I had a gun to my head. I was a young partner with Arthur Andersen. A pretty successful business developer. But man, I was an artist at doing it the hard way.
The Firm decided to transfer me to a larger office to build a Family Wealth Planning practice, as we called it. I had two years to get to $2 million in annual revenues or hit the road. A tall order to be sure. My whole identity was Arthur Andersen back then. I had to succeed.
I had lunch with the Sandler guy. I didn’t know the system at the time, but he was getting my pain out. He told me the price. I said: “OK. Tell me about it.” He wouldn’t go into presentation mode. I thought I was pretty good myself, but he was way ahead of me. Finally, on about the third round of me asking for presentation and him asking me if I was comfortable with the price tag, I said: “Yes, I’ll pay the damn money. Just tell me what it is.” (In other words, what did I just buy?)
Of course, what I was happy to buy was Sandler getting rid of my pain. I didn’t need to know what was in the sausage. I thought I did. But, I didn’t. I am glad he didn’t let me take myself down that rat hole. Just like I am glad that now I can mostly keep my own clients off those same dead-end trails.
Sandler aligns with me because it moves from selling to serving. I always had a lot of belief in myself and my value. Yet, that often didn’t translate in my actions and results. It wasn’t a lack of action. It was actually too much action. Ineffective action. After I began using the Sandler system, that became time and energy I could redirect to create even greater results during my week, month, year.
Some of the change was instant.
The minute I began using upfront contracts, I could almost hear the person on the other end of the line say: “Thank God! You mean we are actually going to put our cards on the table? We will have a meeting and know why we are taking time together. Precisely what we intend to do during the meeting, and what we will do in the end. How refreshing!” That was immediate. I felt it and saw dramatic results.
It took time and practice to own the system. That all sort of happened because I was in the real-world incubator every day. I reduced my futzing around time by about half. And, it is really important to understand, we aren’t just talking about reducing time. Even bigger is reducing the energy drain that comes from doing it the hard way.
The results were dramatic.
We all have a whole lot more fun operating in clarity. I transferred to Dallas and did Sandler again. I moved to Denver and signed up again. I got it. I saw it, and it was hitting my pocketbook. Sandler was shaping my success and my future.
Over time, my career took me in a little different direction, and I fell off the Sandler wagon. Then, about six months ago, Dan Levitt offered me an alumni half-day session. Wow! The lights came on. I am a coach, and I needed to be coached. I am not a sales professional. Yet, I can only serve if I can help people figure out if they have a problem they need to solve. I have to help them find out, and somewhere in the process, I ask them straight out: “What’s important and urgent? We have to find that or we are just having nice conversation.”
My half day with Sandler woke up something that was already in me. I saw instantly how to blend my proven Sandler-driven approach from days gone by into what I do now. It was a very powerful change, almost instantly. Before bringing back Sandler, I was adding a new client every month or two. After that, over the last four months, seven new clients have decided they need my help.
My background and contact information are below. If you are serious about Sandler and it would help to have a conversation with me, reach out.
Sandler Sales Training is not about memorizing a bunch of details. Those fall into place. It is much more fundamental. It’s a mindset. It is learning how to serve people in conversation so that you have a chance to serve them in their businesses and lives!
Don Scott was an Arthur Andersen partner, Office Managing Director with a National trust company, and COO and CFO of an oil company. Along with 35 years in business and finance, Don combines a master’s degree in psychology. The real answers for meaningful change in your life, and balance sheet, lie just below the surface.
