Tom Hopkins Workshop: A Huge Success

By Donna West

September 2009

The highlight of the recent 2009 ATSI Convention, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was the full-day Tom Hopkins' Sales Workshop.  Tom and his assistants spent several days with Marcy Hewlett, Mary Jones, Terri Paffile, and Denis O'Hara at Mary's office, Answer 1 in Phoenix, Arizona, learning about our industry.  Tom questioned everything, and his assistant took copious notes.  He wanted to know about how we hire and train our agents and salespeople.  He asked what kinds of companies use our services, how we impart information about our clients, and how we explain our capabilities.

Before he left Phoenix, he had a good handle on the challenges we face in selling our services.  Back at his office, he and his assistants brainstormed the best way to share their information in a manner that directly applied to selling telephone services in today's market.  They spent hours putting together a workshop specifically for our attendees. 

Lights - Camera - Action!

Behind the scenes: 3-2-1, we're rolling!

On Friday, June 19th, it was finally showtime!  The videographers and sound people were set up in the large ballroom, the stage was set, and there was a buzz of excitement.  People in the front rows were admonished not to move in front of the cameras.  Mary Jones began the introduction.  Tom Hopkins strode onto the stage, and everyone was initially struck by the fact that he is not a tall person.  Yet, as he began speaking, it became obvious that his commanding presence makes him appear larger than life.  In moments the audience was leaning forward, smiles on their faces, and pens poised to take notes. 

It wasn't long before our cheeks hurt from smiling, our sides ached from laughing, and we were wiping tears from out eyes.  We were captivated.  Then, once he so completely grabbed our attention, he began to teach.  His anecdotes, humor, real-life examples, and silly jokes all helped to cement the information that he wanted to impart.  Every single attendee learned something about becoming more successful in sales.  Most of us learned a great deal that we could do to improve our bottom line.  At the end of the day, there were rave reviews and requests for more.

Tom Hopkins calls on ATSI member, Karin Annerhed of HealthPhone Medical Call Center,
to assist with his card presentation - a graphic demonstration of using "Yes" questions to get to the final "Yes!

Knowing that the whole thing was being videotaped for sale both at the conference and later on the ATSI website meant that we could simply sit back, relax, and not bother taking notes.  Adding this video to our business libraries means that we can watch it repeatedly and share it with new employees as they join our sales team in the years to come.  The techniques are timeless, and the workbook that comes with the video is excellent - this tool will stand the test of time.

 From the workbook, we learned to ask for introductions at the beginning of a contact.  "John, you haven't seen a tremendous amount of advertising about our company, have you?  The reason we don't spend thousands of dollars in advertising is that we have chosen to build our business on word-of-mouth recommendations.  When we have satisfied your needs with our service, done the job, and you are totally thrilled with what our company has done for you, would you have any challenges with me asking for an introduction to a few other people that I might serve?"