Category Archives: Dignity

Bringing a dash of dignity to selling

Creativity, Dignity, Goals, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Purpose, Welcome, Winning, Wisdom

My Incredible Theme for 2013

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Incredible 2013

An Incredible 2013

The amazing Rochelle Moulton (www.consultingchick.com) turned me on to a SUPER-fun planning workbook and calendar for 2013. I have already gotten started and I am loving it. You can view it at: http://bit.ly/Leonie2013.

The most powerful question yet

As I work through my plan, Leonie has asked me to pick one word that will be the theme for 2013.

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

I have been chewing and chewing on this one. If there were one word that would focus me on my next steps, what would it be.

On my walk in the woods with my puppies today, I thought….”I’ve got it! The word is DISCIPLINE! THAT is what I am going to need to take my business to the next level. I will need new habits, new ways of doing things, new structures in place to suppport all the goodness!”

My next thought was:

“UGH! Discipline!”

This theme was NOT going to do the trick. It would not take me through the planning workbook, nevermind all of 2013. Still, there was something in there. Something I KNOW would make the difference.

And then it came to me like a Lightbulb coming on!

If I were bringing discipline to all my new habits and practices and ways of doing business and relationships, I would be displaying…

HONOR

Honor for my loved ones.

Honor for my clients.

Honor for my puppies.

Honor for my commitments.

Honor for my financial health.

Honor for the privilege it is to be alive.

Honor for my body.

Honor for YOU!

I have discovered MY theme. What is yours?

I invite you – as you create your Incredible 2013. What will your theme be? What word will you use to focus you on what is next and most delightfully important.

Love your 2013 UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Dignity, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Uncategorized, Winning

Should We Re-audition? The Prom Date Dilemma

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The Prom Dilemma
The Prom Dilemma

Three years ago, I lost a GIANT deal to a competitor. It was a bummer.

One year later, they came back-a-callin’. I was elated. I won the business this time.

My company went to work. Hard work. As soon as this lovely GIANT client signed on, one of their top executives decided they wish they’d stayed with the old supplier (not us).  This executive has never seen our stuff (or the other supplier’s either).

We have done an AWESOME job for this client in the last year-and-a-half. We have exceeded ALL of their very aggressive goals. We have bent over backwards for them. We have even lost money on them, to make sure they are happy and to prove that we are the AWESOME-est!

Now, this GIANT company is going into a re-evaluation process and want us to participate in a long drawn out Re-Audition. Against the old competitor.

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

Sound like your prom nightmare?

Hottest boy in school is deciding between you and the other girl to ask to prom. He asks the other girl, but they start fighting and generally not getting along. So, they break up and he comes calling on YOU!

You are elated. You won! You do everything for this guy that you can imagine to make him delighted with his pick. But, the old girlfriend is still hanging around and you can’t seem to shake her.

So, a week before the prom, he decides to pit the two of you against each other in a contest to see who is the best bet.

You REALLY like this guy. What do you do?

Do you play?

I’m thinking NO!

Look, this company knows what we do, how we do it, and that we are AWESOME. We have auditioned already.

It’s time to say “Good-BYE to you!”

HONOR your employees, their Hard Work, and your Product

Don’t keep fighting and fighting. Let your COMPETITION try to make them happy.

Prom dilemma solved!

Go with the guy who gets it! Hard to do? Sure. Do it anyway.

Love your value UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Authenticity, Creativity, Dignity, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Presentation, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Uncategorized, Winning

Own Up!

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Ever had that one client, that one boss, that one family member that EVERYTHING you do with them doesn’t work? No matter what they need, you screw it up?

I had a presentation with THAT customer today! 

Today I had a presentation in the last stages of a competitive bid for an important contract.

EVERYBODY was on the phone.

The Executives, the decision-makers, the business unit people, the purchasers. EVERYBODY.

This presentation went the way all of my other interactions have gone with this customer. Wild technical difficulties to start. Fumbling my words. Stilted maneuvering through the product I was demonstrating. It’s been like this since the beginning…

A fun history

It’s been a train wreck the whole way through.Own Up to Your Train Wrecks

My first meeting with them I had to cancel because I was driving to see them mid-winter and I couldn’t get out of my neighborhood, the roads were so bad.

In my first presentation with them, they were ALL ice cold. I could not get meaningful eye contact with any of them.

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

Submitting my proposal – well, that went OK.

The technical call with my Senior Vice President of Product Development and their whole team – I was a FULL eleven minutes late to the call (unprecedented).

This last presentation – just BARELY ran at all and BARELY got it done in the time allotted.

OY! 

I was disenheartened after this call. It was my last opportunity to make a good impression. But, here’s the thing. We really do have a GREAT solution for what this customer needs.

What’s a girl to do?

My first inclination was to let it ride

I had done what I had done. It was over. RIGHT?

Then, the scary move

I wrote to the icy-est (is that a word?) business analyst. I wrote (paraphrase):

“Have you ever had that ONE client, that ONE boss, that ONE family member that you could never get it quite right with?

“For some odd reason your company seems to be that for me. I apologize for the technical difficulties I put you through. My presentation was stilted and I hope I didn’t put everyone to sleep. In nine years, I have never had this experience of everything going wrong. I hope that people can let the great products and services shine through, in spite of my bumbling. Is there anything else you need from me?”

I HATED looking this ridiculous, but you know what happened? 

This Icy person sent me a warm email. She said “The technical difficulties didn’t bother any of us – it was a simple thing to manage. I have passed your email to the head of purchasing.”

Two birds with one stone!

Pretty cool! Not only had I been a “human” with the business analyst, but she gave me the opportunity to be a “human” with the purchasing person, too.

We might just win this thing! 

We might not. But at least I can rest knowing that I have put the best possible foot forward for my company with products and services that deserve to win the contract.

MORAL OF THE STORY

Do not be afraid to let people know that YOU know that you could have done better and that you care that you didn’t do your best. People are amazing.

Love your vulnerability UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Authenticity, Creativity, Dignity, Goals, Irreverence, Performance, Purpose, Winning, Wisdom

What are YOU thinking about today?

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Christmas Thinking
What are you thinking about this Christmas?

As we near the end of the year, I wish these thoughts for you:

1) I love my lover – what can I do this holiday season that will sweep (her/him) off their feet?

2) What can I provide that will make my kids happy today — and successful in the future?

3) What can I do to make someone else’s life more AWESOME?

4) How do I manage the pressures of the holiday with grace and ease, AND LOOK GOOD DOING IT?

5) How do I create a KILLER business plan for the New Year (sorry, I KNOW who you are).

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

May all your days be Merry and Bright. And may all your Christmases be loved UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Authenticity, Creativity, Dignity, Irreverence, Performance, Winning, Wisdom

What do you do when no one is watching?

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Tonight, I just wanted to go to bed. Hang it all up for the day.

Why? Facebook has changed their rules. I was wondering why I was getting no love. No Likes. Few comments.

then, I found out that Facebook changed their rules. NOW, if you LIKE my page, you also have to HOVER over the “Like” button and request that my updates show up in your feed.

There’s a Catch-22 here. I can’t tell people to do this if they aren’t getting my feeds.

I used to have such lovely conversation with my peeps. We were growing something. It has come to a screeeching halt!

Now, I have to re-think the entire scenario.

Actually, it is probably a good thing – here we are at the start of something GREAT! And I was giving my success to Facebook – something I cannot control.

Still, tonight I wanted to just GO TO BED and not post a thing. But, my PRIOMISE is that I will post every school night – five nights a week. Period. Whether people are watching or not.

So, tonight, being WILDY discouraged (I am just launching the bit.ly/vavavavoomregister interview with the AMAZING Bob Burg). A breakout event … and NO ONE is seeing it.

I am discouraged.

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

I am posting anyway. Because I will do what I promised. Even when no one is watching.

And that MEANS SOMETHING!

What do YOU do when no one is watching? THOSE are the things that REALLY define you!

Love your amazing self UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Creativity, Customer Service, Dignity, Goals, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Winning, Wisdom

It is all about looking good!

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If you think about it, the MOST important thing to humans seems to be looking good! Our currency is adoration, looking like a good guy, and being right. And, we will do ALMOST ANYTHING to achieve those key qualities.

Here’s how this helps YOU as a salesperson (or, frankly, any business person).

When someone is buying from you, MAKE SURE they look like a ROCK STAR.

If a man has to defend his purchase of his car to his wife, MAKE SURE he looks like a GENIUS about the decision he made.

If an employee is buying a service, MAKE SURE that his boss is thrilled with his business acumen.

If a … well, you get the picture.

People want to feel smart about the decisions they make. If you understand why someone is buying, what need it fills for THEM and for their INFLUENCERS — you have got it made!

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

Make sense? Start finding out what EVERYONE who is impacted wants. Then arm your buyer with everything THEY need to look REALLY REALLY GOOD!

Your job is to create ROCK STARS!

Love your peeps UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Creativity, Customer Service, Dignity, Goals, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Purpose, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Winning

Do you have to be COLD to make COLD calls?

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You do not have to be cold to cold call
Cold Calling Myths

Today I was doing my cold calls.

I think about cold calls a lot, the more I talk with solopreneurs and budding salespeople.

Here’s what I realized.

There is a lot of mythology about cold-calling.

There are two visions that people conjure up when they think about cold-calling:

Either they imagine the frustrated cold-caller: locking his jaw, picking up the phone with a clenched fist, hoping that someone won’t actually answer the phone, “Please GOD Please, let it go to voice mail”. Then (when they answer) “Please GOD Please, let them be nice”.

OR

They imagine the Monster Cold-Caller: fangs dripping with the blood she anticipates from her victim.Going for it. Driving and driving and driving – like a machine mowing down everything in her path.

(Genders made up).

It’s not like that for me, and it doesn’t have to be that way

I am not going to pretend that calling on someone I do not know is ever easy. We have a natural resistance to being a pest and feeling like we are wasting someone’s time! THANK GOD for that resistance! It is not something to overcome. It is a reminder that you are an AWESOME human being.

Which brings me to the next mythology:

If you want to be a great cold-caller, you must have a thick skin

People imagine that the great cold-caller can take a “rejection – kick-in-the-teeth” call and move on. Not true.

It doesn’t work to have a thin skin, either, but perhaps the thickness of your skin has nothing to do with it.

A new paradigm

Imagine this. If you were a person who was passionate about your product. You had done as much research as possible about who you are calling to make a conversation about THEM (this takes about 2 minutes, tops!) and you are willilng to consider that there is another person on the other end of the line who has priorities in their day and their lives. And you KNEW that 3 out of every 10 people were going to respond to you favorably.

NOW, how does cold-calling look?

It starts to look like an interesting conversation. An opportunity to connect. A thought about how YOU can make a difference in someone else’s day.

Here’s the rub

There are four muscles YOU MUST develop as a ‘cold-caller’.

1) Creativity – get creative about how to reach the people who will care
2) Emotional Radar – learn to get in “someone else’s world” FAST
3) Vulnerability with Confidence – the ‘hardest’ of all, but the most rewarding
4) A system that you stick to – you’ve gotta do the work. Every week. Sorry!

If you can do those, the world is your oyster

And they are simple skills to build. And trainable. I have trained my sales staff to LOVE outreach. I have a hard time calling my cold-calling “cold”, ‘cuz it rarely is.

Let’s keep the conversation going. Just know that there are ways that you will be LIT UP by your cold calling. AND YOU WILL RULE!

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

Love your work UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Creativity, Dignity, Irreverence, Performance, Presentation, Purpose, Top Ten Principles of Selling

AND….we’re back!

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For a moment, I forgot that what you expect from me is hard-hitting messages.

Things you can read in two minutes…

I was becoming a “blogger”…HA!

Here’s what I remembered (sorry I forgot). I am your VOICE OF REASON on the train in Manhattan at 5:30 in the morning.

I remind you of what you are up to and who you are with no fancy pictures or long essays…something you can take to the bank every day.

Thanks for letting me stray! I LOVE YOU!

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

Let’s play this game of day-to-day success together!

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Creativity, Dignity, Guest Posts, Irreverence, Performance, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Winning

A great story! Please join me to listen to the One-Call Close Master tell his stories!

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Selling Fearlessly
Announcing the VaVaVaVoom Selling Fearlessly Book Release Interview

I am excited to announce a special 45-minute telephone event that will ENTERTAIN you on November 8th (and give you some great sales tips, too).

Ever wanted to know how to walk into a COMPLETELY COLD sales call and “BE” the equal to your prospect,  GUIDE  the conversation, while you CONTROL  the environment?  (And,  get the close the first time?)

ME TOO! That is exactly what we are talking about!

On November 8th at 10 am Pacific/1 pm Eastern, join me for the VaVaVaVoom (Voyeuristic, Vicarious, Virtual) Selling Fearlessly Book Release Interview with the renowned Robert Terson!

You WILL walk away with stuff no one else is ever likely to tell you (‘cuz, frankly, they don’t know).

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

The great part is, that it’s MOSTLY free. We are offering admission if you’re willing to Pay With A Tweet or simply Opt-In to Irreverent Sales Girl’s email list (don’t worry — I have a strict “I Hate Spam” policy). There will be a surprise give-away at the end to a lucky caller, too!

We’re having a ton of fun putting this event together, and we hope you’ll join us.

Just go to The Irreverent Sales Girl’s Homepage to sign up: http://www.irreverentsalesgirl.com/. You’ll learn all the details there!

Let’s ROCK THIS THING. And don’t keep it to yourself. If you think YOU ARE going to love it, think of a someone else who will, too, and send them along to sign up. (We’re not selling ONE SINGLE THING – just putting together loads of value for you and your career).

Love it UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Authenticity, Dignity, Irreverence, Loving Life, Self Care, Winning, Wisdom

If you marry for money, you earn every penny!

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Marrying for money?
If you marry for money, you earn every penny.

In college, my girlfriends and I loved the mantra…If you marry for money, you earn every penny!

Same goes for selling something you do not believe in…just to earn a check.

Do you KNOW you are doing the best for your clients? Can you speak passionately about your products and services and be the poster child for your wares?

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

If not, the check you are earning is far too low … and the price you are paying is FAR TOO HIGH to continue.

I’m just sayin’

Love your life UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl