Ep. 273 Don’t Chase – Hammer, or Throw Away

Joe Pici shares his dynamic interview on the Networking RX podcast .

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Get ready for an unfair advantage over your competition. This is The Sales Edge podcast. Where globally recognized sales expert and trainer Joe Pici helps you sharpen your skills for booking more appointments and closing more deals. And now here’s your host Joe Pici.

Joe Pici (JP):

Hey, team, good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. I was recently on a podcast with Frank Reagan called networking. RX podcast, it.

Phenomenal. It was so good that we thought we would share with you. It’s about relationship marketing. Networking generating leads. It’s all good content. But first we want to thank our sponsors Pici and Pici inc, which is speaking coaching training consulting, firm generating these booking appointments getting in front of your target market and sell more virtually that cam, which is our membership platform. We definitely want to thank you. So, I am Joe peachy. I’m your This is podcast number 273. So, let’s take it away. Welcome to the networking. Our next podcast. I’m your host Frank egg and founder and president of a business connections. Today. We have another great guests as our ongoing subscribers know, often on this podcast. I share ideas, insights and best practices for building. Those great, professional relationships and excelling at business networking occasionally. However, I’ll be interviewing subject matter. Experts authors speakers, thought, leaders social scientists, coaches and Consultants, who are in this space and they share their knowledge to help us build relationships is as well as understand. Why humans do the things that they do today’s guest is such an expert today. I have jokichi on Joe has been ranked as the best sales trainer speaker internationally by global. Gurus. Joe, welcome to the program. Frank has been a long

I’m it has. Yeah, Tim Hortons 20 years ago. At least, at least. Yeah, we both had more hair. Yeah, we did. We did. But that’s okay. That’s okay. So, let’s I guess. Let’s run down, you know, you’re a renowned sales trainer and much of Much of training is much of not training, but a sales of it’s all relationships, right? So I guess if you start kind of give us the rundown, I know you were, you’re an Amway for a number of years and that can help you build a foundation. Please take us through the, you know, we got started in the sales World in any Amway business. It was a good foundation, time for us to find out if we really wanted to open up our own business. If we, if we really wanted to sell

It in network marketing. There wasn’t a lot of good training on how, you know, and in a lot of it wasn’t about building long-term relationships or building Rapport and report is the key to everything. Sure, trust is the key to everything. So over the course of years, Don and I were formulating a methodology. So about 2002 2003. We left that business. We were successful, but we left. And we went full time. I do all are selling and In selling it’s about generating leads is to beginning and one ways that we agree with you and is whether you call it networking relationship. Marketing is how you cultivate relationships with people to open up the trust door and allow you to have a conversation. Yeah, you know, I think that’s a that’s a key. I think a lot of people get into the lead gen business or they buy leads thinking, those are sales and its really the Gateway.

Just relationships logo. OR Logo on LinkedIn, right. And they’ll I’ve got some names and I get hit with somebody the other day. Hey, I want to talk to you about selling ux who wants to have that call. Now. Let me, your 91 percent of our business is coming from LinkedIn, but we have a different approach to it. Okay, we take it offline immediately and I make a phone call. Amen. No, amen. I be totally great. No, and even if it’s an ice cold call, it warms up real quickly when it’s live, you know, one of the things that’s unique about our training and our trained sales training was corporately or boot camps. We do live outbound telephone call training, which nobody does. So we teach people at first point of contact needs to be person to person. It’s amazing the results we get but it’s amazing how much further down the line people.

Get with their relationships. Can you give us an example as to how someone? I’m not asking you to give the that’s a store, you know, example of, you know, how you would coach somebody on because people get on the phone right away. It’s brass tacks, right? Well, I’ll be really honest with you. I think a lot of it has to do with understanding communication Styles. Okay. I need are also master trainers of disc and we have taken this to a more of a bee. Behavioral approach. So we want to make sure we’re speaking. The other person’s language. And also we want to have integrity. So if I was calling you up, alright, I’ll give you a, I’ll give you a secret sauce here. I know that you’re an incredible author, and I know you speak and let’s say I was calling you with the idea that you are speaker trainer, coach, consultant author. I would simply say Frank.

I saw you view my profile. On LinkedIn. Tell me what you do. Hmm. And so you say, well, I’m a speaker trainer coach and consultant. Now, what’s going on in your mind is, what do you do? All right, then I’ll say, well, Frank. Let me tell you what I do today and we’ll decide if we want this conversation to go any further. I specialize in helping speakers, coaches trainers and coaches, and Consultants take their talent and intellectual property in monetized, and because I’ve been so forth, right?

