One common misbelief nowadays is that the future will involve people going back to work and life going back to normal. But neither of those things are going to happen...so you need to learn how to go FORWARD at work instead. That’s why episode 502 of the Sell or Die Podcast is all about how YOU can adapt to the new normal and move forward in your work.
But before we dive right in, let us introduce ourselves in case this is your first visit. Welcome to the Sell or Die Podcast. We’re your hosts, Jeffrey & Jen Gitomer. Between the two of us, we’ve written the books The Little Red Book of Selling, Sales in a New York Minute, plus 15 other best selling books. We’ve also created the 7 figure sales formula program and the Breakthrough Business Babe Community.
Sell or Die is for sales professionals, sales managers, entrepreneurs and business owners who want to sell more at full price, earn loyalty, and have an unlimited stream of referrals. Every single episode will give you real-world, easy-to-implement solutions so that you can get your calls returned, your proposals read and acted on, while creating relationships that you can take all the way to the bank.
It’s time to sell or die…
So read the three points below to find out more about what it means to move forward and why you NEED to have this mindset instead of just going back to work. And for even more details on each point, listen to ALL of episode 501 of the Sell or Die Podcast on your preferred streaming platform!
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There’s a huge mistaken belief going around that people are going to go back to work and that things are going to return to normal. But the truth is, you’re never going back to the way it used to be. The way it used to be is officially dead. You’re not going to go back to a restaurant the same way or to the movies the same way – so why would you assume differently with work?
In fact, if you’re in sales, I guarantee that going back to work will require adapting to new actions, new thought processes and new ways of connecting. So going back is a really bad way to explain it. Instead, I’d encourage you to look at it as “going forward” to work.
So what kind of work differences are we talking about? Let’s think about this for a second. You’re in sales. You need to have a meeting with a potentially big customer who’s 74% of the way to buying your offer. So now, you’re trying to solidify the deal. Is your company really going to pay a thousand dollars for the airfare, dinner, wine and time it would take for you to fly out and make a sales call? No, because that would be a waste of time. If you fly to one place to make a call, just think of how many virtual calls you could have made in the same amount of time and gotten the same amount of results. You could have coffee delivered to these people by a catering service for one tenth of the price. You could even have lunch together on Zoom or on Skype.
However, there is one important factor to consider when you’re setting these virtual meetings up for your customers: how easy are you making it for them? Can they join the meeting in one click? Is it one step? Or is it like five different steps? And is it confusing? And what is the user experience like? Because that’s something you’ve never had to think about before. You just had to show up for the customer. Now, there is a step that the customer has to take in order to meet with you. And how simple are you making it for them?
This is why you must consider how you can adapt to the new sales world. Because you’re either doing that and moving forward or you’re going to be beaten by someone who is.
And I mean, why the hell are you having coffee by yourself in the morning where you could be having it with a customer?
Now I don’t know if you have the same reaction, but when I hear the word “forward,” I often think about looking forward to something. And I think this is the opposite emotional response we typically feel when we hear “going back.” Because there’s already dread in that term. No one wants to go back to something or anywhere. And even if you do go back to a book or a place, it’s not the same.
So if you’re in our Sell or Die Hards Official Facebook group, we’d love for you to pop in there this week and let us know what YOU are going forward to, what you are looking forward to in this new normal, what you’re doing differently in this new normal, and what you’re changing up. Don’t be shy about it – your idea could spur someone else’s idea! And you guys could really create new ideas for each other by communicating in that group about what you’re going to be doing just a little bit differently.
And to help spur some ideas of your own, Jeffrey and I are going to dig into other ways people can go forward instead of going back.
First of all, let’s define “going forward.” It’s forward-moving, forward motion and forward-thinking. And if you look at work from a forward standpoint, all of a sudden your mind starts thinking in a different pattern. And that’s a good thing because backward is not a good way to think. It’s important to understand what happened in history, but it’s MORE important to make a game plan to move forward for the future and then take action.
For me (Jeffrey), I’ve been moving forward by going virtual every day and getting thousands of interactions every day on Facebook Live. For those of you who haven’t joined me before, it’s on my public Facebook page at 9:59 AM pretty much every day. I get thousands of interactions with people from all over the US and the world by the end of the first hour, and you can do exactly the same thing.
Some helpful questions to consider when making your “moving forward” plan of action include:
And if you’re aren’t already using the word “video” in your answers, I’m telling you, you should. And if you get Jeffrey’s The New Normal Course, there’s a whole section of resources that will give you everything you need to master video.
And I mean, before this pandemic, we knew these video tools and resources existed. But now, we’ve found that they are absolutely amazing and with some of them, we’ve even partnered with and reached out to the CEOs and founders to get you guys a discount. So when you get The New Normal Course, you’ll get that list of resources right in the course.
So now we want to talk a little more about mindset. There’s one kind of mindset you can have: going back to work. With this, you’re just going back to the reality that was and living kind of how you were living. Versus, when you’re going forward to work, you’re thinking about and focusing on how things could be and should be and what things you want.
And I think going forward to work is a prime opportunity for people to change their work-life balance. Because forward-thinking involves asking yourself what you want your work to look like and how you can live your very best life. I was watching a Facebook live the other day and this entrepreneur said something brilliant. I’m going to butcher her words, but she said something like, “When I look back and think about this time, I want no regrets about the time spent with my family. And if that means that I have to have regrets about something I missed out on at work, that’s okay. I’m okay with that decision.”
And I want all you diehards to consider your own priorities. Ask yourselves questions like:
The truth is, you’re either going to work backward or forward. And I think that if you look at it from that perspective, you don’t want you to go back to anything because your “before” was broken. You were using the same techniques and strategies for the past hundred years, and now you’ve been given the opportunity to become proficient in so many new skills, like Zoom.
The question is, can you master those skills? Because now is the time to master video and new kinds of messaging and new ways to connect with customers so they feel great about you and they’re willing to buy. And know that you don’t have to pave a new path alone. I got a text from a buddy of mine that said, “What quarantine?” because he wasn’t looking at this from the standpoint of “I’m locked down.” He was looking at this situation as “This is what I do every day.” So maybe hook up with a couple of people that are inside salespeople and study what they do and how they do it, or put yourself in a position where you can learn more about connecting virtually or doing video. And obviously The New Normal Course is another resource you can lean on!
Like we mentioned earlier in this episode, “going back” to anything – including work – doesn’t usually make people feel excited. But we are SO excited about the new reality that every single one of you can create if you embrace a forward-thinking mindset. And for even more guidance doing that, don’t forget to tune in to episode 502 of the Sell or Die Podcast to learn even more about all three points outlined above.
Thank you so much for listening to Sell or Die! We hope that this episode has helped you to transform the way you think, given you new ideas, and provided a new perspective on the sales and business challenges you face every day so that you can win the customer all the way to the bank.
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Known as the King of Sales, Jeffrey Gitomer is the Author of 16 best-selling books including the Little Red Book of Selling, the Sales Bible, and his newest book Get Sh*t Done. In 2008, he was inducted in the Speakers Hall of Fame – the highest award in the speaking industry. His world-class list of clients include companies from Fortune 500 companies around the world. His digital Learning academy and signature course, The Seven-Figure Sales Formula, offers individuals and teams real-world sales strategies they can implement immediately.
Jen Gitomer gained her prowess in NYC as both a salesperson and award-winning sales leader for a Fortune 500 company. She is the best-selling Author of Sales in a New York Minute, CEO and Founder of Breakthrough Business Babe and a master business growth coach.
Jeffrey and Jen thank you, Diehard, for helping Sell Or Die achieve more than 2 million downloads!