Episode 193: Wendy Weiss – The Power of Preparation: Warming Up, Rehearsing, and Performing in Sales

Wendy Weiss  00:02

If you want to be successful in sales, there are things that you need to do. If you manage a team you have to have things in place for your team to get them prepared to get them set up so that they don’t hurt themselves. They don’t hurt you, they don’t hurt your bottom line. “Step one: Warm-Up”.

Intro  00:23

Welcome to the Making Sales Social Podcast featuring the top voices in sales, marketing and business join Brynne Tillman and me Bob Woods as we each bring you the best tips and strategies our guests are teaching their clients so you can leverage them for your own virtual and social selling. Enjoy the show!

Brynne Tillman  00:48

Welcome back to Making Sales Social. I am so excited to have Wendy Weiss here. She is the founder of Salesology prospecting method that generates predictable sales revenue. Who doesn’t want that? She’s an author, speaker, sales trainer and sales coach and is recognized as a leading authority on new generation, new business development and sales. 

Wendy has been featured in “The New York Times”  Businessweek, Entrepreneur Magazines, Selling Power Inc, Forbes and various other business and sales publications. Pretty impressive. She’s the author of the sales winner’s handbook: Essential strategies to skyrocket sales performance and cold calling for women, opening doors and closing sales. Very, very fun. 

A former ballet dancer, Very impressive. Wendy believes everything she knows in life and business she learned in ballet class for warm ups to rehearsals. She shows her clients how to perform at their best and close all the sales they need. All are in for a treat. Welcome Wendy Weiss.

Wendy Weiss  01:57

Well, Thank you for inviting me, Brynne Tillman.

Brynne Tillman  02:01

Thrilled to have you here. And when I’ve got a couple of questions that I’m really excited for you to share the answers with the audience. But before I jump into that, we ask all of our guests one question, What does Making Sales Social mean to you?

Wendy Weiss  02:17

Okay, Great question. What making sales social means to me is more opportunities to speak with qualified prospects, speak with them on the telephone, speak with them on a zoom call, speak with them face to face, it simply means more opportunities to talk to people. 

Brynne Tillman  02:41

And that’s what social comes down to. Right? That’s right. I love that! So you have an incredibly simple three-step method that helps people increase qualified appointments in sales. Let’s start there. Talk to me a little bit about that.

Wendy Weiss  02:57

Absolutely. Thank you for asking. And I will share with all of our listeners. I am a sales trainer. I was never supposed to be a sales trainer. I was supposed to be a ballerina. And my first career was I danced with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, and I danced with the Cincinnati ballet. And when Brynne when you introduced me, you said everything Wendy knows and wife and business she learned in ballet class. And that is true. 

This is what I learned in ballet class. “First, Step one: If you are a dancer, you don’t just run out on stage and start dancing, you need to warm up. Because if you don’t warm up, if you don’t get set up to do what you need to do, you risk having a career-ending injury.” If you want to be successful in sales, there are things that you need to do. If you manage a team, you have to have things in place for your team, to get them prepared to get them set up so that they don’t hurt themselves. 

They don’t hurt you. They don’t hurt your bottom line. “Step one: Warm up, Step two: If you’re a ballet dancer, and you have a concert coming up, you don’t just walk on stage and start dancing.” You have been rehearsing for months. Elite athletes do the same thing. They don’t just run out on the field and play the game. They practice. 

So if you want to be successful in sales, “You need to practice, You need to learn your craft,” You know, Brynne I am on a mission to stamp out the myth of the Born salesperson. There’s this myth that somehow there are these people out there and they are born knowing what to do and knowing what to say. It’s a myth. 

It’s not true. Yeah. So, “Step one: Warm up so you don’t hurt yourself. Don’t hurt your bottom line. Step two: Rehearse, Learn your craft. Step three: Then and only then is the time to perform the problem is that most people just jump to the performance.” And that’s why it doesn’t work. When you warm up, you are prepared. 

When you rehearse, you get automatic muscle memory. That is what enables performance. That’s what enables execution. That is the sales ology three-step model. “Warm up, Rehearse, Perform”.

Brynne Tillman  05:27

I love that. And something you just said there about muscle memory is outstanding. Because what I’ve learned is, I can now show up, because I mean, I guess I’ve warmed up and rehearsed so many times in probably rehearsed Live which was not real smart. But it’s been a long time since muscle memory now, and I mean, I’ve been doing this for over a decade. 

So right, and I look at that, and I’m like, “Wow, I, unfortunately, a lot of my rehearsal was live on stage”. And that’s not a great way to do it. But that was a very long time ago, I think I would have been successful faster. 

Had I followed these rules, I want to ask you to warm up the stretching, right before. What does that look like in sales? Is that research? Is it like what warming up means, when it comes to sales. Warming up?

Wendy Weiss  06:26

Great question. Thank you for asking that warming up when it comes to sales. First, a clear definition of the target. What is the description of an ideal prospect for you in your market with your offering? And this needs to be concrete, it needs to be objective, not subjective. What are the concrete facts that describe an ideal prospect for you? Maybe it’s a by industry, maybe they need to be in a certain geographic location.

What’s the title of the person that’s going to buy from you or hire you? Those kinds of concrete things that will define who you’re looking for? Next, you need a clear definition of the process. What are the steps that you are going to take from how you are going to introduce yourself to a new prospect? What happens on that first conversation? How do you move them through your sales funnel? How do you ask for the sale? Those are all process questions. 

Three, what’s your message, you need to have a very clear definition of the message. You know, if you think about it, each and every person that’s listening to this podcast today, each and every one of you, you have a unique story to tell. Your business is the only business in the world you have your clients, you’ve been able to help them however you’ve helped them. 

That’s a unique story. It’s a unique differentiator. So how are you going to tell your story? So these are the components of a warm-up for sales? clear definition of the target, clear definition of the process, and clear definition of the message.

Brynne Tillman  08:16

That’s amazing. Okay, so then, let’s keep going on that. Step two, Rehearsal. What does that look like?

Wendy Weiss  08:23

Rehearsal, you know, on a Pavlova was one of the great Russian ballerinas in the late 19th, early 20th century, she danced with the Imperial Russian ballet and ballet de Agla. And she was the first ballerina to tour the world with their own company. Now, here’s the thing on a pump. Lovitt trained for eight years at the Imperial Russian Ballet School before she ever joined the Imperial Russian ballet, it takes eight to 10 years to train a ballet dancer. 

And if she hadn’t done that, she would never have done any of the things that she did in her life. So, every single sales professional, you might be very talented, but that, you know, in and of itself is not enough to make you successful, you may have hired someone that’s really talented. That in and of itself is not enough to make you successful. 

Sales professionals need to learn their craft. And the really good news here is it will not take you 8 to 10 years, you can become very efficient and effective at prospecting and setting up qualified appointments in a matter of weeks. Learning to sell someone through this entire sales process takes you a little bit longer, but it is a learnable skill.

Brynne Tillman  09:46

So okay. How much of the rehearsal are you doing on your own and how much should you be doing this with an accountability partner?

Wendy Weiss  09:56

That’s an interesting question. I would not use an accountable partner, I wouldn’t use a coach, I would use, I would work with somebody that knows how to sell. Sure. So, Tony Robbins said it. He said, “Find somebody that knows how to do what you want to do, and do whatever it is that they do”. 

Brynne Tillman  10:20

I love that. 

Wendy Weiss  10:21

That’s what it is. And it’s so interesting to me, Brynne, and maybe you experienced this with your clients, we work with a lot of clients that seem to think they need to create it all. And you don’t, because there is somebody that has been there before you that knows how to do it. And the simplest way to become successful at sales is to find somebody, a mentor, a coach, you know, if you don’t have somebody at your company that’s going to help you go outside and find somebody that knows what they’re doing, and follow what they are doing. 

You know, In ballet, we get very good at following directions. You go to a ballet class every day, and the teacher tells you what to do, because the teacher has done it. And you do what the teacher says, and you know what if you go take a ballet class every day. Because that’s what we do every day for eight to 10 years, you’re going to end up being a ballet dancer, Right? 

If you have a mentor, a coach, somebody that you are following, and you do what they say, and you do what they do, and they are successful, and you’re doing all the same things you’re going to be successful to, that’s how it works.

Brynne Tillman  11:40

I’m gonna throw out there, because what you just said, I think is really important. And I’m not sure that coaches are vetted this way. One of the things I promise to my clients is that I practice what I teach. So I am not doing things that I’m asked to do. I’m not asking them to do things that I have not succeeded at before, if there’s something they want to do, where I failed. 

I would say, “Look, I’m not the best person for this, this is what happened.” So I love that. So I’m just going to push out there when you are looking for that sales coach, make sure they’re not just a great-sounding coach. But to your point, when they have absolutely experienced it, it failed and gotten over it and know the objections that are out there and know the challenges. So I think that that really is important to do that kind of vetting. So thank you for sharing that.

Wendy Weiss  12:41

Like you! By practicing what I teach, we teach prospecting and we built the entire business by talking to people on the telephone.

Brynne Tillman  12:51

Yeah, So that’s something you do that I don’t do at all, and well, not at all. But if we get there, I definitely want to have this conversation. The last thing on question number three is your performance. Just talk to us a little bit about that and then we’ll go on to the next topic.

Wendy Weiss  13:09

Absolutely. You know, people, since I just said that we built the entire business by talking to people on the telephone. And I know lots of times people are very uncomfortable talking to strangers on the telephone. And to me, that’s an awful lot like stage fright. And I have been there, you know, you’re waiting in the wings, waiting for your cue, and your heart is pounding and your palms are sweaty, and you think you’re going to throw up and then you hear your music. And you get out on stage and you dance. 

Well, What enables you to do that when you’re so scared? Well, you’ve warmed up. So you’re really prepared. you’ve rehearsed, you have automatic muscle memory. That’s what enables execution. And what I have seen in all the years I’ve been doing this and Bretton I’ve been doing this for, like 25 years. 

So for most people, once they learn a very simple system, and they know what they are doing every step along the path, and then warmed up so they’re prepared and they’ve rehearsed. So they have automatic muscle memory. That’s what enables them to perform. 

Brynne Tillman  14:12

Yeah. That’s great. I love that you know, these are really wonderful insights for all salespeople, whether you’re a business owner or you’re an SDR or a coach yourself, you’re looking to grow your business, having that kind of process can really make a difference. My next question here is what is the number one activity business owners or salespeople can do to increase their sales?  

Wendy Weiss  14:39

The number one activity? Great question. Brynne, Thank you. The number one activity is you need to talk to prospects and I think so often, people think that “Oh, well. I’m posting all these things on social media and I’m interacting and putting stuff on LinkedIn and Instagram.” I’m on Facebook and everywhere else, but at some point, you need to talk to a prospect, especially if you have a high ticket offer.

Brynne Tillman  15:07

Sure, yeah, I always say if you’re selling something off of Amazon, a conversation doesn’t matter, if you’re selling something where a conversation matters, you need to have conversations. Absolutely. Now, the next question that I’m going to jump into, and I really want to spend the bulk of our time here.

Because I think we have the same philosophy of the conversation that creates the sale, but we get to the conversation very differently. Yours is through the telephone and want and so the question is, Why is the telephone still so important when it comes to the sales process?

Wendy Weiss  15:39

Well, the telephone is still important. And by the way, I recommend using absolutely every tool at your disposal to reach prospects. So when I talk about the telephone, I am not saying don’t reach out on LinkedIn, I’m saying use the phone, use email, or use social media use whatever tools you have at your disposal to reach the people you want to talk to. 

Now, here’s the thing, the thing that I love about the telephone, it’s actually very direct, you get to choose who you would like to introduce yourself to. And you can pick up the phone and do that. When I started my business. 25 years ago, I did business development for clients. And they used to hand me a great big directory. 

And I’d have to flip through the directory and find company names. And then I’d have to try and figure out who to talk to. Well, today, there is so much data that is available, it is very easy to figure out who you want to talk to and who you want to introduce yourself to. And then it’s a matter of, because back to the warm up first element of the warmup is a clear definition of the target. 

So now it’s easy to figure out who to talk to get a clear definition of the process, how are you going to reach out to them? What tools are you going to use? Three, and here’s where some skill comes in clear definition, the message. How are you going to get their attention? How are you going to get their engagement and just like something just like a communication you might have on LinkedIn if you’re not communicating? 

Well, with that contact on LinkedIn, they’re not going to respond, if you don’t communicate well on the phone, they’re not going to respond. So the phone simply gives you a really direct way to reach people. And here’s the other thing that I love. 

Because the idea of cold calling and picking up the phone and talking to people that you don’t know has been so demonized over so many years. It used to be 5,10 years ago, prospects would say, “Do you know how many salespeople call me today. I will guarantee you that no one will ever say that to you” because your competitors are not calling. So you want to differentiate yourself, pick up the phone, and call your prospects.

Brynne Tillman  18:00

So I know it’s interesting. And I do believe for a lot of people that it does work for me, I like to schedule Zoom calls. So I don’t pick up the phone. But I start conversations on social on LinkedIn, provide value and then schedule calls. 

But I see the real benefit in just picking up the phone. I think, you know, the stage fright or the not being prepared part is probably the number one reason people hate cold calling because they’re not prepared for it. Like I hang up on people all the time. So what can a salesperson or business owner say to not get hung up on? What’s the first thing that you teach them to do to grab the attention of the prospect? 

Wendy Weiss  18:51

Well, That’s a great question. And I know that people are very afraid of being hung up on if you do this, well, it actually does not happen. The very first thing that I would recommend all of our listeners to do is go interview some of your clients and the questions that you want to ask them there’s actually four questions. Question number one was, what was going on? 

Before you came to us? Question number two, how did you feel about that? Question number three, Okay, now you’re working with us? What’s going on? Now that you’re working with us? Question number four, how do you feel about that? Get some ammunition to use when you talk to your prospects? 

You know, what’s, what’s the problem that your prospects have that you can help them with? And how did they feel about it? How did they talk about it? But that’s not what most people do. They get on the phone and they say things like, “We sell this and we sell the house right?”

Brynne Tillman  19:50

And what kind of first What’s your first when you pick up the phone to sell your service? What’s the first thing so “Ring-Ring” I pick up?

Wendy Weiss  19:57

Hi. Well, I’ll take a step back because we do target industry, and I have a business development person, his name is Tim. And a few years ago he was calling specifically commercial real estate. And the people in commercial real estate when they are successful, they are running big deals, they’re very busy. 

They don’t have a lot of time to bring on Junior brokers. But they don’t really want to manage them, because they’re really busy. So Tim would say, something like we specialize in working with he plug in the title senior managing directors in the commercial real estate industry that are sick of micromanaging Junior brokers that aren’t producing when we when he hit a senior managing director that was sick of micromanaging Junior brokers, they would start laughing That’s all Tim had to say. He would book an appointment for me to talk to them. 

Brynne Tillman  21:00

So “Ring-Ring” Are you Tim? Hi. 

Wendy Weiss  21:05

So he would introduce himself. You know, I’m with Salesology, and we specialize in working with senior managing directors in the commercial real estate industry that are sick of micromanaging Junior brokers that aren’t producing, they would laugh, he’d say, our president would like to introduce herself. It was really that simple.

Brynne Tillman  21:24

Wow. Yeah. I mean, it makes sense. It makes sense. Because you are hitting that pain point right away.

Wendy Weiss  21:33

Yeah. You know, now, would I use that introduction? If I was talking to a sales manager whose sole responsibility was managing a sales team? No, because they have other issues. But in that particular instance, I happen to know I’ve worked with a lot of people in this industry. 

They’re really busy guys, there. Most of them are men, some women, but all of them are very busy. And they’re running really big deals, worth 10s of 1000s, if not hundreds of 1000s of dollars in their pocket. And they don’t really want to supervise somebody that doesn’t know what they’re doing.

Brynne Tillman  22:08

Yeah, I think the key there and I think this kind of brings us back to the warm up is you’ve got to make sure you’re going after the right people that you know your message, that you understand why your clients bought from you and how they felt and you use that immediately in that call. So I think that’s excellent insight. Thank you, Wendy. So I can’t believe how fast this one is, you’ve brought some really great insights for our listeners, and I appreciate it so much. Tell people how they can get in touch with you.

Wendy Weiss  22:44

Salutely Well, First of all, I invite all of you to listen to my podcast, which is Salesology Conversations with Sales Leaders. So wherever you get your podcasts, you can listen to conversations with sales leaders. I also have a gift for all of our listeners. Every time we do a podcast, we release one every Monday, Every week. 

Most of my guests have a gift for our listeners. So we put them all together in the Salesology sales vault. And this is free. I know, Brynne, You said you’d put the link with the show notes. You can click on the link and download as many gifts as you want. And come back next week because there’ll be another gift.

Brynne Tillman  23:33

That’s brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Thank you for that. Oh, that’s, that’s awesome. As you know, this was so much fun. And I really learned a lot. And I don’t think I’m going to be cold calling. But I do know that I’m going to take a lot of those insights specifically around those three steps to make sure that I’m covering all that and I’m not performing too early too soon. So thank you so much. 

Wendy Weiss  24:04

My pleasure. 

Brynne Tillman  24:05

Yeah. So for every one of our listeners. Thanks for joining us when you’re out and about don’t forget to make your sales social.

Outro  24:16

Thanks for listening and join us again for more special guest instructors bringing you marketing, sales, training, and social selling strategies that will set you apart. Don’t forget to subscribe to get the latest episodes from the making sales social podcasts, leave a review down below. Tell us what you think, what you learned and what you want to hear from us next. You can also listen to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Visit our website socialsaleslink.com for more information.