Profit X - Powersports Business Las Vegas Pt.4

5 Behaviors That Will Make (or Break) Any Sale.

I was not a big fan of The Roller Institute. My first encounter was when Suzuki attempted to push Glenn Roller into the dealers, Bob M. was with Suzuki at the time, and Dave W. came and offered up a sample of the book for me to look over. It was just before a Suzuki dealer meeting when they were going to introduce the program to dealers. After Dave gave me the samples, I never heard from him again. I listened to the book on CD's and did like most of what I heard, but didn't think I'd have a salesman interested in investing in themselves to purchase the program. My next encounter was when Kymco began to offer the program to dealers and they would 50/50 co-op the cost of the program. I figured I could talk my dealer principal, at the time, to invest a portion of this amount...Wrong. Kymco, however believed in the program and we were able to work out 100% co-op.

Awhile later I learned that Dave W. was no longer with The Roller Institute, and Bob M. had replaced him. Glenn Roller and Bob M. visited the dealership I'm at now to video tape, over a weekend, all the sales transactions that took place in our accessories department. They were using the footage for something in the future and offered advice to the salespeople as needed. While at the dealership, Bob would visit with the vehicle sales department. With more then one salesperson Bob would give his body language "assessment" to the discomfort of the salesman. He also analyzed the body language of a vehicle sales transaction, in which he turned out to be incorrect.

I was really looking forward to Glenn Roller's session just to get a better understanding of what it is he's trying to teach/sell. He DID NOT disappoint, his presentation was extremely entertaining. He began by looking for two volunteers from the audience. One was to be his spouse, in which he would try to "sell" her on the possibility of intercourse. The other was a customer in which he would try to sell him a helmet. The "5 behaviors that will make (or break) any sale, was actually a look at the first 5 levels of "The 7 Evolutionary Levels to Profound Selling" the title of his book. This session was off to a great start. I'm not sure if I got all these right, I was more into his presentation then I was into taking notes.

Level 1 - The Self Absorbed Salesperson - Represents the starting point for most salespeople. Salespeople can be underwhelming, hardly saying anything to make the sale, to overwhelming, to the point of obnoxious. It was hard to describe the humor in the presentation when approaching the "spouse" and the "customer", at this level, but Glenn did a great job to make his point.

Level 2 - The Probing Salesperson - As I understand it, this level is a level 1 salesperson who asks questions, but doesn't necessarily listen to the answer. Here he asked his spouse questions on how her day went but replied with his own agenda. Again you had to be there...comedy.

Level 3 - The Highly Competent Salesperson (Manipulative) - Here he referred to one of the greatest Level 3's he's seen, President Clinton. An extremely competent salesperson, who has mastered the process of selling and the steps it takes to get there, he has an understanding of body language. Glenn then gave us some key body language reads, he said would be just enough to make us dangerous for the evenings cocktail reception. Like a rub behind the ear would indicate a customers desire to end the conversation. Me being who I am, actually put it to the test a couple times, during the lunch on the final day, to see if the person I was talking to would get it. He didn't. I even rubbed the back of my head, indicating my dislike for the topic, as my table was beginning to do some salesman bashing, and none of the 5 guys picked up on it. It was fun for me.

Level 4 - The Highly Competent Salesperson (Non-Manipulative) - This salesperson is more self aware. A level 4 is very rare in sales. One who understands that those who manipulate others usually have a fear of honesty, and they don't want to be discovered. As he turns to his volunteer spouse, she gives him the raised eyebrow, which Glenn tells us is a sign that the person is waiting for the uncertain surprise by his next action. The comedy in all this, in my opinion, she was waiting to be coerced into doing something she didn't want to do. Like it was going to be a magic trick. So she really had her guard up.

Level 5 - The Self Aware Salesperson - This one I should have took more notes on, he gave a description of 4 personalities and had the audience guess what types the volunteers were. As I understand it, this level of salesperson is aware of the type of person he or she is and the type of person the customer is and can therefore evolve with a heightened ability to make the sale without manipulation or fear. I could be wrong, but he did sit next to his volunteer spouse and proceeded to sell her on the idea of intercourse, in which she responded, "I'll think about it". To the audience it was not a "NO", thus a successful sale.

I had uncertain expectations, coming into this session. I believe I have a better understanding of Glenn Roller and his methods now. In my opinion he's about self awareness, understanding the type of person you are, which translates into the type of salesperson you are. I took his free efficiency test when I got home, called the Sales eIQ, which you can find at www.theglennrollerinstitute.com, and I scored a 57%. That puts me at the Level 4 sales person, which may explain why I got what he was saying up to that level and he lost me into Level 5.

I believe the eIQ may be a good resource for your next new hire. If you have a good understanding of the level of salesperson you are dealing with it may help in the way you train them.

That's "My Take"