MRL #074- Lessons Learned From Ruben McHawk

Before we begin, a tRiGgeR warning for you squares:

Crude humor up ahead.

If you’re not a fan of “bad” words or toilet humor, maybe sit this one out. To be honest, it’s not that bad… just want to make clear this is NSFW.

Ok, you’ve been adequately warned.

Moving on…

If you’ve been following us on YouTube then you’ll know the name Ian Cognito (not his real name). If you don’t follow us over there, Ian is a new Producer who Micah mentors. And every week Micah documents their weekly call titled “Diary of a New Producer.” 

Anyways…

In their meeting this week Ian shared an interesting story from one of his cold calls. It went something like this…

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“Hello?” replied the biz owner.

“Hey Jeff, this is Ian with XYZ. I was wondering would you ever be open to a conversation about your insurance?”

“Maybe,” replied the biz owner. “Tell me more.”

Ian continued on for another minute or two…

About the time Ian was going to ask for a meeting the biz owner hit him with…

“I don’t actually handle our insurance anymore. Ruben does. You’ll need to call him.”

“Ok,” replied Ian. “What’s his number?”

“985-888-1237,” said the biz owner.

“Ok. Got it,” said Ian. “Wait… what’s Ruben’s last name again?” asked Ian.

“McHawk,” said the business owner. “M-C-H-A-W-K. McHawk… Ruben McHawk.”

Ian completely oblivious to the pseudonym hangs up with the biz owner and dials the number.

A voice answers, “Hello?”

“Yeah, I’m looking for Ruben? Ruben McHawk?” asks Ian.

The voice on the other end busts out in hysterical laughter.

“Ruben McHawk?” he laughs. “Son, I think someones pulling your chain.”

Ian, finally aware that he’d been had, hangs up.

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Now, why am I telling you this story?

Two reasons.

First, I find it absolutely hilarious.

Secondly, there’s a lesson buried deep in here, if you’ll allow me to tease it out.

You see…

Ian is still in his first year with Micah’s firm. Although he’s not in danger of losing his job, he is a bit behind on his numbers.

It’s a crappy place to be… putting in the effort and not seeing results.

Each month that goes by without writing new business your year end goal seems further and further out of reach.

The pressure builds.

You start to get desperate.

You live and die by every call.

You forget the #1 rule in sales…

Whoever Needs The Deal More, Loses

Because when you “need” the sale everything you do, say, and write reeks of desperation.

You may not notice it, but it does.

In poker they call them “tells”…

The unconscious physical, verbal, or behavioral cues exhibited by a player during a game, inadvertently revealing information about the strength of their hand.

Like poker players, we do the same in sales.

Here’s 3 Of The Biggest “Tells” You’re Desperate For A Sale & How To Fix Them

#1. Talking More Than You Listen- Because you lack confidence you over-compensate by talking too much.

You interrupt the prospect…

You “bulldoze” the conversation.

To correct for this, do the opposite.

Make a conscious effort to slow down.

Take a deep breath before every call and try to listen more than you speak.

#2 Apologizing- Again because you lack confidence you try to appease the prospect with apologies like…

“Oh, I’m sorry if I caught you at a bad time.”

Or…

“I’m sorry to bother you but…”

Don’t do that.

Never apologize for reaching out.

When you lower your status below there’s you’re much less likely to be taken seriously.

People do business with people they respect…

Not groveling apologizers seeking forgiveness.

#3. Over-explaining- When you lack confidence, especially in your technical ability, you ramble.

You try to sound smarter than you are…

You over-explain and inadvertently make the not-so-complex more complex.

Like the guilty criminal trying to talk his way out of trouble, you end up over sharing and hanging yourself in the end,

Instead, keep it simple.

Remember, your prospects aren’t stupid.

To Be Fair…

I don’t know if Ian had any “tells” during his call.

Maybe he did everything right and just caught the biz owner on a bad day.

Or maybe…

Like most new Producers feeling the heat, he tipped his hand, the biz owner sensed his desperation, and passed him off to Ruben, lolz.

Who knows?!

The lesson here is…

No matter how bad your year is going…

Try to sell from a place of abundance not desperation.

The more you can do that the better.

Ok, that’s enough out of me for tonight.

If you haven’t yet already…

Check out The Producer Playbook.

It’s our step-by-step guide to building a $1,000,000 book via cold prospecting.

See you next Sunday.

Kick ass take names,

Maximus F. Revenue IV