This past Saturday we moved our oldest son into his freshman dorm at UW-Milwaukee.  I won’t get all “Mom” here about the transition of my first baby actually not living at home full time though.  Instead, this post is focusing on “stuff” and what we need to be successful.

As I watched the college newbies move into their dorms it was amazing how much STUFF was moving in with them!  Our son is a minimalist, he finds that more stuff means more distraction and things to keep track of.  He keeps his stuff light and figures that will be okay. 

Of course these past weeks I kept pushing more stuff on him…you’re going to need THIS, and you really are going to need THAT I told him.  But he stuck to his guns on not needing too much to clutter his room, and off we went.

The move-in process was so efficient – it helped that we only had one kart full of stuff (with him carrying the all-important Xbox ).  When we got to his room, I was shocked at how small it seemed – but because Kevin didn’t have a lot of STUFF it didn’t matter!  It took us about 30 minutes to get him settled in – and he had PLENTY of what he needed. 

Then we saw other student’s rooms – they were packed with stuff!  I couldn’t believe it – 4-5 karts worth of stuff and every square inch of the dorm room full.  I started to panic…I knew it!  He really did need more stuff! How can he be successful without all of the things everyone else has? 

Kevin assured me he will be fine and said he will let me know if he decides he needs more.  He ran through the list of what was really necessary – bedding, a food card, a TV with Xbox, some clothes, his bathing items, school supplies, and his laptop.  Was that enough I kept thinking?  “I don’t NEED anything else!” he once again told me.

That’s what got me thinking…So many times I hear professionals complain about not having the right  tools, resources, money, lead lists, database, etc. etc. etc.  Let’s just call all of those items STUFF!  They want stuff, they NEED stuff, they would be so much more successful if they just HAD more stuff!  But is that true?  Does more of everything help you be successful?  Or does it clutter your mind and your space and keep you from higher levels of success?

The real question is…what is the stuff you really NEED to be successful?  Leave a comment and I will compile a list.

p.s. Time will tell with Kevin – but 48+ hours plus later, he says he still doesn’t need any more STUFF (and that he’d like me to stop asking

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity
Tags: productivity, Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, sales tools

I’m continuing with the Back to School theme from the last post.  This morning I received an email with a series of snapshots depicting “How to fail with dignity” (posted at the end).  Besides the laughs I got from it, I also had an “aha”!

When you don’t know something, humor can make all the difference in how you are perceived!  Think about situations you have been in…ever see humor be the right thing to make a bad situation better?

Last year I heard one of the best sales “humor” stories.  A high level financial (selling multi-million dollar financing deals) sales executive’s suitcase did not arrive in a city when he did.  It also did not arrive the next morning before his sales presentation either. 

 But he did have a small travel duffel bag which he planned to store out of sight before the prospects arrived.   When the taxi dropped him at the meeting he didn’t have a chance – they were all there waiting for him!

A quick thinker…he plopped the duffel bag on a table and announced “Gentlemen, the money you need is in this bag!”  After the laughter died down, he shared his missing luggage story and went into a great sales meeting discussing financing options. 

I’ve heard sales people bemoan the fact that they were “stuck” in nsituations when their technology didn’t work, or the venue of something changed, or they forgot something…it happens!  How have you used humor to avoid failing in one of these “stuck” situations?

Oh, and the examples of “Failing with Dignity in School” are below - hope you enjoy!

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tags: Presentation, Sales Tips

Today is a happy day for many parents in my area…the first day of the school year!  It seems a long time ago when we were all singing School’s Out for Summer (this might be an age thing), the song by Alice Cooper that celebrates summer and “no more pencils, books or teachers’ dirty looks.” 

And though the school’s out mindset works for students in traditional schools, what about us professionals?  Is school ever OUT for us?   

Would love your comments…is “school” or learning about how to do things more effectively, information that helps our customers, information about our customers, technology, etc. ever done?  In what ways do you keep yourself IN school? 

We could rephrase the song title to “Schools in Forever” (compliments of Maggi Franks of Harper College for Businesses).

p.s. Feel like rocking to Alice Cooper?  A You Tube version of the song is here.  

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tags: learning, Sales Tips

Next week I will be part of a TSE Roundtable on What Top Producers Know About Prospecting That You Don’t. 

As part of my prep, I scheduled several interviews with successful sales professionals to get the inside scoop.  Today Wayne Gilpin, Senior Managing Director, Head of Ziegler Wealth Management shared some great insights.  One of the tips he shared is that top producers prospect for referrals.

Think about it…how much easier would your prospecting for new clients be if you focused on leveraging your happy, satisfied or loyal clients? 

