My Lucky Day

I consider today to be my lucky day! Why you ask? Well, today is the 3 year anniversary of my father’s passing and today I am grateful to still be here carrying out my purpose in life. You see, for the longest time I was fighting what I was put here to do and it took my father dying of a heart attack to realize that I am here to help change the health and wellness of this country and if I really dream big, the world! So today as a tribute to my dad I am giving away a copy of my ebook, “The Anatomy of Sales” to anyway who wants it. All you have to do is send me an email and put in the subject “My Lucky Day”. 

If any one would like to share their story on how they found their purpose in life I would love to hear it!

Coach Dave

The Art of Closing

Last week we talked about the 5 Steps to Successful Selling and I wanted to finish it up with the last two steps. Just to recap the first three steps were:

I. The Importance of Personal/Professional Development

II. The Necessity of Prospecting

III. The Power of Planning

Okay, well step number four is The Art of Closing. Step four is probably the step I see trainers struggle with the most. The main reason for this is trainers try to wing it and don’t use the proper tools and techniques.So here is step four and if you want to increase your sales become a master at closing.

A.)Prepared Presentation

  1. Develop rapport
  2. Establish credibilty 
  3. Enforce the need

B.) Closing Techniques

  1. Sampling – puppy dog close
  2. 3 questions – Do you see the benefits, Interested in benefits, and when do you what to start?
  3. Need/Desire and the “time door” 

C.) Closing Tools

  1. Special offers
  2. Supporting materials

The Necessity of Prospecting

Last week I started a serious called the “Five Steps to Successful Selling” and wanted to continue this week with step number two. Step two is about the “Necessity of Prospecting.” In this step we will break down the difference between prospect vs. suspect. Also, we will talk about the prospecting/sales ratio. So without any more delay let’s get  our teeth around step number two.

A.) Prospect vs. Suspect – What is the difference between the two?

     Prospect – someone who may be a potential client.

     Suspect – someone who you have an 80% chance to close on.

The difference here is that a prospect is all the available people who you can market to and a suspect is someone who is pre-qualified and someone who is already in the behavior mindset to buy training. Focus on suspects!

B.) Prospecting/ Sales Ratio

1.) poor sales ability – numbers game. If you are willing to continously try and determine who is a prospect or suspect and market to them than you can be great.

2.) great sales ability – if you can identify a suspect and close then you will be successful at sales. You need to measure your closure rate to determine if you have a great sales ability.

In order to be successful at sales you need to know the difference between a prospect and a suspect. Make sure you close on every suspect you come into contact and try and increase your closure rate on prospects. Also, if you don’t track or measure your closure rate you will be unable to determine whether or not you have a good or poor sales ability.

The Importance of Personal/Professional Development

I wrote the other day about how important it is to master the art of sales and I said I would share with you in more detail the 5 steps to successful selling that I adapted from Zig Ziglar. So let’s tackle the first step. The first to step to successful selling is the importance of Personal/Professional development. Okay, let’s get started.

A.) Personal

  1.  Phyiscal – are you keeping your end of the deal? What I mean are you practicing what you preach? I know sometimes trainers get burned out and the last thing they what to do after a session is workout, but remember your clients are watching to see if you are doing what you tell them to do.
  2. Mental – what type of books are reading? Are you staying around positive people? What type of thoughts are you thinking? It is important to feed your mind with positive thoughts and ideas.
  3. Spiritual – Up until a few years ago this is an area I let slip away but since my father’s passing a few years ago I have found my purpose in life. Remember each and everyone of us was put here for a purpose. Find your purpose and live it!  
  4. Financial – I added this point because as a trainer you will have fluctuations in your income from week to week and month to month, so it is important to understand the value in financial planning. Also, one thing for trainers to consider is what would you do if you were hurt or injured and could not train? Long Term Disability Insurance is something you should think about in case you were laid up for a long period of time do to an injury or illness.

B. Professional

  1.  Information – What sources are you getting your info from. Make sure it is a credible and reliable source if you are going to share it with clients.
  2. Experience – The hardest part initially for a trainer is gaining that experience. As you continue to grow you can use the experiences that you learned to enhance your credibility. 
  3. Knowledge – Technology and research has really changed the way we conduct personal training today. I tell all my trainers that the way we train today is totally different than we trained 10 years ago and it will be totally different 10 years from now. It is important to continue to grow and become an expert in your niche. As I tell interns and new trainers the best piece of advice I can give you is never stop learning! Invest in your knowledge on a daily basis!