Thank you all for helping ACT Like a Sales Pro hit #1 on Amazon’s “Hot New Releases in Sales and Selling” on Wednesday – where it still remains!  What’s even more gratifying is the number of nice reviews I’ve received so far.  Sellers rely on their fellow salespeople for honest advice on what really works, what is new and innovative as opposed to just repackaged, regurgitated sales techniques, so those posts are very meaningful and validating.

During the process of launching my book on Amazon, I noticed a disturbing fact:  There is only one female author in the Top 20 bestselling books on sales and selling (although I did manage to make it to # 11 for a few heady hours!)  My hats off to sales superstar Jill Konrath for being a member of this elite group.  Her new book, Snap Selling, offers timely advice on how to sell to crazy-busy prospects and I highly recommend it.

I’ve met so many fantastic women sales managers and trainers, not to mention writers that I’m curious as to why they don’t have a greater presence among sales and business writers.  Especially since women make up 88% of direct sellers and women-owned firms are growing at twice the rate of all U.S. firms (23 percent vs. 9 percent)  One study points out that women are more likely to seek business advice than men (69 percent women vs. 47 percent men) so why are they not supporting female business authors?

I don’t have any answers but just pose the questions:  Where are the bestselling women business and sales authors?  The female answer to Tom Hopkins, Neil Rackham, Jeffrey Gitomer, Brian Tracey, Zig Ziglar?  Is it possible that in 2011 it’s still an old-boys network in sales?  Could it be that women are more comfortable taking business advice from men?  What do you think?

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What skills do great salespeople and great actors share? 
Persuasion and engagement—acting, like sales, is about communicating with intention and influencing behavior.

Learn the secrets to being a great salesperson that myriad sales programs and books overlook.  While mostsales programs focus on making external changes, or putting on a role, Act Like a Sales Pro: How to Command the Business Stage and Dramatically Increase Your Sales With Proven Acting Techniques will show you how to find your authentic self within your role for greater confidence and sales success.

Act Like a Sales Pro will teach you how to:

• Gain the appointment using audition techniques.
• Draw interest from reluctant prospects using secrets of the performer.
• React to the unexpected and maintain control using the rules of improvisation.
• Deliver memorable and persuasive presentations.

Act Like a Sales Pro presents techniques adapted from famous acting classes to fit the sales model, from setting the appointment to closing the deal—and everything in between.   Act Like a Sales Pro is an innovative, entertaining, and insightful guide offering unique strategies and concrete examples from business, Broadway, and beyond.

 The Buzz on ACT Like a Sales Pro:

“Unleash your inner performer!  ACT Like a Sales Pro shows how acting and improv skills can help sellers fearlessly deliver a more compelling and authentic performance.  This book throws out the one-size-fits-all sales hat and guides you to discovering your own unique sales role.  Julie Hansen has written an insightful, creative and powerful guide to achieving greater sales success with confidence.”
–Diane Conway, author of What Would You Do if You Had No Fear?

“Julie Hansen knows how to cut to the chase. In her book, she engages readers in conversation, drawing them in like the best salespeople and improv actors, making the connection that builds relationships and drives business.” Mike Cote, Editor, ColoradoBiz

“There is an overwhelming volume of sales advice available today, however there are very few authors who approach the topic of sales in a unique and fresh way, which is why we are fans of Julie’s work.”
–Nicole Lombard, Director, Entrepreneur / ThinkSales Magazine, SA

“ACT Like a Sales Pro! brilliantly blends acting and improv skills with sales tactics for a winning combination. Julie’s ideas are great fun, effective and easy to apply –even for non-actors like me!  Follow the sales advice and exercises in this book and you’ll soon be outperforming and outselling your competition.”
–Dessie Fafoutis, Senior Marketing Manager, CaridianBCT

In “Act Like A Sales Pro” Julie Hansen challenges the reader to examine themselves honestly first, (strengths and weaknesses) then provides numerous methods on how to proceed with passion. Her writing style offers sage advice and smart nuances for those who will use it.  Specifically, her insight on closing sales should not be missed.  This is important work.
–Mitchell Tilstra, Salesman

“This book should be on every real estate agent’s desk. Hansen shows agents how to enhance their authentic selves for both client and agent successes!”
–Laura Dirks, Author of Marketing without Mystery

“Julie Hansen’s approach to sales is entertaining and spot on for all sales executives at all levels. Act Like a Sales Pro is a great tool for teams and individuals who want to maximize their results in a competitive environment, and it’s a really fun read!”
–Amy St. Denis, Executive Recruiter

“Julie Hansen brings authenticity and enthusiasm to her book that can only come from years of experience in both roles. She is definitely the expert in the artful combination of Sales and Acting. In this economy where every competitive advantage counts Julie delivers in spades. Her book is a must read for anyone in sales or for that matter anyone who just wants to influence someone else on any topic – personal or professional. She has included real life examples and hundreds of tips on how to give the performance of your life every time.”
–Nathan Teegarden, President, Dynimus

“Hansen wastes no time in noting that acting and sales are very similar processes. Most importantly, while both require stepping outside your comfort zone, both also require some level of authenticity. As an actor you bring part of your life experience to every role; as a salesperson you do the same. This book explains how to connect with that authenticity and bring it to every sales call.”
–Steve Clark, Salesperson

“This book is a fascinating way to learn how to positively present yourself in any situation with grace, style, preparedness and fun! A must for all business execs!”
–Shelly Burnett, Banking executive 

Ask the average person how they’d describe a “born” seller and you would probably hear things like:  “an extreme extrovert,” “a real talker,” “fearless” and probably even “aggressive.”  If these were the requirements, how many of us would consider ourselves “born to sell?”

