I don’t generally find books on sales to be very helpful, but…

I found  The Best Damn Sales Book Ever by Warren Greshes very helpful. 

He made some points that fit very well with what I tried to teach lawyers and what I did when I practiced law. 

First, he talked about motivation.  I believe I was able to motivate people when gave presentations or when I was coaching, but as Greshes points out external motivation does not last. 

I tried to share ideas, techniques and strategies with lawyers to help them find their inner motivation. That is the one that lasts.  I know when you think of your major definite purpose, asking why it is important to you and then asking what you need to do to accomplish it, you become motivated to go for it. 

Greshes also emphasized the importance of having an activities plan.  If I coached you, we created 90 Days or 60 Days Action Plans. Here’s a question:

Have you continued preparing written 90 days or 60 days plans?

If so, send me a copy. I’d like to see what you are doing.

You know this instinctively, but Greases points out how important it is to identify a problem and offer a solution before your client knows there is a problem. 

Warren Greshes tells an amazing story that is included in his book.  The story is how Peter Rosengaard, a life insurance agent, sold a life insurance policy with a death benefit of $100 million on the life of entertainment entrepreneur David Geffen. 

When Peter Rosengarrd discovered that MCA, the large entertainment company, had just purchased Geffen Records for $600 million, he realized that David Geffen was the single, indispensable, driving force behind Geffen Record Company and that if anything ever happened to David Geffen MCA’s  $600 million purchase would be worth very little.  

In 2020, in the year no one anticipated, least of all your clients, what problem may impact your clients and potential clients and how can you help them deal with it?