The Selling Newsletter
The Selling Quote for the Month
“I will study and get ready and someday my chance will come.”-Abraham Lincoln
It’s interesting how Lincoln uses the word “chance.” Chance is either luck or an opportunity. Some salespeople think that luck is a factor in their selling. It surely is. You could have an extremely delighted customer who then moves into your sales territory. That customer gives you a call because your products are the only ones he will consider. What did you do to earn that particular customer’s business? Not much. That’s simply your good luck. That kind of luck is in short supply in the sales world. The kind of luck that does exist in sales is the kind that Lincoln recognized. You prepare for each sales call. You demonstrate value at each customer. You ask for referrals. You are clear about the customers with whom you should be selling and working. You earn and keep your business. Prospective customers will seek you out when you do. Your luck is that you will be ready for the opportunity and the best choice for that lucky prospect. A smart guy like Lincoln knew that luck played a part in his life. What makes him evensmarter was that he recognized how important being prepared was for him to be lucky.
I’m now a guest columnist for the Dallas, Austin and Houston Business Journals. 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
THE BLOG S AND OTHER COLUMNS
I’m now writing The Real Deal, a column on women in business for Allbusiness.com
Here’s a preview:
Can you make verbal sunshine?
There’s something that’s not found in copious quantities in the business world. It’s odd because with it, work and productivity would be greater. Are you curious about what it is? It’s not very complicated. It’s giving compliments to others. It seems to me that the only times compliments are intentionally given are at performance reviews. It doesn’t have to be that way.
If you want to read more…
I’m also writing for salesmecca.com
Here’s a preview:
No Sales Goals?
I never thought I would be writing about this aspect of sales goals for sales professionals. Why? It recently came to my attention that there are some sales professionals in business with no assigned sales goals. Sounds amazing to me and I am not kidding. What are your sales goals this year? If you are unclear about what they are, you are already in trouble. Here’s why.
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
The Selling Ideas for this Month
Better to Be Lucky
Have you heard that sales is a numbers game? Sometimes it is. It also can be a game of luck. The luck I’m speaking of is the ability to create your own good fortune. If you want to use luck as a selling tool, here’s what you can do.
Go with your gut. Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire in England has been conducting research since 1994 on what makes people lucky. After conducting thousands of interviews and hundreds of experiments, he has identified four principles that you can follow to be luckier. The first principle is to listen to your gut. Lucky people make effective decisions by listening to their intuition and gut feelings. In sales there are many opportunities to pay attention to your gut. When you first telephone a prospect, how do you feel about the person? That’s a gut reaction. Pay attention to your reaction. During the sales call, what does your gut tell you about how the meeting is going? That’s another gut reaction to notice. Why does paying attention to your gut make you luckier? Your gut is giving you access to additional information. Prehistoric man used gut reactions for survival. Using this additional information can serve you well by helping you make better decisions. This contributes to your good fortune. See how using your gut works for you by jotting down your gut reactions and noticing your results.
Take a chance. The second principle is to be open to new experiences and break your normal routine. The researchers found that lucky people are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities. Why would doing something new contribute to your luck? Your good fortune typically will happen with the help of other people. By doing the same thing every day, you are limiting yourself to opportunities from the same people. By expanding the number of people you meet, you will open yourself to new people who might be in the position to present better opportunities for you. One of my selling columns came to be because I attended a seminar not related to selling, arrived late and I randomly picked a seat that happened to be next to an editor of a business magazine. How’s that for luck? So be less driven so you can be open to random events.. Relax and open yourself up to new experiences.
Think differently. Lucky people see their bad luck differently. They see the positive side of their bad luck. What if you went to an appointment and your customer couldn’t meet with you? Is that bad luck? Maybe not. With that appointment cancelled you now have some free time to make some cold calls. You didn’t dwell on the misfortune of the cancelled appointment. That’s what lucky people do. Lucky people also take constructive steps to prevent more “bad luck” in the future. Maybe you’ll call to confirm appointments the next time. Lucky people take lemons and figure a way to make lemonade.
Expect good things. Lucky people are certain the future will be bright. That spirit of optimism serves them well as self-fulfilling prophesy is a factor in success. When you make sales calls, are you expecting the call to go well? That’s what a lucky person does. Pay attention to your self talk as you sell. Your positive attitude can contribute to your luck. Along with the expectation of good fortune, the lucky person is willing to persevere to make that good fortune happen. Persistence in sales is a necessary trait. Lucky people make their own luck. They expect good things to happen in their sales call and they work hard to make them happen.
You may have thought that luck was a random event that is beyond your control. These four luck principles show that you have more control over your own luck than you think. Practice creating good luck because today might be your lucky day.
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Action Items
1. Pay attention to your gut responses this week.
2. Try something new this week—a new route, a new food, a new sales strategy!
Upcoming Programs
When: June 18, June 25, July 2, July 9
Where: Brookhaven College
3939 Valley View Lane
Farmers Branch, TX
What: Communication for Leaders
For more information: 972-860-4574
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When: June 27
11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center
4800 West Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
What: Leadership Success: Styles that Empower and Motivate
For more information: 972-985-3749 or
972-985-3758
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When: July 11
11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center
4800 West Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
What: Serious Creativity: New Ideas for Business That Work
For more information: 972-985-3749 or
972-985-3758
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When: July 26
11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center
4800 West Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
What: Power Persuasion: Unleash Your Hidden Influence Skills
For more information: 972-985-3749 or
972-985-3758
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When: August 7, 14, 21, 28
Where: Brookhaven College
3939 Valley View Lane
Farmers Branch, TX
What: Master Selling Series- Persuasion, Listening, Consultative Questioning, Strategy
For more information: 972-860-4574
Selling Tools
Selling Tips
Get more selling tips from Maura’s ebook: 97 Ways to Sell More Now E-Book
https://www.bestatselling.com/e-books.html
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Looking for new strategies to improve your persuasion skills? This easy to apply Audio CD will give you many new ideas to easily improve your persuasion skills so you can sell more and close business faster.
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I’m always looking for success stories and other tips from sales professionals. Please feel free to email me at info@bestatselling.com with ideas that have worked for you.
If you want to build customer relationships for long-term business, you can easily do it using Exacttarget (www.exacttarget.com) and their CANSPAM compliant broadcast services.
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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 (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.com
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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 Best@Selling clients want to create long-term client relationships. They include UPS, Fujitsu, Fannie Mae and Dr Pepper/7UP. She has an M.S. in Textile Engineering from Georgia Tech and was Mobil Oil’s first female lubrication engineer in the U.S. 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 and her column ‘Customer Connections’ appears inthe Dallas, Austin and Houston Business Journals. 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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