Mark Jewell's Blog: Selling Energy, page 321

The 5 Senses of Success

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One of the best ways to achieve success is to imagine yourself achieving it. It’s one thing to say to yourself, “I’m going to close this sale.” It’s another thing altogether to immerse all of your senses that are stimulated in the wake of a successful sale. Before you meet with a new prospect, take some time to think about what you will see, taste, hear, smell, and feel once you seal the deal.

What does a big sale look like? Perhaps it’s a cash deposit, a check, a purchase order, or an award for being a top sales producer.

What does a big sale taste like? Perhaps it’s a fabulous meal at your favorite “special occasion” restaurant to celebrate your victory.

What does a big sale sound like? Perhaps it’s your boss saying, “Wow, that's the biggest sale this company's ever made. You're awesome! Great job.” 

What does a big sale smell like? Perhaps you're going to take your husband or wife on a special vacation where you smell the ocean surf, evergreen trees, or the freshly cut fairway at a famous golf resort.

What does a big sale feel like? Perhaps it’s your sales manager slapping you on the back for a job well done. Or perhaps it’s the feel of your new customer shaking your hand when he or she says, "You know what, you're the first vendor who actually understands what I do for a living. I know we're going to have a long and mutually prosperous relationship together.”

If my own experience using this technique is a reliable predictor of how well it will work for you, I can assure you that taking the time to richly imagine what your success is going to look like, taste like, sound like, smell like, and feel like will give your mind a holographic image of success. Do that, and you'll have many more successes come true than if you had not taken the time to do such an exercise.

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The 5 Senses of Success

One of the best ways to achieve success is to imagine yourself achieving it. It’s one thing to say to yourself, “I’m going to close this sale.”  It’s another thing altogether to immerse all of your senses that are stimulated in the wake of a successful sale. Before you meet with a new prospect, take some time to think about what you will see, taste, hear, smell, and feel once you seal the deal.
What does a big sale look like? Perhaps it’s a cash deposit, a check, a purchase order, or an award for being a top sales producer.
What does a big sale taste like? Perhaps it’s a fabulous meal at your favorite “special occasion” restaurant to celebrate your victory.
What does a big sale sound like? Perhaps it’s your boss saying, “Wow, that's the biggest sale this company's ever made. You're awesome! Great job.” 
What does a big sale smell like? Perhaps you're going to take your husband or wife on a special vacation where you smell the ocean surf, evergreen trees, or the freshly cut fairway at a famous golf resort.
What does a big sale feel like? Perhaps it’s your sales manager slapping you on the back for a job well done. Or perhaps it’s the feel of your new customer shaking your hand when he or she says, "You know what, you're the first vendor who actually understands what I do for a living. I know we're going to have a long and mutually prosperous relationship together.”
If my own experience using this technique is a reliable predictor of how well it will work for you, I can assure you that taking the time to richly imagine what your success is going to look like, taste like, sound like, smell like, and feel like will give your mind a holographic image of success. Do that, and you'll have many more successes come true than if you had not taken the time to do such an exercise.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from Jewell Insights, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”


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A Fitting Day to Launch Our Labor of Love

