Category Archives: Sales
I stumbled across David Kanigan’s blog “Lead Learn Live” this morning and I really enjoyed it. I can’t wait to read more posts over the next few days. One caught my attention in particular – “Do What You Love”. It is a real eye opener for those trying to find their way with respect to their career. I strongly recommend that you take a few minutes this weekend to immerse yourself in the message. Thanks David!
We’ve all either given or received the career advice: “Follow your dreams.” “Do what you love.” “Love what you do.”
Recently, there have been an increasing number of counterarguments making the case that if we were all going to “do what we love,” we’d starve doing it.
I came across a 2006 post by Paul Graham: “How To Do What You Love” that offers what may be the best thought-leadership on the subject that I have read.
Graham is an essayist, programmer, and investor. In 1995, he co-developed the first web-based application, Viaweb, which was acquired by Yahoo in 1998. He has an AB from Cornell and a PhD in Computer Science from Harvard, and studied painting at RISD and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence. Graham’s blog is one of the most followed in the blogosphere.
It is an essay (longish for those of us with…
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Bruce Zimmerman is someone that I have enjoyed corresponding with on Twitter and LinkedIn for quite some time now. He is professional, outgoing and brings an incredible depth of knowledge to his blog. I had the good fortune of speaking to Bruce for the first time a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it! I look forward to future interactions with my new blogging and social media friend. Check out this insightful post on Keys To Success.
Some of the most valuable lessons I have learned in life I have learned through sports. Competing from an early age, I was fortunate to learn the value of hard work, persistence, and determination. Growing up one of my favorite athletes was Pete Rose. He wasn’t the most talented player in the major leagues, but what he lacked in talent he made up for with effort and his willingness to make something happen. He gave everything he had every time he played. His persistence and determination earned him the nickname “Charlie Hustle”.
So what if anything can be learned from “Charlie Hustle”? (other than don’t bet on baseball)
It is that persistence and determination are absolutely indispensable if you are to be successful in any endeavor. No matter what it is that you hope to accomplish, the obstacles you may face, or what others may think; persistence and determination…
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Have A Laugh Fridays – Great Golf Jokes!
I was debating what I would post for Have A Laugh Fridays this week, and received this as an email yesterday! I think it is a sign that spring is in the air, and the golf clubs will be dusted off soon for all of us that endure long, harsh winters.
Sales and business professionals take a lot of heat for all the golfing that we “apparently do”, so I thought some golf jokes were a great tie in for some laughs this week!
Remember, if you have any videos, pictures, or jokes that you think would be worthy of Have A Laugh Fridays, send me an email at:
Have a great weekend!
When I die, bury me on the golf course so my husband will visit.
Author Unknown
I don’t say my golf game is bad, but if I grew tomatoes they’d come up sliced.
Author Unknown
I’ve spent most of my life golfing. The rest I’ve just wasted.
Author Unknown
They call it golf because all the other four-letter words were taken.
Raymond Floyd
The ardent golfer would play Mount Everest if somebody would put a flag stick on top.
Pete Dye (His golf courses reflect this belief!!!)
Golf is played by twenty million mature American men whose wives think they are out having fun.
Jim Bishop
It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.
Hank Aaron
Golf is a game in which you yell “fore,” shoot six, and write down five.
Paul Harvey
Give me golf clubs, fresh air & a beautiful partner, and you can keep the clubs and the fresh air.
Jack Benny
Have you ever noticed what golf spells backwards?
Al Boliska
The only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course.
Billy Graham
Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing.
Ben Hogan
Go play golf. Go to the golf course. Hit the ball. Find the ball. Repeat until the ball is in the hole. Have fun. The end.
Chuck Hogan
If you think it’s hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball.
Jack Lemmon
It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.
Mark Twain
Don’t play too much golf. Two rounds a day are plenty.
Harry Vardon
Golf is a game in which one endeavors to control a ball with implements ill adapted for the purpose.
Woodrow Wilson
A golfer’s diet: live on greens as much as possible.
Author Unknown
Gone golfin’ … be back about dark thirty.
Author Unknown
Born to golf. Forced to work.
Author Unknown
My body is here, but my mind has already teed off .
Author Unknown
Golf and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.
Jimmy DeMaret
May thy ball lie in green pastures …. and not in still waters.
Author Unknown
If I hit it right, it’s a slice. If I hit it left, it’s a hook. If I hit it straight, it’s a miracle.
Author Unknown
The difference in golf and government is that in golf you can’t improve your lie.
George Deukmejian
Golf is a game invented by the same people who think music comes out of bagpipes. Author Unknown
The Five Star 5 – Sales Leaders
I love lists. I love countdowns. It started with me listening to the “Top 10 at 10” songs on a local AM radio station as a kid, and eventually a variation was born called the “Top 6 at 6”. From there, countdowns seemed to be all over the place. There were tv shows in the 1980’s that counted down the top music videos of the week, and eventually sports shows counted down the best plays of the day, week and eventually year.
When I started to get involved with social media and conducted research on the internet, I realized that lists were prominent there too. I saw one problem. Many of the lists were 10, 25, 50 or even 100 items long! I had no issue with that until I realized that I always got distracted and never finished the lists.
So I felt the need to chime in on the “list phenomenon”, but with my own twist. It will be called,
“The Five Star 5”
I will include my favourites from a specific category, but each list will only be 5 entries long. The difficult part of course is narrowing down some decisions to 5, but that is the beauty of the short, concise list. I want each list to be impactful, short and sweet.
These were the first five people that I followed in the sales space, and I am sure glad that I did. If you are following them already, fantastic! If not, consider this a solid recommendation and follow them at once!
I will note their Twitter names and websites as points of reference:
Paul Castain – Your Sales Playbook; @PaulCastain
Dan Waldschmidt – Edgy Conversations; @DanWaldo
S. Anthony Iannarino – The Sales Blog; @Iannarino
Kelley Robertson – Fearless Selling; @FearlessSelling
Mark Hunter – The Sales Hunter; @TheSalesHunter
Enjoy this list. These guys are awesome!
Jeffrey Gitomer Video – Positive Mental Attitude
It is easy to overlook our attitude and assume that we are as positive as we need to be. I came across this very popular Jeffrey Gitomer video recently and it provided me with some great insight. I hope it does the same for you. Take 5 minutes for a quick “attitude check”!
Have A Laugh Fridays – (Song) You are My Prospect
Doug Grady is the President of High Achievers Network, and a musician to boot! I stumbled across his work searching for content to be included in Have A Laugh Fridays. I had a laugh when I heard the parody of this popular tune as it relates to sales. Admit it, you remember this song too!
Have A Laugh Fridays – Sales & Golf
I love to watch this commercial! It brings a smile to my face every time. Enjoy it and have a great weekend.
Career Highlights – It’s Been a Fun Ride So Far!
It would be silly of me to request that you follow my blog and connect with me if I had not achieved a few cool things during my career! There have certainly been some ups and downs along the way, but the ups were fantastic, and I will never forget them.
I have highlighted my biggest accomplishments below:
#1 Youngest Branch Manager (24 years old) in the region’s history of a car rental company
#2 Achieved the sales incentive trip for 6 consecutive years while working with one organization. I typically exceeded budget by 10-30% annually. The achievement that I am most proud of with this organization was coming home from Christmas holidays one year to see a fax that I had qualified for the trip, by beating my budget by less than 1%. That felt AWESOME!
- Business in the territory doubled from $3.2 million to $6.4 million over the course of nearly 7 years
- As mentioned in my first post, this was the role where I was offered my dream job at the time, to be the Sales Manager responsible for $40 million in sales and managing 10 associates. It was not meant to be though, as a management shuffle and new ownership steered my career in a different direction. I moved on
#3 Achieved 2nd highest sales volume and 4th highest percentage to budget (out of 20 reps) in the first year in the field for another role
- The highlight of nearly 2 years with this organization was being the top rep out of 100+ associates for a North American wide promotion. As a side note, I outsold the entire Canadian sales force!
#4 For my first new business acquisition focused role, I exceeded budget in 3 of my first 5 months on the road. I proceeded to achieve the quarterly bonus for the third quarter that year.
- I was the number one rep on the team for the first five months of the fiscal year (months 4-8 during my employment)
Success in any role is critical, and I have certainly had my share during my career. I did not want this post to become a brag book, more of a summary to let you know that my systems, philosophies and processes have resulted in accomplishments that I am very proud of. The rollercoaster of emotions, and the always cliché “blood, sweat & tears” have made it all worthwhile!
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 
