In less than a week – YOUR success is the focus of 35 sales and marketing experts from around the world. We’ve joined together, under the planning and organization of Jonathan Farrington at Top Sales World – to deliver an impactful series of sales and marketing webinars.  The best thing? The proceeds of the $5 donations will go to the Red Cross efforts for the Japan disaster relief.

The donation is one fantastic reason to begin to consider this…but that won’t be why you participate.  Look at the topics and presenters!  No matter where you are in your sales career or in your success level – there is SOME thing during this week that will benefit you immediately.  Or maybe there are MANY topics for you – and your sales team.

Click here for the full listing.  35 different topics – 7 each afternoon.  And they are ONLY 30 minutes long. We’ve been challenged to put our ‘best’ into a targeted 30 minutes so you gain the most in the least amount of time.

My presentation on Tuesday, May 10th is geared to those in a position of influencing a sales team. Maybe you are a business owner, or maybe  you lead a sales team personally - I will share with you how to  Build the Success of Your Sales Team with 3 Simple Steps to Improve Skill and Will. You won’t want to miss it.

If you are really ready for more success – select at least 3-5 of the topics during the week – make it one a day – or all 5 in one day. It will be hard to choose when you look at what is available.

I wish you the best of success today (and everyday)! 

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If you have 30 minutes and $5 – you can make a difference … for yourself and for the disaster relief efforts in Japan. 

Top Sales World has put together 35 sales and marketing experts for a week-long SUCCESS Conference!  Select your topics and for $5 each you will receive 30 minutes of incredible information and tips.  Look at who is delivering – we have Linda Richardson, Kendra Lee, Dave Brock, Dan Waldshmidt and more!  And for $5 each topic – which is being donated to the Red Cross – you win!

I am part of the group on Day Two – May 10th.  Below is my ‘team’ for Tuesday – click here to view ALL the details and the 35 topics that can help YOU be more successful immediately.

Selling Is At An Inflection Point – How Can You Succeed From Here On In? 
Presented at: 12:00 – 12:30 EASTERN
by Dave Brock
CEO of Partners in EXCELLENCE
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=8
 
Build the Success of Your Sales Team with 3 Simple Steps to Improve Skill and Will
Presented at: 12:45 – 1:15 EASTERN
by Nancy Bleeke
President of Sales Pro Insider
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=10
 
Winning sales in 2011: How to arm today’s BtoB sales force with the tools and skills to compete- and win 
Presented at: 1:30 – 2:00 EASTERN
by Michael C. Bird
Chief Revenue Officer at NetProspex
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=22
 
Social Media Strategies for Lead Generation Success
Presented at: 2:15 – 2:45 EASTERN
by Kendra Lee
CEO of the KLA Group
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=11
 
14 Edgy Ways to Break All the Sales Rules and Be Madly Successful Doing It 
Presented at: 3:00 – 3:30 EASTERN
by Dan Waldschmidt
Co-Founder of IntroMojo
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=12
 
Success Tactics to Generate Red-Hot Prospects 
Presented at: 3:45 – 4:15 EASTERN
by Joanne Black
Best Selling Author of “No More Cold Calling”
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=13
 
Improve Your Cold Calling Success 700% 
Presented at: 4:30 – 5:00 EASTERN
by Nigel Edelshain
CEO of Sales 2.0 (LLC).
http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/sessionDetails.php?c_session_id=14

Select the topic that will help YOU be successful and register. Make sure you check out Day 1, 3, 4 and 5 – so many topics to choose from!

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Japan’s disaster may seem long ago to many of you. For those in the US, the hundreds of tornados and deaths in the last week have replaced the news of Japan.

But sales and marketing experts around the world are giving back to japan!  The give back begins the week of Monday, May 9 through Friday, the 13th.  During those five days you’ll have the opportunity to attend up to 35 incredible webinar sessions—7 every single day—presented by 35 of the top sales minds in the world. You pick your topics – for just a $5 donation for each topic – which is a donation to the RedCross!

Each session will be a quick, but highly targeted, 30 minutes of tips and information.

Who are some of these presenters?  Well, there’s Dave Kurlan, Jill Konrath , Kelley Robertson, Colleen Francis, Linda Richardson, Paul McCord, myself, and manyothers.  Topics covered will range from Sales 101 Isn’t Enough: Advanced Selling Capabilities For Outselling Your Competition to 7 Habits of Highly Effective (Social) Salespeople to Successfully Profiting from the New Buying Cycle to my session on Build a Successful Business on Referrals by Knowing Who Your Client Knows and, of course, many, many more.

You can see the whole list of sessions HERE

And here’s even better news—when you attend any given session you’ll be helping the Red Cross in their mission in Japan.

Jonathan Farrington, the host of the conference says,

Just four weeks after the Magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and a tsunami which delivered 46ft waves, we learn that the death toll is likely to top 25.000, and recovery is going to take not years, but possibly decades, maybe even a generation, at a cost of at least $250 billion.

This is our opportunity to show that the sales community – so often derided for being shallow and materialistic, amongst other things – actually has a very big heart.

We plan to charge just $5 registration fee per presentation, and we are limited to 1000 guests per session, so places will be allocated on a “first come – first served” basis.

