Outside I can hear the sound of cars rushing by on the busy streets. Cars and trucks move to meet transportation needs in business or to move families toward vacation destinations.
Professional sales reps go from one appointment to another with one eye on the clock and another on the right level of those activities that make a difference. ...
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When you sell, you operate the sales engine of a business that has control and output rules – systematic rules. You can create. You can innovate. You can still love what you do. You can still show passion toward your products and services, but you know to follow the rules.
However, if you do not follow rules within an activity...
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What do great salespeople do with their selling time in a week? Smart activity. They realize that activity leads to results, and smart activity leads to greatness.
Does that mean that some salespeople miss what’s smart? Yes. I see many salespeople who work hard but not smart - some even like Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur...
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How many sales teams do you see tracking sales and funnel progress during the selling period? How many make sure that they keep first appointments and quotes at appropriate levels? Not many.
I had the following conversation with a sales team I was training recently. The team was behind in sales, revenue, and margin goals year-to-date.
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I love salespeople - especially those who have to make a sale every day, week, or month - the faster the better. And, I want to stop as many of them as possible from becoming like Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman.
Years ago, my grandfather told me that people who keep their lines in the water longer than others catch more fish. That was...
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Years ago, Michael Gerber helped entrepreneur’s discover the world of processes and the franchise prototype through his book, The E-Myth. He explained, “Once having completed his Prototype, the franchisor turned to the franchisee and says, “Let me show you how it works.” And, work it does. The system runs the business, the people run the...
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What if someone didn’t tell you what was par on every hole of a golf course and just sent you out to play a round? What if there were no yardage markers in the fairways? How would that affect your ability to score well? You would eventually get the ball in the hole and then find out your score. But, throughout the round, you wouldn’t be able...
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Over the last six months, I learned a very important lesson about procrastination. Since May of 2010, I have been writing a book. I could easily fill another book with the lessons that I learned about procrastination. The book went to print yesterday, only two days past the target date. The target launch date is March 13, 2010. This target...
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Sales productivity is impacted by the level of character that we exercise on a daily basis.
Every human alive will agree there is a standard of behavior. We all have a sense of right and wrong behavior. And, we all impose a greater standard of behavior on other people than we are willing to adhere to. This standard of behavior is what we...
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by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
on December 15, 2011 |
about Inspiration/Attitudes
Sales productivity is connected to personal motivations. Knowing your specific short-term and specific long-term motivations will spur you on when you hit the “sweat zone” – the part of the day when your energy is low and you must push hard to do the important tasks rather than the easy tasks.
Motivations are tied to physical, emotional,...
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by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
on November 28, 2011 |
about Inspiration/Attitudes
Throughout my career, I have discovered two attitudes that impact sales productivity and make the difference between a mediocre salesperson and a top producing salesperson. They are:
• Top salespeople have a passion for solving people's problems using their products or services.
• Top salespeople have a positive image of themselves...
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by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
on November 22, 2011 |
about Inspiration/Attitudes
Sales productivity
customers and referrals
sales and income
new prospects
and repeat business
LIFE. What a gift.
Friends and family
love wrapped in people
or in a person
Good health
smiling faces
a great embrace
from someone special
or an old friend
Holiday food
turkey, dressing,
and sweat potato pie
College football...
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by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
on November 21, 2011 |
about
Our ability to perform at our best every day requires a positive disposition. Sales productivity is impacted when emotional levels are low due to any number of reasons.
Some of the best advice from one of my spiritual mentors said, "Every time you feel down, list all the things for which you are thankful." This is a great daily exercise....
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Long-term sales productivity is in direct correlation to our concern for others. Aristotle said, "We are born selfish. The only reason a baby doesn't strangle its mother for its milk is because its arms are too short and too uncoordinated. For a mother’s protection, slow growth and training in patience should coincide."
I prefer Zig...
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by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
on November 12, 2011 |
about Prospecting
Have you ever panned for gold. Even today, there are people who know how to make a living wading in mountain streams and sifting all the lighter materials out of a pan leaving the heavier gold behind. Back and forth, left and right, the panner goes to a place hoped to be more concentrated in gold.
A few years ago, we were fishing on...
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Changing your sales performance right now begins with accepting personal responsibility for taking the first step.
During one of my first jobs as a teenager, I faced some challenges while working for a small family owned business. Many times in family owned businesses there are too many leaders and too few followers.
I was frustrated...
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Given similar territories, the same product, and the same training, any group of salespeople will contain individuals with varing degrees of sales productivity. Why is there such wide differences in sales results among seemingly talented salespeople?
Performance levels in sports, academics, sales, or whatever is highly dependent on...
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by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
on October 24, 2011 |
about Inspiration/Attitudes
Character traits are those behaviors that are learned at a very young age from parents and teachers. Honesty is learned in an environment where absolute truths of right and wrong have been taught. Modeling of honest behavior and punishment for lying is also critical to us bonding to this critical character trait.
One would think a blog...
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A sluggard or pure analytic doesn’t work fast. This person moves slowly. It could be the brain or genetics, or a highly-detailed personality. Or, it could be a character issue like laziness. Whatever the reason, some people don’t cram a lot of activity, especially social connectivity and face-to-face activity, into each day or week.
...
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by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
on October 17, 2011 |
about Inspiration/Attitudes
I was twenty-two beginning my sales career when I met Joe Thompson. He had a quiet peace about him. He mostly listened, but when he spoke, I hung on every word. Over the years, I learned of his spirituality, service during World War II, his long marriage, happy children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, successful career, and community...
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