Sales - Anonymous 2011 Prerelease

Victor Antonio Sales Anonymous
Sales
Anonymous:
A 12 Step Program
for Better Selling
By
Victor Antonio
1st Edition
Sales Influence Publishing

Sales Influence Edition
Copyright © 2011 by Victor Antonio
Published by Sales Influence Publishing
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be

produced in any form or by any means, mechanical or
electronic, including photocopy and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without the permission
in writing from the author or publisher; exceptions are made for
brief excerpts used in published reviews.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and

authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered.
It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not
engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional
services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required,
the services of a competent professional should be sought.
This Sales Influence Publication Edition is by published by

Victor Antonio, CEO
11770 Haynes Bridge Road,
Suite 205-501
Alpharetta, Georgia 30004
www.SalesInfluence.com
Printed in the United States of America

First Printing: January 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Antonio, Victor
Sales Anonymous: A 12 Step Program for Better
Selling
ISBN Pending (U.S.A.)
1. Business 2.Sales
A 12 Step Program for Better Selling 3

Victor Antonio, Founder of Sales Influence
From food stamps and welfare to

being the CEO of a high-tech
company, Victor Antonio is proof
that the American dream of success
is alive and well. A poor upbringing
in one of the roughest areas of
Chicago didn't stop Victor from earning a B.S. in
Electrical Engineering, an MBA, and building a 20-
year career as a top sales executive and manager.
Prior to being CEO, Victor was President of Global
Sales and Marketing for a $420M company and Vice
President of International Sales in a Fortune 500 $3B
corporation. He was selected from over 500 sales
managers to join the President’s Advisory Council in
1999 and 2000 for excellence in sales and
management.
He has conducted business in Europe, Asia, Australia,
Latin America, the Caribbean, South Africa, and The
Middle East.
Today, he trains salespeople to achieve quicker-
selling results with his program Sales Influence.
Victor is a dynamic speaker whose workshops are
loaded with useful sales tactics backed by research in
the field of consumer behavior.
What makes this program different from others?
Sales Influence isn’t about “how to sell”, but about
“how people buy” and the thought processes that
drive their decision-making behavior. When you
understand how people buy, it’s easier to sell to them.
That’s a new approach to selling!
Sales Anonymous:
A 12 Step Program for Better Selling
1. Admit that your sales numbers are not where

they should be
2. Embrace the concept that selling is about
sharing and helping (others achieve an end)
3. Acknowledge that you don’t know everything
about selling
4. Learn the 6 phases of the sales process
5. Take inventory of your personal weaknesses
6. Commit to becoming a better listener
7. Commit to knowing your product (or service)
8. Accept that you cannot control the outcome of
a sale
9. Study your competition and create value
10. Find a sales mentor
11. Manage your time effectively in the pursuit of
sales and personal growth
12. Help others who suffer from the fear and
anxiety of selling
Step 1
Admit that your sales
numbers are not where
you’d like them to be
T he first step in the sales recovery process

begins with a personal admission to yourself that your
sales numbers are not where they should be and your
falling way short of your financial goal.
Success in any endeavor, including sales, begins
with the end in mind. I’d like to you to take a
moment now and think about how much money you

would like to make over the next year starting from

today.
$ ___________________________
(My personal financial goal)
There’s nothing like writing a number down that

gives you a sense for the realness of selling. As you
wrote the number down you may have had these
thoughts running through your mind:
“This is a dumb exercise?”
“Let me skip this step, I’ll come back to

it later?”
“What’s a good number?”
“I know what I want to make but I

don’t know if that’s realistic?”
“I don’t want to write something that’s
ridiculously low (or high)?”
“Can I really make that much money?”
“Is that number too high? Does it

make sense?”
If these questions sound familiar, than guess what,

you’re a normal human being in the world of
selling!
Writing down your personal goal may at times seem
like a dumb and futile exercise. You can claim that
you know how much you want to make a year in your
head so there’s no need to write it down. But on the
contrary, there is a very important
psychological need for writing down your
financial goal. Seeing the number written down
and committed to paper gives the goal a more
tangible feel creating a ‘pull’ effect on your
abilities to fulfill that number. Your conscious and
subconscious minds become fully aware of what you
need to make happen.
Most of us resist the need to write down a financial
goal convincing ourselves that it isn't necessary. The
reality is that we resist because we are afraid of
running the risk of being held accountable.

When a number is written, a financial goal, the shades

of success or failure retreat into black or white. You
either hit your number or you didn’t! There’s no
escaping the clarity of the obvious. You hold
yourself accountable!
Working the Numbers

Backwards
Now that you have a financial goal, do some math to
figure out just how you’re going to achieve that
number. Start by noting how much you’ll
make, in terms of commission, on an average sale.
For example, if you sell a gizmo that cost $2,000
and per sale your commission is 25 percent, then your
commission is $500 per sales (.25 x $2,000).
If your annual financial goal is $60,000 then you
now know you need to make 120 sales
($60,000/$500) to hit your goal.
A hundred sales in year seems intimidating at first
until you break it down into more palatable and
reasonable sub-goals. Instead of 120 sales a year,
break it down into monthly sales.
A hundred and twenty sales a year divided by 12
months gives you 10 sales per month that you’d
have to achieve to meet your annual goal. Ten sales a
month comes out about to roughly two to three sales a
week.
Now it’s your turn. Run your numbers:
(1) Annual financial goal: __________
(2) Average commission per sale: __________
(3) Number of sales per year needed (1) divided (2):
__________
(4) Number of sales per month (3) divided by 12:
__________

Having no financial goal in selling is the equivalent

have flying a plane with no navigation
system. Yes, you’re moving, but towards what?
The often-cited dictum of ignorance is bliss is
absurdly wrong! The saying should be rewritten to
more accurately reflect its meaning, “Bliss is
ignorance”. Not knowing is not the answer or
solution to a problem.
Only through knowing can you correct your own
course of action. Imagine for a moment an airline
pilot saying, “I don’t want to know if we’re headed in
the right direction or not.” Absurd? Yes! You not
having a financial goal is equally absurd!
Run your numbers!

Step 2
Embrace the concept that
selling is about sharing
and helping others
(achieve an end)
A s long as you view selling as trying to get

someone to buy, you will never achieve the level of
success you hope to reach. Selling is not about
‘doing something to somebody’ it’s about
helping someone achieve a desired end. When a
client buys, they’re buying hoping their purchase will

improve their position or situation. Don’t lose sight

of the obvious that when you sell, you are helping
someone fulfill a need or a goal.
In The Beginning…
How?
The first set of questions you need to ask yourself
before meeting a client is:
“How can this product help my client?”
“How is my product better than what they’re

using now?”
“How is my service better than how they

doing it now?”
“How will this help my client save time or

money?”
These questions are important because they force you

the salesperson to mentally detach yourself from
the benefits of your product or service and focus in
on how it will help the client.
Take a moment to write out answers to the above list
of questions; be as detailed as you can. Writing the
answers out will force you to really think past
your arguments or rationalization for why they
should buy and get you to really think about how
you can help your client.
In the End…Why?
Sometimes salespeople focus so hard on selling, that
they forget to consider why the person bought from
them in the first place. Understanding your client’s
needs may translate into future sales if you simply
take the time to ask, “Why?”
“Why did this client buy from me?”
“Why was this client easier or harder

to sell then my last client?“
“Why didn’t the client push back on

pricing?”

“Why did the client push back on

pricing?”
“Why didn’t the client show interest in

this aspect of the product when others
have done so in the past?”
“Why did the client choose that option

over the other?”
As you can see, the answer to selling lies in the

‘why’. The more you understand ‘why’ the more
you can understand what motivates people to buy
from you. If you can understand how to help them
you can sell to them more effectively. (Read this
paragraph again and again until it becomes part of
your internal sales philosophy)
Many salespeople think that the sale ends when the

paperwork is done and the agreement has been
signed. The best of the best go one step further. The
top 5% of salespeople ask the follow-up question,
“Why did they (the client) choose my product over
my competitors?” The answer to this question from a
client’s perspective is invaluable, yet the majority of
salespeople never ask the question. If you know what
the ‘why’ is, you’ll be able to duplicate your sales
success!
If you embrace the concept that selling is not selling
for selling sake, and that it really is about
understanding how you can best help your
client, then you will naturally want to ask the ‘why’
questions. In order to serve and not sell, requires that
you take the time to understand the client’s reason for
buying.
The profession of selling is a much maligned

profession ranking high alongside charlatans and
snake oil peddlers who have a reputation for selling
or cajoling people into buying things they don’t want.
Salespeople who use fear, obfuscation or intimidation
tactics to close sales are short-timers in the business
who’ll never reap the benefits of being able to resell a
client.
Their short-term mentality eventually leads to
overall failure and unfortunately a market that
thinks all salespeople are of the same ilk.
The best way to overcome this negative stigma is by
simply taking the time to understand how to help your
client. Remember, the how in selling comes before
the why. First seek to understand how your product
or service will help your client and once sold, find out
why they bought.
Many salespeople today ask ‘how’, but few ask
‘why’. Maybe they don’t want to know the answer to
that question or maybe they just don’t care and are
ready to move onto the next sale. But the best
salespeople, the most successful sellers know are the

ones that are genuinely interested in how

buyers think and what motivates them to buy.
Taking the time to find the why will make the next
sale that much easier.
Step 3
Acknowledge that you
don’t know everything
about selling
F ailure in selling begins with the admission

that maybe you don’t know as much as you think you
know about the process of selling. Pride cometh
before the fall is a phrase that speaks to arrogance and
its inevitable downward effect on a person. It’s okay
to admit that you don’t know as much as you think
you know. Too many salespeople simply believe that

they can cruise on to success on their existing

knowledge of selling.
Selling like any other professions requires you to
learn, absorb, apply and reassess. The first
step is to learn as much as you can about the subject
of selling. The next step is to absorb as much of that
information as you can and then go out and apply the
knowledge. Reassessing comes into play when you
realize that the theory you’ve read in a book on
selling doesn’t match up the hard reality in attempting
to close a sale.
4 Levels of Competence
In the learning process you must go through four
dimensions of awareness and knowledge. Most
salespeople start out as:
Unconsciously Incompetent: In this initial phase of

selling, the salesperson is unaware (unconscious) of
what he or she doesn’t know (incompetent). This is a
danger phase to be in and one should aim at getting
out of it as soon as possible. Having become aware
that one doesn’t know everything, the salesperson
then moves into the next phase.
Consciously Incompetent: In this phase the

salesperson is now aware of what he or she doesn’t
know and should begin to acquire the knowledge to
help them sell more effectively. In the process of
acquiring knowledge, we all know that learning a new
skill takes more than just reading, it takes to time to
absorb and then apply. It is in this mode that the
salesperson readies themselves to move the next
phase.
Conscious Competent: In this phase the salespersons

knows what they have to do but because the process
is still new to them. They have to consciously remind
themselves to do certain things during the sale
process. It’s during this phase that one feels clumsy
and awkward trying out new approaches and tactics
to closing a sale. But over time these new approaches
and tactics become second nature.
The salesperson overtime learns to refine these tactics
and has also learned how to implement the
appropriate tactic or strategy depending on the client
they’re trying to close. The salesperson becomes so
good and implementing the right tactic at the right
time, that they do so without thinking. At this point
the salesperson has reached the final and most
beneficial phase of sales mastery.
Unconsciously competent: In this phase the

salesperson isn’t consciously calculating what the
next step in the sales process is, but simply reacting
naturally and with purpose to the client’s needs. This
is the level of expertise that all salespeople should
aspire to.

What’s Your Level?

Now would be a good time for you to give some
thought to where you fit in the competence levels:
Unconsciously Incompetent – I don’t know what I

should know
Consciously Incompetent, - I know what I should
know
Consciously Competent - I have to think about what
I already know
Unconsciously Competent – I don’t have to think
about what I already know
Here are some questions that might help you

evaluate your competence level:
Do I know all aspects of my product or

service?
If I get challenged on my product

offering, am I confident I can answer
the questions?
Do I know how to ask the right questions?
Am I good at doing effective sales

presentations?
Can I handle tough or hostile clients?
What are the six major steps in the selling

process?
Do I have a clearly defined sales

process for myself?
Do I understand my client’s needs better than

they do?
These are just a few self-evaluation questions you

need to ask yourself to determine where you’re at in
terms of competence level. It’s okay if you didn’t
have an answer for each one. It’s okay to admit
that you don’t everything and that there is room
for improvement. In other words, you’re open to
learning and growing and that’s what matters.