Can I count on your support? Together we can make a worthwhile *contribution to the people of Japan.

That’s right, it only costs $5 to attend any one session and all proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross specifically for Japan.  At the end of each session you’ll be given an opportunity to donate an additional $1, $5, or $10 if you so wish.

Here is a tremendous opportunity to contribute to the efforts in Japan and get great training at the same time. 

What a great deal!!!

If you are a leader – who needs to engage and equip your sales team this year (and beyond) I encourage you to seriously consider attending my session Tuesday, May 10 at 12:45 Eastern time as I’ll sharing 3 Tips to Build the Skill and Will of Your Sales Team.  Here is the direct registration page for my session.

Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to help yourself improve your sales while helping those who are in desperate need of help.

View the entire list of topics and presenters – seriously, you will find MANY that will be ‘just’ what YOU need.

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Make eye contact is an the age-old communication tip. And it is important. Using your eyes to focus on the other person, ‘see’ what they are saying and more importantly, feeling, contributes to effective communication.

But…what if you aren’t seeing them? Then what?  Nearly all the clients I am working with rarely or NEVER ‘see’ their prospects or customers. The communication is by telephone (including Skype) and written (email, IM, even ‘snail’ mail).  So if eye contact is that important, how much communication is lost when we don’t see each other?

Some history:  For decades authors have shared Dr. Mehrabian’s stats on communication effectiveness:  58% is based on body language (including eye contact), 35% on tone of voice and 7% the actual words we use.  Overgeneralizing his research has caused much debate in the research community on its applicability to all communication situations.  I think whether the actual percentages are accurate or not – it makes the point…COMMUNICATION is complex!

We can also deduct from the tone of his research that without ‘seeing’ our prospects and customers, we can miscommunicate easily because body language is one key aspect to clear and accurate messaging!  That is why I propose that we should be more concerned with ear contact than ever before.

Yes, some may call it listening…I like ear contact as the name of this skill and concept. Why?  Listening is good – ear contact adds more to the nuance of effective listening.  We are always in CONTACT with the other party…we aren’t just waiting to talk – we are connecting to their words, intent, emotion and therefore their ‘hot buttons’ that can make or break our sales!

The definition of contact (from dictionary.com) is “immediate proximity or contact.”  Isn’t that what is important in every communication we have?  That we need to be immediately ‘near’ to the person, their problems, opportunity, wants and needs?

Tips for effective ear contact:

1. Listening without distractions. Stop the multi-tasking!
2. Taking notes on key points.
3. Summarizing your understanding to verify what you heard is what they wanted you to know.
4. Paying attention to the intent and emotion that comes with their words…and their pauses, hesitations and background noise.

Making good ear contact allows you to ‘hear’ opportunity … that you can then translate into sales.

What do you think? What connotation does EAR CONTACT have for you?

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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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Once a week we have a Smörgåsbord night for dinner at my house.  (Somepeople might call this leftover night – we don’t.)  It’s the time when we gather all our little tidbits of this and that food and have a FEAST!  Well, today is a sales Smörgåsbord.  Lots of little tidbits from around the world of sales for you. 

1. Jonathan Farrington is offering YOU a free seat in his February 3rd Top Sales Expert Masterclass:  How to Become a Sales Superstar in 2010.  Click here for free registration.
2. Jill Konrath continues her philanthropy with Get Back to Work Faster – visit the site for a free book, free resources and webinars.  Share this with those who need to…get back to work!
3. SmartSelling Tools is offering a written tool – a 100 page eBook titled Increase Sales Productivity in 2010: Sales Tools and the Path to Productivity Gains - full of great tools that can help you be more productive this year.  Click  here.
4. Free eBook from Top Sales Experts with lots of great articles and advice.  Great reads to have with you so that when you are waiting for an appointment, you can make great use of your time.  Click here for the ebook.
5. Sharpenz.com offers a free ready-to-go sales training kit. the kit is for a 30 minute ‘live’ training with a group.  If you aren’t a sales leader, get your free copy and share it with your manager – you’ll score brownie points and get a productive ‘boost’ for your skills and energy!  
6. And last, but not the least of this fabulous Smörgåsbord, Sales Pro Insider, Inc.  (that’s me!) is giving the new eBook Timely Tips to Achieve Your Goals is being downlaoded by dozens of sales pros each day!  Get your copy by signing up for the Timely Tips ezine – sent every 3 weeks and full of little tips and ideas to help you get the most out of your day and contacts.

I hope you’ll find plenty to feast on with today’s sales Smörgåsbord. 

If you have any ‘treats’ to add – leave a comment!

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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

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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”.

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Some things in life are  FREE!  If finding qualified leads is important to your success, this post is for YOU!

Andrea Sittig-Rolf, Sittig Inc., created a Professional Leads Network to help salespeople get access to unlimited qualified leads…FREE!

The tool uses social media sites in a very efficient way.  She is also offering free workshops this week for you to learn how to use this tool. 

I have just sign up and will post about my experiences in a few weeks.  It might help or it might be another way to divert my time and energy. I’m hopeful it is a time saver!

If you do sign up and use it – comment back here and let the rest of us know how you plan to use the tool/information.

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