043 The secret of sales success and why it matters with guest Stephan Schiffman

We all have something to sell. It may be a product, a service or even yourself. But how do we do it successfully and where do we start?

Stephan Schiffman is a leader in motivational and sales training and has been since 1979. He has trained and consulted to a wide range of corporations including IBM, AT&T, Motorola, Sprint, CIGNA, and a host of other organizations throughout the world.

In addition to training and consulting, he is the author of 70 best selling sales books.  His writing and all of his training are based upon actual sales experiences that have been proven successful. He has been rated as the number one sales expert in prospecting by Personal Selling Power magazine.

In this episode, Stephan’s Inspire Me quote is from Winston Churchill:

“Never, never, never give up.”

Stephan Schiffman is passionate about selling, but even more so he is passionate about helping others learn how to sell.  In this episode, Leary and Armin visit with him about ideas and tips on helping others find their own success. Success in selling and success in life.

His definition of success is simple: You are a success if you are happy doing what you do and know that you have ownership of your own success.

In order to be a success, he believes we need to continue to take a look at our goals. As we change and grow, our goals need to change and grow too. Selling is really “a vehicle to accomplish a goal.” If it’s selling yourself or selling a product or service, there really isn’t a difference. “Selling is understanding what the other person wants to accomplish,” Stephan says.  “It’s building a relationship with someone and then having a conversation with them.”

To sell, you need to ask people what they do; ask how they do it; ask when they do it; ask where they do it; ask who they do it with; ask why they’re doing it that way, and then help them do it better. It’s really all about creating relationships with people. But, there are always skills that can be developed in each of us. Stephan offers us four key sales abilities that he believes are important for everyone to develop:

1. Prospecting – actually getting in front of somebody
2. Making the presentation – having a conversation about the service or product
3. Product malleability – a good understanding of the service or product
4. Personal and professional development – things we do to improve ourselves

Stephan’s Challenge Me challenge for this episode is simple: practice. “Don’t just let things happen to you,” he says. We need to think about where we are and where we want to go. Just as an athlete practices to play in the real game, you need to practice to play in your real game.

Resources mentioned or related to this podcast that may be helpful to you:

• www.stephanschiffman.com, Stephan Schiffman’s personal website
  
• Asking Questions, Winning Sales, If you could read only one of Stephan’s 70 books, this is the one he’d pick for you