Sales Training	Online Education	Blog
SALESPRACTICE.COM offers sales training and education resources for Professional Selling and features the Certificate in Professional Sales Practice. Topics of study include personal selling (principles of selling, principles of prospecting), interpersonal relationships, problem solving and decision making, critical thinking, communication, personal development, principles of success, and subjective experience.	The Online Learning Experience at SALESPRACTICE.COM is for those individuals actively engaged in personal selling (sales practitioners) who are interested in pursuing practical knowledge, skills and competencies in "Professional Selling" through study, instruction, application and experience. Registration is quick and easy. For online education participate in the Online Learning Experience today!	The blog at SALESPRACTICE.COM is a professional selling blog for sales practitioners, which supplements the Online Learning Experience and Sales Training Guide with authoritative commentary and refreshing insights. This blog is for those who are serious about selling and thirsty for insights into professional selling skills that can help them improve their own sales practice.

1. Sales Training - First, review and become familiar with the Professional Sales Practice™ Sales Training Guide; a practice-based tool providing learners with a content framework identifying core skills and knowledge deemed necessary to effectively "communicate and work well with others; solve problems and keep up with change". For vocational training certification see "Certificate in Professional Sales Practice".
2. Online Education - Next, participate in the Online Learning Experience. For example, if you have questions after reviewing the training guide post your questions in the appropriate forum.
3. Blog - Finally, read the Sales Practice™ Blog by Jeff Blackwell, SALESPRACTICE.COM founder and Consultancy provider, for authoritative commentary and refreshing insights on topics involving professional selling.

Learn How To Sell

Everything that you hope to achieve and accomplish in your entire life depends on your ability to sell yourself or someone else on taking some form of action. - Jerry Bresser

Education and Training

• "Understanding" is to "Education" what "Behavior change" is to "Training".
• "Sales" is about "Buying" (i.e., how people buy) in the same way that "Training" is about "Learning" (i.e., how people learn).
• "Quality" Information and Knowledge:
  • Access (limited data sets)
  • Comprehend (makes sense of)
  • Incorporate (bring into the fold)

What is Personal Selling?

Personal selling is a personal (vs non-personal) form of communication or contact with prospective buyers for what you are offering in an effort to effect (to bring about) a sale (e.g., revenue generation through an exchange of value). Depending on the specific selling situation "effect a sale" can range from order-taking to order-making.

(1) Amateur or Professional? (2) Profession or Vocation? (3) Science or Art?

What is B2B? Business-to-Business; What is B2G? Business-to-Government; What is B2C? Business-to-Consumer

What is Trusted Facilitation?

By "Trusted" I mean that the prospective buyer trusts (See... "Know, Like, Trust, Respect, Confidence") the salesperson enough to allow him/her into his/her mental space where the sales professional and prospective buyer can engage in open, honest two-way communication. By "Facilitation" I mean that the salesperson through intelligent application of skills and knowledge facilitates or makes easier (See... "The Structure of Magic") the potential customer's progression, when necessary, through the decision making process (See... "Buying Process").

For this facilitation to take place the sales professional must know what the process looks like (recognition, evaluation, resolution, etc.), ascertain where the prospective buyer is within the process and facilitate the journey from where that potential buyer is to where he/she wants to be (i.e., need satisfaction).

As a "People-helper" you identify (See... "Getting Oriented") the prospect's situation (current state), find out where they want to be (desired state) and help them get there (e.g., expanding resources/ empower, decision making, solutions). A more generalized statement would be: Find out what people want (e.g., trying to accomplish) and help them get it or show them how to get it.

A more limited perspective of selling is accomplishing ("See... "Pursuit of a Desired Outcome") the steps (See... "Call Objective(s)") of a sales process (See... "Mechanics of Selling") which often includes: attention, interest, desire, conviction, action (See... "AIDCA"). A more enriched vision of a sales process includes: attitude/ state management, engage, elicit, leverage, commitment, and resistance/ change management. Have a question about sales or selling? Visit the Sales forum.

What is Sales Process?

A Sales Process (aka Selling Process) is a sequence of steps a salesperson prepares for and takes action on, if necessary, when engaged in selling. A salesperson needs to understand how the steps of the sales process relate to the prospect's problem solving and decision making process if he/she is to be effective in most selling environments. The following steps are identified in a traditional sales process: Preapproach, Approach, Interview, Presentation, Resistance, Negotiation, Closing, Follow-up What is preapproach? The preapproach involves pre-call planning (e.g., Sales Call Objective) and preparation - gather/analyze available relevant information (e.g., best method of approach, best time to call, company profile, competitive landscape) prior to calling on the prospect. ("Doing your homework") What is Approach? This is the opening phase when the salesperson meets, connects and engages the prospect's favorable attention and self-interest. Have a question about the approach step? Visit the Approach and Follow-up forum.

• Receptivity - It has been said that people tend to be the most receptive when they believe you have what they want or can help them get it.
• Open to suggestion (Ideas falling on fertile soil)
• Prepare the path for inquiry (See... "Rapport" and "Self-disclosure")
• See... "Prejudice"
• First impressions (shallow) - "He's not like that once you get to know him." (deep) - (See... "Expectations Unmet" - What is unreasonable?)(See... "Generosity", "Would you treat your own friends/family/neighbors like that?", "Attitude (e.g., talking down to others) behind the counter, "It makes sense in each of their (Seller/Buyer) realities", "Perception of poor customer service", "Customer Experience Provider (Company) - Customer Experience Manager (Staff)", and "Convenience-based Consumerism")
• Get involved (e.g., "Perspective Sharing") with the other person as soon as possible vs. standoffish manner (i.e., distant, cold, unfriendly)

What is sales discovery (and disqualification)? This phase focuses on the identification, clarification and understanding, often through questioning intended for exploration or discovery (explorative questioning), of the prospective buyer's real or imagined scenario (situation, problems, implications and needs; business and personal) and key variables (e.g., decision criteria, convincer strategy, protocol) by both the salesperson and the prospect (See... "Do I understand? Do they understand?"). When effective, such communications (and understanding) result in prospects (better understanding, trust and confidence) becoming more willing to receive or accept suggestions, ideas or changes that would help them better their position or move them closer to their desired outcome(s). Have a question about sales interviews? Visit the Sales Interview forum.

