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Live Life Fully, Ethically & Without Effort
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February 2009
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April 2009
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By Grant Cardone, Sales Expert and Author
"Closing" is the final step in the pursuit of ANY goal. This thing called closing is not just something that sales people do but something that applies to every person. Nothing truly happens until you are able to engender the support, energy and resources of others. As harsh as it may seem, the close is what separates those who have from those who don't have. This critical and vital ability is what differentiates the dreamer from the exceptional individual that makes dreams come true.
The world is filled with grand ideas and big dreams and short on people who can close others on funding, supporting and getting behind them! It is the ability to close that makes a difference more than any other skill you will learn in life!
You think that is an overstatement, but the only reason you know the names of people like; Christopher Columbus, Ben Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Walt Disney, Mother Theresa, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Barack Obama are because they were able to close others.
The art of closing is not something you are born with, but a learned skill! Closing as a skill is required to insure you get what you want in life, both professionally and personally.
There is no cost to an individual or company greater than the inability to close others on their products, services, ideas and dreams! The inability to get the deal done depletes the individual's belief and self-confidence. The failure to close has devastating effects on the individual and company as it fuels uncertainty, insecurity, doubt, fear, loss of hope and ultimately more lost opportunities. The losses mount up due to the inability to close and the expense is calculated not just financially but emotionally as well. The inability to close, to finalize agreement, to engender support, is the ruin of individuals, companies and entire industries.
My newest book "The Closer's Survival Guide" picks up where my other book, "Sell to Survive" left off. It is how to get the deal done and is a fresh new look at closing the transaction! It is loaded with 126 powerful closes that will take your game to the next level. Did you know that the number one reason people don't close is simply because they run out of things to say?
In this book are five budget closes that will take you to another level. Another five closes just focused on budgets, three pressure closes, three agreement closes, four spouse stall closes and another 111 closes just handling money objections!
How many of these do you know?
In this book is a powerful arsenal of closes including: 31 Money Closes, 17 Time Related Closes, 3 (sick) Pressure Closes, 3 Agreement Closes, 8 Decision Maker Closes, and another 64 of the most creative closes you will ever find in one book!
By Grant Cardone, Sales Expert and Author
 I met with Howard Shultz, founder and CEO of Starbucks, last week. I flew to Orlando from Los Angeles where Mr. Starbucks was holding small town-hall style meeting to a group of his customers. It is amazing to see a guy like Howard Shultz take the time to meet with, listen to, get feedback, and be open to what his customers like and don't like about going to Starbucks.
What he is doing is further validation of how to expand even during periods of contraction. You don't retreat during contractions you expand. The media has scared almost everyone into pure retreat without any solutions about what to do! When I speak to management and business owners, the second step I talk about in responding to economic contraction is the one people are not doing effectively. You must increase your spending of energy, resources and creativity on anything that can potentially create new opportunities to produce revenue. This is one of the major mistakes people are making today as they become scared and contract (stop) on everything. People in this country haven't just stop spending money; they have stopped spending their energy and creativity on solutions. People unconsciously started conserving everything, when the reality is you should be spending money, energy and resources on ALL activities that may create new opportunities and new revenue.
If you notice six months ago Mr. Shultz's first action was to identify stores that weren't producing and shut them down. That is the first step I talk about in my book Sell to Survive. Most of America has already done (overdone) this first step but have not moved on to the more important steps.
After cutting back Mr. Shultz is now moving onto his first expansion action by making contact with those in his powerbase. Notice he is now spending money, energy and resources by reactivating his powerbase. This exact step is discussed in detail in Sell to Survive. This step is crucial during all times, but especially during contractions!
If Mr. Shultz, approximate worth of a $1billion, can do this and finds it necessary to do so, then shouldn't you? He has 166,000 employees and over 4,000 stores in 43 countries. You think you don't have enough time. These meetings are being held between 7pm and 10pm making for a very long day for him. The fact that you are still working the same schedule that you did in the past is ridiculous and non-survival.
The economy we are presently in is a "game changer". If you don't change your behavior and apply the right actions you will be punished. The economy will discipline and punish all those that don't get their head on right, take the right actions, and then take those actions in the right quantities. There exists an exact and precise step-by-step formula for surviving economic contractions and you need to know them and use them.
