Recently I have been cleaning out my email of the many free e-newsletters I have signed up for over the years. Many with the promise of easy riches in webinars, self-filling sales funnels, and coaching programs who guarantee their secret system will make me a rich by ____ (you fill in the blank).
And then there is Russ Ruffino. I like his style. He and his company are an open book. His system is simple and successful. And unlike most other coaches, he uses it in his own business.
Believe me – most business coaches in any industry, don’t practice what they preach. Many have virtually no experience, but are happy to tell you how they think you should be running your business.
Russ is different. His system combines new school tools like Facebook ads and webinars, with good old-fashioned selling techniques like using the telephone to close sales.
I look forward to Russ’ newsletter and more recently his podcasts, one of which prompted my subscription housecleaning. I am an information age sponge. As a result, I wake up each morning to 15-20 newsletters that I don’t read, but sounded good at the time.
As Russ mentioned in his podcast, we tend to chase shiny objects when, in fact, we should be learning how to better use the tools we already have.
Case in point, I recently received a LinkedIn message from a company claiming to 100% automate my sales processes. No more cold or warm calling prospects, their automated program will take care of the entire sales funnel for me. All I must do is produce content to sell.
Curious, I completed the form, which also asked for my phone number. Within an hour, I received a call. I asked why they called me instead of relying on their own automated product that they wanted to sell, they responded (quite candidly) that their success rate is five times higher when they actually speak to a prospect. What happened to practice what you preach… needless to say, I was not a buyer.
Unfortunately, there are many others out there who make similar false promises. In fact, most are from people who claim they can “disrupt” an industry they know nothing about.
Your host agencies and consortia can provide great tools to make your job easier, so use them! But remember you are still the salesperson and no automated process can fully replace what you do – they already tried. Stay focused and let the dog chase the squirrels.
Dan Chappelle is a sales performance coach and professional business transformation advisor. His training and consulting firm help develop sales focused business leaders and entrepreneurs in the travel and tourism industry. His bestselling book, Get Your S.H.I.P. Together: The Wealthy Travel Agent Guide to Sales is available on Amazon.com. Begin your journey today to becoming a Wealthy Travel Agent. To learn more, visit www.DanChappelle.com