Step 4
Learn the 6 phases of the
sales process
T he key to effective selling is having a cookie-

cutter type of system available that you can use
dependably. In order for you to develop your own
personal sales system, you first have to understand
the basics.
If you study enough books on selling you’ll begin to
notice that many sales processes used today are very
similar to one another. Why is that? Because selling
is selling! No matter what you’re selling, the basic
structure and approach to selling is essentially the
same no matter what industry you’re in.
Let’s begin by first defining the six phases in any
give sales process:
Prospecting - find new potential

customers who will buy from you.
Qualifying – define what

characteristics constitute a good buyer
Investigative – ask the potential

buyer key questions to uncover their
needs
Presentation – describe your

product/service in the context of what
the buyer needs
Pricing Proposal – present

pricing options to the buyer
Closing – get the buyer to commit to

buying one of the proposed options.

In order to be an effective salesperson, you’ll have to

master each of these stages independently. Each stage
is critical, providing the momentum to get to the next
stage, before finagling and closing a deal. Typically,
salespeople who struggle aren’t strong in at least one
of these stages. Identify where you believe yourself
to be weak and begin to take the necessary action to
improve.
Phase 1 – Prospecting:
You have to know where the fish are biting to be
successful. Begin by identifying a target market
and then contact those potential prospects to set up a
meeting to discuss your product or service. Take the
time to describe specific characteristics of your ideal
prospect. Narrow your selection and focus on those
prospects who are most likely to buy from you.
Phase 2 – Qualification
Now that you’ve identified the market you’re
targeting, the next step is to weed out potential buyers
versus non-buyers, or at a minimum, prioritize
potential buyers. The sooner you can uncover
whether or not the identified prospect needs
your product or service, will make a decision to
buy, and has the financial resources to make the
purchase, the more effective you’ll be at selling. It
will help to uncover whether or not the prospect is in
a position to make a purchasing decision.
Phase 3 – Investigative
Once you’ve qualified the prospect as a true potential
buyer, it’s time to have a more in-depth discussion
about their needs and your ability to offer a solution.
At this stage, your goal is to ask key questions that
will further substantiate the prospect has a need, and
that your solution is a good fit. It’s worth noting that
up to this point you still haven’t presented your
product offering. The key to the investigative stage is
to uncover as many needs as you can by asking a
lot of questions. Then, when you present your
product, you can gear the presentation to answer the
prospect’s needs or concerns.
Phase 4 – Presentation
Having understood your prospect’s needs and
concerns, you are now ready to talk about how your
product or service can help the prospect. Each
point you make in your presentation should
be aimed at answering: a) a prospect’s concern;
b) informing the prospect of things he may not be
aware of; and c) addressing any “unvoiced” concerns
(i.e., concerns or needs that the prospect did or may
not want to voice aloud). The presentation should
highlight product features, but should stay focused on
how it translates into a benefit for the prospect.
Remember, features tell, benefits sell.
Phase 5 – Pricing Proposal

When all is said and done, it will come down to
pricing or simply, “How much?” The presentation
stage is about creating value; the pricing is about
proposal, a value proposition. If in the

presentation stage you’ve made your case that the
prospect would be better off exchanging his money
for your product, then you’ve done your sales job
well.
Phase 6 – Closing
The final stage is the close or obtaining a
commitment. Here’s where the proverbial pen meets
the paper. If you’ve sold well, the prospect will sign
on the dotted line and the deal is sealed. There are
numerous ways to ask for the order. Here are just
a few:
“Mr. Prospect, where do we go from

here?”
“Mr. Prospect, can you see any reason

why we shouldn’t sign you up?”
“Mr. Prospect, based on what you’re

telling me, let’s go ahead and get the
process started.”
Asking for the order is the key. Too often,
salespeople hesitate to ask for the order for fear of
rejection. There’s only one thing worse than rejection
in selling—not asking for the order that could’ve
been yours if you simply had asked.
Remember, ask! Your prospects expect you to ask
for the order. Don’t disappoint them by not doing so.
Step 5
Take inventory of your
personal weaknesses
K nowing the six phases of the sales process will

now allow you to take personal inventory of where
your strengths and weakness lie. This step is a
moment of self-reflection. Only through brutal
honesty can you emerge from this step ready to
improve your selling skills.
In this step you will need to go through each of the
six phases and write down specific concrete steps you
can take to improve your skills.

Sales Phase How could I improve

Prospecting:
Ability to get in
front of potential
clients
Qualifying:
Ability to identify
good client fit for
your product or
service
Investigative:
Ability to ask good
question and
understand the
prospect’s needs
Sales Phase How could I improve
Presentation:
Ability to explain
the benefits of
your product or
service in the
context of the
client’s needs
Proposing Price:
Ability to price
your product or
service
accordingly
Closing: Ability to
ask for the order
and close the deal

This exercise is an important step in the sales

recovery program. Please take the time to review
your comments and then set forth a plan to begin
improving on each of those items you listed.
Step 6
Commit to becoming a
better listener
W e’ve all heard the saying, “God gave us two

ears and one mouth, so that we can listen twice as
much as we talk”. Learning to listen is a
challenge. We are often overcome by the need to
share our opinions too much. For some reason, it
makes us feel good about ourselves when we’re doing
the talking.

