Blog Archives
To Give Or Not To Give…
That is the question 🙂
Ever see people handing out business cards like they are dealing a deck of cards?
“Come one, come all, everyone gets a card!”
The important question is…
did you get a card from the prospect, or the networking event connection?
When you get a card, you are in control. You control your own destiny.
When all you do is hand out cards, and often forget to get their card, you wait – hoping one day that they reach out to you.
Uh-oh! Your card may end up in the garbage but you still can connect if you have theirs!
Have A Laugh Fridays – Always Expect The Unexpected!
Yep – sometimes a sales call does not go according to plan! Be ready to adapt at a moment’s notice.
Have a great weekend!
Have A Laugh Fridays – I Have To Work With That Guy?
I think we have all had the experience of working with somebody that we would rather not. This “weasel” takes it to the next level!
Have a great weekend..
When Are You At Your Best?
Are you…
– Wondering why a presentation went so poorly?
– Bewildered by the lack of success of phone cold calls?
– Amazed that a sales call was less than well received?
– Frustrated by the difficulty catching up on paperwork at the end the week?
– Have you thought about what time of day you are typically at your best?
– Do you know when you should not be attempting high level activities?
Take some time to think about this as you plan your next week. This is often overlooked as schedules are planned.
– If you are not a morning person, is it reasonable to expect to hit a presentation out of the park at 8 am?
– If your body and mind is starting to wind down after 3 pm, is that a good time to be starting to phone cold call and expect to be energetic and engaging?
– If you tend to feel sluggish right after lunch, should you be scheduling a sales call shortly after you eat?
– If your organization skills need work, should you be putting off cleaning up all of your To Do’s until late Friday?
I can do a presentation at 8 am because I am a morning person, but I try to avoid them later in the day. Certain people are much more effective well in to the afternoon. Cold call when you are at your best for maximum results.
Lunch affects people differently, so plan your afternoon calls accordingly. I am guessing few people look forward to cleaning up their To Do’s late in the day Friday. Put systems in place to keep up during the week, so you don’t end your week on a bad note!
– When are you at your best?
– Are you working to your body and mind’s strengths?
– Is it time to make adjustments to your schedule?
Where The Heck Did My Desk Go?
One of the first rules that I learned as a parent was infants and toddlers thrive on routine and consistency. As adults we tend to lose our way much of the time, and planning and scheduling becomes a dirty word.
Sales professionals can get lost without planning and scheduling as well. If we thrive on routines early in life, should the need for “the expected” not extend throughout our lives? Think about how much more efficient you would be if you stuck to a schedule even 70, 80 or 90% of the time?
A classic story that I heard during my career involved an executive and the sales team at his office. He walked in to the “sales bullpen” mid morning one day, and saw all the reps sitting at their desks. He asked his manager if he could “reorganize” the sales area when they left for their territories. The reps were very surprised the next morning when they found their desks stacked on top of each other in the warehouse! He did it to prove a point, and strongly believed that by mid morning, they should be out in the field making sales calls and getting orders.
As often as possible during my career, I have operated under the system of a “Daily Powerplay” for 4 days each week. Many sales experts have their own theory on this, but somewhere between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm is the ideal time to be in front of customers.
This is a sample of my schedule:
7:30 am – 9:30 am
- Return emails and phone calls
- Complete any outstanding follow-up To Do’s
- Phone cold calling (if applicable) & setting up appointments
9:30 am – 4:00 pm
(Daily PowerPlay)
- Sales Calls, lunches with clients/prospects, training sessions or golf (and other relationship building time) with clients
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
- Â Similar to the morning, clean up as much as possible by the end of the day
The key to a good schedule is to know yourself, and when you are at your best. If you are “in the zone” first thing in the morning, then conduct important cold calls or face to face meeting then. If you gain momentum later in the afternoon, conduct these activities then instead. I colleague of mine was not functional until around 10 am, and he was still one of the best reps in that organization. He worked later than most of us, and our boss was comfortable with that. It was all about the numbers, and it would have been counterproductive for the company to expect him to do a big presentation at 8 am.
If you expect to leave the office every day at 9 or 930 am, do so when possible.
There should be very few excuses why you cannot leave the office when you intended to. Less important things than face to face selling can always be dealt with later. Speaking from experience, issues come up from time to time, but they should not derail your plans very often. Go sell!
The key to the “Daily Powerplay” is the fifth day each week is an office day. I typically use Mondays as the day to catch up from the previous week, and plan the next four days. Some people prefer the office day to be on Fridays. Be careful though, there is always the temptation to start your weekend early.
- Do you have a daily planning and scheduling system?What changes do you need to implemented in your daily activities to start a schedule and/or follow one more closely if you don’t already?
- Do you stick to it?
- If so, how often?
Do more of what is working for you, and stop doing what is not. Evaluate your processes and planning regularly, and tweak systems as you go along. The pain of spending the time making a plan and sticking to it, will be much less in the long run than being disorganized, without focus, and becoming frustrated by the lack of results.
