Category Archives: Performance

How to perform – reliably

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

Five Steps to Taking Control of Your Destiny – One Morning at a Time!

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I am delighted to share this article from a salesperson I recently met who, frankly, blew my socks off!

Please meet Cait Green, a truly remarkable saleswoman. Her enthusiasm, her ability to quickly detect what is important to other people, and her drive captured my attention! Could she really be this excited all of the time? This on point?

So, I wrote an email to Cait and asked her what I really wanted to know…Do you WAKE UP excited?

Here’s what she wrote. I got a ton of great stuff from it and have even put a few things into my morning that have made a difference….I haven’t added Julie Andrews yet, but, hey, if it works, it works!

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

From Cait:

Do you wake up excited?

Heck yes! “The hills are alive with the sound of music,” for me anyway. My alarm clock sounds at 6:30am each day with Julie Andrews belting out the uplifting opening number from “The Sound of Music.” People often laugh when I let them in on my little show tune secret, but HEY it works for me. It’s difficult to make time for ourselves in the midst of hectic and demanding schedules, but it’s crucial to find something that inspires you to greet the day in a positive way. Cue the birds chirping and Julie spinning arms wide open against the backdrop of rolling green hills and I’m up and ready to take on the world.

I don’t allow myself to catalogue the myriad thoughts that are RACING through my mind at the start of the day, in bed. Beds are for sleeping. Here are my simple morning steps for success…

STEP 1: Avoid that snooze button like the plague and GET UP.

STEP 2: CLEAR YOUR HEAD. For me this entails some combination of feel good tunes (lots of Beyonce as of late) and exercise, preferably outdoors. You’re going to be grinding all day so it’s important to allow yourself the time to mentally prepare for the hard work at hand.

STEP 3: MAKE A LIST! I’m not talking about a list that begins with…”make a list” so that you can immediately slash an item off in thick black marker with a satisfied grin. It’s imperative to set goals each day. It’s easy to get carried away in creating an inventory of the MILLION things you NEED to get done NOW. Be smart about it and prioritize at least 3 tasks associated with your goal(s) that you can realistically accomplish. You want to end the day feeling fulfilled and carry that momentum through to tomorrow. So there’s no point in setting unrealistic expectations for yourself that will ultimately leave you feeling like you’ve fallen short.

STEP 4: READ. It can be an excerpt from Radical Acceptance, Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha (a great read) or a chapter from The Hunger Games (also a great read). It wakes your brain up. NOW, peruse the trades that pertain specifically to your area of sales expertise; an article or piece of research you can dig up on a prospective client or an exciting event that impacts your marketplace. Being well versed and up-to-speed on industry happenings sets you up for success and gives you the confidence you need to engage your clients in an interesting and meaningful way.

STEP 5: REMIND YOURSELF TO BE YOUR BEST SELF. Relationships are at the heart of success.  It is all about the connection forged and maintained between the parties transacting. Working hard to BE YOUR BEST SELF is the key to being the best professional you can be. Relationships flourish when we take care of ourselves, which enables us to best meet the needs and expectations of our partners.

WHAT WILL YOUR MORNING ROUTINE LOOK LIKE?

You owe it to yourself and to your clients to devise a morning routine that works for you. Sometimes I want to toss Julie Andrews right out the window when she starts in on her 6:30am serenade, but I don’t. I refuse to allow the negativity to seep in while I lie in bed …dread gathering at the thought of placing my feet on the cold floor. We all know how quickly our anxieties can snowball and intimidate us into inaction. When you take control and focus on getting excited about what the day holds for you…you WILL succeed!

And of course, take the time to prepare and eat a great breakfast…a little French pressed coffee goes a long way in making you feel like a BOSS.

Note from ISG: As many of you already know, I particularly like the Kerry Ellis version of Defying Gravity to get me going in the morning!

 

Love your whole day UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Creativity, Goals, Loving Life, Performance, Uncategorized, Winning

Take the 20 minute challenge to speed up sales!

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Take the 20 minute challenge! Business was moving at the speed of molasses.

Deals were stacking up. All that was required was SOMEONE putting pen to paper, but no one was doing it.

