Let’s be honest.
You really don’t care where Don was born, where he went to school or what his degree was in. You don’t care whether he’s married or has kids, pets or houseplants. You don’t care about his awards, the organizations he belongs to or the number of publications in which his articles have appeared. You don’t even care about the books he’s written, because these days it seems like everybody and their housecleaner has written a book.
When it comes down to it, there are only three things about Don you really care about:
1. Does he know what he’s talking about?
2. Will my audience enjoy hearing him?
3. Can he help them produce real results?
All fair questions. Here are your answers:
1. Don’s sales career started at age seven, selling seeds and greeting cards door-to-door. Through high school, college and beyond, he sold both products and services, to consumers and businesses. His last “real job” was with a Washington, D.C. delivery company that, under his leadership, grew by an average of 38% a year. So he definitely knows sales.
“Don's mastery of the subject matter really gets the point across.” —Martin Cooley, Network Computing Technologies
2. However, knowing a lot about a subject doesn’t make a person a great speaker. You’ve probably suffered through presentations by people who were clearly experts, but were so esoteric, you couldn’t understand what the heck they were trying to say. Or worse, were so boring you had to fight to stay awake.
Fortunately, Don also brings a performer’s background to his presentations. He has acted on stage and film, appeared in the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus and even performed at the legendary comedy club, The Improv. This experience contributes to his ability to connect with audiences, keeping them entertained and involved for hours at a time.
“I am still amazed by your energy and ability to ‘carry the floor’ for over 5 hours and still keep your audience in the palm of your hand.”—Robert Luna, Medical Management Consultants
3. By combining his sales expertise and performance skills with intensive research, Don delivers programs that are industry—and even company—specific. So audience members get unique insights and practical, relevant tools they can use immediately to increase their sales. Which is why Don is typically the highest-rated speaker at conferences and why his corporate clients often bring him back again and again.
“This is my third year (attending Don’s program) and my sales have skyrocketed!”—Bob Maris, The Boat King
Why Hire a Heretic?
heretic (her-e-tik) n. one that dissents from an accepted belief or doctrine; innovator, nonconformist. From Greek hairetikos, able to choose.—Webster’s Third New International Dictionary
So many sales experts are just repeating the same old platitudes:
• “Sales is a numbers game, so do more prospecting.”
• “Ask good questions.”
• “Create rapport.”
• “Sell on emotion, not logic.”
• “Get referrals.”
Duh!!
Your people have already heard these exhortations again and again. The problem is, they’re easier said than done. What your people want to know is exactly how to do those things. (Details left out of most speakers’ presentations.)
And many speakers spout clichés that are actually counter-productive:
• “Buyers are liars.”
• “Ask ‘leading’ questions.”
• “Never take no for an answer.”
• “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.”
• “Always be closing.”
Following advice like this actually increases prospect discomfort, skepticism and resistance. Which of course leads to frustration, disappointment and lost sales.
It was precisely this type of frustration with traditional sales doctrine that led Don to develop fresh, innovative approaches. Approaches that have been enthusiastically embraced by thousands of salespeople, customer service agents and professionals.
Further, Don gets specific.
• Rather than merely state “do more prospecting,” Don leads people through a simple, seven-step process that makes prospecting easier and more efficient.
• Instead of admonishing “close the sale,” Don illuminates the hidden reasons closing is so challenging and helps people transform their thinking so closing becomes effortless.
• While other speakers say “ask good questions,” Don actually gives your people the exact questions to ask! And not just generic questions—Don will create custom questions specifically for your group!
If you’re tired of antiquated advice and outmoded thinking, if you’re sick of generalizations and fallacies, if you’ve had your fill of banalities and conventional wisdom, then you’re ready for a heretic—The Sales Heretic™.
MOST POPULAR PROGRAMS
All programs are custom-tailored to your specific industry, company and/or meeting theme. The following presentations can run from 45 to 90 minutes. Two or more programs can be combined to create a half-day or full-day program.
The Myth of Price: Why you should charge more and how to do it
Stop throwing your profits away! You can make a lot more money by simply discounting less and charging more. Don’t think you can? Just wait—immediately after this revealing presentation you’ll be raising your prices and reaping the rewards. Because you’ll discover:
• Why you should probably increase your prices today
• The keys to outselling your low-price competitors
• Why you should (almost) never discount
• What to do when your prospect pressures you for a discount
• How to make your higher prices a selling point
• The Jedi mind-trick prospects use against you and how to combat it
• The one thing you must always do with your prospect
• The huge problem with “value-added” selling and what to do about it
• What people really mean when they say price is important
• The big secret your prospect doesn’t want you to know
• How to make your price seem like a bargain
The Tao of Selling: An enlightened approach to increasing your sales
Forget the old, hackneyed sales gimmicks. Forget about high-pressure. And forget the manipulative, self-serving tactics that today’s prospects know and hate. Instead, discover a fresh, innovative approach that lets you sell with integrity, confidence and enthusiasm. In this fast-paced, highly-interactive program, you’ll learn:
• The two most important sales skills and how to master them
• The three different types of prospects and how to deal with each of them
• How to quickly build rapport with your prospect
• The one thing you should never say to a prospect
• How to completely lower your prospect’s defenses
• The key to making the sale (It isn’t what you think!)