Because I’ve been so honest and I haven’t played games. And I haven’t started talking about how wonderful I am. It either opens up a conversation of him. Them wanting to know more or they go. Well, that’s fantastic. Thanks for the call, right? Okay, so I am very politely Direct. I build relationships to trust and I think the entryway to trust is to be authentic and to be honest with people, I wouldn’t have been calling Frank.

Because I wanted to find out about his family. So why build a fake relationship? I’m going to tell you why I’m calling what I can do for you. Then you decide if you want to have a conversation with me. Gotcha. Gotcha. Do you keep a database of people? And I guess I’m what I’m getting at is I’m still a lot of people tell you know, of course, but it’s more not now. Well, they say that 85 percent of sales happens between

From the 6th in the 15th, contact, okay, 92% of people who quote unquote are selling whether their sales professionals or entrepreneurs business owners, never follow up. After the first call, whether it was a good one, a bad one or a no answer. They just don’t. And so, it took me 10 years to get Blue Cross. And Blue Shield. I never had a damn. I didn’t chase them. I stayed top of mind for 10 years and I got the contract. So, I don’t chase. I don’t Hammer, but I don’t throw away. All right, in our sales boot camp. I always start off with how many people the first time I called you, as more than three years ago and 85.

Say the room will raise their hands.

Okay. Yeah, I think you do. Your philosophy is on building relationships. That will, they think building relationships for people is different. I think everybody has their own idea of what is building a relationship. You know, I know one of the biggest pet peeves. I have about networking is when people exchange cards and say, I’m going to call you and they don’t

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Don’t return a phone call. We literally have gotten contracts over companies that have 50, 60. Employees have the big buildings because I returned every phone call. You know, I just, I think in building relationships, if you do what you say, you’re going to do, you defeat 90% of your competitors. And now, I totally agree. I and this kind of, it’s funny. My kids are my kids are getting out of college now and they’re getting on the Working World talking to my daughter and she was kind of commiserating. A lot of things you’re talking about is that, you know, people don’t do what they say. They’re going to do and my response to her was. Well, that’s

That because that just makes it easier to stand out it is. And you just, you just said gold. I don’t know if your audience just realized what you said, but I tell my coaching clients. It’s easier today to get business than ever in the history of the world because there’s so many people that don’t do the right thing at the right time. There’s a lot of people that are lazy. Yeah, and so just by doing the right thing you’re going to get clients. You’re going to build stronger relationships. Yeah. Well, I love what You said about between the six in the 15th touch point because so I hear it all the time. They do people will make these blanket generalizations. Well, these sorts of people just don’t do business or wait a minute here. You talk to to. It’s not a big sample size right now. I’ve talked to many, how many, you know, well, I can’t tell you. If there was a lot then just come up with two names, you know, and it’s funny because

About 10 years ago. I started to become metric driven. Okay, in other words, I track everything. Sure. And all in every company. I work with every individual, I work with, I teach in my system, and it doesn’t take a lot of time, but it doesn’t lie. Write it all of a sudden. Nobody works. As far as they thought they were working. Okay, I believe there will be nobody talk to as many people as they thought they talk to you. I’ve got up my My office. This is not my office sir Studio, but my office in the Next Room over is nothing but white boards.

And here we have the CRM, like your bills, but I have a whiteboard with nothing. But what I call, quote-unquote Core stories, those are my formal first meeting of Discovery with the client and then I have another one with proposals. And then, where does that proposal go? And it’s amazing like, for example, from January 1st until this morning. I got 222 formal proposals out at proposal doesn’t go out until after I do the meeting and they want one, right? They just my tracking just by, then you become more consultative, which is relationship. Rapport building sales versus transactional. So, are you keeping tally?

On the types of things that you’re doing. Number of number phone calls. I’ve had absolutely, you know, number of s calls. I’ve had I have a thing I call the focus board. Okay, and that Focus board tracks, the thing about sales. Okay, and I’m not talking about transactional, retail sales. I’m not talking about trying to get the one called closed sales is a process. I don’t believe you can teach or train Charisma and talent, but you can train. In processes skills Communications and messaging. And so by tracking these things, you know, how many different ways of my generating Prospect leads. We have 20 weights that we generate prospect leaves. Then what is our ability to take those leads? Pick up the phone and qualify a meeting. Just hear what I just said, I didn’t say get a meeting qualify. I haven’t had a note.

Or cancellation of 15 years because it’s their idea to do the meeting. Not mine. I don’t overcome objections. If they want a meeting, they show up then at that meeting. I don’t talk about the birds and the bees and the kids that it’s a, what I call a five-step core story meeting where they’re doing most of the talking very discovered that from there it either goes to proposal or not. So the SS is so. Quantifiable. And you said something earlier before we got on about people, not always knowing what’s going on. I, I see out there in Corporate America and even people themselves. They don’t hold themselves accountable. They don’t hold people accountable. And all of business sales is the easy thing to record. And so, the companies I work with their individuals. I work with, they need the log in all of their numbers. So at a glance, they can see how many calls.

