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September 28th, 2022
A masterclass from the Master of the Art of Selling himself. If you want to learn from one of the greats, this is YOUR podcast. The legend himself, world-renowned salesman, author, trainer and builder of champions, TomHopkins, sits down with Rob and opens up about his life in selling, the techniques that made himself famous, and so much more!
In this Pocket Sized Pep Talk, you’ll learn:
• The struggles early in Tom’s career, and the strategy he deployed to succeed.
• Where many of the lessons he teaches came from, and how he gathered these lessons.
• His best advice for someone who is relatively new in sales right now.
• Some of the sales steps he feels makes the biggest difference between average salespeople and the pros.
• HIs suggestion to address the dreaded, “think it over” objection.
• The keys behind his declaration, (and the hosts) vision of being able to sell anything. Spoiler Alert: There’s one, critical criteria.
• His plans for the future and the legacy he hope to leave for future generations.
To Learn More About This Guest:
Website: www.tomhopkins.com
Email: tomhopkins@tomhopkins.com.
CORPORATE HQ:
Tom Hopkins International
6501 E. Greenway Parkway, #103-566
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
(480) 949-0786
Rob Jolles (00:00):
I talk with a lot of salespeople, sales authors and sales trainers, but I rarely get to talk to someone who’s had the kind of impact on selling. As today’s guest, let’s have ourselves a pocket-sized pep talk because a legend is with us today, and you’re about to get a masterclass from the master of the Art of selling himself, buckle up
Intro (00:23):
A pocket size pep talk, the podcast that can help energize your business and your life with a quick inspiring message. Now, here’s your host, Rob Jolles,
Rob Jolles (00:37):
World renowned as the builder of sales champions Tom Hopkins. Practical, yet powerful selling strategies have made the careers of literally millions of sales professionals. Tom has been teaching via live in online events, recorded audios and videos, written 20 books over the past 40 years. His classic book, how to Master The Art of Selling, which I read in 1979 as a New York Life agent right out of the University of Maryland, is dog-eared and filled with yellow highlighter on the shelves of today’s top Sales Pros. Tom teaches simple strategies you can put to work in your very next sales presentations. Millions have built their careers on Tom’s training because they get the results they want close sales, happy clients. Tom, you’ve inspired multiple generations of salespeople and sales trainers and I’m one of them. Glad to have you with us and welcome to the show, Tom Hopkins.
Tom Hopkins (01:32):
Well, Rob, thank you. And I pinch myself when I hear someone come across with all those wonderful things. I go, who’s he talking about? Now all of a sudden I realize, my goodness, that is me. Wow. Yeah, I know. It’s exciting. What a life. Life I’ve enjoyed, man.
Rob Jolles (01:53):
Well, we’re going to carve into it a little bit and Tom, and again, I’m a junior Tom, but when I’m introduced to an audience like you are I too. I also sort of smile in the background and go, I’m not sure whether love that guy or punch him in the nose. That’s some bio there, but we could have gone and on Tom, you literally opened the door for guys like me and I just can’t tell you how grateful I am, but I promise no fawning. This is a no fawning podcast. So let’s get at it. Your training has impacted so many. Now I learned from Xerox and I learned from you, but where did you learn from? Where did you come up with these strategies and tactics?
Tom Hopkins (02:36):
Well, what kind of happened to me was I was young, 19 years of age, I had just gotten into a real estate, had been in construction, never had any education, didn’t go to college, and I thought, what am I going to do? And fortunately I went to a program and man that was in sales invited me to a program and the instructor who was famously successful said, go back to your company and find out who makes the most money. Then literally begged them to have you come and listen to what they say to people. And of course, I’ve always been coachable, Rob, that’s one thing, I’m coachable. So I came back to my company, then one of the largest real estate companies in California, found out the highest income earning person, which was a woman named Rose Lane. And I went and begged her. I told her, I said, I’m 19, scared to death, brand new, just got my license, haven’t made a time, but I just would love to meet you.
(03:40)
While she was so gracious, she not only met me, but she didn’t let me come and listen to her, go on a listing presentation, then go with her in the car actually and sit as a trainee in the backseat. And of course back then, Rob, I know this dates me, but there were no recording devices available, so we’re all just taking notes. But I took so many notes of what this woman said to people and the more I listened, I said to myself, we in essence are in the word business because the words that come out of your mouth and go into the person’s ear, then into their brain create emotions and feelings. And if it’s done properly, it’s a positive acceptance feeling where they want to know more, do business, say yes and take advantage of the financial or whatever opportunity you’re offering them.
(04:42)
And so that’s kind of my background. And I got into real estate, spent eight glorious years selling homes. And my last year I was fortunate Rob because everything came together. My manager on November 15th that year calls me in and he says, Tom, are you aware of the numbers you’re doing? I says, no, I’m just having a blast making a lot of money. I love this. And he said, yeah, but we’ve been adding up your numbers and you are averaging one home, sold a day for the year. And he said, Tom, it’s never been done and if you couldn’t do it, your life will never be the same. Well, of course that turned me on and I busted my butt and sure enough hit 365 home sales in that year. And the company that I worked for, they loved to brag about what people did. So this gentle manager, he put me on shows he advertised, he said this 22, I was 22 at the time.
(05:48)
If he can do 365 home sales averaging one a day, it wasn’t average because I might have two or three in the week, but then for the Saturday and Sunday, the big weekend of real estate, I might do five or six. But I busted my backside. Rob and I, sure enough, hit the 365. And it was so true because this manager put my name out there and my phone started ringing off the hook because no one could believe it. And again, I’m not being braggadocious at all, but back then, if a real estate agent sold one home a week for a month, they were hot stuff and they were like, wow, top producers, they did six a month. They were wow. Well, when they heard I did 3D home, 30 home sales a month averaging one a day for a year, my phone went off the hook and they started inviting me.
(06:54)
And I spent two years Rob going to companies teaching what I said and what I did. And I really didn’t charge anybody because I loved it. I found a truth. If I went out to a company and I poured my guts out and taught them and showed ’em how to make more money, they would then not only want to know more, but my first book, how to Mass the Art of Selling came out it out, it sold. Well, it’s open to 5 million copies because it is what people need to know in selling what to say to people, how you handle their emotions, how you handle objections, how you take a no into a yes, how you get to check how you make them walk out, thanking you for taking their money for the opportunity. And that’s what this life is about. And so it is just been amazing to help so many people in the field of selling. And it’s been a lot of years, and this will probably be close to my last year doing seminars, but I’ve had such a blast and people in selling, we need this country to realize that almost any company that makes a profit is only doing it because some person has the guts to get out there, put their ego on the line, may handle rejection, take the no the failures, turn ’em into yeses, get checks and make money.
Rob Jolles (08:24):
Yeah, I agree with you. I was talking to somebody the other day and they were saying, what do you look for in a salesperson? I was on a panel and I heard just some sort of a few younger people saying, well, yeah, they have to know the product they got know their features and benefits. And I was kind of in an ordinary moon tub and they said, what about you Rob? And I said, what about I look for somebody who could take a punch? I look for somebody who can get knocked down, dust themselves off, get back up, put one leg in front of the other and keep going the other. I can teach the features and benefits. That’s easy. That one’s hard to teach somebody and determine if they have that discipline to go down and get up. Keep getting up. Do you ever see the movie Cool Hand Luke?
Tom Hopkins (09:07):
Oh yeah.
Rob Jolles (09:08):
You remember the scene where George Kennedy starts beating up Paul Newman and he won’t stay down and in end after a brutal beating, George Kennedy walks out of that circle and those guards look scared because they know who’s in that camp right now. This guy is not going to quit. And that inspired me. I watched that with my dad and I’m not the biggest guy in the world, but I thought that’s the secret. You just can’t stay down. You’ve got to keep getting up.
Tom Hopkins (09:37):
Well, and I’ve tried to teach this, Rob, you’re so right that failure is just a stepping stone to success. And if you play a game with the art of selling to where realizing that if I get someone to say yes and spend the money on my investment or whatever, then I’m going to earn this. Well, great, but I have to realize I must talk to so many people to get that. Yes. And so what I’m saying is people in selling need to say to themselves, nos are the stepping stones to yeses. So don’t let it take you. It don’t take it personally. I mean I had weeks where it was one of those weeks where everybody that I talked to said no, and I had no income. But then of course the next week, because I kept my attitude. And that’s something that’s so important, Rob, your attitude on a daily basis will determine the altitude you achieve in success.
(10:37)
And it’s a mind thing to psycho up. You realize that hey, I’m a unique human being that’s willing to put my ego in the line every day, handle the rejection necessary to get the yeses I need to feed my family, make a nice living, build financial independence. And so this is kind of the life I’ve lived and it’s been wonderful. I can’t tell you, Rob, the number of LE letters, the number of calls that my company receives from people that basically say, Hey, 22 years ago I came to your seminar. I was 19, I was doing nothing and I took your book or your CDs. Back then I didn’t have CDs tapes, we had tape cause had tapes, but anyway. And they said, I listened to you in my car every day. I drove to every appointment hearing your presentation, hearing what to say. When they give you an objection, they say, I want to think it over. Here’s what you say, it costs you much. Here’s what you say, right? I have a friend in the business. Here’s what you say. Right? All these things are what you say to get them to say no to what they were thinking and yes to your opportunity, which is what we do in life.
Rob Jolles (11:53):
And we’re going to get tactical. But I’ll tell you a funny story. One of the reasons why I got to know you so well is because I came out with my first book in 93 and I’m jealous. Well guess who I sit next to in the bookstore when I’m on the shelf. All I got to do is find the 15 Tom Hopkins books, go to the right and I might be there. And then who moved My Cheese came out and sandwiched me on the other side. So I got go one side, Johnson on the other, but at least I know where I can find me if I’m there. The little sliver of Rob. Anyway, let’s get tactical for a second. I know you’ve trained so many professionals but listen’s that I, what I love about reading about you and what you do, and I think this makes you unique, Tom, is listen, you’re entertaining, you’re motivational, you’re inspirational. But by gosh you are tactical. There are process behaviors that are measurable. So let’s, let’s grab one. You’re talking to you. Maybe your best advice for someone who’s relatively new to sales, what would you tell ’em?
Tom Hopkins (12:57):
Well, first of all, every business has fundamentals. Now, we could be very broad and say football has basically two fundamentals. Offense, defense, golf has certain fundamentals, long game driving, chipping, short game, putting real short game, every sport activity has fundamentals and selling has seven basic fundamentals. And in your question, the one I want to talk about is called qualification because this is number two in the art of the seven fundamentals, the art of qualifying a person as to what they should say yes to. And again, I’ll make a broad statement here, qualification is the art of questioning properly, but having a formula, and for those that are watching us right now, if they’ll take the word needs n e, but don’t make it n e e, make it N E A D S because this is the key to qualification, finding out what their true needs are.
(14:15)
Now, the N E A D S and the folks watching, I hope you’ll make notes. The N stands for the word now because tell me what you have now and I’ll tell you a lot about decisions you make. In other words, if I were selling automobiles and you drove in a certain car worth about much, I would say to myself, based on what they’ve driven in, they’ll probably want to spend about this much on the next car. Now, that’s not always true. He might walk in and say, hi Tom, we’re looking for a new car. Did you see me last night on the Lara won 21 million. Now the whole game changes. Doesn’t matter what he drove in. He’s got 21 million, right? So the word now in needs is so important. Give me your past and it’ll tell me a lot about your future. The E in need stands for enjoy.
