“The Specialist” National Radio Hour – January 06, 2009
Interview with Amy Ballantine
Interview with Tony Hsieh
Interview with Tony Hsieh
Archive for category: Uncategorized
Radio Show Guest Interviews
“The Specialist” National Radio Hour frequently invites distinguished members of the business and educational community to appear on the show in the interest of sharing their knowledge and experience gained from years in their chosen profession or field of study.
Sandy Dumont
Sandy is an internationally-acclaimed pioneer in the field of image psychology and impression management, and she is the leader in color and color psychology. She has consulted for TV, Fortune 500 companies, politicians and celebrities.
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Stephen Kissell
Meeting planners across the nation have discovered Stephen Kissell. His use of audience participation makes his programs memorable and immediately applicable. His use of clean comedy means you don’t have to worry about anyone being offended.
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Susanna Theo
Susanna Theo founded Protocol and Etiquette Services in 1998. She is trained and certified in all aspects of protocol and etiquette by The Protocol School of Washington?. Her work extends throughout the United States and around the globe.
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Casey Moore
www.livingsimplyconsulting.com
Living Simply Consulting was founded in 2000 by Casey Moore in Austin, Texas. As a writer, trainer and researcher, Casey had a vast amount of experience organizing and managing complex projects from inception to completion. She parlayed that experience and her background in the mental health field into a unique approach to productivity training.
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Shihan Tim Thompson
www.dragonduetkarateteam.tripod.com
Shihan Tim Thompson’s outstanding Dragon Force National Team has won National / World Championships in 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Dragon Force is the First Demo Team to Win the World Cup Martial Arts Championships 3 years in a Row!
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Bill Dittmar
Bill Dittmar, publisher of Executive Lifestyle Magazine in Newport News, VA. didn’t know what he was getting into when he started a magazine 15 years ago, but now he hopes to duplicate his success around the country. Dittmar and his wife, Heidi, also produce the quarterly Peninsula magazine and Southside magazine from their home office.
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“The Specialist” National Radio Hour – January 05, 2009
Interview with Merlin Miller, President/CEO of Colonial Barns and Sheds,
Virginia Beach, VA
Bonus Tip of the Day
Inspirational Quote of the Day
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Over 5 Hours of Audio Containing 52 Tracks
Volume 2 of the Sales Techniques series, this 5 CD set is a continuation of the celebrated radio talk show host’s incisive and thorough look at the challenges of the sales profession, featuring highlights such as ‘Anatomy of a Top-Closing Champion’, ‘Discovering the Clients Needs’, and ‘Eliminating Buyers Remorse’.
Management Techniques
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Providing specific guidelines and leadership to your team is crucial towards becoming a successful sales organization. In this series you will learn how to devise winning strategies and develop a high-caliber sales force. ‘Building Personal Credibility as a Leader’, ‘Investing in Your Staff’, and ‘How to Build a Sales Team From Scratch’ are but a few of the topics explored.
The Art of Closing
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Over 2 Hours of Audio Containing 22 Tracks
In this series you will learn the basics of closing effortlessly without pressure or anxiety. Many sales professionals spend countless hours on prospects that either won’t buy, or don’t make a decision in a timely manner. By improving your closing skills, you will have more time and resources to provide service to your current customers and to sell to new prospects. Learn the “Art of Closing” in detail with show excerpts such as ‘The Basic Written Closing Technique’, ‘Anatomy of a Top-Closing Champion’, and ‘Top 10 Reasons the Prospect Does Not Buy From You’.
Motivation and Productivity
4 CD Set – $79.95 ( Free Shipping to USA! )
Over 4 Hours of Audio Containing 48 Tracks
Just as you are continually closing the sales prospect, you must also continually close the employee. A real professional manager always has their hand on the employees’ pulse, knowing what inspires them, what drives them. With this knowledge there are virtually no limits to maximizing your staff’s potential. By mastering topics such as ‘Consistency and Positive Thinking’, ‘How to Maintain Your
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Sales Techniques, Volume 1, Sales Techniques, Volume 2, Management Techniques, The Art of Closing, Motivation and Productivity
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Over 7 Hours of Audio Containing 92 Tracks
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Personal Sales and Management Coaching
“When you pay for a pair of shoes, do you expect one size will fit all? Of course not. So why would you expect the same cookie-cutter classroom instructions to fit all your sales staff needs?
This doesn’t account for the thousands of different kind of prospects that you come in contact with.
Hello, I’m Chris Kettner, “The Specialist”, with over 41 years of in-the-trenches sales and management experience. I will not only increase the sales in your business and evaluate your management staff, but I will actually make the rounds with your sales staff, coaching and personally training them along the way. Individualized training will guarantee that your sales staff will be on the fast track towards becoming peak performers.
Chris Kettner “The Specialist”
P.S. – Don’t forget to sign up for my free newsletter. For a limited time I am offering over $600 worth of free sales training for new subscribers, including a free copy of “The Specialist” Sales and Management Bible, a $9.95 value, plus a free copy of “The Specialist” Sales Techniques Volume 1, 5 CD Set, a $99.95 value, plus 5 hours of free phone consultation, a $500.00 value, and I will send you weekly sales and management tips and secrets!
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Charles Kettner, aka “The Specialist”, also appears on “Ask The Expert” on powerhouse 50,000 watt WTAR Radio in Norfolk, VA, where “The Specialist” will take your calls and answer your questions pertaining to sales and management training. His next appearance will be on Thursday, February 5th from 5-6 pm.
Listen to “The Specialist” Interview Series
From “The Specialist” National Radio Hour
(Virginia Beach, VA) “The Specialist” National Radio Hour frequently invites distinguished members of the business and educational community to appear on the show in the interest of sharing their knowledge and experience gained from years in their chosen profession or field of study.
Featured guests include Sandy Dumont (pictured left), an internationally-acclaimed pioneer in the field of image psychology and impression management, and Stephen Kissell, a highly popular Motivational Humorist who employs a style of audience participation that makes his programs memorable and immediately applicable.
You can listen to the interviews here!
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This website is dedicated to sales and management professionals in search of ‘real’ information that will provide opportunities for learning and growth within their chosen occupation. Topics covered in our articles and teleseminars include sales training, sales ethics, business ethics, resource management, and management training.
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About Charles C. Kettner, “The Specialist”
Over 40 Years of Sales and Management Training Experience
Charles Kettner, aka “The Specialist”, is a professional sales and management trainer and published author, having recently released “The Specialist” Sales and Management Bible. He resides with his family in Virginia Beach, VA, where he is the host of a national daily radio show, The Specialist Radio Hour, dedicated to sales and management training.
He has over 40 years of sales, management and training experience, over 25 years of hard core door to door sales with no leads and no referrals and for 40 years has never had a guaranteed paycheck!
He has interviewed over 250,000 people in the privacy of their home, has interviewed over 5,000 people for employment opportunities, group interviewed and sold literally tens of thousands of people. Charles has been a guest speaker at colleges and universities, such as The University of North Carolina and Old Dominion University, and has literally amassed millions upon millions of dollars in sales!
Charles was recognized as “Man of the Year” five times in his career and has been the recipient of enough awards to fill three 8′ by 10′ walls. After training people from coast to coast in sales and management, people who have gone on to stellar careers themselves, “The Specialist” has decided it is time in his career to pass all of his knowledge and experiences to the next generation of great salespersons and managers!
If you would like to contact “The Specialist” for speaking engagements or for inquires concerning sponsorship of his radio show, either send an email to response.thespecialist@gmail.com or call his personal hotline at 808-393-0743.
“The Specialist”
The Fallacy Of References in Sales
I had an experienced sales person run into an unusual situation for himself. He was selling a new product that he was not that familiar with and even though the company was a giant company his product knowledge was limited.
He went on to tell me that he almost had the sale when the customer told him that he could have the sale if he could fax over the names and phone numbers of about 5 present customers that are already doing business with the company. What the young man ( remember All of you out there are young to “The Specialist”) failed to realize was that what the potential client was saying was that there was a trust issue. Somewhere throughout his relationship he did not win over the client’s trust.
I proceeded to explain to this sales person that all the references in the world would not change the equation. First off all the good intentioned references seem to always say great things but usually qualify their reference with something like…”after the initial bumps in the road it has been great working with the company”. Something like this or a variation. The road to hell is paved with good intentions!
Also unless you sell everybody the exact same product at exactly the same price you leave yourself wide open. How I told the salesperson to handle the situation is a standard reply that I have successfully used for years. What I say is, “Mr. Jones obviously there is a trust issue here and unfortunately due to confidentiality we are not allowed to give out that information…not to mention no one wants to be bothered all day by people calling for references. I know Mr. Jones you wouldn’t like it either”.
Having said that I go on to reiterate that since it is a trust issue why would he put himself in a position to ask the very person that he is skeptical of to give him 5 references. I could easily have 5 friends waiting for his call to say nothing but how great the company is. I go on to show him how foolish it would be to base a financial decision on this. At this point I go on to re-summarize all the national accounts that are with the company and stress that none of these accounts would be there if the company did not deliver what they promised. I then continue on with the remainder of the presentation and wrap up the sale.
By the way since I am “The Specialist” this problem only occurred in my early years before I mastered sincerity (one of the 8 basics). As you develop in this great profession you will find out that 99% of all the objections you run into can be dealt with long before they become OBJECTIONS!
“The Specialist”
Creating A Sales Team…Part 3 Of a 3 Part Series
Tonight’s post is the conclusion of the 3 part series on how to create a sales team. We left off last night where the crew is just starting to jell. Now the hardest part is to successfully LAYER your organization and polish everyone. The tendencies of most managers is that as soon as someone can sell they think their work is done and they can take time off or focus on other tasks. WRONG! This is a critical time to show your producers how much you care and how much farther they have to go.
Of course, while doing this you have to be doing the same beginning process with the newer people until they are producing. The objective is to have the early producers become your pace setters and then from their enthusiasm the newer people begin to shine. The real surprise is that you never know with any certainty who is really going to become your top performers out of the group. There are a lot of disappointments along the way. One of the original producers may falter or lose interest for a variety of reasons and all of a sudden one of the newer producers takes the lead and refuses to give it up. Sometimes I have gone through 3 or 4 groups of people before I find the first consistent producer. That is why I mentioned at the beginning that it takes extreme patience and persistence. It is very easy to get discouraged when one or two groups don’t work out.
Remember the “Stone Cutter” story. The people that passed by when a single blow broke the stone missed the 100 strokes before it. Pretty prophetic. Once you think you have a viable crew you can finally take a deep breath and slowly, and I mean slowly, fade into the woodwork. What I mean by this is maybe you can appoint a tentative crew leader and let them know that you have an errand to do and you will be back shortly. This is the beginning of your true evaluation of your work. If you come back and everything is working smoothly, you can step out for a little longer period of time. “Special Tip” – NEVER tell the staff when you are expected to return. Sometimes I never really leave. I watch the operation from a distance and do my evaluation. Someone once said, “It is not what you do when I am around that counts, but what you do when I am not around that is most important!”
Now once you have your successful crew built and it can function in your absence, it is imperative that you are still around at various times so they understand that you are still very much involved in the operation. It is also important that you make those times when you ARE around count! Do not miss the opportunity to show advanced techniques to your peak performers in both sales and management, while still selling everyone on the big picture of advancement and opportunity. In other words continue priming the pump. I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you.
“The Specialist”
Creating A Sales Team…Part 2 Of a 3 Part Series
Remember where we left off. You have one or two persons that have just started selling and you are in the weeding out process. I think I told you yesterday not to get excited because you haven’t built anything yet! That’s exactly what I mean.
Part 2 is critical because you now potentially have a nucleus to build around. What you do next is going to determine whether you have to start all over again. One of the most important things you have to be aware of is that this IS NOT the time to let up! Quite the contrary, this is the time to put forth more effort in training your people that are selling and quickly trying to get them to be self efficient as soon as possible. It is also imperative that you begin showing them the BIG picture. Once a person has accomplished, I don’t mean “become accomplished”, in making a couple of sales you must show them the bigger picture of where their success is going to take them.
Remember, in my earlier posts I talked about reading your people and finding out what motivates them, well this is one of the times that your read really counts. For example, I might focus with one person on the opportunity for management while another person is strictly motivated by money. While all this is going on I am continuing to sell and show the older and newer people how it is done. All the while I am constantly selling the job and the company and their opportunity. The secret of success to all of this is you MUST deliver!
You not only have to teach, you have to have enough knowledge to have SOMETHING to teach! It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but you can really eliminate a lot of duplication by doing it right the first time. I also involve the people who can sell in teaching their newer counterparts. Not only does it save me some time but it also gives me insight into which person has leadership skills or unique teaching skills. These characteristics will play a very important role as we continue to Create A Sales Team.
Tomorrow…layering and polishing.
“The Specialist”
