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October 2002 |
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| Welcome to SalesWired! If you missed last
month's issue, LifeWired has gotten a makeover.
SalesWired is the new e-zine from The Duncan Group
designed to give you the tools to become successful
in sales and in life. We would love to hear any
feedback that you have. Drop us a line at editorial@theduncangroup.com.
Thank you for your loyal readership! |
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| INSIDE THIS MONTH'S ISSUE |
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Having a Heart for Selling
When it comes to the sales profession, why do you
sell? What is it about sales that makes it the career
of choice for you?...MORE |
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Sales Smarts
An incident involving U.S. Government officials
in the early 1900’s has a modern-day application
for salespeople searching for creative ways to present
their products and services...MORE |
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Pay Now, Play Now
You’ve no doubt heard the phrase: Pay now, play
later. And by it we usually mean that one has to
put in his dues, so to speak, before he can enjoy
the fruits of his labor...MORE |
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| Having a Heart for Selling |
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When it comes to the sales profession, why
do you sell? What is it about sales that makes
it the career of choice for you? If your heart
is in it, sales for you is about people.
Having a heart for selling is about loving
people. It’s about making a difference in others’
lives. It’s about discovering your place along
clients’ most-desired life path. And if that’s
not where your heart is, it’s almost certain that
you’re in the wrong business.
To have – and keep – a heart for those to
whom you sell and serve, ask yourself the following
3 questions before entering each new sales relationship.
Can I be fulfilled serving this person? It’s
an important question because if you do not share
the same values as the person to whom you’re selling,
there will be problems down the road, if not immediately.
If you wouldn’t be proud bringing a potential
client “home to mama” or introducing a potential
client to your closest friends, then chances are
pretty good that a relationship with them will
be nothing but heartache.
Does what I sell provide this person the
best solution? If you aren’t selling something
that is truly top-of-the-line, start selling something
that is. That doesn’t mean you need to get a new
job selling the most expensive product in your
field. If you’re selling an average car with world-class
service and an unbeatable warranty, then sell
the service and the warranty – and tell the client
what he is getting. Don’t ever misrepresent your
product or service. If you’re in the business
of being dishonest, get out of the sales profession.
You’re doing no one any good – most of all, yourself.
Is what I offer along this person’s current
life path? Don’t make the sales profession a game
of convincing people to change their values or
desires. Listen to what a potential client is
telling you, then determine if buying from you
will move her down the path she values most. If
your heart is in the right place, you will want
to confirm her deepest values and meet her deepest
desires with the product or service you offer.
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| Sales Smarts |
| An incident involving U.S. Government officials
in the early 1900’s has a modern-day application
for salespeople searching for creative ways to present
their products and services. Uncle Joe Cannon, once
the czar-like Speaker of the House, announced one
summer that he would take a party of friends trough
Yellowstone National Park. That was the opportunity
for which Hiram Martin Chittenden had been waiting.
Mr. Chittenden was the builder of the park road
system.
There were four stagecoaches ready for Uncle
Joe and his party. When the guests turned up,
Chittenden arranged to have Uncle Joe placed in
the last coach. The driver was instructed to keep
as close to the coach ahead as he could without
inviting disaster.
What a powdering Uncle Joe took back there!
He was white with volcanic dust.
“Why the devil,” he rasped, “doesn’t somebody
do something about those blankety-blank roads?”
Chittenden, in a gentle voice, reminded him
that there were plans drawn up but that there
was no money available.
“Well, let’s see the plans,” ordered Mr.
Cannon.
And out of Congress came $350,000 for the
next three years, 1902-1905.
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| Pay Now, Play Now |
| You’ve no doubt heard the phrase: Pay now,
play later. And by it we usually mean that one has
to put in his dues, so to speak, before he can enjoy
the fruits of his labor… A salesperson has to put
her nose to the proverbial grindstone for a long
period of time before she can really enjoy the life
she truly desires. But is that really true?
The truth of the matter is that if you’re
truly “paying” as you should be, you can “play”
as you desire right now. Now don’t get me wrong.
I’m not saying that you can just walk into a sales
job and begin making the big bucks. What I am
saying is that if your priorities are in order
and you’re building a clean, streamlined business,
you will always have time to play as you desire.
Sure, you may choose to make sacrifices along
the way to building a world-class sales business.
But that’s your choice. And so is living your
best life.
You see, the “pay now, play later” mentality
often gives us a false notion that we won’t enjoy
our lives until we’ve made it in the sales profession
– until we’re making enough money to work less
hours or until we’ve achieved a position that
allows us to take more time off. But that’s simply
not true. In fact, paying now and playing now
involves making and keeping 3 commitments to yourself
and those you love.
1. Clean up your business. Most salespeople
spend over half of their day conducting menial
tasks that produce nothing of real value – things
like photocopying, filing, faxing, emailing friends,
running errands, etc. Learn the art of delegation
and map out each week ahead of time. If you must
carry out tasks like photocopying or sending faxes,
set aside a small block of time to do so each
day. If the tasks don’t need to be done while
you’re at work – don’t do them. Don’t whimsically
interrupt important selling hours to be counterproductive.
When your business is running smooth, you always
have time to play.
2. Set your priorities in stone and don’t
waver. If you have a family, they should take
precedence over your job – regardless of your
responsibilities. That may mean committing to
never work past 5:00 PM so that you have ample
quality time with them every day. That may mean
eating breakfast with your kids and driving them
to school each day. Create work-related disciplines
that support your non-work related values.
3. Choose life over work. Don’t ever let
your work dictate the life you live. You never
know how long or how short your life – or the
lives of those you love – will be. If you desire
more time with loved ones, increase your productivity
at work, ask for a position change that requires
fewer hours, or, if necessary, change jobs. If
you desire to make more money or take more vacation,
work smarter, not harder. Make your life hours
non-negotiable and your work hours flexible. Choose
to pursue the experiences of life over the experiences
of work, and your payments on the job will always
allow for plenty of play off the job.
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