(15:10)
What do you like about what you’ve done in the past? What did you say yes to? An investing in that home, in that apartment, in that car, whatever it is. So you have the now, the Enjoy E and the A is alter. What would you like to change? And that’s what the word alter means. I know what you have now, I know what you enjoyed about getting it now, what would you like to change about what you have now as we look to the future investment? So the D is who is the decision maker? And this is so important that in qualification, that you make sure you have the right person and you can do this so easily saying, John, Mary, we’re not sure if this makes sense to you, but if going ahead in the future, is there anyone else you’ll get advice from?
(16:04)
And right away they go, well, yeah, my mom and dad have been around a lot of years and they want to know what we’re doing. Well now I know they aren’t the real decision maker, right? I’ve got to get mom and dad to get them excited about what we’re offering. So that’s N E A D. And the S is we have the solution, we know what they need, we are have now we know what they enjoy, we know what they want to alter. They are the decision maker. And yes, we have the solution to satisfy the wonderful word need.
Rob Jolles (16:37):
I love that. And I love the process. There’s something repeatable and predictable for you folks, but you’re going to get that in every time seminar day book, I promise you, because I’ve already been reading them and you know, hit on something. I just want to nick it real fast because people, you’re subtle and I don’t want you to be so subtle when he says who else you notice, he doesn’t say, are you the one? Because people have egos. And if you hit somebody between the eyes and go, okay, and gee, Tom, are you the guy making the decision? Who was really going to say no, I’m actually just sort of a second level player here. It’s Mr. Johnson over in the corner. No, but when you say, and so who else is involved? Give that person a little breathing space. You let them say, well, I run baba, blah, we’re going to need Mr. Johnson. And look, all we want is the real answer,
Tom Hopkins (17:31):
That’s right. And the words are so important. Who other than yourself might be involved in this decision right away? You gentled it, right? It. It’s not like, are you the one that can say yes, too abrupt, right? Can you say yes to this? Too abrupt? Yeah. I’m curious though, Rob, who other than yourself might be involved in this wonderful decision if it all makes sense. And I always threw that at the end, if it all makes sense, it’s like a disclaimer.
Rob Jolles (18:03):
Well, it takes the pressure off, doesn’t it?
Tom Hopkins (18:05):
Yes. I plant with, if all this makes sense, who other than yourself might be involved in the decision? Of course, if it all makes sense, then of course you’ve now got them to that decision. And there again you move into the final closing of the transaction, which of course is an artist as well.
Rob Jolles (18:26):
And we’re going to get to that too. But you know, touched on it a second ago. So we’re there and we’re getting close and all of a sudden the dreaded, that makes some sense there, Tom, but maybe we’d like to think it over just a bit if we could. Okay. I think there’s a proactive interreact move, but let’s react to it and then maybe we can talk about how we can try and diffuse it before it comes up. Cause I think great salespeople are tactically in the trenches knowing that’s common, but alright, it pops up its head. What do you do?
Tom Hopkins (18:58):
Well, first of all, you have to realize that most people in investing any amount of money do come to a critical point where they’re nervous, they’re afraid. Do I make the decision? And I want to think it over. And it comes at different ways. We don’t jump into things like this, Tom, and we’ve enjoyed what you shared, but we’re going to take some time and we’ll get back to you. Well, that’s all part of, I want to think it over. And the key is you must always realize that that’s normal. And try this with them. When they say, Tom, we’re going to take some time and think this over and get back to you. We’ll just be very warm and say, well obviously John, Mary, you guys wouldn’t be taking the time to think it over unless there was pretty good interest. Can I have you agree on that?
(19:54)
Well, yeah, we are interested. So can you maybe level with me, what do you think it is you need to think over? Would it be the quality of the service that you think I might render? Oh no, Tom, we’re very impressed with you. Maybe is something I didn’t cover properly. No, I think and they look at each other. This is when they look at each other. No, I think you’ve covered everything. I just think it makes sense to draft up our feelings now. Listen to those words. I think it makes sense. Just draft up our feelings and then see if it makes sense. Because if it doesn’t, we shouldn’t do it. But if it does, we should agreed. So let’s do that. John, did you have a correct way that we would like you to have on this opportunity? Is it just John, or did you have a middle initial? Now I question. I write down, I’m filling out paperwork. You must fill out paperwork, right? Because they won’t say yes until you have something in writing. And of course they’ll give you stalls. Tom, we’re not really sure about this. And you smile and say, oh, I realize that. And most of the happiest people I’ve served over the years, they felt the same way. So let’s just relax, put it all down and then we can do whatever you feel is best. Right? Right. Okay.
Rob Jolles (21:26):
Yeah. Sliding into almost a feel, felt, found there. I noticed.
Tom Hopkins (21:29):
Oh yes, there the feel, felt, found. I understand.
Rob Jolles (21:32):
I happen to love that one. I’m never, I’m never going to get rid of feel, felt, found.
Tom Hopkins (21:36):
No. Yeah. And we shouldn’t. And people watching us right now, yeah. Have to realize that these three things feel, felt, found, are so important. I understand how you feel, that kind of says I’m agreeing.
Rob Jolles (21:51):
Right? Yeah.
Tom Hopkins (21:52):
Others have felt the same. Meaning you’re not like any other person, right? I mean you are like a lot of people and they found, which is the research they did, why they should say yes and make the investment feel, felt, found. I love
Rob Jolles (22:07):
That. I love that model too. And the problem is that people want to just jump to the found. They just went, wow, Tom, what we’ve found is, well good, you’re the smartest guy in the room, but basically telling the customer they’re wrong. I don’t want to tell, you’re right, you’re wrong. You do a feel felt found. And I smiled, I think maybe in a day and a half you’ll be walking around late going, Hey, you know what? I think that guy told me I was wrong, but it won’t feel as confrontational. Let’s do, so let’s flip it a little bit. Let’s say we know how to react to it, but there are some strategies to at least take our best shot at keeping that objection of, I want to think about it from even coming up. I’ve got some thoughts, but I want to hear yours.
Tom Hopkins (22:47):
Yeah, that’s really a great thing is to prepare them for that emotional feeling. John and Mary, we are just getting started here and you don’t know much about myself or the company, which is going to be a major portion of what we’ll share right now. But I do want you to realize that, gosh, overall, the years of serving my clientele, I have had so many folks that in the beginning are somewhat reluctant, somewhat hesitant, almost a little nervous, almost a little fearful of making a bad decision, which is perfectly normal. So if that is in your heart right now, wonderful. Cause I hope if I do my job and you see the benefits we have to offer that we can eliminate that from being a challenge. So keep your mind open. That’s all I ever ask. If you have an open mind, then I do my job. We’ll have a great situation and if that happens, it’s a win for both of us. Don’t you agree?
Rob Jolles (23:49):
Yeah. Love that. And you notice Tom ends everything with a confirmation question. He doesn’t just leave it out there hanging in the wind. He’s asked a client to weigh in on what they just heard. So that’s not an accident, folks. He’s doing it every single time. He answers a question. And even when we objection handles, Xerox taught me, oh, I’m going to figure out if it’s a misunderstanding or drawback and I’m going to feel felt founded or diffuse it. But my third step was always I’m going to confirm that the objection was addressed, right? And put it to bed because when a client says, yeah, that answers it. You don’t have to worry about 10 minutes later going, well Tom, I’m still hung up on X, Y, Z. But if you don’t confirm it like you’re hearing Tom do, that’s when it seems to just keep hanging around the room and hanging around.
(24:34)
So outstanding. What Xerox taught us, one of the things that I think was one of the greatest lessons that company taught me, and that was to create urgency. So we create trust and we know what that’s all about, but we don’t just get a sense of what the problem we’re trying to fix is. Even if we, I already probably knew the solution before I took the keys out of the car. I want to go deeper into that problem. And if this isn’t a nice to have but a need to have, we may be doing some pre-work on, I want to think about it down the road. Would you agree?
Tom Hopkins (25:09):
Oh yeah, definitely. I always assumed that if they’re average, and most of them are, they’re all of us, that they are going to have some hesitation, some fear, some stalls. And I look at it as if that’s just part of the, I don’t like the word game, but that’s part of life, right? Again, I’ve had people say, Tom, do you think you could sell anything? And I’ve always said, I think the fundamentals I teach can be applied to almost anything. But I think I only did well in the profession I had, which was eight years in real estate because I loved helping families get into their own home, having someone walk in. And I can’t tell you, Rob, the number of people that over the years have told me that they walked into my office. I had one man in San Francisco a few years ago, I was having a break and I was autographing some books.
(26:10)
And he came up and he didn’t have a book. And I said, sir, did you want me to autograph something? And he says, no, Tom, I came because my wife and I heard you were having a seminar here. And my wife said, you must thank Tom for what he did for us. And of course I’m kind of saying, well what? Well, we walked into your real estate office and this would be back in the sixties and we had no money, no real credit, and wanted to just rent a home. And you were so persistent nicely that we shouldn’t rent and let someone else take advantage of the equity buildup and so forth that you convinced us and got us into a long-term investment where we ended up owning the home. And my wife said, come thank you. Because we paid $19,000 for that three bedroom, two bath home in the late sixties and we just retired and we sold it for 450,000, which is the largest part of our financial net worth to enjoy our golden years.
(27:26)
All because of you helping us say yes to something we were afraid of. And Rob, those are the type of things that I think have kept me out, still teaching, still doing seminars, still loving the letters and the comments I get because I just think there’s nothing wonder more wonderful in helping a person have a better life. And if they have a better life for the small amount of time that you spend with them, or the words you teach them or the ideas you give them, then you’re doing the right thing in your life, which I’ve tried to do all of my life and it’s been fabulous. Really has been.
Rob Jolles (28:10):
Well, it sure has been. And you just articulated something beautifully, Tom, which I don’t think people understand. You don’t have to be a salesperson to hear that message we just heard. I wish people would understand that. What Tom is saying is that when you help somebody pass their fear of change, which we all have, you’re doing one of the kindest things you could do for another human being. And sometimes it’s a house, sometimes it’s a pack of cigarettes, sometimes it’s getting help with a relationship, but putting down a bottle that the a beer and I have a beer now and then I’m not, I’m just saying it’s helping people who know they have an issue but just can’t have that sense of wanting to address it. They’re stuck, they’re paralyzed, and that’s where you whistle. And down the pole comes a well-trained salesperson who creates that trust and listens and problem solves and guides them across those decision points. And I’m with you, I almost get choked up talking about it. It’s one of the kindest things you can do for another human being. And you just heard a wonderful story of what I can assure Tom has a, I don’t, a thousand, 10,000, whatever, too many stories to count that keep coming in and threw one at before we even started. So good bully for you, sir. One other thing, when you said, can I sell anything, I smiled and I thought, if I believe in it, I can sell it.
Tom Hopkins (29:39):
Oh, you just hit it. I think your strength comes from total belief. Yeah. I’ve had people say to me at seminars who are looking to think to go into selling. They aren’t yet into it. And they may come up and I might be autographing a book and they might say, Tom, I’m just going into selling, where can I make the most money? And I always say to them, you cannot look at where you’re going to make a living on based on income. You must base it on your belief and excitement about what you do. And I’ve had over the years, people that have made millions of dollars with my training say it’s the belief that you have in your heart that it’s good for them. And because of that you won’t accept a no without first doing a nice way of helping them say yes.
(30:37)
And you hit it right on the head. I think the reason I did so well in home sales is because I had a deep belief that people need to own. And there again, as I said, I have people who have hundreds of thousands of dollars of financial reward because I helped them say yes. Because back in the sixties and seventies we went through a period where homes appreciated so fast that the average working man or woman with an average income could never qualify to buy a home. So for me to help them say yes today instead of rent for a year and wait till tomorrow was a true blessing that so many people have thanked me for. And it, it’s not being pushy, high pressure, aggressive. You don’t need to, you just have to really have a feeling of loving people to where the people feel like he cares about me. And I’ve had people say, Tom, you’ve made so much money been so successful. And I said yes, because I have a love affair with people. And if they eat and we get a relationship and they’re better, then I’m doing the right thing. And that’s what I think the happiness in life is every day saying today I did the right thing.
