Category Archives: Self Care

Taking care of yourself like a champion

Dignity, Goals, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Self Care, The Art of Selling, Winning

A Sales Gig Primer: Show Me the Money! Part 3 of 5

OK! So, today is about Show Me the Money!

Before we start though – did you register for this yet? It’s going to ROCK! Check out this event: Your Job Search Goes Social with Sima Dahl I am attending and I want you to consider it, too. Sima is even offering the event FREE to people who are unemployed – on the honor system. She is clearly about making a difference!

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

Show Me the MoneyShow-Me-The-Money-538x218
There are really three ways to get paid as a salesperson – all others are variations on one a theme:

Straight Up Salary
This position pays a straight salary and you are evaluated on your performance against specific measures – maybe the number of appointments you set, or your conversion rates, or the deals you bring in.

This set up is ideal for the person who does not like income fluctuation. It is also ideal for the person who feels more comfortable REALLY selling a product when they can honestly say there is “nothing in it for them”.

Base Plus Commission
This sales gig pays you enough of a base to ensure you have some living expenses covered as your income fluctuates, but provides enough incentive to get the job done and perform at the top of your game.

Be sure to know what you need to be OK first, make yourself comfortable enough with the base so that you have the flexibility to go out and sell confidently (people can sniff out desperation from a mile away). But, not SO comfortable that it takes your edge off of the hunger.

This set up is ideal for someone who has a moderate degree of money motivation. Usually this person is also intrinsically wired to simply need to achieve. They also love the “unlimited” income potential that comes along with this situation, without having it all at risk.

Commission Only
(I consider Commission with a Draw to fit into this same category. A draw is NOT a base salary. It is like going into debt against future commissions.)

This sales gig is for people who are highly risk-tolerant. They want to be paid (and paid WELL) for the results they produce. They can command much higher commission rates because they are taking on all of the fluctuation and risk of performance.

These people are self-reliant and REALLY love the “Sky’s The Limit” nature of the work.

If you are entering one of these gigs, be absolutely certain that you can rely on your employer to provide the full training and resources you will need to succeed. Many companies who pay on “Commission Only” are just fine with churn and burn of sales people. Make sure this is an environment where you can THRIVE!

Love yourself UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

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

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

Leave a comment
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, Dignity, Goals, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Self Care, Uncategorized, Winning

Spice it up a bit this week!

Leave a comment

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

Loving Life, Purpose, Self Care

Where are you living a “what if” life?

Leave a comment

Living a "what if?" lifeIn my 20’s I got engaged to a drummer.

He was all the things a drummer should be. Long hair, bar tender, you know the guy. The one the girls swoon over and your mother warns you about.

A bunch of things were a perfect mis-match, but I was head-over-heels CRAZY about this guy. You know, the movie kind of – “he’s the one” –  kind of CRAZY? (I still think he’s an awesome guy, btw). And I’m SURE he thanks his lucky stars he found his right girl, too.

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

We had to go for it, though. I had to see it all the way through to the disaster it was DESTINED to become.

Why? You ask.

Because I am unwilling to live a “what if” life.

Can you imagine if – all these years later – when I’m annoyed about doing the dishes ore something perfectly normal – like my husband leaves me with an eigth-of-a-tank of gas… I start thinking. “Remember that drummer guy? I was so CRAZY about him. I BET we could have made it work! Yeah! Why didn’t I GO FOR IT?”

Now, I know the answer! And I am even MORE CRAZY about the guy I’m with now. The wonderful match!

It’s the same reason I jumped in with a partner in a company and started it from scratch. Now, THAT one worked out great!

Where are you living a “what if” life? It could be “What if I just picked up the phone and asked for that meeting?” or “What if I just took the chance on this dream job?” or “What if I moved to California?”

Fact is, you just really don’t know what you are capable of until you call your shot and take it!

If you wish you’d started it when you were 10 years younger, it is even MORE imperative that you try it today.

How about living a NEED TO KNOW life instead!

Love it ALL UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

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

Sometimes, it is time to be quiet!

Leave a comment

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

 

 

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

Time management is a waste of Time

Leave a comment

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

 

Authenticity, Dignity, Loving Life, Performance, Self Care, Winning, Wisdom

A smile beats a cheerleader? What?

Leave a comment

I was in a Zumba class today. HI-larious! A smile beats a cheerleader? What?

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

Authenticity, Dignity, Goals, Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Self Care, Winning, Wisdom

You will NEVER change, but…

Leave a comment

you can grow!

Loved this article from Jen Kim at Psychology Today: http://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/valley-girl-brain/201307/why-we-are-the-way-we-are

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? You will never change, but...

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

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

The quote to sum it all up for the week – A sensational life!

Quote Leave a comment

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.”

~ Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

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

I’ve always been known for a scandal or two! Those who know me will agree! It may not be pretty, but it makes for a great story!

Go create YOUR great story…

Love your life UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

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

Take the OFFER off the table…but, don’t take YOU off the table

Leave a comment

Take the OFFER off the table...Don't take YOU off the table

When you take yourself away, you hurt yourself

Sitting in a sales meeting with a VIP at a company I would love to have as a client.

You know the one. The pretty big deal who would make a great addition to your core set of clients? A nice and pretty feather in your cap?

I was INVESTED in this deal

I had been working this deal like a good job.

I had traveled for hours to meet in person.

I looked my best, and I was prepared.

Things looked good

As we started to talk about how we could work together, this lovely VIP laid out the landscape. She shared with me how her systems weren’t working – how she wasn’t meeting her goals. (A-ha! I could help!)

THEN…Two really bad things happened.

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

Things took a turn for the worst

First, she said to me: “We don’t have budget for another solution AND I don’t have buy-in from my senior management to make any changes. It’s just not important to them.” (In other words, I CAN’T BUY ANYTHING FROM YOU)

The second thing she said was even worse. Next she said, “OK. Pitch me.”

(HUH?)

For a moment I could barely see straight

I was SO annoyed.

When she said “PITCH ME” – I was just floored. Here she was, completely wasting my time AND forcing me to be some small person who was going to give her a spiel. UGH!

Somehow, I regained POISE and PROFESSIONALISM

I remembered what a very successful friend of mine once told me, “Sometimes you will have to take the OFFER off of the table, but NEVER take yourself away.”

So, I paused and put myself on HER side of the table. She was in pain and wanted some help. I had nothing to offer. Not her fault.

I told her. “I have nothing to sell you. If you don’t have the budget and your managers won’t agree, then we don’t really have anything to talk about just yet.”

Then I laid out the plan

“I would love to have another conversation when you have more support from your execs and they see the value in putting money behind your efforts. Is there anything I can do to help you get that?”

She agreed that there wasn’t.

I stayed with her

When all of me wanted to storm out of her office and make her realize what a waste of time our meeting was and how badly she had insulted me, instead… we talked about other things.

We spent the next 15 minutes talking about personal stuff. The sales conversation was closed, but our relationship wasn’t.

Now, I’ve never sold to this company 

And neither have any of my competition, but she speaks well of me in our circles and we are friendly, and – who knows – Well, you just never know.

The moral of the story

Bring dignity to the sale.

Stand up for yourself. You are not a trained monkey with a canned approach. It would have been ridiculous and demeaning if I had given my well-prepared presentation.

Yet, love that other person UP! This VIP would NEVER have wasted her time with me if she didn’t need some help. I couldn’t help, but I could be her friend.

Take your offer away, but never take YOU away! 

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl