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Todayâs Commission Breath:
Sales:Â Bar Jokes & Setting Expectations
Finds: Burger Kingâs covid-era marketing play
Food for thought:Â Barbara Corcoranâs letter after Shark Tank denied her
Announcement đ„
To provide more value to the CB community, going forward Iâll be curating responses to questions and sharing them on a monthly basis.
Some will be purely for entertainment, such as âfunniest response youâve gotten from a cold emailâ, while others will give more utility.
To kick things off: whatâs your favorite little-known sales tool that you use?
Can be any software that helps you with a specific part of the sales process. Going for under-the-radar type tools i.e. anything that isnât Sales Navigator đ
If you need time to think, donât worry, Iâll be accepting responses through September.
On to todayâs edition!đ
Horsing Around đ
A horse walks into a barâŠ
The shocked bartender points a finger and yells, âHey!â
The horse replies, âYou read my mind, chief.â
Apologies for putting you through a Dad joke on a Monday, butâŠsomething happened when you read that first sentence, a horse walks into a bar.
In fact, any variant of â____ walks into a barâ has the same effect. Those words focus you, and set the stage for a joke to be told.
And because those words prime you for a punchline, the joke is more likely to be received as funny.
Priming Prospects for a Sale
Bar jokes wonât help us make a sale, but setting expectations with prospectâs will.
How do we do this? Up-Front Contracts.
An up-front contract, or creating a mutual agreement up front with a prospect, leaves no room for confusion about what will happen at a meeting or during a call.
For example, Liam Neeson made a pretty stern up-front contract when he cold-called those bad guys in Taken.
You do you, but most of us will have better luck trying something like this:
Iâm not sure if we need to be speaking, but can I take 30 seconds to explain why I called, and then you let me know if we should continue the conversation?
Benefits of the Up-Front Contract
It makes a prospect less defensive, as youâve told them your plan and made it clear they can say no
Youâve primed them to make a decision to either progress and learn more, or end the conversation right there.
As Iâve said before, getting a decision beats gettinâ ghosted đ»
When to Use an Up-Front Contract
In life:
BEFORE you get a haircut
I once went to a barber with the thickest of Irish accents. Thought we had an agreement, but based on the end result we were CLEARLY on different pages.
In sales:
Before a meeting to explain whatâs to come
After a meeting to explain what the next steps look like
During any form of cold outreach: calls, emails, LinkedIn messaging, etc.
For email Iâll often use, âIf youâre interested Iâm happy to have a quick chat, and afterwards you can decide if itâs worth exploring furtherâ.
This plants the seed that the decision will be theirs to make.
Up-front contracts are a transparent and honest approach, and they ensure youâre on the same page with a prospect every step of the way.
If a prospect says something dumb, ask yourself:
Did you set expectations? Or were you like me when I got my haircut and didnât confirm how things should go?
So just as â____walks into a barâ prepares you for a joke, be sure to use up-front contracts to prime your prospects for a sale.
Notes:
Up-Front Contracts are a staple of the Sandler Sales methodology
My colleague, Scott Ginsberg wrote a piece that was the inspo for the bar jokes portion
Halftime Meme
Happy Monday! â ïž
Interesting Finds
âA Double Steakhouse Pleaseâ
A true sign of the times - 250 Burger King customers in Belgium will receive a face mask with their order on it, good for avoiding a case of the âmask mumblesâ.
The Online Background Noise Generator You Didnât Know You Needed
This. is. kewl. Choose between a coffee shop, fire place, thunder, rain, and much more.
The Rise of Oatly, the Swedish Alternative Milk Company
A dope twitter thread on the absurd marketing tactics Oatly has used to gain success in Europe and America.
More Fast-Food: The Story of the Man Who Brought McDonaldâs to Japan đŻđ”
A long but fascinating read on how Den Fujita bridged cultural differences to make McDonaldâs a massive success in Japan.
Instagramâs âYouâre All Caught Upâ Feature Is Done-zo
Instead of feeling like a loser for scrolling through all of the content in your feed, now weâre going to see a âSuggested Postsâ feature to waste even more time!
Food for Thought
âI consider your rejection a lucky charmâ
In my journeys through the inter-webs, I found Barbara Corcoranâs Letter to Shark Tank before Season 1.
If youâre a Shark Tank junkie like myself, you know that Barbara is an absolute badass. Apparently the producers were going to have her as a fall-back Shark, not a regular.
Her response below (apologies for the picture quality) is a master class in how to go after something you want after being rejected, and to professionally let someone know theyâre making a big mistake.
Give it a read when you have some time. Have a great week!
-Buck$
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P.S.
Have any topic suggestions, questions, or constructive feedback? Reach out at pdbuck15@gmail.com, or click the button below. Iâd love to hear from you!