Matthew Pollard (“The Rapid Growth Guy”) comes on Sales for Nerds to talk about how he learned to sell and become one of the top sales reps in Australia, despite being extremely introverted. He took an approach that seems so simple after he mentions it, but I hadn’t heard of anyone else doing sales “self-training” this way.In this episode, Matt discusses:
- How he taught himself to sell, including the steps of the sale, how to turn features into benefits, and how to close.
- How he taught his team to sell.
- “People hate to be sold to, but people love to buy.”
- Why if you’re doing too much “hard core selling”, your message isn’t right.
- Why introverts have a long term advantage in sales versus most extraverts. (And how to take that advantage.)
- Why he puts the message first, even before the audience.
- Why you need to turn features into benefits, and benefits into stories.
- Why stories are so important.
- What can I do above and beyond the core functional skills/services/products to give my customer an amazing experience.
- Why you don’t want to spend tons of time writing “educational” proposals– it not only wastes your time, it decreases your chances of winning.
- If you confuse the customer, you lose the sale.
- Practical steps on niching, including a real world example (and a meta-example of Matthew’s storytelling).
- Why our brains are overwhelmed by input and we have to focus.
- Focus on the people who love what you do– not the people you can never make happy.
- Most people have been motivated by fear of not having enough money for most of their lives. They have a set of goals that are driven from here.
- Why if you do what you love, there’s always more energy (as shown by Matthew in this interview after getting 4.5 hours of sleep).
- The mistake people make in underestimating themselves.
Get the episode now on iTunes.
The Wine
Senorio de Barahonda Sin Madera 2012– lots of pepper and blackberry and some licorice, but not in a bad way. Opens up nicely — although, as we note, it could really do with a steak or a lamb chop. 😉
Where you can find Matthew: Web site, @MatthewPollard_, LinkedIn. And here’s his growth exercise.
Where you can find Reuben: @Sales4Nerds, @Mimiran, Mimiran.com.
p.s. Here’s Sydney Road, where Matthew started his sales career:
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