The Selling Newsletter
*A free monthly newsletter of ideas to help make your selling easier*
Selling is the easiest job in the world…Just ask anyone who is NOTin sales!
My mission is to help make it easier for you to sell.
Best wishes for YOUR successful selling—Maura
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SELLING QUOTE
“Do the thing we fear, and the death of fear is certain.”–Ralph Waldo Emerson
Life is certainly easy when we do the same things over and over again. We get better at the familiar tasks and know with some certainty that success will come. Just think if you NEVER tried something new. Wouldn’t life be just a little boring? There’s a happy balance between boredom and the stress from trying something unfamiliar. Why not try something that you’ve been just a little afraid to try? It could be a new presentation, calling on a different type of customer, expanding your business, firing a customer!, or asking for a referral. Whatever has challenged you, why not think about facing the challenge and doing one small thing about it? Whatever happens—success or failure– your life will be different and you will be better for it.
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THE SELLING IDEAS FOR THIS MONTH
IT’S TIME
Are you reminiscing about your performance last year? As you plan for the coming year, are you wishing to spend more of your time working? If you are, perhaps you partied too much last night. As your year progresses, here are some thoughts about how we allocate our time for selling.
Your time has come. Some salespeople make decisions about working without thinking about the person doing the work. We schedule all of our time for customers, managers, peers and subordinates. Everyone except us seems to earn a piece of our time. We should schedule time for our joy and relaxation, too.
Ask yourself what do you really enjoy? Is it reading, sports, hobbies, exercise, or something unique to you? Whatever it is you must make the time to do it. We somehow always make time for the events on our calendars. So put yourself in your calendar with the activities that bring you joy. When you schedule them, you’ll have to do them.
Start small. If you say you don’t have the time, you must schedule the time. A few years ago I found my work consuming my life. I realized the one activity that gave me joy was absent from my life. I used to read a variety of books for pleasure, but I couldn’t even remember the last book I read.
My goal became to read at least 15 minutes each day. Incorporating a small amount of time into my schedule was easy. Reading then became a habit. At that point, finding more time in my schedule to do even more reading became much easier. Researchers say a behavior takes approximately 21 days to become a habit. Give yourself the time to let your favorite activity become a habit in your life.
All work with no time for personal joy is called not having a life. Nourish your brain, and your soul. As you treat yourself, you may find yourself smiling more or at least having something to smile about.
Change your vocabulary. If you prevent schedule overload you are able to make more time for yourself. Learn to say no. Others can make requests of you that you should not agree to do. Learn to separate what you should be doing for customers, managers and others and what you can say no to. If you have some projects that are taking more than enough of your time, be prepared to tell your boss if he asks you to do an additional project. Ask if someone else could undertake the project until your commitments end. And with all projects, ask for help when you need it.
To be successful in selling we focus on others. Our success depends on others. Yet we’re less valuable to others when we’re exhausted, stressed and ill tempered. We are the only ones responsible for taking care of our business. We are also our own customers. When we always put others first, we will always be last. As you set your selling goals this year, include some time for yourself. It’s later than you think and the year has just begun.
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SELLING ACTION ITEM
Are you clear about what activities support your goals? Those are activities you can say yes to. If the activity is not consistent with your goals, be prepared to say no. What do you love to do? Is it regularly included in your life?
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SELLING TIP
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. To thank you, you’ll receive a free subscription to The Selling E-Letter™, a bi-monthly selling newsletter. ($50 value)
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SOMETHING TO REPORT
I am working on a research project to document the role that kindness plays in selling. I’ll have a short questionnaire. If you would like to fill it out, please reply to this email with questionnaire in the subject and I’ll include you in the survey. I want to be able to prove that “Donald Trump” behavior is not the only predictor of success in business. Thanks so much for your help.–Maura
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THE BEST@SELLING MISSION STATEMENT,PRIVACY POLICY, AND UNSUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Mission: Best@Selling works with business and sales professionals to make THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD (selling!) easier and more effective. After all, how can you make a difference in the world if someone hasn’t bought something from you? And don’t forget about the ideas you’re selling every day.
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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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–To buy the book Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results, a book filled with ideas to make selling easier and more productive, go to https://www.bestatselling.com/
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Maura Schreier-Fleming works with business and sales professionals to make it easier to sell more and be more productive at work. Her clients want to create long-term client relationships. They include 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. Her business column ‘Selling Strategies’ appears in the Insurance Record magazine. You can contact her for seminars at company or trade association meetings at 972 380 0200 or info@BestatSelling.com
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Articles from this newsletter may be used in your in
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following credit:
*Written by Maura Schreier-Fleming, president of mailto:info@BestatSelling. Best@Selling works with business and sales professionals to make selling easier and more productive.
For free articles, selling ideas and morale boosters
visit https://www.BestatSelling.com
=================================================== Contact Information
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1. Our Web site: https://www.BestatSelling.com
2. E-mail: info@bestatselling.com
3. Call: In Dallas 972 380 0200
4. Write us:
PMB 183
6757 Arapaho Rd., Suite 711
Dallas, TX 752448
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(c) Copyright 2004 Maura Schreier-Fleming. All rights reserved.