On the eve of a new year, I found this quote by Bill Vaughnn comical!

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

Whether you are sad to see 2009 go or not doesn’t matter!  It is over in just a few hours.  The real point is what you plan to do with 2010. 

Oprah Winfrey’s quote on this topic:

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.

I wish each of you a couple of days to recharge and figure out how to get 2010 ‘right’ for you!

Happy New Year!!

A thought on perspective – some IT professionals  I worked with were reminiscing about the 10th anniversary of the Y2K panic that caused all of them to work NY Eve on 12/31/99.  The different perspectives on the threat of 1/1/2000 was interesting indeed. 

We wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever you celebrate at this time of year.  For us, Christmas is magical.  Most people seem to be in a good mood, ramp up their giving spirit and take some time off from work.  I hope you are one of them.

Thank you for your readership this year, for your comments and encouragement.  My wish for you is that you get ‘enough’ next year.  Enough of what you need to sustain and grow you.  Enough to have more to share with others.  And enough to keep you happy and healthy. 

Lynn Zimmer of the Sales Pro Insider team wrote a recent message about gifts that is worth sharing.  Lynn heard a woman stating that she has made the most of her ‘bonus’ 33 years of life after a terminal prognosis.  Lynn wrote:

It caused me to reflect on the many gifts that I can give to my family, friends and business associates that don’t need to be gift wrapped. 

The gift of listening:  Take time to listen to other people.  In our world of multi-tasking, we many times overlook the importance of giving someone our undivided attention.  When you ask a question take time to really listen to the answer.

 The gift of time:  Mentally slow down and experience the moment you’re in.  Savor the special moments…and share them with the people you’re with.  It’s hard to do when you’re pressed for time, but definitely worth it!

 The gift of thanks:  Take a moment to give sincere thanks to everyone who has helped you this year.

 Christmas gift suggestions:

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.                                 

  -Oren Arnold

  “Re-gifting” can be one of the best gifts of all.  Share these gifts with your customers, family and friends and experience the richness that returns.

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Thank you Lynn for the great gift suggestions!

Merry Christmas – or Holidays to all!

Today’s post is all about giving a lift – to your confidence and spirit!  It’s the time of year where people are busier than ever – year-end work stresses, holiday prep and for many of us, dealing with  unfavorable weather – all can make for a ‘bah-humbug’ day.   

Yesterday, a group of professionals each joined our workshop with a bah-humbug after another.  I thought “Oh  boy, this could be a long HOUR!”  But, once we got engaged in discussion, started focusing on actions we have control of and listened to each other, there was a much lighter spirit as they left the workshop.    

Six ways to lift your confidence and spirit today in 5 minutes or less:

1.  
   1. Think about one person who has helped you this year.  One person who somehow made something easier or better for you.  Call them or write them a note of appreciation!
   2. Look at your goals for 2009 (you do have them in wriring somewhere, don’t you?) – instead of focusing on the goals that are not wher eyou want them to be – for a minute – concentrate on a goal you achieved or made significant progress with.  Take a FULL minute to think about this accomplishment.
   3. Watch these videos:  Smile and Move and ifyou need hlep with a smile, these 4 ladies will help, if you aren’t smmiling after this 1 minute video, I’m not sure what can help!
   4. Read the following quotation “All the great blessings of my life are in my thoughts today.” Phoebe Cary  – What if your blessings were in your thoughts?  Wouldn’t that give you a lift?
   5. The following websites are full of positive news – find one story to read: 
      • Happy News - Real  News. Compelling Stories. Always  Positive.
      • Daily Good - this even has a Business section!
      • Upbeat  - Positive, Optimistic, Inspiring News for All Ages – Read about Gracie, you’ll feel better.
      • Optimist News - What a great name!
   6. And maybe my favorite, Eat a piece of chocolate.  It really does have mood-lifting benefits!  And if you want an extra boost – share a piece of chocolate with someone else – watch how it lifts them too!

That’s it!  Actions for you, actions that will also lift others and in only 5 minutes your lift will give you more energy, confidence and spirit to tackle the rest of the day.

And if you want to lift my spirits – I’d appreciate your VOTE!  An article I wrote, The Sign of a True Sales Pro, was honored as the Sales Article of the Month in May 2009.  Now it is contending for the Top Sales Article of the Year.  the competition is stiff and I’d like a great showing!  It will take less than a minute for you to vote here.   Thank you so much!

With six weeks to go in 2009, this week is all about A - Accountability, activity, and action!

The challenge of the past two weeks was to:

1. Take a hard look at where you are and answer questions that helped you identify and diagnose potential roadblocks.
2. Set specific targets and plans for reaching them.

Today, we’ll start with Accountability.   Who is responsible for your success?  You!  Don’t like where you are?  Change it!  Don’t like your results?  Do something different!  Want more sales?  Ramp up your activity! 

Where is victim thinking, procrastination or blame going to take you?  NO WHERE!  What will move you?  Activity and action!

Activity - identify the activities (looking at your plan for your goals is a good place to start) that you need to take Today.  List them out – prioritize them.   Whether you do this on paper on electronically is up to.  Personally, I love the pen to paper crossing off items as I complete them.  You have to find what works best for you.  The challenge is to not make this complicated and a time waster. 

I had a colleague who used to spend hours putting together  her lists.  First she wrote them on paper.  Then she transferred them into Word.  And finally transferred them to Excel to be able to calculate dates and dollars.  The result?  Hours of work on a pretty list and no action!  She has since moved out of sales. 

Action - Just Do it!  It’s not just a Nike motto – it will get you where you need to be.  Look at your list of activities.  Does it look overwhelming?  Well, the list won’t get any shorter without you taking action and crossing off items.  Where to start? 

1. Select the action on your list that you MOST dread doing today.  Make that #2. 
2. Select an easy, just a few minutes items and make that #1.
3. The action you are excited about and can’t wait to get to?  Make that #3.

You can repeat this process over and over today.  What it does is allow to knock something quickly out of the way.  Then by doing what you dread doing next, you feel better and don’t waste energy with avoiding it – and it builds your enthusiasm for the 3rd thing.

Studies show that prospecting (and exercise) habits are more productive and are stuck to longer when they are done early in the day.  The later they are “scheduled” the more that can get in the way.

So, this is the easiest tip on our countdown – and the three As – repeated every day this week will get you further along! 

Okay – what do you think?  Are you going to focus on Accountability, Activity and Action?  What is the thing you dread most?  After you complete it – leave a comment here for us all to celebrate with you that it is done.  Or send me an email at nancy@salesproinsider.com -  I’ll virtually celebrate with you! 

Now I’m off to do something I dread…create flipcharts for my sales workshop this afternoon..  If I would have done them on Friday, I wouldn’t have had that looming over my head all weekend! 

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.

Ever feel like the Energizer bunny because you just keep going and going and going?  I do – and I do get a lot done.  But the constant operating at full speed sometimes creates ineffectiveness and inefficiency.  That’s why, as I return from a week in Aruba, I realize how important it is to periodically shut down so I have more “power” going forward.

There are three benefits I am already experiencing from my week-long shut down.

Clarity
Focus
More Energy

Within a day of being back “in” I have already finalized some new business, resolved a problem that I couldn’t solve earlier and refined some stagnant goals.  I guess I should power down more regularly!

But how can we power down without the time and expense of a week in paradise?  A few tips:

• Shut off the computer after hours – this includes the Blackberry too.
• Escape with a good book that is non business related.
• Call a friend or family member who won’t  talk “business”.
• Exercise while listening to some great music.

All of these ideas are short escapes that allow us to Restart without a full Shut Down.  And each of them will help us have more power when we Reboot. 

What other ways have you found to reboot yourself? 

Randy Paush’s book, the Last Lecture, is still on the Best Seller list.  And as I read the book this past weekend, I see why.  There is a lot of wisdom in his stories and advice.  One in particular hit home with me…about time management.

As a person who works very hard and long to accomplish business priorities it is easy for me to spot that behavior in others too.  I observe many of the very successful sales people I work with are awesome time managers and get a lot done.  Yet, I see a commonality in that there are some life principles we can sometimes forget with our long To Do lists.  Randy recapped the principle of using our time effectively and wisely in his Last Lecture.  The bolded sections are Randy’s words:

• Time must be explicitly managed, like money.  Not to invest time on irrelevant details. Ever spend HOURS on a minute detail when getting ready for a client meeting?  And then miss some of the key points?
• You can always change your plan, but only if you have one. Planning is important – and the process of the identifying the outcome AND the steps to get there is what works.
• Ask yourself:  Are you spending your time on the right things?  You may have causes, goals, interests.  Are they even worth pursuing?  Take a look at your client and prospect list – where are you spending your time?
• Develop a good filing system.  So much is wasted looking for things that aren’t where they need to be – CRM systems CAN bring great efficiencies!
• Rethink the telephone.  Need to keep a call short?  Never put your feet up or get comfortable.  stand up!  Oh, how easy it is to extend a conversation with others and it is so important.  The key is to keep it to an appropriate length that gets the business accomplished, strengthens the relationship and then ends so both parties can get to other things.

