This is Why I’ve NEVER (and Will Never) Create a Sales Training

“There is only one way to get a sales outcome and it’s via speaking into the listening of the potential buyer by asking the RIGHT questions.” - JY

I’ve been selling my entire life - literally, as an adolescent, I was in constant sales mode…

• Launched a newspaper in 2nd grade and got 100% adoption from my peers (made $2/student, which led to almost $350!)
• Launched a petition to change a curriculum as a 6th grader
• Built a case on why I should be allowed to work out at 13 years old
• Emerged as a top athlete who made my teammates better because I helped them see their greatness within
• Paid my way through college because of a personal training business I started
• And the list goes on and on and on…

But the first true sales “job” that I had was going door-to-door in Manhattan and Brooklyn, selling merchant processing to small businesses.

My territory was Coney Island which was about a 2-hour subway trip each way from Midtown Manhattan, and this gig was 100% commission which meant ZERO dollars unless you sold.

I was told the most predictable path to success was the law of averages which states…

You will get ONE sale for every 100 businesses you speak with!

I decided if I saw 150 businesses each day that, I would eventually hit 2 sales, so it was GO TIME!

After my first week in the field, I saw almost 800 businesses in 5 days and got….ZERO SALES!

A big donut after a hardcore hustle and the law of averages did not play into my favor. That weekend I felt like a complete and utter loser, and everything inside told me to quit and not show up on Monday, but I decided to give it one last hoorah.

If I did not get a sale on Monday, I was DONE!

I arrived in Coney Island at 8 am after a 2-hour subway ride, stepped off the platform, and…it began to monsoon! It began to rain so hard that you could already see my skin through my shirt, and I was wearing a complete suit. I started to sprint to the first business, which was open - a local cupcake shop - and sit and wait for the storm to pass.?

But there was one problem...

RAIN = Return to the office in midtown = I would get ZERO sales!

As I sat in the cupcake shop feeling even more disgruntled than ever - the person behind the counter asked me what was wrong.

For the FIRST time, I broke “script” and became a human. We had a person-to-person conversation. I learned about his past, his present, and his vision for the future. He built mutual rapport, and after 15 minutes, he said…

“Jared, I told my wife this morning that I needed to get set up with merchant processing since we just opened the store about 2-weeks ago, so sign me up!”

I got a full-boat sale - machine, processing, pin pad, you name it, which is about a $350 commission - but it felt like $350 million to me!

That ONE sale helped me realize that the ONLY thing that matters in any selling environment is to be TRUE to YOURSELF, ask questions and genuinely care about the responses, and ONLY close if someone is better off with you than without you.?

I went in to become the #1 salesperson in the entire country, all because of one sale during a monsoon in Coney Island.?

This ONE sale laid the foundation for everything I have done as a human and entrepreneur, but it also is THE REASON why I have never (and will never) create a sales training.?

Sales Training is an Absolute Joke!

I know this statement is going to ruffle a few feathers, and some of my dearest friends are extraordinary sales trainers, but the reality is - they are NOT teaching sales - I will touch on this in a bit.

But for now - let me break down the steps to getting someone to pay, stay, and refer for a lifetime…

STEP ONE: Pick or Launch an Actual Solution

The first step to sales is selecting or launching a product/service that solves a problem for a large enough audience who is willing and able to pay for a solution.?

It’s IMPOSSIBLE to disguise a weak product/service with a strong sales pitch because, eventually, the buyer will no longer be with the pitcher, and they will realize they were SOLD.

AND…

NO ONE wants to be sold, but everyone wants to BUY if (and only if) a real meaningful solution is what they are purchasing.

Your pitch…

Your ability to overturn objections…

Your NLP…

Your influence techniques…

They all mean NOTHING if the product you are selling does not deliver.

But assuming you pick the RIGHT product that has a large enough audience who is able and willing to pay - then the next step is...

STEP TWO: Collect Data

The ONLY thing you need to become AWARE OF (not learn but focus on) is asking questions and collecting information.

If your goal is to get someone to BUY (not be SOLD), then you need to KNOW they are better off with you than without you, and the only way you will KNOW is if you collect data.

Ask about their past…(what are you most proud of?)

Ask about their present…(what are you most excited about?)

Ask about the future…(what’s your vision?)

In 95% of the conversations you have - the answers to these questions will provide you with all the data you need to speak into the listening of the other party so that they buy, but in the rare chance that you don’t get what you need…ask more QUESTIONS!

What is the one thing holding you back from your vision?

What is your greatest fear right now to accomplish your most pressing goal?

?Where are you the weakest?

Once you have enough data, tell your story BUT MAKE SURE to align your story with what you learned about them (past, present, future) and then STATE the problem you are committed to solving and then SHOW your solution.

DEMONSTRATE your solution to the other party, and then remember this statement…

NO ONE WANTS TO BE SOLD, BUT EVERYONE WANTS TO BUY!

STEP THREE: Give Them a Chance to Buy

I promise you - NO ONE wants to spend 30-60 minutes with you and NOT buy - their time is too valuable to listen to your spiel or watch your demo or experience your story.?

If and only if the person is better off with you than without you, then you BETTER give them the chance to BUY and make the buying process easy - just take their credit card and get them started.?

When steps 1 and 2 from above take place - step 3 is just the next step.

It’s inevitable…

It’s guaranteed…

It’s easy….

There are Only a Few GREAT Sales Trainers, But They Don’t Teach Sales…

98% of the people who identify as sales trainers just SUCK. They can’t sell anything because if they were so darn good. They would keep selling versus teaching sales because you can make WAYYYY more money selling versus teaching.?

And for the 2% who rock (Eli Wilhide and Grant Cardone to name two, are the best of the best) - they are not really teaching sales but rather…

They teach you how to BE worthy enough to get the sale.

They teach you how to become self-confident.

They teach you how to pick the right product or launch the right solution.

They teach you how to read people to build rapport faster (also great for dating!).

They teach you conviction over yourself…

This article could probably be a book because that’s how much I stand against sales training, BUT…

I LOVE SALES!

And the reason I LOVE SALES is because I know everyone CAN do it, and I also know it leads to TRANSFORMATION on both sides of the conversation.

The person “selling” is transformed because they have the ability to impact someone when they say yes…

The person “buying” is transformed because they have the ability to change their life once they say yes…

But I soooo stand against complex, confusing, manipulative sales techniques which unfortunately has saturated the industry, so here’s my advice…

Be a human…

Care deeply…

Pick or launch a meaningful solution…

Ask questions…

Speak into their listening…

Give them a chance to buy…

AND…

The many many many people I know who paid for sales training - they LOST the above and GAINED a formulaic way to become selfish and focused only on the SALE versus the TRANSFORMATION.

The greatest salespeople I know - they have never and will never take sales training because you don’t need to be TRAINED on how to care about humans AND how to ensure everyone WINS in every dynamic.?

It’s really that simple - you got this!

Live with Intention,

JY