Category Archives: Top Ten Principles of Selling

Goals, Loving Life, Performance, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Uncategorized, Winning

Are you eating well, and then starving?

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This is SUCH a common occurrence, I must address it.

This article applies to pipeline salespeople and solopreneurs, mostly. Here is how the story goes:

I AM DOING MY MARKETING…GOING FOR IT

My focus is on marketing. I get 2 responses for every 100 messages I deliver (print media, emails, etc).

Then, I land a big deal (contract)

So, I start doing the work on that contract. I ignore my marketing.

Then, I have closed that big deal (finished the contract)

Now what?

I am back to the drawing board. Income is uncertain.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

I have fallen into this trap…

I have gotten a BIG FISH on the line, and devoted all my time to that. Then, when it’s landed, I am left with no pipeline.

I have learned…

Whle I am DELIVERING, I am sharing with my prospects WHAT I am delivering, WHILE I am delivering it…this is UNBELIEVEABLE marketing. I am DOING IT NOW for someone else, wouldn’t YOU like to be a part of it?

NEVER NEVER NEVER stop marketing … and your BEST marketing comes WHILE you are working

Because you are confident. You are producing. You can leverage your current success into future success.

It takes discipline…and it is fun

When you are winning, it is easy and fun to talk about helping people win. When you are out of work, it is scary and desperate.

True professionals work their pipeline NOT MATTER WHAT.

Work yours. If you are willing to set aside time for marketing. Every week, no matter what. There is no need for famine, or desperation, or worry. They will be lining up! Because THEY see you are working and THEY have to get in line for your services.

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

Love your marketing UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

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

Do you have to be COLD to make COLD calls?

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You do not have to be cold to cold call
Cold Calling Myths

Today I was doing my cold calls.

I think about cold calls a lot, the more I talk with solopreneurs and budding salespeople.

Here’s what I realized.

There is a lot of mythology about cold-calling.

There are two visions that people conjure up when they think about cold-calling:

Either they imagine the frustrated cold-caller: locking his jaw, picking up the phone with a clenched fist, hoping that someone won’t actually answer the phone, “Please GOD Please, let it go to voice mail”. Then (when they answer) “Please GOD Please, let them be nice”.

OR

They imagine the Monster Cold-Caller: fangs dripping with the blood she anticipates from her victim.Going for it. Driving and driving and driving – like a machine mowing down everything in her path.

(Genders made up).

It’s not like that for me, and it doesn’t have to be that way

I am not going to pretend that calling on someone I do not know is ever easy. We have a natural resistance to being a pest and feeling like we are wasting someone’s time! THANK GOD for that resistance! It is not something to overcome. It is a reminder that you are an AWESOME human being.

Which brings me to the next mythology:

If you want to be a great cold-caller, you must have a thick skin

People imagine that the great cold-caller can take a “rejection – kick-in-the-teeth” call and move on. Not true.

It doesn’t work to have a thin skin, either, but perhaps the thickness of your skin has nothing to do with it.

A new paradigm

Imagine this. If you were a person who was passionate about your product. You had done as much research as possible about who you are calling to make a conversation about THEM (this takes about 2 minutes, tops!) and you are willilng to consider that there is another person on the other end of the line who has priorities in their day and their lives. And you KNEW that 3 out of every 10 people were going to respond to you favorably.

NOW, how does cold-calling look?

It starts to look like an interesting conversation. An opportunity to connect. A thought about how YOU can make a difference in someone else’s day.

Here’s the rub

There are four muscles YOU MUST develop as a ‘cold-caller’.

1) Creativity – get creative about how to reach the people who will care
2) Emotional Radar – learn to get in “someone else’s world” FAST
3) Vulnerability with Confidence – the ‘hardest’ of all, but the most rewarding
4) A system that you stick to – you’ve gotta do the work. Every week. Sorry!

If you can do those, the world is your oyster

And they are simple skills to build. And trainable. I have trained my sales staff to LOVE outreach. I have a hard time calling my cold-calling “cold”, ‘cuz it rarely is.

Let’s keep the conversation going. Just know that there are ways that you will be LIT UP by your cold calling. AND YOU WILL RULE!

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

Love your work UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Creativity, Dignity, Irreverence, Performance, Presentation, Purpose, Top Ten Principles of Selling

AND….we’re back!

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For a moment, I forgot that what you expect from me is hard-hitting messages.

Things you can read in two minutes…

I was becoming a “blogger”…HA!

Here’s what I remembered (sorry I forgot). I am your VOICE OF REASON on the train in Manhattan at 5:30 in the morning.

I remind you of what you are up to and who you are with no fancy pictures or long essays…something you can take to the bank every day.

Thanks for letting me stray! I LOVE YOU!

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

Let’s play this game of day-to-day success together!

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Creativity, Dignity, Guest Posts, Irreverence, Performance, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Winning

A great story! Please join me to listen to the One-Call Close Master tell his stories!

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Selling Fearlessly
Announcing the VaVaVaVoom Selling Fearlessly Book Release Interview

I am excited to announce a special 45-minute telephone event that will ENTERTAIN you on November 8th (and give you some great sales tips, too).

Ever wanted to know how to walk into a COMPLETELY COLD sales call and “BE” the equal to your prospect,  GUIDE  the conversation, while you CONTROL  the environment?  (And,  get the close the first time?)

ME TOO! That is exactly what we are talking about!

On November 8th at 10 am Pacific/1 pm Eastern, join me for the VaVaVaVoom (Voyeuristic, Vicarious, Virtual) Selling Fearlessly Book Release Interview with the renowned Robert Terson!

You WILL walk away with stuff no one else is ever likely to tell you (‘cuz, frankly, they don’t know).