• Slow down, you move too fast: "Probing too deep/ too early in the process of getting to know the prospect" (See... "Truthful, Accurate and Complete Answers")(See... "Getting to Know You")
• Qualify/ Disqualify: Assessing potential buyers and their organizations based on Readiness to Buy, Willingness to Buy, and Ability to Buy (e.g., means and authority)
• Areas to Probe (e.g., decision-makers/influencers, current business practices and results achieved, unmet needs and expectations, goals/agendas, decision processes/protocols, competition/loyalties)
• Probable interests/problems/opportunities (e.g., cash flow, market share, profit (ROI), costs, productivity) vs. Unique/Specific
• See... "What conditions must be met for us to do business?"
• Situation Awareness (If the situation changes s/he may no longer need the solution)
• Values (See... "Need, Want and Like/Nice to have")
• Criteria
• Customer-experience Expectations
• See... "Progressive Profiling"
• Elicit Responses: Explicit (self-reported data), Implicit (behavioral data)
• Line of resistance: "Anything you say, can and will be used against you"
• Repertoire of sales questions (Examples Below)
  • What is your new "X" going to be like?
  • What are you buying today? vs. What are you looking for?
  • What do you want in a "X"?
  • What would having that do for you?
  • What features are most important to you?
  • How will you decide which "X" is the one for you?
  • What types of things are you considering when making this decision?
  • What are the things you like and dislike in the other "X" that you have seen?
  • See additional sales questions in "Sales Scripts"
• Transition to Presentation (See... "Needs Summary" and "The Recommendation")

What is a Sales Presentation? For many salespeople the objective of this phase is effectively communicating (i.e., message sent is message received) a well-formed outcome (e.g., vision, suggestion) that once accepted causes (motive: causing or able to cause motion) somebody (oneself or another) to either accept, approve or adopt certain thoughts, feelings or actions (See... persuade/ induce, guided thinking, and talked into X) by skillfully relating the most important (vs. less important) benefits (perceived as benefits to the prospect) (utilizing features and advantages in a supportive role when appropriate) of a suggestion/proposition (e.g., "Offering them a plan of what you want them to do.") to the prospect's perceived needs in a way (e.g., representational system, meta-model) that "makes sense" to them (See... "Meaningful to the Individual" and "Respecting the prospect's models of the world"). Have a question about sales presentations? Visit the Sales Presentation forum.

• The Sales Talk:
  • Buying Needs/Motives: appeals to motives (plural) - Practical (rational) and Psychological (emotional) - (See... "Pride, Profit, Pain, Pleasure")
  • Motivation - compelling reason(s) to buy
  • What's in it for me? Connect the Dots: How does this relate to my primary concern(s) (See... "Prioritized: Most important/Less important Needs" and "Hierarchy of Needs")
  • Key (See... "Priority and Relevance") Features, Advantages, Benefits vs. "Information Dump"
  • Competitive Options
  • Total Value Bundle (what they get in return)
  • Selling Points (See... "Mini-presentations")
  • Progression of Consent
  • Presenters of Products
  • See... "Benefits Summary" and "Pile on the Benefits"
• Presentation Skills (See... "Skilled in the presentation of goods")
  • Know your outcome: What message do you want to convey? (e.g., solve problem, exploit opportunity, satisfy wants and needs)
  • Suspend critical thinking
  • The power of Suggestion
    • Raising negative points
    • Suggestions of Cause and Effect (linkage systems)
    • Either-or Choices
    • Adverb and Adjective Presuppositions
  • Projections (involvement/VAKOG code) - mentally experiencing a situation
  • Metaphors - Analogies, Parables and Stories (Easier to remember "vivid images" than factual statements)
  • Customer Involvement
  • Generating Agreement (tie-ups, tie-downs, tie-backs)
  • See... "Behavior Strategies and Sequences"
• Believability
  • Convincer Strategy
  • See... "Rapport, Values and Beliefs"
  • Authority/Prestige Factor
  • Evidence/proof/assurance/validate claims:
    • Remind the customer of his or her own referents/experiences which validate the claim.
    • Live demonstration of product in use doing what you say it can do
    • People/Social Proof: Testimonials and Endorsements (See... "Peer Validation", "Consider the Source" and "Who else says so?"), Success stories of satisfied and relevant (e.g., similar, known) customers benefiting from its use (See... "Case studies)
    • Proof in Print: Signs, articles, news stories, customer lists (See... "Proof Books")

What is Resistance? Disclosed and/or undisclosed biases, prejudices, questions, concerns, doubts, fears and/or obstacles in the mind of the prospect which can manifest in the form of rejection, objections (stated), silent objections (unstated), excuses (not the real objection), stalls/procrastination (will not decide quickly) and/or indecision (cannot decide quickly) (See... "Risk Management", "Change Management", and "Resistance to Change"). Have a question about sales Resistance? Visit the Resistance and Negotiation forum.

• Common factors leading to resistance:
  • Lack of information
  • Misinformation (See... "Rumor Mill")
  • Misunderstanding
  • Legitimate concerns and obstacles
    • "Common areas of concern"
    • "Counter-suggestions"
    • "Wanting without buying"
  • Conflicting Values, Goals or Trade-offs (See... "Difficulty making a decision - kid in a candy store")
• Common "Lines" of resistance: (See... "Common areas of concern")
  • "Times are hard"
  • "We can get it for less"
  • "Your price is too high"
  • "We cannot afford it"
  • "We want to shop around"
  • "We want to think about it"
  • "Send me some literature"
  • "We are not in a hurry"
  • "We are not ready"
  • "We plan to wait until..."
  • "Call back in a few months"
  • "I will let you know when I am ready"
  • "We want to wait and see how the current initiative works out"
  • "We can do this ourselves"
  • "We had a bad experience with your company"
  • "We tried that before and it did not work"
  • "Your company is too...
  • "We are satisfied with our current...
  • "We have a friend in the business"
  • "We are interviewing several other..."
  • "I need to talk with...
• Handling resistance: Pre-empt, Respond, Postpone, Ignore
• Patterns of responding to resistance (e.g., Acknowledge, Clarify Meaning, Address)
• Sales Scripts

What is Change Management?

An approach to managing the change involved with shifting from a current state to a desired future state (e.g., the next level)

What is Negotiation?

Communication aimed at reaching agreement or a meeting of the minds regarding the structure (e.g., price, delivery, warranty) of a transaction. What is Closing? The "Close" is the moment in a sales call when the salesperson implies, invites or confirms a commitment to act (e.g., Assumptive close, Trial close, Direct Close: Asking for the Order - See additional examples of sales closes in "Sales Scripts") whereas "Closing the Sale" is bringing a prospect to the conclusion to buy. In that context closing is not an event but a progression of consent (See... "Helping People Make Decisions"). Have questions about closing? Visit the Closing the Sale forum. What is Follow-up? Any subsequent contact intended to further a dialogue, sale, and/or customer satisfaction is considered Follow-up (See... "Delivery, Implementation and Customer Questions") and/or a relationship (See... "Keep in Touch").

• The importance of follow-up
• Demonstrating care and concern for your customer's needs and satisfaction.
• Why people do not follow up (prospecting and/or after-the-sale)

Quick Notes:

• Call evaluation: Where is/was the prospect in the buying process? What objectives were achieved? What could be improved?
• Sales Plan, Sales Strategy, Sales Techniques and Sales Tips - What's the difference?
• Sales Representative or Sales Consultant - What's the difference?
• Sales process aligns with (tracks) the purchase decision process
• Master Salesmanship defined: Master (be or become completely proficient or skilled in) Salesmanship (The skills and knowledge of how to sell). Master Salesmanship, often referred to as Mastery in Selling, requires proficiency in the principles of prospecting and the principles of selling collectively known as the principles of salesmanship.
• During prime selling hours (aka Golden Hours) a salesperson's time and effort is best spent (highest and best use) focused on the pursuit of Income Producing Activities: 1.) Prospecting 2.) Selling 3.) Furthering a Sale. When thinking about and generating ideas on how to increase sales these three areas are a logical starting point.

Sales Leads

A Sales Lead (aka Lead or Unqualified Lead) is the identification (e.g., contact information) of a reachable (See... "Available for Contact" and "Accessibility") individual or organization (See... "The other person; behind every sale is a person") that might be a prospect for what you offer for sale.

Prospect

A Prospect (aka Qualified Lead, Potential Buyer or Sales Opportunity) is a sales lead which after evaluation against predetermined set of qualifying criteria (i.e., minimum standards and behavioral factors) is determined to have or shows the potential to become an immediate customer or develop into a future customer for what you offer for sale. (See... "Qualified-Serious", "Is this worth pursuing?" and "Lead Nurturing") Examples of predetermined qualifying criteria:

• Need or Want (active or latent)
• Readiness to buy (e.g., defined time frame, defined criteria and decision process)
• Willingness (See... "Volition") to undergo a change (e.g., tolerate consequences of action) to existing state of affairs - things as they are (Status Quo)
• Ability (i.e., means, authority, legal capacity)
• Do you want them as a client? (Potential or Problem Child?) ("Assessing potential buyers and their organizations")
• The Importance of Qualifying, proven qualifying criteria and effective qualifying questions.

What is Sales Prospecting?

"Sales Prospecting" is the process of actively seeking, finding and getting before (See... "Favorable Audience") qualified potential buyers (prospects) for what you are offering (i.e., Product, Service, Experience, Idea). (See... "Finding Someone to Sell To" and "Resourceful Patterns of Thought about Prospecting")

The Importance of Prospecting

Why is prospecting important? Decreasing sales volume due to customer attrition (e.g., lost to competition, changes in buying behaviors, purchasing agent turnover) and increasing sales volume via selling to more prospects (See... "Extensive Selling") makes it necessary to seek and find new buyers which requires a continual supply of prospects and leads. This is best achieved through continuous pursuit (See... "Avoiding the peaks and valleys") and consistent application of a definite, actionable and systematic prospecting plan ("Failing to plan is planning to fail").

What do you sell?

A clear understanding of your product/service, its applications/uses, and its relation to human needs/economic wants (See... "Benefit Selling" and "What's In It For Them?") gives you insight into logical prospects.

Most Profitable Customers

Who are your most profitable customers? Work smarter not harder by focusing your prospecting efforts on the very best prospects for what you offer, those who match your ideal customer profile which is developed with your most profitable customers in mind. (See... "Target Market") (Recreational Shopper vs. Serious Buyer: Who would you rather work with?). You are more likely to find your "ideal prospects" and/or high probability prospects when you have a clear mental image of who you are looking for. There are numerous sources of leads and prospects to include:

• Prospect Lists (See... "Selection Criteria" and "Ideal Customer Profile")
  • List Brokers (e.g., Hoovers)
  • Membership/subscribers (e.g., periodicals, clubs, organizations, associations, occupations)
  • Public Records (e.g. property tax records, licenses or permits)
  • Directories (e.g., telephone, business, criss-cross, geographical)
    • White Pages, Polk's City Directories, Cole Directory, D&B, Thomas Registry
• Bird-dogs
• Company Files (See... "Itch Cycle" and "Orphaned Customers")
• Endless chain - everyone you meet is a potential source of leads and/or prospects
• Referral - paves the way (See... "Favorable light", "Conditions conducive to buying", and "Respectful audience") for the call (See... "Securing an interview") with a proper "build-up" (See... "Having someone else blow your horn") and "introduction" (business card, telephone call, personal introduction, or letter of introduction) to the person(s) to whom you are referred or recommended (See... "High calibre prospects").
  • Solicited (See... "Help them help you")
    • Specific: Names of the person(s) to whom you wish to be referred, the proposition to be presented, and the build-up requested
    • General: (See... "Ideal Customer Profile")
  • Unsolicited
  • Friends, relatives, associates, and satisfied customers (past/present)
• Center of influence - Someone of influence (See... "Authority, Power, or Importance", "Prestige", and "Who You Know") in the community willing to refer people he/she knows to his/her friend in the business, you!
  • Financial (e.g., employers, bankers)
  • Social (e.g., board and committee members: hospitals, schools, charities, social organizations)
  • Political (e.g., congressman, senator, mayor, city council members, city officers)
  • Religious (e.g., clergy, church elders or trustees, club or auxiliary leaders)
• Business Networking (See... "Mix, mingle and meet")
  • Opportunities ("Anywhere People Gather")
  • Events (e.g., Speed Networking, Chamber Mixers)
  • Organizations (e.g., BNI, LeTip International)
  • Groups - Leads Club or Lead Sharing (e.g., Breakfast Club)
• Personal observation (See... "Prospecting Awareness" and "A Trained Eye along with a Nose for Prospects")
• Change of circumstance (e.g., weddings, births, promotions, relocations, expansions, legislation)
• Cold canvassing (e.g., door-to-door solicitation) - Systematic coverage of a territory (See... "Cold Calling Closing Ratios")
• Cold calling or Telephone prospecting or Outbound telemarketing
• Inbound telemarketing (See... "Direct Response Marketing Leads")
• Leads from advertising:
  • Broadcast (e.g., television, radio)
  • Print (e.g., magazines, newspapers, mailers)
  • Out-of-home (e.g., billboard, street furniture, transit)
  • Digital Media (e.g., cell phones, videos, e-books)
• Group prospecting (e.g., party plan, seminars)
• Trade Fair (trade show, expo, trade exhibition)
• Expert Positioning - Articles and Interviews (trade magazines, journals, newspapers, authority websites) - Conferences, Conventions, Webinars and Speaking engagements

Quick Notes:

• Marketing Representative or Marketing Consultant - What's the difference?
• Frame: Abundance vs. Scarcity
• What is call reluctance?
• Low Hanging Fruit
• Sales Territory Management (See... "Efficient Coverage" and "Records: Complete, Accurate and Accessible")
• Sales (i.e., revenue generation) is a qualified numbers game; the more (quantity) qualified (quality) potential buyers you become professionally (intelligent use of skills and knowledge) involved with (trusted facilitation) the more likelihood of sales occurring.
• Strategy: Identify existing hungry (underserved) markets that you "want" to serve (clientele, scenario, and product/service) which are economically viable (See... how large is your market really? and "word of mouth" opportunities).
• See the people: All else being equal, the salesperson who goes on more sales calls will close more sales.
• Factor prospecting time into your daily plans; prospecting is a priority and should be treated as such
• Regardless of where sales opportunities come from salespeople are advised to be aware of the "lag time" involved with prospecting ("Dig the well before you are thirsty." -Chinese Proverb)
• Marketing Plan, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Techniques and Marketing Tips - What's the difference?

Target Market

A target market is a specific group of individuals, firms or organizations sharing common characteristics (i.e., demographics, psychographics) (e.g., high value customer segment) that a company decides to serve and direct its marketing efforts. (See... "Niche Marketing" and "Target Audience - Intended Audience")

Lead Generation

Generating quality (See... "Lead Scoring") sales leads within your target market. (See... "Lead Capture Strategies")

Needs

Human Needs (Manfred Max-Neef: subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, participation, leisure, creation, identity and freedom) (See... "The Need behind the Want") (See..."Homeostasis" and "Getting Back to Good")

Wants

Economic Wants are essentially a "Means to an end" (i.e, "Needs Satisaction) (See... "What will that do for you?" and "Not money/currency but what that represents/means in terms of Needs Satisfaction") - Examples of Economic Wants include:

• Social: relationships, interaction, volunteering, networking, etc.
• Communication: phone, video, print, Internet, etc.
• Transportation: personal, public, etc.
• Education: training and development
• Food: agriculture, prepared foods, groceries
• Shelter: real estate, hotel/motel, rentals, home and garden
• Clothing: fashion, retail
• Health: fitness, well-being, medical, sleep, hygiene, diet, exercise, breathing, food and water
• Money: make (income, employment), keep (savings), grow (investment), borrow (credit)
• Entertainment: sports, travel, music, motion pictures, video, theatre, events, museums, television
• Safety: insurance, security

The following quote from Why People Buy (1987) by John O'Shaughnessy is a key understanding the role of Economic Wants in consumer purchases: We begin with the premise that all people have a vision of the good life that manifests itself in a set of goals toward which consumers consciously or unconsciously strive. Such goals find part of their expression in a demand for products that contribute to the good life or the preferred life vision.

Offering

A company's "Offering" is the mixture or blend of Products, Services, Experiences, and/or Ideas (What is being offered?) the company offers to a target market as a way to satisfy that market's wants and underlying needs.

Marketing Mix

What is a Marketing Mix? The controllable elements/strategies (i.e., Product, Price, Place, Promotion) of a marketing program designed, executed, and managed with the objective of satisfying customer needs (See... wants, demands, and requirements) while building lasting (customer loyalty)("Promise of Value" brings them while "Experience of Satisfaction" keeps them coming back) and profitable (equitable exchange of value) customer relationships, typically in a well-defined target market. Elements of a "Marketing Mix" include:

1. Product
2. Price
3. Place (Make available for use or consumption) (Distribution Channel)
4. Promotion (Communication between Seller and Buyer intended to Inform and/or Influence)(Promotion Mix)

   • Advertising?

     What is advertising? A non-personal form of promotion designed to inform, persuade or remind previous/ existing/ potential clients about a service, product, brand, or company. Advertising topics include broadcast (television, radio, movies), print (magazines, newspapers), and out-of-home (billboard, street furniture, transit). Branding topics include slogans, names, designs, etc.

   • Sales Promotion?

     What is sales promotion? Promotional methods using short-term techniques designed to persuade members of the target market to respond or undertake certain activity. Consumer sales promotions include coupons, rebates, promotional pricing, trade-in, loyalty programs, sampling and free trials, free product, premiums, demonstrations, personal appearances, contests and sweepstakes. Trade sales promotions include point-of-purchase displays, advertising support programs, short term allowances, sales incentives or push money, promotional products and trade shows.

   • Public Relations?

     What is public relations? Public relations (PR) involves the cultivation of favorable relations between an organization and its audience. Goals include awareness, education, stimulating demand and brand reinforcement. Topics include media relations, media tours, special events, speaking engagements, sponsorships and community relations. Publicity is non-paid, non-personal communication used in public relations efforts.

   • Personal Selling?

     See... "What is Personal Selling?" (Part One/Section 1)

What is Copywriting?

The process of writing sales and marketing related materials. It may be used as plain text, as a radio or television advertisement, or in a variety of other media. Have questions about Copywriting?

What is Direct Marketing?

A direct communication designed to generate a response in the form of an order, a request for further information, or a visit to a store or other place of business. Direct Marketing topics include direct response, direct mail, telemarketing, etc.

What is Networking?

Connecting with people of like interests for the purpose of uncovering opportunities, building relationships and learning of best practices. Have questions about Networking? Visit the Networking and Referrals forum.

What are Referrals?

Suggestion and/or recommendations about individuals and/or companies from sources including satisfied customers, friends, family, acquaintances and/or centers of influence.

What is Cold Calling?

Unsolicited calls (telephone) or visits (in-person) by sales representatives to potential customers. Visit the Cold Calling and Telemarketing forums.

For general marketing questions in addition to discussions on the various aspects of marketing including the Four P's: Product, Price, Place and Promotion visit the Marketing forum.

Visit the Internet and Technology forum - Websites, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media, PPC and general Internet and/or technology (e.g., sales technology, sales tools) questions and discussions that don't fit into other categories.

• Effective communication is shared meaning and understanding of ideas, thoughts and feelings between Sender and Receiver (See.. "Speak, Listen, Observe") (See... "Message sent is message received") (See... "The burden of effective communication is on the person who wants to get the message across")
• Communication Process Loop
  • Sender
  • Message (See... "Words and Phrases, Syntax, Voice and Body Language")
  • Receiver: Receives, Translates (Makes Sense of it All) and Assigns Meaning - (See... "That's not what I meant")
  • Feedback: Verbal/ Non-verbal, Internal/ External
• See... "Talk with respect, listen for understanding, get along with others, and speak so others can understand."
• See... "People Skills: (1) Getting along/ working well with others and (2) communicating thoughts and ideas effectively meaning without misunderstanding and confusion."
• See... "You are less likely to misunderstand them and they are less likely to misunderstand you"

