study of PhDs at UC Berkeley
predictor of performance, impacting found that emotional intelligence was
This—Is There Any? 58% of performance success 400% more powerful than IQ when
(TalentSmartEQ). predicting who would have success in
Okay, okay.
their field (Norwich University).
• People with high emotional
But is there any truth to this emotional
intelligence scores make an average of The science is clear—emotional intelligence
intelligence stuff? Does it actually work? Or is
$29,000 per year more than people is real. And if you can develop yours, you
it one more wave of self-help bullshit
with low scores. On average, every stand to perform better and earn more
invented to make authors money?
point increase in emotional regardless of your profession.
intelligence adds $1,300 to an annual
As it turns out, there have been quite a few
salary (Dr. Travis Bradberry & Nick
studies on EI and its effects in the workplace.
Tasler, M.S.).

• 9 out of 10 top performers in the

workplace have a higher than average
emotional intelligence (Emotional
Intelligence 2.0).

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 The Emotional
Intelligence You can leverage the Emotional Intelligence
Framework to boost your emotional stability
Framework and influence of others.

AWARENESS AWARENESS AWARENESS

OF WHO YOU ARE OF WHAT YOU DO OF OTHER PEOPLE

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01. Awareness of Who You Are
The first step of growing your emotional
awareness begins with looking inward. You
had a specific upbringing, you have specific
beliefs, and youʼve had a unique pathway
through life. So, nobody is going to be able to
understand your own emotions better than
you.

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 A) Computer B) Caveman C) Human

Input Stories Threat? Logic

Habitual Emotional Logical

response response response

Output

The way that you react to the feeling of your For other people, they have a story stored in What do negative emotions do to your
emotions is based upon the stories that are their Computer Brain that change is bad. This productivity throughout the day? Which
stored within your Computer Brain. These triggers their Caveman Brain that all changes strengths and weaknesses do you have when
stories are the lens that the other parts of are threats and so they act emotionally to it. it comes to emotional awareness?
your brain see the world through. These emotions are stored in the Caveman
Brain, and they are the lens that this part of Answering these questions is the key to
For some people, the opportunity for change the brain sees the world through. understanding the stories held in your
has a positive story attached to it. Therefore, Computer Brain and growing your ability to
your Caveman Brain doesnʼt see it as a So, how do you react to tense conversations? control your emotional intelligence.
threat, and your Human Brain can process
the change logically.

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Not everyone has that self-
awareness. So being able to hold
a mirror up to a salesperson, and
show them what theyʼre good at
and what theyʼre not good at or
how they need to improve is
probably one of the most
valuable things you can do.”
Tom Lavery, CEO & Founder of [Link],
[Link] Podcast

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 Gaining Awareness And once youʼve discovered what your When you trust in your mentor, it can open
interpersonal style is, you can leverage its up your worldview and give you alternative
strengths and play to its weaknesses. ideas and insights that show where your
There are three ways to cultivate self-
thoughts and beliefs have been wrong in the
awareness of the stories that are stuck in
How?: past. And that means you can change or
your Computer Brain that might be holding
update them when appropriate.
you back from controlling your emotions:
• The quickest way to do this is to take
the SalesCode assessment at How?:
A. Discovering your interpersonal style
[Link]/Assessment to identify
B. Engaging in a mentorship
your strengths and weaknesses. • Ask an impartial superior or higher-up
C. Conducting a 360° review
colleague for professional advice
A. Your Interpersonal Style B. Mentorship when you can. Eventually, this
relationship might turn into more
When it comes to the topic of ourselves, we official mentoring.
We each have a unique ability to deal with
will always be biased. Thatʼs why itʼs so
the world around us and the emotions within
helpful to get the opinion of others. • Find a trustworthy mentoring or
us.
coaching program like [Link]
Mentorship is a fantastic way to get an Academy and get stuck in.
For instance, some people may be ambitious
outside view of your strengths and your
and analytical, while others may be careful
flaws.
and more social. Self-awareness of your
interpersonal style is an incredible asset in
the quest to increase your levels of self-
awareness.

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C. The 360° Review How?:

This final tactic is typically reserved for high- • Start with friends and family members
level executives. But if youʼre willing to throw and then expand to colleagues. Those
a bit of cash (or a lot of effort) at it, a 360° close to you will be more willing to
review can be a powerful way to understand help. But be careful, as they may also
your emotional makeup. be less forthcoming about your flaws.

These formal reviews typically bring in an • You donʼt need an official review
official team to quiz, engage, and ask about service here. You can also conduct
the clientʼs strengths and weaknesses from your 360° review by asking your sales
all sides. This type of review also includes manager, a good customer, and
asking their wives or husbands, their perhaps your partner in-depth
secretary, their investors—all the way down questions about your strengths and
to the people at the bottom of the company. weaknesses, too.
They will go 360° around their social network
in search of insights.

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 02. Awareness of What You Do
Now that you have a better awareness of Itʼs important to learn how to pick up on the
yourself, itʼs time to dive deeper into your rumblings of an emotional outburst before it
actions. blows up. Self-awareness is the key here. But
you also need to know how to recognize
Your actions are the results of the emotional when your emotions swell up and, just as
makeup of your Caveman Brain. They are the importantly, understand how to deal with
reactive outputs of your internal emotions emotions when they do.
that get flung into the world.

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 Computer Caveman

Gaining Awareness
Input Stories Threat?
There are four processes to understand what
you do when your Caveman Brain feels
threatened:
Yes
A. Judging emotion vs. reason
B. Counting to 10 Emotional
C. Sleeping on it response
D. Recognizing the physical signs

Output

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 A. Emotion vs. Reason B. Count to 10 • Remember that a snappy comeback
may feel good in the moment. But itʼs
You may not always realize it, but your I know, it sounds a bit childish, right? But the not usually the best way to assert
emotions do impact your ability to make truth is, this technique is surprisingly yourself in most business scenarios.
decisions. More often than not, those effective. So try to keep that professional
emotions are pulling you one way while logic persona intact when you can.
pulls you in the opposite direction. All you have to do when you feel yourself
getting frustrated or angry is stop, take a
When you feel the heat of the moment rising deep breath, and count to 10 in your mind.
inside you, itʼs important that you have the This counting and breathing will relax you
ability to separate the two. and stop your Caveman Brain from making
any rash decisions, long enough for your
The more effectively you can isolate your Human Brain to take over the decision
emotional reasons for acting action from making.
your logical reasons, the better youʼll be at
keeping your sales process on track. How?:

How?: • Next time someone rudely interrupts

you, remember to engage in this
• When you find yourself getting exercise. In most cases, youʼll only
emotional before making decision, have to count to two before the
take 30 seconds to jot down what your frustration leaves, and you can start
emotions tell you to do versus what making rational decisions again.
your rational brain is telling you to do.

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C. Sleep on It • Next time you run into an emotional How?:
instance at work, excuse yourself from
Sometimes in stressful situations, the the conversation if you can. • Next time you feel yourself getting
thought of being patient can be so Sometimes all you need is a quick five- emotional, take note of the physical
dissatisfying that youʼll jump to action to minute break to start seeing the symptoms youʼre feeling. Flushed
alleviate some of the turmoil. situation with clearer eyes. face, sweaty palms, unclear thinking—
the more readily you can spot these
More often than not though, giving yourself D. Recognize the Signs symptoms, the sooner you can use the
time away from the issue lets your conscious strategies above to deal with them.
and subconscious brain digest the situation. Whether we know it or not, our bodies are
And later, you can return to it with a fresh, incredibly telling about our emotional state. • Remember to breathe. When you
more analyzed perspective. We go through all sorts of physical and focus on your breathing, you can more
psychological symptoms when weʼre angry, accurately assess your situation and
How?: sad, and overjoyed. The thing is, weʼre spot the signs of heightened emotions
usually too busy feeling those emotions to more quickly.
• Take this one literally when you can. pick up on those symptoms.
Neuroscience research shows that our
brain processes and organizes tons of But if you can teach yourself to recognize the
information overnight. So if possible, physical symptoms of a heightened emotion,
returning to a tough issue in the you can employ strategies to even out those
morning may be your best option. emotions much quicker.

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 Is your heart racing more often, are your
palms more sweaty? Do you wake up at
night with that heavy breathing? So, there
are different ways that you can evaluate
how stress is affecting you. And when you
notice it, then you can use certain tips
and tools to help mitigate it.”
Nina Purewal, Bestselling Author & Founder of Pure Minds,
[Link] Podcast

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 Computer Caveman

Input Biases

Threat?

Stories

Understand Your Cognitive • Ignore opportunities when it is right 1. The Fundamental Attribution
Biases in front of your face. Error
• Over or underestimate your chances
of winning a deal. This bias causes you to attribute the actions
Cognitive biases are mental shortcuts we use
• Become blind to the empathetic of others to their flaws rather than the
for quick and efficient decision-making.
motivations of your buyers. situation theyʼre in. For instance, you may
These shortcuts are stored in your Computer
• Seek out information that supports see someone who steals bread as immoral.
Brain and are one level deeper than the
your point of view and discount But if you were in that same situation
stories that weʼve discussed so far.
everything else that does not. (havenʼt eaten for days, starving family, etc.),
you would have done the same thing.
All humans have cognitive biases. They are
Thatʼs why it pays to understand these
hard-wired into our brains. That doesn't
biases. So you can learn to spot them in How?:
mean that we always have to leverage them
yourself before you let them impact your
when making important decisions.
judgment. • Next time you find yourself criticizing
someone or assuming theyʼre trying to
A lack of understanding of these cognitive
Letʼs look at the six most common cognitive pull one over on you, try to assume
biases lead people to:
biases. positive intent instead.

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 2. The Self-Serving Bias 3. The Optimism Bias 4. The Overconfidence Effect

The self-serving bias is the tendency to The dark side of optimism is that it can cause Similar to the last bias, humans tend to
attribute positive events to your character you to believe that you are less likely to overestimate our abilities and probability of
while attributing anything negative to experience negative events like losing a deal success.
external factors that you cannot control. So if to the competition.
a good thing happens, you think it happened The more you overestimate your abilities, the
because youʼre a good person. But when bad This can, in turn, blind you to potential bigger the consequences will be when you
things happen, you assume it happened pitfalls that may otherwise be right in front of canʼt live up to them.
because the world is evil. your face.
How?:
This disruptive emotion keeps you from How?:
owning your mistakes and holding yourself • Make conservative estimates when
accountable. • You can still hope for the best. But planning out your processes. That
make sure when you do, youʼre still way, youʼll still end up ahead when
How?: planning for the worst. Create systems things donʼt work out.
and cadences that take luck off the
• When youʼre hit with bad news (didnʼt table entirely. Remember, sales is a
get the raise, missed your quota, etc.), numbers game when it comes down
ask yourself, “Could I have done to it.
something to affect this outcome?”
This will force you to consider the
possibility that yes, you may be at
fault here.

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5. The Confirmation Bias How?: The sunk cost fallacy can cause you to
become attached to a low-probability deal
Confirmation bias is where you believe that • Next time you run up against an and invest excess time into it. Whereas, in
your views, values, opinions, and habits are opposing opinion, donʼt try to reality, you should be cutting it loose and
normal and therefore are shared by everyone convince them why theyʼre wrong. going after the high-deal size, low-hanging
else. Therefore, if someone doesnʼt have the Instead, listen to them. Ask them why fruit right in front of you.
same beliefs that you do, you label them as they think that. And try to understand
ineffective. where theyʼre coming from. They may How?:
even change your opinion entirely.
This can be extremely damaging in sales • Periodically re-evaluate each deal that
because it impedes having high levels of 6. The Sunk Cost Fallacy youʼre working on with this fallacy in
empathy for other people who may be mind. Has the buyer shown all the
different from you. It allows you to wrongly Once people invest time, money, or emotion right signs that they want to move
assume that you and potential prospects are into something, they have the bad habit of forward? Or are you pushing the issue
on the same page, and so you become less throwing even more investment into it. Even simply because youʼve spent so much
curious about the actual situation. if logically they know that theyʼre on a time on the deal?
sinking ship. They tell themselves that they
Then, when you come across buyers who “canʼt give up now, theyʼre too close,” when
donʼt share the same views as you, they are the smart move would be to dump the
automatically considered flawed. So you investment and start over rather than end up
tend to talk down at them and try to convert in the red.
them to your point of view rather than
accepting that theirs might be correct, too.