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

The great part is, that it’s MOSTLY free. We are offering admission if you’re willing to Pay With A Tweet or simply Opt-In to Irreverent Sales Girl’s email list (don’t worry — I have a strict “I Hate Spam” policy). There will be a surprise give-away at the end to a lucky caller, too!

We’re having a ton of fun putting this event together, and we hope you’ll join us.

Just go to The Irreverent Sales Girl’s Homepage to sign up: http://www.irreverentsalesgirl.com/. You’ll learn all the details there!

Let’s ROCK THIS THING. And don’t keep it to yourself. If you think YOU ARE going to love it, think of a someone else who will, too, and send them along to sign up. (We’re not selling ONE SINGLE THING – just putting together loads of value for you and your career).

Love it 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!

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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

Authenticity, Creativity, Dignity, Education, Goals, Loving Life, Performance, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Uncategorized, Winning

May I have my algorithm, now, please?

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May I have my algorithm, please? Remember when dating sites first came out? I don’t know if they still do this, but they used to promote this thing they “did”.

Finding your perfect mate…mathematically! 

Here’s how it works. You enter answers to a survey. Do you smoke? What is your age? What was your GPA during college? What is your profession? Are you an outdoors person? Do you like to drink pickle juice in the middle of the night, watching TV in your swimsuit?

You know, the usual.

And then, they would run all of this data using an algorithm against all other data – and POW! Your perfect match! We did the math and here he is!

It was always a little hard for me to buy

I found myself deeply suspicious that anyone’s algorithm could take all of this “perfectly” correlated data and find me the right guy.

Unfortunately, this is how most “Sales Training” works

We are trained that if we can capture a bulk of the circumstances; the level of the decision-maker, the industry, the economy, the average length of a sales cycle, the ferocity of the competition, and the number of pixels on our marketing pieces (as a sample set) – and we can put this all into a formula and POW! – we will have the right approach to CLOSE THE DEAL!

To that I say ‘hooey’

Each sales transaction, every one, is a complex and delicate social and psychological transaction. Whether you’re selling your three-year-old on eating his peas, or selling an airplane contract to Boeing. Procurement departments are put in place to keep this complexity out – but that just adds one more element to the mix.

How to use sales training

Here’s what I’ve found to be VERY useful. When I hear something that makes sense, I give it a try. See if it works FOR ME. If it does, I keep it. If it doesn’t, I tweak it or toss it. I don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out what is wrong with me that it does not work.

When I hear something that makes me sick to my stomach, I ask WHY I am being trained that way. There “might” be a good reason. If there isn’t, I scrap it!

When I have worked for a company who insists on a certain way, I found my self-expression in it – or moved on.

There is NO exact formula or mathematical algorithm to sales. It is a constant dance and an unending opportunity for refinement and education. It challenges and fascinates me. And I love it. I have found my voice in it.

I wish the same for you and am willing to help in any way I can (and willing to learn EVEN more than I now know!)

So, let’s keep this community going! It is a beautiful art we pursue! 

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

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

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

Are you HOT?

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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

 

 

 

 

Customer Service, Dignity, Loving Life, Performance, Purpose, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Uncategorized, Winning, Wisdom

Making a difference

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I was reading some research today about why people volunteer. I mean volunteering with nonprofits – getting involved with a cause. In every age group, the overwhelming reason that people say they volunteer is that they want to make a difference. It wasn’t a surprise to me. Mostly, I think people are wired to feel they are part of something bigger and that they make someone else’s life better.

It’s the same thing with the greatest salespeople I’ve ever known. They are out to make a real difference – for their customers, their society, their company, their families, themselves.

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 the top characteristics of a salesperson who is out to make a difference:

1. They understand the big picture of what happens when people buy their products – the jobs it creates, the efficiencies it allows, the satisfaction that is achieved, the industry it improves.

2. They keep themselves educated in their field and their industry, so that they serve as a real resource to their prospective clients – whether they buy or not – because they are committed that people get the right solution.

3. They make sure they have a REASON to call on someone before they pick up the phone or write the email. A REASON that will matter to the person on the receiving end.

4. They stay in communication with customers to make sure that they are up-to-speed on the new things their customers may need, make  sure that what they have sold is still working, and to fix issues that might have gone wrong. They are in the relationship for the long-term and interested in the performance of what they sold.

5. They make good on their promises and do whatever it takes to make their customer “whole” when they haven’t delivered EXACTLY how their customer expected them to. THEY take responsibility for the outcome of the sale. 

Isn’t selling fun? It is wonderful when I know that I have made a REAL difference for people.

Love your peeps UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

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

Everybody skims…

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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

Education, Goals, Guest Posts, Loving Life, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Winning, Wisdom

Boy, do I have a surprise for you!

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We have got some COOL stuff about to happen.

The amazing Robert Terson received delivery of his BRAND NEW book Selling Fearlessly today. I wish I could have seen his face when he opened the box…smelled the fresh new pages…saw the colorful covers…the completion of many, many hours of loving work.

Here is what I LOVE about this book. It is written by one of the most generous men I know. Someone whose writing chops are a match for his selling chops. Someone who ACTUALLY sold his whole career. (Go to http://www.sellingfearlessly.com/mound-road/ and read The Mound Road story he has avaialable on the site – it will draw you in!)

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

Bob doesn’t tell you how to sell, he SHOWS you how to sell.

So, the cool thing that is happening is that Robert is going to do a VaVaVaVoom (Vicarious, Virtual, Voyeuristic) Interview with me, The Irreverent Sales Girl, later this month. The interview will be fun, inspiring, will share some highlights and give you at LEAST one thing that will make a difference in your success.

It is my privilege to help this amazing man introduce his masterpiece to the world. Stay tuned for more information!

Love your stories UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl