Selling Lessons from Man’s Best Friend

Written by Tom Ninness

Dogs are an incredible inspiration. They are loyal and forgiving, and they work hard. They love unconditionally, always put forth their best effort and are faithful companions. Dogs are used in police and military work, as assistance animals for the disabled, seeing eye and hearing dogs. They have saved people from fires, drowning and have even been known to hone in on a specific illness of their owner, such as cancer.

I am a dog lover as is my wife. The one thing we agreed on when we were first married is that there would always be a dog in our house. Small dogs, large dogs, doesn’t matter what the color is, what the breed is, we just love dogs. We currently have three dogs at home; my dog Maggie is an Australian Cattle dog, aka a Blue Heeler. Pam’s dog is a Schnoodle; 14 lbs Schnauzer and Toy Poodle mix, and we share a dog. Gracie was left behind when our three boys grew up and moved on. She is an “only God knows what” that we rescued from the pound 14 years ago.

One of my loan officer’s closing number’s has improved significantly lately and the client surveys have been off the charts in how well the loan officer serviced them. I asked my rep to share why the sudden improvement in his business. His answer—“Max is the reason why my business has improved”. Max is the loan officer’s dog. The loan officer noticed certain traits of Max’s: his greeting, his loyalty and no matter how often he criticized Max, Max never bought into the guilt thing. Regardless of what happens during the day, Max runs right back to be his best friend.

3-23-09_article_2 The loan officer was convinced that if he was more like Max, his clients would appreciate him better and that his closing numbers would improve along with his customer service. I think he’s on to something. Dogs live completely in the moment. What ever happened to them in the past stays in the past. That’s why so many dogs can be rehabilitated into loving family pets after being found in horrendous conditions. Their desire is to please, the ultimate in customer satisfaction. After talking to my associate, I chuckled and then thought of additional lessons that man’s best friend could teach us as sales professionals.

Never pass up an opportunity to take a car ride. Our dogs know when it’s the weekend. I’m hangin’ around the house and not wearing a suit and tie. With car keys in hand, I head to the garage. The dogs immediately run to the door for the chance that they will get to take a ride with me. Dogs know how to read the situation and react appropriately. The ride doesn’t have to be long; dogs’s live for that particular moment in time and are caught up in the experience. Dogs appreciate any special attention they are given and always respond accordingly.

For those of us in sales, how keen are your instincts in knowing when the right opportunities come along? Have you taken the time to read the client, understand what gets the client excited and work to fulfill their expectations? Did you learn lessons along the way that taught us when a client is ready to commit to working with us? Obviously, the dogs learned that during the week, the opportunity to take a car ride was not likely to happen, so wasting energy expecting a car ride wasn’t productive. Become more instinctive of great opportunities and get excited when they come along.

Always greet with enthusiasm. Think of your clients and customers as the “masters” of your business. Do you have that excited song in your voice and heart when every client calls? Is there delight in your being to be able to serve? The warmer your greeting is, the more your clients will want to work with you.

Never pretend to be something you are not. A dog is a dog. They like to roll in dirt, chase rabbits and sniff out the next exciting adventure; they do what dogs do. You are a sale professional. Do the things that great sales professionals need to do: prospect, set appointments, follow up with clients and opportunities, and use your time constructively. Under promise and over deliver. Present yourself in an honest and dependable manner.

Always be ready to protect Your Turf. Part of a dogs’ job is to protect their home and back yards. Their job is to keep their turf free from intruders. We live in the woods so our dogs chase fox, mule deer, squirrels, and rabbits out of our yard and protect our flowers, trees and shrubs. They warn us when others are approaching our property and let us determine whether it is friend or foe.

Dogs also have to learn to share their home when guests come to visit. For sales professional such as Realtors, Financial Planners and Mortgage Professionals, we need to protect our turf or in this case: our past clients—it’s our turf. To protect our turf we have to provide superior service to our clients and follow up consistently with our Professional Referral Sources.

As a mortgage professional I work extra hard to earn the opportunity to do business again with my clients and receive referrals. Since we don’t service loans as a correspondent lender, the servicing lender will be mailing to my past clients monthly with their mortgage statement along with propaganda to get their home equity loan or the opportunity to do their refinance again. If I’m not staying in touch with my clients on a regular basis, chances are I won’t be working with these clients again.

Know when to work and play hard and when to rest.

Maggie, our Australian Cattle Dog has a lot of energy and needs to have a job or she will get into trouble. Since we don’t have cattle for her to herd, her job is Frisbee and rubber duckie catching. (We actually buy rubber duckies in bulk for this dog). A dog’s mind doesn’t differentiate between a real job and a faux job; they just know they have a purpose. Maggie’s purpose is to catch those Frisbees and duckies and to her it is work, not play. She’s intense and focused to catch every Frisbee and duckie that is thrown to her. It’s her job. Her work is her play and because it’s fun, she wants to do it at every opportunity possible. She also knows when she needs to rest, and will plop down until she’s ready for the next round.

Is your work fun? Are you focused and intense with every customer? Is it like playing your favorite pastime? It is for me as I love what I do. My wife says I need to get a hobby. She has several and belongs to many clubs as well. Yet she still manages to get her work done in a timely manner. Work is my hobby. I work all the time and I need to learn to rest. Oh, what life would be like if I rested like a dog?

As I’m working, my cattle dog has dropped her Frisbee three times at my feet and woofed for my attention. I look into her eyes and I see her smiling at me saying, “Are you ready to go to work yet?” “In a minute Maggie”, I said for the third time. She lies down, sighs and stares at me saying to herself, “I’m ready now, but I’ll try to learn that patience is a virtue.” Her patience will last about a minute and she picks up her Frisbee again, drops it at my feet and woofs again. She knows that I’ll give in eventually. Just think how great our sales would be if we could handle rejection as dogs do. It doesn’t matter how many “No’s” or “not yet” we hear, we still keep trying to get that sale. We keep working on our communication, trying to please and are happy with every circumstance. Wouldn’t that be a dog’s life?

Tom Ninness
		About the author:
		Tom Ninness is Vice President/Regional Production Manager for Cherry Creek Mortgage in Denver, CO. He is also the President of Summit Champions, Inc. and creator of the “The 90 Day Journey to Your Sales Success”, a powerful 90 day action plan for the sales professional. To learn more about The Journey and all what Summit Champions has to offer, go to www.90dayjourney.com , www.summitchampions.com or contact Tom at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Office: 303-840-0753.
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