Have you ever read a book that just grabs you so much you finish it in a day?
I have, and it was this sales book by Ryan Serhant, Sell It Like Serhant that is filled with so much witty repertoire, laugh out loud anecdotes and actually valuable advice that keeps you page turning from start to finish.
If you're build a career in sales, then this book has something for you and deserves a space on your bookshelf.
Ryan's mission is helping other people increase the quality of their lives through selling and discovering the limitless possibility that a career in sales can have.
I wanted to briefly share 10 sales lessons (amongst many, many others) you will get from the book.
1. FKD
The FKD strategy gives provides a framework to structure the day between sales meetings to get more done. This is a incredibly important one and I believe that if you only implement one take away this would be it, time management is crucial in sales to ensure that you are qualifying and managing your pipeline of business effectively whilst expanding on all fronts.
Finder - Put your CEO hat on - This is time you spend prospecting for new business in order to move the ship forwards, develop your business pipeline and brainstorm new idea's. The recommendation is block out 8-10am every day to think about strategies for how I'm going to grow more, do more and expand the sales pipeline.
Keeper - Put your CFO hat on - this could be from 12-2pm each day where you plan your weekly lead generation activities according to your budget. Ryan gives the example of if you only have $10, but stamps and send out direct mail to key clients promoting your services.
Doer - Put your COO hat on - this is time for putting all of the above into action, conducting the sales meetings, going to appointments. Ryan says, 'it's important to think about yourself as an entrepreneur and sales person, as someone who runs a large company.'
2. Three E's For Success In Sales
The most important aspects of a seller. Endurance, Empathy and Enthusiasm. This resonated with me, the best sellers always have these attributes in droves.
Empathy with a buyer is super important and will take you further in terms of building long-term relationships and providing value to your clients.
Endurance is paramount to a career in sales as some deals take months or even years to put together, sales is for a person who can see the vision and is willing to go the distance with a buyer.
Enthusiasm is the life blood of successful sales people, it can transform a sale from no deal to sold in moments because it is contagious. If you are working in sales means you are in the people business and people are emotional beings.
3. Take An Improv Class
Improv is a training ground for Sales. Learning how to listen and act on your feet is incredibly important for sales people. Improv is not only fun, it's about creating situations, and negotiating peoples emotions.
4. Start With A Compliment
Do it different, get them to smile and start a positive interaction. A first impression is made in less than 10 seconds, if it's positive you're building trust right away. You can't get a first impression back so make sure it's a good one!
5. Follow Up, Follow Through, Follow Back
Follow Up - Break down your leads into 3 categories Hot, Warm and Cold, follow up every day, week and month respectively.
Follow Through - do what you say you are going to do. It shows clients that you are invested and builds relationships.
Follow Back - This is about keeping in touch with clients that did not purchase or hire you.
6. The Four W's
The Why - What thoughts drive you to keep moving forward in your career? Ryan chose a career in sales because there is no ceiling and there is always more to reach for.
The Work - What do you do every day to expand your business? Ask yourself, what are you really selling?
The Wall - is something you are running from, a place you never want to go back to and will do everything in your power to never be there again. This could be an awful job, a bad relationship or a time when you couldn't afford to pay your bills. Ryan's wall was one day in a grocery store when his credit card was declined and he broke down in tears on the subway feeling completely defeated. This was the moment he decided to get into real estate, he runs from this wall every day.
The Win - Your mission statement, it's what you're completely passionate and what get's you out of bed in the morning to do what you love. It must be bigger than a reward, the win is the legacy you leave behind.
7. Start Your Day The Night Before
A the end of each day, do your house keeping, review your diary for the following day the night before so you know whats coming up, Be prepared so you can account for unexpected changes to your day.
8. Say YES To Everything
Saying "yes" is highly correlated to selling more. The time it takes to do one deal you can probably do 5 or 6 deals at the same time.' There will always be objections, the goal is to turn negatives into positives.' Ryan talks a lot about keeping multiple balls up in the air.
9. Time vs Benefit Analysis
Knowing when to let the deal go is an important part of selling smart. Decide which accounts to move on from, Ryan suggests letting go of people who are completely irrational, or just plain mean! These are people that you don't want to waste your time on, let go of them so that their negative energy doesn't affect other parts of your life.
10. The 7 Stages Of Selling
Excitement.....Frustration.....Fear......Disappointment......Acceptance......Happiness......and Relief.
This a short summary of 10 sales lessons I came across whilst reading the book, there are at least 10 more. Ryan is a champion seller of our time going from zero to over $1 billion in real estate sales in ten years, managing a team of 62 people and entertaining millions on two Bravo TV shows.
If you don't have time to read the Sell It Like Serhant, then this episode of Talks at Google where Ryan made a recent appearance has got you covered. But seriously, buy the book if you're passionate about sales, want to laugh hysterically and become the ultimate sales machine.
