Very few of us would consider ourselves plain, ordinary, mundane, or boring; but, that’s how our voice mails sound.
Listen to yours.
Would you call you back? Would you be excited about talking to you?
| Tweet |
Comments (0)
- “Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” –Napoleon Hill
Procrastination is suicide on the installment plan.
Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.
“The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary.” –Thomas Edison
Sales Reminder 184-196
Final Thoughts
Our society’s compulsion and the accompanying pressure to communicate perpetually (think Blackberry, Ipad, Iphone, Internet – wired and wireless, cell phone,Facebook, MySpace, LINKEDIN, PDAs, CRMs, etc.), can be physically and mentally exhausting. Don’t become a slave to technology. What is the first thing you do every morning? Could it be you are addicted to your communication device.
Let’s consider your emails for a moment. The receipt of an email does not mandate an immediate reply; it may not mandate a reply ever. Answering emails can be a non-stop activity that prevents you from doing the things that are really important.
Here’s a radical exerecise: try going Blackberry free for an hour; for two hours; for a day. See what it does to your overall productivity. Will you lose business? Will you aggravate any clients? The results may surprise you.
Thanks for being here and remember: get out of your comfort zone, selling is a profession – act accordingly, pay it forward, persistence is ‘king’, read something inspirational every day, always make it fun and go out and sell something.
| Tweet |
Comments (1)
When you have control over your thoughts, you have control over your life.
Positive thoughts attract positive people.
Affirm the positive, visualize the positive and expect the positive – your life will change accordingly.
| Tweet |
Comments (0)
- Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man’s training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly. Thomas H. Huxley English biologist (1825 – 1895)
”Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” - William Shakespear
Sales Reminder 169-183*
*adapted from The Big Picture by Dennis Littky
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that nobody on his or her deathbed ever says “Back in 2008 -2010, I made my numbers 13 quarters in a row.’
Thanks for being here and remember: Reinvent yourself daily; life is sales (the rest is details); pay it forward; learn something new daily; when it comes to closing the deal, ‘nice try’ isn’t good enough; make it a great week and go sell something.
| Tweet |
Comments (1)
“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sypathethic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of those.” — George Washington Carver
“Pathetic attitudes are not in keeping with greatness.” –Friedrich Nietzsche
Hell, there are no rules here–we’re trying to accomplish something — Thomas Edison
| Tweet |
Comments (0)
“A winner knows how much he still has to learn, even when considered an expert by others. A loser wants to be considered an expert by others, before he has learned enough to know how little he knows.” - Sydney Harris
“Empty the coins of your purse into your mind and your mind willl fill you purse with coins.” -Benjamin Franklin
Sales Reminders 158-168
- Own your success; don’t depend on luck.
- Where your mind goes, your life will ususally follow; keep your thoughts positive.
- Believe in yourself; have confidence in your abilities and methods – your clients will find it contagious.
- Always volunteer and make sure you play well with others.
- Avoid moderation; lead, follow or get out of the way
- Know the corporate culture of your customers’ enterprise
- Know your product.
- Never bad mouth the competition; show why you and your service is better than the other guy. Your competition should make you better.
- Always under promise
- Take responsibility: you are in charge of making sure your organization meets the needs and wishes of your customer.
- You are who you hang out with; seek out exciting, innovative people; avoid the’ dullards’ and cynics and naysayers
Final Thoughts (cont. from last week) on the importance of following the Boy Scout motto:
Very few actors who don’t know their lines ever win an Academy Award, so when you sit down and start planning your next sales presentation 1) write it out word for word, read it, re-write it 2) give it to your sales manager to read, review and critique 3) record yourself reading it (would you buy from you?) 4) video tape yourself giving it (would you buy from you?) 5) learn it 6) practice, practice, practice until your ‘canned’ presentation sounds natural. Be prepared!
Have a great week, pay it forward, and go sell something.
| Tweet |
Comments (0)
”If the only thing we leave our kids is the quality of enthusiasm, we will have given them an estate of incalcuable value.” -Thomas Edison
It’s easier to maintain a good attitude than to regain one; be in charge of your own happiness.
| Tweet |
Comments (1)
“The exact words that you use are far less important than the energy, intensity, and conviction with which you use them.” – Jules Rose
People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that Benjamin Franklin said it first.
Sales Reminders 146 – 157
- It’s a lot tougher to develop rapport on the telephone; make those face to face meetings happen.
- Seek to be a strong number 2 at your competitors’ accounts
- Take an active role in helping your community.
- For you to survive, having SATISFIED clients is no longer good enough; they’ve got to be LOYAL; can you tell the difference?
- Always keep your car clean (especially the interior)
- Make 2010 about you, not the rest of the world
- Ask for referrals (and if you don’t know how, learn); it’s a lot easier than making cold calls
- Remember, it’s foolish to expect an empty bag to stand up straight (think about that one)
- Don’t take yourself too seriously
- Keep a journal
- Dial the phone often enough and you’ll find people who need what you sell.
Final Thoughts
As we begin the second week of the third month of 2010 ( is the year going by quickly enough for you?) remember, your company doesn’t need sales reps who are ONLY good a maintaining relationships. Now, more than ever, they need people who can develop NEW business. I’m hopeful this PrintGrowProBESTPRACTICES ‘aha’ moment may encourage some of you to begin (finally?) the process of growing out of your existing comfort zones.
That being said, if you’re one of those reps who like to ‘fly by the seat of their pants’, this need to tweak how you’ve always done things might be especially true for you when it comes to your presentation skills.
Presentations need to be planned; yes, even scripted. What comes out of your mouth (and how it comes out of your mouth) will determine your success or failure.
If this were not the case, your company could get by with Email blasts and corporate brochures — they wouldn’t need you.
I think it was Vince Lombardi who said: “Practice doesn’t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.” Oh, how true!
When it comes to making presentations, we come up with all sorts of excuses not plan: I want to be loose; I don’t want to sound ‘canned’; every situation is different; I need to be flexible .
Always remember though, your #1 goal is to try to put yourself in your prospects shoes and bring down his or her defenses; and, you can’t do this if you’re ‘shooting from the hip.’ If you are having to think about what you’re going to say next, you can’t possibly be truly listening to what your client is saying.
So the next time you’re in front of a client for the first time, remember what the Boy Scouts have been saying for a long time: be prepared.
Have a great week, pay it forward, and go sell something.
| Tweet |
Comments (0)
The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.
Being in a good frame of mind helps keep one in the picture of health.
| Tweet |
Comments (0)
