In this Edition
1. Three Golden Rules for Sales Success
2. Eleven ways To Make This Year Your Best Ever (back by popular request)
3. Inspirational Quotes
4. Recommended Reading
Three Golden Rules for Sales Success
Success in the world of sales will be determined by how much confidence you have in your ability and in yourself, by the courage you display in your interactions with each new contact, and the discipline you invest in your sales process, follow-up, networking, and prospecting.
Every successful sales person I have met (and I can talk from my own success as well as what I have learned from others) has had to have the courage to risk rejection, failure, criticism and the other games that go with the territory. Every successful sales person I have met has been meticulous in their follow up, sending of the thank you letters, keeping in touch with people, building new relationships at every opportunity, being patient and fostering old relationships. Every successful sales person I have met has had the courage and discipline to make that “one-more” telephone call even at the risk of it spoiling their day. Every successful sales person I have met has had the courage to ask for the order, contract or sale when they have answered all the prospect’s questions. Every successful sales person I have met has been a great listener. They know that the interaction is not so about what they have to say, it is more about truly listening to the needs of the client, showing that you care, asking great questions, and talking about the clients challenges, objectives and needs… then finding solutions to their problems. They know that people only care about what is important to them, not what is important to you.
I don’t believe there is any science, philosophy or process to selling, despite the many books that have been written on it. People try to analyze it to much. When you get right down to it, sales is a person-to-person business, always has been always will be. Sales is about building trust and relationships.
Many sales people fail by spending too much of their time trying to convince people who do not want to buy from them to do so, instead of spending their valuable time focusing on people who are advocates, who like them and what they have to offer. Your time is valuable, spend it productively, use good judgment as to who you are going to spend your valuable time with. Realize that not everybody is going to like you and what you have to offer, and you know what, that is okay. Know who is wasting your time, and let them go. Make new friends, there are plenty out there.
There is no denying that sales is a rollercoaster. Every day can bring excitement and rewards but every day can also bring failure, rejection, disappointment and lots of games and BS. If you don’t have the confidence in yourself to deal with this rollercoaster ride and the courage and discipline to do the things successful sales people do, then maybe sales is not the career for you.
Confidence, courage, and discipline, three golden rules for success in sales, and in life. And, of course, the right attitude. Have fun, be passionate, believe in yourself and believe in your product and service. Don’t take rejection personally, be too serious or hard on yourself, and most importantly go out to build trust and great relationships. If you keep this in mind, then you will do just fine. Happy selling!!!!
11 WAYS TO MAKE THIS YOUR BEST YEAR EVER
(classic article requested by many of you again for this year )
January – the start of a fresh new year. This is a wonderful time to take stock and reflect on the year gone by, the triumphs you achieved, the time you shared with family and friends, the good choices you made in business. But in order to grow and develop both personally and professionally, you also have to look back at and acknowledge the things that challenged you, the things that did not go so well.
There is nothing wrong with setbacks, in fact, I believe that if we don’t have obstacles to overcome along the way we won’t learn and grow. Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM, once said, “ If you want to increase your rate of success, you better be prepared to increase your rate of failure.”
We all have hopes and dreams for this New Year. The slate is wiped clean for all of us as we start afresh. Why not take a few moments in this New Year to think about your dreams and goals for 2005? In what areas do you want to grow? What is truly important to you? What challenges do you want to take on? Most of us don’t realize what we can accomplish when we unleash the hidden talents that we possess. To help you make this New Year your best ever, take a few moments to ponder these 11 suggestions:
1. CHALLENGE YOURSELF
Have a clear vision and focus of what you want to achieve and set a time frame. Challenge yourself to be the best you can be at all times. Visualize what you want to accomplish. See it in your mind. Write down your goals, have a plan of action, and never doubt you will be successful.
2. FIND THE LOVE FACTOR
Surround yourself with loving, supportive people. Stay away from the dream stealers, the people who would bring you down. Cherish the special people in your life and let them know you cherish them.
3. DEDICATE QUALITY TIME
Life is so precious; make the most of each and every day. Rise early, spend some quality time by yourself as well as with those you care about. Go for a walk, workout, read a book. Value not only the time you spend with your loved ones, but also the time you spend by yourself.
4. STRETCH YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Do at least one thing a day, which makes you feel uncomfortable. Push yourself; you will be amazed how far you can go. Remember: on the other side of fear is freedom. To remain stagnant is not to grow. To reach your full potential, you must rise above the fray and soar like an eagle.
5. BE PASSIONATE
Show passion in everything you do. Let it show in your body language, in your smile, in your voice. Let your eyes sparkle. Let the world see and hear your enthusiasm and let it feel your passion.
6. SERVE OTHERS
Be a role model and mentor for people. Volunteer in your community and help others achieve their goals. Your world will be enriched and a better place for sharing your talents and giving freely of your time. Leave a lasting legacy.
7. DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
Let go of the little things you can’t control. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Recognize that perfection isn’t always the only option. Don’t let life’s imperfections bother you. Lighten up and see the funny side of things when they go wrong, the learning in them. Be tolerant, smile…don’t waste your energies on the small stuff, you have much bigger fish to fry.
8. LIVE WITH INTEGRITY
Always be true to yourself. Take pride in whatever you do. Be proud of who you are and what you represent. Accept others with all their flaws. Show compassion and goodwill to your fellow human beings. Be dignified. Lead a life of purpose and be proud of your values.
9. SHOW GRATITUDE
Show gratitude and say thank-you to the people who have helped you along the way. Send a handwritten letter to someone who has touched you. Call up a friend or loved one and tell them how much they mean to you. Compliment a colleague or business associate on a job well done. Show people you appreciate and care about them. Acts of kindness cost nothing but mean everything.
10. CELEBRATE SUCCESS
Be proud of your achievements. Take time to recognize yourself and others for even the small successes. But also be humble and dignified, sensitive to people who are not as fortunate as you.
11. EXUDE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE
I cannot express enough the importance of having a positive attitude and believing in yourself. Yes, you can be well intentioned, you can be determined, but without a positive attitude about yourself and about life, you will not succeed. Dreams will die, goals will fade, and gloom and darkness will replace clear blue skies and sunshine in your mind and heart.
Remember, people will frequently forget what you said to them, sometimes forget what you did for them, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Make your New Year’s resolution for this year not only to have your best year ever, but also to help those you care for achieve the same goal.
Copyright 2000: Charles M. Marcus
MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES
“Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary” Steve Jobs
“The fortune is in the follow-up” Catherine Rando
“One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don’t clean it up too quickly” Andy Rooney
RECOMMENDED READING
Leaving the Mother Ship by Randall M. Craig
This a terrific book if you are looking to take control of your career. The author reviews the three fundamental career issues of the day: when to leave your job, where to go next, and finding success beyond the “mother ship”. This means being successful outside of your comfort zone. This book is very well written, it has a terrific feel to it, and it has a great title, is full of great advice. This is a resource you can keep coming back to time and time again. I highly recommend it
How to Sell Yourself by Joe Girard
This book has been out since 1979 and has been updated many times. It is, in my opinion, one of the best and most practical books on sales every written. According to his book, Joe Girard is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s number-one new car salesman for having sold 1,425 new cars in one year. That got my attention, because sales is sales no matter what you are selling. His principles, stories and words of wisdom are priceless. Learn from this master about how to be “the world’s number one” salesperson yourself.
The Bike Lesson by Stan and Jan Berenstein
A lot of you wrote to me about how much you enjoyed the review of Franklin Rides a Bike Book in my last newsletter. I guess there are a lot of parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles out there. You asked me what else I read my kids at night, so in keeping with the bicycle theme, in this book we follow the tale of Poppa Bear as he teaches is son how to ride a new bike. There is lots of wisdom in this book that goes far beyond learning to ride a bike. There are also plenty of lessons we adults can take from this children’s book.
