The Selling Newsletter
The Selling Quote for the Month
“That was nice of them. Wasn’t it?”
Jack Kilby, 2000 Nobel Laureate for Physics, chip (integrated circuit) inventor, and member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1982, joining Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers, when he heard that he won the Nobel prize What would you say if you had a major accomplishment in business? Would you have the humility of the late, great Jack Kilby? I’ve seen too many salespeople who lack humility. They give themselves too much credit or don’t take on tasks to serve their customers because it’s beneath them. That’s unfortunate. Customers are more likely to trust you if you’re humble. They’re more likely to like you if you’re humble. Does anyone other than wife number 3 really like Donald Trump? It’s good business to be humble. I’ve seen a customer make a request for data and the salesperson replied, “That’s not my job.” It apparently was beneath him. Kiichiro Toyoda, creator of Toyota Motor Corporation, once came across an engineer with an equipment problem. Wearing business attire, Toyoda rolled up his sleeves and thrust his hands elbow-deep into grimy oil to pull out sludge that was clogging the filter. Toyoda told the engineer, “You have to get your hands dirty to solve problems.” Did you know that Bill Gates flew coach until the volume of Microsoft employee travel caused the travel agency to automatically upgrade him? When his schedule necessitated a private jet, he paid personally rather than out of company funds. You don’t have to brag to get noticed. It’s a mistake to think that you have to do only important tasks to be important. Customers are smart. They know what they like. They like humility. That’s who they buy from, too.
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THE BLOG S AND OTHER COLUMNS
I’m now writing The Real Deal, a column on women in business for Allbusiness.com
Miss Manners at Work
You may have heard the phrase that it’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice. I was really surprised to see a customer, a senior leader in his company, totally ignore that advice. It got me thinking about how effective he is at work. I’m beginning to think that his attitude is costing him a lot of worker productivity. Here’s what happened.
If you want to read more
I’m also writing a sales blog for Salesmecca.com
Here’s a recent post:
Seal the Deal
If you haven’t heard of Tupperware you probably are a hermit living on some remote mountaintop. If you haven’t heard of Brownie Wise you’re probably like most other people. Wonder who she is? She was the brains behind Tupperware’s success. Here’s how she did it and what it means for your selling. If you want to read more.
Leave your comments and I would love to respond to you.
I’m now a guest columnist for the Dallas Business Journal. My column is called “Customer Connections.” I’ll be answering readers’ questions about selling. Do you have any selling questions? Send them to info@bestatselling.com
What’s sales tip has helped you be even more successful in sales?
Send your helpful tip to tip@bestatselling.com
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The Selling Ideas for this Month
Stay On Track
Most successful salespeople set sales goals. Those numbers help keep them on track in their business. They also set personal goals. The personal goals help prevent them from getting off track. If you haven’t set personal goals, here are some goals to consider.
Take compliments. I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard, “It was nothing” or “No problem” when someone received a compliment from another person.I would be wealthy. Why do some people find it difficult to acknowledge that they did do something well and worth noticing? The only response to any compliment you’re given should be “Thanks for noticing” or simply “Thank you.” Your first goal is “When I hear a compliment or statement that’s positive about me or my work, I will say thank you.” Then watch your confidence grow.
Compliment others. The flip side of getting compliments is being able to give them. Giving compliments is very powerful in selling. Why? Dr. Robert Cialdini in his research on persuasion found that you can improve your ability to persuade when you give a compliment to others. Sadly, the research shows that an insincere compliment is as effective as one that is given sincerely. Despite that, the added benefits of giving sincere compliments are that they can make the giver feel better, too. Your goals should include “I will compliment at least 5 people each week.” When you look for good, you will surely find it. Then watch how much better you feel.
Reward yourself. Last year is over. If you had a good year, how did you reward yourself? If you didn’t reward yourself, now is the time. Your rewards can be something other than expensive toys.Have you thought about giving yourself the gift of time? If you had a free afternoon to do whatever you wanted to do, what would you do? That activity is going to be one of your rewards this year. Salespeople tend to forget about giving themselves rewards. Avoid that trap. Your next goal is, “I will reward myself with (the activity) or (your choice!) when I accomplish a goal.”
Be optimistic. Things will generally turn out all right. Do you believe that statement? If you do, then you are an optimist. If you don’t, you are a pessimist and probably won’t do as well in sales. The good news is that you can change. Your goals can help you make that happen. Optimists don’t blame themselves for failure. They don’t take the failure personally. They see failure as temporary. They don’t let their feelings of disappointment pervade all aspects of their life. If you find yourself thinking more like a pessimist (which is opposite the optimist), then you must stop! Rethink your response to something disappointing (that you could not control) and think more optimistically.Your goal is “I will think more like an optimist and stop my pessimistic thinking.”
Refocus. You probably look at your sales reports on a regular basis. That’s how you keep score. That’s fine, but don’t just focus only on those numbers. Instead, look at your process. You can control how many calls you make. You cannot really control the outcome—think company layoffs here. You can’t control layoffs and the impact on your business. So focus on the process (making calls) instead of the outcome (sales numbers). That way you can see where you are meeting your goals and where you need improvement. Refocusing will help you move on when you experience disappointment. Being immobilized by a failure is deadly to selling. Not making sales goals can demotivate you. By refocusing, you can move forward. Change focus now.
Perhaps you’ve already set your goals. Give yourself permission to change any of them to any of these new goals. It’s not too late. You could create a new beginning for your best year yet.
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Action Items
1. What personal goals could you set to help you sell more?
2. Think back to a recent disappointment. Were you optimistic or pessimistic? Can you be more optimistic?
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Programs
When: September 26 – October 10
11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center
4800 West Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
What: Master Selling Series For more information: 972-985-3749 or
972-985-3758
When: October 24
11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center
4800 West Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
What: Power Persuasion For more information: 972-985-3749 or
972-985-3758
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Here are some selling tools to help you sell more now. Click on the photo to find out more!
Sales Quotes: A book that has quick ideas for you to be more successful in sales.
Real-World Selling: A book with selling skills and strategies that work in the real world of sales.
Secrets of Persuasion: Audio CD for the clues to use to speed-read people and close more business.
Need an Article for Your Newsletter?
Articles from this newsletter may be used in your free publications or posted on your web when given the following credit:
Written by Maura Schreier-Fleming, Best@Selling (https://www.bestatselling.com/). Maura Works with business and sales professionals who want to sell more and be more productive at work. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results.
For free articles, selling ideas and morale boosters
visit https://www.BestatSelling.commore »
About Maura Schreier-Fleming
Invite Maura to speak at your next conference or sales meeting! Contact: info@bestatselling.com
Maura Schreier-Fleming works with business and sales professionals to make it easier to sell more and be more productive at work. Her clients include Fujitsu, Fannie Mae and Dr Pepper/7UP.
With over 20 years of sales experience, she teaches the art and science of selling with a unique hands-on perspective and a great deal of real-life insight. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results (a book filled with ideas to make selling easier and more productive.)
Her business column ‘Selling Strategies’ appears in the Insurance Record magazine. Her column Customer Connections appears in the Dallas, Houston and Austin Business Journals. Maura has an M.S. in Textile Engineering from Georgia Tech and was Mobil Oil’s first female lubrication engineer in the U.S.
You can contact her for seminars at company or trade association meetings at 972 380 0200 or info@BestatSelling.com
Privacy: At Best@Selling we take privacy issues very seriously. Your information remains with us and will never be sold, shared, or distributed in any manner, for any reason.
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Contact Information
1. Our Web site: www.BestatSelling.com
2. E-mail: info@bestatselling.com
3. Call: In Dallas 972 380 0200
4. Write us:
6757 Arapaho Rd., Suite 711-183
Dallas, TX 75248
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(c) Copyright 2008 Maura Schreier-Fleming. All rights reserved
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