Category Archives: Performance

How to perform – reliably

Creativity, Customer Service, Dignity, Goals, Loving Life, Performance, Uncategorized, Winning

Making the most of my conference attendance!

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Going to the Big Conference

Here’s one for those who attend conferences. Some juicy tips that will help you make the MOST of your dollars.

I’m headed out to a big fat conference in New York this week. All of the decision-makers in my industry are attending.

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

I’ve gotten to be a bit of a pro at this (at least for myself) and would like to share my favorite tips for making the VERY most of the time and money you are spending to attend:

1) To booth or not to booth
I am attending this industry-standard conference as a vendor. But, NEVER as someone with a booth. Know why? I find it’s a waste of money. If the conference will let me attend as a vendor without a booth, I DO IT! I circulate more. Meet WAY more people. And spend less money. Geez, I hope the conference organizers aren’t reading this 🙂  If I MUST have a booth to attend, I work to get myself on as many panels and invited to as many parties as possible.

2) Pre-conference Prep
I email my entire list of current pipeline prospects and people I haven’t spoken to in quite some time. I ask them, are you attending the such-and-such conference? I will be there and I would LOVE to meet. This accomplishes a few things. 1 – it gives me credibility as someone who is keeping up-to-speed as a thought leader. 2 – it gives me the chance to set up appointments to meet people face-to-face, which allows for some nice efficiencies. 3 – It gives me a reason to be in touch. 4 – it allows me the opportunity to be a resource to my customers who can’t make it to the event – I touch base with  them when I get back about the top 3 things I learned – or with people I’d like to connect them to.

3) Opening the conversation
I used to find this to be the hardest thing to do at a conference. What do I say that won’t annoy the daylights out of someone who is there trying to get educated in their field (and avoid vendors, frankly). Now, it’s easy. I simply ask: “What do you most want to get out of this conference?” or “What is the thing you would say has been most valuable about your time here?” This opens the conversation for what THEY care about. Often, I’m able to serve as a resource with some of their key issues. SCORE! (And they’re glad to talk to me because they are talking about themselves. Critical.)

4) Don’t drink
I leave the alcohol consumption to the celebration of all my new business when I get home. If I am really going to work the conference to its best advantage, I need all the stamina and sharpness I can get. I go to the parties and join in on the fun, but I keep it straight. This is my business, after all.

5) Bring LOTS of business cards, but leave the presentations at home
Conference attendees do NOT want one more thing to drag home with them. I bring plenty of cards, and make sure I get theirs!

6) Carry the Thank You notes and stamps along with me
Yep. The hand written Thank You note again. When I am REALLY on my game, I write the cards out before I go to bed. At least I have them on the plane with me for my ride home. I believe people are impressed that they get something personal from me right away on their return.

7) Set a goal
I set a goal of how many meaningful connections I am going to make at the conference. Connections that could lead to a sale. My goal for this three day conference is 20 meaningful connections. Obviously, I will make many more connections than that, but I’m talking about the ones that will lead directly to further conversations about working together. I hold myself to my goal and I don’t quit until I’ve made it. It’s a great game!

8) Be a stalker
This is only for the VERY accomplished. If I am listening to a keynote or a panelist who is a big deal at their company (my favorites are the Fortune 500 CEOs), this CAN be an ideal time to connect with them. But, I am careful. I MUST have something MEANINGFUL to say that takes about 5 seconds and addresses core issues they just mentioned. I ask them for a CONNECTION at their company, not for THEIR time. These can be magical moments.

9) Love ’em UP!
When I get home, I’m quick to put a bullet-point summary of the value I got from the conference. I send this to all my peeps who I did not see at the conference. I become a thought leader and valuable resource! Then, I connect with all the *meaningful connections* to set future action. I do NOT let this wait until sometime next week. I will take off Tuesday afternoon, as a reward- as long as those communications go out ASAP!

10) Balance the drawer and then we’re out!
I take care of my finances. It’s never fun, but I challenge myself to finish my expense report and turn it in within two business days. No use carrying balances for the work I have done.

Great! I’m ready to rock ‘n roll! What strategies do YOU use to make the most of your conference time? I can’t wait to hear!

Love your peeps UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Dignity, Goals, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Purpose, Self Care, Uncategorized, Winning, Wisdom

So many times it happens, we live our life in chains…

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and never even knew we held the key.

NOT ME!

I was working with my business partner the other day, working on our strategy and business planning. A break from the selling to get more focused on the bigger future.

We started to explore some of the “low-hanging” fruit for ways to generate revenue. Things we could start marketing NOW and building a larger income base.

