Mr. Shmooze: The Art and Science of Selling Through Relationships

Mr. Shmooze The Art and Science of Selling Through Relationships

Author: Richard Abraham Publisher: The Richard Abraham Co. Date of Publication: 2002 ISBN: 0974199605 Number of Pages: 74 pages About the Author

Richard Abraham Richard Abraham is a speaker, writer and consultant widely sought after by many Fortune 500 companies. When not consulting or writing his s y n d i c a t e d c o l u m n , M r. Abraham conducts workshops and seminars and speaks on the topics of relationship selling and maximizing the sales encounter. Mr. Abraham supplements these speaking engagements with his publications, including the highly acclaimed book, Mr. Shmooze: The Art and Science of Selling Through Relationships. In it, Mr. Abraham presents a composite character of the most successful and gregarious salespeople in America. The essence of the book, like the essence of Mr. Abraham himself, is a quality message presented in a fun and f a m i l i a r s t y l e . For more information, visit http://www.richardabrahamco mpany.com/.

The Big Idea Have you ever wondered how great salespeople achieve great sales results? Chances are these salespeople all began their selling process by establishing emotional connections with their prospects. In this business parable, author Richard Abraham teaches you principles of sales excellence and service leadership. You will learn how to make powerful connections with your customers that will help you become the successful salesperson you want to be.

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Mr. Shmooze by Richard Abraham

Introducing Mr. Shmooze Mr. Shmooze is a brilliant business and marketing consultant who has built a huge successful business. He has done so by constantly giving himself to others and adding value to the lives of everyone around him. Aside from the uncanny ability to make other people feel good, Mr. Shmooze is also hardworking and passionate about what he does. Also as important, Mr. Shmooze always has fun. In the real world, there is a Mr. Shmooze in every office and in every family. He can be that funny accountant that lightens up the mood in the office just by showing up. Mr. Shmooze can also be that popular girl who can dish out the best stories and yet refuses to divulge office gossip. Although it may seem hard to become a Mr. Shmooze, it is important that you try to become one. Not only will it help you live a good life, it will also assist you in becoming successful in your career.

1 - Breakfast with Mr. Shmooze Robert is an intern who will be working with Mr. Shmooze over the summer. During breakfast with Mr. Shmooze and other prized clients, Robert immediately noticed that everyone seemed to genuinely like Mr. Shmooze. It wasn't long before Robert discovered the reasons why. Robert found out that Mr. Shmooze planned these meetings to ensure that it would be the best part of every person's day. As a result of these planning, people leave the meeting feeling good about themselves and their relationship with Mr. Shmooze.

Tips from Mr. Shmooze ·

Every time you engage someone, you must say something exciting and say something positive.

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When selling, ignite other people's imaginations by painting spectacular pictures.

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Remember that everyone makes decisions based on two factors - pleasure and pain. Make sure that they associate you with pleasure and not the other way around.

2 - Telling a Story with Passion After breakfast, Mr. Shmooze brought Robert to a children's hospital. Once again, Robert noticed that everyone greeted his boss with warm hugs and smiles. Soon, they were brought inside a meeting room where Robert found out that Mr. Shmooze was scheduled to give his insights on selling, business development and

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Mr. Shmooze by Richard Abraham

relationship building.

Tips from Mr. Shmooze ·

When selling, convert features to benefits. Always ask yourself, “What's in it for the buyer?” Remember, the buyer cares only about the personal benefits he can gain.

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Communicate with passion. It is not enough to reserve passion for your personal endeavors; you must inject passion in your work.

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To beat the competition you must be able to establish a personal relationship with the buyer. Furthermore, you must be able to clearly explain how your products and services will benefit the buyer in graphic and provable terms.

3 - Elevation After their visit to the children's hospital, Robert and Mr. Shmooze headed towards one of the largest security firms in town - the Failsafe Security Company. As the company's marketing and new business development consultant, Mr. Shmooze met with five Failsafe executives to explain the concept of “elevating the game.”

Tips from Mr. Shmooze ·

You can elevate every single part of relationship building and selling.

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Remember that if you are selling a commodity, it is almost impossible to distinguish your commodity from the competitors. You can differentiate yourself, however, as a human being.

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In the end, it is the salesman with the best relationship with the client that wins.

Traditional Relationship Building Vs. Elevating the Game Traditional You notice that your client plays golf so you invite him to a game. You make reservations at a nearby golf course. You provide the golf gear and the golf balls and hire caddies. You pay for a nice lunch after the game. After everything is done, you bid your client goodbye and go on your way. Elevating the Game You notice that your client's son plays golf. You then invite your client, his son, and his son's friends to a game. You make reservations at the course of your client's choice. Before the day of the game, you send your client a care package for his son that includes a golf book autographed by a local pro. You provide personalized golf

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Mr. Shmooze by Richard Abraham

shirts and personalized golf balls. You ask the caddies to treat your client's son and his friends like VIPs. You arrange for a golf pro to drop by during lunch and offer to teach the kids a few pointers. After the day is over, you find a way to learn the son’s golf tournament schedules. You then send congratulatory cards through your client to his son everytime he joins a golf tournament.

4 - Dinner A La Shmooze Robert and Mr. Schmooze left the office to go Morton's, a steakhouse that Mr. Shmooze frequents, for a client event. Even before they arrived, Robert noticed Mr, Shmooze on the phone with the head of the restaurant's staff sorting out every small detail. It was a lesson that Robert would never forget.

Tips from Mr. Shmooze ·

With client events, you have to make sure that everyone has a great time. In fact, you must make sure that they had such a great time that they would tell other people what a great time they had.

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There are two keys to a successful client event: 1. Make sure that every part of the event (no matter how small) exceeds your clients expectations 2. You must be an active director. You must watch everything and be on guard the entire night.

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Make sure that every single component of the event is covered and elevated. These include car valet, bartender, waiter, hostess, appetizer, main course, dinner conversation, dessert, gifts, and after-dinner drinks.

Examples: 1. Before the event, give the valet a list of the names of your guests and the cars they will be driving. This way, the valet can call each of them by name. 2. Arrange for the cars to be washed before your guests leave the restaurant. 3. Ask the hostess to leave suitable gifts inside your guests' cars with a personal note from you. 4. Give your bartender a list of the names of your guests and their favorite drinks. 5. Offer a wide selection of wines (both red and white) and have the wine captain give detailed explanations on each. 6. Play games that can start conversations and break the ice.

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Mr. Shmooze by Richard Abraham

5 - Entrepreneurs: A Special Breed with Special Needs Days later, Robert picked up Mr. Shmooze at the airport. From there, they proceeded to meet with the owner of a successful commercial cleaning business. The business owner is trying to expand his business geographically. Unfortunately, he is experiencing setbacks in two of his shops.

Tips from Mr. Shmooze ·

When dealing with successful entrepreneurs, remember that they are people who are confident with their own ideas. You must therefore: 1. Shut up and listen. 2. Make the client believe that the solution (even if it came from you) was his idea.

6 - The Legend One evening, Robert paid a visit to a new watering hole in the area. It was there that he bumped into a group of real estate executives who all turned out to be admirers of the man called Mr. Shmooze. A casual meet-up soon turned into an evening of Mr. Shmooze stories. It was then that Robert realized that all of the people in the group have been touched by Mr. Shmooze in some way.

Tips from Mr. Shmooze ·

Find out ways to add value to people's daily lives.

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Always give more than you can get.

7 - Simply Networking Means Nothing One day, Robert told Mr. Shmooze that he considered him the greatest networker in the world. To Robert's surprise, Mr. Shmooze called him aside almost immediately and told him that simply networking means nothing. Although exasperated at first, Robert took the time to listen to his mentor and ended up learning a valuable lesson in marketing and selling.

Tips from Mr. Shmooze ·

Although you do need to establish a network, you must remember that what matters is not the quantity of your relationships but the quality of your relationships.

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Find out the most important relationships you need to establish in order to succeed and concentrate most of your energy into nurturing these

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Mr. Shmooze by Richard Abraham

relationships.

s

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Remember that thousands of low-rated relationships are worth nothing.

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Once you have established quality relationship with an important person, nurture it and guard it with your life.

8 - War Whoops from the Managers

Robert and Mr. Shmooze visited the world headquarters of one of the major players in the soft drink industry. Mr. Shmooze was invited to give a talk to sales managers who have come from all over the country. Inside the conference room, Robert immediately noticed that every chair had a book by Daniel Goleman titled Emotional Intelligence.

Tips from Mr. Shmooze ·

There are five parts to building and supporting a great sales team: 1. Make them laugh. Laughter relaxes people. Remember that people who are in a good mood are able to solve problems easier. Consider starting your sales meetings by telling jokes or funny stories. 2. Recruit optimists. To build a good team, you should start by hiring optimists. Remember that a salesperson must be able to deal with constant rejection. Hire someone who can persevere. 3. Help them develop the habit of winning. You can also train people to become optimists. Develop the habit of winning among your staff. For new recruits, set them up with easy prospects or assist them in their initial calls. Let them savor the taste of victory in their mouths so they would want for more. 4. Remember that feelings are contagious. The reason why people can share experiences is because they can share feelings. Shared feelings become stronger. As a leader, you must lift the spirits of your team. Be careful not to show negativity to the members of your team. 5. Make your prospect feel good. This is the foremost key to selling. Make sure that your prospect associates you with something good. Always find ways to make your client's day better. Give your client a small gift or pay him or her a compliment.

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Mr. Shmooze by Richard Abraham

9 - The Theatre of Life It was Robert's last day as an intern and he was pleased to find out that Mr. Shmooze had invited him to have dinner at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. When he arrived, he was surprised to be led straight to the kitchen where he found Mr. Shmooze chopping onions. Head chef Joseph informed Robert that Mr. Shmooze shall be assisting him and that Robert was there to learn. Robert watched Joseph orchestrate a perfect meal with the help of his staff.

Tips from Mr. Shmooze ·

At the end of every sales call, meeting or seminar, always end on a high note. Make sure that you leave a positive impression and elicit a positive expression before you part ways.

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You can create passion anywhere and that emotion is the key.

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Selling is a career that allows you to spread goodwill to others and also earn a living.

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Remember, the happier you make other people, the more you will sell and the more income you will get.

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