Archive for the ‘Goal Achievement’ Category

18 Disciplines of Selling

by mmaclay Posted: Monday, 3/22/2010

The first quarter of 2010 is coming to a close-have you closed as many sales as you planned? If you are like many, sales is a complex, frustrating activity that can deflate your ego as fast as a pin in a balloon. I continue to hear this from my clients, colleagues, friends and even strangers I happen to strike up a conversation with while waiting in lines, sitting on the bus, even in passing on the street! What is it about having to present a prospect with value worth more than the price that can send an otherwise confident, articulate, enthusiastic adult running for the door?  The magic words, “let me think about it”, bring instant relief to many and justification for the retreat.
back_to_basicsI began sharing the 18 Disciplines of Sales used by a consistently successful sales associate and 2 time recipient of the Brian Tracy award for Sales Excellence. In past blog posts these were presented a few at a time. Considering the consistently recurring sales theme, it seemed timely to share all 18 at once. Hope these offer some relief from frustration. Sales CAN go according to plan. Apply these basics and make the second quarter of 2010 exceed your expectations:
1. Be PROUD of whatever role you are in and act like it. Perception is reality.  CONFIDENCE SELLS!!
2. Act like a WINNER. People gravitate to those they perceive as winners. Success is an attitude.
3. Expect SUCCESSS and er, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give up. Success requires persistence.                         getting-organized2
4. Be PASSIONATE about what you do and show it. People feel passion and they pay for passion.
5. Get ORGANIZED. If you live in clutter your mind is cluttered.  
6. Set written, clear, concise, smart GOALS. Commit 2 minutes a day to think about and write them down.
7. Have a daily, prioritized PLAN. Must apply this discipline. Prepare it at night and let your superconscious mind go to work on it. Stay focused and insure that what you are doing “right now” is the one thing that will move your business forward.
8. Have a clear idea of who your TARGET CUSTOMER is. Work hard to narrow it down so your prospecting time is effective. Be aware of opportunities right in front of you.
9. Selling is about RELATIONSHIPS and effective communication. Identify who you are speaking with and what their needs are. People buy from those who understand them. Leverage tools out there, like D.I.S.C., to sharpen your listening and communication skills.
10. Clearly understand your UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION (USP). What sets you and your business apart from others? Know and be able to articulate it. The time spent figuring this out is worth every minute (or hour!!).
11. Create a POWERFUL 10 second MESSAGE. Only 2% of all salespeople can articulate what they do in 10 seconds. DSC00354Answer WII-FM (what’s in it for me?).

12. In it’s most basic form, selling is a game of NUMBERS. Talk with alot of people, sell to them all. ASK for appointments. ASK for referrals.
13. LISTEN!! the prospect will tell you how to sell them.
14. Be CONSISTANT and PERSISTANT. 80% of ALL sales are made on the FIFTH to TWELTH contact.  48% of salespeople NEVER follow up with a prospect        

15. Understand that closing is NOT A BIG EVENT…It’s Incidental!
16. Understand what you are willing to give up to get what you want.
17. TRACK EVERYTHING…hours, cost, leads, customers…..
18. Work HARD and work SMART . What you put into it is what you get out of it.
Now get out there and SELL!!!!!!

Posted in Basics, Discipline, Goal Achievement, Goal Setting, Productivity, Sales, Success | 1 Comment »

Perform at your best…no matter what!

by mmaclay Posted: Monday, 3/1/2010

Margaret MaclayBack in August I was all excited about writing a blog. I jumped right in and entered my first post!!!

Then I got distracted, things got “busy”, procrastination set in and suddenly hesitant about whether anyone would actually read or care about what I had to say, the posts ceased as rapidly as they had begun.

When posting my March workshops I realized that more than 195 days had passed since my first/last/only blog entry. My, how time flies! But isn’t this indicative of what happens to us in business and life every day? They say “time flies when you’re having fun”…but it flies whether or not you’re having fun. Months just seem to glide by.

I was reading something a more diligent author posted-don’t recall the source, so sorry to whomever I quoted in the title of this post-and was struck by the words “Perform at your best…no matter what”.  No matter what? Despite intentions to do our best, we all have overly full schedules, reasons for why things didn’t get done… much better than blaming the dog for eating it and distractions, good, bad or otherwise.

Most recently, The Olympics were the distraction. The snow was a distraction. The Yahoo blog post about winners and losers at the Olympics was a distraction. After all, despite 17 days of viewing, on 3 channels, with recaps at least twice an hour, something important could have been missed!! It was…the lesson we can be reminded of by some of these amazing athlete’s who truly do perform at their best no matter what. Time to take action!

Part of performing at your best no matter what as a business owner, is to take action every day. Take action that might not always be fun, but is important to moving your business forward. This is what distinguishes the winners.

Indeed time is flying. Today is March 1st. The first quarter of 2010 is almost over. Yikes! What a great time to make a commitment to “perform at your best no matter what”  and achieve everything you planned for 2010.  Even if it’s not always that fun. The results are bound to be fun and satisfying.

 So, my initial blogpost stated that I was going to share the 18 Disciplines of Selling put forth by our top FocalPoint Coach, Dan Creed, 2 time recipient of the Brian Tracy Award for Sales Excellence. The first 5 can be found in my post “Success Is Not An Accident!”. Here are the next 5,  which are sure to impact your business success if you give them your best shot no matter what:

6. Set written, clear, concise, smart GOALS. Commit 2 minutes a day to think about and write them down.

7. Have a daily, prioritized PLAN. Must have this little discipline. If you prepare it at night, your superconscious mind will go to work on it. Be focused and insure that what you are doing “right now” is the one thing that will move your business forward.

8. Have a clear idea of who your TARGET CUSTOMER is. Work hard to narrow it down so your prospecting time is effective. Be aware of opportunities right in front of you.

9. Selling is about RELATIONSHIPS and effective communication. Identify who you are speaking with and what their needs are. People buy from those who understand them, not those they understand. Leverage tools out there, like D.I.S.C., to sharpen your listening and communication skills.

10. Clearly understand your USP (unique selling proposition). What sets you and your business apart from others? Know and be able to articulate it. The time spent figuring this out is worth every minute (or hour!!)

The next 5 will be coming soon. No waiting another 195+ days.

What’s getting in the way of you performing at your best, no matter what?

Posted in Business performance, Goal Achievement, Procrastination, Productivity, Sales | 1 Comment »