And then it struck me! These were all good ideas. And they could be sold. BUT, I WOULD HATE DOING THEM. Besides, they don’t give us any leverage to scale. They would only be a way to make a little more money in the short term, and they would lock us into commitments and marketing development and product development for at least the next nine months.

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

Something in the back of my head yelled STOP! (Thank goodness!)

It is OK to demand of my created business that it be fun and that I enjoy doing what we’re doing. I can always get a job that demands me to do stuff I don’t like. Why would I dare bring that into my own creation?

And then I saw, if I am patient and I keep doing the things I love, the money WILL take care of itself. I don’t need to worry about that right now. (Fortunately, I don’t need to worry about that now).

The point is – I realized how quickly I build prisons for myself when I am pursuing the the things I love. I approach my beloved projects with conversations from THE PAST which is exactly where I am moving away FROM!

Today, I will have the courage to envision my ideal future and keep trusting that it is mine to claim!

Hand me those keys, will you?

Customer Service, Dignity, Loving Life, Performance, Purpose, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Uncategorized, Winning, Wisdom

Making a difference

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I was reading some research today about why people volunteer. I mean volunteering with nonprofits – getting involved with a cause. In every age group, the overwhelming reason that people say they volunteer is that they want to make a difference. It wasn’t a surprise to me. Mostly, I think people are wired to feel they are part of something bigger and that they make someone else’s life better.

It’s the same thing with the greatest salespeople I’ve ever known. They are out to make a real difference – for their customers, their society, their company, their families, themselves.

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

Here are the top characteristics of a salesperson who is out to make a difference:

1. They understand the big picture of what happens when people buy their products – the jobs it creates, the efficiencies it allows, the satisfaction that is achieved, the industry it improves.

2. They keep themselves educated in their field and their industry, so that they serve as a real resource to their prospective clients – whether they buy or not – because they are committed that people get the right solution.

3. They make sure they have a REASON to call on someone before they pick up the phone or write the email. A REASON that will matter to the person on the receiving end.

4. They stay in communication with customers to make sure that they are up-to-speed on the new things their customers may need, make  sure that what they have sold is still working, and to fix issues that might have gone wrong. They are in the relationship for the long-term and interested in the performance of what they sold.

5. They make good on their promises and do whatever it takes to make their customer “whole” when they haven’t delivered EXACTLY how their customer expected them to. THEY take responsibility for the outcome of the sale. 

Isn’t selling fun? It is wonderful when I know that I have made a REAL difference for people.

Love your peeps UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Goals, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Purpose, Winning, Wisdom

A common sense reminder: Urgent v. Important

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Any of us who have read anything about time management, success principles, and managing activities know this one. Be sure you know how to distinguish between Urgent action items and Important action items.

Urgent items keep the ball in play.

Important items move the ball forward.

What can you move onto your list and do it before 5 pm today that is IMPORTANT and would move the ball forward in YOUR game?

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 placing a personal call directly to a Fortune 500 CEO today. What about you?

Love the Important stuff UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Authenticity, Creativity, Performance, Winning, Wisdom

A life without limits?

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I have been contemplating this a great deal lately. What do I admire? Who do I admire?

I look at Richard Branson (who doesn’t?) and wonder…what do we admire so much about him?

I think I most admire that he seems to live his life without limits.

But, it’s an illusion. I think.

When I look at my own life…what makes me shrink back…is that it *seems* rough when I confront my limits. I am looking for what is comfortable, so I stay away from the “limits”.

Yet, when I GO FOR IT and confront the limits…it is as if they disappear!

Am I living in an illusion of limits?

I watch my dog, unable to cross the boundary of my laptop cord plugged into the wall. It is illogical. He could easily cross over it. In fact, my other two dogs cross over the cord without a thought. Somehow, this one dog has created that crossing over that cord is impossible.

What have I created as impossible that is as simple as crossing over a laptop cord? Do my two dogs look like a “Richard Branson” to my other one dog?

I hope you will join me in this inquiry. What have we created as barriers, in our minds, that aren’t actually barriers?

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

Hmmmmm…….

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Purpose, Uncategorized, Winning, Wisdom

Why is sales important? Can we eliminate it?

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I hate to tell you this. You will hate to hear it.

Sales is EVERYWHERE.

If you are proposing to your beloved…”selling” is involved.

If you are working to get your kids into a great school…”selling” is involved.

If you are applying for a job…”selling” is involved.

If  you are buying something important…”selling” is involved.

This is where The Irreverent Sales Girl comes in.

I REALIZE that “selling” exists in EVERY part of our lives. It is important. It is the way we transact with each other.

So, if you *thought* I was the person who is out to make salespeople more slick, you got it wrong.

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 about people getting more comfortable, more alive, more self-expressed with their daily transactions of buying and selling. I am about you loving your life. I am about communication skills that work. I am about people having the resources they need, at their fingertips, to make their lives work better and faster.

I am about cutting through the stigmas that hold us back from being TRULY GREAT!

When people get REAL about their lives, they understand that “selling” exists at least three times a day in their real lives.

I am the person who helps you remember how best to “sell” your three-year-old into sleeping in their own bed.

I am the person who helps you get that job you really want.

I am the person who has your back at eliminating the barriers to you living the life you love through extraordinary and clean communication.

I help you break the rules that hold you back.

I give you permission to go for what you want.

And, you give all of that back to me.

Together, you and I can transform the art of “selling” and make sure EVERYONE has access to the things they want to get in their ONE PRECIOUS LIFE.

Let’s do this together. Let’s ALL become Irreverent Sales Girls (men included)!

Love LIFE UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Creativity, Goals, Loving Life, Performance, Winning

Time for the whiteboard…the end of the year CRUSH IT!

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Tomorrow I bring out my favorite FOURTH QUARTER sales weapon. My way to Bring It On Home for the end of the year.

My good old tried and true magnetic whiteboard.

I will write the goal I intend to reach on the far right. I will list every deal I have closed underneath and subtract to get me to the number I desire.

Then, I will create a magnet for each and every prospective customer in conversations with me right now. I will divide my whiteboard into Monday _ Tuesday_ Wednesday_Thursday_Friday and I will move my magnets to the last day I interacted with my pipeline peeps!

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

Nothing slips through the cracks. I can visually see where I am at all times. It works like a charm.

What I can move, I can measure. What I can measure, I can manage.

What do YOU do to keep your business in front of you and moving? I would love to hear!

Love your systems UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Buyers, Creativity, Customer Service, Dignity, Education, Goals, Irreverence, Performance, Presentation, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Winning, Wisdom

Everybody skims…

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This post is designed for YOU to get your message across to the customers that matter.

A recent a-ha moment! 
I recently got advice from the SPECTACULAR Erika Napoletano (of www.redheadwriting.com fame – or infamy – you choose).

Erika gave me the AWESOME offer of submitting a guest post to her blog. So I submitted one. And she generously front-stabbed me (Front-Stabbing: the generosity you offer when you tell people how it REALLY is – to their face. Antonym: back-stabbing..you get the picture).

Her advice about the article I had submitted? Her words…”… try adding some subheadings that make it easy for the reader to skim (we ALL skim!)”

Then I realized…

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

I may not be a great author, but I DO THIS IN SALES!
It occurred to me. I am CRYSTAL CLEAR that people SKIM my messages … in email, letters, and voice mail.

That’s why I get such a high level of response in my sales messages. I give it to ’em the way they want it.

I use BOLDED text for each new point. I use bullet points to make my points. It works!

The best part of the story…
In fact! I had a very interesting challenge a few years back. My “prospect” (for lack of a better term) was WILDLY busy. Beyond busy.

So, every email I sent her was the whole message in the subject line without scrolling. With back-up support in the body – if she could get to it. 20 words MAX.

She LOVED it. She told me that I was the ONLY person who “got” the way she wanted to be communicated with! She always got right back to me – a salesperson’s dream.

Still no guest post
Nearly every day, I revisit the guest post I am to send to Erika. Thank goodness, she is not counting on me for content!

But a great realization!
Please, please, please…when you are sending sales emails, think of the sheer amount of emails that everyone has to read. Put your requests first! Put your backup information in clear, concise terms. GET TO THE POINT!  Remember that the reader is probably emailing from her phone.

This requires work, you will have to think about what is IMPORTANT to THEM. Do NOT expect them to read every line. Boil it down to the juice.

You will ROCK over those TEDIOUS emails your competition is sending.

They will love you. They will read you. They will get back to you. They will buy from you.

And you will WIN!

Love your peeps UP!

And remember, EVERYBODY SKIMS! 

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Authenticity, Buyers, Creativity, Customer Service, Dignity, Education, Irreverence, Performance, Winning, Wisdom

The BUYER makes the biggest difference of all…

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A true story that involves a Real Estate Agent
I had dinner with a very good friend of mine on Saturday. She is a ROCK STAR real estate agent. She works her fanny off for her clients and she KNOWS the market where I live. She knows simply everything about everything in our neighborhood. She is a great connector. She is the REAL DEAL. She IS an Irreverent Sales Girl (meaning she says it straight and she produces results).

Here’s the story she told. My good friend has a problem, one that most real estate agents face. She was talking about the inherent disloyalty of representing a buyer in the marketplace. NOW, no matter what you think of the value of real estate agents or the commissions they make or any of the rest of it, I want you to put that aside for one minute. It will be worth it.

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

Buyers are often disloyal. They will work with an agent to get educated, have that agent schlep them all over town looking at the houses that fit their desires, and then they go find a property they love, act on it, and cut the agent out of the deal. It’s not wrong. It is how the system is designed.

(MY advice: If you are so smart that you can ‘go it on your own’, then ‘go it on your own’ the whole way through.)

But, here’s the inspiring part
She went on to tell a story that I loved. She told me of a client who she had been working hard for. He was in the market. He tripped across a home he loved. It was For Sale By Owner. He was ready to buy.

Know what he did?

He said, up-front… “I don’t make a move without my agent. I want HER to manage the deal..from inspections, to attorneys, to reviewing the deal.”

He was no dummy. He has his own business. Something HE knows everything about. And he REALIZED that she does, too. She actually KNOWS something about the pitfalls of buying, the places he could get screwed up, the team of professionals required to make the deal go down, so that it benefits HIM.

He honored her professionalism and valued her expertise. She got paid. He got what he wanted.

So, what’s the point?
Here’s the point. By now, you probably know that my MISSION IN LIFE is to transform the world of selling. For everyone!

When you think about it…People LOVE to buy things they want or need, and they especially love to buy from people they LIKE!

So, where did it all go wrong? Where did sales get such a bad rap?

Well, I think we all know where…from crummy snake oil salespeople who took advantage of trusting buyers.

BUT, times they have a-changed.

From Buyer-Beware to Buyer-Be-Great
I am going to say something radical now.

How YOU are, as a buyer, makes a difference.

If you honor the expertise, the wisdom, and the education you receive from a GREAT salesperson, you will make the world better for yourself, and for everyone else.

Yes, go out and get the best deal for yourself. Yes, work with real pros. Yes, say NO to salespeople who are not getting you what you want.

BUT, be a person who is WILLING to be great in the sales process. Send thank you’s to those who have put their time in – even if you aren’t going to use them. LISTEN for just a minute to what someone has to say. Put aside the need to “protect” yourself (you are bigger than that, anyway.)

Value the work that people do on your behalf. If you are willing to wear the big-boy pants and hold people accountable for doing their work well, AND you are willing to take FULL responsibility for your choices, then we actually HAVE A SHOT at making sales great. By all means, cut OUT the salespeople who are doing it badly, and cut them out FAST. Learn to do business with style and courtesy. As a buyer.

The buyer, more than anyone else, can transform the world of sales into a beautiful and celebrated profession. One where we can ALL get exactly what we want. Please start today. That person SELLING you something may actually have your best interests in mind. Take the time to find out.

Love buying UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Goals, Loving Life, Performance, Purpose, Self Care, Winning

The pursuit of happiness…are we getting closer?

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I had dinner with a GREAT friend of mine tonight. A few years back this wonderful friend abandoned the Corporate World for her bright, shiny future as a business owner. She has created some amazing stuff. And it is just getting better.

She looked me straight in the face and said, “I have never worked harder, made less money, or been any happier!”

This experience of hard work and being broke while being HAPPY has put her on an interesting quest. She is becoming an expert in HAPPINESS.

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

Know what she discovered? FORTY-SEVEN percent of people are unhappy in their work. (This figure should scare the daylights out of Human Resources and CEOs.  WAKE UP CALL: nearly ONE out of every TWO workers is unhappy – which has a direct impact on your bottom line. You might want to connect with my friend and get some advice.)

Know what else she discovered? A lot of the reason people are unhappy is because they have less and less HUMAN interaction. She says, “People sit in cubicles and have no idea who is on the other side of the wall. They check on their Facebook and think they have caught up with their friends – instead of sitting across from them and seeing more than a sound byte of how it really is…hell…just picking up the phone to hear their voice and what is happening right now!”

And it is making them UNHAPPY.

Want to get happy? Do like AT&T used to tell you to do. Reach out and touch someone.

We were joined by another fantastic girlfriend tonight. The last time we had all gotten together was over three years ago. But, it worked! We had a great night. We were in person. And, tonight, I am very happy!

I wish you the same.

Love your peeps UP (in person)!

The Irreverent Sales Girl