BECOME A PERFORMER

by Stan Billue, CSP

FOREWORD:

Mega-Buck Income Sales Pros are the elite, that very special group that comprise the top 5% of all Salespeople in the World. They produce 95% of the Sales that are made and enjoy a level of income and a lifestyle that most people would love to achieve.

The good news is that Selling is a learned skill and virtually anyone has the potential to become a Super Star. Common sense dictates that the quickest and easiest way to become a Mega-Buck Income producer is to simply search them out and then emulate them. Talk like they talk, perform like they perform, use the very same words and phrases they use, copy their attitude and mind set, or in other words become a chameleon. For over 3 decades I’ve had the privilege of studying and brain-picking these Icons of the Sales Industry and here is another one of their Super Success Secrets.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After doubling his Income for 5 consecutive years selling on the Phone, Stan Billue became a Speaker and Trainer and for the next 20 years conducted up to 22 engagements per month. Stan has been a student of successful Business Owners, Top Sales Pros, and Imaginative Entrepreneurs, an hour a day for over 30 years and has built a reputation as a recognized expert in Sales Training, Telemarketing, Motivation, Mentoring, Marketing and Copy Writing. He’s taught more 6 and 7 figure a year Income earning Mega-Buck Sales Pros than any other Trainer and his power-packed Audio and Video programs are sold in 45 Countries and counting. You can subscribe to his Free monthly Newsletter and weekly Marketing Tip at www.StanBillue.com

“If you’ll work at Selling for the next 5 years like most people WON’T,

you’ll be able to live your Life like most people CAN’T.”

BECOME A PERFORMER

Please appreciate that Prospects and Customers want to be entertained. They don’t want to be bored by someone who is only educating them. They would much rather talk with and listen to Sales Pros who are exciting, dynamic, and enthusiastic, rather than boring. They want and need more than just the facts and figures in order to make a decision. Granted they need the features to back up their decision, however the decision making process is pure emotion, and not common sense, logic, or rational. A quick note of caution would be to learn how to sell with emotion without getting emotionally involved.

First, work at developing your Voice. It’s a magical musical instrument that can be played in at least two octaves. There are even voice exercises that will permanently lower the tone of your voice. Learn to speed up to create urgency or slow down where every word drips with emotion. Learn to raise your volume to make a point or speak quietly to create a little mystery or intrigue. Most importantly, learn to listen and adapt your style of speaking to closely mirror your Prospect or Client. Be willing to be a chameleon and either slow down or speed up to match their speaking style. It’s called Pacing and it’s absolutely critical to your success. I know we wouldn’t say this, however when we refuse to Pace ourselves, we might as well be saying this to a Prospect or Client; “Before I get all cranked up, I need to tell you that I talk to everyone exactly the same way. If you feel comfortable with that, fine. If you don’t, I don’t really care.” None of us would ever dare say that however we imply that each time we refuse to listen and adapt to their style of speaking. When we mirror their speech pattern, 95% of people will have no idea that we’re doing it. All they know is that they feel extremely comfortable communicating with us. Needless to say if they speak slow and you speak fast, you’ll be a threat to them. On the other hand if they speak fast and you speak slow, you might put them to sleep. Please appreciate that these are Communication Skills that will help you become more proficient, no matter what your calling is in life. You can educate Prospects all day long and all you end up with will be a bunch of educated Prospects. Learn to put the emphasis on one or two words in each sentence that will stand out and be remembered even if the Prospect misses the rest of the words. Either raise or lower your volume on those words, or repeat them, or pause just before or just after the words. I’ll go so far as to suggest that if you can’t find one or two words in each sentence that should be emphasized, the sentence probably isn’t needed.

Some people have to work on their diction, enunciation, and pronunciation, to be better understood. In fact, if you will practice slowing down to the point where you are pro-noun-cing li-ter-al-ly e-ve-ry syl-la-ble of e-ve-ry word, once you get it down that good, you can speed up to bursts of about 480 words a minute and still be completely understood because you are still pronouncing every syllable of every word.

