by Admin | Feb 4, 2013 | Goal Setting and Achievement, Prospecting
Watching the Super Bowl game with a houseful of football fans I always look at different things than just the plays. I really don’t get football, but it seems as if the winning athletes are certainly ‘suited up’ and ready to give it 100%. I know this is the game of the year, and it is especially interesting to see 2 brothers coaching against each other – imagine how conflicted you might be to annihilate your opponent when you have to sit down over Sunday dinner next weekend with them. Yet, having sons I also see how competitive they are. But this post isn’t about sibling rivalry. What I find notable about this game is how much the Ravens really want this. They are not approaching this game with a ‘let’s play it safe’ mindset. Even when they get knocked down they are struggling to get back up and back in the end zone. I don’t know the rules, but it seems like each individual is out there thinking of when they get the ball how will they get it down the field. They want it and are willing to fight to make it happen for them. When the blackout occurred that stopped the game for more than half an hour you saw the players continue to stretch and keep loose to remain on top. Even when the 49ers did their darndest to take it back, the Ravens fought to keep the win. I’m thinking about the last week I experienced in coaching my clients – and in networking with other professionals. It seems like we are happy to...
by Admin | Jun 29, 2012 | Goal Setting and Achievement, Prospecting, Selling
There has got to be a pony… The Supreme Court decision in late June 2012 has been a source of speculation for many sales professionals I have encountered over the past few weeks as well as a major contributor to uncertain market direction and the focus of many business owners. I work with professionals from many industries who are impacted by this decision at one level or another, either as a small employer, insurance agent who just had his market focus decimated, or legal professional who will be hired to make sense of it all. The common theme from each one of these is…Now what do we do? This brings to mind a story that my grandmother shared with me – and now I would like to share it with you. Twin baby girls were born to a very poor family. The parents recognized they couldn’t have any hopes of raising both babies and chose to give one away to a wealthy family in a nearby town who had desperately wanted children for many years. Both girls were raised in loving homes. We dropped in for a visit when both girls were 8 years old. The little girl raised by wealthy parents was led into a room full of toys, books and games. She dove into the pile and began digging frantically. She began sobbing and crying because she couldn’t find the ball to play with in pink only blue. The second little girl was taken to a filthy stable and left alone. We come back a couple of hours later and find her digging into a huge pile of...
by Admin | Jan 25, 2012 | Goal Setting and Achievement, Prospecting, Selling
Nike may have made a billion dollars on that phrase, but in sales you can make a jillion (as my 9 year old would say) by, yes, just doing it! So many times, though, we don”t just do it. How often do you find yourself overthinking an issue rather than just pushing for a next steps? Example: John is on a sales call and his prospect has just greeted him with the news that the account that was potentially a ‘deer’ for him (could feed him for a month) was about to turn into a ‘bear’ (he can eat for the winter). Pretend you’re John, do you… Say ‘That’s fantastic, what has changed internally?’ and proceed on with the initial agenda for the call which was gathering the scope of work? Get flustered and go for the close? Start overthinking and underselling – meaning you are worried about saying or doing the wrong thing so you become hesitant about asking tough questions to flesh out what is truly in this opportunity? Professional athletes train for hours and hours each week so that when they are in the moment and the pressure is on their body and brain know what to do. These are like autopilot settings for them. They have conditioned the response to happen to the point that the actual situation is almost irrelevant. How is this any less critical than your success in sales? Sales is about process, not online casino personality. Malcolm Gladwell talks about what defines an ‘expert’ in Outliers (awesome book by the way, highly recommended). In his definition, it’s not someone who is...
by Admin | Jan 18, 2012 | Goal Setting and Achievement, Prospecting
In coaching sales people I have found many similarities to raising children. Not that sales people are childish at all, but we tend to be an emotional and reactive lot. Take Ben as an example. He knows that he needs to book 2 appointments every day to reach his sales goals, but setting appointments is not his most fun thing to do in his day. He’d rather research companies to call, read his trade journals, call his buddies to network (of course) and fill in the blank with any other activity possible to put off doing what he knows he should be doing: scheduling appointments. We’re all guilty of this, even my hyper-productive sales people. Even if our prospecting effort is solid, taking the time to fill in our contact database with solid leads or our calendars with appointments is just not fun. That’s work that we would rather not do – even if it brings us that much closer to our sales goals. I know I would rather have fun – and I know most of my clients would too. It’s our natural childlike instincts that are resisting our adult ones. But who’s running the show? Is your inner child in control, or does your adult stay in command? If you’re honest, you probably will admit to the child allowing procrastination to creep in. Here’s how to corral your inner 9 year old. Ask yourself a key question. Stop what you are doing right now (although you do need to keep reading for a bit!). Ask yourself: “Is what I’m doing right now taking me closer to or...
by Admin | Jan 16, 2012 | Goal Setting and Achievement, Prospecting
Who will your best client be in 2012? Do you know what they look like? How big they are? What market they are in? What stage of growth or contraction are they in? Which of your products and services will they want or need to buy? What value will you provide to them? What positive impact will you have on their company”s bottom line? Why am I asking all these questions? In sales aren”t you at the mercy of fate with who you will work with? Not really. In the past 12 years I have spent coaching and training sales people, some successful, some not so much – the common thread with the intentionally successful producers is their determination and planning of their market early in their sales career. That”s not to say happy accidents don”t happen in your prospecting effort, after all we know that Luck is merely preparation meeting opportunity as quoted by some really smart guy I can”t remember the name of right now. (If you know it, please reply). And then there”s “Hard work is it”s own reward” and countless other quotes that we can all recite… The point is that if you get sick and tired of taking what life hands you, you can decide instead to act with purpose in your prospecting effort. The best place to start? Determine who will be your best client this year. But…How? I”m glad you asked! Here are the 3 steps you can take right now for intentional success in your prospecting effort. Look at who your best clients were last year. Not just the biggest and...