Wayne shared the story of a new Branch Manager who adopted a 20 year book of business.  His first months are focused on meeting with these existing clients to re-identify their goals and then provide a quick snapshot of what Ziegler is now able to provide.  This leads to the discussion on who else might benefit from these products and services?

As you focus on building your business, in what ways have you leveraged current clients to find new ones?

I’d love to include your comments in a future post or in the Roundtable next week!

TSE Roundtable

 Learn more about the Prospecing in the Roundtable – it features several global sales gurus besides me!  Keith Rosen, Colleen Francis, Tim Wackel and Cheryl Clausen. 

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tags: prospecting, Sales Tips

Top Sales Experts continues to offer a one-stop outlet for all things sales.  My article, Increase Your Productivity in 60 Seconds or Less, posted on Sales Gravy is a Top 10 for August 2009.  Yeah!

Please vist the Top 10 Sales Articles site and vote for my article - if you find it helpful!  It will take you less than 60 seconds to do this!  While you are there, check out othe other excellent tips from global sales experts.  It’s a great way to get you going for the week!     

Sales Article TSE

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tags: Sales Tips

Yesterday Susan Coomer called for help.  She wanted help putting together a quick training on “communication from the shadows”.  No kidding!  It was an assignment from her boss and she thought it was very Alfred Hitchcock – like.   

We brainstormed (there are so many directions to take on this topic)… and discussed that shadows have connotations of dark, secret, scary and hiding.  How many times have you felt like that as you communicated with someone?  Then regarding shadows, Kayla (my awesome college student-aide) said “Isn’t that just the opposite of transparency?”

Yup, those young-ins can call it sometimes!  Transparency is such a buzzword these days.  Though social media and technology(remote working) have removed a lot of shadows in communication, they’ve also created new shadows haven’t they?

So, how do you communicate well to not cast a shadow for others?  A few tips:

1. Use your e-communication wisely. Even if you work remotely, quick emails/instant messages/texts can easily be taken out of context.
2. Pick up the phone, and meet face to face sometimes.  Your message will be sent and received so much more effectively.
3. Adjust your “language”to words and tones that will resonate with the receiver.  Do they like to use thinking/feeling words?  Lots of detail/little detail?  Facts/Ideas?  Slow to respond/impatient if you haven’t responded within a nano-second?  Pay attention and adjust accordingly.
4. Focus on what’s in it for them (wiift).  When your communication remains focused on the value, the benefits and THEM, there are fewer shadows.

Mystery and mayhem might have worked in Hitchcock films, but they just complicate our efforts in the business world.  Step into the light by communicating effectively.

How have you come “out of the shadows” in your communication?

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tags: Communication, Sales Tips

I just read a blog post that is very timely at this time of year.  Patrick Diessen’s blog covered procrastination today.  At this point in the sales year our procrastination from the past six months – or the lazy days of summer – can start catching up with us.  This advice is very relevant today.

    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task!” – William James

A Cure for Procrastinating
Here’s a cure for those who are sick and tired of being told; “If only you applied yourself, you could accomplish so much!”:

1. Make top-of-mind that you really are squandering your life. Your life’s meaning is significantly determined by how much you’ve given to the world. And as everyone’s been telling you ad nauseum, you have so much potential to do that. Decide, finally, that every time you opt to forgo productivity in favor of a brain teaser or party, you’re probably wasting life’s most precious resource: TIME!  
2. Set a big goal. Goethe said, “Dream no small dreams because they have no power to move people’s hearts.” So, what’s the biggest, most exciting goal you could potentially achieve if you put your mind to it? Even if you’re not sure you could achieve it, might getting partway there is good enough?                                                                                                                Can’t think of a big, exciting goal? Here are common fantasy careers: owning a cool business, being a celebrity, being in the fashion, sports, computer games, or film industry, directing or starting a non-profit, holding political office, holding a status job like architect, lawyer, or executive.  Already in a career? What’s the biggest contribution you could make to your field? Most people don’t have the intellectual firepower to make a big contribution, but you’re a Mensan. You do. 
3. Picture the benefits of achieving your goal. Money? Fame? Self-esteem? A more meaningful life? Get your spouse off your back? Increased happiness? More meaningful relationships?
4. Is fear making you procrastinate? If so, what would your wiser twin say in response to your fear? For example, if you’re afraid of failing, your wiser twin might say, “If the goal is really too difficult, change it or get the skills you need so it’s not too difficult.” Or, “Is it wiser to not attempt your goal at all, which guarantees failure? Would the price of failure be so great as to justify your not trying it?” 
5. Consider getting a collaborator. Procrastinators often feel guilty about slacking if they have a partner to be accountable to.  
6. Be aware of the moment of truth: that moment, when you, usually unconsciously decide whether you should take that next baby step toward your goal or see what event you should next attend? By making the choice consciously, you’ll more often choose the productive activity.  
7.  Break the project into baby steps. Don’t know how? Get help from a close friend, family member, coach or mentor. 
8. When you’re stuck, struggle for no more than one minute. Generally, if you haven’t made progress in a minute, chances are that additional struggling won’t help. It will merely make you want to procrastinate more! 
9. DON’T put it on your To-Do List. Conventional wisdom says to put all your tasks on a to-do list and then prioritize the list. I’ve found that for many tasks, you’re wiser to just do the task: you save the time it takes to put the task on your list; you avoid adding to the many tasks hanging over your head like Poe’s pendulum in the pit; doing it now tends to make you not be overly perfectionist about it; most important, you avoid procrastination: you’ve gotten it done! So instead of the guilt, you’ll start hearing, “Wow. Thanks for the fast response!” That feels so good! 
10. A one-paragraph procrastination treatment. When you’re tempted to procrastinate, there’s a moment of truth when you’re still able to resist, like when you’re just starting to lose your temper. At that moment, you can still restrain yourself.
    How to restrain yourself from procrastinating? At the moment of truth, ask yourself, “What’s my next one-minute task?” If you can’t figure out what it is or how to do it, ponder for just one minute. If you’re still clueless, get help or decide that the problem isn’t important enough to worry about.  
11. Procrastination Excuses. Do you use any of these bogus excuses to justify procrastinating? 

•   I’ll feel more like doing it tomorrow. –> Think back to previous times you’ve used that excuse. Did you feel more like doing it the next day? 

• After I do X (for example, clean my desk), I’ll do the task. –> Again, think back. Did delaying the task make things easier? 

• I’m afraid of failing. –> Not trying ensures failure! Winners increase their chances of success by dividing tasks into bite-sized pieces and getting help where needed.

What can you do today?
When tempted to procrastinate, first congratulate yourself on catching yourself making an excuse. Then do your next few-second task. Expect it to feel uncomfortable. Do it anyway. It will get better! It will help you to succeed faster and better!

“The two rules of procrastination: 1) Do it today. 2) Tomorrow will be today tomorrow!” - Author Unknown

Make this a Positive & Successful day…. unless you have other plans!  Written by Marty Nemko for Patrick Diessen.  Dutch born and now Sydney based Patrick Driessen is a visionary, entrepreneurial and intuitive executive leader, strategist, exec coach, author and agent of change with a passion to help other people succeed!

-    -    -    -    -    -    -    -

With short Midwestern summers, it is easy to get into the habit (yes it is a habit) of procrastination. I’m using this information to jump start my activity again!  Best to you Nancy.

What tips for removing procrastination do you have for others?

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Sales Productivity
Tags: sales, Sales Productivity, Sales Tips

Long-term success involves preparation, purpose and persistence.  (This shared by Judy Murrah from Motorola.)  And I’d like to add a fourth “p” - pasta! 

It’s no secret I am of Italian heritage, and my good friends – NONE of whom are Italian – missed out on my relatives’ great cooking.  So, on a REALLY rainy Saturday, I had a purpose.  To introduce friends (and my children of course) to some home-made pasta!  And they got to be part of the pasta making! 

I prepared all the ingredients and tools (I thought) to make ravioli and pasta noodles.  Even though I haven’t made ravioli in over 6 years and pasta in more than 18,  (Without my Mom it wasn’t fun.)  I was pretty excited to show them the process.

I’ve had friends  help with pasta making before.  They had fun, we enjoyed a great dinner afterward and then they let me know that they would NEVER help again.  Why?  It is very messy,  time consuming and there are a lot of details that make or break the finished outcome.  (Sound like  some of your work days?)

The pasta making process started with my children. Though they grumbled, they did well filling, cutting and forking the raviolis.  Then Kayla and Kara came and we moved to the pasta noodles.  Remember I said that I haven’t made pasta in over 18 years?  Well, rolling the dough and cutting it into pasta (love my manual Altea pasta machine) was good.  Where we got stuck was how exactly to lay the pasta out to dry.  This is where the persistence came in. 

I know Mom had a way of wrapping it in to a nest on a floured surface so it dried nicely.  After 20 minutes it was obvious that wasn’t working for us, and we were going to end up with a big blob of dough stuck together.  Not to be deterred, three relatively intelligent women got their brains going and devised a drying rack – using hangers, wire, tape, etc.  I kept saying “I just can’t remember how she did this, but I know that she didn’t hang it!” 

We ended up drying the spaghetti noodles draped over hangers positioned from the light fixture (see actual picture).  And it did work!  We then enjoyed a fabulous dinner (after hours of clean up) to savor our hard labor. 

What is the sales lesson in all this?  Persistence!  We dug into a tedious process for the reward of great food. We had to troubleshoot when barriers got in our way and we used team power to make it all work.

In your sales, do you stick with it through the objections, through the  bad appointments, unqualified leads, and technical issues to make it to the close?  It takes persistence to stay in there for the long haul.  It takes planning to eliminate as many obstacles as you can, and a clear sense of purpose of why you are doing this! (your solution, the value you bring or for winning).  And some great pasta along the way never hurts either!

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tags: productivity, Sales Tips

Yesterday’s Twitter blackout had people all in a Twutter (maybe that is a new “Twitter”word?)… Some people and companies have come to rely heavily on this tool for marketing and communication.  Incorporating Twitter and other social media into your sales process is good strategy in today’s e-world.  But what do you do when the “lights go out”?

What is your back-up plan if you are disconnected from all things electronic?  An earlier post about Social Media covered my observations about the use of Social Media.  I’m still learning how to best use it in my own business and sales.  Now I have another consideration – what is my power “generator” if I don’t have accessto my electronic life-lines for a while?  Can we really get rid of the need for the telephone and hard copy communication? 

What would you do if you couldn’t access your Twitter, LinkedIn, email or BlackBerry (or such) device?   

Let’s open this discussion…what are your back-up plans for a black out?

p.s. I’m still gigglig about the word “twutter”    Of course I intend it to mean “all a flutter”.

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tags: Communication, sales tools, Social Media

Over 22 years ago as a bride-to-be, I registered for wedding gifts (I know you are thinking I don’t look that old…I married young ).  One of the items I spent a lot of time selecting was our silverware.  I was so happy when we got 24 settings!  (When you are from a large Italian family, you need bulk everything.)  This silverware has served us well.  But I was ready for a change.

During our huge kitchen remodel a few years ago I replaced most daily-use items. Since then I have intermittently purchased new silverware – but none of it ever “felt” right in my hands.  It was too light, or the tongs were too short, etc.  I returned these samples after a thorough in-home review.  And kept using the old.  So, you can imagine my delight when I found the PERFECT silverware a few weeks ago.  It passed my test and my husband’s test so we started the process of removing the old and replacing with the new!

A moment of domestic bliss, right?  Let me emphasize the word moment…  We have three teenagers, and they did NOT see the need to make this change.  They didn’t like the feel of the new forks, thought the spoons wouldn’t hold enough ice cream, and on and on and on.  Wow!  Who knew they cared this much about anything domestic?? We listened to them, empathised with them and let them know we were still making the change.

What I didn’t realize is that they had decided THEY weren’t changing and they had taken some of the old silverware (which I was keeping for the move-out-of-the house process soon to come) and stashed it in the kitchen for their own use!  What?  It was that important to them?  As a good mom, I promptly removed those pieces and hid it all again.

For days, there was a lot of moaning and groaning every time they ate using silverware (a lot of “teen” food doesn’t need silverware they tell me – eating out of the box seems to be okay if I am not around.)  Last night was our first dinner where I did not hear one complaint.  Nearly two weeks for them to accept the change!

What does this have to do with sales?  Think about what you are selling…and the objections you hear…how many of those objections are because your prospect is comfortable with what they are now doing or using?  The objection might come out as price, timing, etc. but if you dig deeper you may find that the biggest obstacle is they don’t want to change! They are comfortable.  So what do you do?  In sales we don’t have two weeks to help move  through their discomfort. 

A couple of tips on working through an objection:

1. Ask more questions before responding with new information.  Hiding the silverware and forcing the change did not gain buy-in.  If I had taken the time to clarify what they were uncomfortable with, how we could transition to the new easier, what the downside to making the change was, etc. it might have gone more smoothly.
2. Listen to what they are saying.  Clarify further by digging deeper into the real reasons they are objecting.  It might not be a logical reason – it might be very emotion-based!
3. When responding, tie the benefits important to THEM into your response.  Make it about them, not about you.

Now, my approach to hiding the “old” won’t work in business.  But, often, taking the time to help them sort through their discomfort will remove the objection…or at least put it into a perspective where together you can work through it. 

What objection have you recently faced that was based on discomfort/change issues?

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tags: Collaborative Selling, collaborative+selling, Negotiation, Sales Tips