Sales Training Motivational Speaker | Gavin Ingham» Motivational speaker

If I Sold Cars I Wouldn’t…

Gavin Ingham — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:27:29 +0000

Yesterday I visited several car showrooms as I am thinking about changing one of the cars. I won’t bore you with the ins and outs of it and it doesn’t matter what makes they were or what companies but they were executive brands / companies and there were 4 of them. It inspired me to have a little rant about a few of things that I wouldn’t do if I sold cars!

If I sold cars I wouldn’t…

Sit comfortably in the showroom whilst potential customers looked at my cars on the forecourt – no matter how cold it was!
Chat with my 3 mates in the “sales” office whilst a customer read brochures and opened car doors in the showroom.
Greet my customer with the words, “So, do you want to buy a car today?”
Fail to offer a nice coffee from the flash coffee machine because it was 25 minutes until home time.
Wander off mid “sale” because I cannot think of anything to ask / say.
Bore my customer to death showing them how to log onto the company website… seriously!
Send my customer into a trance banging on about engine versions (one showroom), the history of the 4-wheel drive car (another showroom) or just waffle.
Fail to build rapport in any meaningful manner (all 4 showrooms).
Fail to ask any pertinent questions (3 showrooms).
Fail to hear the one critical piece of information (“…bad road so we were thinking 4-wheel drive…”).
Push something else (how good the 2-wheel drive version is) because I didn’t hear the critical information.
Not ask / be uninterested in the customers’ circumstances (in one garage the guy looked bored every time I said more than 4 words).
Fail to take interested customer details (all 4 showrooms).
Fail to give ANY literature out or anything to take away (all 4 showrooms).
Not make a sale, build a relationship or have any way of following up (all 4 showrooms).
Sit around moaning about the state of the market (probably all 4 showrooms).

These are just some of the things that I wouldn’t do if I sold cars…

Ignore Doom-Mongers & Naysayers! Have Dreams, Set Goals & Take Action…

Gavin Ingham — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:46:12 +0000

Yesterday I made some changes in the way I run my business. They’re not significant changes in many ways but in others they will make positive differences for my clients, my prospects and my readers. Hopefully, HUGE ones! There will be more tips, more strategies, more inspirational stories and more ways for you to read, listen, watch and get involved and get better results in your sales and in your life.

One of the things I am going to do more of this year is blog posting. I already do quite a lot some might say but it’s something that I enjoy and I know that it is one of the key ways that I add value for my clients and my prospects. As a motivational speaker, I have a lot of conversations on a daily basis to help individuals to improve their motivation, their focus, their sales and their businesses. Few of these ever see the light of day but yesterday I had a casual conversation with Rob Scott of Aaron Wallis and he posted our conversation. I thought I would do likewise.

GAVIN (TWEET): Welcome to 2012! Ignore doom-mongers & naysayers! Have dreams, set goals, take action.. make it a great one! Lots of great stuff coming this year… I have good feelings about 2012! You?!!

ROB: I always have good feelings – not much point in being any other way as there’s not a lot that little old me can do about the world’s finances!

GAVIN: I always have good feelings too however it is nice when they come to light! Personally, I think there is little wrong with the world’s finances that a dose of realism and hard work wouldn’t sort out!!

ROB: The FTSE is up 2% so far today – that’s 40% of the loss in 2011 gained in just one day – will this be in the news tonight? Probably not!

GAVIN: Agreed. We ought to spend more time being more positive and asking…

What do we do well?

What do others do well?

What should we be doing well?

How can we add massive value?

The whole of the West strikes me as bi-polar…. Manically depressive one day and manically up the next BUT at all times, with little handle on the reality of our situation. We need to make massive changes but we’re either crying and moaning about our lot or being extremely arrogant about being “right”.

Let’s start with positivity and hard work and then look for opportunities to add value… Oh, strange… that’s what I do… and you too!!

(ROB as editor) I just found this so true that I had to publish it – hope you enjoy it too!

So, there we are. Three little words that could change your, our, the whole world’s lot in 2012. But will they? How many people will maintain their positivity in the face of business and economic challenges? How many people will do the work necessary to create the opportunities they crave? And how many people will make and take chances to add huge value for their clients, their communities and their families and friends?

I can’t answer that question but I can tell you I will. You with me?

If You Want To Be The Best Of The Best, Take 100% Responsibility For Your Actions…

Gavin Ingham — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 15:15:21 +0000

I like athletics and have been enjoying watching the World Championships in Daegu and, like many of you no doubt, I was shocked to see Usain Bolt crash out of the 100m final for false starting. I don’t agree with the new false start rule (any false start from anyone and you’re disqualified) nor did I agree with the previous rule which was changed since I used to run as a schoolboy. Do beaurocrats have nothing better to do than tinker with stuff that isn’t broken? Suffice to say the rule change ruined the 100m final for me today as it probably did for many others. Tyson Gay who, ironically, was in the commentary box had mused about exactly this scenario in The Guardian (Tyson Gay Says New False Start Ruling Will Ruin Sprints) in June suggesting that ejecting Bolt from a race could ruin the sport.

It will certainly be interesting to see what the repurcussions of this will be. Bolt has been a gift to athletics over the last few years making it interesting and sexy again after the debacles of drug taking and abuse over the last couple of decades. I am sure you have your own opinions about the new false start rule and about Bolt’s ejection from the race but that is not what interested me.

