How to Make Your Own Game in Sales. And Win. With Chris Brogan. #370
Joining me on this episode of Accelerate! is my guest Chris Brogan, CEO of Owner Media Group (which provides skills for the modern entrepreneur), a highly sought-after professional speaker, and the New York Times bestselling author of nine books and counting, his latest being, Find Your Writing Voice.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[1:54] Chris introduces his book coming out, called Make Your Own Game. The book has two sections. First is The Fast Book, for people who believe they are too busy to read. Second is The Real Book, for those who want it all.
[2:51] Make Your Own Game first teaches how to win a game, seeing it as story (who, what, and why you are playing), rules (how to play), and strategy (how to win). Second, it teaches how to create your own story, rules, and strategy.
[3:30] Some companies may say innovation is important, but then they retreat to, “That’s not the way we do it.” Innovation assumes risk, but proposes reward, and includes breaking out of the blue binder on the shelf.
[5:44] Chris tells how doing something extra on Facebook to connect, led to a third party’s offering him a business deal.
[6:33] There is a conflict in sales organizations between optimization of process and reporting through Big Data tools, and creating and nurturing human connections. Dashboards help, but people buy from people they know, like, and trust.
[10:31] It’s easy to see on social media what people’s interests are. Google your contact before your sales meeting. Find out what will help understand them better, and bond together.
[13:03] Your buyers are all involved in things outside the sale. There is great value in small talk. Chris would like to see it codified into systems. He admits to personally getting too familiar, too quickly, though.
[15:20] Teaching authenticity is like scripting improv.
[17:16] Andy suggests doing what you need, to be one percent better than the next guy. As the sales professional, you — not the price — are the first differentiation. Be your best you.
[18:44] Sales professionals need to spend more time learning about their clients and connecting to them. Uniquely human skills make the sale. Don’t show you are busy, show you are responsive to them.
[25:18] Sales is not about metric-driven methodologies. It’s about people. The biggest challenge in any sales organization is engaging with the prospect. It’s hard to put metrics on a sales rep’s ability to get others to ‘know, like, and trust’ them.
[29:47] Sales professionals, like most people, want to have a system. The sales challenge is to learn a really simple system to win the sale. Chris wants his book to help people with this, using self-permission.
MORE ABOUT CHRIS BROGAN
What’s your most powerful sales attribute?
Straightforward nature.
Who is your sales role model?
Zig Ziglar.
What’s one book that every salesperson should read?
Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur, by Sir Richard Branson.
What music is on your playlist right now?
Loud positive music. “Fighter,” and “No Plan B,” by Manafest. ‘90s Hip Hop.