I fall ever so slightly onto the extrovert side of the Myers-Briggs scale and exhibit few of these qualities, yet I spent my first few years in sales acting like I did – and feeling uncomfortable in the process.   Every training class I took and sales book I read reinforced the idea that it was necessary to be a fearless extrovert in order to be successful in sales.  My sales were hit or miss.  Mostly miss.  Not surprising when you consider I was trying to squeeze myself into a role that didn’t fit my own personality or selling style.   What eventually did work for me is the subject of my new book, ACT Like A Sales Pro.  Surprisingly, it was my training as an actor that helped me find my authentic self in my sales role.  The more I developed and gained confidence in my unique role, the more successful I became as a seller.

Like Johnny Depp said, “With any part you play, there is a certain amount of yourself in it. There has to be, otherwise it’s just not acting. It’s lying.” Just like an actor has to discover the qualities of their character within themselves to fulfill their role, we have to find the unique qualities that make us a great salesperson within ourselves, hone and develop them.  The qualities that make you a great salesperson may be different from what makes me one.  You could stumble around and experiment for years trying to figure it out, or you could try the method that thousands of actors have used to add their own unique style and personality to memorable roles like Jack Sparrow, Michael Corleone, Erin Brockovich and Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock in Blind Side).  To (badly) paraphrase Springsteen:

Together we could break this trap

We’ll sell till we drop, baby we’ll never go back

‘cause baby we were born to sell!

“…I have to work hard to nurture whatever talent I have as an actor. I feel like it’s not natural to me. So I don’t take it for granted ….” — David Duchovny

As a rookie seller in the eighties, I would spend hours preparing to make cold calls, only to quickly hang up when someone actually answered.  Thank God this was before the invention of caller i.d!  Presentations could tie me in knots, my confidence often dissolving as soon as I opened my mouth to speak.  I envied those “natural” salespeople–you know who I’m talking about:  the ones who always seemed to be “on,” or at the very least, not on the verge of passing out!

What was I lacking?  After all, everyone said I was “good with people” and “would be great in sales.” What did these “natural” sellers have that I didn’t; and how could I get my hands on it?

Despite dozens of sales training programs, it wasn’t until I took an acting class that my sales career blossomed; it was there that I learned techniques which would help me break sales records, sell successfully to Fortune 500 companies and eventually lead a national sales team in New York.  Acting led me to this discovery:   Everything I needed to be a “natural” seller was already within me; it was just a matter of how to access it.

Famous actors like Anthony Hopkins, Meryl Streep and Al Pacino were not born great actors.  Though they may have been blessed with great potential, it was only through years of dedication and training that they came to epitomize what we consider great acting today.  And like anyone who is great at what they do, they make it look natural.

Over the years, I’ve worked with, coached and met hundreds of sellers who, like me, felt they lacked some innate talent for sales bestowed at birth to a select few.  Just as great actors are made, not born, I believe that we sellers have the potential to be great by discovering and harnessing our own unique sales talent.  I found that acting provided some of the best training for this.  Here’s why:

1. Acting requires strong communication skills
2. Acting is goal-oriented:  What do we want and how do we get it?
3. Acting is about relationships:  How do we get what we want from our scene partner?
4. Acting is about taking action!

Do you believe there are “Natural” salespeople out there?

Are YOU one of them?

Role-playing:  love it or hate it, it’s a part of sales, a part of acting, and a part of life! Results-Oriented Role-Playing turns this dreaded practice into a successful tool that produces results – as opposed to just an exercise to please your sales manager.  Take a look at the following examples of Results-oriented Role-playing in Hollywood and in business:

Role-playing in Hollywood:
During rehearsals for Kiss of the Spider Woman, the lead actors, William Hurt and Raul Julia, were having trouble establishing a relationship; Hurt’s character, a sensitive, flamboyant homosexual, shared little common ground with Raul Julia’s homophobic revolutionary.  To better understand each other’s character, Hurt suggested they rehearse by switching roles.  The performance resulted in an Oscar for both Hurt and the film.

Role-playing in Business:
Bob finds his client Cynthia’s demands irrational and unachievable.  Using the five steps below, Bob prepares to role-play the part of Cynthia with a colleague and discovers what may be the real motivation behind her demands.  Armed with a newfound understanding of Cynthia’s point-of-view, Bob is able to address his client’s concerns and close the sale.

5 Steps for Results-Oriented Role-Playing:
1.    Throw out pre-conceived ideas about your client. Remember, they are a human being with REAL feelings, thoughts and goals, not some Avatar sent to make your job more difficult.
2.    Make a list of your client’s goals. Are they extremely value conscious?  Trying to please a superior, avoid a mistake or save their job? Read More…