21 Day Sales Learning Challenge: Days 17

"Quit Assuming "

Today was interesting, to say the least. Scheduled an appointment two weeks ago for a lunch meeting and even sent out calendar invite. Received confirmation the prospect was going to be there the same day, two weeks ago.

Two weeks go by, no change in the calendar invite, so assumed we are still good to go. The person seemed punctual and would be the kind of person who would cancel if they can't make it.

Showed up to the meeting location 5 minutes early and ordered a drink. Sat there catching up on emails waiting for the prospect to show up.

Five minutes went by, then 15 and still no one showed up.  Now twenty minutes past the appointment I'm calling the prospect to confirm our meeting. They apologized that they forgot to send a notification they couldn't make it and said try calling next week.

Really?! That just happened?! I worked so hard to schedule this, the prospect confirmed two weeks ago, and not I'm sitting by myself waiting for nothing.

I assumed the client was coming. I assumed it was in their calendar and so assumption kicked in they would be there for that.  worst mistake  to make with assuming things.

I learned two lessons today on this:

First, don't punk and stand someone up. Keep track of your schedule and don't flake out on someone, it's rude! And unprofessional!

Second, quit assuming others will be there when you ask or schedule them. Always confirm an appointment before driving and showing up.  Being stood up once is one too many.

I learned today to quit assuming and instead be 100% sure each appointment is confirmed.

21 Day Sales Learning Challenge: Day 16

"First Initial Contact is not a time to Sell"

Great opportunity this week to represent the company on a golf course with a charity tournament. I was asked to be part of the event to tell the golfers about our company and give away some freebie.  I was joined by a co-worker.

As we're on the 18th hole and the tournament begins, every group got a chance to stop by our booth before teeing off.

I sat back a few times and let my colleague take the reigns with the groups.  He would try to over Sell, once he got someone to listen to him he wouldn't stop talking about our product. At one point he tried asking to schedule a meeting.

I learned how easy people put their guard up when they are over pitched, especially on a fun day off on the golf course. This is the first time meeting someone and he was basically going into trying to get signatures(over exaggerating, but you get the point).

Now here was my approach the entire day. Make small talk, find out what the person does, keep asking them personal questions (after all we're not in office setting). I made sure to keep the conversations light. In fact, the only time I'd talk about my company and product was when someone was truly interested and asked.

The initial meeting, especially in the golf setting we were in, is a time to gather contact information and learn a little about the person. Of course, the moment they teed off, I'd run over to my notepad (CRM) and write every word they said; I was writing down their wives names, where they traveled, and even interests they mentioned like restaurants or sporting games or favorite golf course.

Whenever I look at my co-workers strategy, I could tell the golfers became standoff ish and didn't engage too much. But the results I had were deep conversations, real connections, and leads.

My biggest learning curve was undersranding the difference between pitching and versus just meeting someone. Being the first time meeting, there's another time and place for the business pitch.

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales Learning Challenge: Day 15

"Importance of your pipeline"

Today was a great learning example of how to stay successful;  keep your pipeline full. 

Our office had 2 potential clients going through proposal stage of our business. If we were to close them, we would be well over our goals for the month. Deadline to complete is this friday.

Everything was going great; all week, the clients were responsive, mentioning their interest with coming on board, answering all our questions, and turning in required paperwork to get deal finalized.

But one client, the vibe changed this morning.

Called the client, assistant said he was "busy". After the entire day goes, we tried calling back in. When owner gets on, you can immediatly hear the tone change in his voice.

He informed us that a competitor came in cheaper. Apologized and said he liked our model but has to go the route in saving money.

The other account, was slightly different...client told us yes and was ready to move forward. We had everything completed except for one approval from underwriting, "Risk".

An email came in from underwriting informing us that the potential client had too many issues for us to sign them on.

Here's the importance to the story. These are two completely different ways a client may not come on board;  went elsewhere or internal decline.  But this story isn't here to tell you how to avoid losing potential clients, in fact it's not to better assist you on how to avoid losing the close.

I learned this morning how great it is to keep your Pipeline filled because of these two "NOs"! You see I didn't mention that these are only 2 accounts of the 20 prospects that we are currently looking at all in the next few weeks.

Keep working on the pipeline as your main priority in order to hit your numbers. The more prospects you meet, the more prospects you will have on your desk to close, which also means more deals should be signed.

It's rough to get a no on two accounts, but it doesn't change a your pipeline in front of you. NOs just remind you to move on to the next one.

On the white board, there's a reminder "Next". It reminds Us after a yess, or in this situation a No...move on, tel yourself Next.  There's plenty of work being done each day so no need to go piss on the present with the past. Focus now.

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales Learning Challenge: Day 14

"Throw Your Butt out Properly"

Had a lunch meeting today for work and it was nice enough to sit on the patio. As we were sitting down discussing business and enjoy old town, there was a moment I got to people watch.

A guy pulls up across the street. As he gets out of his car, he finishes exhaling a huge puff of smoke from his cigarette throws the butt on the sidewalk. Then he throws in a piece of gum in his mouth, chews it while grabbing a file out of the back seat.

At this point, I've informed my colleagues to take a look at him and caught them up with what I've seen so far. As this moment he takes his gum out of his mouth and threw that on the walkway while heading up the business.

He most likely is selling something and is walking into his appointment. After about 20min, the guy came out, jumped in his car and took off as if he just got rejected. Briefly after the guy leaves, a gentleman walks out of the business with a broom and pan, sweeps up the cigarette and gum, shakes his head and heads back in.

The observation of the scene; salesman rudely liters his cigarette and gum in front of the business owner's window. Owner watches the entire thing, pre-judges the guy and couldn't overcome the scene he watched happen and tells the guy no on the product being sold.

Learning lesson showing you never know who's watching you on the job. This guy was already pissed off seeing a person who he may have been looking forward to meeting trash his business entryway.  That can easily lead to immediate no no matter what...

Everyone has a story where they saw so-and-so out in public doing something rude or gross; spitting, littering, picking nose, speaking rude to someone else, speeding and cutting others off, caught lying, over drinking, and so on.

In sales, we always need to remember we are a public figure, our clients are everywhere and you never know when they can see you in public. Always be on your guard, or better yet make a change on any bad habits you may have.

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales Learning Challenge: Day 13

"Comparing Sales and baseball on similar level"

Before I go into today's learning lesson, here's a little background about myself. I played competitive baseball all the way through College. In high school, I batted  .450 and in college I hit .386! Offense came easy for me, I loved hitting and wasnt afraid to take anyone on. I was successfully hitting 4 of every 10 at bats.

Baseball is not easy to play. As a hitter you have 4/10th of a second from a pitcher throwing the ball to the hitter making contact. Reaction time has no room for errors. The entire major league of baseball hits an average of .250 per season. That's 1 of every 4 times at an bat you get a hit.

I always relate baseball to sales. No matter what industry you are in, there is always a way to relate it in your success by using similar numbers like baseball and stats.

Just like baseball whether you succeeded or failed in closing the last appointment, you go to the next one and always keep swinging. Its necessary to keep on producing  numbers in the pipeline so you have more chances to sell.

Playing baseball, I wanted to get as many at bats in as possible. The more at bats the more chances I had to get a hit. More hits I get, the more successful I'll be for the team. To prove what you are worth on a baseball field, you had to continuously produce numbers and only way to do that is swing for a hit every at bat.

If I hit .300 over 100 at bats, that's 30 hits! Way better to see then 3 hits in 10 at bats. Yes your average is the same, but your value proves more worthy when you bring in the 30!

Sales is just like baseball, you have to keep producing deals. If I close 3 out of 10 chances with prospects, my average is pretty good. But I need to keep producing prospects daily so that instead of 10 chances, I have 50, or 100, or 1,000! The way you sell more deals is you keep bringing in the numbers.

Keep bringing more chances to the table, more opportunities, more prospects and focus on swinging hard and efficient and it will lead to deals.

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales Learning Challenge: Day 12

"Prospects attention span is like a toddler's"

Today, in sales, it's a short window from the prospect giving you complete attention to changing the focus to be distracted by something. This means we have to take advantage of every second  like it's our last.

Storytime...today my son, who's 2.5yrs old, had teeball game.  He plays once a week with 8 other toddler's between 3-5 on the team. They play against another team with 9 players age ranging 2-5. They get to be coached by the local high school baseball team.

As a parent, this is comedy hour for us since we don't have to do anything but watch. Parents are suggested to stay off field and not try to help.

The 3 coaches that run each team have a tough "Job"; try to keep toddler's focused on playing the game, for 3 innings.

The first inning goes smoothly. Everyone sat in the dugout patiently waiting for their turn to hit. The toddler's listened each step of the way; they listened when they were told it's their turn to hit, run around the bases, and to go sit back in the dugout.

Next the kids were taught to put on their gloves, take the field, get the ball when opponent hits, and throw it back to coach. The first inning, most of the kids were lined up on the field waiting for the  ball to be hit. Every now and then the coach had to re-explain his objection with the group and get their focus back on the task.

As I'm observing the game, it made me think about  the meetings when you sit with a prospect and your having to reiterate every now and then because they were distracted by something.

Going into the second inning, half the team were listening; some chased their own ball when they hit instead of to first. A few were playing in the dugout not paying attention, then they took the field and half were ready, the others were watching the birds, picking flowers, or still sitting in the dugout not wanting to go.
By the third inning three were ready, the other guys were in the stands getting food, crying because they don't want to go, or sleeping. They all want to do what they want to do, not what you as a coach want them to do.

In a proposal meeting, the client doesn't want to go through your process. At the beginning they are listening and focusing to everything you say, then you start seeing the focus change.

Prospect starts reading ahead to page 4 or 5 when you are still looking and explaining page 1. They peek at their email. They wonder off looking around the room, office or through window outside. 

Short story long, our prospects and clients, even employees are easily distracted. They are like toddlers; we have to focus on keeping their excitement focused on task at hand.  Remember to keep presentation short and exciting to avoid a wondering listener.

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Dale Sales Learning Challenge: Day 11

"Visual Goals that come from Role Models"

At least twice a week I stop into the local coffee shop near the office. Over the past month, there's been a Lamborghini Aventador parked in the lot every now and thenthat catches my eye. Because it's there when I pull up and still there when I leave, I never get to see who the driver is.

I love this car, especially since I got to borrow a Lamborghini  Gallardo for a weekend when in my early 20s. The looks, the style, the power, the smoothness in ride, everything from front to back is beautiful and makes the car a work of art!

So back to the coffee shop. When I go in, I am always aware of people around me. In fact, over the past few months I've gotten to know the owner a little bit. He comes in the coffee shop in street clothes, buys his coffee and sits in random places each time working off a laptop.

He holds himself as a very genuine Guy. Sitting with him, he makes conversation easy. Last time I spoke to him, I found out he doesn't just own the coffee shop, he also owns three other businesses.

The reason I'm thinking about  how this coffee shop owner, the coffee shop and this Lamborghini all come together is, as of today, it now became my visual goal.

Today, shopping at the mall with my family, the same Lamborghini I've been noticing pulls up next to us and of course it's the coffee shop owner who gets out.

I of course greeted him as we were walking into the mall. He reminded me of what the success I want looks like  me. He, in my mind, is an ideal individual to look up to and a perfect person to have as a visual goal.

I want to have multiple incomes; daily job, residual, investments, part ownership in a business. These four incomes will be able to provide the necessities for me and my family. But what this owner reminded me about is when success is in your pocket, you don't have to become a typical rich stuck up jerk like some people become.

Money doesn't need to rule us, we don't need to flaunt it. But doesn't mean we need to live in a bubble when successful.

Find a visual goal you want to live and use it for motivation to work 10X harder then the day before. Find a certain individual who is living the goal life you want and use it for determination each day where you are going to be.

I found out that my excitement walking into the coffee shop and seeing the owner now just became ever more exhilarating seeing similar success I am working towards.

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales Learning Challenge: 10

"Reminder why customer service is Important"

This morning I decided to avoid going to starbucks, or any other "high-end " coffee shop because I just wanted to enjoy a super yummy, green sprinkled donut. It's St. Patrick's day.

I stopped by the donut shop near my office,  never been to it so new experience. During my visit, I learned a huge lesson on owning a business, and to be frank why People Buy You (@salesgravy)

I walked in at 6:35, was greeted by the men sitting outside by a little propane heater talking. I walked in and immediately greeted by the owner. She loved my green collared shirt saying Happy St. PATTY'S! I said thank you and informed her I've never been here. Her eyes lit up immediatly and was so excited for a newcomer.

Asked my name, and in return told me hers, Lynn. After our friendly introduction, I took my coffee and two green sprinkled donuts to the front of the store to start reading.

The two men out front came walking in dragging the heater to the back, they look back and said "Thank you Lynn", she then replied see you tomorrow John and Greg".

As I'm reading my daily bible study, the shop began to fill up, in fact by 6:50 there was a line out the door. Amazed, I really started observing the place because Lynn revealed in that moment why the place is so popular...

Every single visitor walked in and she greeted them, with their first name. She knew the customer's names, asked an elderly how their grandkid is doing in college (knowing the grandsons name too), there was even a man who had his dog outside and Lynn knew him and the dog's name. As she greeted him, she ran to the back to grab dog biscuit!

As I'm sitting here, it made me realize how important customer service skills are in every day life. Her persistence in knowing everyone's name revealed the secret recipe to why her line was out the door.

It wouldn't matter if the donuts were average, it would be an issue if their coffee tasted burnt or bland, it wouldn't even matter if her prices were overpriced... People came to the donut shop because the owner showed compassion and care to everyone.

Customers loved her, not the product. It wasn't Dunkin Donuts where everyone goes because the name. They came for her.

This is exactly what we need to be in our Sales position. It's not selling a company brand, it's not the product, and it's in fact not the price. It's YOU! Customer buy because the trust you. They buy because you make them feel loved.

I learned this morning a reminder how important it is to stick to being yourself and by doing so Sucess will come!

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales Learning Challenge: Day 9

"Driving is a Guarantee Learning Time Opportunity"

Ok so I get so excited to start up the car everyday...whether it's heading to or from work, appointments, lunch break, or just running to grab a coffee.

Why do i enjoy being in the car? Audiobooks! I am no longer a radio guy, I turned in the am/fm/satellite radio for a productive book.

The amount of time, in a sales position, we spend in the car there's no reason it should be a time to waste on AM radio stations, music, or other distractions to success. I did the math for myself and this is what I got:

Normal day total in car = 2.75hrs
Est. Commute to/from work - 25min+35min
Coffee/snack break - 15 min
Lunch meeting to/from - 20min+20min
Client meeting to/from ave. - 25min+25min

Long days total in car (like today) - 3.5hrs
Commute to/from work - 25min+35min
Client meeting to/from 60min+75min
Drive to 2nd and 3rd client - 10min+15min

So I usually work 4days a week under "normal" and one day a week under "long"

4normal = 11hrs
1long = 3.5hrs
Total = 14.5hrs
Subtract  4.5hrs talking time
Average time free in car = 10hrs

That's almost one audio book per week! Multiply by 50weeks (two weeks about not working  or days in office only, etc.) You can easily get through 40-45 books in a year, that's JUST in your car.

So far I've listened to the following this year:
"People Buy You", by Jeb Blount
"People Follow You", by Jeb Blount
"Moby Dick", by Herman Melville
"10X Rule", by Grant Cardone (19ch of 23ch complete)

Can't wait to see this post grow this year!

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales Learning Challenge: Day 8

"Be Competitive, or be Dominant"

Grant Cardone teaches some interesting sales tactics in his book "The 10X Rule". I've been listening to his book over the past week and been taking a few great topics from him and plan to use them in my work habits.

I liked what he said about being Dominant rather than competitive. Clients will be looking at your company and your product all the same, just focused on the $$$ amount. Every company compete, they do what they can to offer a similar product at a low price.

This is where I am learning how important it is to be dominant in Sales. Since my company is so unique in its model, it already gives me an advantage compared to the rest of the market. And to top it off my enthusiasm and strength leads prospects thrilled to do business with me.

These characteristics allow Dominance against any others. Keeping that mentality and determination of winning attitude leads to more sales.

It's not a competition if you know you and your product are different, better than the rest and pure dominance. "The weak compete. The strong DOMINATE!" Grant Cardone.

I really like how Grant Cardone keeps his attitude higher than others. He keeps everything enthusiastic. Reading his writing makes me know I'm doing things right.  I learned it's important not to become average/mediocre in JUST get by. 

I plan to use the 10X Rule to encourage myself higher standards and create larger goals. 

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales Learning Challenge: Day 7

"Hard work networking pays off"

It's exciting when you receive a call from someone who you don't really know but they know you and we're referred by multiple people to call you.

Today I learned how important networking, relationship building, positive attitude and keeping in touch is when out in the community. I was blessed to receive a call from a company who had 2 different people suggest they should call me.

The call came in as the warmest of warm leads, the "where do I sign" before even going over the program and having to "sell" them on it.

The best part of the referring partners, both individuals don't even do business with me. They are not in my industry. I've never bugged them or discussed how they can send business my way. They were people who I'm friendly with whenever we run into each other; usually see each other at Rotary or Chamber events. These referrals were friends with the prospect and highly recommended me. 

Reason for the writing on this topic is seeing and showing how important it is to introduce yourself, be energetic, honest, and willing to make any connection with anyone.

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales learning Challenge: Day 6

"Why CRM system is my most important tool"

Today I learned what not to do with my CRM...I learned to not procrastinate in entering notes and details into CRM.

I had a meeting last Wednesday (today's Monday) with a referral partner who I got to know about, in depth. We talked about specific clients the person is working on, names of Co-workers, and specific individuals in their family.

Today, I jumped on computer to update my CRM and enter in notes about the meeting and individual. May I remind you is 6 days after the meeting and my memory is not that great...I  couldn't remember the contacts he told me about so I can research them for potential prospects, I didn't remember his wife's first name, or kids names so now will have to ask again. All I remember is that he was married and had two kids. He mentioned his Office manager name and I'm sitting at the computer drawing a blank on her name too....list goes on.

How to avoid this in future... well this is my new procedure on ANY/ALL meetings from here on out. take notes before the car is started.

I grabbed a stack of 3X5 cards and put them in my car so that after every meeting, I'll remember to write down about the meeting.

Example of these detailed notes from now on

"Joe at ABC Company has two kids, boy who's 16, girl who's 12. Girls name is Suzy, she loves dancing. Boys name is Joe jr. Is an all star baseball player who plays 3rd base in high school. Joe has 45 employees in manufacturing. His hobbies are golf, he had a Marine plaque on his desk, and a picture of his wife Ella. We talked about how we both went to a Dave Matthew's Band concert at the Gorge in Washington"

This example of details would take less than 2minutes to write on a simple little 3X5 card. The details will be great to keep notes on with the prospect because it gives personal knowledge for future meetings or calls on clients. It's impossible to keep track of hundreds of prospects, clients, referral partners, co-workers and their likes, interests, family, etc. By being over detailed in CRM, writing down every little thing you talk about, keeping track of the simple conversations... it will come in handy down the road. The CRM will  help you remember things  your memory will never do. It will show clients, co-workers, referral partners, friends you pay attention and care.

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales learning Challenge: Day 5

"Sunday Funday"

Learned today how personal life is extremely important to have in sales. Being a salesman is not an easy job; if it was easy, everyone would do it and you'd see the pay in sales being minimum wage....But it's not and it takes a unique personality to be in sales.

This Sunday was all about the family. I spent the entire day shutting my sales brain down, didn't think about work at all in order to focus on having fun.

Today consist of God's words by going to church. Right after, took off to son's teeball game...OK he's 2.5yrs old and he can hit and throw the ball better than the 4and 5 yr olds on his team. Proud father to see his son love the same sport I played for years in. Next, meet the entire family for lunch and spent over 2 hours hanging out. After leaving family, took wife and son to the local batting cages to swing some at the ball.  We ended with Ice cream and a family movie.

I went into detail of the day because it's important to remind yourself having fun and not thinking about work helps you be better at your job. My entire time today was allowing me to wind down from the non stop go at work and replenish the soul for Monday.

You might say, "well yesterday you said you are always selling, that's how you are wired" exactly my point...in order to sell, we need to break away, it keeps our sanity in tacked.

Not all days are like today, so I took advantage of it 100%. Personal time is rare, tomorrow comes and it's back to the grind!

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales learning Challenge: Day 4

"Salesmen are wired to be always selling"

Definition of a typical American's Saturday:
Pack up the spouse and kids, go to beach and not think about work one bit because you clocked out on Friday at 4:30pm and don't return until 7:30am on Monday...is what every person who works a job...
Then there's that small number of individuals that did and do what I do, those who love their job.  Today I learned that you can even when you are "off" for the weekend, don't ever turn off completely from work.

Sorry, but not sorry, I don't work 9 to 5, Monday thru Friday.  My mind and personality, and in the job position of SALES, I'm always clocked in.

So, to back up, I really did pack family up and head to the beach. The difference between what I said starting this article and what I actually did is I never clock out of work completely. Here's what I mean by that...

If I wasn't in the water swimming or in the sand playing with the kids, I was relaxing in my Beach chair reading #fanaticalprospecting by Jeb Blount. Today I got to read a chapter about Rejections, Brush-Offs, Objections (RBOs).

The chapter taught a great lesson how we can't expect a prospect to say yes everytime, but what we can expect is the prospect leaving a window open for the business opportunity in the future. An objection is a chance to gather information about your prospect.

Mr. Right, but not Mr. RightNow. 

This leads into second lesson I learned today. Grabbing dinner for family (takeout at PF Changs since no one wants to see under dressed family in bathing suits)  I created a prospect.

While waiting for the food, a gentleman walked in wearing a black Polo Shirt with a company Logo on it. He looked exhausted from a long day at work. He came up to the bar telling server his takeout order request. 

Here's my work hat on the weekend; while he came to sit at bar, I  told him he looks like he could use a beer.

He was caught off guard but accepted my offer of me buying him a drink. 

Business talk came up naturally, or could have been the fact it came after I asked about his business shirt (I'm always selling!). Found out he's the owner of a 20 man painting team. He recently had a manager get hurt and couldn't work, which had him having to step in working on job out on the field.  I complimented his dedication to his company, in reply he said he would do whatever it takes to keep a customer happy.

Short story long, he asked about what I do and why the interest...I told him about my company, told him I was very interested in his company because I felt I could help him with our service.

After the beer and arriving of food, we exchanged business cards.  I asked him if he was willing to meet to discuss business and he had an "objection"of "very busy right now, let's catch up later."

Well glad I read that chapter earlier that morning about RBOs because instead of letting his rejection be a disappointment to me  I immediatly was prepared for his response and told him no problem,  I have a follow up call in calendar April 3rd at 10am in my calendar.

So what I learned today overall was that there's always an area to learn and get better at your selling skills. You never know where your next lead may come from.

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales learning Challenge: Day 3

"Changing scenery created a productive afternoon"

My afternoon was scheduled with making some cold calls today.  Every Friday, I sit at my desk and make calls to potential referral partners. I was in need of something to help motivate me today because the excitement to pick up the phone and dial wasn't there. 

Then I heard Grant Cardone quote I've recently read, "Don't be a little B!%€#, Champions dominate." Thinking about the quote had me laughing out loud. But it came to me as my reminder that I'm not going to settle for mediocre, but instead do whatever I need to to be the best at my position.

So in that moment I  grabbed my computer and leads, left my desk and then headed to our back conference room. I learned changing the scenery can usually change the mental game.

Instead of sitting back there though, I stayed standing...moving around while talking keeps you upbeat and more energetic for the person on the other end of the call.

Now I only had an hour in between appointments so there was no playing around. I wanted to be as productive as possible with as many calls as possible. 

I wrote on our whiteboard the time I started (2:05) and the time I needed to end (3:10), in between wrote 15min intervals to check in on how many calls. I also put a goal of 20 calls.

I started dialing, amped up because I'm not at my desk, I've got a big whiteboard with fun objections/competition written on, and some DOMINATION OF CHAMPIONS! 

After an hour of dialing, I made 15 calls, schedule 2appts, and 1 follow up.  While wrapping up, I sent LinkedIn invites to all who I talked to and added one more callback from a LinkedIn message. Now I didn't meet my goal of 20 calls, but the results were better then expected and conversations were extremely successful.

I learned how doing something different at times can help create success. Change of scenery helps remove the bad habits when in your regular seat. When we sit in the same place, do the same routine, have the same distractions...we get stuck in the same rutt. Get out and smell the roses.

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales learning Challenge: Day 2

"The Knockout List"

I've been reading Anthony Iannarino's, "The Only Sales Guide You'll Ever Need" and today took an idea from him and learned how to increase my self-discipline to the next level. 

I learned that making a list before you start your day, filled with important tasks needed to be completed and worked on for the day, is my new and improved powerful tool.

I have a stack of 3X5 cards now on my desk. Before turning on my computer, before opening  up my Email, before getting distracted by co-workers  "chit-chatting" about their dinner the night before; basically before doing anything that will fill my head with unnecessary noice to slow me down...I make a to-do list.

I am calling it the "Knockout flying list". Now for the past 3 days, I've got to learn how helpful this tool really is! 

For examppe, today I wrote down four important "Knockout items" that have priority over anything else on my days work:

1. Update my CRM system with yesterday's notes/appts. This included Referral Partner notes about their business. Prospects interests, succession plan, business story, wife and kids names and activities.

2. Price out Prospect ABC Company to have proposal ready for Friday's meeting.

3. Make 10 calls to referral partners and see if theirs any potential businesses to schedule appointment with in next 1-2 weeks.

4. Check pipeline list of prospects for any updates; corporate credit approvals, corporate risk approvals, any updates from prospects to complete contracting process. Then update the potential client on any changes to keep them updated at all times.

Now this was today's list, and will change tomorrow. So today's list was fun. I knocked each one out by 11am, right before having to leave for a lunch meeting. I still haven't even opened up outlook and it's been 4 hours since I started the day.

I'll get to emails, other tasks, etc.... but not until my IMPORTANT tasks are completed. 

This new strategy I've taken, called Knockout Flying list, will now come as my starting point ever day in the office. Of course I'm sure emergency will come up; clients call asking for help, co-worker in a pinch, Boss giving an assignment, what have you...that's business.

So I called it Knockout Flying List because I'm going to knock them out, then when done take the 3X5 card and fold it into paper airplane and throw them out to move onto the next one. The plane just makes it exciting to complete a task!

#rallsysalesjourney

21 Day Sales learning Challenge: Day1

"God's Scheduling my Work Day"

I have a strong belief in my Father, Jesus Christ and know that He will always provide the necessary business.

This week I scheduled a meeting with a new referral partner of mine I've never worked with yet. His client
was interested in a quote from our company. As I'm putting the meeting in my calendar I immeditaly began regretting the decision.

Negativity hit me when I bagan studying the issues at hand and what I actually did... I scheduled an appt. that was 2hours away from the office, without traffic, at 3:30pm (only time client could meet). This meant that after my 45-60min meeting, I'd have to get back in the car and sit in rush hour traffic, adding at least 2.5 to 3 hours back home. That's a potential 5-6 hour appointment?!

Now keep in mind this appointment was confirmed on Monday, so I had two days to build up the frustration to marinate  on today (wednesday) meeting.

Well, now the day's over, ready to hear what I learned today?!

The so called long day for one potential client can have more in store than you can ever imagine. And today in my sales journey, it had nothing to do with selling. It was all about enjoying the little things in life that distract you from work....while working!

Here's how the day went. The referal partner who currently controls the clients policy asks to carpool. That works, carpool lane  and someone to talk to to and from appt.

Jump on car, immediatly he noticed I had a bible on the car...Come to find out, he's a brother in Christ. We spent the entire 2 hour drive talking about God and how blessed our lives are currently.

The meeting went great, new client for me and my company. But that didn't matter anymore.

I was more excited to leave the meeting see we could jump back in the car and continue our conversations talking about our Purpose in life as a Christian in sales.

I learned to ask myself "Why create negative vibes prior to your day, or appointment, on something that can turn out better than you imagine?"

We can't judge a book by its cover. If I were to title today on Monday, like it's a story in a book, it would be "Stop, turn around, don't waste your time." But now that I "wrote/lived the story" I am removing that negative title and calling this days book "Positivity and Sucess Reveals Itself in Mysterious Ways."

2 Corinthians 4:13-14
"It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself."

#rallsysalesjourney