HOW NOT TO SELL BY MIKE WICKS

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Jan 012025
 

Don’t Do This!

In my experience, salespeople are often cynical about sales advice, classes, tutorials and books by persons who have either never primarily worked in sales or haven’t been professional salespeople. That appears to be the case with the author of this book, Mike Wicks. His biography and parts of the book’s narration suggest he has some sales experience and has held a variety of roles that are related to the field, but he has never worked full-time in a sales job or held the official title of salesperson. On page 39, There is a story about being in sales and getting kicked out by the owner, resulting in the narrator, and his sales samples, landing in the gutter. Not sure whether the story is true, but if it is, it sounds both nasty and funny at the same time (incidentally, the narrative is about matching the personality of the buyer). Regardless, the aforementioned prejudice may, or may not, be valid. After all, prospects, users and folks who understand human behaviour surely have a lot to teach salespersons. 

Nonetheless, the book did attract me from the get-go. It may be the indirect approach the title portends, which is original if nothing else, or perhaps that the book is a quick read. It could also be because my own posts always end with an antithesis. The book’s focus may come across as focusing on what to avoid doing, but this is always contrasted with what the right behaviour looks like. Each (short) chapter contains at least one story, which makes reading the book more enjoyable.

The book is divided into three sections: It’s All About You, It’s All About What You Know and It’s All About The Sale.

One reason the book is an easy read is that the 200 pages are not densely packed and the chapters are short. Another is that each chapter repeats itself, not only with the aforementioned antithesis, but also with an instant summary of what was just expanded on. In general, the advice is elementary and the book is better suited to less experienced sales professionals. Having said that, the chapters do become progressively more intricate and developed. To be clear, the advice is always relevant and accurate, but it would be hard to imagine a seasoned salesperson being unaware of it. Still, it is a good compendium and comprehensive reminder.

How Not To Sell reminds the reader that there are four types of personality. These are the Analytical, Drive, Analytical and the Amiable.

Analyticals make good accountants or scientists. They may be reserved and proceed methodically. Make sure your facts are correct when speaking with them and show you want to support their personal credibility. Sell to them by being thorough and precise. Do not rush them and bring evidence. Analyticals need technical specifications and details. Use pros and cons and reverse engineer the process.

Drivers make good CEOs or surgeons. Their concern is the bottom-line. They do not appreciate people who hesitate. They are all about their output and are competitive. Show them how you can help them achieve their desired results. Sell to them by focusing on the task and emphasizing the results. Be concise and answer “what” questions. Drivers prefer not to be bogged down by excessive details. Drivers need to know your product or service makes them money, saves time and does both quickly. Demonstrate how they can make money or save resources and deploy assumptive closes. 

Expressives make good salespeople or facilitators. They are stylish and like to be the centre of attention. They are often popular and chameleon-like. Expressives tend to bore easily. Help build their standings with others and you’ll get on. Sell to them by focusing on the relationship and promote a conversation. They are not detail-oriented either and like approachable people. Expressives need the feel-good factor. Be their friend and assume you have the order.

Amiables make better teachers or nurses. They take things slowly and care for relationships.  Sell to them by being relaxed and approachable. Amiables need logical and systematic approaches, but also predictable. Agree often and listen. Amiables need guarantees and knowing that they are protected. Build the relationship and recommendation close with ongoing support and a solid warranty in place.

The book has several good presentation tips that are worth noting. Here’s a hint: Keep it short, be clear how you can help them after demonstrating you understand the challenges they face, revisit the challenges at both the start and end and, for heaven’s sake, do not read your bullet points verbatim.

Lastly, do not forget to sell yourself, sell your company and sell your product!

7L: THE SEVEN LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION: GO FROM RELATIONSHIPS TO REFERRALS BY MICHAEL J. MAHER

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Mar 172024
 

Not All Types Of Communication Are Equal

The Seven Levels Of Communication is a good book that reads easily. The man behind it is an American realtor who reports success in his own business after having employed the techniques/system he teaches in the book. Not coincidentally, the story is narrated by a realtor who interacts with professionals who provide ancillary services like legal advice or mortgages. It is a “story” because, unlike most sales books, 7L lays out its system in a novel-like format complete with a romantic subplot.

 

Salespeople of all stripes can benefit from the methodology that emphasises giving, sharing and serving, but reading it one soon realises that it is best suited to those who run an independent business –  as opposed to inside or field salespeople working in a cubicle for someone else. Still, it is a useful read and lays out an agenda for growth. By the way, that was the other distinction between this and other books. The emphasis here is on sharing and giving. In practice, that means 7L is great for longer-term thinking and not quite apt for relieving quarterly quota pressures.

 

Do X, Y and Z and the sales take care of themselves. The gist of those “X, Y and Z” is to give, be helpful, coach and expect business benefits to boomerang. Forget the advertising and the ‘selling.’ Really, that is the essence of what the book preaches. The system includes multiple steps of seven: spiritual (my word) affirmations (“someone needs me”), the necessity of consistency (like a “ritual”), which the book calls “deliberate investment of time” and goals i.e., being ambitious.

The 7 Levels Of Communication (in order of effectiveness) are:

  • 1 On 1 meetings
  • Events And Seminars
  • Phone Calls
  • Handwritten Notes
  • Electronic Communication
  • Direct Mail
  • Advertising

Elsewhere, the book offers the 7 Steps To A Power Note (don’t forget to use a blue pen, use ‘you’ instead of ‘I’ and have a P.S.- page 50), How to tell a Successful Success Story (page 66) and the four behavioural styles – DiSC or Dominant (get to the point immediately), Influence (love socialising and crave fun and energy), Steadiness (slow, steady and systematic) and Compliance (perfectionists who crave order, detail and crispness) – to use them in order to interact with people accordingly. Maher has a twist on the old wisdom of treating people the way you want them to treat you. His advice is to treat them the way they want to be treated, according to their personality, not the way you want to be treated. Finally, there is a script for asking for referrals (page 96), which substitutes the direct question with the more indirect, “Who would you recommend for …?” Whoever they recommend, the follow-up question is to be curious, positive, find out why and ask what it would take for you to become their go-to recommended professional.

In addition to these, the book introduces the concepts of The Ego Era, Generosity Generation and L.I.F.E. That last one stands for Learn, Implement, Fail and Evaluate, but no need to worry. The book includes a glossary at its end.

After car salespeople and lawyers, realtors probably have the third worst reputation out there. It says something about the book, and what it teaches, if the author has succeeded in his business, become rich and has done it through referrals and popularity.