Sales Lessons Your Sales Team Should Learn from President Bill Clinton

No matter how much a person hates President Bill Clinton, no one can deny his incredible resilience and relentless push for success. In fact, I have a lot of admiration for Bill as an incorrigible salesman.

He is without doubt one of the greatest salesman of his time. He knows what matters and is able to focus on the vital few inputs that are responsible for his desired results.

Here are 5 Sales Lessons Your Sales Team Should Learn from President Bill Clinton...

1. Identify with your prospects! (Bubbafy):

One reason Bill gained success in North Carolina for his wife Hillary Clinton is because he can connect with the older white men from the working class and so called 'Bubba" who in the past supported Ronald Reagan but are sympathetic of democratic economic policies.

Do your prospects identify with you?

Do you read up their trade journals and are familiar with their vernacular?

Most marketing and sales material is full of seller centric words and concepts. It is critical that we use concepts and language they the buyers consider their own. You need to Bubbafy yourself.

2. Get the Right Attitude! (Battitude)

Bill Clinton is known as a bad loser. No matter how bad the outlook was, he supported his wife's drive to push on with her presidential campaign. He told her repeatedly, "We’re not quitters"

At one time, Bill even said, "In the new economy, information, education, and motivation are everything." Motivation is a pre-requisite to sales career success. Make Bill your role model of relentless resilience: Get your self some battitude.

3. Persisting With Your Prospect! (Billsistence):

In North Carolina, Bill Clinton targeted rural and suburban areas, running several hours late most of the day. You know why? Well, he was shaking hands with anyone who would. His explanation: "If you're not ready to vote for Hillary, then I'm going to keep talking".

In most first sales meeting situations, many sales professionals give up too quickly. They have this fear of being pushy. However, there is a fine line between being persistent and pushy. The trick is in asking the right questions.

How are you at Billsisting?

4. Get on the phone! (BoldCalling):

Sales is a numbers game if you have the right message. That’s why Bill Clinton told his wife’s campaign manager to double the number of his daily appearances.

"Look at this schedule -- you've got me down for four events," he said the week before Pennsylvania's primary, according to one operative. "Give me six, eight a day. Get me to the suburbs where I can make a difference."

If you are a sales person, how many cold calls do you make everyday. How many do think you can make? I think it’s time you start bold calling!

5. Plan Strategically & Execute Your Plan! (Billtack):

The former President pushed his staff to arrange for more appearances for him. On his own daily message calls, advisers say, he implores: "We've got to take him on every time." At the Clintons' Washington, D.C., home recently, these people say, he reviewed possible TV spots and told ad makers to be more hard-hitting, faster and harsher.

What is your strategy for keeping in touch with prospects and associates? Are you able to constantly engage them? Do you occupy a share of their mind? Are you connecting with them every opportunity that you get? Are you Billtacking your prospects?

The One Area All Sales Professionals Need to Improve – Including Bill Clinton! Reduce BillSpeak

The one place Bill Clinton needs to improve and so do the rest of us sales professionals is…Dealing with cockiness about winging it. This is what I call BillSpeak

Most of us think that we have been doing things for a while so we know what to do automatically when encountering prospects. We do not. We cannot afford to make costly mistakes. These mistakes can be incredibly expensive. The Bosnia faux pas, where Bill and Hillary told different stories, is a prime example when Bill should simply have been quiet.

In all sales situations this is bound to happen if we are not prepared with who is going to talk - what, when, and how. Solid preparation before a sales presentation is critical. The team must know what is going to happen. All questions and answers must be rehearsed and all must know who is going to answer which question.

Do you have a checklist of potential questions and their answers for each member of the team with clarity as to who will answer which question?
Do you have index cards with talking points for each member of your team?

Bill Clinton does. Maggie Williams, Hillary campaign manager made sure that Bill reviewed the message of the week or the day and the question and answer index cards on a daily basis. It is hard to keep focused on the message, even for Bill. So remember do not BillSpeak.

Follow this advice and your sales team will get more sales guaranteed!

Author:
Nick Vaidya offers thought leadership, marketing and sales consulting to both Fortune 500 companies and smaller businesses who want to increase their revenue growth. His team was solely responsible for the financial guidance, profitability, pricing, and product configuration for 40% of Dell's revenue! Now you can get Nick’s NEW & FREE BOOK, "Contract with Growth: The 80/20 Revenue Capture Program for Your Firm at: http://www.8020strategy.com

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