Download If you saw the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, you undoubtedly

If you saw the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, you undoubtedly remember the “motivational” talk by
Alec Baldwin’s character, Blake. “A, B, C,” he proclaimed. “A—Always. B—Be. C—Closing.
Always be closing. Always be closing.”
The movie depicted a narrow slice of the world of commercial real estate sales. A segment
characterized by high pressure and desperate and dishonest tactics. The “always be closing”
approach started the moment the salesperson spoke to the prospect and continued until the
prospect signed on the dotted line. Every statement, every question was designed to knock down
objections and verbally beat the prospect into submission. There was no let up until the contract
was signed.
The movie portrayed the selling profession from a very dark and depressing perspective. As the
movie progressed, you witnessed the toll the high pressure “always be closing” environment
extracted from both the prospects and the salespeople. Fortunately, most sales professionals
recognize the futility of that approach.
A much more effective…and less stressful approach—for the salesperson and prospect alike—is:
always be qualifying. The more effort you put into qualifying the prospect, the more quickly you
can develop and close the opportunity if the prospect measures up to your qualifying criteria or
move on to another opportunity if the prospect doesn’t measure up. The only “pressure” with the
“always be qualifying” strategy is to uncover information quickly.
What information should you uncover? Concentrate first on the goodness of fit between what you
have to offer and the prospect’s problem, challenge, or goal. If the correlation is low, or you know
that another company competing for the business can provide a better fit, it’s likely time to look for
another opportunity.
Determine whether the prospect is willing and able to commit the necessary resources—time,
money, manpower, or expertise, for
example—to acquire and use the
product or service you will eventually
propose. If the answer is “no,” it may be
time to move on or rethink your solution.
Before you begin to work on
presentations or proposals, determine
exactly how your offering will be judged
and by whom. Just as you are
qualifying the opportunity, the prospect
will eventually be “qualifying” your offer.
Find out what you will have to show, tell,
and demonstrate in order to reach the
prospect’s benchmarks. If they will require more than what you can provide—you guessed it—it’s
most likely time to move on.
When you adopt the always be qualifying strategy, poor quality prospects will be eliminated early
and you’ll find yourself presenting to high quality prospects with whom you will almost always be
closing.
The New Year is under way. In the U.S., a new President has been sworn into office.
Governments around the globe are wrestling with new ways to stimulate the economy.
Companies, large and small, are fighting to survive. It’s not business as usual.
Change is here…and there’s more to come. Are you prepared?
For the most part, people resist change. There’s a certain comfort in the status quo. Even if
existing conditions are not the most desirable, they are at least predictable. Change takes you
into the unknown…which can be scary. But change can also be positive. It can unlock your
potential and expand possibilities.
You can resist change. You can resent change. But you can’t stop change. Attempting to do so
is a losing proposition. So, you might as well embrace it and plan for it. Let go of “what was” and
begin to plan for “what will be.”
What changes can you anticipate this year?
Will you have to do things differently this year to grow your client base?
Will growth (perhaps even survival) require you to secure
a bigger piece of a smaller market? Will you have to
identify and pursue new markets or previously overlooked
markets? If so, how will you accomplish those things?
Will you need to update or replace existing systems and
processes?
How will you become more important to your existing
clients? How will you help them prepare for the changes
they will face? How will you leverage those relationships
to help facilitate the changes you must make?
Begin now to think about your answers to the above
questions. They will form the foundation on which you
build your future. Change will occur whether you plan for
it and play an active role in creating beneficial outcomes
or sit quietly on the sidelines watching the aftermath.
Winners are proactive. Are you?
In his essay Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of
little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” Unfortunately, Emerson
fails to advise readers of the differences between a foolish consistency and a wise consistency.
A foolish consistency is repeatedly doing things (following a line of thought, taking specific actions,
or following particular processes, for instance) that have not produced desired results; doing them
in the same manner and expecting different results. A foolish consistency is not being open to
change; not being willing to venture into the unknown and try new things; and not accepting the
reality that input equals result.
A wise consistency, on the other hand, is repeatedly doing the things that are producing the
desired results. A wise consistency dictates that if it’s working, keep doing it.
Why is it that some salespeople cling (sometimes tenaciously) to those things that don’t work—
wishing, hoping, and praying for better results, while they are quick to abandon the things that do
produce desirable outcomes? Is it because the things that consistently produce desirable
outcomes require actual work…sometimes, hard work, like planning and following through, paying
attention to details, and following up? Perhaps.
What the foolishly consistent salespeople don’t realize is that work, even hard work, becomes
easier with repetition…and, of course, it’s more rewarding.
You can be foolishly consistent and hope for things to get better or you can be wisely consistent—
self-reliant—and create the results you desire. The choice is yours.