Let me tell you what happened incase you did not see it…

At the start of the race, Usain Bolt was his usual happy self, waving to the cameras, posturing and pretending to slick his hair back. He pointed at the athletes to the left and the right of him and signalled that they had no chance. You may or may not like this but it is part of his act and has certainly opened up the sport to a whole new group of supporters. Under starter’s orders the sprinters went down to their blocks and we held our breath. What was Bolt going to produce? How fast would he run? How much would he win by? Could he posssibly be beaten?

And then the unthinkable happened. Bolt rocked in his blocks. He didn’t set off but it was a clear movement and would register as a false start. The gun went off and the sprinters rose to start the race. The others powered for a few paces before being recalled by the false start gun but Bolt was already powering down. He knew he had false started and he was already pulling his shirt off in disgust. He knew he had blown it. He knew he had messed up. He knew it was all over.

In the commentary box he was criticised for pulling his top off, effectively owning up to his mistake. They said that he was Usain Bolt and he should have argued that a light flashed, a noise distracted or something else to excuse him… anything to give the officials a chance to reinstate the biggest star in planet athletics. But he gave them no such outer, he gave them no wriggle-room, just walking off and then sitting just out of site of the arena.

Now you may argue that we should do “what it takes” to “win”. You may argue that Bolt missed a trick and could have leveraged things to his advantage being such a big star. You may argue that he was shell-shocked and had he been thinking rationally he would have tried to get back in.

But I’m not so sure. Usain Bolt is the best sprinter in the world. Ever. Period. You don’t get that good without taking 100% responsibility. 100% responsibility for your fitness. 100% responsibility for your training. 100% responsibility for your mindset. 100% responsibility for your success. And 100% responsibility for your mistakes.

In this world where far too few take responsibility for their mistakes, I thought it was refreshing and uplifting to see him take it on the chin. He screwed up so he loses out. Next time he will get it right and next time he will no doubt win.

Cold Calling Success

Gavin Ingham — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:30:37 +0000

I say every week when talking at conferences as a sales motivational speaker that you have to Share Sales Success Stories (my powerful 4S Principle) with yourself, with your sales team and within your organization and yet, I don’t share very many with you.

So I thought it was about time that I rectified that so here’s one that I got a couple of days ago. It says all there is to say about cold calling when it’s done right (which is of course what I teach) and from the right sales mindset so I suggest you read it several times, imagine what these kind of results could do for you and then take massive action!

Hi Gavin,

Thanks for your message and for connecting. Who said that cold calling was dead? Recent apppointments set with senior finance contacts;

- a major international fast food chain
- a sizeable UK NHS trust
- one of the UK’s largest housing associations
- one of the UK’s biggest network rail operators
- a large Welsh City Council

Qualify well, be polite, project confidence, know your pitch, engage the client and persist. Managing to set appointments often with people that previously said NO!

Regards

If you want to be getting results like this and be one of the many, many people writing similar letters to me, then you need to be checking out my books, audios, webinars and seminars with particular regard to No Fear Cold Calling .

Be Proud Of Being A Professional Salesperson

Gavin Ingham — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:14:04 +0000

On my travels as a sales motivational speaker, I meet a lot of people who “fell into” sales. Infact, when I ask people at sales conferences to ask the people sitting near to them, “How did you get into sales?” the vast majority reply, “Well, I kind of fell into it.”

So many people don’t choose sales as a career. They don’t sit in first school talking about how they want to be a salesperson. They don’t argue that they want to be Lord Alan Sugar instead of Rooney when they’re kicking a ball about in the playground and they don’t want to be a cold caller rather than an astronaut or a doctor.

And on top of all of this, many people are rude about salespeople saying that they are uneducated, illiterate, self-centred, selfish, pushy, arrogant, egotistical individuals. And they are rude about the job too saying that it is for people who couldn’t get a better job. Indeed, I once read an article in a national newspaper where the writer said that we should “feel sorry” for salespeople because they had fallen so low in life…

Is it surprising then that many salespeople do not want to be called a “salesperson”? They do not want the title of salesperson, preferring instead to change it to “consultant” or “account manager” or even “account director”.

And how many salespeople do you know who want to be sales managers? Virtually all of them.

Why? Because they perceive that this is promotion. Because they perceive that this elevates them above these criticisms. And because they perceive that it means more money, more prestige, more kudos, more respect…

And they might be right. Or are they?

Great salespeople can make great sales managers. And great sales managers can make great salespeople. But great salespeople do not necessarily make great sales managers. And great sales managers do not necessarily make great salespeople.

And these are important facts to swallow because if you don’t swallow them and you don’t apply them to yourself then it will cost you big! Big in money. Big in prospects! Big in personal satisfaction. And BIG in career opportunities.

Great salespeople need to be proud of what they do. Great salespeople need to recognize that their greatest asset is their ability to sell and to create new business. Great salespeople need to know that top quality salespeople are like world-class athletes and a selling career provides all of the rewards that anyone could ever dream of…

If you read the Sunday Times Appointments section this week you would have seen a huddle of None-Exec roles, Directors of public sector companies, MDs and FDs… but, the most interesting, best sounding and highest (stated) paid opportunity was…?

A sales opportunity…

London, New York, Singapore. £100k, OTE £250k (uncapped). Sounds interesting already right?

Success in life is about playing to your strengths and if you have worked hard to be a top salesperson then you ought to be proud of your achievements and continue to become a well-paid, well respected, sought after, world-class, sales superstar.