The roadmap to RESIGNATION

I was on my way to the land of RESIGNATION! Where booze flows freely, the entertainment is On Demand, the food is decadent, but it is an empty, empty world. Nothing is getting done … and escape seems the only good thing about my day.

As appealing as a trip to the land of RESIGNATION seemed, I thought that this time I would take a detour. I called my dear and very successful friend whose business has been EXPLODING lately and asked her for her advice. How was SHE blowing business out of the water and I was stuck?

And here is what she said!

She told me that she had been creating a “clearing” for business to come in. Huh! Taking actions that create a new context for her day and for the way her business goes.

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

I wanted something a bit more concrete – more actionable.

She said. Play this game with yourself. Make it a point to return every email, every phone call, every communication within 20 minutes. Be a RESPONSE machine!

WOW! Interesting.

So, I agreed. For one week, I was going to play the game. Between 8 am and 7 pm every day, I was going to respond to people within 20 minutes.

Know what happened?

1) My pipeline got even MORE full with truly interested and qualified buyers
2) I closed a deal and another one is on its way this week
3) My activity went WAY up – so that I am meeting those goals, too!

Now, if you think this is all a little “woo woo”, I assure you it is not.

Let’s take a look at what is in play here.

Meeting People Where They Are

The golden KEY to sales is being where your buyer is. It is our biggest challenge. We have entire marketing teams dedicated to it.

When your buyer sends you an email, they are thinking of you and they are interested in engaging with you in that moment. You have about 20 minutes before their mind moves on to something entirely new and you are forgotten.

The LEAST EXPENSIVE and EASIEST way to be where your customer is at the right time, is GET RIGHT BACK IN TOUCH with them – when they are thinking of you!

Activity Breeds Activity

As you get active, you will see other actions that you want to take. You will communicate more and more often. If you make more requests, you will get more responses. Period. You will get more meetings. You will get more “no’s” which you can move out of your pipeline. You will get more “yes’s” which you can move into your pipeline. You will get ideas and inspiration! You will be a communication machine!

Putting the Universe on Notice

When you get in touch with EVERYONE (I mean everyone! Not *JUST* customers!), you are telling the universe that you are open for business! Not in a “woo woo” way – although, we all have heard that when you create a true intention that the universe moves to fulfill on that intention. I don’t know much about that, but I DO know about this natural law called INERTIA.

A body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. Why argue with natural laws? You fight authority, but authority always wins. If you put things off, you will get put off by others!

If you want to BREAK THE BACK of RESIGNATION, you are going to first have to get your body in motion. Which means – it will take some extra energy to get you moving, but once you do, it will ACTUALLY take extra energy to STOP being in motion! Inertia is your friend or your mortal enemy. You get to say!

Take the 20 minute challenge!

I challenge you today to take the 20 minute response game on! For one week, play the game of getting back to EVERYONE within 20 minutes, then tell me what happened! I think you will be amazed!

Love ’em ALL UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

 

Creativity, Dignity, Goals, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Self Care, Uncategorized, Winning

Spice it up a bit this week!

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Spice it up a bit this weekIt’s mid-winter.

It’s mid-quarter (sort of).

The bloom of the New Year has worn off a bit – and it’s too early for Spring Fever.

So, what can you do to spice it up a bit?

This week, I want  you to come up with some BIG reward for yourself. Something to put a little action in your step. Pick something that you rarely do for yourself, like take an afternoon off, or that great bottle of champagne, a massage, a night full of guilt-free TV. Something you don’t normally do, but will really enjoy.

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

NOW, pick a goal to accomplish this week.

A S-T-R-E-T-C-H goal. Maybe it’s an extra ten cold calls. Maybe it’s getting your CRM all-the-way-up-to-date. Perhaps it’s setting up 3 extra meetings for next week. Whatever, it is…put THAT at stake this week. Make sure it’s an ACTIVITY goal – not an outcome goal. Activity is always the key!

If you hit your goal – you get the reward!

Then, tell someone else about your game. Your spouse, your boss, a fellow salesperson. (It doesn’t work if you keep it to yourself).

Get to work! Have some fun! Blow your goal out of the water and ENJOY your reward.

It’s too easy to get on the treadmill of doing, doing, doing – make sure you’re taking great care of YOU when you win.

BONUS EXERCISE

Write a comment and tell me what your goal and reward are for the week! I want to see you get CREATIVE!