In a house with teens the word “lecture” is not well received.  In this case, a lecture is just what I needed.  Thanks Randy. 

At the end of each year many Top 10 lists are published.  This Top 10 List is different.  It is the Top 10 Questions you should ask yourself (and answer) to set up for a more productive, healthy and happy 2009.

Planning and goal setting are two ongoing challenges and suggestions I often make.  Answering the following questions will reveal how effective your planning (and execution) was this year.

1. What are the successes I am most proud of?
2. What have I done to celebrate these successes?
3. What people do I surround myself with? or Who have I met this year that has impacted me in some way?
4. What goals, that were important to me, did I not reach?  Why?
5. Considering the development opportunities available to me this year, how have I applied what I learned?
6. What written content did I read?  What did I do with the information from the reading?
7. What person have I taken time to develop/coach?  or Who is better off now because of my relationship with them this past year?
8. What actions have I taken to better my life in some way?
9. What strengths do I possess that I can use at a higher level next year?
10. What obstacles must I work through so that I reach my goals for 2009?

May your answers give you pause to:

Recognize the good things you have experienced.

and

Purposefully plan for a great 2009!

Happy New Year!

A short work week – Yeah!  Yet as we close out 2008, we don’t want to miss any opportunities to set ourselves up for success next year.  Top producers make EVERY day matter. 

Three actions to take to make this week productive.

1.  Make a specific list of actions you NEED to take.  Then evaluate.  Are these actions just ‘fillers’ or ‘clean up’?  Make sure you have proactive customer-building actions on the list.

2.  Then make as many contacts as you can.  Plan for the contact to be short and to the point – to schedule time after the holidays.  Don’t wait to schedule the appointment early January, most people are in GREAT moods this time of year.  Its a perfect time to ask for appointments for the first week of January.  Before 9 a.m. this morning I already set up two appointments for January 6th! 

3.  Before you leave your office for holiday, reflect on the three things you are most proud of from this year.  Then make notes on the actions you can take as soon as you return post-holiday to duplicate them next year.

And there you have it – a  short list of productive actions for a short week.

Have you noticed the changing buying patterns in business these past few months?  The economy is forcing everyone to re-evaluate how business is conducted and who business is conducted with.  The smart sales pros know changes in buying patterns means we have to change too.  One way to maximize your sales productivity is to re-evaluate the prospects in your pipeline.

Recently I took a hard look at the l-o-n-g list of prospects for our company.  At first glance, I thought “Wow, we have a lot of potential business!”  (Whew!)   But then I started looking closer. 

And I realized…

These aren’t all prospects anymore!!  The likelihood of doing business with some of these people and companies in the next year was extremely low! 

I don’t know about you, but we have limits to our time, energy and resources to invest in our sales efforts.  Our priorities had been pulled out of whack these last 6 months.  The anticipation of what the recession might bring caused some of our clients to postpone scheduled services.  Yet there were other prospects that wanted to reconnect and reconsider our expertise in how to increase sales! 

Now the big question, “Where are we spending our time, efforts and energy?”

I challenged our team to consider some tough questions for each name on the prospect list.  In light of what is going on with the economy:

1. What do you know about this person or company?  How might the economy be affecting them?  What does this do for their need for what we provide?  Do they need us now more than ever?
2. When was our last contact and what happened? 
3. Where are you in the sales process?  Be realistic.  Are you in the beginning stages of building trust and a relationship?  Have you uncovered needs?  Are they open to a solution?  Is it time to tie WHAT you do to their needs?  Have you gone through the process and not asked them for a decision?
4. What is the likelihood of them moving to the next step in the sales process in the next 60 days?  The next 6 months?
5. Do they have money to spend on what you offer?
6. Are you talking to the decision maker?
7. What have you done to provide proof and validation of potential results?
8. What value can we provide them today to demonstrate our expertise and to help them?

We learned that we need to realign our efforts. Some of our prospects needs had changed and so must our approach to earning their business.  We also found that some prospects who took a lot of our time and energy were never going to ”buy”.  They were happy to have lots of free consulting and resources.  But no budget to spend.  This doesn’t mean we will ignore them, but they won’t take up so much of our time.

We’ve been working on the new approach for a month and are having very good results.  Recession or not, 2009 is looking bright because we are focusing on the right prospects!

What about you?  Is it time to re-evaluate your prospect list?  To identify your real opportunities in light of the current economic conditions and to realign your efforts to the highest likelihood of success?  How can making the time now ensure you have recession proofed your sales?