May « 2011 « Print Grow Pro

Thought(s) for the (short) Week

Posted on May 30, 2011 under Thoughts for the Week.

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
— J.K. Rowling

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
— Helen Keller

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“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it .Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it.” –Mother Teresa

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.”
— John Lennon

As always, thanks for being here, make it a great week and pay it forward.

Craig McConnell, President, PrintGrowPro/SalesGrowPro

www.printgrowpro.com

“Great selling is a process artfully done.”

Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/printgrowpro

Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com

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Thought(s) for the Week: Memorial Day 2011

Posted on May 27, 2011 under Thoughts for the Week.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me. ~Lee Greenwood

“Who kept the faith and fought the fight; The glory theirs, the duty ours.” ~ Wallace Bruce

As always, thanks for being here, enjoy the weekend and pay it forward.

Craig McConnell, President, PrintGrowPro/SalesGrowPro

www.printgrowpro.com

“Great selling is a process artfully done.”

Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/printgrowpro

Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com

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PrintGrowPro/SalesGrowPro TAKEAWAYS (and a week ending TFTW)

Posted on May 20, 2011 under PGP|SGP BestPractices, Thoughts for the Week.

PrintGrowPro/SalesGrowPro TAKEAWAYS

*Every e-mail you send is a a marketing message – for your own credibility and your personal business brand.

*In this age of cutting-edge technology, business is still all about people and relationships.

*No one tells you when you flunk ‘social skills’; you simple lose opportunities.

*Keep sharpening your written communication skills.

*Make two morning and two afternoon appointments your MINIMUM daily goal.

*Always, always, always understand what motivates your client.

*Check your breath before you meet your customers.

*Always let your support staff know how important they are to your efforts; praise in public, criticize in private

And finally, a networking reminder: “people aren’t strangers if you’ve already met them; the trick is to meet them before you need their help.”*

Thought for the Week

As always, thanks for being here, smile, take some big breathes, finish the week strong and pay it forward.

Craig McConnell, President, PrintGrowPro/SalesGrowPro

www.printgrowpro.com

“Great selling is a process artfully done.”

Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/printgrowpro

Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com

*Harvey McKay Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty

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Sales 101: LinkedIn Summary Page

Posted on May 19, 2011 under Sales 101.

For starters, I thought everyone would appreciate this bit of info…………………………………..

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/LinkedIn-shares-soar-90-apf-4049635120.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

LINKEDIN 101

Your ‘summary page’ on LINKEDIN can be your best friend (and biggest advocate).

2000 characters give you a lot of room to work (and don’t forget you can copy and paste characters out of Microsoft Word)

The beginning should always be about what you can do for other people. What’s in it for them?

It’s a ‘bio’ about you, not a resume; it should be more like a cover letter.

Ideally your summary page is a conversation about why somebody would be interested in doing business with you.

It shouldn’t be targeted to the world and remember to select your words carefully (‘seasoned veteran’ vs. ‘exprerienced professional’)

Take a look at yours; what do you think?

Could it use some ‘tweaking’?

Take the time to read the summary pages of your competitors, your fellow sales reps, mine, friends, other sales reps, etc.

As always, thanks for being here, smile, take some big breathes, finish the week strong and pay it forward.

Craig McConnell, President, PrintGrowPro/SalesGrowPro

www.printgrowpro.com

“Great selling is a process artfully done.”

Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/printgrowpro

Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com

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Thought for the Week

Posted on May 15, 2011 under Thoughts for the Week.

happy people

“Happiness is a habit – cultivate it.” ~ Elbert Hubbard

As always, thanks for being here, smile, breathe, and pay it forward.

Craig McConnell, President, PrintGrowPro/SalesGrowPro

www.printgrowpro.com

“Great selling is a process artfully done.”

Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/printgrowpro

Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com

Comments (0)

Sales 101: Your Voice Mail Message

Posted on May 12, 2011 under Sales 101.

What does your voice mail message say about you?

Friendly? Enthusiastic? Unique? Informative?

Bland? Boring? Boilerplate? Long?

Would you call you back?

In the typical VM message, you hear what?

“You’ve reach the desk of Craig McConnell. I’m either on the phone or away from my desk but if you’ll leave your name and number I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Voice Mail: Everybody has one and 99 out of 100 are not very good.

Our voice mail can be a key to getting new customers, hanging on to your existing clients, and creating some pretty positive word of mouth advertising (think Southwest Airlines from earlier blog postings).

You can do better and it’s important that you do!

What does ‘as soon as possible’ mean to your client or prospect anyway? Not much.

IDEA: Maybe your VM message should indicate when you’ll be checking your VM messages (and when you’ll be returning calls)?

IDEA:  put a quote from Mark Twain (or somebody not from Missouri) in your message (and in your email signature)?

IDEA: how do you feel about making your message funny?

IDEA:  how do you feel about giving the caller a value added ‘tip’ they might be able to use?

IDEA: something that people will remember –  ” I’m probably here, but am trying to avoid my 16 year old who is looking for money”?

IDEA: something that differentiates you and your company?

No matter what, make it short , change it weekly, and practice, practice, practice.

Per Coach Lombardi: “Practice doesn’t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.” Script it!

Have a great rest of the week and no matter what, change your voice mail message on a regular basis (I changed mine again yesterday; call me at 314-753-2802 – I won’t answer – and let me know what you think)!!!!!!!

As always, thanks for being here, smile, take some big breathes, and pay it forward.

Craig McConnell, President, PrintGrowPro/SalesGrowPro

www.printgrowpro.com

“Great selling is a process artfully done.”

Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/printgrowpro

Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com

Comments (0)

Life 101

Posted on May 11, 2011 under Attitude Adjusters.

Have you ever tried meditation?

It’s certainly not one of my key skill sets, but meditation can give your brain a rest. When it’s rested the endorphins flow better, you will have more energy, and function at a higher level. There are lots of options out there: yoga, hypnosis, relaxation tapes, affirmations, visualization or just ”hanging around” in complete silence. Find something you enjoy and make the time to practice daily.

As always, thanks for being here, smile, breathe, and pay it forward.

Craig McConnell, President, PrintGrowPro/SalesGrowPro

www.printgrowpro.com

“Great selling is a process artfully done.”

Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/printgrowpro

Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com

Comments (1)

Life 101

Posted on May 10, 2011 under Life 101.

Laugh A Lot!!!

Try not to take yourself – or life – to seriously (you’ll never get out of it alive). If you work at it, you can find humor in just about any situation. For starters, laugh at yourself – none of us are perfect.

Have a great rest of the week.

As always, thanks for being here, smile, breathe, and pay it forward.

Craig McConnell, President, PrintGrowPro/SalesGrowPro

www.printgrowpro.com

“Great selling is a process artfully done.”

Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/printgrowpro

Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com

Comments (0)

Thought(s) for the Week

Posted on May 9, 2011 under Thoughts for the Week.

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
— J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)

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“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.”
— Jim Henson