We are in the middle of Earth week – as Wiki Answers states Earth Week is a: celebration of the Earth and the environment, in order to get environmental sustainability into the hearts and minds of the community.  You can be a part of this by practicing Earth Friendly habits in your work!

5 Earth Friendly Saving Tips (‘tongue in cheek”):

1. Save the trees. Reduce your paper consumption. Consider how you store information – are you taking advantage of the electronic storage or do you print out and keep everything in paper? How can you reduce the paper you use by 10-15% this year?  Reuse your envelopes – just slap a new label over the old one and tape it shut. Or Stop mailing all together – doesn’t everyone just NEED more emails?
2. Save the oceans/lakes. Very sad this week to hear another grey whale beached itself in Washington State and the amount of debris they found in it’s stomach.  After a hard day at work, some of you may turn to liquor or vicadin. Do not flush your leftovers!  It gets in the water supply and harms the creatures living there.  Instead use what you have or share
3. Save the air. Actually visiting customers in person needs to be cut! Stop driving and flying all over to build relationships – use email for everything to reduce carbon emissions.
4. Save the landscape. Do you know how quickly landfills are growing? Just miles from where I live, the ‘moutain’ of trash is visibly taller each year. Instead of throwing out old products and marketing materials – combine them into special sales or a special marketing push – better to get them into the hands of someone than YOU be the one that throws them away.  Oh, that don’t work or have obsolete information? Just use a Sharpie to ‘fix’ that.
5. Save the resources.  Two tips on this one!
   • Most plastic is petroleum based. With gas prices creeping again and concern over ‘running out’ of natural resources – eliminate plastic ‘trinkets’ or give-aways.  Most customers or prospects won’t really use the ruler, mug, bouncy ball, water bottle, or business card holder with your name/logo on it. Think of  ‘green’ gifts that they will use!  Recycled personal paper products, granola bars, or a reusable shopping bag – now THOSE are gifts that are memorable!
   • You can save a lot of electricity by powering down whenever possible. Yes, turn off the Blackberry, Droid, Queues and your handhelds! Use them for 8-10 hours a day and then turn them off. Your family and friends might really appreciate having your full attention and you will need to charge them less saving electricity!

There you have it – five crazy ways to help the planet.  Though following them will COST you a lot of success.  And while I had fun coming up with them – I am hopeful this gets you thinking about wasted resources.   I really am an environmentally conscious person. We recycle, put our scraps in a mulch pile, reuse paper in the office for printing drafts, carpool whenever possible and so much more.

In business, we do have opportunities to be Earth Friendly – Make sure your business trips are planned well, recycle and turn off your electronics after hours.

What other fun tips do you have to Save the Earth at work?

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Another blogger, Becky Robinson of the LeaderTalk blog, recently asked her readers the question, “What do I know best?”

What an interesting question to ponder – “What do I know best?”  And it wasn’t as easy as it first appeared. She suggesed that we think about things that are easy for us, that we don’t need to prep for and that we can just help others with.

To come up with my list, I thought about this past week. What conversations have I had with others that were ‘teachable moments’ and I was able to pass along knowledge or insight that really helped someone else? My answers are simple (and it makes me wonder if I over complicate things in my training if it was this simple.)

So here goes:

1. No one has to appoint you a leader. You get to decide and can act as a leader day in and day out without a formal title.
2. Being a mom and a high level business professional is tough. And you will have to make tough choices sometimes – the mom part should always win – the time we are blessed with the kids passes quickly.
3. To be successful in business (whether you are in a direct sales role or not) means having to constantly focus on the WiifT – What’s in it for THEM. The more you communicate, act and live with the WiifT mindset, the more successful you will be.
4. The key to WiifT is undertanding others communication needs and then adapting your communication to it. Though each human being is very individual, there are tools and assessments that can help us with the understanding and ‘how to’ of doing this well.
5. I also know that everyone needs a ‘coach’ in life and business. It can be a spouse, friend, colleague or anyone. And that each of us can coach others by paying attention, giving them time and attention and sharing ‘what we know best’ when appropriate.

Now I ask you – What do you know best? It doesn’t need to have been learned in a book, in fact your life or work knowledge learned the ‘hard way’ might be what is most valuable.  You don’t have to be Einstein to know a lot of things best.  Please share with the rest of us – it will help us all know our ‘go to’ person on many dfferent things!

Looking forward to reading about more ‘knows bests’ from readers.

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You know the saying, ‘I learned everything I ever needed to know in kindergarten?’ One of the kindergarten lessons on fire safety can be very effective in working through customer complaints and objections.

