Mowing

"It's too hot to wear clothes today," said the salesman stepping out of the shower.    "What do you reckon the neighbors will think if I mow the lawn like this?" the salesman asked his wife.
"Probably that I married you for your money," she quipped.
Moral of the story.  True sales professionals know that in order to be successful in sales, they cannot let themselves be intimidated.  They realize each morning when they step out of the shower, that millions of sales executives, CEO's, CFO's, their competitor's, their co-workers and even their boss are stepping out of the shower just like they are.   True sales professionals know that they put their socks on one at a time just like they are, and they get into their pants one leg at a time, just like they do too!   When you strip the fancy titles away, when it comes right down to it, we're all just alike really.   But the true sales professional knows he can get that competitive edge, that one leg up sort of speak by going that extra mile and doing what the majority of others aren't willing to do.   
"Everyone who's ever taken a shower has an idea.  It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference."     -      Nolan Bushnell
Mowing down the competition,
dan

Inspiration

     

  After a speech one day, Zig Ziglar was approached by someone in the audience who said: "Zig, it was a great speech, but...motivation just doesn't last."
Zig said, "Bathing doesn't either. That's why I recommend it daily!"
      Where do you get your inspiration?  Church on Sunday morning, attending a motivational seminar once a year, watching "greatest moments in sports weekly.  If that is the case it just is not enough.  I hope you read these weekly articles I write and are inspired by them but you need to feed yourself inspiration daily at a minimum and I recommend that you do not get it from just one source but multiple sources.  See it as a work out for the soul!
Here are a few sources of inspiration:
Music:  if Josh Groban's You Lift Me Up" does not inspire you well..............you are likely beyond inspiration  LOL
Books: ever read anything by Andy Andrews?
Social Media: yes it can be a downer but I find amazingly inspirational stories on there daily.  Click on the top splash for one of them.
People:  take the time to find our their stories and you will often be inspired in the process.
Prayer:  when you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them and sometimes when you are safe and happy remember that someone has prayed for you
This list is endless and you find inspiration in the most unlikely places and people.  But you have to look a bit for it as it will not always come to you on its own.
     You want to be really great at what you do?  Feed your soul a healthy helping of inspiration DAILY without fail!! It will help!

"Inspiringly" yours,
dan

Habits

An acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it  becomes almost involuntary (the Barbie Nun top splash was just to get your attention)
     I have read volumes about good habits and how to establish them.  From visualization to starting small to doing something for thirty days straight (repetition).  They are all important! However, I have to tell you something that I learned a long time ago regarding behavioral changes.  Back in the day, it was called "accountability partners" but in today's lexicon I would characterize it as "shout it out"
Tell as many people as you can about what it is you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Not only does it create accountability on your end (the heaviness of living up to expectations is a massive motivator for taking the right action) but it also might give you that "cheerleader high five" just when you need it.

     So start by telling everyone you are going to begin making 5 well researched prospecting calls per day and suggest to them that they ask you about your progress on this.........well....everyday. 
     Let me know what happens!!!

 Habitually yours,
dan

 

PS:
     It was a hot day outside.....so three nuns decided to take off their clothes and bolt the door to their church.Since there were stain glass windows, nobody could see inside, and the door was locked. The nuns were busy doing renovations when a Thud Thud Thud hit the door. A shocked nun ran to the door and pulled her clothes up over herself, when she asked "Who is it"? The reply from behind the door was "Its the blind man". The 3 nuns looked relieved when they heard he was a blind man, no sight no problem they figured, and let him in. Upon opening the door, in entered a burly man in coveralls and said loudly "on which windows do you want these installed? "

Habitually yours,
dan

Look Me In The Eye

It was nearing the end of the the quarter and the Vice President of Sales sent out an urgent email asking his reps to email him a copy of their latest updated forecasts immediately.

The salesman, who had been sandbagging a deal or two, decided to now include the extra several hundred thousand dollars in potential sales, look like a rock star, and take the opportunity to ask for a raise.  So he attached his file to the response email, but not before entitling it, "Increase_my_pay."

A few moments later his email was returned, acknowledging the great effort in drumming up new business.  But there was no comment on the file name or his likelihood of getting a raise.

It was then that the salesman noticed that his attachment had been returned and the name of his file had been changed to, "Fat_chance."

Moral of the story.  Want to close a big deal?   Go out into the field and meet your customers face to face.  Make it impossible for them to ignore you.   Or you can stay in the office, send out a bunch of templated emails and hope that "Tinkerbell" waves her magic wand and whisks you away to quota attainment land.   The choice is yours.
 "The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."     -      Henry David Thoreau


Yeah I am looking right at you,

dan