• How to uncover your prospect’s hidden concerns
• How to get a huge edge over your competition
• The secret to creating a great sales presentation effortlessly
• How to position yourself as your prospect’s best choice
Never Sell Ice to Eskimos: A practical program for powerful prospecting
Want more sales? You need more prospects. (And not just any prospects—quality prospects!) But most salespeople avoid prospecting because it’s traditionally frustrating, time-consuming and unproductive. It doesn’t have to be, though. In fact, prospecting can be relatively easy and highly effective. That is, if you know the secrets to doing it right. In this powerful, hands-on session, Don will share with you:
• What you must do before you start prospecting
• The simple tool that will make your prospecting much more effective
• How to find great prospects quickly and easily
• How to make prospects want to hear from you
• More than a dozen ways to reach your prospects
• The secret to getting their attention
• What to do with their attention once you’ve got it
• How to get prospects to call you
• Why perseverance is overrated
• How to interest a prospect who’s already using another company
• How to get the best return for your prospecting efforts
The Physics of Closing: How to make the hardest part of the sale easy
There’s no magic to closing. (Although if you do the right things, they work like magic.) Effective closing is about physics. Physics?? That’s right, physics. (Along with a little psychology, economics and cryptology thrown in.) Fortunately, you don’t need a PhD to improve your closing ratio. (You don’t even need any previous science classes.) This eye-opening presentation will provide you with the insights and tactics you need. You’ll discover:
• Why closing is the #1 challenge for salespeople
• The single biggest obstacle to closing the sale and how to overcome it
• How to resolve objections more effectively than ever before
• The “Dandelion Principle” and how it can make or break the sale
• Why the old adage “Always Be Closing” is terrible advice
• The hidden code your prospects use and how to break it
• Why buying signals can be dangerously misleading
• The absolute, clear-cut, no-question-about-it, single, best time to close your prospect
• How to make closing quick, easy and painless (both for you and your prospect)
• The secret to dramatically improving your closing ratio
• How to increase your profit (and your commission) on nearly every sale you make
When Bad Things Happen to Good Customers: How to transform customers from enraged to ecstatic
Mistakes happen. No matter how hard you try to prevent them. Fortunately, mistakes can be overcome and even turned to your advantage if you know what to do. This program will enable you to uncover and resolve problems no matter how major or minor, resulting in loyal customers who buy from you again and again. You’ll learn:
• Why most customer service efforts fail miserably
• Why an angry customer can be better for you than a happy customer
• The first thing to do when your customer voices a problem
• How to quickly calm a furious customer
• What you should never do with an angry customer
• The one thing customers want above everything else
• The magic customer service question
• The one word you never want to hear from your customer (It’s not what you think!)
• The two critical factors that determine how happy a customer is with your service
• Why you never want to satisfy customers (Yes, you read that correctly.)
• The secret to getting more feedback from your customers
• How to get your customers to brag about you to everyone they know
It’s NOT Who You Know: Making the most of meeting and mingling
To succeed in today’s world, you need networks of strong relationships to provide you with support, information, and opportunities. But how do you build relationships with people you don’t know? What do you say to total strangers? And where do you go from there? In this fun, highly-interactive session, Don will show you:
• How to have confidence in any networking situation
• The secrets to approaching total strangers with ease
• Who to seek out when you enter a room
• How to create a positive and memorable first impression
• The one thing you must do every time you meet someone
• How to meet more people in less time
• The keys to starting and maintaining a great conversation
• How to remember everyone you meet and make sure they remember you
• Tactics for increasing your visibility and credibility
• The easy way to get more referrals
TESTIMONIALS
“Don Cooper is an excellent speaker and the information was right on!”—Susan Hertzler, Cell Tech
“I have heard lots of professional speakers and got more useable information tonight than any before.”—Jodi Turner, The Pampered Chef
“The best I’ve heard with the greatest immediate impact.”—John Williams, Sport Boats USA
“11 out of 10!”—Kenneth Kihiv, Twin Century Investments
“I have attended a lot of seminars in my sales career. Many are useless. There are a few that get you pumped up for a couple of days. But none of the seminars I have been to gave me 22 ideas in a simple and functional format. Each of the ideas can be easily implemented into any sales team. Don's seminar is thought provoking, entertaining and most importantly, useful. The trifecta!!!”—Cole Coker, GEM Products, Inc.
“Excellent! I will refer to my notes again and again.”—Linda LaManna, American Express Financial Advisors
“Loads of wonderful info—didn’t want it to end!”—Rebecca Gasaway, Budget Rent a Car
“This was a great presentation. (Don is) an authority in his field.”—Sibo Ncube, Mastercraft Interiors
“I would highly recommend him for any company looking to increase sales!”—Deidra Gonzales, Calvada Surveying
“A must-see! Best 1-hour sales tools presentation I’ve attended!”—Bradley Nathan, American National Bank
“Fantastic! Thank you so much! All the information was very valuable and powerful. I learned so much and can’t wait to put it into practice.”—Susan Thornton, APTUS Therapy Services
“Don Cooper presents a fantastic seminar! His entertaining style, and methods for incentivizing participants to voice their opinions make the entire experience a fun way to learn.”—Daniel Sanders, Noesis, Inc
“The most useful, direct, and down to earth training I’ve had.”—Mike Jones, Ross Motorsports
“It was tremendous! I learned a lot.”—Tina Solis, First National Bank
“Wow! I walked away from (this program) full of great ideas I can put into practice immediately. I got my money’s worth 100% and more. Thanks again for your great information.”—Heather Lutze, Lutze Consulting, LLC
“Very educational & inspiring!”—Belinda Merla, Cingular Wireless
“After 28 years with two Fortune Fifty companies, I felt I was a good networker. But at Don Cooper's seminar I learned new skills that gave me an immense payoff the following day!”—Larry Allen, Transition Solutions