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 03. Awareness of Others
If you remain calm and suck the emotion out Therefore, you can directly influence the There are a few ways you can manage your
of the room, the buyer is going to become emotions of others by mastering your relationships through better emotional
calm and logical, too. emotional state. intelligence.

If you start panicking, stressing, and slurring With great emotional intelligence comes
your words, the buyer will feel their emotions great responsibility!
rising, and theyʼll become less logical.

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Can you, in the middle of a conversation with
a customer thatʼs heated, in the middle of an
altercation with a relationship that you have,
can you pause, stop, not let yourself get
hijacked and shift and use one of those
emotional intelligence pillars? Most
people donʼt. Most people do things under
the major stress and adversity like weʼre
facing right now, that ultimately they regret.”
Adam McGraw, CRO at Positive Intelligence Inc.,
[Link] Podcast

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 Influencing Other Peopleʼs How?: Be aware of how your actions and tones,
however minor they might seem to you, are
Emotions • Shut up and listen. The most affecting others. Improving your awareness
successful sellers listen much more will improve your communication skill and
There are three key ways to influence the
than they talk. So with your next client boost rapport with buyers.
emotions of the people around you:
meeting, make a conscious effort to
talk less and listen more. How?:
• Be openly curious.
• Avoid giving mixed signals.
• When thrust into conflict, try to get to • Practice being in the moment.
• Confront the inevitable.
the bottom of why someone believes Everyone has bad days. But when you
what they believe. You may have more let that bad day leech over into your
A. Be Openly Curious in common than you think. sales calls, it can spell disaster for your
chances of success.
The more you show interest in learning about
B. Avoid Giving Mixed Signals
other people, the better shot you have at
• If you are having a bad day and feel it
identifying and meeting their emotional
Other people donʼt know whatʼs going iimpacting your ability to
needs. So make a conscious effort each day
through your head or the shit day youʼve had. communicate, be upfront about it.
to be curious about your new relationships.
All they have to go off of is your actions. What Then give the other person a chance
And importantly, curiously shake up older
is your body language communicating? Why to see if theyʼd like to communicate
ones that you take for granted.
is your tone not matching up with your with you in a certain emotional state
words? Why are you so damn stressed all the or come back another time.
You should also be open to sharing
time?
information about yourself with others. This
creates a free flow of information and allows
people to get to know you better.

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C. Confront the Inevitable or otherwise be around each other for the
foreseeable future if you want to keep your
If you and your colleague are working in the job.
same room and theyʼre starting to get under
your skin, donʼt put off the inevitable clash of How?:
blows thatʼs about to happen. Unaddressed
emotions are the foundation for poor • Next time youʼre tempted to sweep a
communication. So instead, be assertive and disagreement with a colleague under
deal with the situation before it worsens. the rug, try taking the more assertive
approach instead. Bring up the issue.
This is when relationship management skills Work through your differences. It
in the workplace are useful because although might feel awkward at first, but the
you donʼt necessarily want to be friends with benefits of doing so early on are worth
colleagues, you might still have to work on it.
the same project, sell to the same customer,

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 Wrapping Up
If you want to boost rapport with buyers, and When you do that, youʼll have more control
build deeper connections with those around over your emotions and the emotions of the
you at home and in the office, work on people you spend time with. That means
cultivating your emotional intelligence. greater earning potential and a brighter
financial future.

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If you focus on building
trust and relationships,
the sales naturally come
over time.”
Richard Newton, World-Leading Author, Consultant,
& International Speaker, [Link] Podcast.

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 17.
People
Pleasing

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People-Pleasing
Most people donʼt want to hang around The stench of desperation always puts his Walter acts like a trusted adviser to his
people who kiss their arses. buyers off. buyers, and they respect him all the more for
it.
The most effective sellers lead their buyers
through the process of solving their
problems. The worst sellers suck up to them
and hope they get thrown a bone.

Sam is always overly grateful when his

buyers jump on a call with them.

This chapter runs through the pitfalls of

people pleasing behavior and how eliminate
it.

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 Why People Pleasing Sinks Your Sales
We are social animals. Weʼve all met people pleasers before. • Stick around with bad clients because
they believe that they might, one day,
The thoughts, emotions, and actions of Theyʼre running around parties and refilling become good clients.
others have an enormous effect on our drinks rather than sipping their own. • Avoid conflict (both with buyers and
thoughts, our emotions, and actions. This Standing in line alone for hours so their colleagues) like the plague.
deep connection is, why weʼve been so “friends” can make it into the show. Or • Be willing to pass on potential buyers
successful as a species. constantly giving rides to the boss, even to other sellers.
though theyʼre arriving two hours before
But when that connection only goes one their shift. If this is hitting a little too close to home, Iʼve
direction (or is outright ignored by the other got bad news for you—youʼre probably a
party), thatʼs when things take a turn for the Know the type? people pleaser.
worse.
In sales, these individuals can be a little And consequently, you will have a tough time
What Is a People Pleaser? harder to spot. But the same core principle is in sales unless you figure out how to change.
true—they give up their well-being for the
sake of others. And usually, that sacrifice isnʼt
People-Pleaser = A person who ever returned.
has an emotional need to
For example, a people pleaser when selling
please others, often at the may:
expense of his or her needs or
desires. • Stay late to finish up a project their
sales manager should have been
handling themselves.

