Extra Credit Videos

About this page

Every week I produce a short audio “knowledge bite” and post it on this Instant Sales Training website. I define knowledge bite as “an easily digestible sales idea.” You can download the MP3 and use it as sales meeting content. Hold a discussion with the questions I provide. The research to put together a three to five-minute audio can take three to five hours. My unique ability is to be able to read a book or watch a video and extract an immediately actionable sales idea. Now, this “Extra Credit” page gives you some of my “source material” and great videos to use in meetings or assign to salespeople. I plan to add more videos as I find them. So, start anywhere and come back often.

Featured Video

Elite Sales Conversation Strategies with Anthony Iannarino

 

Success Strategies

Matt Dixon co-authored “The Challenger Sale.” In this presentation, he talks about why buyers choose one sales approach over another when they make a buying decision. Mission critical information.

 

Jeff Olson describes some of the key idea in The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness. Big idea: Things that will make you more successful are ridiculously easy to do. But they are just as easy not to do. That’s why you need to hear this now.

 

Jeff Thull looks at the evolution of the selling mindset. The author of Exceptional Selling describes the three eras of selling. Having lived through all of them, I have to agree. Even though this was taped in 2011, it still rings true. Check out his site and click the Resourses/Latest News tab to be linked to more video and some of Jeff Thull’s published articles here.

 

5 Ways Great Salespeople Get Buyers to Tell their Most Important Stories. Getting buyers to talk is easy. Getting them to thell you their stories requires a little more work. Here’s how to do it. Source: Sell with a Story, How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale by Paul Smith.

 

British Business Analyst Adrian Reed interviewed me on Thursday, September 8, 2022. He read “The Accidental Salesperson” and asked me to talk to his webinar audience of other business analysts. We discussed how they can sell their ideas to their clients and amplify their influence. Adrian asked great questions and I think you’ll benefit from our conversation.

 

Secrets of success in 8 words, 3 minutes | Richard St. John.

 

Phil M Jones is a prolific author and an engaging speaker. He’s got a massive YouTube channel. The reason I chose this five minute clip is because at the 50-second mark he offers his definition of selling. Right after that, you’ll learn what to say before you try to sell someone anything. Those two ideas are gold dust.

 

Art Sobczak says, “Yes, we should be calling our existing customers during this challenging time. But, it should NOT be the lazy “Just checking in,” or “Just touching base” call. We need to bring value. In this special video training, you’ll hear exactly what to say, and see word-for-word script examples you can use to bring value, set the stage for future business, and perhaps even make a sale today.”

 

“Objections are invitations to another conversation.” Instead of handling or overcoming objections, you need to manage them. And Hilmon has an easy three process doing just that.

 

Adam Grant interviews author Daniel Pink about his book, To Sell is Human. Pink contend that sales is something everyone in business engages in whether it is in their title or not. He gives all of us a compelling new way to think about selling.

 

Jim Rohn’s 8 Best Success Lessons · Chris Widener · Chris Widener

 

Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy and Research Officer at Corporate Visions, key notes at the Association of Professional Sales’ annual conference. In “The New Era of Differentiation,” he covers research that explores how to realize differentiation breakthroughs at all phases of the sales cycle.

 

Author Diane Helbig is launching her new book, Succeed Without Selling.
She explains why she wrote the book and how her ideas and processes can help you.

 

Neil Rackham makes it very clear that asking people questions about their situation will negatively impact your sales.

 

Discover the Five Dimensions of Sales Success with Mike Esterday.

 

Abandoning the Attitudes that Hold You Back in Sales

 

50 (Short) Rules For Life From The Stoics

 

You will be inspired by this interview with Neil. Great stories and thoughtful advice on how to advance in your career and your life.

 

Prospecting

Researching Before Your Appointment Setting Call. Worth it or Waste of Time?

 

Art Sobczak wrote Smart Calling: Eliminate the Fear, Failure and Rejection from Cold Calling. His whole career as a speaker and author revolves around helping salespeople use the phone successfully. Watch him interviewed on The Salesman Podcast. Read his blog and check out the free resources here.

 

 

Jeb Blount wrote Fanatical Prospecting. This video offers a reality check and a wake up call for salespeople who are hesitant to pick up the phone. Very few speakers go as deep into this subject as Jeb and that’s why he’s all over the Internet and the country making speeches about keeping sales pipelines full and healthy.

 

Multiply Your Leads Using LinkedIn with Jason Osborn.

 

Mike Weinberg’s New Sales Simplified is an important book. Most salespeople don’t read many sales books. That’s why, to them, everything is a secret of success. This quick video offers some powerful prospecting advice. It’s a little disjointed because it’s a clip from a longer video. But it’s amazing what you can learn in a couple of minutes from Mike. Maybe it will cause you to seek out more of his world-class advice.

 

One of the best titles of any sales book ever is Mack Hannan’s classic If You Don’t Have a Plan Stay in the Car. Even if you only read the cover, you get plenty of great advice. Lack of preparation is the #1 dislike buyers have about sellers. Rain Group’s Ago Cluytens has an interesting perspective on first meetings and the minimum amount of preparation you need to do. Read more about Rain Group here.

 

I’m a big fan of Art Sobczak and Victor Antonio. In this video, Antonio breaks down the third edition of Art’s book Smart Selling. It’s a brilliant analysis and an excellent training session for new and veteran salespeople who need to prospect more. And do it right. Apply this learning for real results.

Mike Weinberg how to construct a “Power Statement.” Work on your power statement. Use it when you make a proactive outbound call to a prospect to make clear (and powerful) what you can do for her.

Cold Calling Tips and Tricks with Scott Channell.

 

Daniel Disney shares 7 powerful ideas about using LinkedIn for prospecting and brand building.

 

How to find your prospect’s real pain.

 

Amy Franko is the author of The Modern Seller: Sell More and Increase Your Impact in the New Sales Economy. I found a recent video she posted on how to write wining proposals.

 

Pre-Call Planning

Sam Richter’s TED Talk shows you how and why to research a prospect quickly. The author of Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling: Web Search Secrets for the Inside Info on Companies, Industries and People. Yes, you should read the book. But first, watch this video and see what he knows about “Know More Selling.” The more you know, the more you can connect with people on their terms.

 

Art Sobczak is out with the 3rd Edition of Smart Calling: Eliminate the Fear, Failure and Rejection from Cold Calling.

 

Consultative Selling

One day, I met Brian Tracy in a hotel elevator in San Francisco. He was heading down to the ballroom to speak to 1500 people. I was heading down to a smaller meeting room to do a seminar for 43 broadcast advertising reps. Brian Tracy is the real deal. He sure uses a lot of hand gestures in five-minutes. That said, he shares his definition of consultative selling and compares it to transactional selling. You need this. Now.

 

Neil Rackham lays out the foundation of SPIN Selling in this five-minute video. In that short amount of time he sums up twelve years of research. Huthwaite International carries on Neil’s ideas about selling and you can discover more and read their thought leadership here.

Anthony Iannarino Elite Sales Strategies on Sales Influence(r).

Cian McLoughlin offers a great description of what a great meeting feels like to the person on the other side of the desk.

Closing

I call this white board presentation Four Minutes to Better Closing. I made it myself (CL). Watch it. Twice.

 

“Selling ain’t hard when you know how,” says Victor Antonio. This video has more than a million views, but I bet you haven’t seen it. The author of Sales Influence talks about five reasons people don’t buy. Once you understand that there are only five reasons, you can eliminate these reasons one by one and become a more consistent closer.

 

James Muir reminds me of a young Chris Lytle. On The Salesman Podcast he discusses ideas from The Perfect Close: The Secret to Closing Sales. He is a disciple of Neil Rackham and reinforces the importance of having an objective for every meeting and a fallback objective or two if you can’t accomplish your primary objective. He blogs and offers free resources here.

 

Asking Questions and Listening

Gong Labs’ Devon Reed offers five great sales questions to help you win more deals. These are immediately applicable ideas which will set you apart from the competition.

 

Will Barron interviews Antonio Girrardo about asking better sales questions. This is one of the most thoughtful, informative discussions on the subject of selling I’ve heard this year. Finally.

 

“Shut up!” One more piece of advice from Tom Peters on the importance of not talking your way out of the sale.

 

Jill Konrath is one of my favorite sales speakers and authors. She was kind enough to write blurb for my book, The Accidental Sales Manager. Once you learn this skill Jill is talking about here, you will be a better salesperson (and better human being) immediately.

 

Neil Rackham’s SPIN Selling is based on examining 35,000 recorded sales calls for what worked and what didn’t. If you don’t know what he learned, then you are flying blind in selling. In this fifteen-minute video, Neil talks about the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make when they try to sell their products and services. It’s the same mistake salespeople make when they are passionate about what they are selling and think everyone can benefit from their offering.

 

Asking questions and Listening too.

 

“Explosive Sales Advice” from Hall of Fame Speaker Jeff Blackman. Learn about his “power probes” and discover the deceptively simple question to ask a prospect or customer to help you beat your competition and build relationships your competitors can’t steal.

 

Tom Peters talks about the importance of NOT giving an opinion after only 18 seconds of listening. While he’s talking about doctors and leaders, you can add salespeople to the target audience for this powerful observation. As a bonus, you’ll learn what the four most important words in an organization are. Brilliant! Tom Peters shares more free content than any speaker/author on the planet here.

 

The “Soft” Skills That Close Hard Sales

It’s more important to be respected than liked in sales. Too often salespeople don’t make the distinction between being manipulative or pushy and being assertive. Colleen Stanley wrote Emotional Intelligence for Sales Success. In this keynote address she lays out the importance of mastering the soft skill of assertiveness in selling.

 

Colleen Francis is a brilliant author and sales trainer. She’s written Engage Selling and Non-Stop Sales Boom. But she had a very slow start in her first job selling life insurance. One day, the top salesperson at the agency let her ride along with him to observe how he sold life insurance. She learned something that day that changed everything for the better. Watch Instant Leverage, Power Profits. Then, check out Colleen’s blog here.

 

Presenting

David JP Phillips’s TED Talk inspired me to redo my whole master slide deck (620 slides). If you make presentations, then heed his advice to communicate more powerfully and get people to act on your recommendations.

 

Negotiation

Book Launch Party: Prof. Alexandra Carter of Columbia Law School is the newest superstar in negotiation. Simon & Shuster published her eye-opening book, “Ask For More,” in May of 2020.

 

The late, great Herb Cohen penned You Can Negotiate Anything. I was fortunate to see him speak twice at major conferences. This is a talk he gave at Penn State University. “You’ve got to care, but not that much” is some of the best negotiation advice you’ll ever hear.

 

Imagine if every negotiation you did was life or death and had to work. That’s why learning negotiation from an FBI hostage negotiator is a good idea.

 

You can learn a lot from Roger Dawson, a glib speaker and author of Power Negotiation: You Can Get Anything You Want. I once shared the platform with him at a major broadcast convention and can tell you he’s one of the good guys. He’s being very generous with his content on YouTube. There’s a lot more where this one came from.

 

Chris Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator and author of Never Split the Difference. Get to know his views on “tactical empathy” in this TED Talk. Or watch his talk at Google.

 

These ten negotiation tips from this former FBI Lead Hostage Negotiation can make an immediate, meaningful, and positive impact on your career.

 

Walking Away from a Bad Deal

Most of us don’t become great salespeople until we walk away from a bad piece of business. Mark Hunter wrote High Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price. He talks about the importance focusing on the outcome the client wants rather than the price you’re asking. And he does so in a couple of minutes.

 

Productivity and Time Management

My go-to productivity guru is David Allen, author of Getting Things Done. This TED Talk gives you a quick introduction to David’s ideas about productivity. “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them,” he says. Learn way more about David and read his blog here.

 

The late Jim Rohn profoundly affected the lives of millions of successful people. Here is his How to Work Smarter talk. Watch it and you’ll want to seek out many more ideas from this legend and learn all about his philosophies of business, life and success.

Robin Sharma says, “Your phone is costing you your fortune.” Discover how to break your addiction to distraction and become more productive.

 

For Broadcast Advertising Sales Pros

Master Class: Gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of advertising as a profession

Everyone has an opinion about advertising. Since you’re selling advertising, you need a philosophy of advertising. When I started selling Radio advertising in 1972, I decided to read 3 books on advertising for every 1 book I read on selling. I figured if I could advise my clients about advertising and help them get results, then I would be more successful in getting repeat business. (I was right.) Most people who sell broadcast advertising don’t have a degree in advertising or marketing. Most of their clients don’t either. Start here, and you will know more about marketing and advertising than your clients and the other clueless, package-wielding reps who darken their doors.

 

This is the very first Bob Hoffman video I saw. He’s speaking at Advertising Week Europe in 2014. It’s a no-holds barred rant about the stupidity of today’s adverting executives and their approach to branding.

 

Claude Hopkins is considered the father of modern advertising. His big idea: “Advertising is multiplied salesmanship.” Not a lot of video available. He published Scientific Advertising in 1923. When you click on the link, you’ll see that there are 21 audio chapters of this book. Each one is 10 minutes or less. Listen to a chapter a day and you’ll have a strong foundation of advertising theory and practice. One more thing: It’s an old book, but it’s the book today’s online marketers start with.

