Finding the Zen of closing a sale!

“It’s simply beyond words. It’s incalculacable.”  Michael Scott – The Office

Everyday, I listen to people’s problems over the phone and do my best to offer them a solution.  I’m in sales, and most days I really enjoy it. In sales, when the dust clears, you can either give results or excuses. I have always been great with excuses. I have a long never-ending list that has been tried, tested, and true since as long as I can remember. Simply stated, a good excuse at the right time can be a beautiful thing. However, recently I noticed a very positive change in my work life: I developed a desire to be the very best.

Any salesman or woman, has probably read a hundred different sales tips and strategies. So I am just going to give you one. The greatest truth in sales: “People buy for whose reasons, your reasons or their reasons? People buy for their reasons.” Simple right?

I remember the feeling of closing a fortune 100 company at first sales gig. I roared a loud triumphant cheer and felt the rush of self-actualization pass through me. Closing that sale felt fantastic, and as with all fantastic things, I wanted more right away. Now that initial rush has changed to more consistent and complete feeling that I carry with me throughout my workday. The simple feeling that I am good at something, I have the power to enjoy it, and it brings me joy to succeed at it. So here are my essential teachings on finding the Zen of closing a sale.

“Reverse psychology is an awesome tool, I don’t know if you guys know about it, but basically you can make someone think the opposite of what you believe, and that tricks them into doing something stupid. Works like a charm.”  Michael Scott – The Office

Celebrate each victory whether large or small.

The Costa Ricans have a beautiful saying called Pura Vida. The literal translation is “Pure life”, but the contextual meaning is “Full of life” or “Purified life”.  For me it’s the perfect sales philosophy to follow. “It embodies a philosophy in which communal ties are strong and close; difficulties are overcome with a resilient and happy spirit, where life is enjoyed leisurely and to the full, and where fortune of whatever size is heartily celebrated.” Tony Cousins. Take a moment to think about that philosophy and how it can pertain to both your work and life.
 

“I guess the atmosphere that I’ve tried to create here is that I’m a friend first and a boss second, and probably an entertainer third.” Michael Scott – The Office

Bring harmony to your work space and everyone around it.

I shared my first office with a close friend Eric. It was high above the city on the 17^th floor with a corner window overlooking the Art Gallery in downtown Vancouver. Each morning I would play a little Hemi-Sync music to help me get into a peaceful harmonious rhythm. Hemi-Sync is short for Hemispheric Synchronization, the technique synchronizes the two hemispheres of one’s brain, thereby creating a ‘frequency-following response’ designed to evoke altered states of consciousness through the use of sound. Similar to someone listening to the symphony of the rain wash away their tears, or the elevating beat of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons to lift their spirits. When you bring harmony into your tone of voice and complement it with a peaceful attitude, people will enjoy talking with you, and want to listen closely to what you‘re saying. Within a week, Eric was asking me to play this selection or that one, and had chosen a favourite. The following is a clip of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, I recommend playing it softly in the background as you continue reading. 

“Uh, yeah, I get a little frustrated when I’m dealing with incompetence. Well, you know what? You can go to hell and I will see you there. Burning. Fine. Oh, wait, so you’ll let me know when you’ve made a decision?”  Dwight Schrute – The Office

Control the ebb and flow of your conscious thoughts.

Be as passionate as you can without getting too emotionally involved. This can be one of the most difficult things in sales and life. Passion and enthusiasm are the driving force behind any great sales person. But be weary against becoming to emotionally involved, their is a very fine line between passion and the “greed of needing“. Remember that each “No” brings you one step closer to finding a “Yes” and closing a sale. Strive for the balance of understanding it’s the “No’s” that make the “Yes’s” feel great, and the “Yes’s” that make the “No’s” worth it. Find the balance and the big Moby Dick (Whale-not to be confused with a swinging rod) of sales will soon be yours.
 

Be at one with all the wonderful things about your job.

Motivational speaker and author Zig Ziglar talks about attitude, and how we’re often unaware of how many things we like about our job. The example he gives involves a bitter and unhappy women who approached him with what she thought was an impossible problem. When she walked up to meet him, he never saw more anger in a person in his entire life. She started crying right away, and said she has this horrible job that she hates, she hates everything about it, and she hates everyone who works there. She looked at him and asked: “Can you help me?” He looked at her firmly and said: “Your problem is about to get worse.” She replied: “What do you mean?” He said, “I believe they are going to fire you.” She was stunned, “Fire me, why would they to fire me?” Zig then explains, “have you ever noticed when someone is about to lose something they have been complaining about, it takes on brand new value.” She looked at him and asked, “ What can I do? He asked her to get out a piece of paper and write on the top, “I like my job because”. She replied, “that will be easy, I don’t like anything about my job or the people down there.” He asked her: “Do they pay you for working there?” “Yes, the pay me”, she replied. He responded, “Well do you like to be paid?” She said, “Yes I do”.  Zig: “Ok, that is one thing you like about your job.” In the end, she had 22 things she liked about her job: she was paid above average, she had a office, a parking spot, three weeks paid vacation, they paid to send her to conferences, and so on. He told her to go home and read it over in the mirror and change “I like my job” to “I love my job”. Zig believes “The healthiest of all human emotions is gratitude” Six weeks later he was back to do a follow up sales seminar and there she was sitting in the front row grinning so wide she could have eaten a banana sideways. He asked her how she was doing, and she replied, “I am doing wonderfully well. You will not believe how much those people at work have changed.” The moral of the story: “Your not going to change anyone else until you change you. “  

Your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated. Feel free to share any Sales or Zen related stories or information below.  Thanks

“What is the single most important thing for a company? Is it the building? Is it the stock? Is it the turnover? It’s the people. The *people*. My proudest moment here wasn’t when I increased profits by 17%, or cut expenditure without losing a single member of staff. No, no, no, no. It was a young Guatamalan guy, first job in the country, hardly spoke a word of English, but he came to me and he went “Mr. Scott, will you be the Godfather to my child?” Wow. *Wow.* Didn’t work out in the end. We had to let him go. He sucked.”  Michael Scott – The Office

Yes, I love all things Social Media.

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