Let’s get spicy and…

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, The Art of Selling, Winning

The great salesperson: Admin vs. Action

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Great salespeople vs. Good salespeopleTo be truly great as a salesperson, we must think like a policeman.

WE LOVE THE ACTION

But, the lasting power lies in the ADMIN (paperwork)!

Here is one place where great salespeople are greater than good salespeople.

THEY ARE DILIGENT ABOUT THEIR SYSTEMS

They record their interactions They are organized They keep their records diligently – including expense reports.

Their systems allow them to be RESPONSIVE.

THEY KNOW WHAT IS IMPORTANT

Relationships and being on top of as many interactions as possible is KEY!

GOOD SALESPEOPLE have their activity plan in place and are great with people

GREAT SALESPEOPLE have THAT and impeccable systems

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

What can YOU do to improve your systems to make you GREAT?

Love your business UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Goals, Loving Life, Performance, Uncategorized, Winning, Wisdom

I’m drowning!!! Top 5 Tips for Overwhelm!

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Ever just get OVERWHELMED???I'm drowning!!! Top 5 Tips for Overwhelm

I am!

I just got back from an awesome-sauce conference and I’m headed to Dreamforce next week.

What’s a girl to do?

With email backlogging and laundry spilling over and thank you notes to write and expense reports to submit and deals closing and prospects calling and presentations to make … and the dogs are DYING for a walk! THEN to get ready for the next week!

Welcome to an OUTRAGEOUS life! 

Yep! If you are having the overwhelms, it simply means you are living an OUTRAGEOUS life! You are up-to-stuff!

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 my TOP 5 tips for having it all work (notice I didn’t say – having it all handled!)

Number One: WRITE it all down! 

YES. Take a minute and dump your brain into a messy to-do list. Everything you can think of that needs to be handled. This will only take a short time (I promise).

Number Two: COMMUNICATE before, during, and after!

Chances are you could’ve predicted that you were going to be somewhat submerged for a bit of time. Right?

Chances are that people expect you to be available to them if you are up to big things and have loads of responsibilities. Right?

(BTW, I am TERRIBLE at this one!)

So, BEFORE you go away to that conference or on vacation or into a maelstrom of a meeting-packed week, TELL people. Tell your family. Tell your friends. Tell your co-workers. Tell your clients. Tell your prospects.

DURING the time you are away, set ALL of your email accounts (personal and professional) with OUT OF OFFICE settings. Let people know what they can expect and the best way to reach you if it is ASAP or SOS! (I give people my “text me” information.)

AFTER you get back, look at who needs attention (review your checklist) and write a quick note letting people know when you can respond (make sure you put it in your calendar to respond at that time).

Number Three: CANCEL and RESCHEDULE and JUST PLAIN CROSS OFF things that are not a priority.

Do a quick review of your messy to-do list and quickly take stock of the things  you MUST do right away to keep your momentum.

Everything else is not CRITICAL (NO it is NOT all critical) – cancel it, reschedule it, or toss it out.

Number Four: ASK FOR HELP! 

Chances are that someone else in your life has a little more space than you do right now. Ask them to help out. Be sure you are available to do the same for others when you can.

Number Five: BREATHE and then FOCUS! 

I like to keep reminding myself to FOCUS on what I am NOW DOING. We believe we can multi-task. But, we can’t. And pretending that we can puts us in HOT WATER.

If you have it all written down, it will not be lost. Focus on the task at hand. Cross it off when it is finished. Move to the next item.

Soon, the waves will subside and you will have some time to re-group. The few minutes you take in steps Number One – Four will give you HOURS of extra productivity and TONS of peace of mind.

And don’t forget to…

LOVE YOUR OUTRAGEOUS LIFE UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Goals, Loving Life, Performance, Winning

A watched pot never boils!

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Well, it’s the end-of-the-year and I always get a bit antsy about now. A watched pot never boils!

This is when I get seduced by the temptation to hover over the contracts I want to close before year-end. I get itchy to get those deals signed, so that I can blow into new percentages of commissions and achieve epic levels of fame and adulation at my company.

I want to pull it all in NOW.

BUT, I have to remember that the watched pot never boils!

It seems to be a fundamental law of the Universe.

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

If I focus on the deals that are about to close – somehow they don’t! My buyer loses budget, their company goes through a re-org, the priorities shift! It’s crazy. But downright reliable. THAT POT WILL JUST NOT BOIL!

When I remember to keep doing the right activity. Keep reaching out to my territory. Keep traveling to see people. Keep booking appointments. When I do all of this, somehow deals close and new opportunities emerge out of nowhere.

A success story

Here’s an example of something I did last week to keep my eye off of that pesky pot – and the outcome surprised me!

I went through all of my 2013 activity. Trips, demonstrations, emails, conversations…all of it. Then, I put together a list of everyone I had touched throughout the year who is not currently in a conversation with me.

Then, I sent an email to all of them – making sure to keep it personal – (no one likes to be part of a mass email).

In the email, I thanked them for the time we had spent together earlier in the year. I included a link to a cutting edge white paper that addresses a key topic in the industry. And, I asked if they had 30 minutes for a conversation to share their vision for 2014 with me.

Know what happened? I got a bunch of emails thanking me for continuing to stay in contact, I got three phone appointments with customers who wanted to discuss the timing of our contract for next year…and I got a commitment to buy for THIS YEAR – out of nowhere!

Very exciting!

On top of that, two of my deals in that pot of mine started coming to a FULL BOIL!

Keep loving ’em ALL UP and you can’t go wrong!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

 

 

Authenticity, Creativity, Loving Life, Performance, Purpose, Winning

You are discouraged? Go, go, go, go, GO!

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Yes! The end of the year is upon us!

Yes! We don’t know if we are going to meet our goals (Didn’t it all seem so DO-able in January?)

I INVITE YOU To GO FOR IT!

Do you know that one year  I had a colleague who had sold a sum total of ZERO against her goal in October.

By December, she had exceeded her quota!  (True Story)

She went from ABSOLUTE ZERO to winning in TWO MONTHS. You are discouraged? Go, go, go, go, GO!

What was the catalyst?

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

She did some work to DISRUPT her conventional ways of thinking and acting!

Are you willing to GO FOR IT this year?

Never stop going! http://ampandpivot.com/end-of-year-success/

AND, email me for the private conversation of how my colleague made it happen: salesgirl@irreverentsalesgirl.com. Not to be mysterious. Just not everyone wants to hear it!

You can do it if you will let NOTHING STAND IN THE WAY – including YOU!

Love your success UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

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

Sometimes, it is time to be quiet!

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We seem to be jacked up on being productive. Sometimes, it is time to be quiet

As if being productive makes us valuable. Or even helps us achieve our dreams.

Sometimes, it is time to be quiet.

Take a walk with your dog, read a book, snuggle with your child. Watch a football game. Nap.

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

Take care of YOU. You will KNOW when it is time to get up and go after your to-do list. You will!

In the meantime, look around, be quiet. BE YOU!

Love it All UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

 

 

Customer Service, Dignity, Loving Life, Performance, Winning, Wisdom

You can scale your system, but you CAN’T scale relationships!

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You can scale your systems, but you can't scale your relationshipsHOW DOES HE DO IT?

The amazing Bob Burg continues to confound me.

He is a best-selling author and a coveted speaker.

Everyone I have ever met who knows him, LOVES him!

Wanna know why?

Well, I wanna know why, too – but here is my theory!

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

As we grow our businesses, we MUST learn better systems.

We must deliver our products more efficiently.

Sometimes, we do this by hiring others to do the work that we cannot keep up with.

Sometimes, we use technology to streamline activities.

Sometimes, we outsource activities that help us focus on what makes us great.

Sometimes, though, we do a VERY VERY VERY bad thing.

We try to scale our relationships.

This is how it looks when we do that…

* We send out marketing materials that get the person’s name wrong.

I often get REALLY interested in what someone has to offer and I reach out to that person as “The Irreverent Sales Girl” and I get a communication back that says, “Dear The”. Seriously. This actually happens! Guess how quickly I hit “DELETE”?

Can you IMAGINE how I would feel if this were my financial advisor? Or my accountant?

* We service our clients in “chunks”.

We categorize people using a limited set of data about them. Then, we put them into some kind of “System” where we deliver certain messages or opportunities or services to each of these “categories”.

There are PLENTY of great ways to scale the services we deliver.

For example, we write a book that provides AWESOME information to the masses who will read it. I have never met Brian Tracy, for instance, but his books have provided tremendous value to me! I have paid for his information many times over and have been happy I did it.

Or, we develop a keynote where we get in front of thousands of people who can benefit from our expertise – and will pay for it. And love it.

Movie-makers develop storylines that will entertain me – even propose messages that change my perspective and that I hold dear (The Princess Bride, for example!)

My bank automates a system where I get a notification when my checking account dips below a certain level with an option to transfer money from another account. This serves me.

Even my accountant has lower-level employees actually DO my taxes, but he interacts with me personally when I have a question.

The TRICK to being WILDLY SUCCESSFUL?

You must KNOW when your services CAN be automated to serve your customers and network better.

And you must KNOW when you will put someone off by “scaling” them into your systems.

THEN, you must make people KNOW that you value THEM and actually know something about them and their goals.

As technology expands, the opportunity to try to scale relationships also expands. BUT, people KNOW IT when we are doing this. It is easy to tell when you have been put into a “category”, isn’t it?

TO BE TRULY AWESOME: You must learn when to scale and when to not.

I’ll tell the truth here. I have NO IDEA how Bob Burg, or Jules Taggart, or Carol Roth, or Phil Gerbyshak, or Dan Waldschmidt, or Anthony Iannorino, or countless others do it. But, they DO. I am determined to crack the code and I will be happy to share it with you when I do.

In the meantime, look at your systems.

Where are you SERVING your customers and network with automation? And where are you making them feel small or angry? (BIG PROBLEM FOR YOU: These people will never tell you – they will simply ignore you).

Find ways to LOVE ‘EM ALL UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

 

 

 

Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Self Care, Winning, Wisdom

Time management is a waste of Time

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Time Management is a waste of TIMEIf you are an ultra-organized person, you should move on and read something else! (I still love you, just don’t want to waste your Time *smile*)

For the rest of us, who just KNOW that if we could manage our time better, we could be the wild success that we know we are…

THIS ARTICLE IS FOR YOU

There are a couple of KEY problems with the idea of TIME MANAGEMENT.

First, time is not even real. Every physicist can tell you that. Even Einstein acknowledged that time is relative.

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

Think about it this way:

When you are spending the last night with your lover before they leave for two weeks, time flies!

When you are sitting in a Traffic Class, time slows to a crawl.

You cannot manage time…. you have no access to managing TIME! Time does what it does. You have nothing to do about it.

Argue with me….I’m open!

Here is what my good friend Anna Belyaev taught me:

You cannot manage time, but YOU CAN MANAGE YOUR ENERGY!

What!?!

Yep!

We all have different energy cycles.

Some of us are morning people.

Some of us are night owls.

Some of us are hyper.

Some of us are sick, with limited pools of energy.

YET, we can ALL do what we set out to do!

We must first know what we are committed to and then we must KNOW OURSELVES.

But, first …. the story that changed my life.

I knew a woman who was WILDLY successful. She made more money than anyone I had ever met.

What was interesting about her is that she only worked between 10 pm and 4 am. It surprised me! How could she do that?

She KNEW herself and she KNEW what she was up to and she WAS NOT going to fail. HA!

So what does this mean for you?

Not sure, but I can tell you what it means for me.

I KNOW that I am a night owl. So, I do not schedule meetings or workouts or other stuff until later in the morning. I do “wake up” stuff in the morning, like Yoga and walking my dogs.

I KNOW that I am ON MY GAME between 11 am and 5 pm. So, I schedule my meetings during this time.

I KNOW that I hit a wall between 5 pm and 7 pm. So, I schedule my exercise at this time.

I KNOW that I am WILDLY effective from 7 pm to 11 pm, so I do my most important work at this time.

I KNOW that I reflect and relax from 11 pm to midnight, so I do that.


Ben Franklin said “Early to bed and early to rise, etc.” Consider that worked for HIM!

Find out what WORKS FOR YOU!

Don’t fight it. Sometimes your energy is high – do the important work then. Sometimes your energy is low – take a nap – refresh.

If you are always fighting yourself, you will never find your SELF!

Trust your cycles. (I trust your cycles!)

Love it ALL UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl