Bringing a dash of dignity to selling
From the Traveling Elixir Fixer, a brilliant quote: 
“I don’t care what you believe, just behave yourself!”
(via And yes, you should become her fan! https://www.facebook.com/TravelingElixirFixer)
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Love ’em ALL UP!
The Irreverent Sales Girl
I hear ALL THE TIME…”People do business with people they Know, Like & Trust” from sales trainers and sales experts.
Here’s what I wanna know…
WHY IS THIS A REVELATION?
People go to prom with people they know, like & trust.
People travel great distances at great expense to visit people they know, like & trust.
People like to give gifts to people they know, like & trust.
Let’s face it, people like to hang out with DOGS they know, like & trust.
It’s pretty common sense, isn’t it?
SO I CHALLENGE YOU…
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If it is some kind of revelation to you that people do business with people they know, like & trust, WHERE ELSE are you not bringing common sense to your sales?
Things like:
People do business with people who deliver excellent service
People do business with people who have a sterling reputation
People do business with people they hold on a pedastal
People do business with people who do what they say they are going to do
People do business with people who have similar values
People do business with people who ….. I mean, we could keep going here, couldn’t we?
BUT THE BIGGER QUESTION IS:
If learning that “People do Business with People they Know, Like & Trust” is a revelation to you, then what is going on with your sales?
Do you not believe in what you sell?
Do you not believe that your customer needs what you sell?
Are your goals different from that of your customer?
Are you trying to meet quotas instead of make a difference with people?
And here is my favorite…
~DO YOU THINK DOING BUSINESS IS DIFFERENT THAN DOING LIFE? ~
This week, I want you to bring common sense to your business. (Sorry, this will require actual THINKING)
FIRST:
Are you doing the work that you know you should do to connect with the people who need what you sell?
If yes (and be honest with yourself about that one),
THEN:
Who are the people that “should” be doing business with you?
Why?
Do they know about you?
Do they agree that they need something that you offer?
Reach out to THEM. Be clear, simple, concise. Offer them something yummy!
Go be a great human being. Period. THEN, see what shows up!
Love ’em UP! (And the rest will follow)
The Irreverent Sales Girl
Just because you are not the one talking, does not mean you are not guiding the sale!
In fact, it is USUALLY just the OPPOSITE! 
Today a magical and truly wonderful thing happened!
I was in a meeting with an SVP of a Fortune 100 company…and MAN was HE talking. He was so enthusiastic about his company… he was so proud of the work they were doing an new opportunities on the horizon. He loves the brand. He told me everything from the way the founders started out in the Depression…all the way up to the new (and – shall we say – controversial?) CEO they have.
He talked. And he talked. And he talked.
And I ATE IT UP!
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I listened to every word as if it were gold — which it turns out — every word was.
When he finally got around to asking me details about what I do and what my company offers, I had everything I needed to know to tell him how we could help. And he had said everything he needed to say, so there wasn’t anything in the background distracting him.
I told (short) stories back about how are companies’ philosophies and directions were aligned.
And HE ATE IT UP!
Know what he said next?
“Send me the contract. We need to get this going right away.”
Guess what I did! I STOPPED SELLING!
I said, “GREAT! Will you be signing it?”
– yes –
Then, I thanked him for his business. Asked him if there was anything else he needed. Said our pleasantries and ske-daddled.
He did the talking. I drove the train. I won the business. FUN!
Love the talkers UP!
The Irreverent Sales Girl
This is just SO BAD! 
What would you have done?
So, I’m traveling on business last week visiting clients and prospects. On the road!
I SCORED a 25-minute meeting with a SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT of a Fortune 50 company – from a COLD CALL. A big deal!
Here’s the rub!
The day before the meeting, his assistant emails and tells me that their offices have recently moved and they are now located 20 minutes away from the meeting I have right before this opportunity. (They used to be two blocks away). I CANNOT reschedule the meeting I have before this one. It is a critical event.
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No problem! I get into action!
I set the address in my GPS ahead of time. No fumbling in the car on my way out. Set. Done!
I keep my parking ticket in the front of my purse with the credit card right next to it – ready to pay and get out of there quickly!
I gas up the car.
I tell the client I am meeting right before my BIG OPPORTUNITY (already a good friend) that I have to cut out of our meeting a 1/2 hour early to give myself a good hour to get 20 minutes down the road. They’re fine with that.
I have an hour to go 20 minutes and be relaxed, confident, and prepared for this BIG DEAL meeting.
And then, the MAYHEM happens.
The parking machine doesn’t work – so I can’t pay to get out of the garage. But, it doesn’t TELL me it is out of order. It just keeps acting like I’m doing it wrong. Finally, I give up and run to the car.
There is a LIVE parking attendant at the gate! YAY!
But, he can’t take my money for the ticket. I have to fill out a form.
Even though I tell this lovely parking attendant that I am in a terrible hurry, he must check the form and then enter a bunch of information into the computer before he will let go the gate. HE is not in a hurry, just me!
I’m still fine. Still time.
THEN, BAM!
Huge traffic snarl – with cops called out to direct traffic.
It is now 25 minutes until my meeting and I am STUCK! Solidly stuck in traffic that is NOT moving!
There is NO WAY I am getting to my BIG DEAL MEETING on time – and the meeting was ONLY for 25 minutes anyway.
(Remembering that hindsight is 20/20 and I could have done better setting myself up….)
WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?
I really want to hear. And, then I’ll share with you what I did.
Love it ALL UP!
The Irreverent Sales Girl
Wanna send a powerful email? As a follow up? Or as a first-contact? Or an initial call?
Leave the “I’s” aside!
We often want to send messages (or phone messages) that start with “I” or “MY”
EXAMPLES:
“I enjoyed our time together”
“I thought of something interesting after we met…”
“I wanted to thank you!”
“My experience shows that…”
NO!
Your emails that start with “I” or “My” are not ENGAGING to your customer who cares about…wait for it….THEM! HA!
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So, let’s design communications that deal with THEM (which is who they care about).
Examples:
“YOUR insights today were compelling…let’s set aside time so I can learn more about them”
“YOU have clearly thought your options through, and I want to learn more”.
“YOUR time is valuable and I am grateful for the time we spent together. YOUR insights on our next steps are appreciated! What’s next?”
Look at all of your emails and phone messages. Eliminate as many sentences that you can that begin with “I”. (This includes “It” and “If”. )
“I’s” turn people OFF.
Engage THEM!
Love your peeps UP!
The Irreverent Sales Girl
Sometimes even the best salespeople completely WHIFF an opportunity.
This happened to me yesterday. While it is SO embarrassing, I just have to share it with you. Perhaps I will save you from your own EPIC FAIL!
Also known as: How to Violate 10 Sales Principles in Less Than 30 Minutes.
Here’s the story:
I had a call set up with a company I have wanted to close for about a decade now. They are AWESOME and would be a huge feather in our cap. My manager really wants this deal.
The President of this company had reached out to me to set up the call with her trusted employee, Amanda.
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So, YAY! I have the opportunity.
BONUS: I did not DROOL on myself, so THAT was a victory (about the only one.)
FIRST VIOLATED PRINCIPLE: I was ATTACHED to the sale
When we get ATTACHED to a sale, we do some wonky stuff. In my case, I did some really weird things. First, I got myself really worked up and nervous about the conversation.
SECOND VIOLATED PRINCIPLE: I OVER-RESEARCHED the situation. I OVER-PREPARED.
“What?”, you say? “Isn’t preparation a great thing?” Well, it IS when you come from the context of caring about what they are dealing with. But, sometimes two things will happen when you over-prepare.
First, you may get intimidated by the person you are speaking with. Their background and the way they show up on LinkedIn and Google may freak you out. That happened to me on this call. (Of course, this is ridiculous – I speak with CEO’s, Executive Directors, and BIG DEALS all the time – something just got me on my back foot. Hmmmm….)
Second, you may make assumptions about what the person wants or needs based on what you have read on their website. I did this exact thing. I really did not know what Amanda wanted to talk about or why we were having the conversation.
THIRD VIOLATED PRINCIPLE: I assumed I knew what they needed and what they were dealing with.
So, I went into the conversation making comments rather than REALLY getting into Amanda’s world and asking tons of questions.
FOURTH VIOLATED PRINCIPLE: I tracked her down.
SHE had set up the meeting with a dial-in number and Webex. She was 7 minutes late. So, I called Amanda at her desk to see if we were still on. She said “Yes, why don’t you just call my land line and we’ll talk”. So, I did and now I was worried if we would have enough time to cover everything.
“What?”, you think. “What’s the problem with that?” Well, this one is very subtle. By tracking HER down, I lost two things.
First, I lost the opportunity for Amanda to get in touch with me to right the ship. (Remember that RECIPROCATION is a powerful thing – when they OWE you because they messed up, you gain power in the conversation). She DID apologize and was gracious, but I had lost that magic moment.
The thing to do was wait 10 minutes, hang up, email Amanda and apologize if I may have messed up the time. THEN, SHE has to call me or email me and I can suggest that we re-schedule for a time that works better for her OR we can acknowledge that time is now short. And, I get to be GREAT with her.
Second, I lost my ability to participate as an equal in the conversation. By tracking Amanda down, I communicated to both of us that her time was more important than mine. I was on my back foot.
FIFTH VIOLATED PRINCIPLE: I violated my own emotional space.
(And this one is just TOO embarrassing, but I am going to give it ALL to you – even when I would rather not)
As we were getting re-related, I shared with Amanda that I was actually NERVOUS to be on the call with her because of how great and accomplished she is. (CAN YOU IMAGINE?) Yes, on one hand it looks like “being authentic”, but ONCE again, I communicated to both of us that she is more important than I am.
SIXTH VIOLATED PRINCIPLE: I did not seek to understand before trying to get HER to understand what I had to say.
To kick off the call, Amanda mentioned that the contract with her current vendor was coming due and that she might be looking to make a change. Even though she knew a lot about my company already, Amanda admitted that she was sure that our services must have evolved since she last took a look. She asked me how we had evolved and how it might make a difference for her now.
Oooh, this is golden, but I massively WHIFFED here. I shared a couple of things that were new and exciting about the ways that we were helping other companies. Both TOP things I shared, she had no need for. So, the conversation was basically dead and Amanda now has mentally checked us off as not relevant.
UGH!
What I COULD have done INSTEAD was say, “Well, there are TONS of new and exciting things, but I would really have to understand a lot more about why you are thinking of making a change and what is important to you. Do you have time to lay those things out for me and then, if we both feel it makes sense, I can tailor a demonstration to our conversation and we can get on another WebEx and I can show you around?” Then be quiet.
Nope. Didn’t do that.
SEVENTH VIOLATED PRINCIPLE: Make the same mistake twice in a row.
Amanda went on to say that while we might not be able to help with the first project, she and her President also thought that we might be able to help with another project they were working on.
AGAIN! I assumed what she needed and I launched into “selling” the way we help companies do similar things and I laid out some examples. Her new program did NOT have similar needs (because AGAIN I hadn’t asked her to be more specific – I ASSUMED based on my research, what they would want).
AGAIN, she marked me off as irrelevant for this project, too.
EIGHTH VIOLATED PRINCIPLE: I chased a “No!”
It continues to get more embarrassing. We were nearing the end of the conversation and I made one last assertion. “Well, I DO think, based on the things you have shared with me that it would be valuable for us to get on an online demonstration to further explore”.
That one landed like a BIG LEAD BALLOON. “Yeah”, she said. “Maybe.” “Let’s stay in touch because there may really be a way for us to work together, I just don’t see it now.”
WHIFF
It seems that I have virtually NO way to recover now. I will have to come up with some ways to seduce Amanda into learning more or giving me a chance to learn more if I want to keep this conversation alive. Right now, I am mostly just licking my wounds, but TOMORROW, I will call my mentor and get some good ideas. That is always a winning move.
NINTH NOT-VIOLATED PRINCIPLE: Always seek the wisdom of others when you get stuck!
I will let you know what we come up with and what actions I take now. There are TWO qualified opportunities here and I will have to learn and grow myself to put myself in a position to try again! I would love your insights, too. Please comment!
TENTH NOT-VIOLATED PRINCIPLE: Never give up!
Even though I am mortified, I will not let myself NOT learn the lessons here AND Amanda and I are not both convinced that there is not a way for us to work together. We will graciously follow it all-the-way through.
Even though I would rather crawl under a rock and just let this one go.
So, there it is!
AND NOW, A QUOTE THAT REALLY HELPED
Today, I saw this quote on Facebook from Michael Jordan. It made me realize that, even though I massively WHIFFED on this call, I can be satisfied that I keep giving it my all and failures are a part of my success. I hope you enjoy it, too!
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Love your WHIFFS UP! (And give me YOUR ideas about how to salvage the situation).
The Irreverent Sales Girl
Today I had a meeting lined up with the head of the department who buys what I sell.
20 minutes before our meeting, she sent an email saying that she can’t make the meeting, but her employee (who she said is COMPLETLY involved with their programs) would be there instead.
Know how I responded?
I emailed back (cc: all) “PERFECT! I am delighted to meet with Samantha…she is just the right person to take a look.”
(HINT: Always leave people knowing that everything is NO PROBLEM and JUST RIGHT – even though you may feel disappointed).
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Actually, NOW, I had a HUGE advantage
I was talking with the person who USES my competitor’s product on a day-to-day basis. SHE is more familiar with the PAIN than anyone else in the company. I can develop this person to be a real fly-in-the-ointment of her managers if she wants to switch to our products.
BUT, Beware!
I didn’t assume a single thing about the sale. I started from scratch.
First, I laid out for Samantha why her manager had wanted to meet with me and why her manager had put it on the calendar.
THEN, I turned the focus completely to her. I asked Samantha what HER expectation of the meeting was. I asked her what, if anything, she knew about my company. I asked her what she did and what her role was (don’t pretend that your search on LinkedIn or her title tells you a single bit – ask THEM.)
And of course, the MAGIC questions:
“What would be the best use of YOUR time on this call? What do YOU want to see?”
The world opened up!
Samantha told me EVERYTHING she was dealing with as the end-user of our competitor’s product and EXACTLY what she wanted from our time. It was delicious. And, she felt important. Because she is.
The meeting went EXCEPTIONALLY well. Because Samantha felt like it was a big deal that I’d gotten kicked down the chain, she gave me everything I wanted to know about her company’s pain points.
She left the call EXCITED and wanting to hear more.
Now, what I’ll do…
I will now call Samantha’s boss and tell her how great is was that she put me in touch with the perfect resource. I will summarize our call and WE ARE FURTHER ALONG than we would have been, otherwise.
Never forget the power of RECIPROCATION
Samantha’s boss turned the tables on me. And I was GREAT with her. And, I was GREAT with her trusted-employee. Now, she owes ME graciousness. It works like a charm.
Believe me, I am 10 times more likely to close this deal than I was when I woke up this morning.
I NOW have an internal advocate, a decision-maker who “owes” me and more information about what they are REALLY dealing with than I would have EVER gotten in the meeting I thought we were going to have.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Your job is to always be great with everyone and everything. The rest will sort itself out!
Pretty easy, right?
Love ’em UP!
The Irreverent Sales Girl
I was in a Zumba class today. HI-larious! 
My second class ever. I am TERRIBLE.
Yes, I actually tried out to be a cheerleader in high school. So glad it is not on tape.
I am the EPITOME of no co-ordination or rhythm. You will never see a video, but I assure you, it is disturbing on many levels.
YET, Tonight…
I was in my second Zumba class EVER.
Practically everyone in the class knows the moves. I don’t.
Practically everyone in the class is 500 times more coordinated than I am. Oh geez!
BUT,
I thanked the Instructor at the end of the class. Wanna know what SHE said?
“You were the best one in the class tonight.”
What, what?
YEP!
She said, “Everytime I looked around, YOU had the biggest smile on your face.”
I said, “I couldn’t get one move right.”
She said, (WAIT FOR IT) “Are you kidding? You totally nailed it! Only two classes?”
Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/
MORAL OF THE STORY…
Play full out with a big, fat smile on your face and no one will know that you are terrified inside! It’s not the dancing that matters, it is how you play!
Go play!
Love ’em UP!
The Irreverent Sales Girl
you can grow!
Loved this article from Jen Kim at Psychology Today: http://m.psychologytoday.com/
It reminds me. I struggle all the time with things that I’m s’posed to be. Don’t YOU? And it just gets in my way. When I let myself just swing out and be me…the world pays attention! Pretense is dropped. Connections are made. (And I close hella more deals!)
What happens when you STOP TRYING TO CHANGE and you just allow yourself to grow instead? 
What would happen to your sales if you just took yourself as you are and delighted your customers?
What would happen to your family if you just swung out and be’d (yes, be’d is now a word) yourself?
Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/
Imagine the Ferrari that is driving down the street wishing it could just be that solid family car, the Volvo. Ridiculous, right? (Example stolen from The Landmark Forum). While the Volvo is wishing it could be the sexy, sleek, and sought-after ride that the Ferrrari is! HI-larious!
As Marie Forleo says, “Keep going for your dreams because the world needs the gift that ONLY YOU HAVE!” (www.marieforleo.com)
Love yourself UP! (And the world will, too!)
The Irreverent Sales Girl
Reading the title, you
might think I mean price… I do not.
I am talking about technology today. Sometimes HIGH technology thrusts you forward. Sometimes the lowest technology keeps you connected.
Here’s the thing about technology… it ONLY works if it is working for you.
We find ourselves in a world of INCREDIBLE tools.. tools that will explode us to the top of the sales world, if only we can use them well.
Some of us are ACES at breaking through with new tools (read: www.DanWaldschmit.com, or even, Nancy Nardin http://www.smartsellingtools.com/about.html). Dan and Nancy are MASTERS at quickly assessing new tools and applying them.
ME?
Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/
I’m a bit low-tech.
Yet, I am ALWAYS NUMBER ONE in sales!
All I am saying here is USE WHAT WORKS!
You would crack up if you saw my sales tools. A whiteboard of checklists and an Excel spreadsheet.
Today, in technology, I am a fan of:
The Smartphone: (I can answer emails immediately from my phone)
LinkedIn (I can do very quick research)
Google and Google Alerts (obvious)
Here’s where I win, though – EVERY TIME
I know what works for me and I do it RELENTLESSLY.
1) I am on time
2) I send hand-written Thank You notes (a rarity)
3) I track my activity
Of course, I do not ignore the new tools, I want to learn more. I just can’t be DISTRACTED by every little thing that rears it’s new head. Can you?
My question is: Are you trying to make new technology work for you OR are you making sure YOUR tools work?
There is room for all of it!
Love your sales UP!
The Irreverent Sales Girl