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People who are excessive people-pleasers, which
is actually a lot more people than certainly I ever
realized, is incredibly limiting to doing well in
sales because theyʼre not willing to ask for what
they really want. Theyʼre willing to spend far too
much time with people who have no value to
their business whatsoever because theyʼre too
nice to say, ʻIʼve got other things I should be doing
that are more important.ʼ”
Matt Anderson, Author, Coach, & Speaker, [Link] Podcast

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 Why Being a People-Pleaser Sucks
Youʼd think making everyone around you you could waste weeks on closing a deal that From the sellerʼs side, the value offered could
happy would be a good thing. was never going to happen. be industry insights in early conversations,
educational content, or even social
But in reality, being a people pleaser in sales But Iʼm also talking about prospects that are connections to other industries. For buyers,
is often disastrous. Here are four reasons already moving through the buyerʼs journey. itʼs usually a bit simpler—a commitment to
why: Buyers that are sucking up too much time. learn about your product or service and then
Too many resources. And although you might purchase.
A. Wasted Time with Bad close the deal, the energy you need to invest
to get them there just doesnʼt justify the But when youʼre a people pleaser, youʼre
Clients payout. offering all this value without clearly
communicated reciprocity. People pleasers
People pleasers hate conflict. People pleasers will always struggle with operate off of covert contracts, a concept
weeding out bad buyers early on. And as a weʼll discuss later.
Raised voices, poked chests, and even a result, that means more work for less money.
simple “no” can haunt them for weeks. As a Ultimately, that means all the work youʼre
result, people pleasers find it difficult—if not
impossible—to cut off bad buyers.
B. Great Relationships Are putting in—the insights, the content, the
Built on Equal Value connections, and the effort, is wasted
because you were never going to win the deal
Weʼre not just talking about potential buyers. anyway.
Although that certainly comes into play since Value begets value, or at least it should.
proper lead qualification can make your job
infinitely easier down the line. And if you And in sales, the best relationships bring
canʼt say goodbye to buyers that arenʼt a fit, equal value to the table.

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C. Finding the RIGHT Scathing reviews, refunds, battered brand When you can tell someone isnʼt acting
image, even termination. When a buyer has authentically, you donʼt trust what theyʼre
Solution been misled about your product's saying. Even when thereʼs no real reason for
capabilities, you better believe youʼll have them to lie in the first place.
One of the serious problems with people
hell to pay down the line.
pleasers is that theyʼre bad communicators.
Combine that with the fact that just 3% of
D. Inauthenticity Breeds people think sellers are trustworthy in the
As sellers, our job is to connect the right
first place, and youʼve got a winning recipe
buyers with the right solution—our solution. Contempt for losing in sales.
But since people pleasers are so avoidant to
conflict, they may end up misleading the Nobody likes a suck-up.
wrong buyer to believe our solution can fix
their problem rather than risk disappointing Sure, theyʼre ultra-agreeable, shower you
them. Which leads to serious problems. with compliments, and never bring up any
negative news. But still, you can tell theyʼre
not coming at it from a place of authenticity.
Instead, theyʼre putting on a show.

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 Quit Alright, out with the bad and in with the But thereʼs still hope. Because once you
good. know how to stop being a people pleaser,
People-Pleasing you can reverse this personality flaw entirely.
Being a people pleaser leads to seriously
Framework disastrous scenarios in sales.

MAKE YOUR STOP SEEKING COMMUNICATE

NEEDS A EXTERNAL "YES" AND "NO"
PRIORITY VALIDATION CLEARLY

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01. Make Your Needs a Priority
Humans are, to put it bluntly, selfish. We are! If you donʼt make your needs a priority, But to do that, it helps to understand the
someone else will come along and take origins of why this happens and one of the
Weʼre usually more interested in ourselves advantage of you. Thatʼs just a fact. Itʼs how most nefarious aspects of being a people
than we are in other people. Which is why itʼs weʼre wired. pleaser—covert contracts.
so strange that people pleasers exist in the
first place—why even waste your time trying Thatʼs why the number one rule of the
to please someone that doesnʼt care about framework is to take stock of your needs and
you? prioritize them.

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 People Pleasing Origins As a result, people pleasers develop For this very reason, people pleasers are
inaccurate interpretations of their genuine terrible receivers of value. They become
needs and use the following survival extremely uncomfortable when they do get
For many, people-pleasing starts during
mechanisms to cope: what they want. And that creates a self-
childhood.
defeating prophecy where theyʼre stuck
• Trying to appear needless. wanting but never getting. Not ideal when
At an early age, people pleasers were likely
• Making it difficult for others to give to your job relies on you taking cash in
ignored or neglected, their needs not being
them. exchange for solving other peopleʼs
met in a timely, healthy manner. Maybe it
• Using “covert contracts” to solve their problems.
came from a neglectful parent. Or even cruel
needs indirectly.
classmates.
So people pleasers use “covert contracts” in
People pleasers will appear needless. They an attempt to get what they need from life.
This doesnʼt have to be a case of something
will either eliminate or hide all their needs
as dark as child abuse. Subtle things from an
because if you never ask for anything, you
otherwise amazing patent can lead to people
canʼt be rejected for it.
pleasing. too.

But no matter where it stemmed from, the

result was always the same—people pleasers
came to believe they were “bad” for having
needs in the first place.

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The Covert Contract Trap A seller finds a potential buyer and
continually provides tons of value. They
shower them with industry insights, point
Covert contracts are unconscious, unspoken
them to educational content, and even
agreements that people pleasers use to
provide informed consulting to help them
interact with everyone around them.
improve their business. The seller expects
the buyer to return all this value by giving the
A people pleaserʼs covert contract might look
seller their business.
like this:

But when all is said and done, the potential

buyer goes with a competitor instead. HINT:
Covert Contract = “I will do X
Get comfortable asking for
for you, so that you will do Y for
And itʼs all because the covert contract in the clarification and speaking bluntly
me. But Iʼm not going to tell head of the seller was never clarified, and about exchanges of value. Ask
you what the contract consists they never asked for the sale. potential buyers, “If we can solve this
of. Instead, I hope that you problem for you, will you commit to
understand what I want it and The challenge, is to uncover these covert giving us your business?” The only
contracts and take responsibility for getting way to avoid the frustration of covert
Iʼll get mad if you donʼt deliver
your own needs met. If you want an contracts is by being straightforward
on it.”
exchange in value, you need to be overt and direct.
about this, especially to a would-be
customer.
The problem is that the stipulations for the
contract arenʼt clear to both parties. The
Remember, this is a business transaction, not
people pleaser will assume they will receive
a personal relationship. Having your needs
equal value in exchange. But the other party
met in business is a part of the game. And
may never reciprocate.
being an adult means making your needs a
priority.
Letʼs look at what this might look like in the
world of sales.

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 02. Stop Seeking External Validation
If you quizzed a hundred people and asked meaningful relationships, and B2B sales Other people are terrible judges of the value
them, “Is being selfish a good trait to have?” success, then this is going to be game- of your work. They have their lives to worry
almost everyone would say, “No.” changing for you. about. Their goals, ambitions, and their own
endless thoughts and emotions fill their
Being “selfish” has such negative Be selfish. heads every hour of the day. So if they donʼt
connotations. And throughout our lives, hand out the validation youʼre looking for, it
weʼve been taught that selfishness is bad, When you depend too much on others to may not be because you arenʼt worthy of it.
antisocial, and immoral. build your own self-worth, youʼre at their Itʼs because theyʼre just focused on
mercy. You have no control over your life. themselves.
But I have a different perspective. And the dreams you are all going to be under
the power of someone else.
It may go counter to what youʼve learned
growing up, but if youʼre willing to rethink The result is that you end up feeling
what is good or bad, and you are ready to exhausted, anxious, and unfulfilled.
create healthy self-esteem, lasting and

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The one thing that we all know if
people will follow you or not is the
confidence that you exude. And so
if you really believe in yourself and
believe in what youʼre doing from
inside, not just superficially, I think
people sense that youʼre
committed.”
John Bargh, Yale Professor of Psychology & Social
Psychologist, [Link] Podcast

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 The selfishness spectrum

Iʼm being more selfish

People-pleasing

Always You Sometimes Sometimes Mostly Me Always

you first me me me first me

Never Then Mostly Sometimes Sometimes Then Never

me me you you you you you

Self-absorbed
Youʼre being more selfish

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Explaining the Selfish When you are building a business-to-
business relationship, it might start with
Spectrum “Sometimes me, sometimes you.” You give
the value upfront, and then there is an
This diagram is called the “selfishness
exchange of value further down the
spectrum”.
conversation. You give them an insight at the HINT:
beginning of a meeting, and promise to get
On the left, there are people-pleasing Focusing too much on what others
you some inside information about the
behaviors (“ALWAYS you, NEVER me”). And on think doesnʼt make you look cool,
account before the next one.
the right, the ultra self-absorbed behaviors sexy, or worthy. In reality, it does the
(“ALWAYS me, NEVER you”). opposite. Rather than fixating on the
Eventually, though, once youʼve given
superficial (them-focused), aim for
enough value to a potential customer, you
In the middle green boxes, we have the achieving your goals and sense of
need to become more selfish and make it at
middle ground, healthy self-interest. Youʼre fulfillment (me-focused).
least equal, if not them giving first and you
able to put your own needs first at times and
giving second when it comes time to close
balance out things equally when necessary. Youʼll become a much more attractive
the deal.
and interesting person in and out of
This middle ground is the behavior you the office if you focus on improving
The sooner you become conscious of the
should aim for in life if you want to get shit yourself as you do in giving back to
giving that youʼre doing while getting nothing
done. A healthy relationship is made of others.
in return, the sooner youʼll realize how much
“Sometimes you, sometimes me.” And in that
youʼre spinning your wheels and wasting
happy in-between, we can offer quality back-
your time and energy every single day.
and-forth with the person weʼre engaging
with, whether a colleague, client, or even a
partner.

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 03. Communicate “Yes” & “No” Clearly
Unclear instructions lead to uncertain results. B. Encoding: The words you think are D. Decoded: Your buyer then gets your
translated into a communication that message and has to decode it from the
When you communicate a message to hopefully the other person can channel it was sent over into
someone, the message doesnʼt go straight understand. something they might be able to
from your brain into theirs. Your message understand.
goes through: C. Channel: The encoded message is
distributed on a channel such as face- E. Filter: The message passes through
A. Filter: Your message is shaped by your to-face, video call, email, etc. the buyerʼs filter before it sinks into
upbringing, language, biases, and their brains.
feelings about the world.

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 The human to human communication pathway

Sender B. Encoding C. Channel D. Decoding Receiver

A. Filter E. Filter

As you can see, even a simple message can when a simple “yes” or “no” would have So, letʼs look at two ways of saying “yes” and
be distorted throughout the communication worked better, itʼs your fault you end up in a “no” effectively whilst reducing the chances
chain. Never mind when you try and people-pleasing situation. of any issues popping up:
communicate something subtle or complex.
The issue is that people pleasers donʼt want A. Planning “nos” ahead of time.
Thatʼs why itʼs your job to say “yes” or “no” to say “yes” or “no” as theyʼre trying to B. Providing an alternative.
clearly, every opportunity you have. If you reduce the opportunity for conflict.
share a message that can be misconstrued,

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 A. Planing Out “Nos” Ahead B. Providing an Alternative
of Time
If the person asking you for something is
It can be difficult to tell someone “no” in the someone who you want to maintain a
No Maybe Yes
moment. If you struggle with saying “no” positive relationship with, you can lessen the
because youʼre afraid of disappointing the impact of saying“no” by offering an
other person, ask people to text or email you alternative that satisfies their wants while
their request so you can get back to them. being something more preferable to you.

Additionally, communicating in a written Say someone wants you to collaborate with

them on a project. If youʼre not interested but
HINT:
format rather than in person may help you to
be clearer and more concise in your still want to maintain the relationship, Stop saying “maybe” so much. Itʼs
response. introduce them to someone else who might equally important to learn how to say
be interested in working with them. “yes” clearly. If the answer to a
Youʼre a busy person, so itʼs reasonable to say question in your head isnʼt an
that you need to check your schedule before The goal is to offer a compromise so they enthusiastic “yes,” then it should be a
answering. Once they send you a written donʼt take offense to you saying “no”, and “no,” and you should focus on
follow-up, itʼs much easier to send them a you donʼt feel guilty for turning down a something more important. Throwing
polite reply saying that you cannot agree to request that would add unneeded stress to out “maybes” leads to unclear
their request. your life. expectations.

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Wrapping Up
Being a people pleaser is no way to go When you quit people pleasing, youʼll start Youʼve only got one life to live. So start living
through life. And in sales specifically, it can closing more deals, building deep and it on your terms.
lead to wasted time with bad clients, engaging relationships, improving your
misleading communication, and disastrous work/life balance, and feeling more fulfilled
rapport. On top of that, it kills self-esteem, on the job.
skyrockets anxiety, and is a surefire way to
burn out quicker than ever.

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 18.
Bucket
Productivity

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Bucket Productivity
In sales, what you do is often more important Walter only completes the sales activities Sam works longer hours and earns average
than what you know. that are required to smash his sales quota. money. Walter works far fewer hours and
makes much more cash.
It doesnʼt matter how much knowledge you
have about the sales process if you donʼt
engage with prospects and close them.

Sam is constantly running around like a

headless chicken. He has no idea what item is
next on his 20-meter-long daily to-do list.

This chapter explains the science behind

productivity and how to implement the
system into your day.

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 How to Boost Sales Productivity
Whatʼs your typical day look like? And at the end of the day, that important To become more productive, you need a
task? Well, itʼs still not done. And youʼre no simple, fool-proof system that encourages
Letʼs take a shot in the dark here. closer to reaching your quota than before you to do more of the important stuff each
your day began. day.
You head into the office, focused and
motivated, to get a particularly important Sound about right? Sound good? Then letʼs get productive,
task done. But as the morning drags on, people!
youʼre constantly getting pulled from one Itʼs a classic seller story. And unfortunately,
thing to another. Responding to client all that wishy-washy flitting around is killing
questions, helping colleagues navigate the your sales productivity.
new CRM, reaching out to IT because Outlook
isnʼt syncing (again!).

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 The Productive Seller

High Short
output time

Strong productivity

What Is Sales Productivity? Not all of the tasks that you complete count And for certain undesirable parts of selling, it
towards your productivity. all comes down to plain procrastination.
So, what is sales productivity? And why is it
For instance, you may be feeling busy— As Mark Evans put it in our [Link]
important?
youʼve reorganized your desk a few times this Podcast interview:
morning, read a LinkedIn article on a
trending sales topic, and updated your client “When you don't want to prospect, even
Sales productivity is the ratio
contact info. But these tasks arenʼt revenue vacuuming the floor or cleaning your
of results (outputs) in a given
drivers. These arenʼt the activities that get kitchen seems like a good idea at the time.”
time (inputs). you closer to hitting your numbers because
these tasks arenʼt selling. Once you learn how to organize your day,
prioritize your tasks, and nip procrastination
The more sales you close (or cold calls made,
It turns out, sellers spend about 36% of their in the bud, you can start skyrocketing your
leads followed up with, etc.) in an hour, the
time on sales activities. The rest? Admin, sales productivity.
higher your sales productivity.
meetings, forecasting, etc.

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 Thereʼs More
to Productivity
Thereʼs more to upping your sales
productivity than closing more deals each
quarter. When you learn how to increase
your productivity, youʼll also:
Smaller chunks make anything possible
A. Feel Less Stressed
How often have you felt like youʼre drowning
in work? You have so many tasks piling up so
quickly that you canʼt seem to make any Possible
headway and the mere thought of sitting
down at your desk gets your heart racing,
skin flushing, and palms sweating?

When youʼre looking at a wall of unorganized

tasks on your to-do list, it can seem like
completing it all is downright impossible.
And that sends your body and mind into a
panic.
Big task
But when you know how to break down Big task broken down
these tasks by priority, you turn an
insurmountable obstacle into a reasonable
plan for your day. The result is more focus,
greater productivity, and less stress.

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B. Capture More Unseen But if you get more organized with your And as Tim notes, how good you are at your
tasks, you can make room for these activities job (affected by your sales proficiency) is a
Opportunities in your schedule. And doing so could major contributor to the likelihood of
potentially open up the door to some burnout:
When youʼre juggling 20 different tasks at the
exciting new opportunities to advance your
same time, you arenʼt just being
career. “Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as
unproductive. Youʼre also missing out on
resulting from chronic workplace stress
some spectacular opportunities.
C. Experience More that has not been successfully managed. It
is characterized by three dimensions:
Think about it like this—if youʼre feeling Fulfillment feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion,
stressed and infinitely busy every day, youʼll
increased mental distance from one's job
feel like you donʼt have the time to follow up Last (but certainly not least) comes or feelings of negativism or cynicism
on that “maybe” lead. You wonʼt take the fulfillment. Burnout is a problem in the sales related to one's job, and reduced
time to research prospects as deeply as you industry. Tim Clarke of UNCrushed shared in professional efficacy.”
should. And you certainly wonʼt have the a [Link] Podcast that 67% of the B2B
bandwidth to expand your social selling sales professionals he interviewed reported But when you improve your sales proficiency,
assets like quality content, webinars, or being close to burnout levels. you improve your capabilities. And thus,
connections.
youʼre also protecting yourself against feeling
burnt out and unfulfilled on the job.

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 The Bucket Okay, itʼs easy to make a case for why This simple framework lets you organize and
improving sales productivity should be a prioritize all your tasks so that you have a
Productivity priority for any success-minded sales clear course of action each day. With it, youʼll
professional. get more done, feel less anxious, and take
Framework your sales capabilities to the next level.

CAPTURE IN DEFINE NEXT ORGANISE START

BUCKET STEP BUCKET DRAINING
DRAINING BUCKETS

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The number one most important
factor for Salesforce productivity
was task clarity. If the salesperson
knew what he or she wanted to
accomplish, they got it done.”
Jonathan Byrnes, MIT Senior Lecturer, Author,
& Speaker, [Link] Podcas

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 01. Capture in Bucket
The first step of the Bucket Productivity • Your Brainʼs Bad at the In-Between – Incorporating this step alone is often enough
Framework is arguably the most important. Your brain isnʼt very good at handling to remove massive amounts of pressure from
jobs that canʼt be completed right this sellers who usually have too much going on
Before you can begin to boost your sales second (short-term memory) and and not enough time to do it.
productivity, you need to create a reliable hasnʼt been revisited a bunch of times
system for capturing and documenting all (long-term memory). So it will pester As you write down your tasks, youʼre going to
the tasks you have on your plate. you, stress you out, and nag you organize them into one of three buckets:
typically until the job is done.
Now, I know you might have just relied on A. Do Today
your memory in the past. But there are two Thatʼs why itʼs so important to write out your B. Do Anytime
problems here: tasks. C. Do Some Time

• Memory Is Not Infallible – To be Doing so relieves you from the stress of your
human is to forget. Only an nagging brain and physically documents the
irresponsible seller leaves their task, so youʼre less likely to forget it later.
important tasks undocumented.

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 Do Do

Important
anytime today

Do some
time

Urgent
HINT:
For the “do anytime” bucket to work
A. Do Today B. Do Anytime correctly, you need to block off time
on your calendar for each task. If you
need to make, say, 20 sales calls
These are tasks that must be completed These are the important—but non-urgent—
tomorrow, come up with a data-
before you go to bed tonight. tasks that must be completed. However,
driven estimate for how long that will
theyʼre not the ones that need to happen
take and write down that completion
Simple enough, right? today.
ETA next to the task. This is a must for
step #3 of the whole framework.
Be careful about putting tasks in. If you donʼt Reorganize your contact catalog, update your
get these tasks completed in time, the CRM, and even clean out your workspace.
system will fall apart because your daily tasks
will stack up on each other over time. Weʼll review this bucket regularly in a later
step in the framework to make sure nothing
Any tasks that are not going to get completed gets missed.
today get removed from the “do today”
bucket and put in the “do anytime” bucket.

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 HINT:
You can see in the diagram that there
C. Do Some Time is no bucket for urgent, non-
important tasks. That is because they
These are non-urgent, non-important tasks donʼt exist. If something was truly
that youʼd like to do at some point, but you urgent, then there would have to be a
donʼt need to do them right now (or any time level of importance to make it urgent.
soon).
The shit that gets flung our way each
These might be future business ideas, where day that we consider urgent (but not
you want to go on holiday, or any other task important) can usually be ignored
that doesnʼt have a defined point in time that until it is no longer urgent or it
youʼd like to complete it. becomes important.

Remember, your goal is to drive

revenue. Any admin, customer
communication, or other nonsense
that is pulling you away from driving
revenue should be removed from
your to-do list.

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02. Define Next Steps
Once youʼve written down your tasks, define You could handle things that way. But when So, if we can set the first step for each task
the next steps for each item on the “Do you attach the next step to each task, youʼre ahead of time, we can jump straight into
Today” list. overcoming a productivity problem—task them and knock them off without
switching. reinventing the wheel every time we
So if I document the task, “Complete bucket complete one task and move on to the next.
productivity workshop chapter,” Iʼll also See, our brains have a hard time shifting
include the next step of “make sure Jorge our between tasks. When we switch tasks, our This action allows us to get into a state of
graphic designer has all the hand drawn brains dump all the information theyʼre “flow” where work feels effortless and it gets
illustrations to turn into pretty graphics”. storing below the surface to help with the done much quicker.
task and then get back in the right frame of
Now, why do we do this? Canʼt we figure out mind for the next one.
those tasks later on and write them down
once weʼve completed our current tasks?

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 The additional time added by switching tasks rather
than sticking with them and completing them

Task
switching Task 1 Switch Task 2 Switch Task 1 Switch Task 2

No task Task 1 Switch Task 2

switching

Time

Task Switching—Your • A group of Microsoft workers took, on • People who multitask may experience
average, 15 minutes to return to as much as a 10% drop in IQ (Harvard
Productivityʼs Worst mental tasks, like writing reports or Business Review).
Nightmare computer code, after responding to
incoming emails or instant messages. Switching between tasks saps mental energy,
So, how big of a problem is task switching for (New York Times). productivity, and effectiveness on the job.
productivity? Well, letʼs look at the numbers.
• It takes more time to get things done And thatʼs why writing down the next step for
• Multitasking leads to a 40% drop in when you try to multitask. People who each task is important if you want to fly
productivity for office-based workers are interrupted – and therefore have through your sales activities.
(Harvard Business Review). to switch their attention back and
forth – take 50% longer to accomplish
a task. Multitaskers also make up to
50% more errors (Brain Rules).

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Most of us unfortunately get so busy
nowadays that we donʼt stop and
think about how we're living our
lives. And if we donʼt do any of those
things, weʼre just busy, and we fool
ourselves into thinking weʼre
being really productive.”
Matt Anderson, Sales Training & Personal
Coaching Expert, [Link] Podcast

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 03. Organize Bucket Draining
In all likelihood, youʼre going to create more Often youʼll add a task to your “Do Today” Similarly, there are going to be tasks in the
tasks than you can complete. I donʼt think bucket. But as your day progresses, you “Do Anytime” bucket that needs to be moved
Iʼve worked with anyone inside realize you donʼt need to complete it, and to the “Do Today” bucket when they become
[Link] Academy who crosses off all then the next day, it doesnʼt seem all that due for completion.
their tasks every day. important.
Effective organization depends on your
Thatʼs why itʼs absolutely critical that you When this happens, remove this task from ability to recognize the value of your tasks,
regularly organize your buckets. your “Do Today” bucket and put it in either managing the time in your schedule and
your “Do Anytime” or “Do Some Time” ranking your current priorities.
buckets.

