Blog Archives
Most Popular Have A Laugh Friday of 2012
It blew my mind how many times people landed on my blog because of this topic coming up on search engines this year!
It is very funny, and so true!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone…
Tim
Job Search Day 3 – Are You Starting To See Dollar Signs?
Hiring managers can “occasionally” overstate potential compensation packages with a sales role during the interview process. Before you have even started the job, you begin to envision how well you are going to do, even before evaluating if it is an achievable goal. I have taken it so far as envisioning how my life will be if I made that amount of money! Silly, but these thoughts can happen if you start to get ahead of yourself.
The success may well happen early on, but realistically it will take longer, possibly years to get up to that level of compensation consistently. Everyone develops in a role at different speeds, and many factors can come in to play regarding earning potential.
They are always people who thrive and over achieve quickly, but they are in the minority. A good question for the hiring manager in the interview process is,
“What are the realistic total compensation numbers (on average) in the first three years on the job?”
If you have little savings, or limited ability to pay for expenses now, you need to consider what size of salary you take, compared to potential commissions and bonuses.
I got a hard dose of reality with this type of situation in one of the roles that I accepted.
I was given a ball park idea of how the previous rep had done in the territory the year before, and it was a fantastic number! I started to see lots and lots of dollar signs! It definitely blurred my vision.
I was very confident in my abilities by that point in my career, and felt great about the role. There was a small issue that the hiring manager failed to mention. The previous rep negotiated to keep all the large accounts in the territory when he moved to another region. These accounts contributed greatly to the overall compensation.
Not only did the previous rep negotiate to keep many of the high producing accounts, the pay plan changed 4 months after I started, taking a good chunk out of the earning potential that was so desirable when I started the job. Things can change in a heartbeat, and it is best to underestimate what you will earn for the first couple of years, and decide from there if you are still comfortable taking the role.
This is especially CRITICAL when you need money right away and accept a role with 100% commission or a limited base salary.
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. 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.
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: +31 20 77 42 836
EMAIL: daniel@thecoldcallcompany.com
WEBSITE: http://www.thecoldcallcompany.com
TWITTER: @coldcallcompany
Have A Laugh Fridays – Different Perceptions of Sales Reps (Most Popular Yet)
This has been my most popular Have A Laugh Fridays Edition since I posted it in early March. It is a fantastic overview of the different perceptions of sales reps.
Enjoy this quick one, have a great weekend. Back to new “HALF’s” next week.
Bruce Zimmerman’s Post From The Heart
Bruce Zimmerman’s post about Paul Castain brought my night to a screeching halt on Monday. I wiped the sweat off my brow in the stifling summer heat, proceeded to the “coolness” of my basement, and read every word.
If you have followed for a while, Paul Castain’s name is brought up quite a bit on this blog. There is good reason for that.
Bruce captures the true essence of who Paul is, and what he stands for. I had already been planning a post for Thursday which references Paul’s website, so this will be the first of two posts, back-to-pack discussing somebody I admire greatly. Enjoy!
A while back I had the opportunity to interview an individual who I believe is truly a Sales Rock Star. Actually, I was so excited about the fact that I was able to interview him that I wrote a blog about it shortly after the interview concluded.
It was my intent to review all my notes, bring the whole thing together, and post my thoughts and perspectives within a couple of days.
Wanting to make sure that what I wrote was perfect in every way, I wrote several drafts but nothing seemed right. I would write something, I would read it, and conclude that it didn’t adequately portray my true thoughts. It had to be perfect! I wanted, no needed, to use the right words to describe how much this individual has meant to me and the thousands of other “aspiring sales rock stars” over the last few years. Somehow…
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I have had the good fortune to correspond with Richard from time to time over the past year. I also read his blog when time permits.
This post caught my attention over the weekend. If anyone is thinking about owning a business, is attempting to “live the entrepreneurial dream, or wants a great read, this post is for you! Check out how Richard eloquently describes the need for a business coach.
I Need a Business Coach
What is your intention and objective? What rationale are you using to determine your tenacity to reach your purpose? Is your resolution resolute? Will your commitment and resolve match the desire of the want? What are you willing to do to reach your objective?
We all want success. I have never met any person that wanted failure. Sometimes success eludes us and it is difficult to understand and discover what is holding the success from overflowing the cup of wealth and desire. Often opportunities are pushed to the side and forgotten mainly due to our own ignorance to look past our own self absorb opinions. We live in this circle of what we know that binds and hinders our willingness to seek opportunities outside our realm of vision and beliefs.
Many business owners have hit the first of many curveballs thrown…
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Guest Blogger: Why You Need to Find – And Get In To – Your Discomfort Zone
Michael Boyette from the Rapid Learning Institute and The Top Sales Dog blog reached out to me last week, and I am so glad that he did! He is giving me the incredible opportunity to post content on his website, and wanted to contribute to Sell Lead Succeed! as well. I love his take on the “Discomfort Zone”. Initially it looks like a place we would not want to be, but upon further evaluation, it is very clear that we all need to take a leap of faith and “get uncomfortable”. Enjoy!
Your sales career is “doing okay.” You’re in the groove and your boss isn’t tormenting you. But something is missing. You know you can do better. Fact is, it may take a lot more than you think to get to that next level. Top sales achievers understand this, and recognize that growth comes only by setting stretch goals. And that the rewards come after the risk, not before. In order to sell, lead, and succeed, you must first escape your personal comfort zone.
Strategies for Escaping Your Comfort Zone
1. Commit to your vision of where you want to be
People change only when the pain of staying the same exceeds the pain of changing. So the only way to escape a comfort zone is to feel discontent with it. The first step: daydream. All meaningful, lasting change begins by fantasizing about where you really want to be (i.e., not in this comfort zone). If you vividly imagine yourself busting through sales barriers, being excellent rather that just average, eventually that picture makes its way into reality. When it does, the old comfort zone is unacceptable and we feel the need to change it. That compelling urge to change is what drives us to do things that make us uncomfortable, but lead to the rewards we want.
2. Write down what you need to do
When it’s on paper, with quantifiable tasks and deadlines, you make it urgent. Writing things down is the best antidote for procrastination, which is a defense mechanism that keeps us in our comfort zones.
Example: By the end of next week, I will make 50 cold calls in the new market, and set up five sales calls that will lead to one sale.
3. Recognize – and resist – the urge to crawl back to the comfort zone
Entering a discomfort zone is stressful. At the first sign of failure our impulse is to return to where we never fail. You’re going to feel that way. Expect it and resist it.
4. Just do it
Fear dissolves through participation. Think of bungee jumping. Most people are terrified of it, can’t sleep the night before, break out into a cold sweat when the ropes are tied to their feet. For many, it’s utter agony. They then jump and the fear is over. All they feel is the intoxicating high of having broken through a personal barrier.
The same is true of public speaking. How many times have you seen speakers who seemed nervous at first – which means that deep inside they were terrified – but became increasingly confident? We all overcome fear by doing.
5. Don’t fall into a new comfort zone
So you’ve broken through that first barrier; now you can relax, right? No. High achievers use their comfort zone to rest in, not to live in.
In the early 1990s Bill Gates was the richest man in America and Microsoft Windows had established itself as the dominant operating system. Gates could have become complacent. But he didn’t. He lived in utter paranoia that networking would put Windows out of business. By 1995 he was convinced that the Internet could destroy everything he’d built. Gates’ refusal to retreat into a comfort zone explains why Microsoft still dominates the software market, and the Internet, today.
A Final Thought
Successful sales leaders and entrepreneurs are not necessarily more competent, but they do look for ways to grow and stretch. They willingly expose themselves to new things by venturing into their own personal discomfort zone.
Michael Boyette is the executive editor of http://rapidlearninginstitute.com Rapid Learning Institute’s Selling Essentials elearning site and editor of the http://rapidlearninginstitute.com/top-sales-dog Top Sales Dog Blog. He’s also managed marketing and PR programs for DuPont, Tyco Electronics, and US Healthcare. Connect with Michael via email at topsalesdog@rapidlearninginstitute.com or Twitter @TopSalesDog
I came across this insightful post by Cathy Berggren yesterday and I wanted to share it now. I am always looking for posts that grab my attention, and what better way to make me stop in my tracks then a bowl full of M&Ms! The cool part is there is a wonderful message here as well for all leaders. Now I have to run to the store 🙂 Enjoy…
Ever pick out your favorite colors in M&M’s when you eat them? Are you drawn to a particular color? Statistically, the company puts the highest number of blue in each container…in fact 24% in each bag. Can you guess the least amount? Yep, brown, an average of 13%. Any guesses as to why blue is favored over brown? I don’t have the answers, but have my own theory.
Blue stands out
We are drawn to people for the same reason. We are often drawn to those people who stand out. It may not be because they are loud or outgoing, or because they are some great leader by position, or because of their following or even their money. It might be because of their gentle quiet spirit, or maybe it is how they consistently love people. They may stand out because of their guidance and leadership to…
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Sell, Lead, Succeed! 