Yesterday a speaker shared a joke about two men who were chatting about their lives over drinks. 

The first man said, “Whenever my wife and I have a disagreement, she gets all historical on me.”

Man 2 said, “Don’t you mean she gets hysterical on you?’

“No,” said Man 1, “She gets historical.  She brings up everything that I have ever done wrong since we first met.”

I know – a cheesy joke.  Yet, how true is this when you have a customer who is unhappy?  Do they come to you with hysterics?  Or do they get all historical and bring up EVERYTHING they have ever been unhappy or dissatisfied about?

What to do in either case?  Follow one of our ‘kindergarten lessons.’  Stop, drop and roll! 

These 3 steps are used as the technique for when you are ‘on fire’ physically?  Ever felt  ‘under fire’ with a customer complaint or objection?  Well, we can use the same technique in those situations! 

Stop.  Stop talking.  Pause and listen.

Drop.  Your ego and defenses.  You won’t get very far if you also become hysterical or historical.

Roll.  Roll forward in a discussion that is open and focused on resolution.  How? 

1. First, assure them of your intent to help resolve the objection, question or complaint.
2. Then ask them an open question to draw out more information.  At first you might get more hysterics or history.  That is okay. 
3. Listen, paraphrase and ask another question if necessary. 
4. Restate that you want to help them and ask if they will explore possibilities with you.  (You’ve just changed the situation into a collaborative problem-solving opportunity.)
5. Work with them to share ideas, examples, ask for feedback and their ideas.
6. Agree on a course of action.

I think for myself the first part of stopping is the toughest. I want to jump right to telling them why they are wrong…and I make it worse.  Instead when I take that breath and stop.  I actually move forward more easily.  And very importantly, I help my customer stop the hysterics or the history lesson to resolve the issue. 

Something to think about isn’t it?  What do you think?

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You can start this week and year out with a big kick!  And a panel of sales experts will provide tips and ideas you can use to kick high!

Join me – and 4 other sales experts, Jonathan Farrington, Joanne Black, Nancy Nardin and Lori Richardson TOMORROW for a Roundtable discussion on Kicking Your Year Into  High Gear!  I’ve twisted Jonathan’s arm to offer FREE seats for you!   Just click here to register for what is sure to be an engaging and  helpful 60 minutes that will stretch your mind.

Hope to have you on the call!  I’ll announce how to get your FREE eBook on Achieving Your Goals during this roundtable.

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 It’s Day Two of the Top Sales Predictions for 2010. 

The answer posed to international sales experts: 

• What will the new year bring for sales reps?
• What will the new year bring for Sales Leaders?

Today, Jonathan Farrington, a British bloke yet all-around collaborative and intelligent chap who happens to be the CEO of Top Sales Associates and Chairman of The Sales Corporation – based in London and Paris. Jonathan’s personal site The JF Consultancy, offers a superb range of unique and innovative sales solutions and you can also catch his daily blog at The JF Blogit .

What is the New Year is going to bring for our sales leaders?

One of the very few things to come out the deepest recession in living memory was that sales leaders in most industries, faced with decimated training budgets, were forced to roll up their sleeves and coach their teams themselves.

They no longer had the option to abdicate sales team development to external providers – and do you know what? Many of them actually enjoyed it – in fact they discovered they were pretty good at it.

As a consequence, I believe that in 2010, more and more sales leaders will develop their coaching skills, and look for external mentors themselves, because it is highly likely that sales skills training budgets will never be the same again – ever. An item that appears as a cost on the balance sheet with no tangible return is now going to be subjected to the most rigorous scrutiny – shareholders will insist on that.

What is the New Year is going to bring for our sales reps?

I believe that top sales professionals will accept greater responsibility for their own development in 2010 – in fact the most successful already started doing this in 2009.

With massive cuts in training budgets, they had no choice. They were not prepared to sit around in the vain hope that someone else might eventually make them successful: They work with the mantra “If it’s to be, it’s up to me”

Traditional generalized classroom training will be consigned to the annals of history as organizations look to adopt a more blended approach, which will include tailored in-house coaching, together with the more cost effective online training and mentoring.

Whichever way you look at it, 2010 is still going to be tough for front-line sales professionals in most market sectors, but providing they remain focused, diligent and committed to their ongoing development, they will win through.

Thank you Jonathan, and while I love the “If it’s to be, it’s up to me” motto – I’m still very hopeful that organizations will dig in and demonstrate that they value their sales team and invest in their development.  Getting people together in person - especially sellers – has so many additional benefits than the training curriculum!

What do the rest of you think?  What do you predict is ‘up’ for sales professionals this year?

More predictions by the ‘experts’ tomorrow. 

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These last few weeks have been great for prospecting.  People seem to feel ‘they’ve made it through 2009′ and are looking for ways to advance their business in 2010.  Our ongoing nurturing all year is now paying off with callbacks, appointments and commitments.  Yeah!

One of the sales calls I had a few weeks ago, I’d like to repeat over and over and over.  Why?  Because the prospect was looking for ONE specific service and by the end of our conversation we were discussing multiple.  In dissecting why the call went so well (a good practice so we can repeat those actions that worked), I found that I had: 

1. Listened to the intent of what he wanted to accomplish, not just WHAT he wanted to do now.
2. Waited.  Instead of offering him a recommendation immediately (which I could have on the ONE item), I expanded the discussion with further questions that uncovered some underlying information that was truly what needed to be addressed first.
3. Asked permission to ask questions that weren’t directly related to what he called about.
4. Summarized the broader picture and the frustration and costs associated with it.
5. Presented the solution directly tied into his situation and the value he would experience in the long run.
6. After he said “Yes, this is what we need to do first, isn’t it?”  I expressed confidence in his choice and what he would gain from it. 

It was a lot of effort to keep to task.  And it was one of those situations where I hadn’t time to prepare – he called me out of the blue.  But I had just been preparing for another meeting and quickly pulled my list of questions out.  I also have a list of questions that I can quickly adjust on the spot to a situation such as this. 

I’m sure you’ve had some of these ‘magical sales moments’ too.  What did you learn from them?  Making the time to dissect and extract WHAT and HOW happened, will help you repeat it again the next time.

Now to continue making calls today and follow the six actions above.

Hope your day is productive too! 

P.S.  Yes, he did accept the recommendation – which was a 75% higher sale than the original request  

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Want to play a game?  I challenge you to a game of darts.  Ready to play?  It’s a little different than you might think.  You have 8 darts in my game.  Each dart represents an hour of your ‘regular’ work day.  Your success depends on how accurate you hit your target.  But wait!  The dart board we use doesn’t have numbers – you don’t know where to aim, and you can easily hit a target youdont’ want to, instead of the bulls-eye.  

Wanna play this game with me?  No? Why not?  It’s similar to the game I see sales pros, teams and managers play EVERY day. They work hard.  They work long hours.  They want to win. And still they end up wasting a lot of time and energy reacting and chasing. 

Sound familiar?  Without a clear, focused target to aim at, there is so much waste and likelihood of missing the target!  With only 7 weeks left in 2009 is it too late to set targets now?  No!

Last week the action to Countdown 2009 was to analyze and find where you really are.  This week’s activity was to help you determine where you need to go and what you need to do!

This week’s challenge is to be very clear on your desired results for 12/31/09.  We call this the Ready, Aim, Action plan. 

Ready

Take out pen and paper NOW.  At the top write:

On 12/31/09  I/My

It all starts with a target date and the focus on YOU!  You have more control (and potential reward) over what happens in this next 7 weeks than anyone else.

Aim

Then make 3 columns and title them:

Quantity/amount                     Result/Outcome              Reward/Benefit

• Column 1 – Measurement – What numbers do you want on 12/31/09?  Dollars?  # accounts, # prospects at certain points in your pipeline, # appointments?
• Column 2 – Result/Outcome – this is the result you want on that date.  Closed sales, contracts signed, appointments set, etc.
• Column 3 – Rewards – this the benefit of you achieving the result or outcome.  The more specific the reward, the more motivation you will have to take the necessary action.

Target examples:

• On 12/31/09 my annual closed sales are $750,000.  My reward is recognition from my company and manager, the feeling of success and my 5% bonus for reaching my goal that we will use to pay cash for our son’s tuition in January 2010.
• On 12/31/09 I have 12 contracts signed for delivered product in January 2010. My reward is knowing that I will start 2010 with a bang and that I will not work at all on the holidays and use that time to focus on my family.
• On 12/31/09 my 2009 goal is reached with ease.  My reward is that I will not have to scramble the last week justifying to management why I missed goal and what I am doing for next year. 
• On 12/31/09 My annual income is $250,000.  My reward is to fund my retirement account fully and to buy the flat screen TV for my bedroom that allows me more dresser space!

Action

With only 7 weeks to go setting the target is necessary AND action is what will get you there.  Next is to identify 2-3 actions you will take THIS week to move toward these goals.

Example for Target 1:

1. I will follow-up with Prospects A, B, C, X, Y, Z for the outstanding proposals.
2. Brainstorm with my manager on otpions I can offer to stalled sales for Prospects M, ,N. Make contact with those prospects.
3. For every meeting this week, I will spend 30 minuets preparing – researching any new information and identifying how to use the information in my contact.

That’s it!  It’s only about 60 minutes of time that will SAVE you so much energy and frustration.  Taking the 60 minute to follow the Ready, Aim, Action plan will make the rest of this week focused and productive.  And you will be well on your way to all the rewards you listed!

Chime in here…what is a goal you wrote?  What is your reward?  Do you think through your rewards and the ‘why’ you should reach your goals? 

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Well, I’m back from a whirlwind 4 day trip to NYC!  Earlier I blogged about my “training” program these past six weeks to prepare to climb the steps to the crown of the Statue of Liberty.  Mission Accomplished!

Yes, I did it!  It wasn’t bad at all.  And there were some actions that made it better.

1. Breaking the process into smaller milestones.  Reaching the base was milestone one.  A small rest (and reading the sign that there were only 202 more steps) and off I went again.  Toward the top when the stairway was really narrow, I focused on the 7 seven steps to the next landing.  Break your goals into smaller increments. Then focus on what is next and get it done.  Keep that process going to get to the final outcome.
2. Adjusting on the way.  I realized that slowly going up each step was actually more difficult than using momentum from a quicker pace.  Each muscle wasn’t agonizing over the next step.  Sometimes we spend so much time with all the “little” things that we don’t benefit from the momentum of constant activity.
3. Having the right people with you.  I was with encouraging friends who were doing the same thing.  We pushed each  other.  How about your work?  Who is “with” you and pushing you to achieve?
4. Celebrating.  We took time (and pictures) at the top.  But we also celebrated along the way.  We joked and had fun with the Guards.  We made it fun!  What do you do to acknowledge and celebrate your climb?  You don’t have to wait for rewards, celebrate along the way to energize you to keep going.
5. Following through.  The climb down was still ahead of us.  Notice that when you reach your goals, there is still work to do?  It might be paperwork, a follow-up action, making notes for the next time, etc.  Reaching the pinnacle isn’t usually the end. 

Now of course, I need to continue with my exercise.  And determine my next outcome or goal.  It will keep energized, engaged and successful!

What do you think?  Does this relate to business? 

P.S. I acctually took this picture! Another goal for this year is to become a better photographer

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Goal achievement…what successful business professional doesn’t want to achieve their goals?  None that I know of, yet things get in the way – barriers/obstacles that we call “life” sometimes do make it more difficult. 

The reality is, that sometimes the biggest barrier is us – our commitment falters and our follow through fails!  (In fact, I was going to title this post Commitment and Follow-through, but felt that most of you wouldn’t want to read it!)

A recent story:  Two months ago I re-affirmed my commitment to eating better and exercising regularly.  I have been dealing with a separated AC joint in my shoulder since a bad fall in 2007 and have easily found one excuse after another to do NOTHING instead of adjusting the type of exercise I could be doing.  Guess what?  Weight has crept on and my stamina was down.  With a trip to NYC this weekend, I am afraid I will be embarrassed by not finishing the climb to the top of the crown of the Statue of Liberty! 

So two month’s ago I took charge:  First, I made the commitment, then wrote it down as a realistic goal (I exercise 4 x a week for at least 30 minutes.) and next I moved to the follow-through by tracking my activity and progress.

In the first two weeks I focused on power walking…and within days felt the shin splints, so barrier one.  I figured that I could avoid that by using my pool – and that has worked VERY well.  I have been  diligent about making sure I was in that pool with my modified swim routine. My 13 year old daughter has taken it upon herself to check on my progress, and sometimes is at the edge of the pool keeping count for me!

I have found that I have built my stamina and increased my laps over the weeks.  Not bad!  Six weeks into it and I thought…”Okay, I’ve built the habit, mission accomplished.” 

Wrong!  It is really easy to be knocked off this path.  And this past weekend reminded me that new habits can become old habits quickly!  With lots of work and personal commitments, I hadn’t had time to get in my swim these last days.  Saturday night I was feeling the lack of my follow through and promised that I would get in for a last outdoor swim on Sunday (fall is on its’ way to Wisconsin). 

It looked like a beautiful day and my husband turned on the heater.  But after a very LONG Brewer’s game (we were invited to the Suites with a friend), I made excuses. When I got home and the temps had dropped into the 60s, the threat of rain was in the air, and my daughter backed out of a last-season swim, I walked away from the pool instead of getting in, it was so cold outside! 

Suddenly, I thought “What am I doing? I feel terrible that I haven’t done this and if I leave, I am another day behind”  I quickly turned and ran and jumped in…the water was 20 degrees warmer than the air and it felt wonderful! 

 But the obstacle wasn’t over yet…As I swam my laps, my mind was constantly “negotiating” with how many laps I should really do because the mosquitoes were out, it was rather dark and I could see lightning in the distance…but I just kept at it…and after a brief stop when my daughter yelled out the door to make sure I was really in the water and alive, I finished.  Then I did TWO more laps! 

I felt great!!!!  I slept great.  Follow through and commitment to our goals will do that.  The energy wasted on excuses, guilt, avoidance are usually more than the energy spent getting what needs to be done, done!

My tips for reaching your goals?

1. Set a realistic goal - include the what, when, where and NOW (write it as if you were already “there”.)
2. Commit to it – verbally and in writing. 
3. Identify your real reward for achieving the goal (climbing the stairs in NYC without passing out is mine.)
4. Share with a stakeholder - who knew my 13 year old would be so supportive?
5. Take action!
6. Don’t ignore the barriers that pop up, acknowledge them and work through them!
7. Celebrate your progress – don’t just wait for thee final end result. Many people need encouragement along the way.
8. Find yourself off track?  Review your goal. Renew your commitment. Revise the goal if necessary. 

My reward, climbing to the crown!

How’s that sound?  It’s Monday and the perfect day to look at what you have to do this week.  Not just the “To Dos’ – the REAL actions that are tied into your goals.  Pull out your goals, renew your commitment and identify at least ONE action you can take to progress toward achieving that goal.  Then follow through and DO it!

What do you think?  Does this work?  What ideas would you add to the list? 

——————————

If one of your To Dos, is becoming more proficient at prospecting, I have an easy action for you this week!  

Over at Top Sales Experts, the most significant sales related online community in the world, five of the world’s top sales gurus gather together every month to present timely, relevant, and specific advice, all in one 60-minute highly interactive online-show.

Each TSE Roundtable addresses issues being faced by sales professionals everywhere, as we come out of the severest economic downturn ever.  This month:

OR Why not consider becoming a TSE VIP Member? Via me, membership costs just $25 per year and you get to listen to this and every other Roundtable for FREE – plus so much more Take the VIP Tour Today

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What a way to start our week in sales as this morning’s headlines continue to paint a grim financial picture for the global economy! We don’t have to let the economy dictate OUR success though. Following are tips that will help you make the most out of the next 90 days. The actions you take now are the ones that will set you up for a better 2009.

The foundation of success in ANY economy is having clear goals. A former post gives a simple process for the #1 tip of goal setting. And once you know where you want to go, following are 10 additional tips that you can put into action:

1. Overhaul your value proposition. Think beyond the WHAT of your specific product and service to the value you offer to THIS person, company, situation?
2. Prepare strategically. Research industry trends, use Google alerts to know what is going on with THIS person, company, situation.
3. Maximize every sales contact. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Not only with research on what is going on with them, prepare for the WIIFT. Using a focus on What’s in it for THEM and following a process within the discussion to connect with the person, ask awesome questions, facilitate their understanding of what you do and what it means to them, work through objections and ASK for a decision.
4. Identify alternative prospect streams. Think creatively on who might use your product that currently isn’t. There are some industries that are positively impacted by a slow economy.
5. Give something of value today. Information is free. Find an article, a reprint, a cartoon that you can share and stay in front of them. Give a cup of coffee, a lottery ticket. Find something positive to contact them about.
6. Use the power of one. One more action each day can make a difference later. One more phone call, one more email, one more note sent, one more plan, one more question…you get the idea.
7. Reevaluate your prospect list. Categorize and find out where you are spending your time. Identify actions you can take to move the most likely prospects to the next step in your sales process.
8. Reintroduce yourself to customers you’ve “lost” over the years. Maybe they are ready to return if they were asked. Research what is going on with their company and then reconnect.
9. Ask for referrals. Tap into reciprocity generosity. As you provide something of value its the best time to ask “Who do you know that might benefit from what I do?” It’s amazing what contacts you might make.
10. Tap into social marketing. There may be a whole group of prospects that you can now connect with. There are many webinars and articles about how to use the many tools.

Each of these tips will have its own post in the upcoming weeks. But don’t wait! Good intentions will stall you, find something you can do today.

“You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone, which can become a watered-down, occasional hope that you’ll get to tomorrow. Intention without action is useless.” Caroline Myss

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