Category Archives: Wisdom

Things your mom taught you about success

Well, this book is refreshing.

Challenge the trends in sales. 

My friend, Mike Weinberg, says that all this talk about how “sales has changed” and “selling is harder than ever before” is a bunch of hooey. And I’m inclined to agree.

Surprise!  It’s ALWAYS been about fundamental principles applied precisely and consistently.

If you suspect that what you’re hearing from “experts” doesn’t add up, you’ll love Mike’s new hard-hitting book. Then – you’ll be raring to get back to your craft – not trying the new fad.

Check out the #SalesTruth with reviews and summaries here.

Enjoy the straight-shooting “expert-debunking” truths that he sees his top clients execute daily and win solid new business year-over-year.

Love ’em UP!

Dianna Geairn
The Irreverent Sales Girl

3 Keys to Great Pre-Call Planning

Showing up for a sales call unprepared is about the same as showing up to a party without your pants on – it gets embarrassing quick and you don’t have any idea what the outcome will be! (At least that what’s we suggested on our latest episode of The SellOut Show!)

Click to Watch “Pre-Call Planning” Episode of The SellOut Show!

The great thing about pre-call planning is that it can almost always be improved and it’s an excellent way to take control over a pipeline that is not going in the right direction. It gets you back to the basics and gives you a sense of power in the call.

Keys to Good Pre-Call Planning

Continue reading 3 Keys to Great Pre-Call Planning

Do you dissect your winning deals?

A lot of us spend our time lamenting over every last minute of the “deal that got away”.

But, when was the last time you deconstructed the deal you won?

Here’s why I ask.

There was ONE moment that changed everything in that deal you won.

Everything was merely conversation up to that moment.

Buy-in? Sure.

Discovery? Absolutely.

But, there was that ONE moment when the lights went on for your prospect. The point of no return.

Can you find it? Can you replicate it? Can you see where it’s missing in the deals that have gone dark?

Want to know how?

Continue reading Do you dissect your winning deals?

The Visual Economy of Sales – Don’t Get Left Behind

“A picture paints a thousand words” We all know it to be true. But, as we move into the Visual Economy of Sales, understanding this truth is vital for the salesperson to compete and earn business in the future.

Marketers have known this for years. Look at TV, billboards, posters, magazine ads, website banners. All visual. All ways to capture your attention to help you buy.

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

Cavemen knew it. The best way to tell a story is to put pictures on the wall.

Now, more than ever before, salespeople need to be learning, exploring, experimenting, and educating themselves on how to incorporate visual cues into their sales messages. Or, they will get left behind.

What is the Visual Economy of Sales?

The Visual Economy of Sales is a simple concept.

The sales pros who learn how to use visual economy will earn more of their prospects’ mindshare as well as their wallet share – which means more closed deals. Which means more money in their own bank account.

“Economy” has a delightful two-sided meaning that solidly backs up the idea.

First, “economy” can refer to using time and space well. If you tell your sales story in a picture, it means your buyer takes less time to consume the information, or –  economy of time. And, if 1 picture = 1,000 words (almost the length of this article), you have achieved economy of space, too.

Second, “economy” also refers to transactions in a marketplace. More transactions in your market leads to more dollars in your pocket.

Get the picture? (hee hee, See what I did there?)

How do I know this is true?

Look for yourself. Do your prospects respond to your emails more or less often?  “Less”, right?

(If your answer is “more”, don’t be lulled to sleep by your current success. The Visual Economy will soon apply to you, too.)

The brain science

OK. I did that to get your attention. I’m not a brain scientist, but everything I read says that:

  1. My prospect gets a rush of dopamine every time he deletes my email or voicemail
  2. My prospect gets a rush of good feelings when he fills in the blanks on a puzzle, sees an image that engages him, or is tickled pink by a positive image.

So, why are you spending your precious time writing brilliant email messages and leaving fabulous voice mails? Just to give your prospects the joy of deleting?

What a waste of your genius!

Why not find ways to communicate your message that is visually engaging, distracting, and irresistible?

The proof is all around us

Marketers tell us that people engage more frequently with infographics and checklists today than they do with white papers and eBooks.

Snapchat’s got the 25 – 35-year-olds rapt.

Instagram and Pinterest are still fast growing social channels.

YouTube is the most popular search engine.

People who use emojis when they text are more likely to have happy relationships.

It goes on and on.

What to do about it?

I don’t know!

But, we’re about to find out. It’s time to start researching and experimenting. Here are some thoughts:

  • What happens if you include a GIF of your product doing its thing in your next email message?
  • How about using a video service that turns your email into a personal 10 second video?
  • Can you express all the data you want to share with your clients in an infographic? (It costs about $5 to get one made from Fiverr or UpWork).
  • Can you share a bunch of logos of your current customers instead of a laundry list?
  • Can you create a checklist of the pain points your typical customer encounters and send that instead?
  • Send it on Facebook, send it on LinkedIn, send it on text, send it on Snapchat! (Soon, the people who control big budgets will be the same ones who are accustomed to engaging on these platforms).

Join the experiment!

Let’s discover how to get our prospects’ attention visually! Let’s make it personal, engaging, irresistible. Let’s get NOTICED!

I would love to hear the sales wins you are experiencing as you use visuals to outpace your competition. And, I’ll share mine, too.

And, don’t EVER forget to…

Love ‘em ALL UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

(By the way, the irony is not lost on me. This blog post is in writing and not pictures. Give me a break! We’re just getting started!)

Guess who’s our awesome SURPRISED Sales Expert Guest? (hint: @No1BestSeller)

Check out our most fun videocast where Shawn Karol Sandy of @SellingAgency and I cold call a BIG DEAL sales expert to see if he’ll come on our SellOut Show.

Besides the SURPRISE shenanigans, we touch on some cool sales themes. Like two things that top performing sellers NEVER DO!

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

What are you doing still reading this??? Jump on over and check it out for yourself! While you’re at it, why not subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss a single fun moment?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0qBQt4o9Lk

And, don’t forget to…

…Love ‘em ALL UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

#TBT – Can We Revisit This Know, Like, and Trust Thing?

I wrote this back in 2013. I love it because it reminds us that we are doing business with HUMANS after all, and it makes us so successful when we remember that!

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 the article:

I hear ALL THE TIME…”People do business with people they Know, Like & Trust” from sales trainers and sales experts.

Here’s what I wanna know…

WHY IS THIS A REVELATION?

People go to prom with people they know, like & trust.
People travel great distances at great expense to visit people they know, like & trust.
People like to give gifts to people they know, like & trust.
Let’s face it, people like to hang out with DOGS they know, like & trust.

It’s pretty common sense, isn’t it?

SO I CHALLENGE YOU…

If it is some kind of revelation to you that people do business with people they know, like & trust, WHERE ELSE are you not bringing common sense to your sales?

Things like:

People do business with people who deliver excellent service
People do business with people who have a sterling reputation
People do business with people they hold on a pedastal
People do business with people who do what they say they are going to do
People do business with people who have similar values
People do business with people who ….. I mean, we could keep going here, couldn’t we?

BUT THE BIGGER QUESTION IS: 

If learning that “People do Business with People they Know, Like & Trust” is a revelation to you, then what is going on with your sales? 

Do you not believe in what you sell?
Do you not believe that your customer needs what you sell?
Are your goals different from that of your customer?
Are you trying to meet quotas instead of make a difference with people?

And here is my favorite…

~DO YOU THINK DOING BUSINESS IS DIFFERENT THAN DOING LIFE? ~

This week, I want you to bring common sense to your business. (Sorry, this will require actual THINKING)

FIRST:
Are you doing the work that you know you should do to connect with the people who need what you sell?

If yes (and be honest with yourself about that one),

THEN:
Who are the people that “should” be doing business with you?
Why?
Do they know about you?
Do they agree that they need something that you offer?

Reach out to THEM. Be clear, simple, concise. Offer them something yummy!

Go be a great human being. Period. THEN, see what shows up!

Love ’em UP! (And the rest will follow)

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Want the REALLY good stuff? The stuff I only share in my newsletter and never anywhere else (unless I end up writing a book). Get my Totally Irreverent Tuesday Newsletter: http://bit.ly/IrreverentTuesday.

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

#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

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…

#TBT – Fill the emotional gap and you are unstoppable!

rsz_business-idea-1240825

Here’s my Throw Back Thursday Article from early 2015 – an article about tapping into how people REALLY make buying decisions!

Every real estate professional knows that a property is much more likely to sell if it is “staged” – all set up with sofas, pictures, flowers, accessories – like someone amazing already lives there. Somebody THEY want to be.

It makes their buyer RELATE emotionally to the house.

You can do the exact same thing! In every presentation, meeting, proposal, bring the magic of: “This is who you want to be!”

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 – Fill the emotional gap and you are unstoppable!