Category Archives: Irreverence

Saying it straight – takes courage

Authenticity, Dignity, Goals, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Winning

Help someone ELSE be successful…but first a story

7 Comments
Redhead Writing
Redhead Writing

Alright, I admit it … I have become a bit of an Erika Napoletano stalker of late. (www.redheadwriting.com)

There’s a good reason!

A break in the storm

And, no, I am not talking about Sandy here – although I am sending all my love for you who are dealing with her tonight.

I am talking about the Business storm. You may be familiar with it.

My entire life (since age 12), I have been hoping and studying and praying that one day…please, God…one day I would be a GREAT business person.

I ran an (unsuccessful) lemonade stand, have attended undergrad and graduate B-school. I have co-owned and sold a business. I have failed at starting a couple of businesses. I have been a top salesperson.

Still, the BRASS RING seemed so far away.

Business seemed like a minefield to me. One where you PROTECT your butt against people who will steal your idea. One where MOST BUSINESSES FAIL in the first three years. One where you had just better get used to the idea that it is a DOG-EAT-DOG world out there.

Erika was my break in the storm.

From zero to FUCK YEAH

Now, all of you know that I refrain from swearing whenever possible. Yet, you can hardly get to know and love Erika unless you understand this very raw premise.

Erika Napoletano is ONLY about getting your business and your life from zero to FUCK YEAH. And she means it. She does the work to filter out all of the stuff that will distract you from your goals. She serves as a MIGHTY resource. AND she backs it up by being on your side!

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

WHAT?

Someone who knows NOTHING about me wants me to win? Will teach me to be vulnerable? Will take time to understand my pain and EXALT in my successes? IS there such a thing in business?

Well, yes, THERE IS. And she is no small potatoes. She is a celebrated columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine. She is a sought-after consultant for tech firms. She is an author of a real live book. (The Power of UN-Popular) And….wait for it…

She is a Tedx Talker

I can prove it:

Now for the game

Erika is being LOVED UP for this Tedx Talk. She should be. It is amazing.

It is all about the Power of Being UnPopular (did you ever want to be one of the popular crowd? did you ever imagine there would be an advantage to being UN-popular? you will love this).

OK, my lovelies. If you have been following me for over one MINUTE, you KNOW that I am about YOU winning. That is why I post every single work day. For your success.

Now, I am asking YOU to help ME make someone ELSE successful. Let us show that The Irreverent Sales Girls (and guys who love The Irreverent Sales Girls) can make a BIG FAT SPLASH in the world.

Why I’m Showing This to You

When you find something that moves you, sharing it is key. So today, I’m sharing this with you in the hopes that it might move you, too.

If you like Erika’s talk, LIKE it on YouTube.

If it moved you, TELL HER in a comment on YouTube (she’s responding to everyone who leaves a comment — and there are over 100 so far!).

If you love the message, SHARE IT. On Facebook, via email, tie it to the leg of a carrier pigeon — whatever moves you.

The upside to all of this is that, on occasion, sometimes TED (the mothership) features TEDx talks (talks from smaller, independent events) on their main site. It’s kind of like winning a TED-flavored Oscar. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could be a part of letting TED know that we think Erika’s talk is an idea worth spreading? And if you’re not familiar with TED, that’s exactly what it is: Ideas Worth Spreading. People from all over the world give talks that are 18 minutes or less on ideas that move them, and in turn, TED.com moves people across the world by sharing, or as TED says, spreading them.

The Irreverent Sales Girl does not win a car if you do this!

The real power of what we are doing here is the power to CONNECT each other with amazing resources and opportunities.

Your “watch” and “like” and “comment” is something YOU can do for someone who is AMAZING and playing life BOLD.

I get nothing from it. YOU get my true and raw thanks.

I invite you to meet someone exceptional

You will laugh, you will be moved, and you will remember something stirring deep inside of you that is ready to be GREATER THAN YOU EVER IMAGINED.

Please watch the video, like it (if you do), and send a comment. Let’s get Erika to Ted.com!

Now, what can I do for YOU?

Post a comment about what you think of this game, and tell me something I can do for you.

We are all in this success thing together!

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Authenticity, Creativity, Customer Service, Dignity, Goals, Guest Posts, Irreverence, Loving Life, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Winning

A funny thing happened to me last week!

Leave a comment

Are you the sales bully? One of the most amazing women on the planet today allowed ME to be a guest blogger on her site. Erika Napoletano is REDHEAD WRITING. She is a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine, she is a Tedx Talker. She is, in short, the real deal.

AND, she is SO human.

I am humbled by her interest in the message of Bringing a Dash of Dignity to the Art of Sellling. So, today I share the Guest Blog that she allowed me to contribute.

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

It is on one of my FAVORITE TOPICS. I OBJECT to you overcoming my OBJECTIONS!

Enjoy good storytelling here: Are you the sales bully?

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…

Leave a comment

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?

Appearance, Creativity, Customer Service, Dignity, Goals, Irreverence, Loving Life, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Winning, Wisdom

Are you HOT?

1 Comment
Hot Selling
Be hot, sell more

Are you HOT? Let me clarify.

When you are HOT, you have great attitude! People want to buy from confident, self-possessed, passionate people. That’s HOT!

You do NOT need to look like the woman in this pic (who does, really, look like her?) But, the attitude is there!

She is confident, knows who she is, and is going to make sure that YOU look like a ROCK STAR when you buy her products. (This applies to men, too, BTW!)

You may “feel” less-than-confident when you are selling. We all do. Seriously!

One of my best friends once told me — “You can’t judge a person’s insides by their outsides”…meaning, they may LOOK all put together, but it doesn’t mean they are.

Go find your attitude. Find your passion. Find where YOU are HOT (and it may be that you are the EXPERT who CANNOT be denied! See Mike Kunkle as an example)

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

Find it. And go forth and be awesome! Let your HOT shine through (everyone’s got it!)

Love your hot UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

 

 

 

 

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

A common sense reminder: Urgent v. Important

Leave a comment

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

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

Why is sales important? Can we eliminate it?

Leave a comment

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

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

Everybody skims…

4 Comments

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…

Leave a comment

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

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

What I learned from Galaga this week

1 Comment

Have you ever played Galaga (the video game)?

I LOVE that game. Haven’t played in years.

This weekend, I went to a resort in the Smoky Mountains that had the vintage game Galaga! YAY! I was so happy.

I started playing. I was having a blast. Playing and playing and then…something interesting happened.

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

I started approaching the HIGH SCORE! YAY! I was going to beat that high score. WOW! The first time EVER I was going to be on the screen for being the HIGH SCORE.

So, what did I do? I started playing the game with an eye on the score…and GUESS WHAT!

GAME OVER at 10 POINTS UNDER the high score. Aaaaargh!

Isn’t that just how it goes? You are playing like a winner and THEN you look at the score and GAME OVER.

I played another game after that and came nowhere near my first score. Then, I just turned the game off.

The lesson? Keep your eye on playing. Let the score INFORM you, but keep your eye on the game.

When I am being my best and doing everything I know to make my customer happy, game on! When I calculate against what someone else has done or the “score” I am hoping to achieve…it comes to a DEAD STOP!

Love the game UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Buyers, Creativity, Dignity, Irreverence, Performance, Presentation, Winning

The Big Wig is falling ASLEEP?

Leave a comment

I’m in a meeting today at a Fortune 500 company that I’ve been selling to for about 6 months now. My key contacts have asked me in to present to all the Very Important Executives who help make the buying decision.

My contact is GREAT she’s got everyone there – the VP of This, the Head of That, and the Boss of All of Them (BOAT). Sounds like a great set-up, right?

Except my job is to make my contact look like a ROCK STAR, address all of the angles that everyone is looking from, AND keep it on time.

Still, not a problem really, but about 5 minutes in, it is clear that BOAT has other things on his mind, and he’s doing his best to not fall asleep, the dear. Oh, and the Head of That is 40 minutes late but wants to cover everything.

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

It was crazy…but I decided to have some fun with it…here’s what I did

I used BOAT’s name from time to time
Instead of pretending that he wasn’t interested, I used BOAT’s name from time to time in the examples I was giving, this kept him awake, and amused, and even interested (you must do this gracefully and appropriately and not single him out.) Pretty soon HE was asking great questions. Once I even CRACKED HIM UP

I asked each person what they wanted to learn from our meeting
That way, I could keep it HIGH LEVEL and on point and everyone knew where we were going.

I graciously welcomed the Head of That when she walked in the room, but kept on point
Once BOAT even started answering her questions.

I respected everyone’s time
I stayed late with Head of That, but made sure that VP of This and BOAT had everything they needed by 5 minutes before the hour, so that they could cut out for their next thing

I made every word count
I did not give an unnecessary stories or expansions on my answers. Straight, to the point and I gave every word energy with an intent to communicate

I was flexible with my presentation
Of course, I have a way that I normally show my product, but I followed their lead. If they asked about something, I went right there and I kept it all on point. (You have to KNOW your product INSIDE OUT to do this)

I loved ’em ALL UP!
I took them all JUST THE WAY THEY WERE and made sure they all won and got to be great.

AND my contact looked like a ROCK STAR. She was so grateful.

So, if you get in a jam, SWING OUT, have some fun and

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl