New Day...New Way! part 2

 

Just getting into sales or a new opportunity and not sure how to "prime the pump" and get started?  Yesterday we outlined staying excited and being bold.  Today we will continue with concepts to help you build momentum.

 

Pay for partnership and education.  I recall a sales position where I wanted to expand my product offerings but was deftly afraid of harming a client.  I approached a "top gun" and offered him 70% of my two largest cases in exchange for watching him in action.  An offer he couldn't refuse!  It helped me too!

 

To reach a new level of client, or to simply "get your feet wet" 30% of something is better than 100% of nothing.  You must be willing to pay for your development - the best network marketing companies understand this.  They structure their up lines to reflect a team of mentor/student.  They "split" commission and the mentor makes the lions share until the new "cub" builds confidence.  Done right...it works!

 

Chemistry can see you through while you build competence.  Chemistry is vital to any sales transaction that is not commodity driven.  Even the 10 year veteran that does not establish basic chemistry will not likely make the sale.  Conversely, a 10-day newbie that generates chemistry can muddle their way through to sales consummation. 

 

If you are new to sales be comforted - we all had to start somewhere!  Before you are an expert, there is a path to success.  First, establish chemistry with a prospective client.  Then take your inherent conviction, passion, and honesty and mix it with your current learning and limited experiences. Combined, they will open the avenue to offering a product solution. 

 

Chemistry is not a license to "overpromise and under-deliver" but establishes the right for you to be imperfect - which takes much of the pressure of performance away.

 

There you have what you need to get you off and on your way...be excited, be bold, make strategic partnerships and engage chemistry.  Soon enough, you will be out of the effort phase and in the skill phase of Trusted Advisor!

 

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

New Day...New Way! Part 1

 

If you are new to sales, or developing yourself to reach a new level then you have to take new and courageous action.  The first steps are always the hardest and filled with the most trepidation (fear).  Simple concepts that can help you build momentum in the desired direction.

 

Get excited about each new day!  Your mental state has a magnetic quality that draws corresponding positive or negative "metallics" into your life.  I am not saying be a Pollyanna and see an empty glass as half full - but at least recognize that you even have a glass to fill!!!  

 

Don't begin your day watching television or listening to radio shows that remind you of the perils of life.  The first things you expose yourself to each day become your mental "breakfast" - eat something that will get your day started right - a breakfast of champions.  Like your Daily Sales Crumbs!

 

Take a bold step.  Are you one of those that stick their big toe into the water to check the temperature?  Ever notice that for every inch you stick in the water goes down 5 degrees?  Timid beginnings equal timid endings!  Jump right in and your body will adjust to the temperature of its surroundings.  Dive right in each day - make the hard phone calls, structure your proposals, face the music with the manager...

 

When I was little, my mother made us eat our vegetables as a condition of getting desert.  I would kick and scream fighting my way through slimy okra and runny cabbage.  With tears in my eyes, I would make my appeal...to NO avail.  Invariably, my younger sister would be eating her cake with glee - my mom made the best Red Velvet cake! 

 

Seeing her enjoying the spoils of war (eating vegetables was a major battle for me) gave me the strength to muddle through - bite by bite.  Today...I love vegetables...yes, even Brussels sprouts! 

 

There will come a time in your development that what was once tough and arduous will simply become nutritious!

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

As I serve...I deserve!

Sales moves the world!  Bringing supply to demand, meeting needs and desires from the simple piece of candy to a child to multi-million dollar machines…what we do is an awesome honor and responsibility!  If being part of that equation were not enough, sales provides the professional with three "perks" that are seldom found in other careers. 

The first is Emancipation.  If you are called to sit at a desk from 9-5...bless you!  At a point in my career progression, I found myself in that situation for almost 3 years.  I felt stifled and limited - using only a small portion of my gifts.  Then I found sales again.  Sales brought me freedom..  The kind of freedom that scares some (lack of security) and liberates others (free at last…free at last!). 

Relish the fact that you call the shots, but be driven by the fact that you will only eat by the sweat of your brow!

The next is Gratification.  Selling ice cream brings joy...helping someone buy their home brings fulfillment...expertly tailoring a suit for a recent college graduate brings confidence.  When you help someone meet a need or desire, how does that feel?  When they tell their friends about you and give you a raving fan report>

How can you not feel great about what you do to impact people in their daily lives?  

Third is Remuneration - the payoff - literally.  In most organizations, sales professionals at the top of their game, are the most highly compensated people in the company.  We won't talk about corporate resentment, or cubicle envy (we will save that for later!) but remuneration is proportional to the value you create for the clients and the corresponding ROI to the company. 

If you are struggling…don’t despair!  Conversely, if you are successful, don’t you dare be ashamed or embarrassed…yes, that happens!  Wealth and Worthiness are not mutually exclusive and not diametrically opposed...in fact, they go hand in hand. 

Feel good about being fulfilled and satisfied with a good day's service.  

Give yourself permission to love what you do, the value you create, the value you receive...Feel powerful!

Say it three times (and mean it!!!) - As I serve...I deserve.

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

The Company You Keep!

In this "what about me" world it is easy to forget that we owe the companies we represent an ROI (Return on Investment) for the opportunity they have given. We may not agree with all that happens within our company and its impact on the products we are there to represent, but we must continue to provide that return to the best of our ability...or move on.

Recognize that you are an extension of the company and it's (which means yours too!) products - you are the representative of their brand that transcends their commercials, positioning statements, and reputation in the marketplace. You are on the frontline!

I have worked for several companies in various industries. Yes, I have had varying degrees of love for the specific products, but I could always maintain that I loved sales. I always believed that I was doing good...almost in an evangelistic way. Helping people get the things they desired, or to solve pressing problems.

What do you owe the company you work for or represent?

The first and most basic thing you owe the company is to love the profession of selling and understand its nobility and power.


Do you love sales...do you believe it to be a noble profession?

Sales is about connection - linking a buyer with seller. The best ideas would not see the light of day if it weren't for professional sellers. From the most frivolous "fad" products that bring one hour of enjoyment to the mobile heart monitors that allow Grandma to go to her grandsons' baseball games. They all require a professional seller to demonstrate and distribute to the desiring and needing population.


Focus on the positive things that your product does for your clients, your company, and the greater economy that lives and breathes though the equations of supply/demand, and people's income (and outgo) - you are the life's blood of that system! Be Proud!


Give the company you keep the best you have each day and the return on investment will be 100-fold!


Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

The Mission...then the Commission!

A stay at home mom needing extra income is afraid to sell her product. 

The recent college graduate on their first job, is scared stiff of prospecting to strangers. 

The wounded warrior facing being fired is now riddled with call reluctance and doesn't know how to proceed.. 

There are countless scenarios just like these, and I am sure you have your own of why sales seems so daunting...so hard.

 Why? 

I believe it is because most sales people have not created a Mission Statement.

Why are you here for your clients?

After looking at your life - your "what's why's and how's", we need to look at your audience - the people you want to serve. In Sales Crumbs from the Master's Table, the answer that Matt initially gave was not a bad one -

"I am here to provide high quality products, delivered with the highest level of

service, honesty, and professionalism."

That is what the client expects (buying ones anyway!).  Though in today's environment even the basics of professionalism are sorely lacking. If you raise your level of service and go the extra mile (when most won't go the first one!) you will quickly separate yourself into a rare class of sales professional.  The one that creates Raving Fans of their clients. What will help cut you from the herd of all others?

Being driven by a professional Mission Statement.

A properly crafted Mission Statement is the primary message you would want to convey to clients in a few words - your calling card above and beyond the message of your product. It is your core statement of service and the desired outcome of that service as a benefit to your clients.

What do they get when they get you?

Your mission statement becomes your "why" you do what you do...for your clients.  Your Mission Statement will propel you and sustain you in the hard times and wildly successful times.

Sales is a profession from which you never have to retire. I am fortunate enough to have several mentors and examples of sales stalwarts that are in their 70's and still going strong! They don't need the money...they are still in the throes of service - fulfilling their Mission Statement.

As long as your mission is still viable, you can still be valuable - long into your "golden years".  How many professions can you say that about? The only other one that comes to mind is golf! I am dreaming of the day when my age and score meet (probably about 85!)

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Needing Hope...Facing Doubt

"Hope springs eternal" - Alexander Pope.


As human beings, when faced with apparently insurmountable odds or difficult conditions, we are engrafted with an indelible seed of hope. Hope is earnest expectation... a willingness to be excited about the future. "Hope deferred (put off) makes the heart sick, but desire (hope) when it comes is a tree of life" - Proverbs 13:12


Hope and Doubt. For many, they are conjoined twins. Our perspective determines how far apart they are born - and which one comes first! Hope comes as we see others succeed, as we hear an inspirational word, as we have an epiphany about our products and how to market them. As we read our daily Sales Crumbs!


Then comes doubt. In sales, it is usually a form of self-doubt manifesting as an external problem - these leads are bad, my product is priced too high, or my competition has a better product. Self-doubt is normal but you only have two options to deal with it...fall back or push forward!


That is the reason you have to create a BIG wish list of the "what's" that you want in life and then create compelling "why's" to make them more than just a wish. The emotional "why's" you establish will get you over the hump of fear, procrastination and any other form of doubt that manifests. "Why" provides the spurs you need in your side to press forward into a full gallop!


Once the "what's" and "why's" have been established you need a plan...a "how". Don't worry if you have not developed full comprehensive plans as yet. "How" will emerge as you move in hope and faithfulness...making the calls, working up the proposals, offering your solutions.


If you work for a company that offered training, you have received the core elements of how to be successful. As you immerse yourself in that template, you will be guided to all the additional elements you need to achieve your goals.  If you are on your own, seeking answers will always guide your path - your job is to keep moving forward in hope...killing doubt!


Have you made your list of the things you desire? Have your convinced yourself of "why" you must and will have them?  Are you working on your "how"?  If not...why not?  Make 2014 The Year!

I know you can do it!

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Golden Handcuffs...Aren't!

In Sales Crumb From the Master's Table, LeRoy asks Matt, "Why are you here?" Matt responds as many of us might....money. We all need money. What you do for that money is the key. Many people are using their "developed gifts" to work in a job they hate. They do this as a result of having a "make money now, get fulfillment later" mentality. They become imprisoned.

Can you relate?

It takes 5 - 10 years to recognize you have been shackled by materialism at the price of purpose. Then it takes 20 years to escape the "golden handcuffs" - if you escape at all.

What do you want out of life?
When you make goals for your life they have to encompass more than just the materialistic elements - that is how golden handcuffs get applied - don't fall for it - it is a trap! If that is all you do, you will take the first opportunity that will pay for the toys - likely a job you will eventually hate. 

True life transformational goals should be balanced in the 5 core areas of life - Mental, Spiritual, Physical, Social...and yes, Financial. When you build the proper foundation from these elements, all the decisions you make about your life (and career) will be predicated on holistic success - not just the narrow view of "the perks".

If sales is your true calling then commit to taking your mind off of money and focusing on a higher purpose of service. If you are committed to this profession, then for a moment take your mind off of today and think about tomorrow. Make goals and dream big and be prepared to pay the
price of commitment and service.

It can happen and you can have it all without the golden handcuffs!

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!