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

Goals, Loving Life, Performance, Winning, Wisdom

Race on, my lovelies ~

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“Nobody remembers who finished second but the guy who finished second.” ~ Bobby Unser

OK my lovelies…the end of the year is coming at a rapid pace. You have just had a L-O-N-G weekend – even a long week off.

How are YOU going to get back to it today and make a solid finish?

This is where champions are born. At the end. When everyone else is checking out.

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

I want to hear from you!

Love your year UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Creativity, Irreverence, Loving Life, Uncategorized

The SEVEN topics I would write about if my life looked like a blog post

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This one is just for fun today. A little poke at the traditional blog styling. I was just musing…

These are the SEVEN topics I would write about if my life looked like a blog post:

7 innovative ways to make coffee in the morning…included would be quippy tricks about keeping coffee from being bitter, maybe things to make my coffee taste like Christmas morning (hint: cinnamon in the grounds – nod to Berta from Two and a Half Men).

Then, I would move on to…

6 creative ways to get my dogs to walk themselves … here I would likely find fantastical and magical tips from Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer – one trick would include teaching the pups to walk on a treadmill – perhaps an advanced note on training them to turn the machine on by themselves.

5 important events that must happen before I start my day…these would likely be a bit more mundane – geared to entertain the new brand of remote employees and solopreneurs – things like clever ways to remember to brush my teeth and check to see if I need a shower. Of course, the fifth idea would be something cute and comical, just to add a kick of fun! (At what point in the laundry cycle you MUST mute your phone when on important conference calls! Something like that.)

4 items that are better put off until tomorrow … this would provide insights on the stuff to stop that TRULY sucks life out of my day. Like getting caught in a Minesweeper marathon, mindlessly trying to beat my best score from 10 years ago. (The entertaining “new” look at the power of procrastination!)

3 fun facts about work habits…this section would fascinate my reader with off-the-wall statistics about the things people do every day and do not even realize it. Something like…72% of office workers are thinking about hedgehogs while at the coffee machine (hello, Erika!). Ya know. Things you wouldn’t expect, but make you go hmmmmmmm….

2 reasons to avoid the grocery store on your way home from work…this paragraph would outline how much more susceptible I am to buying advertised items that are over-priced and high in calories at this precarious time of day. Something of critical importance!

THE ONE THING TO NEVER FORGET AT THE END OF THE DAY … my blog post would end with something mushy and inspiring, of course.  It would probably be something like … make sure to give everyone in my house a big hug with slurpy kisses (yes, the dogs are pretty slurpy!)

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 Thanksgiving UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

 

Goals, Loving Life, Performance, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Uncategorized, Winning

Are you eating well, and then starving?

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This is SUCH a common occurrence, I must address it.

This article applies to pipeline salespeople and solopreneurs, mostly. Here is how the story goes:

I AM DOING MY MARKETING…GOING FOR IT

My focus is on marketing. I get 2 responses for every 100 messages I deliver (print media, emails, etc).

Then, I land a big deal (contract)

So, I start doing the work on that contract. I ignore my marketing.

Then, I have closed that big deal (finished the contract)

Now what?

I am back to the drawing board. Income is uncertain.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

I have fallen into this trap…

I have gotten a BIG FISH on the line, and devoted all my time to that. Then, when it’s landed, I am left with no pipeline.

I have learned…

Whle I am DELIVERING, I am sharing with my prospects WHAT I am delivering, WHILE I am delivering it…this is UNBELIEVEABLE marketing. I am DOING IT NOW for someone else, wouldn’t YOU like to be a part of it?

NEVER NEVER NEVER stop marketing … and your BEST marketing comes WHILE you are working

Because you are confident. You are producing. You can leverage your current success into future success.

It takes discipline…and it is fun

When you are winning, it is easy and fun to talk about helping people win. When you are out of work, it is scary and desperate.

True professionals work their pipeline NOT MATTER WHAT.

Work yours. If you are willing to set aside time for marketing. Every week, no matter what. There is no need for famine, or desperation, or worry. They will be lining up! Because THEY see you are working and THEY have to get in line for your services.

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 marketing UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Uncategorized

Allow yourself to be surprised by WHO YOU ARE!

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Stratospheric SuccessA crazy thing happened the other day…

I got a Tweet. A Tweet that will change my life forever.

Bob Burg followed me on Twitter.

WHAT???

Allow me to paint a picture. Will you?

I am a cartoon character with 425 comitted and amazing fans on Facebook.

I am a cartoon character with 316 followers on Twitter. I love each and every one of them.

In contrast, Bob Burg has 1,638 Fans on Facebook and 41,788 followers. Bob is someone who speaks to audiences of OVER 16,000 people at a time. He is a best selling author.

For those of you in home-making and decorating, he is Martha Stewart.

For those of you in personal growth, he rivals Oprah Winfrey.

He is a BIG DEAL.

WHY ME?

What in the world had him follow “little old me”?

My cynical side said… “He has an auto-bot following anyone in sales”.

So I Tweeted back (stay with me – this is about YOU). “WOW! Thanks for the follow, Bob. I would love to interview you.”

HA!

He wrote back, nearly immediately…”Great! I will have Carrie set up the interview”.

Now, here is what is embarrassing.

I thought that Bob was agreeing to a one-on-one conversation with me (which he did have with me), but what HE meant was that he was granting me a PUBLIC INTERVIEW for free. He was so gracious with my naivete.

So, I read his latest book – The Go Giver

I sobbed the whole way through. Have you wanted success so badly that you could taste it? Have you ever pursued it so hard you thought you would die if you couldn’t touch it?

Mine was business success.

When I read The Go-Giver, I was released. I have an undergrad in Marketing and a graduate degree in Finance. I have co-owned and sold a company. I have been a top salesperson for twenty years. I

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

HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THIS INFORMATION FOR MY WHOLE ADULT LIFE.

When I read this, I found out that I had EXACTLY all the things I need for STRATOSPHERIC SUCCESS. And, so do you. I THOUGHT I had to be cut-throat to be successful. I have never been stratospherically successful, by the way.

Now, I am learning that ALL the things I value are EXACTLY what will make me (and you) WILDLY successful. When you become a master of the five qualities Bob sets forth in The Go-Giver (you are so close, already), THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER.

Now, about you!

Two things:

1) Do you put yourself out there so that those who can help will find you. Do you take the chance?

2) I want YOU to come to the VaVaVaVoom (Voyeuristic, Vicarious, Virtual) Interview I am having with Bob on December 6th at 1 pm Eastern (register for FREE at http://bit.ly/VaVaVaVoom). You will leave INSPIRED and TRANSFORMED.

We are giving away 19 books to the first people to register. They will include an autograph from Bob and me. An historical event.

Remember who you REALLY are…

If you are reading this, YOU are committed to STRATOSPHERIC SUCCESS. You may not think you are capable of it. That doesn’t matter. You are committed to it.

Please let me join you on YOUR journey…

I am committed that we have 500 people sign up for this break-through event. If that is to happen, I need your help! I am asking YOU to register and I am asking YOU to invite your peeps!

I do not get a toaster if you do. I do not benefit from book sales.

I only WIN because you had access to something you wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Love your life 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

Authenticity, Goals, Performance, Purpose, Winning

Feelings…whoa, whoa, whoa Feelings!

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PuppyNow that I’ve got you humming THAT in your head.

2012 Goals – How do feelings play out?

I noticed something today. We are headed to the end of the year and I started reviewing the goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the year.

I set Minimum, Target, and Optimal goals for each area of my life. Health, Home, Finances, Work, you know the drill.

Minimum, Target, Optimal

Minimum…the absolute minimum that I want to achieve.
Target … the “good” goal
Optimal…the very best I could imagine in that area
(This is something I learned from Jack Canfield in “Efffortless Success”)

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

Which one did I NAIL? PUPPY!

Here’s what I noticed. There is one Optimal goal in particular…that I NAILED months ago. It happens to be the one that I have THE MOST EMOTION around.

When I got my puppy two years ago, we found out (at a very young age) that he has elbow dysplasia. A situation that can be crippling. Not years from now, crippling NOW. He was limping. I made my OPTIMAL goal that he would be healed (something the vets say is impossible). We haven’t done the x-rays yet – coming in December, but my puppy is HEALED, no limping, no pain, no signs.

When I found out about his situation, I was a WILD WOMAN. I was going to prove the authorities wrong. I have done EVERYTHING there is to do to make him better. And it has WORKED.

So, WHY not the other goals?

When I look at my other goals…I see that they looked like “nice to haves”. The ones that I had EMOTION around (even fear, sadness, worry), they got DONE. The ones that are less infused with emotion, not-so-much.

INTERESTING.

I’m actually a little disturbed. Some of the goals I set for myself…I really meant them. How do I conjure up FEELINGS … true FEELINGS for them? Am I so comfortable that I can only be driven by fear and worry for someone else? Am I only about the status quo until something bad is looming?

How do YOU make yourself care? I want to know!

Love your goals UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Bringing a Dash of Dignity to the Art of Selling