Quote of the Day

"You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure."

Zig Ziglar

Have you noticed that dress standards for sales people are all over the board? Depending on the industry (and the company) there are still "standards" out there, but for many sales people casual dress is the order of the day. The challenge... casual has no boundries.

TK

Number One Cause of Death Among Salespeople

What is the number one cause of death among salespeople? It's very simple... Blame.

Blaming other people, blaming their company, blaming the marketplace and finally, bringing their sales career to an end, blaming the profession of selling.

In THE moment a human being begins laying blame for their circumstances on someone or something else - the slow digression into the "victim mentality" has begun. Unfortunately it's a "slippery slope" that many people never recover from.

Take responsibility for your own failures. Missing your goals? Missing quota? Blew a large deal? Take the blame. Then and only then can you really take the credit for hitting your goals, blowing past quota and landing the big accounts.

TK

Quote of the Week

This week’s quote comes from Jeffrey Gitomer...

"Knowing what it will take to get someones business is one of the least used and most powerful techniques to getting new business. Your job is not to use this technique. Your job is to master it."

In Gitomer's work "The Little Red Book of Sales Answers" he outlines the three dumbest questions sales people ask. Once you read them, you have to agree with him... they are dumb.

Third Dumbest - "Have you ever heard of us?" If you have to ask it means that you're prospecting and not working with an established client. So why waste time and risk a "no" within the first 30 seconds.

Second Dumbest - "Can you tell me a little bit about your company?" Gitomer nails the reason behind this question being second to the most lame question when he says "This question means that you were either too lazy or too stupid to go to the Internet and find out about them." Don't risk losing credibility (in the common sense department) by asking this question. Do your home work before making a serious presentation.

The Dumbest Question in Sales - "What will it take to get your business?" This question opens the door for you to lower your price to rock bottom - the absolute lowest price your manager will let you take for your product or service.

Think about it... the prospective client isn't going to say "give me great service" or "I really want the best product in the market, is yours the best?" They are business professionals too - which means they know how to negotiate and they are going to say "right now price is everything and the lowest price is going to get my business."

Bottom line - don't ask this one.

TK

Quote of the Week

For the past few months I've been doing some industry specific training in the mortgage business on the topic of marketing.

As I've spoken to dozens of loan officers I've come to the conclusion that many of them are making a lot of promises. The same promises in fact to borrowers, real estate agents and other referral sources in attempt to get new or repeat business. Unfortunately that's a challenge for two reasons:

First, from a positioning perspective, these loan officers all sound a like, and the promises of great rates, faster turnaround time and better service don't mean anything because every other LO in the industry is saying the same thing.

Second, the majority of the promises made by all of these LO's simply don't materialize. So when a loan officer comes along later making the same promises (and supposedly the same benefits) - they remind the client of a negative experience instead of positive results. This happens over and over and over...

In fact this type of challenge happens in every industry, making promises and keeping them is the essence of this quote from Jim Rohn:

"Better understated than overstated. Let people be surprised that it was more than you promised and easier than you said."

In fact, making small promises with a prospect, new client or established client and keeping those promises is the best way to build solid relationships. Promise you'll send something by a certain time - do it. Promise you'll return a call at a certain time - do it.

I'm convinced that if you just did what you say you'll do with prospects and clients, that they'll forgive you for almost any of the other major mistakes that can be made in a sales transaction and account relationship.

Need to build some value in one of your relationships? Make some promises - and keep them.

TK

Quote of the Week

In his book "The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success" Brian Tracy details The Law of Sequentiality.

This law says that time management enables you to control the sequences of events in your life. Brian says that a positive and confident attitude increases your energy, creativity and your ability to obtain greater results! Sound good?

Here's the quote of the week...

"A positive mental attitude is rooted in your feeling that you have a 'sense of control' over your life. This sense of control is the key issue in peak performance." Brian Tracy

I feel this way and have at times subverted my own success by being out of balance. I have also watched dozens of sales professionals squander their opportunity and their income because they had lost control of their lives and that chaos began to affect their work.

What's the best way to get control of your life? Start planning.

Plan what you want for your life by beginning the goal setting process. Plan your year, then plan your month, then your week and finally plan your day before you ever start it.

By managing your time consistently you'll begin managing your life - both at work and at play.

TK