Passion Is the Fulcrum Point of Selling

Posted by Sean Yazbeck on 3/26/2007 at 4:46 PM
Posted in Sales, Apprentice

To win in sales, you need to be passionate about what you’re selling. You’ve got to believe that your organization is the best, that your product is the best and - most importantly - that you are the best.

Passion is the fulcrum point of selling. It’s pivotal. It’s absolutely fundamental to selling success.

That reality was made very apparent on last night’s Apprentice in the images we saw of Heidi and Nicole not fighting for the sales that Arrow was apparently “stealing” from them. Their complete failure to rise to that challenge showed us that if you’re not passionate about what you do, what you sell and what you’re talking about, you’ll lose to someone who is.

In sales, you need to be on fire. And Arrow was clearly on fire. Pound for pound, they were a much better team of salespeople.

When salespeople are passionate, it becomes infectious. Passionate teams make for much richer and far more productive environments. They will always reach targets quicker and have fun on the way.

Passion makes achieving success so much easier.

As winner of The Apprentice (2006), Sean Yazbeck, was selected by Donald Trump to oversee construction of the 5 star hotel condominium, Trump SoHo, in New York City. Yazbeck's role included overseeing negotiations on all acquisitions and purchases for this $500 million project.

Yazbeck has since been working with the Trump Institute to set-up WAVSYS, a national technical staffing company providing individuals, project teams and strategic outsourcing services for engagements in IT and telecommunications. As Founder and CEO, WAVSYS leverages Yazbeck's 12-years of unrivaled recruitment expertise, for which he was awarded the EB1 Green Card for "persons of extraordinary ability".

In 2006, in recognition of his multiple achievements the mayor of Miami Dade County, Carlos Alvarez, named June 20th, as "Sean Yazbeck Day" in Miami-Dade County. More recently in 2008 the Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear, bestowed the honory title of "Kentucky Colonel" on Sean Yazbeck "in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to the nation".

Since winning The Apprentice, Yazbeck has appeared as Boardroom Advisor to Mr. Trump on The Apprentice, hosted his own show, Reality Trailblazers, on the TV Guide Channel and has appeared on numerous shows such as Miss Universe, MTV Video Music Awards, Live with Regis and Kelly, 1 vs. 100, Soap Talk and Identity.

Yazbeck graduated top of his year with a First Class Honors Degree from Southampton Solent University in England. A British national, he is due to gain dual American Citizenship in 2010.

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12 Comments Post a comment

Posted by user89187 on 03/26/2007 8:14 PM

You know what the problem is with that deal or no deal show. People get waaaaaaaay to greedy and caught up in the moment and the excitement and end up going home with nothing.

Very few smart people know when to quit when they are ahead, trust me on that one.

Posted by member1519926 on 03/26/2007 9:11 PM

Wonderful, simply wonderful. Passion. My friend told me about something in her life that she just started, and her passion just beamed in her eyes, her face, her skin just glowed. She wasn't TRYING to sell me, she was just sharing that she was so excited and she just had to share it.
At that moment, I knew what you just wrote. How amazing is that? Simply sharing passion.

Posted by member1499085 on 03/26/2007 9:28 PM

Week 10: Utilize the Ad Walker to sell movie passes......

Coming out of the box, I think Arrow had developed a good plan and implemented it well. (bottled water was a great idea). They did have more passion than Kinetic and as a result won by 23%. I wish Angela would have told Nicole that her idea was okay but allowed her team to brainstorm more and see if they could have come up with something better. As a TV viewer, I was only able to witness Kinetic trying to seal deals in the same area as Arrow. I wasn't able to determine if they skated around other areas of Universal Studios to try and entice potential customers to buy from them. Since Angela was the PM, she deserved to be fired. After all, she could have said no to Nicole's concept and moved forward with another concept. I think Arrow has opened Mr. Trump's eyes about who the real super stars are. However, as the show is coming to an end, I see a greater importance for a different PM each week. There are a few members that still haven't been PM for their team so how does Mr. Trump decide if these few individuals are worthy to be his next apprentice should this happen......A few members are definitely flying under the radar....
rickyl

Posted by member1546105 on 03/26/2007 10:38 PM

I couldn't agree more with your post. I felt that in this task it was especially crucial to raise the stakes in terms of selling vehemently, because they shared the same customer base, and territory.

Kinetic had the energy and charisma, but became increasingly frustrated with Arrow's sales tactics and possibly led their attitude to be somewhat discouraged.

Sales isnt for everybody. It definitely is executed the best by people who possess a sense of hunger, a driven force. A fierce persistance that causes them to strive better than everyone else, even on their worst day.

I am recent grad who holds an entry-level marketing/sales position and I feel that I've learned a great deal from this show in terms of clever branding and advertising methods. I relate so much to it in terms of group projects and politics, that I feel it is the only reality show on TV that relates to anything going on in my life/career. I look forward to Sunday nights.

Posted by user89187 on 03/27/2007 4:45 AM

Seriously I hate to see those people lose on that show. It shows you a lot about human behavior. I mean if I had a six figure offer, trust me I would be taking that money to the bank. And then you notice how when they get a decent amount offered back, like even five figures they are too proud to admit they made a mistake and they go home with nothing.

People should be watching this and learning and walking. You and I both know given six figures it would not take long to turn that into nine, and then twelve and so on.

I feel like just hitting them on the head and saying you who wake up and smell the coffee. Take the money and run!

Posted by member1539196 on 03/27/2007 2:36 PM

Sean says, "Passion is the fulcrum point of selling".

I would add that Sincerity is the Seed of Goodwill.

How often is it that you have come across passionate, fervent up-in-your-face salesmen/ women who really don't care much for you other getting you to buy their products and services ?

It is not often that I see a sales person who is genuinely interested in the person I am, nor interested in my concerns and needs. I don't want to be pushed to buy something that I don't need, nor left high and dry after the deal is closed and the salesperson is done with me.

I'm definitely rooting for and buying from the organization that takes care of its customers through tangible means. Leaders with foresight will know the returns from such goodwill.

Andrew Wee
AAE Immigration
http://www.aaeimmigration.com/
http://www.aaeimmigration.com/business_immigration.htm

Posted by member1540473 on 03/27/2007 8:35 PM

Couple of comments:
About the show:
I have evolved in my thinking in that the two teams, while trying to win the competition, are not really operating in a real-world fashion. All of the candidates want the job. Part of each one's strategy to under-perform or set-up team members would not occur in a real-world setting. Maybe it would, if there was that much competition within a company (but that wouldn't be team work - would it?), but I am realizing that there is a lot of energy used in -yes the team has to win, but I have to protect myself or promote or defend myself and possibly strategize to foul the project up, to get ahead. I guess if the strategy is effective and you win the job, that is all that is important. It does take away from what could be, on the show.
I also cannot stand how insulting some sales people are, in wanting me to buy their 10 items from them, and I didn't even want 1 and they do not know the meaning of the word NNNNN000000000!!!!!!!!
What I have taken from this wonderful article is that a truly passionate person, will know how to effectively (not bullying) turn the no to a YYYEESS!! and create desire in the product. To achieve the sell, even a hard sell, you have to be passionate. However there are a lot of fools with money and plastic.

Posted by Mary Rose's Garden on 03/28/2007 8:08 AM

Think the team definitely needed more brainstorming and more prep time. They knew the men would have a big sign and did not have a big sign of their own. They should have had a sign, they should have offered families the chance to take a picture with Angela- and then autographed them. They should have worn hockey outfits with their skates instead of going for the sex angle. Who can be sexy in body armor? Wouldn't it have been a little sexier with a helmet and pads- maybe with a little uniform with short pants and high socks? The idea is to look like a hockey team and asking folks to join their team. IF they had gone that extra mile, they might have been able to been a little weaker in sales. Think they needed to promote their assets as well as their prodcut. I'm a Mom and think that if I had the choice between a water bottle and a picture of my family with an Olympic star it would be no contest.

Posted by lightwayvez on 03/28/2007 8:12 AM

I have to agree with Andrew Wee,

The passion has to have purpose and direction. That purpose needs to reflect some sense of duty to the customer, an honor code as such.

I once heard that doctors can be like entrepreuners in the sense that they are their own boss.

Yet by comparing the two entities there is a sense of difference when you consider who is your life line, and where insurance reaches its fulcrum point if you will.

The function of each individual customer's identity in each case reach a crossroad.

Isabelle Morgan
-------

Posted by member1499085 on 03/28/2007 8:56 PM

I already posted on the 26th about week 10 but after reading Andrew's and Isabelle's post I had to chime in again. I'm almost positive others have encountered similar problems when it come to sales. I bought a Nissan car years ago and love the brand and would continue buying more. The downside is when I go to the local Nissan dealer to order parts or have maintenance done that I cannot do myself, I always seem to receive negative customer service. I just looked at their website and it states Complete Customer Satisfaction...This Is Our Goal!!! Well, it could be their goal, but they not living up to it. It's tough to get good customer service these days...I may need to retract the statement I made earlier about buying another Nissan and look at Toyota Motor or Honda.

Posted by member1500449 on 04/01/2007 8:42 AM

Speaking to a group of new salespeople recently, I addressed how staying in the positive puts buyers in a good mood and helps them "look on the bright side".

If you have passion about what you are doing and selling, you will come across as positive. If you are positive you have a better chance that the person you are negotiating with will mentally steer in a positive direction.

This is why people like Mr. Trump are so successful. They are always up, continue to look for a way to succeed and the people around them are eager to get on board.

This is an excellent post and if more people followed your advice Sean, they would find a faster road to success during negotiations.

Mitch Drew
President
BECK Advertising
http://mitch-tv.blogspot.com

Posted by member1591833 on 05/14/2007 11:35 PM

Passion and faith are most contagious.

With those two factors, you are unstoppable.

- Denmark Francisco
http://www.GenY-Entrepreneur.com

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