Hundreds of years ago in the streets of Teotihuacan … the biggest city in the world in the IVth century of our era … more than 200 000 people are living there in the shadows of the Pyramids of the Sun and of the Moon … the Toltecs lived in this area and were known as men and women of knowledge. The chaos of history forced them to be discreet and the elders had kept their knowledge secret.
Don Miguel Ruiz, a surgeon whose Dad was a Chaman inherited this knowledge. A near death experience in the 1970s changed his life. He then devoted himself to mastering this ancestral wisdom and to share it. His books have been sold millions of copies and been translated into 30 languages.
Whether you have read it or not, I share with you five pieces of wisdom to tackle the challenges we are facing … and yes, this wisdom will help you to sell in the current turmoil.
On one hand, one of the first possible reactions to reading the Toltec agreements could be: “It is so obvious, there is nothing revolutionary in this.”
On the other hand, this wisdom will speak immediately to you, you don’t need to be an expert to understand the Agreements … it is possible to apply them immediately, you just have to decide to act … to master them … it is another story.
If the intellect is able to understand them quickly enough, you will rapidly find yourself with very deep habitual behaviors to change … and it’s never so obvious to change habits … remember your attempts to stop smoking or other bad habits?
I was struck by the links which exist between them and the art of selling … let’s dive together into this wisdom that you can use every day, in the way you are trying to sell.
- Let your speech be impeccable: speak with integrity, say only what you think. Do not use speech against yourself, or to slander others.
In the field of sales, several applications can be drawn from this:
- Do not to slander the competition: realize the harm you are doing to yourself while doing that, be smart and prepare your words if you need to talk about the competition. Use a trick question instead.
- Don’t judge … the customer’s choices are his/her own, let’s respect them.
- Not wanting to be right at all costs … when the battle of arguments rages, when the objections are counter-argued foot by foot, there is no longer listening. Impeccable speech is also the silence of listening, respect and without judgment.
- Transparency is also a great virtue in sales, we are in the adult world, not everything works 100% ideally … we all know that. So be honest and transparent, your prospects deserve it and you will outperform the competition by building trust.
- Don’t react to anything personally
Do not make rejection a personal matter. You prospect by email, on social networks, by asking for referrals, whatever the method you are using, you will have rejections … this is life… trade will never be an exact science, besides, not asking is already a rejection.
And I can predict that sales in the coming months will be tough, will be hard, you will have to work harder, to prospect more … and you will face more rejections. Don’t take it personally. Some will, some won’t, so what … next … and prospect with the same energy, the same confidence … your prospect hears it, feels it.
The people in front of you act according to their reality, you have to learn to live with it.
- Make no assumptions: Have the courage to ask real questions.
The world is made up of prejudices, preconceived ideas… it is deeply human to interpret, it is therefore fundamental to clarify each interpretation
We live in a dream made of assumptions, these create realities… it is obvious that in the sale the fact of dwelling on interpretations does not generally lead to anything good.
If at the end of an appointment, you say “it went well with your manager” … what does this hide behind your interpretation? What factual information supports this judgment? What does the customer really think ? Have you asked him clearly?
You know the power of deep, meaningful questions … time to write down them.
- Always do your best: Whatever the circumstances, just do your best and you will avoid regrets.
The only thing you can control is you and what you say, do and how you do it.
You don’t control the customer’s story.
Focus on your practice, prepare, train, over and over, read … you will eliminate regrets and remorse …
- Be sceptical but learn to listen: Don’t believe yourself or anyone else.
Use the force of doubt to question everything you hear: is it really the truth? Hear the intent behind the words and you will understand the real message. Once more questions are at stake … be ready.
Examine everything that is said, scrape away what’s under the varnish. You have to show healthy scepticism towards the client.
Of course, questioning will help you find the right agreement…
The Toltecs Agreements are the way to wisdom in sales … to your future success. Never give up.