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Recognize the Value in There are two ways to prioritize your tasks.
Specific Tasks 1. First, prioritize on a bucket basis.
Some buckets are more important to HINT:
Not all the tasks that you capture will have
empty than others as weʼve already
the same value when completed. The task of Tackle organizing each night. There is
discussed.
“calling the CEO back who wants to buy your something satisfying about planning
product” will undoubtedly deliver more value the following day the night before.
2. Additionally, you prioritize your “Do
than “replying to the customer service email Plus, it allows you to hit the ground
Today” tasks by order of importance,
about a feature we donʼt have.” running the next morning by being
too. Start each morning by tackling
the key revenue generators first. When proactive, too. Rather than fumbling
Therefore, in sales, more than any other with your email, changing plans,
you know your most valuable tasks
business function, we need to prioritize high- reacting, and getting stressed out,
and their next steps, you can get on
value tasks that generate revenue. Your boss youʼre starting your day off focused
with what drives revenue whilst your
wonʼt be mad that you delivered your and productive.
competition is treading water.
expense report late, for example, if youʼve
just closed the biggest deal in your team this
quarter.

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 04. Start Draining Buckets
Now that weʼve filled our buckets, jotted • Your tasks are prioritized. Be sure you arenʼt deviating from your
down next steps, and organized the tasks • You know the first steps to get started. scheduled system throughout the day. As you
based on value, itʼs time to get to work. • The time to complete the task is now know, task switching is a sales
already marked off in your calendar. productivity killer. So stick to your schedule
If youʼve followed the framework up to this as much as you can.
point, you no longer have any excuses for No more bullshitting yourself. No more
sales ineffectiveness: procrastination. Start work on the first task
on your “Do-Today” list, and donʼt stop until
theyʼre done.

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 HINT:
Make Completing Goals as These small moments of satisfaction As we covered in the Systems Habits
Satisfying as Possible feed into each other, and eventually, Framework, overcoming
youʼll become addicted to completing procrastination by building effective
As you complete each task, remove it your tasks each day. Doing so will habits rather than relying purely on
from your bucket. And as you work also make you feel happier and more “motivation” is the quickest pathway
your way through the list, make sure motivated because youʼre making to more sales success.
itʼs satisfying. visible progress toward your
important goals. Feeling motivated is a powerful force
If itʼs a paper system, scribble each for productivity. But motivation
task out as you go along. Similarly, if And before you know it, youʼll be fades. And it can be unreliable. But
youʼre using an electronic system, crossing off your tasks, organizing when you build habits, you donʼt
click that check mark and complete your day, and skyrocketing your sales need that motivation to get the work
the task. Then watch as it flies off productivity. done.
your screen and take a moment to
congratulate yourself.

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 Wrapping Up
So many sellers spend their days jumping But if you want to maximize your sales Sure, it might take some practice sticking to
from one task to another, following up on productivity, reduce your professional stress, the system. But when you put in the work to
spur-the-moment opportunities, and putting capture more opportunities, and experience implement it into your processes, youʼll be
out fires from clock-in till clock-out. And this more fulfillment at work, the Bucket amazed at just how much youʼre getting
sporadic approach to sales makes it hard to Productivity Framework is here to help. done each day.
focus on the important tasks while not
forgetting about the other things that need to And youʼll be flat out amazed at the doors
get done. greater sales productivity will open for you.

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Itʼs much more important to get in
the habit of practicing 10 minutes a
day, letʼs say, rather than trying to get
really into it so that you can do an
hour or two. That might make you
feel amazing, but then the next day,
when you wake up and you canʼt do
it again, youʼll feel like garbage.ʼ”
Antony Sammeroff, Business Mindset Expert,
[Link] Podcast

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Wrapping
Up
 Donʼt Be a Sales Nerd
The sales industry is plagued with what I call Selling Made Simple and SalesCode have
“Sales Nerds”. A Sales Nerd is an individual armed you with everything you need to know
who has read all the books, listened to all the to beat quota this year. The only thing
podcasts, watched all the videos… but they stopping you from achieving that goal is you.
donʼt implement the training and so never
smash quota.

Reinvestment leads
to bigger end results

Learning Implementing Refining Success

Costs you Costs Things You get rich

money you time get easier

420 | WRAPPING UP
[Link] Academy
If you understand the frameworks in this
book but want guidance and mentoring in
implementing them then join [Link]
Academy.

[Link] Academy will help you find

and close more deals in the next 30 days or
your money back. It covers all of the
frameworks in this book and the additional
15 sales process frameworks from the Selling
Made Simple book.

When you get signed up youʼll:

• Have a one-on-one consulting call

with our team to find the 10% of
immediate changes that will give you
a 90% improvement in results.

• Get access to our 30-day, step-by-step,

framework based training program so
you can get the frameworks
implemented in weeks rather than
months.

• Receive access to unlimited group

coaching calls so that we can support
you all the way to Presidents Club.

Book a call with our team at [Link]

and see if youʼre a good fit for [Link]
Academy today.

WRAPPING UP | 421
 Acknowledgments
Itʼs only been a few months since I completed the acknowledgments
page for Selling Made Simple. Itʼs crazy to me that Iʼm writing this one Author
for SalesCode. Will Barron

Again, I have to personally thank Jorge, Alex and Oscar for putting up Graphic design
with even tighter deadlines and accelerating the production of this Jorge Guilarte
book after the crazy success of Selling Made Simple.
Writer
And finally Iʼd like to thank you. If youʼve picked up this book, got this Alex Thompson
far and youʼre still reading, you are the future of sales.
Illustrator
Keep pushing forward. Oscar Blanco

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