- Stop all expenditures and activities that are not productive and not driving in revenue
- Increase the use of money, energy, and resources on ALL activities that may create new opportunities and new revenue
- Put aside yesterday's successes and the memories of "better times"
- Realize that the game has changed and it is not "business as usual"
- Learn everything you can about selling and promotion so that you will be motivated to sell
So stop retreating, and start expanding! Do what successful people like Howard Shultz do, get in the game with these actions, and learn how to expand through economic contraction.
By Grant Cardone, Sales Expert and Author
Warren Buffett said on his recent CNBC interview, "During times like these the most valuable asset you have is your skills and abilities." He spent three hours with Beck Quick talking about the economy, his investments, and the future of America. If you haven't seen the interview watch it because he demonstrates a sane approach and solution to the current situation.
I noticed two things about the interview, 1) Mr. Buffett thinks in futures not just in the havoc of the moment and 2) he takes every opportunity to "sell" the products and services as well as enhance the value of the company he owns.
Warren Buffett knows that without selling products and services his companies become without value. Whether its American Express, Coca Cola, Wells Fargo, See's Candy, Wal-Mart or GE, he takes the time to shamelessly tout each one of them. Why does a Billionaire continue to promote, market and sell the value of the companies he has major stakes in? Because even the richest man in the world knows that the financial solvency of a company or household is dependent upon selling the products, services and value of that company.
Every household in America needs to take heed of Mr. Buffett as he embraces selling as a survival skill for creating the future you want. Selling is innate in every person and not limited to just some, even though the skill may be lost or suppressed, it is there.
America has developed a disdain for selling when this is the one single thing you cannot avoid if you want to have money in the bank! Every major problem people are having today from job loss to bankruptcy can be traced back to the inability to sell yourself, your products and your services. Show me a company failing and I will show you a company having difficulty selling their products and services. Like it or not you cannot manage, organize, save or plan your way out of this, you can only sell to survive!
The tighter the economy gets the more this skill is needed. Remember what Buffet said, "During times like these the most valuable asset you have is your skills and abilities." The ability to not just create great ideas but to sell them and get them into the market is what made America great and prosperous. In the 50 and 60's people were proud to be sales people and now the culture turns its nose up at the thought of it. Everyone wants to be a lawyer, doctor, technician or engineer. The largest legal firm in the country just laid off 20% of their lawyers and I assure you that the ones that got laid off had one thing in common; the inability to bring in revenue (sell).
The art of selling can be learned by anyone and you don't have to change your personality in order to do so. Look at Buffett, he isn't sleazy, high pressure or a fast talker. He is just someone that knows that selling is critical to the survival of individuals and companies.
By Grant Cardone, Sales Expert and Author
Warren Buffet says, "The best asset you have during tough times is your personal skills and abilities."
If you are the best doctor, chiropractor, car dealer, actor, sales person, manager or whatever you call yourself, and are able to close the deal, you always command a certain percentage of the resources where you live and work!
"Closing" is the final step in the pursuit of ANY goal. This thing called closing is not just something that sales people do but something that applies to every person. Nothing truly happens until you are able to engender the support, energy and resources of others. As harsh as it may seem the close is what separates those who have from those who have from those who don't have. This critically and vital ability is what differentiates the dreamer from the exceptional individual that makes dreams come true.
The world is filled with people who have grand dreams of new products or ideas that will change the world that never become reality simply because the dreamer couldn't close others on supporting their dream. The world is abundant with grand ideas and big dreams and short on people who can close others on funding, supporting and getting behind them! It is the ability to close that makes a difference more than any other skill you will learn in life!
You think that is an overstatement but the only reason you know the names of people like; Christopher Columbus, Ben Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Walt Disney, Mother Theresa, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Colonel Sanders, Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama are because they were able to close others on their ideas. They were able to instill support from others so they could get their ideas backed with money, energy and effort.
The art of closing is not confined to sales people but is a needed skill of anyone that wants to move their ideas, dreams, products and services into the marketplace. Closing is vital for anyone that simply wants a job, wants to keep their job, or improve their finances.
My new book, The Closer's Survival Guide, is not a theory of closing the deal, but exactly HOW to close the deal including the 20 major rules of closing and over 120 exact closes that you can use every day!
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