Over the years the research is clear, the key to

successful relationships, professional or personal, is
communication.
A good dialogue is divided equally into 50%
speaking and 50% listening. However, in selling, the
ratios shift quite a but if you want to be success. The
20:80 speaking to listening ratio takes effect.
It takes time and practice to learn how to listen. For
some people, especially introverts, it may come
easily. However, most salespeople are extroverts;
they love to talk. Keeping quiet is a non-verbal form
of torture for many salespeople.
Two types
You’ll often hear about two types of listening styles:
Passive and Active. Passive listening is the art of
keeping quiet and listening to what the client has to
say.
Active listening is when you restate questions or
ask for clarifications while having a conversation
with a client. Active questions can look something
like this:
“So let me ask this another way, if you…?”
“So if I hear you correctly what you’re telling

me is…?”
In either case, the active questions can be either
open or closed-ended, depending on what answer
you’re looking for.
If you need to find out more information, choosing an

open-ended active question would be best. An
example of an open-ended active question
would be:
“Would you mind going over again, the

specific steps for how the decision-making
process works, just so I’m clear?”
Notice that you’re asking for clarification using

an open-ended question.
A closed-ended active question is great for

confirming specific information that you need to have
in order to help you close the sale. An example of a
closed-ended active question could go like this:
“So you’re telling me a decision will be made

by the end of the month?”
Note that you should be looking for a one-word
answer, yes or no. If you asked,
“Based on what you’ve told me, your budget

is in the neighborhood of $250,000?”

Again, you’re looking for confirmation on

budget so you’ll know what your limitations are when
presenting a proposal.
This combination of asking the right questions and
knowing how to listen is a skill that you must
develop.
It takes time and patience. Many salespeople
“wing it” when they go into a meeting with a client. If
you’re new to the game of selling, this is not the best
approach. It’s the lazy approach. In the end, you’ll
wind up wasting time for both of you.
Step 7
Commit to knowing your
product (or service)
T he best method and fastest way to gain

product knowledge is to read or watch as much as
you can about the product. Devour product
information.
First, memorize the important features of your
product. Then, develop benefit statements (i.e., what
it will do for the prospect) for each feature your
product has to offer. Finally, to really build your

knowledge base, list every possible question a

potential prospect may ask about your product.
Your job as a salesperson is to be able to answer these
“feature” questions, and then add a “benefit”
statement. Prospects want to feel comfortable about
their decision to purchase.
Feature:
a particular characteristic your product or

service has to offer
Benefit:
how a particular characteristic will help

solve a prospect’s problem or issue
The best way to reduce buying anxiety is to

demonstrate your competence by recommending the
best product for them to buy. But in order for them to
believe you or take your advice, they have to see you
as an expert—someone who knows what they are
talking about.
Sometimes, selling is simply a transfer of
confidence. If prospects feel confident that you’re
providing them with the best solution for their need,
and they believe you, they’ll buy from you!
It’s all about credibility
Nothing will undermine your credibility faster in
front of a potential client than your inability to
articulate what you have to offer or your inability to
answer the most fundamental questions about the
product or service you offer.
When a client sets aside time to speak with you about
your product, and you don’t know the answers to
fundamental questions about the product or how it
can best serve the client, then you’ve wasted your
time. Even worse, you’ve wasted the prospect’s
time, and that is inexcusable!
Your goal as a salesperson should be to dedicate

yourself to learning as much as you can about
your product. Then, find ways to demonstrate to the
client how your product stands head and shoulders
above the competition. In other words, don’t let
the prospect be smarter than you. If you know
your products inside out it will show when you
discuss them with the prospect.
One of the fastest ways to build credibility is by

demonstrating your expertise or mastery of what
you’re selling, and showing the prospects how your
product will help them become more successful.

