Many of us continuously look for signs of economic recovery.  And for me, today provided a lot of positive signs!

I had 5 appointments today – its a lot in one day for the in depth needs analysis and follow-up I do, and I am exhausted tonight as I finish up notes and follow-up actions. 

Yes, as I am recapping, I noticed that there is a trend…4 of the 5 presidents/business owners reported healthy sales increases this year!  The lowest? 9%, the highest? Over 30%!

What’s this mean to me?  Some good and some bad news. The good? They now have money to spend on consulting and training. The bad? If sales are up, they don’t think they need any help with their sales teams!  (I won’t let that deter me from finding ways to get them to even higher levels

More importantly, What’s this mean to you?  If you are operating under the ‘no one is spending’ and ‘no one has budget’ beliefs – STOP!  Those sellers and companies that are READY when the buyers are will recover much quicker than those with their heads down. 

Find the signs of recovery in your industry – share the good news with your propsects.  You can send a note saying “Have you seen the lastest blah-blah-blah, stating that blah-blah-blah”?   Even if they disagree with the facts you have -  you have started a conversation to build from!  It’s an opportunity to connect.

What signs are you noticing?  Is it time to capitalize on the opportunities emerging?

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Filed Under: Sales Tips, Success Tips

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but “NO” can never hurt me!”  What a powerful quote from the Go For No book by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz.

Andrea gave me the Go For No book last week at the Sales Shebang in Chicago.  It is a ’short’ book that I read early Saturday morning as I sat on the patio enjoying the fantastic end-of-summer weather in Wisconsin.

Go For No is a story about Eric James Bratton (fictional) who discovers that his success increases exponentially with the number of Nos that he seeks each day.  Eric  finds that if “Yes is the destination, No is how you get there.”  The philosophy is that persistence pays off.  And most of us give up WAY too early – like after we hear No once, twice, or even three times!

Fenton and Waltz’ message is that we need to embrace failure (if we consider hearing “No” a failure).  They outline the Five Failure Levels and the number of people that stop there – meaning if we keep going we differentiate ourselves and will find more success at the end! 

What are these Failure Levels?

1. Level 1  The Ability to Fail -  100% of people have this ability. 80% of people stay here because they avoid any form of failure.
2. Level 2 Willingness to Fail – These people come to accept failure as a natural product of the process of seeking success. Only 20% of people make it to this Level
3. Level 3 Wantingness to Fail- Developing the desire to fail with the inner faith that growth follows. Fewer than 5% of people get to this level.
4. level 4 Failing Bigger and Faster – These people conclude that if failing is good, than failing faster is better!  And they go after big goals to make it worth their effort!
5. Level 5 Failing Exponentially – Bringing others along because if individual failure means individual success; group failure equals group success!

Sounds crazy to ‘want’ to fail – but reading the book reminded me of a story I heard many years ago from a trainer.

Bob was a couple of years out of college working for a manufacturing company in Detroit. He had impressed management enough to be given the lead in a million dollar project.  He was so excited and spent 10 months executing the project…which failed quickly.

Bob was summoned to the President’s office. With his head low, Bob entered the office with his ‘data’.  The President had many questions for Bob on How, Why and What. Then he asked ‘What would you do different?” Bob had some thoughts on that.

The President thoughtfully listened to Bob and then excused him. Bob was confused and said, “So, do you want to me clean out my desk today?” The President said “Why would I want you to clean out your desk?”

Bob replied, “Aren’t I fired for wasting the time and money on this project?”

The President chuckled and said “Fire you? Are you kidding? Son, I’ve just invested a million dollars in your education! I need to see a return on that investment.”

Wouldn’t it be great to work for THAT President?  Well, even if we don’t when take on the Go For No philosophy we have permission to TRY – and if it doesn’t work, that is more than OKAY – we are now closer to success.

I ‘grew up’ in the banking industry. Going for No was NOT okay with the President I worked for. We were careful…very careful….too careful! And unbelievable ideas and successes were missed. I learned a lot – and grew a lot but was also stifled.

After years I made a change…to the opposite end of the spectrum!  President Peter Reynolds at BRIO Toys (he now owns the Little Little Little Toy company) changed my possibilities. Peter was open to new ideas…and letting people try ALL kinds of things. That is where I learned how much I love sales – and the people who sell!  Without the permission to try things and possibly fail…I surely wouldn’t be in the career of selling and helping others sell better! 

I highly recommend you get a Go For No book – and the resources that come with it for yourself- and your team if you have one.  Don’t just read it once – read it again – digest the message. Determine how you can approach what you do with the Go For No attitude.

This week I am challenging myself to hear ‘no’ more often. Its a great week to put this into practice – with a focus on business development at work and transitioning  3 teens back into school – the Go For No mindset might just allow me to feel like a winner by the end of the week!

p.s. This is not a sponsored recommendation – I receive no monetary gain from recommending this book – its just THAT powerful.

p.s.s. I just returned from a local parade. I told the folks around me I was Going for No for all the freebies being tossed out. they couldn’t believe what I received! A Frisbee, water bottle, tons of candy, certificates from local stores, temporary tattoes, a bead necklace (not like at Mardi Gras and refreshing squirts of water.  Yes it was a  little silly ‘test’ with great reesults.  My ‘loot’ was more than double anyone around me (And I paid it forward and gave kids most of the goodies I collected too. I wanted to keep the water bottle…) 

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Filed Under: Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: focus, learning, maximize sales productivity, prospecting, Sales

Technology and work overload have made it easy to lose  the personal touch. Even pushing messages out through social media can be very one way – unless you are in a dialogue. 

The good news is that with so many professionals only focused on technology ‘touches’ it is easier than ever to create a memorable WOW experience for your contacts!

Sometimes the small touches matter more!  Easy wows that take little time and money:

• Send a handwritten personal note. Attach a copy of something interesting you have ready lately that would be interesting to them.  Your note can be as simple as “I thought this would be of interest to you.”
• Share something inspirational. Find a quote and add it to your email signature. Change it often.
• Call someone without a sales reason – thank them for their business and let them know you value their relationship. Keep it short -though often they will want to chat longer if it is all about them!

When you Wow your contacts with the small touches – they will remember you when the BIG opporutnity arises.  The 5 minutes you spend on the small things do matter. It’s one of those ‘Just do its’ that we need to make time for.

I suggest you make time today to Wow one prospect or customer. Then do it again tomorrow!

What else do you do to wow your customers?

p.s. Today as I head to the women’s sales experts conference, Shebang, one of our preparation items is to share our “$1 idea” – a small thing we have done in the past year that has helped in some way.  I’ll share the ideas discussed with you next week!

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Filed Under: Marketing Tips, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: prospecting, Sales Tips

My 14 year old daughter was reciting a list of adjectives about me during one of our vacation days last week.  One adjective she used was ‘excitable’.  And you know what? She’s right!  As I return from a long weekend, I am excited!  For good reason.

The last two days of this week I will take part in a type of ‘unconference’ for women sales experts. Jill Konrath, author of SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies, is once again bringing women from around the world whose focus is on helping others succeed in sales together for time to learn from and with each other! 

Lori Richardson, Score More Sales, and I have worked with Jill over the past months to pull the event together – and now that it is almost here…I am excited for the personal opportunity to dig into important topics affecting sales professionals around the globe – and then brianstorm how we can them help even more.

We have Colleen Francis, Kendra Lee, Nancy Nardin and more leading topics to help us individually and collectively leave a bigger imprint and trail of success with those we work with.  Some of the topics include social media’s affect and the need for collaboration to succeed  in today’s business world. We’re even going to have an opportunity for peer coaching!  

So, yes, I am exited…and excitable….and I think that is a GOOD thing as the week begins and I am jumping in with both feet.

What gets you excited as the week starts?

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Filed Under: Success Tips

Today is my birthday…actually I’m not even supposed to be working – a long held practice from never having to be in school on my birthday since it was always during summer break!

But here I am posting this offer…cuz I’m so excited! What am I offering?  A FREE sales course to 2 deserving sales professionals!  This FREE $1295 8-week sales course will help you build your sales quickly – and I am giving 2 seats away this week!

Details, details….

• The sales training course is in the Milwaukee, WI area beginning September 22, 2010 at 8:30 a.m.
• The workshop is 1.5 days and then the course continues once a week for 8 weeks of reinforcing teleconferences!
• The sales approach is collaborative sales and will include success habit building activities and tools.
• All your materials – and success tools are included!
• You pick up your personal travel expenses.
• Contact me for a full course description.

What do you have to do?  Email me your name, company name and why you are ready to building your sales skills and results.  I’ll draw the winning names Monday morning!

Giving on my birthday makes me so happy!  I hope you’ll take me up on the gift!

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Filed Under: Collaborative Selling, Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips
Tags: Collaborative Selling, learning, Sales, sales seminar, sales tools, Sales training

It is amazing at how often I observe professionals – sales, leaders and service professionals – realize that they aren’t as effective in listening as they first thought. The realization comes through activities and short assessments through our training workshops.

The focus on active listening – which is more than ‘waiting for your turn to speak’ is one of the key take-aways.

Key tips on Active Listening:

• Listen for more than words – intent and emotion matter
• Send signals that let the other person know you are really listening – verbal and physical signals
• Paraphrase what you hear without word-for-word repeating
• Ask follow-on questions
• Remain open to the information being shared before judging or jumping in

In looking for an easy way to assess active listening skills, I found this FREE Active Listening Quiz by McGraw-Hill Irwin. The results also give tips to help in the areas of listening that will benefit you the most.

Personally? My results show that I need to postpone evaluation when I am listening and to stop interrupting others. Nailed me accurately! And the busier I am, the worse I am in these two areas – which is no excuse!

Go ahead and take the 15 question quiz…when you are ready to ‘hear’ the results

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Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Success Tips
Tags: Listening

A quick tip today – which is simple, but not easy – to show your prospects and customers how brilliant you are.

Most people think that we talk our way into situations, sales and deals. But is that true? More often I see sales won by great listening. 

Many long-term successful sales professionals have already discovered that as they listen and tap into the power of the knowledge of others, their successes increase exponentially with the amount of time they DON’T talk! 

Several years ago I learned how powerful this could be. I had a lead and in our first discussion I was prepared with questions – and more importantly prepared to really listen (I had even written – LISTEN – at the top of my call sheet as a reminder!)  Well, I was successful, in fact, I figured I didn’t even talk more than 5-10% of the time during the hour conversation.  Yet, when I hung up I was unsure if I had gotten my point across even though he scheduled a next meeting.

The next day I heard from Tom, who referred me. Tom asked me how the meeting went and before i could answer he said, ‘Because whatever you did, he thinks you’re BRILLIANT!”   

Well, brilliant?  That is a good first impression isn’t it?  And all because I kept my mouth shut. 

The tip?  Strive for a 80/20 ratio of listening/talking and you’ll listen your way into new levels of brilliance (and results) with your prospects and customers!

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Filed Under: Sales Tips, Success Tips

Is sales a real career?  Is it something you can choose to study in college and declare it as your ‘major’?  

As my husband and I talk with our teens about careers and college majors, we cover a lot of ground on their intersts.  of course we discuss business options, and I always bring up a career in sales.  Last night, our 14 year old asked ‘What do you have to do in sales?’ 

Finally!  A signal of interest for a rewarding and lucrative career discussion? I narrowed it down to three things to help her understand sales 101. A sales professional:

1. Helps others get what they want or need in their industry/niche.
2. Builds and maintains a productive pipeline and great relationships.
3. Is rewarded based on their efforts and the value they bring to their company and customers.

Is that it?  In a nutshell I believe it is! it does take skill and expertise to do each of these well but it it something that can be learned.  And a Sales 101 course that brought awareness first to what sales is would help alleviate a lot of the present negativity around ’sales guys’.

I don’t think we look at sales as a career choice nearly enough.  In my sales workshops, when I ask participants, “Who chose this career?”  Maybe 15-20% of people raise their hands.  And most chose because of a relative being in sales. 

The others ‘ended up in sales’ through default, luck or chance. 

I’ve notice a forwad trend though, throughout the country sales majors and disciplines are instituted. The career of sales is being taken seriously as a displine and something that can be studied and learned.  Yeah! 

That’s why I was happy to find the website for The University Sales Education Foundation.   As I read through the university and major description, I noticed many of the programs are still small, and some are just starting Fall 2010!    But we’re are advancing the profession of sales and that is great.

Now I ask you…what is the career of sales to you? Is it a career you are proud of? That you can advocate and endorse to others starting out?  If not, why? Digging in for those answers might be the best thing you can do for yourself this week.

If you are proud of your career and the value you bring, you will be more successful. If you aren’t, it moght be holding you back from higher levels of success. 

p.s. Unlike the recent court ruling by a federal judge in Connecticut that competitive cheerleading is not an ‘official sport’, we can all claim that sales is an ‘official profession’ worthy of college study.

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Filed Under: Sales Tips, Success Tips

Today is Monday and hopefully you have a plan for the week - with your goal and To Dos all laid out for what you need to accomplish.  Now the only thing in the way…is EVERYTHING! Know what I mean? You plan, make lists, have the best of intentions…and then STUFF happens!  Suddenly it’s Thursday and you need to act quickly and efficiently.

Last week was one of those weeks for me. I had AWESOME plans – all getting ready to finish up a lot of items before I leave for an 11 day vacation.  Kayla, my awesome intern, was on fire too – we were crossing off To Do items and happy!

Then….stuff happened!  A great new opportunity with a short timeline, my 17 year-old sustained a MAJOR burn at work which led to hours in ER and doctor’s offices, Kayla had an awesome offer from her Dad for a long father-daughter weekend…and before you know it Friday morning was here and the thought of leaving for vacation on Wednesday afternoon with no ‘work baggage’ was not looking good. 

What did I do?  I looked for a different path to the result and goal – being able to ‘check out’  of the work world for 11 whole days!  Here’s what I did:

1. Reprioritized the whole list.
2. Identified alternate ways to get certain things done.  Asked for help from a person or two , used a different format, picked up the phone instead of writing out a long explanation in an email, etc.
3. Removed several items that can wait – they aren’t revenue producing and another 11 days won’t hurt.
4. And most important of all….I ACTED – I put on my Get It Done mode and cranked through phone calls, follow-up emails, a proposal.

Now I’m pretty much back on track and feeling good about the progress!

How about you?  What do you need to DO this week to end Friday with a clear desk and conscience so you can enjoy your weekend?  When ’stuff’ happens, don’t give up – look for the different path to get you there!

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Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Success Tips

Want to supercharge your efforts each day?  Find the ’system’ for your activities and watch your power increase!

Think about it…for anything you do – sports, chores, work – once you find the system to accomplish the associated tasks, it is easier, more efficient and productive!

This morning I had a final session with a group of very knowledgeable and experienced IT professionals – think they know systems?  They do!  Yet, over the past eight weeks, we took the system of communication and dissected it into steps, practiced each step and built upon the results. 

During the final session today, one of the biggest benefits cited from their time and effort was that they now have a SYSTEM for every conversation and meeting – and that means efficiencies in time and energy!

So, if you want to increase your personal power and maximize your productivity, systematize whatever you can!

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Filed Under: Sales Productivity, Sales Tips, Success Tips