The Pete Primeau Show

No BS Sales Ep 25 - Pete Primeau and Doug Stewart Discuss What They Learned Last Year

Doug and I discuss what we learned from last year. Doug learned the value of preparation at Furniture Today’s Future Leaders Conference. He was impressed by how well organized the event was. Doug and I both learned how to co-host a podcast last year. We learned how to moderate our two closed Facebook groups for the industry which are The No BS Sales School For Furniture & Mattress Salespeople and The No BS Business School For Furniture & Mattress Stores.

Doug points out how forming a sense of community in our closed Facebook groups helped some of our dealers avoid tragic mistakes as well as finding new ways to succeed. I learned the value of an action review for the week when I was struggling to finish my first book. It is a handwritten checklist. 

Doug learned not to use his iPhone for scheduling. He now schedules everything by hand. I concur with Doug that all my scheduling is now done by hand. I tried to convert all my scheduling years ago to digital and too many things fell through the cracks. So I went back to a paper planner and I hand write all my scheduling. I also handwrite all my content creation. Doug created a journal in Evernote so he wouldn’t lose ideas. 

I learned that I don't have the right to prejudge. I tell the story of how I recently prejudged that a dealer would not buy my mattress line and they bought it despite my best efforts not to sell it. I’ve learned that lesson more than once in my life. Doug tells a great story from his grandfather further illustrating my point. 

No BS Sales Ep 24 - Pete Primeau Interviews Doug Stewart About His Presentation at The Furniture Today's Future Leader's Conference

I interview my co-host Doug Stewart about his talk at Furniture Today’s Future Leader’s Conference. Doug’s talk was three talks in one. He spoke about succession, leadership, and mentorship. 

Doug points out the pitfalls of a bad hand-off in a family business. If you will be transitioning a business soon, don’t miss this! He dives deep into several types of bad hand-offs that can all be avoided with awareness. Many owners and soon to be owners share personality traits that help make them successful. Those same traits can make a good hand-off almost impossible unless both parties come to the table armed with understanding and awareness.

I point out the need for all stores to fully develop their unique selling proposition to maximize their stores potential. Doug defines leadership in a new and different way. 

He shares a lesson that he learned while taking his daughter Kendall skating. Doug shares his formula for responsibility for the mentoring relationships in your life. He shares the 5.5 mentors that we all should have. Don’t miss this episode. Don’t miss Doug’s metaphor about swinging Kendall at the playground. To continue the conversation with Doug just click here http://furnishingresults.com. 

Wishing You Success!

Pete

No BS Sales Ep 23 - Pete Primeau Interviews John Kolencik On How To Hire The Next Great Salesperson

I interview John Kolencik who owns Matrix Impact about how to hire the next great salesperson. John encourages us to use simulations in our interviews to improve our hiring process. 

John’s first recommendation is make the simulation as real as possible. He insists that the interview must be taped. We are trying to determine if this candidate is coachable. Multiple simulations should be used to determine coachability and aptitude. 

Here are John’s Top 3 Items to focus on in the interview.

1 Learn what the candidate thinks the most important thing in selling is. The three A answers that John is looking for are:

                                                         1 Listening

                                                         2 Questioning

                                                         3 Building Relationships

2 What is their commitment to customer satisfaction? Is it in sync with yours? 

3 Find out about their work ethic. There is no one question for this. There are many layers to the questions and they are peppered throughout the interview. Here are some of the questions:

                          1 Tell me about high school and what activities were you in?

                          2 Did you have a job in high school?

                          3 If they went to college ask them how did you pay for college?

                          4 What activities were you in college?

                          5 Can you tell me about your first job?

I talk about my old boss from Serta’s favorite question to ask in an interview. John shares a story about how one of his customers almost hires a professional bass fisherman who was gone eight to ten weeks a year! 

I ask John, “How do we get our salespeople off to a good start?” John’s answers are enlightening and at times surprising. Don’t miss this interview! If you have questions for John call him at 216-347-6729 or go to his website at matriximpact.com.

Wishing You Success!

Pete

No BS Sales Ep 22 - Doug Interviews Pete Primeau about his new book "Sell A Million"

Doug Stewart Interviews me about my new book “Sell A Million” which despite it’s title is not a sales book but rather it is a marketing book written for furniture and mattress stores but it’s principles and techniques could be applied to any business.

Doug points out that the book is a philosophy book as much as a marketing book that has my philosophy of doing the right thing written into every chapter. There are over 101 tips to help furniture and mattress store owners to sell another million dollars or more this year. Doug asks me why he wrote the book. Doug asks what one thing if a store was only going to do one they should do. As always Doug and I have lots of laughs. 

I mentioned Doug, Jeff Giagnocavo, and Simon Aronowitz as people who have had an influence on this book. The best way to order the book “Sell A Million” is to Just Click Here https://www.createspace.com/5979471?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026.

Sell A Million!

Pete

No BS Sales Ep 21 - Pete Primeau Tells You Why You Shouldn't Quit!

Don’t quit! I go back to 1980 to tell you about a time in my life when I decided to quit. What I didn’t know is that I achieved what I sought out to achieve I just didn’t know it yet. This audio lesson will light a fire that won’t easily be put out. 

Wishing You Success!

Pete

No BS Sales Ep 20 - Pete Primeau Interviews Julia Rosien On How To Handle Negative Online Reviews

Doug Stewart and I interview communications and social media expert Julia Rosien who is the Brand Engineer for Restonic. She discusses the importance of online reviews not just for the referral value which is enormous but for SEO value as well. 

Julia stresses the importance of RSAs using their positive online reviews as a tool to close more sales. She also observes that very few RSAs ask their customers for online reviews. She then helps to understand that not all negative on line reviews are actually all negative. There is massive SEO value to all reviews whether they are positive or negative. If it is negative we should view this as an opportunity to correct the problem and potentially create a raving fan.

Julia shares her secret sauce for handling a negative review into a positive. The first step is to say “Thank You”. The second step is to say “I’m Sorry”. The third and final step is to take it offline. It cannot and must not be solved online. Get on the phone with the customer and solve the problem. One of my dealers volunteered his cell phone online and asked the customer to call him. After he solved the problem he asked the customer to go back online and post online that they were now happy. Julia points out that a customer who comes back online and gives a great review after a complaint can be extremely powerful.

I apologize for my air conditioning kicking on. I can’t edit it out because I recorded it in garageband. The conversation between Doug and Julia was so powerful that I didn’t want you to miss a second of it. She encourages all retailers to follow up with correspondence to the customer within thirty days of purchase to make sure that they are happy by email. Customers that receive this kind of extra attention are much more inclined to give a positive online review.

We all had so much fun and there is quite a bit more to this interview than what I’ve posted here. She also tells us which review sites we should all ignore. Just click on the player above to hear the entire interview. Don’t Miss it! If you want to contact Julia for more great tips and advice you can contact her at Twitter @JuliaRosien. Thanks Juilia for sharing your wisdom with us!

Wishing You Success,

Pete & Doug

No BS Sales Ep 19 - Pete Primeau Interview With The Giver - Doug Stewart - Regarding Managing Customer Expectations

Doug Stewart describes customer’s expectations about quality and price. Allowing your customer to leave your store with a low price and a unrealistically high expectation of product performance is sales malpractice. I share an example of selling straight to eliminate unrealistic consumer expectations from my own experience.

Appropriate expectations are the key to creating value and selling responsibly.

Doug shares a story about his Grandfather teaching him how to buy for their furniture store. Selling an item for $2 that you bought for $1 is . Doug was taught by his grandfather that value is selling an item that your customer would be willing to give you $3 for $2. 

Never sell anyone anything. Help them to sell themselves. Give customer ownership of their decision. If customer picks an item that is not the right product for them. Doug suggests asking them this question, “Is price more important than quality?” If they say yes then write it up. Asking them that question fulfills your obligation to sell responsibly. If they say no then further educate them about what the product will and won’t do. 

Doug asks “What do you call a person who makes a decision for anther person without their consent?” When you decide not to show your best products, furniture protection, and mattress protection to a consumer you are taking away their right to make their own decision. Treat every customer as if they can buy your best products and let them decide for themselves. Plus much more Join us for this podcast!

Wishing You Success!

Pete

No BS Sales Ep 18 - Pete Primeau Interview With The Adjustable Guru Randy Thompson On His Secrets To Sell More Adjustable Beds

I interview the Adjustable Bed Guru Randy Thompson on the secrets to selling adjustable beds. This July Randy sold 29 beds so far this month and it’s early on July 29th. Please excuse the noise from the AC. Randy’s small store in Van Wert, Ohio with a population of 10,774 will ship almost $1,000,000 in sleep systems this year with one full-time salesperson.

Randy describes training two mattress stores in North Carolina that immediately doubled their adjustable bed sales after his Silver Bullet training.   

Randy’s first secret is that he spends a lot of time understanding the customer’s problems when it comes to how they sleep. His advice is to be a problem solver for people with sleep problems. 

Randy’s selling system is not brand driven it is customer back driven. The secret is finding the mattress that supports their back. Randy has very specific techniques that will help any RSA find the perfect mattress for your customer.

Randy’s Silver Bullet training is available two ways. The first way is Randy will come to you and train you and your staff. The second way is to arrange a  time with Randy to visit him at his store. If you can come to Randy he will give you a 50% discount on his training program. Call Randy at 419-238-3399 to learn how to sell adjustable beds if you are small furniture or mattress store. Randy doesn’t train large chains. Call Randy today and start selling more adjustable beds!

No BS Sales Ep 17 - Pete Primeau's Qualifying-Interview With The Giver Doug Stewart

I interview my co-host Doug Stewart about Qualifying. There was a lively discussion in our private Facebook Group No BS Sales School For Furniture & Mattress Salespeople. Anyone who sells furniture or mattresses in a retail store is invited to join our group. There are no civilians only our industry people. There are a few honorary members who are experts in marketing or advertising as well.

If You Want To Qualify Better… Listen To This Interview!

The stars of the show are members of our group who contributed to the discussion and offered great ideas to help RSAs qualify better. Without the comments of Charlie Lloyd, Dan Sowder, Rick Alexander, and Kelly Hall this podcast would never have happened. Thank You guys for your insights. 

Three Words & An Idea To Help You Qualify Like A Sales Champion

After I go on a rant Doug jots down some notes since I won’t let him speak. He comes up with three words and an idea that will jump start your qualifying. After Doug shares those concepts with me I share my experience with the two best retail sales professionals I’ve met. Even though they were very different stylistically when I apply Doug’s three words and an idea it explains what made them great. Don’t miss this! 

Want more Doug Stewart just go to http://furnishingresults.com. Download for FREE “The 9 Biggest Mistakes Furniture & Mattress Stores Make & How To Avoid Them” at peteprimeau.com.

Wishing You Success!

Pete

No BS Sales Ep 16 - Pete Primeau Interview With The Giver, Doug Stewart

I interview my co-host Doug Stewart about the ups and downs in his life and more importantly what he learned from them. If you own a furniture or mattress store don’t miss this. The inspiration for this interview was an interview with Mark Kinsley and Doug that I recently listened to. I wanted to follow up with a more in depth interview.

Doug remembers working in his Grandfather’s furniture store as a child and what he learned from his Grandfather.

A High School Basketball Star Goes to College!

He describes the shock when he arrived at college and realized he was competing against grown men for his basketball scholarship. 

He talks about overcoming labels that plagued him throughout school and how his academic advisor Sarah Baker helped him overcome them. In one quarter he went from a 1.9 GPA to a 3.9 GPA. 

Doug remembers his biggest failure ever in the furniture business and what he learned from it.

Rags To Riches!

His Grandfather went from growing up as a tenant farmer to moving to the city and learning how to sell. He attended yard sales bought and sold almost anything. He eventually opened his own furniture store.

Doug shares how different mentors have helped him become more successful.

He takes us inside his interview with Tempur-Pedic and the lessons he learned while working for them. 

Ever Feel Overwhelmed?

Doug did. In one month he closed his furniture store, his wife quit her job, his daughter was born, and he was working full time at Tempur-Pedic.

Doug is the Director of Training for Mega Group and is a contributor for both Sleep Geek and Furniture Today. This episode is inspirational! It will make you laugh and cry. This interview reveals the thoughts of one of the industry’s rising young stars. Enjoy!

Read These Books!

Pete’s recommended Book; Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

Doug’s recommended Books; David And Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

                                                QBQ The Question Behind The Question by John Miller