8 Rules I teach every new salesperson or Dealmaker

Check this out below: it's a screen capture of my last Zoom call of the day.

Professional, right? IT HAS TO BE.

I was closing a large deal and 3 million was on the line.

So you might be wondering the same thing the buyer was:

“Hey Oren … How do you get your LAPTOP camera to look so good?

ANSWER: This is no “laptop.”

I designed an A/V station specifically for closing deals on Zoom…

… the microphone alone is a thousand bucks.

And what about all this other stuff? Cameras, switchers, lenses, LED lights, mixer, flashdrives … this is all hardcore video equipment …. cost me more than 25K to buy, test and get working.

When it comes to deal making I do not mess around.

I will invest any amount to do it right.

But do you really need to spend that much on your Zoom setup?

Depends … do you want to close deals? 😉

Look, I can give you the build sheet for this setup, but here's my suggestion:

Become a top notch DEALMAKER before you start buying this level of equipment, so you have a huge financial slush-fund that allows you to buy anything you want, whenever you want it.

$9000 in cameras? Who cares, just ‘Add to Cart.'

To become a top gun Dealmaker, it takes a little work, so let's get started.

And here's my top 8 rules for becoming a dealmaker.

This is exactly what I teach new hires, and what you should be thinking about as you start your very next pitch or presentation ….

1. In the first 5-minutes of the pitch, don't say anything that doesn't have a number in it.

When you pitch me for a deal, I'm watching very carefully to see if you really know your business, or you're just throwing out “ideas.” If you're selling me web security, for example, what is my RISK of getting hacked, how MUCH does recovery cost, how FAST can my systems be upgraded? I want to see numbers.

2. A Dealmaker should never wait on a conference line for the buyer to show up.

You can have your assistant wait on the line. Maybe your marketing manager. But senior people do not wait 5 minutes … 8 … 10 … 12 minutes for someone to eventually show up when they feel like it. If they're late, just reschedule the call and move on to higher priority deals.

3. Stop saying “Thank You” so much.

If you listen, you'll hear how new salespeople are constantly saying Thank You for this, Thank You for that, Thank You very much, Thank you again.

FOR WHAT??

This is called “supplicating.”

Think of a supplication as a request from a servant to a person of higher power. The word carries a sense of awe and adoration with it, suggesting begging and a sense of neediness.

Remember, you're The Dealmaker. You're helping the buyer fix their problem. You're helping the client with an investment or a solution. If anything … they should say “Thanks” to you.

4. Always watch the clock.

There are 3 basic parts to any sales call or a “pitch.”

First is the introduction or “why we're all here.”

Second is The Pitch.

You should know EXACTLY how much time you will spend in each part. My suggestion?

5 min intro

6 min pitch

12 min close (because this requires some interaction with them.)

23 MINUTES TOTAL. Round it up to 25.

Today, if you're going any longer, you better be very INTERESTING to listen to.

Are you?

5. DON'T offer to do free work. It won't help close the deal.

Write this on a note and tape it to your computer: People only value that which they pay for.

No matter how much free work or free product you give someone …. you will not get them any closer to buying.

People want the EXCITEMENT of shopping, negotiating, and “making a deal” with you, and then, only after all this buying activity … they will actually value your product or service.

6. Don't send a proposal.

When you send a proposal, they will give it to a competitor and ask, “Can you do better than this?”

Sending a proposal is a direct path to competitive bids …. and discounting.

What if they ask for a proposal? There's only one answer to give: “We're super busy right now and don't have a ton of time to generate proposals for discussions, how about we work on specific deal terms and an agreement?”

7. Always tell the buyer you're choosy about who you work with.

If they think you have no standards or personal values, or that you have no red-lines, no bottom-lines and no limits … they'll think you NEED the deal badly, so the buyer will keep negotiating; they'll keep asking for more and keep thinking that you need the deal more than they do.

8. Never be Needy.

When you act needy, they buyer thinks they can tell you how much they are going to pay. They will tell you what “extras” you have to throw in. And they'll hold you hostage for payment until … the … very … last … minute.

But what is “neediness”? And how do you know you're “doing it”? Simple. When you are reacting to what they want, you're needy. When you are fetching them proposals and quotes, when they miss calls or come late, when they're rude and all you ever do is smile politely … you're REACTING to their needs. That's Neediness.

These are 8 solid rules for dealmaking – send them around to someone you care about or work with.

Any questions about how to implement these RULES?

Do you want to see specific examples applied to your industry, your business, your specific pitch?

Let me help here.