In the late 19th century, Labor Day was created to be a celebration of the American labor movement.  It is a holiday dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers.
It should come as no surprise that Rachel and I intentionally chose Labor Day to release our new book Selling Energy:  Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved!  Those of you who have heard me speak know that I identify with the term “workafrolic” and that I often reference quotes that herald the merits of diligence in pursuing noble goals:
“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.”“Happiness is the by-product of achievement.”“The only place ‘success’ comes before ‘work’ is in the dictionary.”
Taking the concept of a book from dream to reality takes a lot of work.  We were motivated to undertake this challenge knowing how much it would help others in being more successful in their quest to move efficiency forward.
I want to thank the 105 people who took the time to write a testimonial sharing how our daily insights have created value for them; and, everyone who made it possible for us to pre-sell over 3,000 copies of the book across 42 states and 12 countries.  That outpouring of support gave us the extra oomph we needed as we were nearing the finish line and juggling the thousand and one details required to bring a hardcover business book to market.
Our goal is to make this a national best seller this month.   Doing so should catapult the notion of “selling efficiency effectively” into the mainstream, creating a rising tide that floats all boats in our industry.  We envision NPR interviews in our utility clients’ territories, which will give us the opportunity to give a shout-out to their programs.  We picture prospects seeing the book on the best seller list – perhaps even paging through a copy at the bookstore – and finally understanding that energy efficiency can indeed make their operations more competitive, profitable, and valuable. 
We need your help to spread the word.  This book will allow our message to reach a greater audience… moving from teaching 5,000 people a year to influencing 50,000 or more.  In order to achieve this monumental goal, we need your help in igniting the fire for Selling Energy across all market actors in every corner of the world.  Thank you in advance for helping us with the launch. 
For many, Labor Day is the last hurrah of summer.   How fitting to use it as a springboard for everyone’s success in getting customers to say “Yes!” to energy projects.  As added fuel, we are offering a $150 gift card for online training through SellingEnergy.com for every book ordered between September 1st and September 25th.  (Sales in the first week of September are particularly helpful since that’s when we’re pursuing the Wall Street Journal best seller list.)
Here is how you can help spread our book’s “elevator pitch”:“Learn what it takes to get customers to say ‘Yes!’ to energy projects!”
Post a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Good Reads, and other e-commerce websites.Share news and insights with your networks (see examples HERE):Share news of the BONUS OFFER: $150 gift card for every book purchased between September 1st and 25th, 2014.Let your colleagues know you are enjoying the book.Share some of the book’s insights.Ask your local bookstore to carry it.Buy copies to give away to those who can benefit from the message.Pre-order copies and give away both the books and the bonus $150 gift cards at your next trade ally event, holiday party, annual meeting, trade show, or lunch-and-learn.Encourage your trade allies (distributors, contractors, etc.) to get with the program and start selling efficiency effectively!Share the news on industry blogs or let Mark be a guest blogger or interviewee.Tell us who else should be hearing this message.
We want to get this book in the hands of anyone responsible for advancing efficiency: UtilitiesProgram implementersManufacturers and their repsDistributorsContractorsRegulatorsEco-entrepreneursTrade organizationsUnionsEngineersArchitectsTransitioning professionalsCollege studentsEnergy users!Any other roles that influence the efficiency decision, even if their actual titles or job descriptions don’t include the word “sales.”

Thank you for your continued interest in and support of our work.  They say it takes a village to raise a child.  We’re convinced it takes a village to do just about any grand undertaking, including launching a best seller!
Selling Energyopens with a quote from my father: “The best way to prosper yourself is to prosper others.”  Rachel and I are convinced that this book will prosper anyone who reads it.  We thank you in advance for helping that vision become a reality.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from Jewell Insights, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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Weekly Recap, August 31, 2014

Monday: Learn about how the 80/20 Principle can turbocharge your business plan in Richard Koch's book  The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less .Tuesday: Discover some common body language cues and learn what those cues might be saying about your prospect's thoughts and feelings.Wednesday: A continuation of Tuesday's blog, this article covers more body language cues.Thursday: People value what they ask for more than what they are offered unsolicited. Learn why talking too much may fail to create interest in your product or service.Friday: Discover several shortcomings of Simple Payback Period (SPP).Saturday: Read this article from LifeHacker and learn why procrastination may increase stress, decrease the quality of your work, and lead to frustration, guilt, and burnout.
Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from Jewell Insights, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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I’ll Do It Later

We all know that procrastination is bad for productivity. So why is it such a pervasive issue in the workplace? Because we trick ourselves into believing that we can save tasks for later and still get them done, with few (or no) repercussions. While we may be able to procrastinate and still meet our deadlines, this practice increases stress, decreases the quality of our work, and leads to frustration, guilt, and burnout.
An article published on the LifeHacker blog suggests that we are overly optimistic when we make the decision to “do it later.” We end up making unrealistic predictions about the amount of free time we actually have available and about our ability to work effectively “later.” The article proposes that we need to reframe the way in which we approach our tendency toward procrastination, and it provides several actionable solutions to the issue. If you find yourself procrastinating, I highly recommend reading this article and considering the suggested remedies:
http://lifehacker.com/why-saving-tasks-for-tomorrow-doesnt-always-work-1627522714

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from Jewell Insights, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”


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The Shortcomings of Simple Payback Period

I’ve written several blogs about the perils of using Simple Payback Period (SPP) as a metric when evaluating proposed expense-reducing projects. I keep returning to this topic because so many efficiency salespeople still use this inferior yardstick, in many cases because they don’t know how to migrate the discussion from simple payback to a more proper metric. Today, we’ll discuss several shortcomings of SPP. Keep these concepts in mind the next time you encounter a prospect who insists on evaluating your project using this broken metric.
Simple Payback Period is blind to the time value of money. SPP treats every dollar received as if it were received today. This is not wise.  The sooner you receive your returns, the sooner you can reinvest those returns. Simply put, dollars that are returned to you sooner are worth more.
Simple Payback Period really has no visibility as to what happens after the date at which the initial investment is repaid. Suppose you present your prospect with two options to choose from. I’m sure your prospect would be interested to know that although Option 1 and Option 2 have the same Simple Payback, the former lasts only one year beyond the Simple Payback Period while Option 2 continues producing savings for 10 more years. Ultimately, the amount of profit your prospect makes is going to be determined by how long the investment continues to produce savings after its initial cost is recouped.
Many people think of payback as sort of a proxy for risk mitigation, figuring that the faster they get their money back, the less risky it is. That’s simply flawed reasoning!
A lot of other people think of payback as reimbursement of an expense. What they should be focusing on instead is the return they receive on their initial investment. Extending the analysis to include periods beyond the payback opens the door to considering your first cost as a true investment, rather than as an expense that you hope will be recouped through savings as quickly as possible.
Simple Payback Period also only considers the first year’s cash flow.  This is problematic in two ways:  1) it ignores irregular cash flows in later years; and, 2) it doesn’t take into account cash flows after the payback period. 
Even if you use “Cumulative Payback,” which tallies incoming cash flows (regular or irregular) and tells you how long it will take to recoup your initial investment, you’re still blind to the time value of money, and to the total amount of cash inflows you can expect to see over the analysis term. “Discounted Payback” offers the next level of accuracy (taking into account time value of money); however, it is still blind to returns occurring after the Simple Payback or Cumulative Payback Period. 

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from Jewell Insights, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”


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Let Them Ask the Questions

Passionate people love to talk about their passions. If you’re in the efficiency industry, you may be passionate about efficiency. One of the habits that I’ve noticed among passionate salespeople is that they dominate the conversation waxing poetic about their business. While it is great to show your passion, being verbose is not always the best way to create interest in your product or service. People value what they ask for more than what they are offered unsolicited.
So what does this mean for you? Suppose someone asks you what you do for a living. Rather than launching into a long spiel about your business, give a short response and ask them what they do. People love to talk about themselves, so you can build rapport by asking your conversation partner about his or her own business.
Once you learn a bit about the business in question, focus on something you can relate to. Perhaps you’ve worked with clients in your prospect's industry. If so, you could mention how much your product or service has benefited those particular clients. Chances are your prospect will be intrigued enough to start asking you questions to get more information.
This is just one example of the many ways in which you can create interest without explicitly saying why your product or service is interesting. Let the person with whom you’re speaking want to hear more and they’ll be more inclined to ask you questions.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from Jewell Insights, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”


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Body Language, Part Two

Today, we’ll continue with some more body language clues:
If your prospect feels confident in what they are saying or thinking, they may:-Clasp their hands behind their back.-Clasp their hands in front of their body.-Touch their fingertips together.-Sit in a dominant position. Taking up a lot of space while sitting with hands clasped behind the head or ankle crossed on opposite knee signals confidence.Action: Avoid debate – the prospect likely knows a lot about the topic, and you don’t want to ruffle their feathers.
If your prospect feels defensive, they may:-Fold their arms.-Cross their legs.-Note: Be intelligent as you evaluate these positions to make sure that you're actually seeing a shift in body language that correlates with the topic of discussion. In some cases, people may fold their arms or cross their legs simply to get comfortable.Action: Try to be more flexible.
If your prospect is doubtful, they may:-Hide or cover up their mouth.Action: Reassure the prospect.
If your prospect is anxious, they may:-Bite their fingernails.-Fidget.-Tap their fingers or heels.-Jiggle the contents of their pockets.-Whistle.Note: Any one of these actions alone may not be a definitive sign of anxiety. Look for three or more of these symptoms before jumping to conclusions.Action: Probe for the source of the anxiety and alleviate accordingly.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from Jewell Insights, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”


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Body Language, Part One

True sales professionals pay close attention to body language. Why is it valuable to understand body language? First, you get a relatively accurate gauge of your prospect’s thoughts and feelings based on these visual clues. This can help you decide what to talk about (and what to avoid talking about). Second, you become cognizant of what messages you’re sending with your own body language. You can use this knowledge to help build rapport with your prospect.

Over the course of the next two days, we’ll do a high-level fly-over of what body language can mean to you.

If your prospect has a positive reaction to what you’re saying, they may:
-Rub their eyebrows.
-Scratch their eyebrows.
-Scratch part of the forehead above their eyebrows.
-Push their eyeglasses back in place.
Action: Keep doing what you’re doing!

If your prospect has a negative reaction to what you’re saying, they may:
-Touch their nose.
-Scratch their nose.
-Note: They may have a cold or allergies. If so, don't read too much into it; however, touching or scratching the nose is generally a good indication that they're not really loving what you're saying.
Action: Shift to another talking point to move away from the negative evaluation.

If your prospect is interested in what you’re saying, they may:
-Tilt their head.
-Speak with greater vocal modulation (sing-songy speech patterns).
Action: Look for additional signs of interest.

If your prospect wants to leave the conversation, they may:
-Not stand directly facing you with their shoulders parallel to yours.
-Look at down at their watch.
Action: Redirect the conversation by changing the subject or asking a question.

Stay tuned for more on this topic tomorrow…


Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from Jewell Insights, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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The 80/20 Principle

Some of you may have heard of the 80/20 principle (also known as the Pareto principle) which states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. In terms of our jobs as efficiency sales professionals, this means that 80% of our sales might come from 20% of our customers. Of course, this figure varies from person to person; however, the concept that a large majority of our success comes from a small minority of our efforts is a powerful one.
What if we were to focus our time and effort on the 20% that has the greatest impact on the result we hope to accomplish (whether it is the best clients with the highest return, the marketing campaign that has shown the most customer engagement, or the product that people are most interested in purchasing)? Rather than spreading our time evenly across all of our duties, we should focus a disproportionate amount of attention on the ones that have the greatest amount of impact.
If you’re interested in the 80/20 principle and want a practical guide to help you implement it into your business plan, I recommend picking up a copy of The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less, by Richard Koch.
Here’s a summary from Amazon Books:
“How anyone can be more effective with less effort by learning how to identify and leverage the 80/20 principle--the well-known, unpublicized secret that 80 percent of all our results in business and in life stem from a mere 20 percent of our efforts.

“The 80/20 principle is one of the great secrets of highly effective people and organizations.

“Did you know, for example, that 20 percent of customers account for 80 percent of revenues? That 20 percent of our time accounts for 80 percent of the work we accomplish? The 80/20 Principle shows how we can achieve much more with much less effort, time, and resources, simply by identifying and focusing our efforts on the 20 percent that really counts. Although the 80/20 principle has long influenced today's business world, author Richard Koch reveals how the principle works and shows how we can use it in a systematic and practical way to vastly increase our effectiveness, and improve our careers and our companies.

“The unspoken corollary to the 80/20 principle is that little of what we spend our time on actually counts. But by concentrating on those things that do, we can unlock the enormous potential of the magic 20 percent, and transform our effectiveness in our jobs, our careers, our businesses, and our lives.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from Jewell Insights, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”
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