chapter 17 learning and using professional techniques do you respond or react I hope you answered this question by saying you respond because respond is positive and react is negative example you get sick and go to the doctor the doctor gives you a prescription and tells you to come in the next day so he can check on you when you walk in the next day the doctor takes one look shakes his head and says we're going to have to change your prescription because your body is reacting to the drugs nobody is happy with the negative results on the other hand you go back the next day and the doctor takes one look and says looks like we've got the right prescription your body is responding to the treatment everybody is happy with those positive results Kevin's exponential Insight number seven respond or react choosing to respond rather than react isn't just good for morale and determination it saved me more than a few small fortunes over the years almost 30 years ago we had a wildly successful infomercial product a hand hammered Chinese walk called the Great walk of China and boy did it take off the very first order sold 10,000 Chinese walks at $40 each when the supplier asked how we wanted the walks shipped I chose the cheapest option but you know the rule you get what you pay for when the ship arrived someone called me with terrible news all the walks were rusted apparently the cheapest shipping option was on top of the boat not inside the boat the mist and the spray from the ocean Voyage rusted all of them now we already had sold $400,000 worth of product and charged people's credit cards I could have reacted I could have blown up and shut down the business and believe me I was tempted to do that but instead of reacting to the problem I paused to think and respond how do we solve this problem of rust on walks the answer required a little out of the box thinking I hired a bunch of college kids in LA to get some brillo pads and start scrubbing by the time they finished every walk looked even better than when it left the factory pristinely scrubbed clean I paid about a dollar a walk in labor and I had to buy all new boxes because the old ones molded from the Ocean Mist but for somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000 we resolved that problem the difference between reacting and responding that time was worth a cool $350,000 expect challenges but don't focus on the negatives instead receive every problem as an opportunity to make your situation even better it just might save your sale your company and your wallet here's what the judged does in the world of selling or for that matter just in the world everything we encounter is not going to be positive for example it would be safe to say that 99% of all the salespeople who ever sold with the possible exception of those who strictly sell behind counters in a retail outlet have been stood up as far as appointments are concerned this is particularly true in direct sales life insurance real estate and automobile sales it would be almost as safe to say that most of those who are stood up react with anger frustration dis appointment or a combination of all three my late brother judge Ziggler who broke the national sales record for the salad Master Corporation in 1964 by selling over $104,000 today that would be approaching $1 million worth of cookware had a most unique response to Broken appointments he conducted cookware demonstrations which meant he cooked large meals for several couples whom the hostesses had invited to attend after demonstrating he made appointments to see the couples in the privacy of their own homes the next day on occasion when he arrived at the appointed time no one would be at home instead of reacting with dismay despair frustration or anger judge responded by saying oh boy that's a sure sale this stood up close the next day at precisely the appointed hour for the day before he would again appear at the door when the husband or wife came to the door judge would immediately start with an apology I'm so sorry I missed you yesterday I did everything in my power to see you but it just wasn't possible he was being 100% honest he had done everything in his power to see them he had been there at the appointed time judge said that you would be astonished at the number of grown people who would let him take the blame for their discourtesy at that point as he expressed it he knew this sale was his here's why if they did not have the courage to face him and say no at the appointed time then they were not psychologically equipped to deal with a highly motivated enthusiastic well-trained professional salesman like him by responding with that attitude it's not difficult to understand why he broke the record I need to explain that the prime reason judge was so motivated was he believed with all his heart that the family he was calling on desperately needed even had to have his set of cookware he knew it would save gave them money work and precious food value for their children he truly had a missionary Zeal in selling his product he also understood human nature and the real reason they stood him up I elaborated on this in the very first segment but basically the couple wanted the cookware but didn't think they could afford it and feared they were too weak to say no to their desires solution stand up the salesmen reminder that's the reason you my selling friend need to develop the empathy I covered in chapter 9 The Impossible child close that's not all most direct salespeople react with frustration and dismay when a small child disrupts the demonstration by climbing into the briefcase or sample case and scattering papers and samples from side to side frequently the parents will in a weak somewhat pathetic tone of voice say now son you shouldn't bother the salesman's papers on occasion the husband will turn to his wife and say honey that child is impossible can you do something with him to this the wife frequently gets up takes the youngster out and tells him to stay in his room 3 minutes later the youngster is back in the briefcase or samples wreaking havoc now in despair the father and mother pull their hair ring their hands scream at the child and beg him to behave himself it's at this point judge Ziggler said he knew he had made the sale again if they could not say no to a three-year-old how could they say no to a highly motivated well-trained professional salesman like him judge pointed out it was obvious to him the parents did not love their child enough to discipline him judge loved children all children but especially the neglected ones as he expressed it since it is obvious this impossible child will never have the advantage of loving discipline I feel even more strongly the child must have the best possible chance at good nutritious food for a healthy body we're dealing with an attitude in selling but it also involves some knowledge of human nature and just good common sense if you think about it that's what the highly motivated well-trained professional salesperson uses most often and they certainly work on their thought processes and attitude until they can look at their sales situations and respond instead of react