 

Jack Trout and Al Ries wrote Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. Here is the late Jack Trout talking about positioning and strategy. He also mentions a couple of other books that should be on your reading list.

 

The Bullseye Theory of Advertising is as concept I’ve been sharing with advertisers and advertising reps for years. Peter Drucker said, “Top performers in every industry sell concepts. That’s why they’re top performers.” Watch, learn and share this powerful concept with you advertisers. Education without action is entertainment.

 

Al Ries is still around and works with his daughter, Laura. This is one of the key ideas from the very first edition of Positioning. We all have these little ladders in our minds.

 

This edition of “The Ries Report” looks at the importance of being different than the competition. See how being different is better than being better than the competition. There are some amazing examples in this video.

 

Jack Trout describes the idea of re-positioning. You may be too young to remember some of these campaigns. (“Medicine Breath” anyone?) But here are a couple of great examples of brilliant marketing moves to inspire you.

 

Here’s David Ogilvy on the David Letterman show thirty years ago. He’s promoting Ogilvy on Advertising. His other book is Confessions of an Advertising Man. It’s nice to see and hear from David Ogilvy. There’s a lot more to learn from what he as written.

 

Rosser Reeves coined the phrase “unique selling proposition.” He’s not in this video, but the presenter shares some of Rosser’s USPs that you’ll recognize today even though they are fifty and sixty years old. Are you talking to each one of your advertisers about their Unique Selling Proposition? I would be if I were you.

 

Radio Ink Live Interviews Chris Lytle.

 

Leadership and Management

Jared Belsky – Make 6’s your enemy: the importance of rooting out mediocrity in the workplace.

 

Ken Blanchard wrote The One-Minute Manager. It’s nearly three decades old now, but there are some timeless ideas worth reviewing. He walks us through the “three secrets” from the book and explains why you ignore them at your own risk.

 

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever is a fast way to learn how to be a great coach. My rule of coaching is to ask at least seven questions before giving an answer. Speaker/author Michael Bungay Stanier gets into how to sequence those questions. Click here to get a series of short videos in which leaders offer some of their favorite coaching questions. Make a list. Keep it in your top drawer and refer to it when you’re coaching as needed.

 

If you’re a Boomer like me, you may not want to hear how millennials think about work and bosses. But you really do need to hear how millennials think about work and bosses. And hear it from a millennial. Hamza Khan’s TED Talk warns us that managing knowledge workers like they are factory workers can lead to disastrous results. See how hard you resist his advice.

 

Daniel Goleman wrote Emotional Intelligence. I posted this 7-minute video to give you a taste of what he can teach you about leadership, leadership styles and getting more done through people. I trust you will want to learn more.

 

It’s the Manager: Gallup finds the quality of managers and team leaders is the single biggest factor in your organization’s long-term success. Authors Jim Clifton and Jim Harter discuss their book and it’s implications for you and your sales team. “What employees what is development. You’ve got to go from being a boss to a coach.” This book tells you how.

 

Sales Mindset

Mike Weinberg’s Sales Leadership Through Crisis 2: Tips for Maintaining Positivity and Protecting Your Attitude

 

Tiny surprises for Happiness and Health | BJ Fogg

 

What Does it Take to Have a Mind for Sales?

 

Alex Goldfayn discusses some of the key ideas in his book Selling Boldly. You’ll find selling easier when you get rid of your fear and develop a mindset of optimism, gratitude and boldness. Guaranteed.

 

“You’re not that important.” Ago Cluytens of the RAIN Group describes a piece of advice that turned his career around. As a new hire, he was a self-centered and self-conscious seller. An older but wiser salesperson pulled him aside and gave him this career altering advice. Read his blog here.

 

Dr. Tony Alessandra makes a strong case for high trust selling and offers six “rules” to help you master it.

 

How to Be More Confident in Selling with Bill Caskey. Bill Caskey is a world leading sales expert and host of The Advanced Selling Podcast Bill explains exactly what confidence in sales is (and isn’t) and the quickest way to get more of it.

 

How to Stand Out in Your Industry | Simon Sinek

 

Sales expert Mark Magnacca wrote Mastering Virtual Selling.

 

Research/What's Working Now

The pandemic has pushed us into more virtual selling. Harvard Business School Professor Frank Cespedes thinks that’s a net positive.

 

Simon Sinek discusses “The Millennial Problem.” It’s a fascinating look at how Millennials grow up and why they think and act as they do. He has great advice for Millennials and their managers. It has 6 million views, so maybe he’s onto something important.