They really make how many people that I really talk to. How many meetings do I really do? Right? How many businesses? I mean, I did my Tally. I get up. I’m crazy. I get up at 3:30 every morning. I get a stationary bike. You know, I’m closer to the end zone than you. So I got to make the most of my first know. So, so I’ve closed 93 contract so far this year. Well, let’s just because I’m recording, and I’m tracking it, you know, and and I think I heard the 11th commandment is Thou shalt not drive thyself. Okay, there we go. No, I love the whole notion of measuring and I don’t know. What goes on in your head. You can certainly share or not, but when you start to measure

Those metrics kind of scream at you every day you I mean you you can you can lie to me. You can’t lie to those numbers on the Whiteboard, you know, you got a lot of gold nuggets here. That I think probably your audience. Just let’s go by and they shouldn’t metrics to scream crying. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of people don’t keep metrics because sometimes what they scream is not good. Yeah. All right. I mean, you know, you come face-to-face with and I’m not talking about

Failure. It’s nothing to do with failure. Okay, it says everything to do is, am I doing the right activities? The right way, with the right people? At the end of every year, actually, actually I start doing it at the end of every week. I look at where every lead comes from. That cast is out. And where is it coming from? Is it coming from a networking group? On part of visit LinkedIn? Is it being on a podcast? Is it a cold call, all the different ways I’m seeing? Where is our business leads coming to that are converting to real business when all of those metrics that allows me to build rapport and okay, and it’s not fake, it’s real.

Well, I think these two points, I want to drive for audiences one. You’re selling a big-ticket item. These contracts are not.

You know, you know, they’re not by own. I don’t know what the numbers are, probably five digits easily. So these are big things. That’s the first point. I want to make and you can correct me if I’m wrong. But the second thing is, when you’re talking about all these sources of business, it’s not somebody handing you a deal. They’re just handing you an introduction. Hey, I met this person and they are a good person for you to talk to and then you are sick.

15 touch points away from that turning into something. So, let me deal with two things here. Okay. We have a B2B Market. Which okay? Is the bigger contracts? Okay? Also have a be to see Market. Okay, good. Thank you. You see, Market is coaching private coaching is when people come to our boot camps. So, you know, we have small medium and large companies that we work with. Of course. Those numbers are going to vary. Sure. It’s the only also work. We stabbed AA monster b2c business in and when covid hit our b2c business doubled, our B2B business flatlined because companies weren’t doing stuff. Okay now so that. So that’s the thing about that. Now I will tell you something and it’s not going to sound crazy. Referrals are good, but it’s not in our top 5 ways. We generate leads. Okay? Now not

We don’t take him not that we don’t get them right? But this is going to sound crazy. Your audience is going to think this guy is nuts. I have a higher closing ratio on people. I don’t know that I generate a lead on LinkedIn, or a cold call, or whatever than a referral because referrals, a lot of times and I love referrals in their great and I’ll take all the ones you want to give me. But a lot of times our referral is an A Shinto, the person making the referral so for You have such a strong relationship with your people. If you said to John, hey, John, you need to talk to Joe Peach. John would do it out of a an alliance with you. Gotcha. So what I started telling people that wanted to refer me. I said, please don’t tell them what you think of me about being this wonderful guy. All you need to say is I’ve worked with Joe peachy. He has helped me to generate leads book, more appointments, and close more business. Would you like me? To have him, call you.

I would rather be the initiator then somebody call me and go. Hey, my friend Frank said for me to call you and what is it cost to work with you, you know, it’s like all of a sudden they want to put you in a reactive mode where I like to put everything in a proactive mode.

That’s me the dance. Now that it totally makes sense. I mean, certainly being in the proactive mode because I always tell people, if you give somebody, if I give somebody your card and said you really need to talk to Joe.

Nine times out of ten. They won’t your rival, the loser cart. If I say, Hey, Joe, here’s my friends, you know. I told him that you’d be giving them a call. He’s expecting it 11 times out of 10. You’re going to make that call. I have a policy. I always call a referral. Same day. I returned every phone call saying day, unless it’s after 9:00 at night, then.

My first call, just by doing those two things. It has made us hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars. I mean, just think about this Frank. How many times have you ever called? Somebody? I didn’t call you back. Oh, boy. I’ve got kids. That. Does that count and hit? No, you’re right. You’re right. Just by returning a call. You gain an unfair advantage. Over your competitors. I have, I closed the deal in, Michigan.

And when I called the guy, He’s every turn I call. I call, I call them for three months. He probably picked up the phone. And I said, I said, I said to him, I said 10, this is Joe peachy. I started laughing, he goes you follow up. Don’t you? I said, yeah, I said you weren’t on my website you been on my LinkedIn profile. What were you looking for?

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In civil, it’s enjoy my work for, I work for a company up here and we have an inbound sales team, and we like to grow by 20% taking it out bound. Mmm. And he said, in everywhere. I look you’re ranked at the top of the chart when it comes to mastering phone. As you’ll, let me tell you what I do. We specialize in, helping your team generate leads, pick up the phone book, qualified, appointments and close, more businesses, will less what we need. And so, we went through our den. I went through my course story, which is my presentation, my meeting. He talked, we got to the end. I said, do you want a formal proposal? He said absolutely.

I’m gonna give you another Secret Sauce here. Frank to make you Millions. I hit send and I called him immediately. Hmm. Now, nobody does that. I I said Ken, this is Joe. I don’t want an answer. I want to make sure it’s not in your spam filter and you can open the attachment. I literally close closing ratios by three to five weeks. So he opens it and goes, man is what we need, but I got to be honest with you. I’m investigating the top five sales training companies in America. Now, I’m sitting at the top of the board Global gurus number one, but there’s a difference between that and celebrity a lot of sales trainers go for celebrity. So they throw money at advertising. We don’t we don’t throw money at advertising and I didn’t say anything. All I said was I’m going to ask you two questions. What’s the single most important thing you want?

So, I can get these people. Pick up the phone and book appointments. I send it. They tell you, they can do it virtually. You, go ahead. I’m not interested in that. You can only teach live calls live. Are they going to do that? Well, no, they’ve got a virtual programs. Great, number two. Can you get any of them to return your phone calls or get them on the phone? And he goes, no. I said, who you talking to? He said, send me the contract. He said, in fact, don’t send me the contract. I got the proposal. Here’s my credit card. Awesome. Okay, so it wasn’t any closing technique. It’s that being honest with people building trust by being who you say, you are, but you teach people by showing them not by talking about

Okay, I have to learn to teach thing when my wife and I donst in my partner. We’ve been together 50 years. We’ve been in business together since 1992. We decided we would only speak train coach on what we do to grow our own business.

This is great. This is great. We’re coming towards the end here or it would be a great way for people to get a hold of you first. Can I give them a gift? You certainly can please? Yeah. Who will take a gift? Everybody will take a gift if you take out your phone and go to your text box and put the word sales edged. That’s one. Word sales Edge.

And text it to five, five, six, seven, eight. Some phones are going to split the word sales days put quotes around it, but it has to be one word that’s going to take you. And once again 5 5 6 7 8, that’ll take you to a peachy peachy link, hit the link that’s going to take you to a splash page. There is a ton of free content, e-courses videos. There’s a link to our second business, sell more virtually.com, check that out. There’s links to Podcast called sales edged with comes out every Tuesday, every Thursday on all the podcast, host, free downloads, but to get in touch with me. First way is pick up the phone for complementary cup, a Joe and call 407 947. 2590. If I’m not in a meeting of selling or training. I’ll pick up my own phone. Leave a message. I’ll call you back. You can go to our website PT and PTT.com., That’s fine. II CI, A, and D Pi C i.com, okay, but listen to that podcast, and also linked in send me an invite. That’s Joe peachy, tici. I’m kneeling down pointing at you. I’m dressed in black because I’m Italian and so, get in touch with me. I’d love to have a cup of joe with you. Thank you very much for your time today, Joe. Thank you. Well, guys, I hope you got the same value that we put

To it. It was exciting. Frank’s powerful interview. You may want to go on his podcast and check him out. He’s phenomenal. But anyway, thank you so much for being part of our podcast. If you could just take out your phone and type in the word sales, edged one word. And your text box. 10 is to 5 5 6 7 8. It’ll take you to PT and PTT link, hit it, take you to a splash page. Please take a look at the nine Essentials of sales success that free webinar peruse. Surround here. First watch that thing. You’re going to get tremendous value. It’s a free free video but next.

Subscribe become a part of our membership, every Thursday night. I’ll be out there. Coaching, you coaching a team training, you on different dynamics of business, and the days are getting shorter. If you would go on global gurus, dot-org and cast a vote for Joe, peachy, in the sales division. We would certainly appreciate it. So, if this has been a value to you, can you like it? Can you share it? Can you write a comment on it? And we will see you in our next podcast.Voice over:

Thanks for listening. New episodes will air each Tuesday and Thursday. So make sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and give us a five star review. The Sales Edge is sponsored by Pici and Pici Incorporated. A firm which provides training, consulting, and keynote presentations. Empowering corporations and individuals to attract and retain quality clients, for higher revenues and growth. Make more money in sales, speak with Joe in person by calling 407 947 2590 or visit www.piciandpici.com