The Lesson Plan
The first three days of the program, though intensive, are only the beginning. They lay the groundwork for your use of the tools and the coaching that follows. There are 12 distinct topics to cover in 14 sessions of 90 minutes each. We have a 15 minute break between sessions with a longer break for lunch and on Friday and Saturday afternoons. A light meal will be provided during those longer breaks.

Friday: 9 AM - 7 PM
1. Baseline Assessment:
In this session you will learn how to track your position and execute a plan for reaching your earning goals. I will use your key metrics to show you how to use the Japanese principle of kaisen to leverage small, consistent improvements into large overall gains.
2. Lead Farming:
Next, you will learn how to get more from your marketing by targeting the most effective areas to invest your money and efforts. I will cover all aspects of lead generation, including the internet. You will learn how to select a farm based upon the marketing principles of demographics and psychographics. I will also show you how to reduce your job costs and increase your close rate without spending any additional money.
3. Secrets of High Ticket Selling:
In this session, you will learn the 6 psychological principles that really influence people spending a lot of money. I have observed that the principles of selling change when a person is about to invest more than a month’s income in a single transaction. Unlike, low ticket selling, people are very cautious and edgy about an expensive purchase and a different approach must be taken. The hostage negotiators are the clue, they value this same information because this unique set of principles kicks in whenever the consequences of a decision are great.
4. Patterns of High Ticket Selling (two sessions):
Using the modern consultative selling model, I have identified 21 patterns and processes that successful high ticket closers use, based upon the 6 principles presented earlier. In these sessions, we will use live demonstrations, role-play and interactive discussion to examine each pattern in detail. From this, you will learn how to refine your approach, without changing your style, to achieve better sales results. Understanding how your natural style works will improve your sales performance three ways: 1) you will be more consistent when you know why you must do something, 2) you will be more precise when you understand exactly how something works, and 3) you can be more creative in blending and mixing skills when you know precisely what those skills are.
For a sample of my unique style of sales training, watch this five-minute video clip.

Saturday: 9 AM - 7 PM
5. Introduction to the upXel Sales Tool Kit:
We start the second day with an overview of how you will use the ten basic elements of your upXel Sales Tool Kit. You will have all of the fun of a Christmas morning unwrapping and examining your new materials. We will go over all of the items and prepare to put them together. Each piece will be explained in the context of the two-visit sales approach I recommend. Our objective is the First Call Close, which in this situation means closing the sale on the second visit when you have the presentation drawing and price ready.
6. Visual Note Taking:
If you find the Yard of Their Dreams and design an absolute knockout plan that fulfills that dream, you can actually eliminate all other bidders before they get a chance to bid. Think about it, what is the best possible outcome that could come out of your initial visit? That they like you and your ideas and your company so much that they don’t even shop you. In fact, if they had called other companies, they call them back to cancel their appointments. That is the goal of visual note taking and your first visit to their house.

7. Drawing Class (two sessions): This section of the program is dedicated to teaching you to accurately measure a yard and prepare a drawing that sells jobs. Depending upon your experience, you may already have many of these skills and, in that event, we will hold a special break-out session for you on advanced drawing skills. I am only interested in those skills that will help you sell more pools. I do not believe that high-end renderings are that valuable in selling but that the ability to do a quick perspective sketch of a detail can go a long way to help sell more jobs. If you are already an advanced artist, speak with me personally and we will make some special accommodation for you.

8. Why You Want to Be High Bidder:
In this evening session, you will learn that you will always be more successful selling as the high bidder than trying to win your work on the basis of your low price. Most people are familiar with the term, sticker-shock, which is inevitable and, as seen by the continuing sales of heavily-equipped cars and trucks, buyers will get over. What you must prevent is sticker-trauma, a condition from which most buyers never recover.

Sunday: 9 AM - 4 PM
9. Using the upXel Retail Spreadsheet:
I will show you how to use the spreadsheet program to compute and present the price in a way that gets bigger sales and lets you keep the profit in your work. Because you pre-load this spreadsheet with everything you must consider in any pool, it makes preparing bids faster and easier plus, you will be more accurate in your bids. Although price negotiation is costly, I am convinced that far more money is lost due to simple bidding errors than we ever give away consciously.
10. Presenting and Closing:
We put it all together in this session where you will learn to present your plan, handle stalls and objections and close your sale on the First Call. We will cover the second visit where you obtain their commitment to buy the pool from you, today. Closing, though, should not be the focus of your efforts, is where you must stay out of your own way and collect the sale you have worked so hard for. I will show you how to start the closing cycle without creating resistance and how to handle resistance that might arise. Using the six principles, I can show you how First Call Closing actually creates happier customers.
11. Videotape Participants:
Each student will have the opportunity to make a presentation of their pool drawing and estimate to be recorded on videotape. I will then review the tape and prepare a personal, written evaluation. I will describe what I feel are your major strengths and make a few suggestions for areas to improve. This video will form a basis for your future progress and to see your growth from a future perspective.
12. Digital Photography and Portfolio Management:
In the final session, you will learn to photograph pools and update your Portfolio Album. After learning the basics, we will all take turns photographing the hotel pool using a digital camera. The photos will be reviewed and judged by the entire class. I will then show you how to place the photo and print out a new page for your Portfolio Album. With this skill, you can easily keep your album up-to-date and put your best work forward.