Category Archives: Winning

Getting an edge on your competition

Cold Calling, Creativity, Dignity, The Art of Selling, Winning, Wisdom

What I learned about Gatekeepers from Clint Eastwood

clint-eastwood-394536Last week, I was watching the Katie Couric interview with Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood, and Aaron Eckhart about the making of the movie Sully.

Start watching at the 9 minute mark: https://socialfeed.info/watch-katie-couric-chat-with-clint-eastwood-tom-hanks-and-aaron-eckhart-3971287

Notice something very interesting…

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

Continue reading What I learned about Gatekeepers from Clint Eastwood →

Authenticity, Goals, Prospecting, The Art of Selling, Winning

#TBT – THIS ARTICLE COST ME A JOB OFFER

phone-1209230About a year ago, I was testing the waters. Should I go work for another company as a rock start salesperson, or should I heed the call to go full-time as The Irreverent Sales Girl?

In some ways, this article helped me with that decision. I was deep into an interviewing process and about one minute away from a job offer, when the Global VP of Sales called me and asked if I really believed what I had written in this article.

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

By all means! In fact, I’m pretty sure this exact kind of outlook has made me a top producer for nearly 20 years of selling.

“Well, it won’t work here. We don’t allow cold-calling. Only social selling – you can set an appointment and talk on the phone with a prospect, but you can’t pick up the phone cold and reach out to them.

WOW! Would I love to work for his competition! While I’m walking in the door with an appointment I’ve set with the CRO, ready to do business with me, his guys are going to be knocking themselves out trying to get someone to connect with them on social media!

Needless to say, a year later and beyond happy in my business. And, I owe much of the success I’ve had this year to this article.

Love it UP!

Continue reading #TBT – THIS ARTICLE COST ME A JOB OFFER →

Goals, Prospecting, Purpose, The Art of Selling, Top Ten Principles of Selling, Winning

Has this ever happened to you? The Bizarre Nature of Sales

customer-magnet-1019871You’re a smart person and I seem to see this phenomenon all over the place, but I haven’t yet been able to explain it. Got any ideas?

So, I’ve been working with a really great guy the last few weeks. His name is Scott Rabinowitz and he runs an absolutely phenomenal business.

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

He is the consummate pro and a huge value to his customers.

Business is good, but he’s interested in growing it 10x the size it is now.

So, he got in touch with me to see if I could help. He knew he should be prospecting more, but wanted some ideas about professional approaches to reaching out for new customers.

Together, we brainstormed (actually, don’t tell him, but he did most of the hard work) and came up with an outreach approach that he could really get behind.

After one week of trying his new approach, I phoned him up to see how it was going.

He said, “Well, it was going fine, but then I got behind on my prospecting activities because the most BIZARRE thing started to happen.”

“Oh,” said I. “Do tell.”

Continue reading Has this ever happened to you? The Bizarre Nature of Sales →

Irreverence, Loving Life, Performance, Winning, Wisdom

#TBT – A Surprising Trick to Bringing in 4th Quarter Quota

career-215528As our minds turn to finishing the year strong, I am bringing out this powerful tool to clear your sales pipeline of clogs and move powerfully to crushing your quota!

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

From October of 2014

3 COMPELLING REASONS TO BREAK UP – NOW!

The song says “Breaking up is hard to do!” And, it certainly can be.

But, here is how breaking up will free you up!

A very dear friend of mine. A tippy-top producer who has earned a penthouse overlooking one of the most famous (and expensive) avenues in America, shared this recent story with me.

Her pipeline has been a teensy bit stagnant of late. So, she took a BOLD ACTION. She carefully crafted a gracious break-up script and shared it with her prospects who were just not getting back to her.

Generously, she has agreed to let me share her message and her results.  Here is the message she left for her prospects with whom she had met, but received no activity:

Continue reading #TBT – A Surprising Trick to Bringing in 4th Quarter Quota →

Creativity, Goals, Irreverence, Winning, Wisdom

I bet you can’t tell me what you want…

What if I told you that you could have anything that you want? You just have to be able to tell me EXACTLY what it is. And, you can have it.

Do you know how STRESSFUL this would be for you?

wall-612177I TRULY believe this is what keeps most of us from achieving our very highest goals.

We can’t say what we want, and (more important) WHY we want it!

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

Here’s what we’re good at. We can tell you in a heartbeat what we DON’T want.

There is magic in this realization!

First of all, if you can spend time thinking about exactly what you DO want and WHY you want it. Just one of these a week, I bet you would start to see results you can’t even imagine start to happen.

Also, it gives you some insights into your customers.

If you spend more time asking them about what they DON’T want, you are going to be WAAAAAAY closer to offering a solution (and gaining the sale).

Continue reading I bet you can’t tell me what you want… →

Creativity, Dignity, Fill the Funnel, The Art of Selling, Winning

Buyers are 65% of the Way to a Sale Before They Talk To You – And What To Do About It

photodune-1328178-business-woman-with-phone-and-laptop-xsI hear this statistic thrown around a lot. Maybe it’s even true.

In fact, on a recent sales call, the guy on the other end of the line said, “I’m your typical Millenial buyer. I’ve already pretty much decided what I’m going to buy before I talk to a salesperson.”

Now, being the salesperson on the end of that call, it’s pretty good news for me, right?

But, what about those people you are calling on who should REALLY consider working with you because you can make their lives SO much better? But, they don’t know about you yet?

You’re kind of in a pickle with them, right?

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

Here’s what I’ve found really works in those circumstances…

When people consider it so important to be 65% of the way to a buying decision before they talk to me –  but I want a shot at a deal, I have found that it’s all in the language I use when I am first talking with my prospect. There are five approaches that I find can really turn a situation around and to my advantage.

Continue reading Buyers are 65% of the Way to a Sale Before They Talk To You – And What To Do About It →

Dignity, Irreverence, Presentation, Winning

#TBT – If you want to make sure your prospect is listening…

rsz_communication-1015376This short, but sweet, and truly powerful post ran in March of 2014. It’s so good I had to share again.

“If you want to make sure you have your prospect’s 100% attention, let THEM talk!”

~ Alice Heiman

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

Brilliant!

Love ’em UP and let THEM talk!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

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Fill the Funnel, Goals, Performance, Prospecting, Winning

Five Ways We Fool Ourselves Into Failure

0216red_WinInsider

Didja ever notice how some people are reliable to produce results while others simply can’t seem to get what they want?

I see it all the time in sales. MY sales.

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

I have DEVOTED myself to studying and learning to be reliable to produce results. And, it’s not by lowering the bar. It is by being on a MISSION to find the ways that I have fooled myself into failure. Hopefully, you can just learn these from me and you don’t have to make all these mistakes yourself.

#1 Way We Fool Ourselves Into Failure:

Thinking that email is the same as having a conversation or making a real request.

Email is an excellent vehicle for transmitting data, getting information, and exchanging ideas. Sometimes you can get people to agree to act through email, especially if it is a personal email.

But, if you think that you are going to fill your seminar, or get a babysitter for your children, or set a meeting with a prospect simply by sending out a blanket email, you are fooling yourself.

When the stakes are high, you’ve got to make SURE that you reach the other person, get their buy-in, and that they are willing and able to act on your request.

Many salespeople think that because they sent out 500 emails that they have accomplished something.

Not until someone responds to you with the favorable outcome you were hoping for have you achieved anything. Counting that email as a true sales activity is fooling yourself into failure.

 #2 Way We Fool Ourselves Into Failure:

Continue reading Five Ways We Fool Ourselves Into Failure →

Performance, Presentation, The Art of Selling, Winning

How The Dog Collar Mechanism Makes You Better in Sales

dog-987936Most of you probably already know that I LOVE dogs!

I’ve learned a lot about life and love from my own dogs – as many of us have.

A couple of years ago, though, I also learned an incredibly successful sales tool from my dogs. If you’ve ever been around ‘em yourself, I bet you’ll see what I mean.

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

So, I’m training my 12-week-old lab. Well, actually, my trainer is training ME to get him to cooperate. Which is a little bit crazy with a goofy, needle-sharp teeth, highly distractible, getting-stronger-by-the-day puppy.

She laid a nugget of wisdom on me. She told me about the dog-collar-mechanism. Which, in its most fundamental form, says – “If you pull on your dog’s collar – the dog will immediately pull in the opposite direction”. Huh!

Didja ever notice how that’s true in sales, too?

You make an assertion. And the first thing they do is tell you why you’re wrong.

How do you fix this problem with a sale? Same way you fix the problem with the dog.

Reduce the tension. Make where you want him to go more appealing than where he is now. Have HIM think he came up with the idea of going where you wanted him to go.

With dogs we use cues like treats, or distracting activity, or intriguing noises.

In sales, we use language!

Here are a few of my favorite approaches to working with a prospective client to get his buy-in. Instead of acting like I know everything to solve his problem, I will use phrases like:

“You know your business far better than I do, but it seems to me that….” (Whether they agree with you or they tell you it’s different for them, they are now talking and giving you valuable information!)

OR, I’ll say…

“This probably isn’t true for you, but I find that most of my clients seem to be dealing with this kind of trouble…”(Again, if it is true for them, they are in the same boat with other similar professionals. If it isn’t true, you’ve made them look smart and they will tell you how you can help them solve their unique business need).

OR, I’ll say…

“I doubt this has ever happened in your business, but one of my clients hired me to fix this situation…” (You are probing for information, and you are reducing the tension!)

The hilarious thing about my dogs…I take mine to the beach all the time to chase sticks and balls in the waves. People tell me how well-behaved they are. When, in reality, 99% of the time I am only asking them to do things that I know they are going to want to do anyway!

Remember the dog collar mechanism in your sales conversations and be sure to…

Love ‘em ALL UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

P.S. Want the REALLY good stuff? Subscribe here to my Totally Irreverent Tuesday newsletter where I share the best stuff that I never publish anywhere else! http://bit.ly/IrreverentTuesday.

Dignity, Goals, Loving Life, Performance, Winning

#TBT – GEEZ, OH PEET! WHAT A PANIC!

I wrote this article over three years ago, but I still remember this epiphany! Hopefully, it will be good for you, too!

“ I had a GREAT BIG call today with one of the Elephants I am tracking.

We seem to be getting so close, yet we are HEAD-TO-HEAD with a fierce and competent competitor.

It’s all I’ve been able to think about lately.

I’ve been getting ATTACHED. 

I realized this during my workout today. Here I am enjoying a nice peaceful morning on the Elliptical and all I can think about is this PANIC I am having about landing this elephant.

rsz_eyes-937972

Ridiculous.

And then, I thought, “What Would the Irreverent Sales Girl Do?”

And, it came to me. She would

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

Continue reading #TBT – GEEZ, OH PEET! WHAT A PANIC! →