• See... "Sensory-specific language" and "Inflection"
• Convey information clearly and simply. Common obstacles listed below:
  • Mixed messages: Incongruence between verbal and non-verbal communication
  • Too much information and/or message length too long
  • Too many topics
  • Abstract vs. concrete
  • Message presented in a disorganized manner
  • Message contains errors
• Indirect Elicitation Patterns
  • Embedded Questions
  • Embedded Commands
  • Negative Commands
  • Analogue Marking
  • Conversational Postulates
  • Ambiguities: Phonological, Syntactic, Scope, Punctuation
• Presuppositions
  • Subordinate clauses of time
  • Ordinal numerals
  • Use of "Or"
  • Awareness predicates
  • Change of time verbs and adverbs
  • Commentary adjectives and adverbs

Listening (Not to be confused with "Hearing")("Seek first to understand... then to be understood." -Stephen Covey)

• Attentive - Attend to (observe) both the verbal and non-verbal communication. (See... "Paying with Attention") (See... "Facts, Feelings and Non-verbal Cues")
• Listening apart from our own mental filters (See... "Put yourself in their shoes/ model of the world.")
• See... "Surface Structure vs. Deep Structure" and "Reading between the lines"
• What is missing? What does not belong here?
• Context (e.g., environment, discourse, attitude, culture) (See... "What's the situation?")
• Feedback (e.g., appropriate responses, verifying your understanding, acknowledge what he/she is saying) without making judgments
• Common response: Evaluating, Probing, Advising, Interpreting
• Common obstacles/barriers to effective communication:
  • Lack of interest (I do not want to talk -> about this -> right now -> with you)
  • Lack of common referents (e.g., experiences, emotions)
  • Negative attitude towards the sender or the information
  • Negative state of mind (e.g., fear, mistrust)
  • Rushing the talker (See... "Spit it out already" and "Impatience")
  • Interrupting
  • Presuming to know what he/she is going to say next
  • Distracted-internal (e.g., thinking about what you are going to say next, thinking about something you need to get done)
  • Distracted-external (e.g., environment, noise)
  • Interference (e.g., poor phone connection, not physically hearing what was said)

The Meta Model (recover deleted information, challenge linguistic distortion, clarify generalizations in a speaker's language)

• Incomplete/incorrect information leads to erroneous conclusions (See... "Information Search")
  • See... "You don't understand" and "That's not what I meant"
  • Misunderstandings can lead to frustration and hurt feelings.
  • See... "Poor communication can waste time and energy and cause conflict between people."
  • Flexibility: Adjusting communication to the situations and the individuals

• Self-disclosure: Open self, Blind self, Unknown self, Hidden self
• See... "How close are you?" and "Got to get connected"
• See... "Confidence Man" and "Human Interaction"
• Frustration - Not having the skill to cope with situation, question, thinking pattern, etc.
• Interpersonal Needs (Expressed/Wanted): Inclusion, Control, Affection
• Rapport (Building/Maintaining/Breaking) (See... "Get in Step/Alignment")
  • Verbal/Non-Verbal (See... "What you say and How you say it"), Conscious/Unconscious (e.g., Presuppositions)
  • Implication: Acknowledging, Understanding, Accepting, Liking, Respecting, and Trusting
  • Trust (See... "Truth, Reliability, and No Harm"), Respect, and Credibility (See... Do they want to work with/ do business with "you"?)
  • Respecting and joining them in their model of the world - Pacing (without Mimicking) of patterns on a number of levels (i.e., multi-dimensional) - (See... "Blend - Invite no resistance.")
  • Pacing: Levels (i.e., ideas, beliefs, behaviors):
    • Emotional (e.g., mood)
    • Agreement (e.g., undeniable truths)
    • Body Language (e.g., body posture, gestures, facial expressions, eye movements)
    • Breathing
    • Voice (e.g., tone, tempo, volume)
    • Language (e.g., words [sensory/ unspecified/occupation related] and phrases)
    • Values and Beliefs
    • Cultural
    • Content (See... "Parrot Phrasing instead of Paraphrasing")

• Behavior: Understanding where people are coming from (e.g., Perspective Taking)
  • Defensiveness (See... "Stress, Conflict and Anxiety") - Coping Mechanisms: repression, rationalization, projection, reaction formation, displacement, identification, regression, fantasy formation, intellectualization/isolation, denial, sublimation
• Conversationally Speaking
  • Topics to avoid: Sex, Politics, Religion
  • Don't Criticize, Condemn, Complain or Attack Beliefs (See... "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie)
  • Avoid the word "But"
  • Avoid arguments
  • Allow/help the other person "save face"
• Personality Characteristics:
  • Enthusiasm
  • Self-control
  • Self-motivated
  • Industrious
  • Confidence
  • Reliable
  • Personable
  • Acumen

Decision Making - A typical customer buying decision process (See... "Deciding before Buying") includes such conceptual steps as:

1. Unaware (i.e., not aware or informed)
2. Aware (Tension: Attention, Interest and Problem Recognition)
   • Top of mind awareness / Reminded / Brought to my attention
   • Knowledge or perception of a difference (gap) between current state and the belief of how things should be (expected state) or could be (desirable future state)
   • "Implications" and "Model Drift"
   • Trigger Event - Causation
   • (*) Wrapping his/her head around a problem:
     • What am I looking at? (recognition of a need/problem)
     • Do I accept this as valid? Do we have a problem? (acknowledgment)
     • What is the impact? (size and scope)
     • Does this warrant further thought and/or action? (relevance and importance)
     • How do we fix this? What is involved? How much will that cost? (vision: fuzzy/clear)
     • Is this something we can do ourselves or will we need outside help? (internal/external resources)
     • Does this need to be addressed now? (urgency)
3. Disturbed (Tension: Dissatisfaction)
   • Desire or willingness to do something about it (Motivation)
   • See... "Model Crisis" and "Need Payoff"
   • State of Mind
   • Self-interest: Survive and Thrive (e.g., maintaining or bettering a believed position)
     • See... Volitional Meta-programs (Sorting Patterns): Approach/Avoid
       • Avoid: Pain, Loss, and Suffering (e.g., getting back to good)
       • Seek: Pleasure, Gain, and Enjoyment (e.g., making full use of and deriving benefit from an opportunity)
   • People wish to be settled. Only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
   • Tension/ sense of dissatisfaction resulting from recognition of unsatisfied needs
   • Sufficient motivation to commit resources (e.g., time, money, effort/hassle, status, health, comfort) (See... "Leverage Point, Threshold and the Decision to Act Now" and "Enough is Enough")
4. Information Search - (Uncertainty: Search)
   • See..."Self-education, Initial Research and Consideration"
   • Actively searching for options/choices, solutions, etc. - "What are my options?"
   • See... "Information Overload"
   • "Is this even possible?
   • Looking for recommendations (are, are not)
   • Internal Search (e.g., past experience or memories)
   • External Search (e.g., personal sources or public sources)
   • GIGO: "Garbage In" often leads to erroneous conclusions leading to faulty outcomes or "Garbage Out".
     • Operating from incomplete and/or incorrect information (e.g., data quality, assumptions, perceptions, etc.)
     • Data without skilled interpretation and guidance
     • Where are you getting your information? Where is this coming from?
5. Alternative Evaluation - (Uncertainty: Evaluate)
   • Which is my best option?
   • Well-formed outcome (vivid mental image): What do you want?
   • Presupposition: People choices reflect what they perceive to be the best choice given the situation and perceived options (limited data set) available to them at the time.
   • See... "Why People Buy" (1987) by John O'Shaughnessy
     • "Buying without Deciding"
       • habit
       • picking
       • subjective liking
     • "Deciding before Buying" - Choice Criteria
       • Use Functions
         • Technical (Core use, Ancillary use, Convenience-in-use)
         • Legalistic (Government, Obligation to others)
       • Generated Functions
         • Integrative (Convention, Fashion, Fad, Status, Power/Ego enhancement, Integrity)
         • Economic (Money, Time, Effort)
         • Adaptive (Imitative, Advice, Reputation, Sample, Comparison shopping, Warranties/guarantees)
     • "Wanting without Buying"
       • Latent Want (Unaware of connection between product functions and goal, unsure of best way to express goals via product purchases)
       • Passive Want (Inhibitions: price, false beliefs, doubts about product benefits, social attitudes toward product)
       • Exclusionary Reasons (Authority based, Promise based, Enabling conditions lacking)
   • Desire
     • Emotional Want
     • Inspiring Vision
     • Logic Reasons (primary/supportive role)
     • "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
   • Risk Management
     • Upside gain vs. downside risk
     • "I can't think of any reason not to ..."
     • "What could go wrong?
     • Common areas of concern:
       • Provider (i.e., Company or salesperson)
       • Product (i.e., Goods and services: Will this do the job? Will this satisfy our needs?)
       • Priority (e.g., Do I need this now?)
       • Peers (e.g., What affect will this have on/with others?)
       • Price (e.g., Expectations, budget, alternatives, do-it-yourself, competition, discount)
       • Need (e.g., Do I need this? Is this justified?)
       • Change (e.g., Will it be worth the cost/hassle?)
       • Decision (e.g., Am I acting responsibly?)
6. Volition - Choose (Choice), Decide (Resolve) and Commit ("Pulling the Trigger") to a particular course of action.
   • Will I Buy? ("To Buy or Not to Buy") ("Sale/ No Sale")
   • What and Where Will I Buy?
   • When Will I Buy?
   • Intention
   • See... "Helping People Make Decisions" and "Change Management"
   • There are some things (e.g., issues) to work out first, apart from the want/need (See... "Change Management" and "Behind the Scenes")
   • "All systems go, you are clear for launch!"
7. Action (i.e., Take the next step)
8. Post-purchase Behavior - Evaluation based on whether a product or services (delivery, installation, etc.) meets or exceeds a customer's value and satisfaction expectations (See... "What did you expect?" and "Reevaluating Prior Decisions").

Influences

(e.g., social, cultural)

Biases

(e.g., loss aversion, status quo, decoy effect) (See... "Perceptual Distortion, Inaccurate Judgment, or Illogical Interpretation")

Influence: Science and Practice

by Robert B. Cialdini

1. RECIPROCATION - "The Old Give and Take--and Take"
2. COMMITMENT AND CONSISTENCY - "Hobgoblins of the Mind"
3. SOCIAL PROOF - "Truths Are Us"
4. LIKING: "The Friendly Thief"
5. AUTHORITY: "Directed Deference"
6. SCARCITY: "The Rule of the Few"

• "What is learning?" and "How do people learn something?"
• "What is "Mastery?"
• "Super Learning"
• "Implemented and Habituated"
• Initial field training
• "Effective Practice: Physically Relaxed, Mentally Aware, and Vivid Imagery"
• Habituated: Programmed - The chosen "thought impulse" becomes incorporated into self, recedes into subconscious awareness, and is acted upon As-If naturally occurring. The programmed "want" becomes a natural longing that consciously and subconsciously drives behavior.
• Training Techniques
• Four stages of learning:
  • Unconscious incompetence
  • Conscious incompetence
  • Conscious competence
  • Unconscious competence
• Training the Trainer
• Techniques, Principles and Theories
• Self-teaching and self-directed learning.
  • "I will figure it out on my own" vs seeking instruction and guidance from others perceived as in the know (Inside Scoop).
  • What do you hope to gain from figuring it out on your own?
  • How long will it take you to discover and develop it (figure it out) on your own?
  • Are you reinventing the wheel? What is the advantage of doing this if the information/program is already available?
  • What are the costs and consequences to yourself, your family, your finances, etc. of taking this route to learning - trying to figure it out on your own?
  • What are the costs and consequences of taking a more effective route to learning?
  • What happens if you don't figure it out on your own?
  • As you try to figure this out on your own how do you ensure that gain access to complete and accurate data?
  • Do you have the knowledge and experience to effectively interpret the data you do find?

NLP - Neuro Linguistic Programming

Modeling - The Study of Excellence

Mindful Pursuit - Successful salespeople tend to be outcome centric meaning they know what they want and consistently identify and take action on what changes need to occur in order to achieve their desired outcome(s).

• "Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass." --Paul J. Meyer
• "You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration." --James Allen
• "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal."--Earl Nightingale

(*) Strategy (outcomes -> actions -> feelings -> thoughts): Which outcomes do you seek? Which actions (e.g., sales activities) yield the desired outcomes? Which feelings yield the desired actions? Which thoughts yield the desired feelings? - Make these thoughts the focus of attention. (See... "What are you selling?" and "Self-motivation")

Awareness

• "Autosuggestion" (See... "Morning/Daily Thought Routine", "Loading thoughts into awareness" and "Brought it to your Mind")
• "Belief", "Decision" and "Personal Responsibility"
• Fill your mind; mind-full
• Hold that Thought (e.g., "Happy Thought") until you experience the "Feeling".
• "Dwelling in the right direction"
• Head in the game.
• "Keep your mind on what you want and off what you don't want" - Napoleon Hill.
• "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal." - Vince Lombardi
• "Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than material force, that thoughts rule the world." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Action Plan

• "Specialized Knowledge" and "Organized Planning" (See... "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill)
• What to do (actionable items) and How to do it (skills)
• Common Mistake: "I'll figure it out on my own"
• Plan of action: From the perceptual position of an observer (Think "Coach")
• Can you see yourself doing that? Is that like you?
• "Mastermind Alliance" (See... "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill)
• "Modeling Excellence" (See... "NLP")
• "Warriors take chances like everyone else, they fear failing, but they refuse to let fear control them." --Ancient Samurai Saying
• Action Pattern: realize a goal, roll up your sleeves and apply yourself.
• Not taking a shot is worse than failing because you did not try to succeed.
• Your actions today are the bridge to tomorrow's outcomes - "As you reap so shall you sow"
• What have you done up until now, what can you do today, and what will you do tomorrow that brings you closer to making your desired outcome a reality?

Action

Application of information, skills, etc. to the area(s) of focus (e.g., task at hand) - Executing a plan of action (program, game plan, etc.)

• See... "Future Pacing"
• "Persistence" (See... "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill)
• As consistent and persistent as required
• Leverage time and efforts
• What if you could not stop... you had to continue due to circumstances?
• Completing (quantity/quality) the activities needed to reach your desired outcome (See... "Daily Actions").
• See... "Running down a dream" and "Chase what matters"

Feedback

Feedback Loop: Actions noticed and evaluated/re-evaluated against the criteria of whether or not they bring you closer or take you farther from the desired outcome. (See... "Raising/lowering of Thresholds" and "Sound the Alarms")(See... "T.O.T.E.: Test-Operate-Test-Exit")

• Evidence (See... "Sensory Acuity" and "Cues")
  • Measure your progress (See... "Small Rewards")
• Relevance
• Consequence/ Implications
• Action
  • Flexible: Make adjustments when necessary.

Congruency

(See... "Where to look when things are not going the way you want.")(See... "X are fully in agreement and oriented towards securing a desired outcome")

• Spiritual
• Identity (See... "Self-image" and "How you see yourself.")
• Beliefs
• Competencies (e.g., skills)
• Behaviors (e.g., actions)
• Environment

Desire (Feelings) - The "Want", The "Hunger", The "Thirst".

• Desire (See... "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill)
• Who wants it more?
  • "Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle... when the sun comes up, you'd better be running." - Anonymous
  • Results vs. Comfortable

Visualization

Imagination (See... "Think and Grow Rich" and "The Magic of Thinking Big")

What is it that you are striving to achieve/accomplish? What are you chasing down?

• See... Human Needs and Economic Wants
• "Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be." --Karen Ravn
• "Before you do anything, you must be crystal clear on what you're trying to achieve. If you aren't, you'll waste a lot of time wandering around until you figure it out. Once you know precisely what you're trying to accomplish, you will plainly see if all the craziness you engage in during the day is helping you get there." --Jason C Miller
• "Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll show you a man who will make history; show me a man without a goal and I'll show you a stock clerk." -J.C. Penney

Goals

(well-formed outcome)

• Positive: Stated in positives - What you want vs. what you do not want (See... "Negative Embedded Commands")
• Specific: What would that look like? Feel like? etc? (See... "Well-formed Thought in VAKOG code")
• Actionable: What you will do specifically that is within your control? (See... "Initiated and maintained by the individual")(See... "Personal Accountability")
• Measurable: Concrete criteria for measuring progress and completion - (Evidence: How will you know when you have achieved your outcome?)(See... "Testable in experience - sensory based")
• Personally Meaningful: Willing and able to work towards.
• Size (e.g., too large, too small)
• Resources: Adequate resources and choices needed are available.
• Timely: Time-frame; the deadline sets the pace.
• Realistic (See... "Highest scores possible for a routine are based on the start values for difficulty and execution" and "Million dollar payouts come from million dollar games")
• Ecology: What are the consequences of achieving this outcome? Areas potentially affected by this outcome include: family, social, financial, mental, emotional, professional

What is critical thinking?

"Belief Strategy" (e.g., internal/external, familiar/unfamiliar resources, rituals/protocols: two no's required) ("Why do you have to confirm with someone else, do you not believe me?")

• See... "The structure of subjectivity" and "Better Understanding, Communicating and Influencing"
• Two different accounts of the same event
• Where are you coming from?
• In what reality does that make sense?

Sensory stimuli (sights (V), sounds (A), textures (K), smells (O), tastes (G) - external or internal, real or imagined) perceived ("become aware of, know, or identify by means of the senses" - sensory input) by the senses (sensory receptors: eyes, ears, skin, nose, mouth) are modified (deleted, distorted, generalized) as they pass through perceptual filters (i.e. beliefs, states, experience, context) resulting in subjective "Sensory Re-presentations" (percepts) which are recorded in "Memory".

• Expressing Awareness: "Sensing Statements"
• Select (*What content to allow into our conscious awareness and what content to filter out of conscious awareness. - Sensory stimuli you notice)
  • Attention - (Selectively focusing your attention on something to the relative exclusion of everything else.) It has been suggested (George Miller) that the conscious awareness can attend to a maximum of 7 +/- 2 (seven plus or minus two) simultaneous representations at any one time (See... "Occupied Mind" and "Limited Data Set") and that we delete the rest which infers we must choose what information to attend to (See... "Managing Thought Streams" and "Controlling Content").
    • Information overload: over the limit; too much information in a given time period
    • Limiting factors: high interest/low interest, novelty, organized/unorganized, etc.
    • Expanding the limits: information chunking
  • Selection (Selective Perception) - people have a tendency to select information from a number of alternatives (limited data set in conscious awareness) which is considered relevant and/or meaningful.
    • Selective Exposure (e.g., choice of what to expose yourself to).
    • Selective Distortion (e.g., choice of what to believe).
    • Selective Retention/memory (e.g., choice of what to remember).

Perceptual Filters (See... "Selling is a transfer of perspective" and "H. Vaihinger, The Philosophy of As If") (Perception is filtered/biased)

• Expectation (Belief)
  • Beliefs (convictions/acceptances that certain things are true/untrue.)(presuppositions)
• Motivation (State)
  • States
    • Sum total of your Thinking (Mental) + Feeling (Emotional) + Physiology (Behavioral) experience at any given moment = State (e.g., motivated state, playful state) (Mind-body State of Consciousness)
    • Artificial (See... "From Rah-Rah back to Blah-Blah in 3 days or less") - Natural (See... "Keep the Change")
    • See... "Cues: What comes to mind? - Change the Meaning", "Hold that thought" and "The Habit: Get in/Get out"
    • Emotional States, Motivational States
    • "Skill: Moving, you and others, from Cold to Hot"
    • See... "Mindset" and "Attitude Set"
    • When the man is right the world is right.
    • State Dependency - Learning, memory, perception, communication, and behavior
      • What state would you have to experience for that thought/feeling/behavior to manifest?
    • State Management: Ability to get into and out of appropriate and resourceful or inappropriate and unresourceful States - What could you accomplish if you were up for it? - How would your life be different if you were in a more resourceful State? - What are the consequences (who and what is affected?) of being in an unresourceful state?
• Experience (Learning, Memory - Decisions, Meanings, Identifications, Understandings)
• Context
  • Meta-programming - (See... "Sorting Information") "Processes of 'mind' operating in various contexts" --L. Michael Hall and Bob G. Bodenhamer, "Figuring out People" (aka programs of attention, habits of thought, thinking styles, cognitive patterns, etc.)
    • Mental: general/specific, matching/mismatching, optimist/pessimist, etc.
    • Emotional: passive/aggressive/dissociated, active/reflective/inactive, etc.
    • Volitional: approach/avoid, stick-carrot, distrust/trust, etc.
    • Response (external): extrovert/introvert/ambivert, modeling/conceptualizing, etc.
    • Meta: strong willed/compliant, conditional/unconditional, time: in/through, etc.
  • Frames / Frames of frames (i.e., frame of reference, frame of mind, frameworks)
    • Values (Evaluation/Judgment: good/bad, right/wrong)(what you want-attractions/what you don't want-repulsions)(value hierarchy), Attitudes, Assumptions, Paradigms, Mental Models, Language (See... "Mind Lines")
    • See... "Setting the Bar: Self-image"
  • Games - (See... "Games People Play" and "Frames drive games") - Which "Games" are in play and do they support (enhance vs. undermine) you professionally and/or personally?
    • Games - "Peevishness", "If it weren't for people", "Complaint", "Stress", "Scarcity", "Unappreciated Genius", "Why do I have to go to work?", etc. (See... "Frame Games" by L. Michael Hall)
    • Rules, Structure, Roles, Payoff, Cues, Triggers ("Hook you into the game")

The Impact of Perceptual Filters: In matters of personal interest, people tend to experience (e.g., "feel") an inner sense of tension when a difference (gap) between the current state and a belief (i.e., perceptual filter) about how things should be (expected state) or could be (desirable future state) is perceived or recognized (discerned). The strength of the "feeling" is often directly related to the size and/or impact of the believed difference and personal consequences (See... "Emotional Investment").

Depending on the situation this can work for you or against you. For example, let's say that you have a belief that you should not have to cold call potential buyers but instead these potential buyers should be coming to you. With this type of perceptual filter in place it is likely that you will experience tension when making cold calls.

The bad news is that left unattended, these perceptual filters endure and will continue to wreak havoc in people's lives (yours, mine, everyone's). Many people try to fight the resulting behaviors (doing) through willpower (i.e., self-discipline, self-control) alone but more times than not that's a fool's errand. Even more bad news it that these perceptual filters for the most part work behind the scenes and are not readily apparent to the untrained eye which is often why they are not noticed or dealt with.

The good news is these perceptual filters are all in heads (mind of the perceiver) and we can do something about them. Even more good news is that by the same mechanism we can use these perceptual filters to empower us in every aspect of our lives. Thinking (Organize/ Process - "interpret/make sense of content allowed into our conscious awareness" - actively and pre-consciously)

• Expressing Awareness: "Interpretive Statements (thoughts, judgments, opinions, conclusion, evaluations, impressions, beliefs, etc.)"
• Interpret: identification (correct/incorrect), evaluation (judge/misjudge), and come to conclusion(accurate/inaccurate) - (what is going on... then behaving "as-if" it were true)
  • Meaning you make/give/assign: Change the meaning and everything else changes with it.
  • Motives
  • Attribution - cause and effect (internal/external, stable/unstable)
  • Intentions
  • Consequences (predict) - Foreseeing or inference of consequences and/or subsequent/future events.

• Expressing Awareness: "Feeling Statements"
• Affect (Emotional Response; mad, sad, glad, etc.)
  • See... "Emotion and Decisions", "Emotion vs Logic: 80% Emotional" and "Communicate a Vision - Transfer of Emotion"
  • See... "Attach good feelings to product/service/idea"
  • See... "Leverage - When enough is enough"

Wanting (Desires, Intentions, Needs, etc.)

• Expressing Awareness: "Motive Statements (wants, likes, preferences)"
• See... "Strength of Desire" - "How bad do you want it?"
• Wanton Buying State
• Internal drive/motivation

Doing (i.e., voice, body language, words, and actions)

• Expressing Awareness: "Action Statements"
• Behavior/responses believed suitable & proper (models of acceptable behavior) given the perceived situation.
• Model/Emulate (See "Blueprint for Selling", "Blueprint for Achievement", and "Self-image")
• Discipline - take action even when you do not "feel" like doing so.

Notes:

• Stimulus / Black Box / Response

Visit the Online Learning Experience and Blog pages below:

• Social Influence
• Approach and Follow-up: 2
• Resistance and Negotiation: 2
• Sales Interview: 2
• Online Training (e.g., adult education, continuing education, train the trainer, employment training, on the job training)
• Sales Jobs
• Customer Experience (e.g., customer service and satisfaction)
• Success (2)
• Business and Management (e.g., business training, talent management, sales compensation, business coaching, business planning, business education, business skills)(e.g., management skills, sales management, sales coaching, management education, management training, business management, key performance indicators) (2)
• Off Topic (2 3 4)
• Cold Calling: 2 3)
• Marketing: 2 3)
• Promotion: Promotion 2
• Internet and Technology: 2 3)
• Sales: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8)

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Reading List (Required and Supplemental):

• Bandler, Richard and Grinder, John, The Structure of Magic (Science and Behavior Books, 1975)
• Bandler, Richard and Grinder, John, Frogs into Princes (Real People Press, 1979)
• Carnegie, Dale, How to Win Friends and Influence People (Simon and Schuster, 1936)
• Cialdini, Robert B., Influence: Science and Practice (Longman Higher Education, 1988)
• Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, Flow (Harper Perennial, 1991)
• Futrell, Charles M., Fundamentals of Selling (McGraw-Hill/ Irwin, 2008)
• Gallwey, W. Timothy, The Inner Game of Tennis (Random House, 1974)
• Heller, Steven and Steele, Terry Lee, Monsters and Magical Sticks (Falcon Press, 1987)
• Hill, Napoleon, Think and Grow Rich (The Ralston Society, 1937)
• Kotler, Philip and Armstrong, Gary, Principles of Marketing (Prentice Hall, 2005)
• Leonard, George, Mastery (Plume, 1993)
• Marden, Orison Swett, The Miracle of Right Thought (T. Y. Crowell & Co., 1910)
• O'Shaughnessy, John, Why People Buy (Oxford University Press, 1978)
• Peale, Norman Vincent, The Power of Positive Thinking (Prentice-Hall, 1952)
• Rackham, Neil, SPIN Selling (McGraw-Hill, 1988)
• Rackham, Neil, Major Account Sales Strategy (McGraw-Hill, 1989)
• Skinner, B.F., The Origins of Cognitive Thought (American Psychologist, January 1989)
• Waitzkin, Josh, The Art of Learning (Free Press, 2007)
• Webster, Frederick and Wind, Yoram, Organizational Buying Behavior (Prentice-Hall, 1972)