Sell This Sell That

By Rich J Farrell

Sales and salespeople: what’s the first things that come to mind?

That desperate second-hand car salesperson? That infomercial fast-talker? That person hounding you to try a free sample of whatever as you walk around the shopping mall? Let’s change these perceptions right now! The reality is, being in sales in any industry and being a salesperson can be one the most noble and most lucrative careers you may ever have!

If you are a trusted, genuine salesperson, you will have more freedom to do what you want; more time to plan how to be even more successful; and have every chance to increase your income, perhaps even double it, or more than double it. What other career can give you all that?

Whether you’re just starting off in sales, or in a slump in your sales career, or doing sales part-time, Sell This, Sell That will change the way you think about sales, how people perceive you as a salesperson and will show you how to become this trusted, irreplaceable resource for your customers. The pragmatic but charismatic approach is not built on systems or processes: it’s built on your natural skills and talents combined with tips and strategies that have worked across a myriad of industries and made the author the internationally successful salesperson he is today.

You will never look at sales and being a salesperson the same way again!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rich J Farrell
• Release date: May 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9780645310818

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

If you were able to work one full-time job, and earn two salaries from this one job, would you do it?

Welcome to Sell This, Sell That. I really appreciate you making time to purchase and read this book. No, seriously. The fact you’ve logged on to some online site or wherever else you bought this, read a synopsis and then decided to part with your hard-earned cash means you’ve made an effort, and for that, I’m genuinely grateful. And in return, I’m going to give you the no-holds-barred, no-bullshit guide on all things sales. I’m going to share everything I’ve learned that has developed me into a successful salesperson – the good, the bad and the ugly. What other way is there to learn?

But who am I? More to the point, who am I to teach you anything, let alone anything about sales? Why have I been able to develop myself into a successful salesperson, when, growing up, I was probably the most unlikely person ever to become a salesperson, let alone become successful or financially comfortable?

Well, first things first. My name is Rich Farrell. I’ve been involved in sales in one form or another almost my whole career, which is now roughly twenty-five-plus years (but who’s counting?).

I never, ever planned on being in sales. In fact, I did everything I could to avoid it during high school and just after. Why? Because, like many people, I had a lot of preconceived ideas about what sales was and what being a salesperson meant. A lot of this was because of my dad. He was a salesperson. He just wasn’t very good at it. He’d bounce from job to job, not really doing that well, and definitely not making money or being satisfied with his lot in life. Due to this above anything else, we had a very frugal life when I was a kid, almost bordering on poverty-stricken. Heavy, huh? But I’m not here to beat up my dad. He did have some other redeeming qualities, of course. So why would I, his only son, want to be a salesperson after bearing witness first-hand to his struggles and our whole family’s?

Well, like I said, I did not set out to be a salesperson. I saw what it did to my dad; I saw how tough it was. And I saw what it did to my mom, how it stressed and aged her due to my dad’s lack of job security and the inconsistent money coming in the door. And like most kids, I knew there were so many other options in life besides being a career salesperson.

So, when it came time for me to strike out on my own, and in order to avoid anything the least bit sales related, I took these other options.

In just my first six years after leaving high school, these are the jobs I had:

Apprentice spray painter

Shelf stocker in a hardware store

Door-to-door salesperson – Whoa, wait a minute! Didn’t I just tell you I took other options before becoming a salesperson? Yes. Yes, I did. But we’ll get back to this shortly in Chapter 5.

Paintball referee (fun job, bad pay!)

Outdoor instructor (super fun job, super bad pay!)

Computer operator and tape loader

Night shift computer engineer

Excluding number 3, these were not exactly salesy-type jobs, right? Or were they?

When I was an apprentice spray painter, I learned to tell customers what needed painting and why. As a shelf stocker, I’d help guide customers to the right aisles to find the right hardware. As a paintball referee and as an outdoor instructor, I was responsible not only for ensuring the safety of kids and adults while they took part in exciting activities, but also for explaining and demonstrating these activities. Finally, both of my computer jobs involved a lot of discipline (albeit, repetitive and boring discipline) around following instructions and recording data correctly, and ensuring this data was accurately communicated. Little did I know that each of these activities and each of these jobs was the perfect training to be a focused, successful salesperson.

In the upcoming chapters, I’ll show you how these skills were both consciously and subconsciously applied time and again later on during my sales career. Better yet, you’ll learn how to adopt these skills and then use them yourself.

Enough about me, though. What about you? What’s your occupation right now? Yes, you – the person reading this book. Are you a student? A tradesperson or laborer? Are you a full-time parent? Or are you already in sales? Whatever you are doing as your nine-to-five (or your twenty-four-seven, if you’re a full-time parent), I can guarantee that you are building a skill set that you can use as a salesperson. Does that sound too far-fetched? It isn’t. I guarantee it isn’t. This book will show you why. More importantly, it will show you how.

And that, my friends, is really what this book is about. Its purpose is not only to give you the confidence and skills to do sales, but to help you focus specifically on these three things that you’ll need to succeed in sales:

It’s going to show you how anyone can be a salesperson.

It will demonstrate why it’s important to be a salesperson, regardless of this not being within your job description.

It will show you that not only are great salespeople born, but they can also be made.

Finally, and most importantly, I’m going to keep it real, using real-life scenarios and real examples – good and bad – that you will be able to relate to! As I said, there will be no holds barred, no BS! Just the good, the bad and the ugly!

On that note, be careful: there are way too many books out there that lead prospective, eager and well-meaning salespeople down the wrong path. You know the books I mean – they’re full of tried and proven systems, processes that never fail. A few hundred pages of How-Tos. Pffft! What these books all lack is the one vital ingredient of what it takes to be a successful salesperson: being yourself. Sure, there are a lot of things that you can learn and do to enhance your chances of being successful. Some parts of these books are really great for that. But relying on one system or process or list of how-tos and nothing but that? It may have worked for the author, but it doesn’t mean it will work for you. You need to find your own style, and as Simon Sinek says, Find your Why!

Here’s my personal guarantee to you: if you read this eBook and really embrace the lessons herein, the good will far outweigh the bad and the ugly!

Finally, let’s leave the last word of this introduction to that doyen of all things sales, Zig Ziglar:

You don’t have to be great to start; but you have to start to be great!

Let’s get started!

PART 1

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SALES

1

SALES

THE TEN TIPS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Whether you call it a plan, a strategy, a mantra, a set of rules, or – my personal preference – a framework, everyone needs a way to make the most of their employment. By this I mean a way to stay motivated and focused, and of course a way to remain employed (i.e., not get fired or end up as the first one with their head on the chopping block when the economy or your industry dips!).

The tips in this chapter can’t help you in regard to being fired or not; that’s up to you and your attitude. But they can definitely help in terms of motivation, focus, time management and ensuring your performance outshines that of others around you. These are things I have learned over time, so don’t expect to pick up all of them immediately if you are new to the game. Some of these lessons were harsh; some were an epiphany; and some were learned from other, wiser folks. I also have no doubt that I will learn a lot more in the future. But for now, these ten tips are the ones that help make me a successful salesperson.

You may already demonstrate or have a lot of these skills now, whether you’re aware of them consciously or not. If so, use the list below to help provide clarity on how, where or when you use them.

1. Work out what IS in your control, versus what IS NOT in your control.

This is far easier said than done. At the end of the day, it’s our life, so we’re all control freaks to one extent or another, aren’t we? One of the essentials of working out what’s in your control versus what isn’t centers around time management. This is, effectively, finding out where your time is best spent. Should you be chasing down that million-dollar deal you have a ten percent chance of winning, or that hundred-thousand-dollar deal you have an eighty percent chance of winning? Should you worry about what your other sales team members think of you more than what your customers think of you? If a customer decides at the eleventh hour to place an order with your competitor despite all things being equal with your offer, do you fight to the death to try and win this back, or move on to the next likely deal? Control what you can. Let go of what you can’t control. But appreciate that you do not and cannot control everything.

How do you figure out what you should try and control? Tip 2, below, should help!

2. Real wealth is discretionary time.

This is not my quote. I heard it repeated over and over on several entrepreneurial podcasts and absolutely loved the concept.

Life is finite. Whether you’re a Christian, an atheist, a Buddhist, or something else, we can all agree that our time on this earth during this current life has an expiry date. Having the freedom to choose how we will spend this time is a luxury. Most of us would choose not to spend it at work. However, for the sake of this book, let’s focus on time in regard to work. Being able to free your time up to work on items that will help you see or speak with more customers, to be more productive and to sell more is true wealth when it comes to being a salesperson. Time management, as previously mentioned in point one above, is key. Choose carefully where you spend your time. Learn how to cultivate more of it daily. What’s a simple way to cultivate more time? Follow these three steps in the order they are listed:

Have a goal.

Set a time frame or time limit in which to achieve that goal.

Action it! Yes, I mean actually go and action that goal. Don’t procrastinate.

It doesn’t have to be a grand goal. Things as simple as clearing your email inbox or listening to your voice mails and making a list of return calls are achievable goals that yield not just time but productivity boosts. Action these with intent. Just ensure that an action ends up in an outcome.

What does an outcome look like? Whatever you need it to look like – returning a call, scheduling a meeting, clearing up irrelevant or spam mails. Basically, getting rid of what I like to call communication clutter. You know the things I mean. These are the items that clutter your email and voice mail, items that will distract you. These are those little items that lead you to procrastinate and lose focus.

Stop the communication clutter. Use your time for meaningful outcomes. Once you do this, you’ll actually free up more of your time and turn it into discretionary time. This gives you freedom. This gives you time to decide. This gives your decisions more clarity and relevance. This is the time you get to use for what you really need to use it for (such as freeing up more discretionary time)!

3. Follow up even when there is nothing to follow up.

What does this even mean? How can I follow up anyone or anything if there’s nothing to follow up? The answer: there is always something to follow up. After your meeting, even if your customer has no current need for your solutions or services, thank them for their time. Perhaps add in something you found interesting in the conversation. This doesn’t have to be business related. It could be about the football, the weekend, or that all-encompassing ice-breaker, their kids or pets (more on this in the Cheat Sheet section at the end