Thursday, November 29, 2007

Holiday Shopping Secret...

The day after Thanksgiving and the mall is full...you can't find a parking spot. People are scouring the paper for deals...and on-line vendors are working hard to capture their share of shoppers as well. Why all this frenzy and what lessons can we learn.

Look past the sales, past the advertisements, past all the hoopla and understand the fundamentals that could transform you career in sales.

The secret: People love to buy - most hate to be sold!

Yea...O.K. I've heard that so what's the big deal?

Think about your approach to your potential customers and ask yourself this question - am I meeting their desire to buy? There are only five true buying motives and all are based on an emotional response. There's a key here - emotional response.

The secret of holiday shopping is that sellers tap into the strong emotion of the holidays to garner substantial sales. Find the emotional trigger in your product and structure your approach to tap into that emotion and you'll create customers who want to buy.

Summary key points:

  • Find the emotional benefit of your product
  • Structure your prospecting to emphasize the emotional benefit the customer might satisfy
  • Allow the customer the time to want to buy
Enjoy the holidays and observe those companies that have Soaring Sales Success and you'll see companies that know how to tap into the emotion of buying.

Happy Sales To You!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Self Management - Agree?

Eloise Owens, at our fourth quarter meeting, asked this question: What is the single most important factor in Sales Success?

We heard a variety of answers from our group: commitment, persistence, caring, loving our families, prospecting, etc. The answers were great, but the one answer was missing. The answer: Self-Management!

When Elosie first shared this with me, I was amazed that after all the years in sales management, the obvious answer that stared me in the face daily I missed. But, it was clear that she was 100% right!

There are many people who have been highly successful that I've had the privilege to work with over the years. In review, in every case, the highly successful manage themselves. In fact, they resist micro-management and don't need it - cause they are master self-managers.

Perhaps, we should take a moment and reflect on what we've done this year - 2007 - and ask ourselves if we have been true masters of self-management. If we have, then my guess is, as you approach the end of the calendar year, you'll have had a great year. If the year is less than you expected - look in the mirror and focus your attention for the remainder of the year moving into 2008 on effective Self-Management. It will make the difference!

What do you think about the program we just experienced? Share comments on this blog about folks you know who have mastered self-management.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Friends, Family and Fellowship - Our Team!

We've just finished our fourth quarter meeting and I must admit I was thrilled with the energy around our Sales team family. Your children and grandchildren were precious. I was fortunate to capture some on video and hope that a compiliation of that video footage will turn out well.

We have many reasons to be thankful and many reasons to do what we do, but tonight my heart was warmed by the love and support that was shown from you and your family. So, knowing that, for many the reason we make the sacrifices we make are to provide love and support for our family - let me commit to you the support to make your sales and business success real.

Soaring Sales Success isn't just a slogan. Rather, my goal for this next year is to help you in your career have the best 2008 ever. Enjoying what you do and earning more are two tangible and intangible ways I can help. Hopefully, you'll use this forum to encourage each other and together make our sales family stronger and better.

So as I wind up writing these first posts for this Thanksgiving weekend...be safe...and know that together we can achieve great things.

Here's to Soaring Sales Success!

Soaring Sales Success - How To Achieve Greatness

Welcome to the beginning of a new year! This is not only a new year for our sales team, but it could be a new year in our thoughts about sales and our thoughts about our successes.

So what's the "blog" thing about? Well to put it quite simply, it's a way to move us out of the dark ages of communication and to create a sales community that is interactive - a sales team that moves far beyond what we think we can do and takes us, through our collective effort, to a new level of personal and professional performance.

On a regular basis (daily in most cases), you will see postings from either myself as moderator or our Area Sales Execs...Doug, Scott or Andy. Together we will keep you informed, keep you on track and share in our overall successes. But this isn't about us...no...it's really about you - our professional team and the outstanding accomplishments that you bring to our customers, our company and share from yourselves.

From time to time we'll share video posts, much like the ones that you see to your right of this post. In this case, I selected some of the posts that were recently posted on "YouTube" from the Chamber of Commerce meeting that Laurel Land Fort Worth participated in. Most of the best ideas that become part of this meeting place will come from our best sources - YOU!

Likewise, to the right on this page you'll see places where you can participate in sales related polls. You're the ones out in the field selling...so if we need information, you'll be our best source. Feel free to vote. We will appreciate your input!

Each week we'll have a Sales Thougth for you to consider...to start with I've posted a thought from Anthony Parinello. Where will the thoughts come from? Sales leaders in our industry and around the country will be featured in this area. These should be thought provoking. Cause here's a reality check - if you want to be a top performer and achieve sales greatness - you have to think and act great...so what better way for us to help than to provide great SALES THOUGHTS!

Lastly, this is a forum. We want your comments. If you feel that you have something to add, by all means do so. There are some rules however: (1) don't post the name of customers or clients (any such posts will not be approved); (2) keep your comments to the topic at hand. One of the greatest benefits to a medium such as this is the ability to share ideas (especially those that you find work for you); and (3) respect the privacy of our company. We will not discuss issues that violate our company's Code of Business Conduct.

This forum is a general sales forum and as such will become a useful tool for us to grow as sales professionals. The best way for us to achieve Soaring Sales Success if to do what must be done, when it must be done - everyday!

Share your thoughts... We look forward to your input!