Rob Jolles (32:07):
Yeah, what a blessing. All right. I only have two more questions. I got 50, but I’m scolding myself. You got to let Tom go at some point. You got to let Tom go.
Tom Hopkins (32:16):
No, I’m fine. I’m enjoying this.
Rob Jolles (32:19):
Well, you’re so inspirational. And I remember my dad’s no longer with us, but great salesman and just an amazing salesman and taught me so much. But I remember he would introduce me to his friends when I first became a professional speaker and he said, this is my boy, the motivational speaker. And I would always go, no, dad, please. Not a motivational speaker. Because I was a sales trainer, by golly, I came from the green berets of sales trainer, Xerox. I didn’t want to be labeled the guy who went up the mountain and made it to the top. I wanted to be provide information until I realized, well, there’s a mix there. There’s a mix of, I always wanted to be the heaviest on information, but yep, I’m going to entertain. Sure, I’ll inspire, I’ll try and motivate. How do you work through that? You’re so motivational. How do you separate the two? Or can we, I don’t know how to do it.
Tom Hopkins (33:13):
Well, first of all, one thing that’s interesting is, you know, talk about Xerox and I’m, I’m going to say maybe 35, 38 years ago I had a general manager with Xerox pull me aside and basically said, your training and your teaching is so much what we believe in. And we had a great relationship. And I went to numerous Xerox meetings and trained for them. And I always was impressed with their integrity, their selling with the right feeling and attitude. But I really feel that you have to in your heart to say to yourself that what I’m doing is the right thing for the right people and I believe in what I do is, and you have to radiate this feeling of service. And I’ve tried to get people that are thinking of selling to take that S and make it an S in the word serving and not selling, but we sell when we serve more so the service oriented attitude and the giving more than people expect.
(34:29)
And I hope you picked up on that. I tried in any relationship to give more than they expected. For example, here’s just a tiny example, but many years ago when I was a teenager, I would watch my mom and dad come home as you know, they’d come home after having a nice dinner and I’d get up and I’d be have to go potty and my mom would be at this little desk and she’d be writing and of course I’d say, mom, gosh, what are you doing? She said, we had the nicest dinner with this couple and I’m sending them a little note of thanks for the wonderful evening. And I watched my mom Rob write thank you notes. Yeah. And now this is back when no one did it. Today, no one does it because we have all these electronic transactions. We don’t need to hand write.
(35:32)
But I would think today a handwritten thank you note would mean more than it did even back when I did it. And for you that have my book this, I’ve written 10 thank you notes in how to mask the art of selling my first book that you can just copy and tune up because there, there’s an art to writing a note. Everything is an art form. It’s not luck wit charm, you know what you’re doing. But I tried my best to send lots of thank you notes and people used to laugh and tease me because people come in the office and not be interested at all. But I’d still send ’em a thank you note for stopping by. Or they would make a call and I’d end up finding their address and call ’em a thank you note for the call that turned into follow up, turned into closing a sale.
(36:27)
But I really believe little things that people aren’t doing today, if you do, you’ll separate yourself from the crowd. And I would say that probably one of the best times ever to do the little things no one is doing is now. And I think the handwritten thank you note that makes it special. And I did crazy stuff. If I had an appointment with you at your home that evening, I’d have a pre-written thank you note and on the way out of your home, I’d stick it in your mailbox. So the next morning is not even mailed.
Rob Jolles (37:04):
That’s brilliant.
Tom Hopkins (37:04):
That’s talk the mail. And gosh, Tom wrote this thank you note and put it in our mailbox. Right? Makes you special. Always be special.
Rob Jolles (37:15):
Right? I love that. We, I’m, I’m showing Tom right now. I just got this one today. I, I’m the same way, got a card, read it and I’m not throwing it away. I can’t get rid of it. It sits there for a while. I look at it now and then it means a great deal. Sometimes I think people don’t understand and who are listening that look, Tom’s written book that sold millions and millions of books, not is he telling you to write that note, but that note that comes to him is special. The email is nice believe, but the note says, you really took a moment out. This really mattered. That exceeds expectations. I’m so glad you brought that up. That’s just tremendous. And last thing, I wrote a couple thank you notes. I’m not going to name the client, it’s a Fortune 500, but my sales cycle, you’re going to scold me.
(38:05)
Tom was almost 25 years. But one of the biggest sales I ever got was from a client that I did a little bit of work. I sure wanted more. But I sent that note. You told me I maintain contact with the client like you told me. I exceeded expectations whenever asked. Cause I did little things like you told me. And in the end, I got the biggest deal that I got in 30 years from that client. And some people say, boy, yeah, lucky Rob. But Tom’s shaking his head and he knows those are tactic, those are process maneuvers that sure increases our chances of luck.
Tom Hopkins (38:46):
And you know what? you make luck by following up, following up, following up, following up till they buy or die.
Rob Jolles (38:56):
And then you go for the son or the daughter or whoever’s coming. Alright Tom, last question. Legacy, I think you’re, you look like you’re getting ready to play on the golf course right now. What’s the legacy you hope to leave for future generations?
Tom Hopkins (39:14):
Well, and I’m glad you asked that because that has been a very big concern and fortunately a young man and it’s an interesting story. But he came through my training, I’m going to say 20 years ago and took my training and built not only the top income in his company, sold more solar systems to homes than anyone ever has. And this young man knows my training and every word I speak and teach. And I’m very fortunate that he is going to be, in essence taking my place. And so we’ve got that lined up because I think it’d be a shame to not have our how-to fundamentals not continue to be taught, but you’ll hear about him. I’ll be doing some programs around the world with him. But anyway, I’m trying to let my legacy continue to make sure that people who want to make money in the art of selling and love what they do, have a teacher, a trainer, a motivator, and a how-to person. But motivation is important in success. But I think focus and commitment to your short and long-term goals is one way you’ll get motivated. And so I just wish motivation to all of you and thank you that have taken the time to let Rob and I come into your lives with a short message and hopefully it opens your minds to a larger message, which would be good for a lot of folks.
Rob Jolles (41:03):
You bet. Well, it’s been a pleasure, an honor to talk to you.
Tom Hopkins (41:08):
Thank you.
Rob Jolles (41:10):
I take a deep breath. How do people get ahold of you? Your website?
Tom Hopkins (41:15):
Yes. They can go to amazon.com and Amazon is marketing all my CDs and books and all my products. And one thing they’ve done knowing that I’m slowing my life down is they’ve reduced them down tremendously. So anyone that liked our little short message can either go to Tom Hopkins International and you’ll see all my stuff in my website. Or you can go to Amazon and take advantage of what they’re offering. And hopefully I can be a part of your life, which I would love to be. If I can help you, help others have a better life than we’re having a home run. Don’t you agree?
Rob Jolles (41:53):
You bet. I totally agree. And you’ve, you’ve said it all. You’ve done it all. I love, one of the best news of this podcast is here that Tom Hopkins is going on and on and on. He’s fashioning up the Hopkins clone. It’s is more so. Anyway, Tom, thank you so much. I’m so grateful for the conversation.
Tom Hopkins (42:18):
All the best to you, Robin. Keep doing what you’re doing. People need it.
Rob Jolles (42:23):
You bet. Well, we’ll do it again as well as we can next time. Until then, everybody stay safe.
Outro (42:31):
Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed today’s show, please rate and recommend it on iTunes, outcasts, wherever you get your podcast. You can also get more information on this show and rob@jolles.com.