Curt Tueffert: Selling is All About the Art of Communication

About Curt Tueffert: Curt Tueffert leads Peak Sales Strategy with over 30 years of experience in sales and sales management. His expertise has earned him the title of “America’s Master Sales Motivator.” Curt understands that motivation and knowledge go hand in hand when it comes to achieving success. He communicates this balance with the right tools to help people stay motivated. Curt is a professor of Advanced Professional Selling at the University of Houston, where he is ranked in the top 5% of professors based on student reviews. Curt’s expertise in sales and human behavior stems from his certification as a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) with Target Training International. He’s the author of “201 Sales Motivators” a collection of quotes and short editorials designed to inspire and motivate sales professionals. Curt has just completed “5 Stones For Slaying Giants”, an e-book written to address 5 critical success factors for business and life. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Curt. <br /> In this episode, Nancy and Curt discuss the following:The idea of 201 sales motivators.The importance of motivation in sales and in life.Who motivates the motivator?Curt’s experience at the University of Houston.Selling a degree: reality or myth?The ability of students to learn the art of communication at the university.How can we build trust and value in the art of having a curious conversation?Curt’s method of building trust through the quality of questions.Determination of behavioral styles via DISC.Do the right thing next and the next thing right.Key Takeaways: <br /> Our meetings on a monthly basis help a lot. It's like iron sharpening iron. One person sharpens another that helps me stay motivated.Selling is not a degree yet as it goes with accreditation and how difficult it is to define sales, as a leg of a table in academia.In the curiosity about engaging with a prospect or a suspect or a customer or a client, be curious about who that person is, do some research on that person, and ask them about themself. That will allow you to reduce that wall of mistrust. When the Why gets stronger, the How gets easier.If you can't change people, change people.<br />"I think because we're talking about sales, whether outside sales or inside sales or sales support or sales management, we're expected to be up, positive, enthusiastic, maybe even extroverted. But you know, Zig Ziglar once said, "'Motivation is like bathing: You have to do it every day for it to take effect." And we've got to stay motivated in order to motivate the people to at least listen to our story, engaged with us and that's the hard part" – CURT " Do the right thing next and the next thing right. As it relates to the sales process, follow a process. Just like if you were a baker, follow the recipe, do the right thing next, and then that next thing, do it right. If you're moving from prospecting to discovery, do that with absolute expertise. If you're moving from discovery to application where you get to talk about your solution suite, do that with absolute expertise. If you're moving from the application to the close, do that, do the right thing next and the next thing right." – CURT "The one takeaway is to be fascinated and curious about your career in sales and sales management. To be fascinated by other people and to be curious to connect with them. Now, let me just say that with the caveat that it might sound manufactured and artificial at first, and I understand that. But over time, when you truly love people, and you're truly passionate about the product or service or company that you represent, those tw