Step 8
Accept that you cannot
control the outcome of a sale
O ften, in selling, it is easy to get discouraged when a

big sale that you thought was in the bank doesn’t go
through. You can get frustrated when some prospects see
the value immediately, while others simply do not.
Having said that, here’s something you should keep in
mind. In sales, there’s a general rule of thirds, which
states one third of the qualified prospects who agree to see
and hear you proposal will see the value immediately and
buy from you. We’ll call this group “Buyers”.
Victor Antonio
There’s another one third who are qualified prospects;

they simply require you to understand their needs and show
them how your product or service will benefit them. We’ll
call this group the “Evaluators”. If you do it right,
they’ll buy. If you don’t, they won’t.
Finally, there is the last of the one third of qualified

prospects, who no matter how much you show them the
benefits of your product or service, will never make a
decision to buy, or will simply reject your offer outright.
We’ll call this group the “Wasters” as in “time wasters”.
A rookie mistake is to keep going back to a prospect who

won’t buy,—a waster in disguise. Learn to categorize your
prospects into three major categories: Likely to buy
(Buyer), May buy (Evaluator), and Will never buy
(Waster).
Sales is a numbers game in the sense that the more
Buyers and Evaluators you talk to, the more likely you are
to earn higher commissions. Don’t get bogged down
talking to a Waster who continually says, “Well let
me think about it. I need more information. Let
me talk to your existing clients?”, and on and on.
The faster you can identify a Waster, the more time

you’ll have for Buyers and Evaluators.
They’re not rejecting you

Consider the following scenario: You’re walking down the
street and you see someone fall. You walk over and extend
41
Sales Anonymous
your hand, to help them get up. They refuse to take your
hand, so you withdraw your hand, and keep walking.
Here’s my question to you: Since your help was rejected,
do you walk away feeling bad? Your answer should
obviously be no. You saw someone fall. You assessed the
situation and decided they needed the help that you could
provide. The person’s refusal had nothing to do with
your “intentions.” Your intentions were good, so there is
no reason to feel bad at all. This is how you should view
selling. If your intentions are good (i.e., wanting to help,
not sell), and someone refuses your help, there’s no reason
to walk away from the prospect feeling bad.
Selling is all about good intentions in helping

prospects achieve their goals by helping them solve their
problems or fill their needs. All you can do as a
salesperson, and all that is expected of you, is that you get
in front of the prospect, uncover a need, and offer them a
helping hand.
Accept that fact that you cannot control the

outcome of every sale, but you can control how
your react to rejection.
If they refuse, just remember, they’re not rejecting

you—only your intention in wanting to help. Oddly
enough, in this profession we call selling, there will be
prospects who desperately need help or a helping hand, but
will simply refuse to take you up on your offer to help. Just
remember, intentions count for everything. It’s their loss,
not yours…keep walking.
A12 Step Program for Better Selling

Victor Antonio
43
Sales Anonymous
Step 9
Study your competition and
create value
T he Internet has commoditized

information (i.e., can get it cheap), democratized
it (i.e., available to anyone), and made it ubiquitous
(i.e., available anywhere).
Today’s prospect is more informed than ever

when it comes to the available options in the
marketplace. No longer do they have to buy your
product when with a simple click of the mouse they

Victor Antonio
can locate a multitude of others, often at a better

price.
These days, it’s not enough to study your product
only. If you want to be the best amongst the best in
selling, you have to know what your competitors are
offering as well.
The first step in keeping current with the
changes is to list your top three to five competitors
for the product or service you’re offering. In any
market space, at least three companies always
dominate.
The next step is to collect information on these

companies as it relates to your product offering. One
of the best ways to do this is by periodically visiting
your competitor’s website and monitoring the
updates (e.g., new product release, press releases
about changes, etc.).
Then, create a comparative table that lists all

your product features alongside your competitors.
This will help you see where your product strengths
and weaknesses lie. Understanding the weakness of
your product is equally important to understanding
your product’s strength.
Having this type of information prior to meeting

with a prospect will insure that you won’t get caught
off guard if a competitor is thrown into the sales
mix.
Demonstrating to a prospect that you’ve looked

at other companies and you offer the best of the
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Sales Anonymous
best, will make it that much easier for the prospect

to decide in your favor.
Create value
Over the long run, unscrupulous salespeople get theirs in
the end and wind up unhappy. The philosopher, Ayn Rand,
had a simple equation when it came to dealing with clients,
friends, and family.
Rand believed that all partnerships and relationships should

be a “value for value” proposition. In other words, if
you offer value, you should expect value in return. When
the other person or party ceases to reciprocate with value,
then the proposition is no longer valid, and you have every
right to terminate the relationship.
When you sell, you need to offer the customer value. Not
only does that value come in the form of a product or
service, but includes the value that you the salesperson,
bring to the relationship.

Victor Antonio
Step 10
Find a sales mentor
F ind a sales mentor who will help guide you when

you feel that things aren’t going your way or if you need
someone to keep you focused. A sales coach is someone
who has years of sales experience and has gone through all
the ups and downs that come with the profession of selling.
The difficulty in finding a coach lies in finding one

that matches your style or personality and has an adequate
level of experience in selling. Here are some realities
when it comes to finding a mentor:
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Sales Anonymous
1) Few are willing to help. Not so much because

they’re mean spirited, but more so because they’re
too busy themselves building their careers and can't
stop and help the hordes of people who are constantly
asking for their help.
2) If you do find a mentor that is willing to take the

time to help, you will most likely have to pay a hefty
price for that attention. This is often called
‘coaching’ and can get quite expensive very quickly.
We’re talking thousands of dollars for their time. If
you have the means to pay for their information
and time, good for you; go for it. Having a mentor
there to point out the pitfalls is a good business decision
with a good chance of a R.O.I. in the long run.
But what if you can’t afford a coach, a mentor, who

can show you left from right and right from wrong? Well,
let me share with you a closely guarded secret on a strategy
for success without going broke! Ready? Find a virtual
mentor! What’s a virtual mentor?
Definition:
A virtual mentor is a successful person doing what
you would like to be doing who is helping you
become successful without them being aware of it
and you having to pay them.

Victor Antonio
For example, Zig Ziglar the great sales motivator and

trainer could be your mentor. But Zig is so famous that he
most likely wouldn’t have enough time to sit down with
you to develop and layout a master plan for your success.
Not because he doesn’t care, but because it wouldn't be
feasible given the demands put on him by his adoring
public and the business he runs Zig Ziglar International.
Nonetheless, don’t let the above facts stop you from
adopting him as my ‘virtual mentor’. Whether Zig
knows it or not, whether he likes it or not, he could be your
‘virtual mentor’.
7 Keys to Adopting the Right

Virtual Mentor
1) Find a successful mentor who is doing what you would
love to do
2) Make sure the mentor has the same values you have
3) Buy (or consume) all of their products
4) Study their website and literature
5) Understand their business model by studying all their

marketing material
6) If you can go see the person live, do so. Study how

they conduct their presentation, seminars and events;
understand the business
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Sales Anonymous
7) Study what products or services they are offering to

generate revenue
They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery. I’d

like to add a caveat to that statement and remind you to
never imitate people, only their successful
business practices. Learn as much as you can from
your virtual mentor and then take what you’ve learned and
become a super YOU!
If you find a virtual mentor, consider yourself fortunate that

someone else is lighting the way towards your success.
Mentors not only show us the way, they also
demonstrate that it IS possible to be successful
doing what we love to do.
Learn from them so that one day you’ll be in their position.
They’ve already charted the course so all we need to do is
take action. Study, Study, and then Study them
some more!
If you don’t have a virtual mentor, I suggest you

start looking for one ASAP. Doing so will save
you time, money and some of your sanity!

Victor Antonio
Step 11
Manage your time effectively
in pursuit of sales & personal
growth
N ever stop growing, never stop learning. The field of

sales is vast and it takes years to master the art of selling.
Dedicate yourself to the continuous process of learning and
improvement.
The Japanese have a word that speaks to the very essence
of growth, Kaizen. Translated loosely the word means
continuous improvement. No work is ever complete and
no training is ever complete.
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Sales Anonymous
The process of learning follows these simple steps:
1. Learn something new like a sales technique

or strategy
2. Commit to applying this new tactic
3. Reflect on how you felt using it and its

effectiveness
4. Refine the technique and try it again
5. Do it so often it becomes part of your sales

repertoire
Once you feel comfortable with this new sales technique or

strategy, start the process of learning all over again.
Learning from world

• Commit to reading at least one sales book a
month. There are hundreds of sales books out in
the market today each one offering up at least one
gold sales nugget

Victor Antonio
• Subscribe to sales magazines, journals or

publications.
• Attend atleast one sales seminar or
workshops every six months
Free learning
• Subscribe to sales blogs and communities so
you can learn from other and exchange ideas with
other sales professionals.
• Subscribe to sales ezines and newsletters the
Internet.
• Watch free online sales training videos on
video websites
With access to the Internet and the amount of free

content being contributed, and made available, online
today for free is unprecedented!
In no other time in our history has the information for
success been ‘democratized’ to the point that
everyone and anyone with a connection to the Internet can
now have access. There’s no excuse for not learning and
growing!
Take responsibility for your own learning because

no one else will!
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Sales Anonymous

Victor Antonio
Step 12
Help others who suffer from
the fear and anxiety of selling
T he best part of achieving sales success is making a

good living for yourself and your family.
Once you’ve achieved a certain level of success it is a
matter of personal choice to help someone else.
Notice the phrase ‘personal choice’ was used and not the
term ‘obligation’. Why? If you’ve followed all the steps in
this book and have taken the initiative to follow through,
then you have achieve what many wouldn’t even attempt.
The information and experience you’ve acquired is
YOURS. It does not belong to anyone else but you. It
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Sales Anonymous
was your time invested and your commitment to

personal growth that made it possible.
You own the knowledge and the experience and you DO
NOT have to share it with others out of some sense of guilt
or personal obligation. Again, it’s yours! You’ve earned
it!
A new level of satisfaction

Once your financial goal is secured, it is up to you whether
or not you decide to share your wisdom. Beyond the
money there is another level of personal satisfaction that
comes from helping others who are struggling to be good at
selling.
Helping others helps you grow in different ways. In
helping others you are required to reformulate your
experience into teachable moments thereby forcing you
organize your thoughts about what works and what doesn’t.
Doing so reinforces lessons learned and experience
gained.
Again, this is a matter of personal choice that one should
consider, not from an altruistic standpoint but one that
stems from personal satisfaction.
Don’t seek someone to help, let them find you!
If others who are struggling are serious about selling and

learning their craft, they will seek you out. Just as you

Victor Antonio
had to go out and find the information and a

mentor, let others who are serious do the same.
Watching others grow under your guidance is one of the
most rewarding experiences you can have. Don’t cheat
yourself out of that pleasure.
So when someone approaches you for help, be open to
sharing with them what you’ve learned about the profession
of selling and this book. Don’t do it because you feel
obligated to do so, but because you choose to do so for
your own personal satisfaction!
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Sales Anonymous
For more information go to www.SalesInfluence.com

Victor Antonio
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All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be

This publication is designed to provide accurate and

This Sales Influence Publication Edition is by published by

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

ISBN Pending (U.S.A.)

A 12 Step Program for Better Selling 3

Victor Antonio, Founder of Sales Influence

From food stamps and welfare to

1. Admit that your sales numbers are not where

T he first step in the sales recovery process

A 12 Step Program for Better Selling 7

would like to make over the next year starting from

There’s nothing like writing a number down that

“This is a dumb exercise?”

“Let me skip this step, I’ll come back to

“What’s a good number?”

“I know what I want to make but I

“Can I really make that much money?”

“Is that number too high? Does it

If these questions sound familiar, than guess what,

A 12 Step Program for Better Selling 9

When a number is written, a financial goal, the shades

Working the Numbers

Now it’s your turn. Run your numbers:

(1) Annual financial goal: __________

(2) Average commission per sale: __________

(3) Number of sales per year needed (1) divided (2):

(4) Number of sales per month (3) divided by 12:

A 12 Step Program for Better Selling 11

Having no financial goal in selling is the equivalent

Run your numbers!

A s long as you view selling as trying to get

A 12 Step Program for Better Selling 13

improve their position or situation. Don’t lose sight

“How can this product help my client?”

“How is my product better than what they’re

“How is my service better than how they

“How will this help my client save time or

These questions are important because they force you

“Why did this client buy from me?”

“Why was this client easier or harder

“Why didn’t the client push back on

A 12 Step Program for Better Selling 15

“Why did the client push back on

“Why didn’t the client show interest in

“Why did the client choose that option

As you can see, the answer to selling lies in the

Many salespeople think that the sale ends when the

The profession of selling is a much maligned

A 12 Step Program for Better Selling 17

ones that are genuinely interested in how

F ailure in selling begins with the admission

A 12 Step Program for Better Selling 19

they can cruise on to success on their existing

Unconsciously Incompetent: In this initial phase of

Consciously Incompetent: In this phase the

Conscious Competent: In this phase the salespersons

Unconsciously competent: In this phase the

A 12 Step Program for Better Selling 21

What’s Your Level?