Wie ich Marketing und Verkauf gelernt habe

0:00So, I learned this from Sam Bakhtiar, who's the first person that I So, I mentored him. >> Oh, he was a wicked guy. >> you knew Sam, right? Yes, Sam was wicked, man. >> So, I So, when I moved to California, cuz I wanted to get into gyms, I worked for minimum wage at Sam's gym for 3 months before I started my gym. >> Yeah. And so, cuz I looked on the internet, and I had a white-collar job doing making good money, and I quit that to work, you know, a minimum wage job at a gym. So, my my Persian father was horrified. Um but anyways, >> that's right.

0:25>> Yeah. And so, um and so, I'll tell you exactly what I I saw him do. He didn't teach me but I learned it from him. Is that you know, it'll make sense. So, Janelle is as a personal training client, and we're working out, and she doesn't put her weights away. I'm a personal trainer. I got another meeting I got to get to. What do I say? Do I say, "Hey, Janelle, can you put your weights back?" No, you're the trainer, you put the Like, that's a terrible terrible frame, right? Now, I saw Sam do this, and I applied it to every single sale in my whole life afterwards. He said, "Janelle, I know you ain't about to leave my gym without putting your weights back." And then she's like, "Ah, fine, Sam, I'll go put the weights back."

0:59And now it's fun, it's light, it's not accusatory at all, right? And so, >> I could see him saying this. The way you said it, I could see him saying it. >> learned I learned it from him, right? His ghetto-fabulous like way he get into it. And he would do that when he wanted to have say something that was harsh to somebody. And so, I would be like, "Janelle, no, I know you didn't just ghost me on this. I'm heartbroken over here. I've got this big bowl of tears." I was like, "I don't know what to do with it." I was like, "I'm on the edge of a building, and you know what? I'm just messing with you.

1:25I'm sure something came up." I was like, "At the end of the day, I got this thing for you. I got the meeting set aside. No worries, I'm sure something came up. Same time tomorrow work?" Uh-huh. And just go right back into the meeting. >> Right. Just go right back in. Just get And if she ghosts me again, you know what? There's a hundred other Janelles. I like basically what you just taught was setting the frame. I started direct sales when I was 14. I said, I would always set the frame where they would know how to treat me. So, if I cold call somebody and I ask them how their day is, and then they ask me back, "How's your day?" I'm going to be like, "Shit, my day's fantastic." Every single person I talked to in the neighborhood is so freaking nice, and they're so kind. And then and they're like, "Well, now I can't treat Daniel like a piece of [ __ ] right? So, it's almost the same thing that you just did in follow up. You just You got to just make them feel like a human cuz people are people. They don't want to make you feel bad. It's like we sometimes think prospects are bad people, but maybe they just forgot.

2:06>> Honestly, like the biggest thing is people are busy. People have very low attention and like you have one thing, but so does a hundred other people. I just I got rejected so many times I just don't take it personally. I just really I genuinely don't take it personally. >> Right. But I think that the frame that you said at the beginning cuz I would also call leads that they would opt in for the internet leads, right? And so the very beginning, the frame, right? I had all these little like these tiny little things you do in the language where you say, "Hey, John." Pause. It's like, "Hello." It's like, "This is Alex."

2:34And he's thinking he's like, "Who the [ __ ] Who's Alex? I don't know like What's this number, right?" It's like, "From Facebook. You signed up for the 6-week challenge. Yeah, yeah, yeah, on the internet. Yeah, yeah, I'm I'm just I'm real person right across from 7-Eleven on on X and Y. Yeah, yeah, how's it going today?" Yeah, don't worry. I'm not I'm not one of the crazies. I'm not not I'm not after you. I'm not in a in a Nicaragua or whatever. And he's like, "Ha, ha, ha." I'm like, "Okay, cool. Oh, so did you uh did you hear about us from I mean, I messed the script up. I haven't done it forever, but um so, did you see us because of uh the ad or was it because you heard us on the local news best best boot camp? Or was it uh you know, Oprah Oprah did a special on us? Was it one of those things?" Now, it If you have one award you've ever won in your entire life, even if your mom gave it to you, you'd be like, "Did you hear about us on on internet's best boot camps?"

3:20And they're like, even if they haven't, they now are like, "Oh, this is one of the internet's best boot camps." >> Right. And so they're like, "Oh, these guys are legit." Oh, yeah, we won the best customer service award. Anyways, you probably don't care about that. So, what what can I help you with, man? What What's What's going on? Why Why did you sign up for a weight loss thing?" Uh. And then they're like, "You know what? My wife's been bugging me. I'm not fitting into many of my old suits and I don't want to buy a new wardrobe." I'm like, "All right. Well, I guess we got two options. You can keep doing that or uh I got a 4:00 today. That work for you?" And then, you know, we go from there, right? And so like having that preface that you said, and I I mean, I think to I mean, especially on phone, tonality matters so much.

3:53>> And I've sold a lot through humor. And harder to teach. But like, I feel like I was able to ask very hard questions using that kind of Sam frame. Where they like where, you know, lady says, "I got to talk to my husband." And I think decision maker's one of the hardest ones to overcome in general, right? I mean, of the of the obstacles, I prefer to talk to someone in power. But and so, the way that I would overcome that, I'd be like, "What if your husband says no?" Uh-huh.

4:19He's like, "Well, I guess I wouldn't." I was like, "But what does that mean in 5 years?" Mhm. I mean, is it Are you going to keep I mean, how much have you How much weight have you gained in the last 5 years? And they're like, I'm like, "What if it keeps going that way?" And so, I call it childlike curiosity, where you're like, "Huh, that's wild. Fascinating. Tell me more about it." Like, I'm never So, I call it like over overcoming the obstacles a dance, not a fight. It's seduction, not rape. >> Ah. Right? And so, I want to I want to dance. And so, if they've if we're in that in the throws of that, I want them to feel zero aggression. And I want to I want them to be like, "Wow, he's really curious." I'm like, "Well, what What What do you think about What are the variables that make the decision?"

4:58And they're like, cuz they're like, "Oh, I got to think about it." I'm like, "Oh, what's your main concern? Let's do it together." Yeah, [laughter] sure, sure, sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. >> Right? And so, then then then cuz I want that And this is the thing a lot of sales people is they back away from the hard question they know they need to ask. And I don't want them to be deciding when they leave, I want them to make the decision in front of me. It's like, you're probably wondering if we're just full of [ __ ] And you know what? I'd be wondering that, too. So, how can I prove it to you? Right. Right? And then they have to come up with the criteria for me. Mhm, love that.

5:26>> And so, I want them to tell me how to sell them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, what would What would make you feel 100%? And then they name it cuz the thing is is this is the only time they've ever had this conversation. So, they're on the spot, they're going to think of like two things. I'm like, "Oh, I can take care of that right here." Fair enough? That make Does that make you feel better? Sure. All right, let's knock it out. And then it's just I I've I mean, and obviously this takes reps to know cuz some people in the early days of sales your adrenaline kicks in, you're like, "I need this sale." And you like your teeth come out. And I I love this term commission breath. It's like you start having commission breath.

5:57Right. And then everyone goes on defensive cuz you sound like you're selling. And so I've always, I even like my team knows this. Like I [ __ ] my head and I do childlike curiosity. So I even have a mental cue. It's like, "Huh." And that's whenever I want to get like offensive, I always go, "Huh." And that it deflate it like it completely dis- disarms you. I'm like, "And then it gives me a second." I'm like, "Huh." Well, what if Well, let's play it out. So if you didn't have the money to do this and you spent the money, what would happen? Mhm.

6:26And they're like, "Well, I wouldn't be able to fight afford groceries." And I was like, "Well, I guess the weight loss problem will solve itself then." Right? And then you get the And they're like, "Huh, oh, it's like no, let's play it out." Well, I mean, you're not Have you ever bought something you've ever been like, "Man, that was a lot." But you're still here, right? You're not homeless. Okay. So how important is this to you? Right? And so we can And like you can sidestep these things, I think with a lot of tone and being able to You can your body language, the way you just did it. Sit. You can sit in the pocket. I want to be able to sit in that spot where people are uncomfortable, but make them feel comfortable so that they can actually be honest with me. And then to your point of like, "What's the one zinger?" Honestly, I haven't had it like Yeah, it's getting back in the conversation. Right. I want to let's get back here. Like what's you And I like to do the big zoom out. And so like if I feel like I'm on this weird mouse like, you know, you're like in Pluto and you're like, "What's going on here?"

7:13right? You're like, "Hey, let's zoom out. You're trying to lose weight. We sell weight loss. What's getting in the way here?" Right? And then you And then they're like, "I just don't know if it's actually going to work." And I'm like, "That makes sense. That makes you like every other person who signed up and then was successful." Cuz if you know what, if you didn't think that, I'd be worried about you. Cuz if you thought it 100% you're Cuz then I'd think you'd have false expectations. It's be a lot of work. Right? And then all of a sudden it's like you're confirming their suspicions rather than trying to battle them. And so I think a lot of people try and like invalidate what someone's feeling about the decision rather than actually leaning in because it's kind of like Eminem when he when he in the rap battles where he owns all of his negatives. It's like I want to I want to say, "Yeah, yeah, you're right. This is super expensive. It's going to be really hard. You should still do it." Like right? Cuz then it's like all of those things that they want to give as obstacles I agree with and then still say that's a great reason to buy.

8:02>> myself under the bus first now you can't shoot on me. Sure. >> Person on the other end almost expect especially when they know it's a sales person. They expect a certain pattern from a sales person. Meaning you're the sales person Alex and I'm Daniel the prospect and I say, "Yeah, you know, I just don't have the money right now." My pattern is now once I tell you this, I'm thinking for you to be competitive, for you to argue with me and be like, "Well, that's the exact reason why you should buy it. Do it right now." and like right a pressure me. I'm expecting that pattern response. I tell people I'm like whenever somebody gives you an objection, do the opposite of what they think you're about to respond to. Like they expect you to combat with them, you know, be argumentative, try to close a deal right away. Smile. Like just give them a smile. Laugh. Be like, "Yeah, no problem." Even just like wave it off.

8:42You went to the That's not even a worry. Don't even worry about it. Drop their shoulders cuz now they're like, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." Salesperson malfunction in my head. This person was supposed to argue with me and now they're not arguing with me. They're almost like agreeing with me. They're acknowledging it right now and they're on my side. This is weird. >> And you can't disagree with someone who asked you a question. Mhm. It's the like the number one thing when you're in that the high pressure situation is I want to make no statements. I don't want to do any commands and I don't do any any statements cuz there's nothing they can disagree with me on. So if someone says, "You know, I I I don't have the money."

9:11And sure we could say, "Well, it's about resourcefulness not resources." Like we could go through all of these these things but like when I when I really get down to it I'm like, "Well, man, like that's tough. So what's So what's What right now are other priorities for you? Cuz like I want to make it work for you but if it doesn't work it's fine but like because at the end of the day you're going to have X amount of dollars, right? Okay. And you're going to vote with your dollars with the things that you care about. That makes sense, right? Okay, cool. So the question is what are you voting for that matters more to you?

9:38And if it's like, I got to pay rent and my wife, you know, we've got a baby on the way. I get it, dude. I get it. Maybe this isn't a priority right now. Maybe it will be in the future. But, the question is like, how long do you want to not be able to get things that you want in your life when you really want them? How long do you want that to be a problem in your life? That's if I was selling a sales training. Sure, sure, sure. And so then it's like, but now like we're I'm back to question asking, right? And so rather than being like to your point like, well, that's the perfect like um and I think the tone matters so much.

10:03Like if if people This is why role playing is so important because if if someone has said this to me a hundred times and I know exactly what I'm going to say to respond, I don't have adrenaline because I start saying the words before I'm even thinking cuz I can be present, not trying to remember what I'm going to say. I can be looking at the person. Right. And that's the whole like Layla's whole frame of like human first. Like if I actually really cared about this person, how would I talk to them? Like if it if it were my mother and she and she really did want to lose weight and she really didn't and she said I don't have the money. I'd be like, well, well, what else are you spending money on? Like I mean, to be clear, is this important to you? Cuz if it's not, like I'll stop right now. I'm not like I don't want you to do something you don't want to do.

10:40It It's like I like to set that frame overall. And I'm like you can even like you do it subconscious. Like I'm leaning back. I'm doing this. Right. It's like, hey, I'm not I'm exiting. Yeah. And so I I mean, I tell this We have a lot of little isms, but like we always want to sell from our back foot. I never want to be leaned in. I always want to be like, if you want it, I'm here. And so it's like, what else what else are you considering? Like where else are you allocating? I get it cuz like and if you need to, that's where those key stories. So like if there's ever something that I like to have in my holster, it's a story of someone just like them that just walked out the door.

11:08All right? Right. >> you remind me of Susan. She actually came in um a couple months ago. We had almost an identical conversation. She could be your sister. And and we got to this point in the conversation where she actually was struggling with this. And so I was like, how important is this to you? And she was like, it's really important. And I was like, well, you're a single mom and you got four kids. Mhm. And I was like, I get it. And I was like, well, what what can we do? And she was like, I think I'm going to start driving Uber. I was like, are you sure? I was like, it's going to be you alone at night. She's like, this is important to me. Like, I'll make it work." And you know, the kids like will I'll just I won't go out to dinner one night a week.

11:37I'll make it work. And I was like, "Okay, you sure?" And she was like, "Yeah." And you know what? She's down 60 lb in the last 6 months since she made that decision. And the thing is it's like do you what do you want to be? And then she's like, "I'm at 200." I'm like, "What do you want to be?" And she's like, "My high school weight." And I'm like, "If that happened, would it be worth it?" And then she's like, "Yeah." And I'm like, "Well, then the question is what do we need to do to make it happen?" You know, like and you and then and then all of a sudden it's like we're right, we're back in. And so, I just I hardcore believe that you overcome objections simply by asking the question what they were intending. Think a really good belief for sales people is that if you don't close a sale, it means you didn't understand the prospect enough. Mhm.

12:11Because if you literally knew every single thing about a prospect, like you were God and you knew every single thing that had ever happened to that person, you could close them. Mhm. And so, [clears throat] simply having the frame of curiosity, which is probably the number one thing I teach our guys is like you have to genuinely be curious. And so, it's like what brought Like, that's why the first question is what brought you into Yeah. Clarify why they're here. Right? And like, what have you struggled with? Why did that Why did that suck? Okay, that's good for me to know. What else have you done? Okay. What are the things that, you know, and you we just walk our way through this. Yeah. And that's that's what I um I try to get us out of any combat. Real quick, if you're a business owner and you are not growing as fast as you'd like, I'd like to give you a free gift. So, my team and I put together the $100 million scaling road map, which is basically 200 hours of us looking over all the portfolio companies we've had and what stages of growth they went through and more importantly, where they got stuck and how they got past it. And so, we broke it into these 10 stages and we made this little kind of quiz thing where if you put in your business information, it'll tell you where you're at and the most important part for you, what to do for each of functions of the business across product, marketing, sales, customer success, recruiting, IT, human resources, and finance. And so, no matter what you're struggling with, someone else has already struggled with it and solved it. And so, I'd like to give you this thing absolutely free. You can go to acquisition.com/roadmap, plug in your business information, and if you want us to actually help you decon train the business and you're trying to scale, we'd love to help you out on the thank you page and book a call with my team and we will look at the business, see if we can help and if we can we'll invite you out to Vegas and we'll do this in person live.