Have A Laugh Fridays – Excellent Phone Cold Call – NOT!
OUCH! This video is a beauty. If you are picking up the phone to contact potential customers, please do not do this!
Have a great weekend!
Guest Post – Daniel Francis “Hit Reset”, And It Worked!
I had debated coming clean for a while and getting personal about my battles with stuttering throughout my life on this blog. I finally took a leap of faith and developed a post about it last week. It ended up being one of my most popular to date, and I wanted to thank everyone for their support. In case you missed it, here is the link again:
https://sellleadsucceed.com/2012/07/23/i-once-knew-a-boy/
It caught Daniel Francis’ attention, and inspired this guest post. I have been connected with Daniel for many months now, thanks to him initially reaching out on Facebook. His content is inspiring, well thought out, and incredibly interesting to read. I am enjoying his book “The Cold Calling Bible” now.
Daniel was living a good life, but not a great one for 10 years doing what he thought he should in trying to achieve massive success and live what he thought were his dreams. Â A reality check and some tough times ensued; but once he figured out what he was really good at, his life changed.
Check out his inspiring story, and try to relate. Are changes perhaps in store for you as well?
We live in a time when more is accessible to us than ever before. More information, more stimulation, more stuff. Dream it, and the world may well offer you a crack at it, but have you ever chased the wrong dream? I have, and I’ve lived to tell about it.
Like many people, I wanted to live “the good life”, but my definition of “the good life” was, upon reflection, pretty selfish. In fact, I spent a decade chasing the wrong dream for the wrong reasons. What did I dream about? A Lamborghini.  Luxury condos in New York and Berlin. Life in the fast lane: travel, women, adventure. You might call it Fortune 500 or James Bond 007 signed, sealed, and delivered.
My persona in those days was definitely that of a smart-ass. I was living and working in The Big Apple, the ultimate corporate pressure-cooker. My employers and clients seemed to think I could do it all, and they threw it all at me. I never flinched, I just took on more and more — even things that I simply am not good at. Now let’s be honest. There are things we do well, and there are things we don’t. Wisdom would have it that we eventually learn to distinguish between the two.
For ten years, I chased my dream with the enthusiasm, dedication and passion that I do everything – all the while creating expectations I could not fulfill because they involved doing things I am simply not good at. I was living beyond my means, above my limitations, offering more than I could actually deliver. You might say I had become very adept at flying by the seat of my pants. The problem was that I felt like I was walking on eggshells all the time – balancing – and terrified of falling. Of failing. Everyone, and ultimately, myself.
Eventually, my life came tumbling down around me. Burn-out led to depression, with all the troubles, sorrows, and self-reflection that entails. It took some months and a lot of work before I discovered the secret to a successful life and healthy dreams: Focus on what you are really good at, therein lies the key to happiness.
I am the Cold Call Expert. I can get you in the door of corporate decision-makers faster than anyone. My friends and colleagues had told me this for years, marveling at how easy it is for me to get through to the CEO with a single call. I love it. I’m great at it. It’s what I do really well, and best of all, the people I call upon enjoy it too. More than once I’ve been told, “This was the best sales call I’ve ever experienced. Thank you!” I am a connector and I teach others how to connect.
Identifying and embracing my true strength changed my life. I stopped trying focus on skills that are outside my limitations. I recognized that I do, in fact, have limitations. I work healthier now, less intensely, but with greater passion. I earn a good salary, have a good life, and dream realistic dreams. I traded in my elusive Lamborghini to drive a reliable Volvo, and as I sit here writing, I am thoroughly enjoying a fresh slice of bread with chunky peanut butter. Simplicity, balance in work and recreation, and enjoying what I do each day makes for a truly great life.
If you are tired of chasing your tail, oops, I mean, your dream, look again. Maybe you are pursuing an unrealistic dream. Learn to focus on your true strengths. A better life is sure to follow.
Daniel Francès, author of The Cold Call Bible and experienced Cold Calling Trainer, was born with sales running through his veins. While other boys daydreamed of becoming firemen or famous soccer players, Daniel knew instinctively from the age of seven that he aspired to sell. Beginning his career in New York, he became first acquainted with the phenomenon of cold calling, and was intrigued and inspired. He immediately internalized this form of marketing as second nature. Â
After studying, fine tuning and practicing his craft, Daniel became a master of the Cold Call. In 2010, obsessed with training others to master the Cold Call, he established The Cold Call Company dedicated to the art of cold calling. He now custom designs and delivers corporate cold calling training programs and is an adviser on how to gain new business using cold calling.
Daniel can be reached at:
PHONE:Â +31 20 77 42 836
EMAIL:Â daniel@thecoldcallcompany.com
WEBSITE:Â http://www.thecoldcallcompany.com
TWITTER: @coldcallcompany
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 