There were several losses this week in the entertainment world – Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett. It seems everyone knew these three celebrities and the media is talking of their legacies.  They each leave a unique thumbprint and memories to those that worked with and watched  them. 

What about you?  Are you a lasting sales celebrity?  If you were suddenly gone, how would your colleagues and customers define you?    

In sales careers we have unique opportunities to create lasting legacies with a lot of different people. 

1. Our support team.  Does your internal team value you or do they consider you a “pain”? 
2. Our customers.  Do they know you value them and that you will always do the right thing for them?
3. Our sales team.  Do you share information that can help them be more successful?  Do you give encouragement and listen to them?
4. Our management.  Do you provide value to your managers above what they expect?  Not just in production but in collaboration, insight and problem solving?

The real Sales Celebrities are transparent, productive and most of all people of integrity.  A tip I give every professional I work with…every action and inaction you take leaves something behind. 

P.S. I was having some fun trying to think of Michael Jackson songs (I’m not saying how I know all these songs ) that could be sales anthems….

• Beat It – because we need to beat “it” – sales goals, the competition, our fears every day.
• You Are Not Alone – we should be in touch with our prospects and customers often.
• Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough – we need to keep on until we have reached those goals!
• I Want You Back – earning back lost customers can accelerate our results this year.
• Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ – action gets us where we need to be.
• We Are Here to Change the World – if your product/service guides value, you can change someones world for the better!
• Unbreakable – Sales pros weather the ups and downs and keep on going.

Any to add?  I’m sure there are more song connections.

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Tags: customer loyalty, Sales, sales success

Summer has arrived. And what better time to adjust your thinking, skills and beliefs in your own sales abilities?

The longer light of these summer days can give us more energy…let’s make sure we use some of this extra energy in our sales careers!

Top Sales Experts has just published their summer Edition 2009 eBook – over 30 sales experts Share Their Top Articles!

A couple of articles to whet your whistle:

1. Lori Richardson shares great information on social media in her Email is Dead article.
2. And way at the end – page 143 to be exact (yes there is THAT much great information) –  Tim Wackel provides tips to Stop Blaming the Economy:  Three Tough Questions for Winning More Business in Today’s Soft Market

Click on the widget below to access the site and download your copy.  Then pull up the chaise lounge, a glass of lemonade and some sunglasses and enjoy…

You will find my article on Lost and Found Treasuresis on Page 116 (Jonathan Farrington, the Captain of TSE, didn’t want to list alphabetically this time…not great for an author whose name starts with “B”).  I guess you will need to look for the treasure on page 116

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Tags: Sales Tips

Are you a sales artist?  When you hear the word artist, what comes to mind?  Someone a little “off”, quirky, passionate, focused on their art form?  As much as we try to make a science of sales, so much of sales success is an art that needs to be nurtured, developed and appreciated. 

Jill Konrath tweeted this video for inspiration this week.  These dancers obviously have a passion for their art.  What about you?  Do you have passion for the art of sales?

Watch the video and then consider:

1. If you were to lose some of your resources (and most have to do with less this year) would you find a way to continue with your art or make excuses and give up?
2. Who do you spend time with that shares the love of your art?
3. What have you done recently to strengthen your sales artistry?
4. What “crutch” might provide support as you strive to achieve this year’s goals? 

There are all kinds of arts – dance, painting, sports, sculpturing – like there are all kinds of sales – direct, B2B, B2C, telesales.  What matters is whether you are connected to “your” sales art-form.

In the arts, success comes from practice, passion and persistence.  Isn’t this the same in sales?

p.s. Jill now posted the “back story” to these dancers on her blog.  Read it here.

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Failure. Not a word sales professionals like to consider.  We strive for success, which is great.  Yet, failure may just be what we need sometimes.  It’s all in how we define what failure is.

What?  Yes, failure can be a good thing.  We all need to fail so we can learn and succeed at higher levels.

Yesterday our oldest son graduated high school.  The valedictorian of his class gave one of the most eloquent speeches I have heard in a long time.  Ryan laid out examples of people that had failed.  They learned from their failure, dug deeper into their beliefs and skills and emerged HUGE successes.  The Beatles, Walt Disney, Abraham Lincoln and  Thomas Edison are considered successes today.  But that wasn’t always true. 

So what is failure?  Opportunity! 

Experiencing a failure in sales gives us many different opportunities.  What we get from the failure is what we DO with those opportunities. 

Opportunity 1:  Learning.  Step outside the emotions of a failure to diagnose what really happened.  Was it our actions?  Our lack of information?  Not having the right people on board?  Diagnosing what happened and then laying out a plan to not allow that to happen again is valuable. 

Example: A sales rep worked for months on a prospective buyer.  He nurtured the relationship, put together proposals, sent small gifts and made ongoing calls. When he was told that the business went to a competitor he called and asked for time to learn the reasons he wasn’t selected.  What he found was that he did many things right, but that the solution he offered wasn’t  perceived to offer as much value as his competitor.  His competitor had done more research about the company, other decision  makers and such and they offered more as far as perceived value. 

Wow, that was tough.  But he is successful and decided to learn from it.  He now does a different type of prep and research for his large deals and won’t be caught in that situation because of his own lack of information. 

Opportunity 2:  A change of paradigm.  A failure can allow us to look at something (even ourselves) differently.  This change in our perception leaves opportunity for a different path.

Example:  3Ms Post-It products were never a goal.  They are the result of taking an adhesive failure and finding a different paradigm for that product.  thank goodness the R&D did not discard their failure. I don’t know what I would do without those products!

Opportunity 3:  New Relationships.  Failure can lead us to people that we would never have been exposed to if we had succeeded first.

Example: Years ago I was associated with a business person who didn’t share the same values.  The break was tough but it allowed me more time and energy to focus on how I wanted to build my firm.  The benefit? I found Lynn Zimmer who has been a blessing in so many ways to the Sales Pro Insider, Inc.  I would have never been open to working with her if the other relationships hadn’t “failed”.

What is failure?  Opportunity to diagnose, change, find new ways to get things done, explore, and learn.

There is a story about the young MBA marketing professional from Michigan.  He was assigned an important million dollar project early in his career.  The outcome was a failure. 

 He was summoned to the President’s office (sure he was getting fired).  After diagnosing what went wrong, what would be done so it doesn’t happen in the future and admitting his errors.  He stated, “I understand I will lose my job over this.” 

The President’s response?  “Fire you?  Son, I just invested a million dollars in your education, I need you to stay and succeed.”

I wonder, if you haven’t failed at anything in a while, are you risking and pushing the limits enough?  Maybe not. 

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Do you know a jobless professional?  2009 has brought about job reductions in companies around the world.  These career changes may not be their choice, but they are a HUGE opportunity!  It depends on how you look at it. 

My dear friend, Jill Konrath of Selling to Big Companies, saw it hit close to home.  Family and friends were without jobs.  Jill decided to do something to help!  She developed resources including a book and webinars called Get Back to Work Faster.  And its all FREE!!!!

She uses her expertise in getting your foot in the door for sales and transfers it to using the principles to land your next job!  

 The Get Back to Work Faster Initiative is focused on helping out-of-work professionals leverage job creation strategies to:

• Identify & pursue income-producing opportunities.
• Bring in money during their job search.
• Land new positions that play to their strengths.
• Become the “must hire” candidate, without competitors.

 Want hope?  A recent survey by Manpower found that sales positions are one of the top jobs that are still in demand!  And there is a shortage of qualified candidates! 

The principles in Get Back to Work Faster are for all professionals, not just sales.  Though looking for and landing a job is the ultimate sales job, isn’t it? 

Share this tip with anyone you know who can use a message of hope that they ARE in control of their future.  Help them GET BACK TO WORK FASTER!

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At Sales Pro Insider, Inc. we are privileged to be a part of people’s lives for 6-9 weeks at a time.  Our courses are facilitated over time to give participants an opportunity to apply the concepts in their real world, build their skill and confidence and work these into habits that last.  We very much become involved in the successes/challenges of the participants as they work hard to develop their sales, leadership and customer service results.

I’m sharing this with you to give you some insight into why last week was tough.  One of our participants passed away suddenly.  Not only does her passing affect the company and employees, it affects us.  Lynn Zimmer, a key member of our team, has worked with this person for many hours over the last 6 weeks and it is a loss to her.  On the same day, a close friend of Lynn’s also died suddenly.  That is why the following message that Lynn sent out to her readers this morning is worth sharing with you.

Life is short, make it all matter.    Nancy Bleeke

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Every once in a while, an event occurs in our lives that reminds us to reflect on the value of what we do each day. It could be the loss of a friend or family member, a serious change in your health, career, etc.   When this happens, it’s important to “take time” to pause …. reflect and if appropriate, make changes in how we’re currently doing things.

Here is an excerpt from the book, 10-10-10, by Suzy Welch (co-author with husband, Jack Welch, of the book, Winning) that highlights some key points for reflection:

We all want to lead a life of our own choosing. But in today’s accelerated world, with its competing priorities, information overload, and confounding options, we can easily find ourselves steered by impulse, stress, or expedience. Are our decisions the right ones? Or are we being governed, time and time again, and against our best intentions, by the demands of the moment?

With 10-10-10, Welch proposes 1 question that will impact your life:

How will my choice affect my life:

• 10 minutes from now?
• 10 months from now?
• 10 years from now?

 By looking at the middle and longer time frames, we’re truly assessing the impact and value of our decisions.  When you bring long term value to the decisions you help your customers implement, you bring added value to the relationship.

The same applies in your personal life.

Reflect upon your present blessings – of which every man has many – not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. 

 Charles Dickens

Wishing you a week of reflections,

Lynn Zimmer of Sales Pro Insider, Inc.

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Tags: focus, learning, priorities, productivity

 Thanks to all who voted for the Sales Pro Insider article on Top 10 Sales Article last month.  The Sign of a True Sales Pro: Admitting We’re Never Too Good for Coaching took top honors. I’m a winner!   

Those who know me are probably cringing at my winner statement.  I have a mantra “Think Like a Winner” that irritates them.  Thinking alone is not going to make us winners, but the reality is, our belief and commitment to be in top form is what keeps us at the top!  These commitments and belief keep us moving forward and taking action.

I hope you are thinking like a winner this year.

One thing I do to remain optimistic about winning in my career is the key message from this winning article; we all need a coach to get better.  The message holds true no matter what your experience, position, tenure, or education. 

One of the best things I have done for my business this year is engage a mentor and coach.  Taking time to step back and identify what works for me, where I can improve and set actions has kept me moving forward in this economy.  When many consultants are struggling or looking for corporate jobs, Sales Pro Insider, Inc. continues to thrive.

We also continue to plan for the future and will be making some exciting announcements on resources that will help sales teams accelerate their performance.

Thanks again for the votes.  And thank you to the team at Top Sales Experts for pushing this article to the top (they were 50% of the decision as well).  This article will now be one of 12 up for top annual honors in December…I’m starting to think like a winner for this one too

Dedicated to your sales success,

Nancy Bleeke (sounds like flaky, though I am not)

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Do you like to play games?  Not mind-games…but board games, sports games, card games, trivia games, etc.?  Notice how every game has different rules and names for the pieces or equipment, the “field”, and positions involved?  These differences can make it challenging to communicate with people who don’t know the ins and outs of the specific game.

Last weekend we played the game Scrabble.  We racked our brains to remember what to call the Scrabble pieces without looking at the directions.  ”Tiles” did finally come to us – though watching us “old folks” was fun for a REALLY smart 18 year-old who was crushing us at the game (she knew they were called tiles, of course, but let us figure it out on our own).  Knowing the right words and terminology can not only make you “Smarter than an 18 year old” it can make you an “insider” in that game’s circle of players. 

It’s the same in sales.  If we speak the words and terminology of those we want to communicate (and play) well with, we are on the “inside” instead of the outside.  And the benefits of being an insider are HUGE!

Think about it…Do you talk the same language as your customers?  As your colleagues?  As your manager?  The words, phrases and acronyms that are so obvious to us may mean nothing (or worse, something completely different) to the person we are communicating with. And now with the global focus in so many businesses, there are even more opportunities to clutter our communication.

As a consultant working with different companies, it is always fascinating for me to listen to the “org speak” composed of different words and acronyms attached to MANY processes, systems, initiatives, and the culture.  These acronyms become so ingrained with people in that company that they forget that other people may have no idea what they’re talking about. 

I’ve learned that I need to ask for clarification if I don’t know what they are talking about. Are your customers comfortable asking?  Are your  prospects? 

Throughout the next few weeks, we’re going to explore some of the common “sales” terms that sales professionals use. We’ll have some fun as we try to add some common understanding to what they really mean.

If there are any terms that you want me to explore, please leave a comment.  Looking forward to your thoughts, I think this is going to be fun!

P.S. The “back story” to this post?  It’s inspired by the radio show (they also have a podcast) A Way with Words on NPR (National Public Radio).  My husband,a big NPR fan, has our family listening to A Way with Words with Author Martha Barnette and dictionary editor Grant Barrett (I guess someone has to have that job).  As Martha and Grant discuss word origins, slang, and dialect effects, it is obvious that even those of us involved in the game of speaking English, may not speak the same language.

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