It’s interesting because the #1 fear of people is not falling off a Building, or drowning, or anything traumatic like that. The #1 fear people have is Public Speaking. I challenge you to join Toastmasters or the National Speakers Association, or at least get up in front of a few Kids and teach Sunday School. Through the years we’ve found that once you overcome that fear of Speaking in Public, you’ll never ever be intimidated by a Prospect or Customer for the rest of your life.

The bottom line is that we need to sound different then, more interesting then, more creative then, more exciting then, more entertaining then, the other 95% of the people trying to sell them something or at least communicate effectively with them. And by the way, if you do Business face to face, never look someone in the eyes. I know we were all taught to keep eye contact, however some people have the ability to look right through you and/or intimidate you. From now on, look directly between their eyes at the top of their nose. It will appear that you are keeping eye contact but you really aren’t.

Here’s another Advanced Tip. Learn to make the word sound like the word, and here’s what I mean. Go to the Dictionary and highlight descriptive words, adverbs or adjectives, or whatever they’re called. Then practice making the sound of that word and eventually adding the facial expressions, and yes, even the body language to go with it. If you say “Exciting” make it sound “Exciting”, etc. Some pros even go to school to learn accents or dialects so they can help their Prospect or Client feel more comfortable. And by the way, the best accent is a true English accent, from Britain, Australia, or South Africa, because they are mesmerizing to listen to. The second best is a good old southern drawl, because it’s very relaxing and non-threatening.

Next, work at developing your language. We are blessed with the most beautiful and descriptive language in the World, yet we butcher it something terrible. We continue to use worn out phrases like; “How are you today?” that’s been around for so many years that it actually turns people off. Why not say; “Can you hear me OK?” or “Am I pronouncing your name correctly?”

ü We use too many words such as; “The reason I’m calling is” instead of just telling them. Why not say; “I’m calling to introduce myself and share something very important that I knew you would want to know about”.

ü We say things like; “Let me ask you a question” instead of just asking it.

ü We use weak, weasel, and whiney words such as; “I’d like to ask you a couple of questions if that’s all right”. Why not say; “I need to gather some brief information so I can determine how best to be of service to you, fair enough?”

ü Instead of using a negative word like; “I’d like to take a few minutes of your time”, please appreciate that no one wants you to take anything from them. They might be willing to invest or set aside a few minutes to learn about something that could benefit them, but they don’t want you to take anything from them.

Probably one of the worst words is “think”. We invariable say things like; “I think you’ll really like this” instead of

“I know you’ll really like this” or

“I feel confident that you’ll really like this.”

The worst possible use of the word “think” unfortunately is part of most Salespeople’s Closing arsenal, & in fact it’s their favorite Close, which is “Well, what do you think.” 9 out of 10 times when you ask that dumb question you’ll get this in return; “Well, I think I want to think about it some more.” Please be willing to learn 5 or 10 Closes and at least replace the “Think About It” Close.

If nothing else, at least use Trial Closes like;

“How does this look?” or

“Based on everything we’ve discussed, how does this sound?” or

“Does this feel good?”

By the way, Trial Closes are great because they only ask for an opinion, however if they give you a strong enough response, you’ve just made your Sale.

Also avoid using Buzz Words specific to your Industry, unless the other person uses them first which is an indication they know what they mean, or unless you’re willing to stop and explain the meaning. Whenever we use a word or phrase that the other person does not immediately recognize, we lose them mentally for the next 10 to 20 seconds while they’re trying to figure out what it meant. Constantly be looking for emotional Words and Phrases to add to your repertoire. Invest some time with a Dictionary & Thesaurus and learn at least one new descriptive, emotional, or power word a day.

During my 20 years as a Trainer and Speaker, I was always asked for my personal collection of power-packed and emotional words and phrases. This is the first time in history that I’ve ever released “my personal stash”.

MOTIVATING WORDS:

Absolutely	Amazing	Approved	Attractive
Authentic	Bargain	Beautiful	Better
Big	Colorful	Colossal	Complete
Confidential	Crammed	Delivered	Direct
Discount	Easily	Endorsed	Enormous
Excellent	Exciting	Exclusive	Expert
Famous	Fascinating	Fortune	Free
Full	Genuine	Gift	Gigantic
Greatest	Guaranteed	Helpful	Highest
Huge	Immediately	Improved	Informative
Instructive	Interesting	Largest	Latest
Lavishly	Liberal	Lifetime	Limited
Lowest	Magic	Mammoth	Miracle
Noted	Odd	Outstanding	Personalized
Popular	Powerful	Practical	Professional
Profitable	Profusely	Proven	Quality
Quickly	Rare	Reduced	Refundable
Remarkable	Reliable	Revealing	Revolutionary
Scarce	Secrets	Security	Selected
Sensational	Simplified	Sizable	Special
Startling	Strange	Strong	Sturdy
Successful	Superior	Surprise	Terrific
Tested	Tremendous	Unconditional	Unique
Unlimited	Unparalleled	Unsurpassed	Unusual
Useful	Valuable	Wealth	Weird
Wonderful

CONSERVATIVE WORDS and PHRASES:

No Nonsense	Precise	Individualized	Established
Responsive	Do-a-ble	Straight Forward	Fail-Safe
Complete	Pragmatic	Flawless	Proven
Winning	Down to Earth	Noteworthy	Definite
Stable	Step-by-step	Shrewd	Practical
Dependable	Trust Worthy	Timely	Nuts and Bolts
Tested	Simple but Effective	Real-Life	Elegant
Clear Cut	Personal	Comprehensive	Preeminent
Enhance	Safe	Significant	Savvy
Self-Evident	Measurable	Hands-On

AGGRESSIVE WORDS and PHRASES:

Dramatic	Hard-Hitting	State of the Art	Profitable
Blink of an Eye	Extraordinary	Inevitable	Formidable
Innovative	Unprecedented	Sweeping	New
Critical	Winning	Competitive	Energizing
Hard Headed	Jam Packed	Improve	Exclusive
Valuable	Heavy Duty	Ultimate	Penetrating
Indisputable	Bona Fide	Stunning	Eye-catching
Definite	Tremendous	Provocative	Original
Immediate	Gratification	Satisfaction	Sensational
Latest	Monumental	Trail-Blazing	Instant
Automatic	High Tech	Imperative	Tough
Fresh	Exhilarating	Full	Complete
Expanded	Thought Provoking	One and Only	Strategic
Unforgettable	Special	Unbelievable	Disguised
Perfect	Crucial	Critical

And last but not least, ALWAYS STAND UP WHEN MAKING A PRESENTATION.

The 75 most powerful words and phrases in the English language

Amazing	Astonishing	Astounding	Announcing
Appalling	At Last	Bargain	Bonus
Breakthrough	Charter	Comfortable	Discount
Discover	Discovery	Easy	Effortless
Exclusive	Fearless	First Time Ever	Forever
Free	Gift	Guaranteed	How to...
How I ...	Hurry	Immediate	Improved
Inevitable	Instantly	Intense	Introducing
Chance	It’s here	Just Arrived	Last
Limited	Locked-In	Miracle	Money
Never Before	Nothing To Lose	New	Now
Opportunity	Painless	Premium	Prestigious
Priority	Promise	Proven	Quick
Revolutionary	Right Away	Rush	Sale
Save	Savings	Scandalous	Secret
Send No Money	Sensation	Simple	Special
Shocking	Steal	Surprising	The Truth
Today	Unique	Valuable	Why
Win	Windfall	Yes

Call to Action Phrases

Act now	Free Information	Amazing literature
Ask for free Report, etc	Bargain	Lists
Sent free	Be first to qualify	Catalog included
Complete details free	All details free	Everything supplied
Exciting details free	First lesson only $___	Free booklet explains all
Free plans tell how	Free selling kit	Free wholesale plan
Free with approvals	Get started today	Get your copy now
Get yours wholesale	Free Gift with purchase	Investigate today
Limited time Offer	Money making facts free	No obligation
Offer limited	Send today	Order Now
Don't Delay	Sales kit furnished free	Try before you buy
Send for free details	Send no money now	Test lesson free
Timing is Critical	Unique sample offer	Valuable details free
Yours for the asking

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