The Selling Newsletter
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The Selling Quote for the Month
"The rose given away leaves a scent on the hand of the giver.”
-Buddhist saying
It’s December. Your selling year is winding down. I hope you had a good year. If not, at least it’s the end of the year. The good news is there’s not much more you can do about this year. Even if you had a good year, instead of focusing on yourself, why not think about others? Think about the people who have helped you this year. You can give them a gift. It doesn’t have to be tangible. Why not thank them? I can think of no better gift that fits all sizes and shapes. A gift of thanks will never be exchanged. It might be returned, though. If you tell your customers how much you appreciate them, they just might tell you, “We really enjoyed working with you as well.”
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THE BLOG S AND OTHER COLUMNS
I’m now writing The Real Deal, a column on women’s successin business for Allbusiness.com where you can read:
The Dilemma of the Going-Away Party
It’s the season to be jolly, right? That’s why going to a party should be one of the first things on your to-do list. Partying would be your first choice if you were like a lot of people at many companies. But I was talking with another business professional and she was actually debating whether to go to a party. What was the dilemma? It was more than the season…
I’m also a Sales Coach for Allbusiness.com where you can read
Are You An Optimist or a Pessimist?
"An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity" — Winston Churchill
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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
2009 Musings
At the end of the year, many people find themselves looking forward and are planning the new year. I find myself looking back. I want to review what went well, what could have gone better and what I definitely would never want to repeat. Here’s what I’ve observed.
Just say yes. What worked well is that I tried some new things this year. I wrote a new book called Monday Morning Sales Tips. I’ve been blogging for Allbusiness.com. I’ve read well over 30 books this year on everything from brain function to David Baldacci mysteries. I’ve created a new program on power persuasion. These are all new actions for me this year. Each new action challenged me and I learned something. It was also very satisfying. If a new project or idea comes your way, why not say “yes” to it? You just might learn something new. Doing the same thing each year really isn’t an option in the world of sales. Benjamin Franklin was right when he said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”
Just say no. In business today there’s more than enough to do. Getting in the way of productive action is that there’s too much information to process. One way to reduce the amount of information you have to process is to just say no. A personal peeve of mine is when you meet someone new and they automatically think it’s all right to subscribe you to their email newsletter. Unless you do want to be a subscriber, it’s easy enough to unsubscribe immediately. Think of the key strokes you save each time you don’t have to click an email open –and that much less clutter in your email inbox. If you think you’ll read those newsletters one day—forget it. You won’t.
Slick is out. I’ve looked back on the organization meetings I’ve attended and where I spent my time. What worked were the meetings where I learned something or made contacts with business professionals who were interested in my business. A common thread of the organizations that wasted my time were a slickness of both the leadership and or the members.
Here’s what I mean if you volunteer in an organization. The slick organizations are ones where their primary objective is to take from you. Instead of showing appreciation for your time, they simply take more of it. One of the key signs of this type of organization is the absence at meetings of past leadership. Once the leaders serve, they’re gone and are never to be seen again. Why? Because the group never had long range plans to build on the visions of each leader. The lack of continuity hurts the organization. Slick members are the ones who only talk about themselves and never ask about you or your business. If they can only talk and not listen to you, you can find better organizations to join.
It’s good to nourish your soul. I’ve always believed that to be successful, especially in sales, you have to work hard. Yet, just working hard isn’t enough to guarantee success. Relaxation and renewal has to be part of your hard work. This year I took time off. I relaxed. I accepted that not working was as valuable as working. Do you give yourself permission to nourish your soul? I never did. Now I do. I’m happier. I’m healthier and I’m just as successful.
I do hope you’re looking forward to next year. This is a quiet time for many in sales. I hope during this quiet time that you take a few minutes and look back at your year. What do you notice? Now, what are you going to do about it? Best wishes for a happy and successful new year.
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Action Items
1. What new project, skill or idea will you attempt next year?
2. What tasks have wasted your time this year? What are you going to do to avoid doing them next year?
3. What do you for relaxation? Are you scheduling the time in your calendar to do it? If not, why not write it in your 2010 calendar now?
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What: Master Selling Series
When: February 12, 19, 26 and March 5 2010
11.30 AM- 1:30 PM
Where: Small Business Development Center
4800 West Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
For more information: 972-985-3749 or 972-985-3758
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When: April 15, 2010 9-12noon
Where: Great Plains Technology Center, Lawton, OK.
What: Selling When You’re NOT In Sales
More information at 580-250-5551 or 580-250-5556.
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Follow Me on Twitter My id is BestatSelling See you there!
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Are You a Sales Star? Or Do You Know One?
Do you want to be recognized for your success in Sales? AllBusiness and Top Sales Experts want to honor the top-performing salespeople who deliver results in today’s competitive market. You can help make that happen.
We need your nomination. A panel of top sales coaches and experts will select one salesperson each month from among the nominees. I’m one of the judges.)
Monthly winners will:
– Be recognized by their peers for their outstanding contributions
– Be profiled in a feature article for AllBusiness and its sister site, Hoover’s
– Receive free twelve month VIP membership at Top Sales Experts
– Receive a signed copy of a panelist’s book
– Be offered the opportunity to receive a free sales profile (Value $195)
One annual winner will receive a package of sales training and coaching programs (Value $3000), life VIP membership in Top Sales Experts, a selection of signed books from the panel, plus of course the AllBusiness Sales Star trophy.
Top salespeople inspire those around them and help drive company success.
Take this opportunity to recognize them for their leadership and contributions to the selling profession. Nominate a true sales star!
Every nominee will receive a FREE six month VIP Membership over at Top Sales Experts
PS: There is no deadline for entries each month; all nominations received are carried forward.
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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
(https://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=19023096&msgid=
355287&act=2WU6&c=260909&admin=0&destination=
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestatselling.com%2F). 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 and Monday Morning Sales Tips.
For free articles, selling ideas and morale boosters visit 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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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. She speaks at international conferences on sales and business. Her Best@Selling clients want to create long-term client relationships and sell more. Clients include Fujitsu, UPS 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) and Monday Morning Sales Tips. Her business column ‘Selling Strategies’ appears in the Insurance Record magazine. She is a guest columnist for the 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
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Selling Tips
Get more selling tips from Maura’s ebook: 97 Ways to Sell More
Now E-Book
https://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=19023096&msgid=355287&act=
2WU6&c=260909&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2F
www.bestatselling.com%2Fe-books.html%2520>
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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.
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Contact Information
1. Our Web site: https://www.BestatSelling.com
2. E-mail: info@bestatselling.com
3. Call: In Dallas 972 380 0200
4. Write us:
PO Bob 795633
Dallas, TX 75379
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(c) Copyright 2009
Maura Schreier-Fleming. All rights reserved
Here are some selling tools to help you sell more now. Click on the photo to find out more!
Monday Morning Sales Tips:Do you need ideas for sales meeting? Are you looking for weekly motivation to sell more?
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.
Hire 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