Hope everyone celebrates safely and I look forward to 2010!

• Communicate – As always, communication is the key (especially if there are multiple people that are paying for the house). You will want to have open communication lines between you and your significant other as well as your real estate agent. I am a firm believer against holding your cards close to your chest. It harms no one to know exactly where you want to be and will probably save you headaches by not looking at houses that don’t fit your profile.
• Set your absolute limit – When you communicate with your partner you will want to have an ideal price and an absolute price. Your ideal price will be the price of the home you would prefer to be in where as the absolute price is the price you will not pay one cent over. The key is to be firm with your absolute price at all times. You will not want to waver at all and communicate that information with your real estate agent. After the emotions subside from purchasing a house you will not have buyers remorse if you stay at or below your absolute limit. Being consistent with your budget will also help your agent not get frustrated with your indecisiveness.
• Start searching early and be thorough – Now, not everyone is going to have the luxury of being able to start searching early. But the less you “must move in” the more you can get a better deal. In negotiation information is the key. By searching early you will get a better feel for the housing market and what are reasonable prices for the houses you are shopping. Also, don’t depend on your agent or others to do this work for you. It is your responsibility to know comparable houses stack up. Also, the beauty of starting early is that you can always walk away from the deal.
• Be flexible – There are a lot of variables in purchasing a house and flexibility can actually help your negotiating power. For instance the differences between buying a house for $200k and $5k closing costs and $195k and $0 closing costs are virtually nil. Your flexibility will show a more human side to your offer and help the seller be less defensive and frustrated. That in turn will allow the seller to be more flexible.
• Find the seller’s limit – Every situation is different but chances are if you aren’t putting an offer out there that you don’t think will be accepted you are leaving money on the table. This was a delicate situation for me and my wife as she is very conscious about others feelings. You NEVER know what the seller is thinking so don’t assume anything. Putting an offer out and it gets rejected/counter offered is a great thing and a necessary step to getting the best price.
• Trust your gut – Never forget that this home purchase is about you, your family, and your budget. This is your hard earned cash and only you are responsible for those monthly payments once they start coming in. While it is important to consider and empathize the sellers and agents point of view it is not your responsibility to fill their needs. It is also important to trust your gut in regards to your agents advise. Unless you are writing a check to your buyer’s agent they will always be motivated to sell the home – and as a result be a seller’s agent. As I suspected in our offer situation our buyer’s agent stated how the counter offer was a fair offer and was essentially working on behalf of the seller. I don’t take offense to this because I understand where our agent is coming from but by trusting our gut we stuck to our guns and benefited.
• Walk away – This might be the most powerful part of negotiating the purchase of a home. The key to this step is to look at the house purchase as a factual/logical decision and not an emotional one. If you are informed and confident with your offer price then the pressure is on the seller to match your demands. The beauty is that the seller may be willing to work at a later time if they have a change of heart. Remember that there is always another “perfect” house out there.
• Don’t be a dick – This may not necessarily get you a better price but it’s good advice. Look I know buying a home is a stressful and emotional event, but there is no reason to be a dick to people. Don’t get offended if they reject your offer or counter with something outside your range. There are a lot of people involved in the process and you shouldn’t be trying to “win” but instead to create a win/win deal. By communicating clearly and being upfront with all involved it will help make the process smoother. If you are being a dick and trying to win you may piss off your partner over an insignificant amount of money (trust me on this one – I know from experience).

Well, that’s all I got and I hope it helps you in your home buying process. There are a lot of guides out there that offer different advice and like I said before – information is the key. Good luck with your home buying process and enjoy it. Remember the big picture is about being happy and your decisions should ultimately be tied to your potential happiness.

Why dress up

Sales professionals are change makers. To get new clients you need to have them change the way they are doing things. It’s hard to change things if you can’t get noticed. The benefit of everyone going business casual is that not many people wear suits anymore. You will be able to not only stand out from your competition but also generate instant credibility by wearing a suit. Like it or not, but a lot of people’s perception of you is based on appearances and attractive people are more successful in life.

Simply dressing up will make you more attractive. When you look good, you feel good and when you feel good you will be more confident with both your skills and the situation. Buying is an emotional act and buyers want to feel like they are making the right decision. Working with a confident, calm person can help ease any insecurities they have about making a change.

Not only does wearing a suit make you confident it also keeps you in line. There is no beating around the bush here but many sales professionals like to talk and can sometimes veer off on tangents that may or may not be appropriate. By dressing casually you are more likely to revert to your “at home” persona which may get you in trouble. Your attire will subliminally remind you that you are on “pay time” and to remain focused on your prospecting and sales activities.

The same effects on your customers will also translate internally in your company. If you are looking to climb the corporate ladder and gain respect among your peers your attire will help you in that process. The common saying is to always dress for the job that you want, not necessarily the one you are at.

With all that being said, I am not a hard-nosed you must wear a suit at all occasions in all professions kind of guy. There are roles and situations where wearing a suit may not work. Situations where you have to visit construction sites, crawl on roofs, be around machinery that can suck you in by your tie, and carry and transport large dirty items are probably not the best places to wear a suit. Deep down you know if your job is one of these places. I am a proponent of inside sales professionals wearing ties; however I can understand the reasoning behind them not. The same principles that apply outside in the field apply over the phone.

How to dress up

Now that I have convinced you why to wear a suit, I gotta make sure you pull it off correctly. It is easy to look good if you follow these basic steps.

• Get measured by a pro. If you currently own no suits be sure to go to a well reputable men’s clothing store to get your measurements. Once measured be prepared to always tailor your clothing. I am 6’5″ and 185lbs – tall and skinny and there are not clothes that fit me on any shelf. Unless you have the most common size body in the world it will be difficult to find an off the shelf clothing solution. For skinny people you will want to get an athletic shirt to prevent muffin topping of the shirt, and larger people will want to have a shirt where the buttons are not under extreme stress. There is no excuse having shoulder pads hanging off your shoulders or your collar big enough to fit a coffee cup down it. A tie should also come down to your belt line.
• Iron your clothes. A quick way to negate any professionalism you gain by having a suit is to wear a wrinkled suit. If you are not good at keeping a shirt smooth you can by a non-iron shirt. If you immediately take it out of the dryer and hang it up the shirt should dry with little to no wrinkles. Any remaining wrinkles can be pulled out by spraying a bit of water on it and pulling it flat. Other options are to have it cleaned with a dry cleaner. I recommend using no starch because when a shirt has starch it will tend to develop more noticeable wrinkles compared to a non-starched shirt. Whatever you do, don’t forget to put the stays in your collars to keep them straight and crisp.
• Match your accessories. Your belt is supposed to match your shoes, and your socks are to match your pants. Your tie is where you can have a little fun and go bold. Also, if you wear French cuff shirts you can have a bit of fun with your cuff links. I’m real fond of the pirate cuff links. To really stand out add a pocket square that complements the colors of your suit.
• Go from basic to exotic. A two button solid black or navy blue suit is appropriate for any occasion. If you are only planning to own a couple of suits it would be best to stick with these color options. As your inventory of suits grows feel free to try more trendy options like plaid patterns, unique colors, and unique cuts. Talk to your local men’s clothing store for help.

There are many message boards and websites out there that go into way deeper details about business fashion. I recommend if you catch the bug to search out those sites and determine your own style. You will find that having a suit with quality fabrics and measurements is comfortable.

A lot of successful people (like Mark Cuban) refuse to wear suits and they present a valid argument on why not. Based on my experience, until the perceived notion of people in suits change, I see wearing anything other than suits when meeting with prospects and clients as limiting factor in your growth for increased sales. As always I am keen on hearing opinions of other professionals out there. Leave comments on your thoughts.

Ran across this video about a soda shop owner on Mises.org and thought it was interesting.

Late last night my wife and I decided to put an offer in on a home and it got me thinking about how we finally came to the decision to purchase a house, and the sales process of the Realtor. There are many steps involved in the sales process and the close is one of the few that you see tangible results. But the bigger question is, “How do I become better at closing?” To find that answer you may actually have to look at different aspects of your sales technique to improve on the close.

As a sales person I wish it was so easy as to walk into a customer’s office talk with anyone there and simply ask them, “Do you want to buy my product/service?” To which they would quickly and emphatically answer “YES!” Unfortunately, life does not work that way and when people want a closer or hunter what they are looking for is someone who knows how to listen to their customers and take them through the appropriate sales steps.

There are a lot of ways to close the deal, but if you cover these steps you should be well on your way to see a higher percentage of closes with your prospects.

• Talk to the decision maker(s). Your wasting your time and others when you do not diligently make sure you are speaking with the appropriate contacts. It is too easy to assume that you are talking with the decision maker but many times you are not. A couple of questions you can ask your contact without offending them are, “Is there anyone else that should be involved in this meeting?” “What is the process in making a decision for this product/service?”
• Develop rapport. When people feel comfortable around sales people they are more likely to open up and share their business concerns and even personal concerns if you build a strong relationship. By not developing a strong rapport prospects will clam up and keep quite. Use your detective skills for this step and keep an eye out for any photos, jewelry, or other personal items. If you meet in a conference room a good ice breaker is always to talk about the weather, what they did over the weekend, or local events (that are not politically driven). Again, the client doesn’t really care about your personal interests so don’t go on tangents about your life. People love talking about themselves and their interests so if you can successfully get them talking about themselves you will find a stronger rapport with your clients.
• Be clear and on the same page. Being on the same page is vital to closing the sale. You do not want to show up for a meeting an hour late, or prepare for ABC product when they really wanted to learn about XYZ product. Before diving into a meeting confirm with them the time expectations for the meetings, topic of the meetings, and the goals of the meeting. Many people will find that they have to push their comfort levels to find success in this step. In this step you should ask clients to tell you “no” if there is no chance for you to earn their business. This technique is called “Going for the ‘no’” and is very powerful. On top of that it will save time for you to be selling to people that are genuinely interested.
• Understand their issues/pains. People like to think they make decisions based on logical reasons but the reality is they make decisions based on emotions. To uncover these reasons you must find what their pains are and how your product and ease those pains. I would highly recommend you follow the Pain Funnel (click to see funnel) from Sandler Sales to uncover the real reasons why you are at the meeting. The more successful you are at uncovering pains the more sales you will be able to close.
• Know what they can spend. It’s amazing how some industries are naturally good at this process whereas many others are not. While searching for a house it was impossible to look at properties without my Realtor knowing the price range. If a client is unwilling to say what their budget is throw out a range and get feedback like this, “Typically my product costs between $2500 and $3000, is that within your expectations?”
• Stop selling. So this is it; the close. By now you should have uncovered all the client’s pains and why your product/service will help alleviate their issues. Your product falls within their budget and you are working with the decision maker. A good way to know if you are at this point is by asking, “Is there anything preventing you from moving forward with the deal?” If you hear a “no” then you know the deal is done. If you continue to sell, you may actually screw up the deal. I have heard stories about people saying, “Oh it also comes with XYZ feature” The client responds with, “I don’t need that feature and don’t want to pay for it.” Not a good way to start off the relationship.

These are just a few tips for closing the deal from just one person. I would love to hear feedback from other people on their thoughts and suggestions to help close the deal. Leave comments below, and if you found value in the article please pass it along to friends and co-workers.

So I’ve added a few changes to the website. The first one is you can now register to this blog – it’ll help you become a better commenter. The other is if you are not down with the whole RSS thing, you can now subscribe to the blog via e-mail updates. All you need to do is click on the tab noted above. Now if you choose to register you can manage the e-mail subscription with a few preferences like e-mail format and categories. If you choose not to register you can still subscribe, but won’t have those features.

Happy subscribing and if you find value in this blog please tell a friend.

Finding the perfect job can be a life long journey. For those that don’t know, sales people tend to be jumpy and look for new career paths frequently. While out in the field sales reps run across a lot of companies and a lot of other sales reps. Frequently the grass will look greener on the other side. Reps change jobs in hopes of better salary, better support, more leads, and more perks. But those criteria should all take a back seat to my top reason to change jobs.

I am fortunate to have worked with a lot of brilliant people and Ken Kumpe is probably the most insightful person I have ever met. I would like to pass along a lesson he taught me about searching for new opportunities and what to look for in a company. I remember vividly eating wings for lunch with him when he said, “Eric, when looking for a new opportunity don’t concern yourself with the income, benefits, and other details – focus instead on the people. Once you have found a company where the people fit, all the rest will come.”

It took a while for it to sink in, and he had to tell me it a couple of times (Hey, I never claimed to be bright!). I found what he said that day to be really powerful because when you find yourself surrounded by the right people you will find success. Think about it for a bit… the right people means you will be happier at work. Happiness means you are being treated fairly, the products/services rock, your boss is honorable, and co-workers feel the same.  Because you are happy your sales will improve. Ultimately, the company becomes a place made up of successful people.

The problem though is how do you find this situation before you are actually employed with the new company. Here are some suggestions to help you on your quest for the perfect sales job.

• Talk to current and past employees. With LinkedIn and other social networking sites there are many ways to get a hold of current employees. Use these tools to get an inside feel to how the company operates and runs. If possible try to get an interview with a current sales rep.
• Talk to their customers. This might be a little more difficult as most companies will not publish their book of business. But again, using social networking sites like LinkedIn you can look for referrals to find contacts. Once you get a hold of someone you can typically determine if the company is a well oiled machine or not.
• Trust your gut. During the interview process you will get a feel for whether or not it will be a good fit. Try to look past all the sales mumbo jumbo they are telling you to get you on board. Get down to the important details like employee turnover and sales revenue for current reps. I can guarantee a sales rep will not be leaving the company if the company is treating them right and helping them become the best they can in sales.

Some warning signs I would keep an eye out for:

• Interviewer allows interruptions. This one absolutely baffles me how an interviewer will allow interruptions during an interview. No way would they tolerate you taking a phone call, and you should not tolerate them taking one. This is a huge red flag in many different aspects and may mean your potential boss is a micro-manager and/or disorganized.
• High employee turn over. This is a no-brainer but it essentially means the company is poor at evaluating talent and has too high of expectations (which leads to firings), or cannot support their sales reps with a good product/service (which leads to employees leaving).
• Employer is really focused on your book of business, not you. When coming into a new company with expectations of bringing your book of business they only care about that business. In most cases you will be disposable to the company if your book does not follow you. These situations tend to be short term solutions and I would advise against joining a company because they want your book of business.
• Non-compete agreements. I understand the premise of a non-compete and the goal to protect the company’s customer list, but the best protection is to create an environment where the sales rep will not want to leave. If a sales rep does not have a non-compete the employer will be more apt to treat the sales rep fairly and provide what is necessary for them to succeed. I would suggest of being wary of any company that requires a non-compete and to never sign one.

This is a slow process, and it is best to handle this while you are working for a company you know to not be a great fit. If you are desperate for income and work you are not able to be as picky for the company you work for. I would love to hear comments for other sales people out there and lessons they have learned from working for different companies.  If you love or hate the company you work for tell us why so other reps can learn.

Yup, I got you – sex sells! A good friend of mine and sales extraordinaire Mark Burrell use to always tell me how closing a new account is very similar to finding the perfect lover. In this post I’ll explain the different phases of a business relationship and how you can get laid as much as possible with as many different partners as you can (in a business sense of course). The beauty of sales verses your personal life is that you will have less stress while managing more relationships and of course, the more the merrier.

1. First Impression – Your first impression is always very important. In a business sense you must always be on your game and prepared for that first impression. You never know when or where it might happen. Some keys in sales for this are to: dress professional, stay away from religion and politics, be well groomed, and to be interested in the client.
2. Wooing – For many sales people this is the most fun stage – you get to puff up your chest and toot around like you are the best thing since sliced bread. However, that is exactly where many people make their mistake. In your wooing stages (ie first meeting) you need to be focused on the client and their needs. You need to find out what is working for them, and why you are there. Clients invite you into their office because they think they need your products/services, or you are really pushy and they can’t say no. If you got in the door for the latter reason you won’t get to the next base. Dig down deep and find out why you are there and once you figure that you begin to toot your horn and how it relates to their needs.
3. First Date – So the client finally is throwing you a bone and you finally got laid.  In this phase the client will test you out by sending you a quotation or a small project to see how you can perform. This is the most important stage of the process because it is where your words because concrete and they will be able to figure out if your company can actually provide what they need. Be sure to maintain open communication with the client every step of the process to ensure there are no surprises.
4. Officially Together – So you have finally done it – you are officially together. You are now getting laid on a frequent basis and they are picking up the phone when you call them. Congratulations, a job well done. In this phase you can build a terrific relationship which the client will be real happy, but at this phase they are likely also using other vendors. You will want to continue to provide excellent value so you can move the relationship into the marriage phase. Most of your customers will be in this stage.
5. Marriage – This is the holy grail of business relationships. At this point in the relationship your client needs you and their business is dependent on your products/services. You have followed the above steps to perfection and are in a mutual win/win situation. Marriages are difficult and there will be your ups and downs. A key aspect of this stage is to never forget why they are working with you and what your company offers to make their life better. Do not get complacent because in reality you are getting laid more than any other phase and you do not want to take it to the next step.
6. Divorce – Well, you’ve fucked up and in all likely hood they found someone better. This phase can happen at any time and that is why it is important to continue to take care of your customers. The good thing is that the further along a client is in these phases the harder it will be to divorce you. They will be more open to working through hard times and more forgiving for mistakes. Once a divorce has happened second chances will be very difficult.

By thinking of a business relationship like a personal relationship with a significant other you can have another perceptive on how to improve your relationship.  You will now be able to tell where you are in the process and what things are important to your clients.

If you enjoyed this article please pass it along to your friends and/or co-workers.

For this Halloween special I would like to dedicate this post to one of the most important topics out there.  Generally my topics are about self improvement in the business world or just general things going on with my personal life, but this blog post can save your life!  Read along to find the 5 steps needed to stay safe from zombies this Halloween.  You may have not known that I was listed #3 on Zombie Fancy’s top feared human list for the past two years.

1. Carry a weapon – Chances are if you are getting attacked by a zombie you will most likely survive if you have a weapon.  We would recommend a sawed off shotgun, a machete, and at the least a baseball bat.  Remember, when zombie’s attack they are going for your brains so try to effectively remove their jaw and their brain consuming features will be rendered useless.
2. Set out a trap – This is like preventative medicine.  It’s going to be better to stop a zombie before they ever see you than to risk a one on one battle with a weapon.  There are a lot of options out there, but by far the best option is to nail a giant blue tarp to your property and fill it with fly paper goo.  In the middle put some spaghetti with red sauce and a giant sign that reads “BRAINS!”  The next morning you will awake to find your zombies stuck to the fly paper tarp.  Use above weapons after that.  *note* you may also get harmless critters stuck to your trap.
3. Be defensive – Look, zombie killing is a serious matter and shouldn’t be taken lightly.  One thing you should always do is not to attack until you are absolutely sure it’s a zombie.  Typical signs are wrinkly people with a limp that are moaning “brains.”  If you are on the offense you may end up attacking the elderly or someone with cerebral palsy.  It’s not worth the risk.
4. Don’t hang out in cemeteries - This is a no brainer.  If you want to avoid zombies the worst place to go is the breeding ground of zombies.  Strolling along the park is a great idea but strolling along a cemetery could result in a zombie grabbing your leg and eventually eating your brains.  Play it safe bro/sis – no cemeteries.
5. Keep your dog on a leash – Look, dogs have a knack for chasing after things.  Zombies are definitely part of that category.  By keeping your dog on a leash you will not have to search for them in strange areas where zombies can pounce on you.

If you keep these 5 rules in check you will have no problem staying safe this Halloween and other fearsome days.  Happy Halloween everyone!