Since incorporating my own business my name has gotten on a ton of lists. I received the best cold call about two weeks ago. As a result, I almost spent $200 on a bunch of crap that I didn’t need – promotional items for my business. The guy took me all the way from very cold to ready to buy – and then at the last second he screwed it all up. Let’s break down his sales technique and figure out where things went wrong.

The Intro and Engagement

I picked up the phone because it was a call from NY and I was expecting a call from NY that day from a person I don’t talk to very regularly (his good fortune). The sales guy identified himself as “Sal the pen guy, you know, the one with the horrible jokes” and asked me how I was. His voice was very familiar and at that point I honestly had no idea whether or not I had spoken ever talked to him before. He said “look, I got a couple of things to talk to you about but you gotta hear this joke first.” Then he told me a horribly corny knock knock joke. The whole time I could tell he was smiling and he was very personable. By the end of his warming me up and engaging me, he had my attention 100% and I was actually convinced that I had talked to him previously.

The Product

He then said “You need to hear about this shipment I just got in.” He told me about a LED keychain light, how he had two pallets that someone canceled on (probably not truthful but whatever) and that he needed to move them ASAP. He said things like “you know how with some of these lights they split, the battery goes bad, or they’re hard to push? Not mine…mine XXX…” He really made these things sound awesome and I was ready to buy them. (I have no use for 100 logo LED keychain lights….but that’s how good this guy was.)

Starting to Break Down

I asked him a couple of questions like “do I pay you now” and “what’s the minimum order?” Instead of addressing the questions he started to lower his price and make other concessions that weren’t necessary. We went from a pen light price of $400 for 100 to $125 for 50 units, plus 50 free, plus free shipping and artwork, plus COD – I wasn’t going to have to pay for them until I saw them. I didn’t ask for these concessions. I had a few questions and instead of answering them he cut his margin by 70+% in a matter of moments.

The Final Failure

My biggest client called me about 5 minutes into the call. I said “Sal, I gotta call you back and finish this up later. I’m interested, I just need to take this.” Rather than acknowledging me and being respectful, this douchebag started hitting me with a series of sales closer lies. “I”m in the warehouse right now, let me get this shipped off to you.” “I’m leaving town in 90 minutes.” “My boss is going to kill me if I don’t move these things this morning.” The final straw was his failure to acknowledge or respect the situation I was in. So I hung up on him.

This guy almost cold called me and closed me on a bunch of stuff I didn’t need. He just screwed it up at the end because he got too aggressive. Shame, really – I’m sitting on a plane right now and it’s kinda dark. I could use a LED keychain light.

Do you remember what you thought you were going to do for a living when you entered college? Back then I thought I was going to teach music or be a drug counselor. I’m in a WAAAAAAY different place now!!!!!

There I was, applying my music theory and social psych, and next thing you know, “IT” happened. During a particularly tough patch in my life, my brother shared some wisdom with me. I remember the exact moment he said it – italian restaurant, corner booth, Pammy’s birthday, Grandma was there. I will never forget those words. What he said was “if you can’t wake up and go to sleep every day with a smile on your face, you need to change something in your life.”

In an instant my life changed. Within a week I was hired at the company that eventually relocated me to Las Vegas, where I would eventually find PartnerWeekly, my wife, and the amazing life I have today.

It’s amazing how “IT” – one little moment – can change your life, huh?

I had another one of those instances this week. Two, actually. They happened on the flights to and from New York for Affiliate Summit. Again, my life was changed instantly and I will never forget where I was when IT happened. Here’s the story:

About a week ago, I noticed that one of my more blunt, type-A friends/clients had completely changed his approach with both his clients and vendors. The change was so drastic that I asked him about it. He told me that he read a couple of books that changed the way he thought about business and personal interactions and that he’d never be the same. He tried to explain the books to me.

They didn’t make a bit of sense.

Then he overnighted them to me. Just like he said, my life changed in about 5 hours. I’m not going to tell you what these books are about, but I will tell you what they aren’t about.

They won’t help you write sales copy.

They won’t teach you to be more influential.

They have nothing to do with anything ending in “.com”.

These books will redefine how you interact with the people around you. In fact, they have displaced Cialdini as my #1 and #2 picks for must read business books. (Unless you’re an affiliate marketer who works out of your home and spends your day chatting with AM’s. In that case, keep reading Cialdini.)

I’m going to make a commitment to you. Whenever I find a book that I really love, I buy a ton of copies of it to make sure I can give it away to my friends and loved ones. I’m so confident that these books are life changing that if you don’t want them I’ll buy them back from you. (You just have to ship them to my house so I can give them away. Hell I’ll even pay for shipping.)

As a final teaser, I will mention that when I finished reading the 1st book I picked up the phone and called my wife and a few close friends and vendors to apologize for how misguided my interactions have been.

P.S. Thanks to Ringo Dingo for the words of wisdom back in ’01 and to my anonymous friend/client for the read. Incredible.

….wow. I never thought my guest post on Music Soul and Music Sold would create such a dust-up by fellow musicians. I’ve had people calling me names (although for some reason they all got “G” rated when posting here – wimps), questioning credentials, criticizing my approach, ethics, morals, blah blah blah. Flush it.

In the middle of it all, much to my surprise, some readers are more open-minded than I originally gave them credit for (thank you, Baton Rouge). He gets that – as a band/business person/blogger –  you have to be different if you want to be noticed. “Different” might mean unique, controversial, fresh, smarter, better, more obnoxious (as so frequently is the case with me).  Sometimes it just amounts to throwing your readers/fans a curveball.

A band that isn’t very good but dresses up like girls.

A “diva” who open mouth kisses another woman on stage.

A guitar player who makes loud, unfamiliar noises on his very loud guitar and ends the night by torching it.

A guy who changes his name to a symbol.

“Wardrobe malfunctions.”

All of the acts listed above were different – intentionally so – and were listened to and discussed. And they sold records. Wait – what? Discussed? Like 8 pages and two weeks worth of traffic on a forum you’ve never been to? Like driving huge traffic to your blog? I guess we can add “sales tips for musicians” to that list, huh?

Here’s the deal – if I sound like I’m cocky it is because my approach works. I have been using it for years. It grew a Chicago-based band and we played some really cool gigs as a result. To be honest, we had NO BUSINESS playing some of the rooms we played  - but my client, the owner, was always left happy and I NEVER EVER burned a bridge.

I have set sales records at every company that I’ve worked for.

I use the same sales techniques training new internet marketers. Many of them are the most successful folks in the affiliate marketing space, and several of them manage $20 million + books of business.

That said, know your audience and if you are uncomfortable DONT DO IT!  Oh, to address one final question…here’s the point of it all:

Q: What happens when the bar owner realizes what you’ve done to get the gig?

A: Nothing. They don’t care because you have just given them one of their most profitable nights of the season.

If you didn’t pick that up from my 2nd post, you need to slow down on hating and read again.

P.S. Thanks for the inbounds and SERP help guys.

Seth Godin’s blog always makes me think. His post this morning was titled “But You’re Not Saying Anything.” In it, he writes:

I was talking with a buddy about this very subject last week. Some other examples:

- “Objective” statements on your resumé. Weak.

- The majority of executive summaries / introductions on sales proposals.

- 95% of web site FAQs.

The best way to get and keep someone’s attention is to be direct and tell them what you’re looking for, not fill a document with B.S. corporate speak and hype words.

Chad from Dallas requested a list of good sales books. Here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order:

BGD Says: Cialdini is a genius. This book was co-written by him. Easy to get through, quick to understand.

BGD Says: The book that made Cialdini famous. Required reading for every sales person I’ve ever hired.

BGD Says: Great if you’re doing complex sales with long turnaround times.

My good buddy Steve Nixon was kind enough to publish a guest post in which I talk about why most local musicians suck at getting booked and how they can change all that. You can read it here. In addition to being a great keyboardist, teacher and arranger, Steve is an example of what goes right when you combine marketing and sales skills with raw talent.