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Take the 20 minute challenge to speed up sales!

Take the 20 minute challenge! Business was moving at the speed of molasses.

Deals were stacking up. All that was required was SOMEONE putting pen to paper, but no one was doing it.

The roadmap to RESIGNATION

I was on my way to the land of RESIGNATION! Where booze flows freely, the entertainment is On Demand, the food is decadent, but it is an empty, empty world. Nothing is getting done … and escape seems the only good thing about my day.

As appealing as a trip to the land of RESIGNATION seemed, I thought that this time I would take a detour. I called my dear and very successful friend whose business has been EXPLODING lately and asked her for her advice. How was SHE blowing business out of the water and I was stuck?

And here is what she said!

She told me that she had been creating a “clearing” for business to come in. Huh! Taking actions that create a new context for her day and for the way her business goes.

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

I wanted something a bit more concrete – more actionable.

She said. Play this game with yourself. Make it a point to return every email, every phone call, every communication within 20 minutes. Be a RESPONSE machine!

WOW! Interesting.

So, I agreed. For one week, I was going to play the game. Between 8 am and 7 pm every day, I was going to respond to people within 20 minutes.

Know what happened?

1) My pipeline got even MORE full with truly interested and qualified buyers
2) I closed a deal and another one is on its way this week
3) My activity went WAY up – so that I am meeting those goals, too!

Now, if you think this is all a little “woo woo”, I assure you it is not.

Let’s take a look at what is in play here.

Meeting People Where They Are

The golden KEY to sales is being where your buyer is. It is our biggest challenge. We have entire marketing teams dedicated to it.

When your buyer sends you an email, they are thinking of you and they are interested in engaging with you in that moment. You have about 20 minutes before their mind moves on to something entirely new and you are forgotten.

The LEAST EXPENSIVE and EASIEST way to be where your customer is at the right time, is GET RIGHT BACK IN TOUCH with them – when they are thinking of you!

Activity Breeds Activity

As you get active, you will see other actions that you want to take. You will communicate more and more often. If you make more requests, you will get more responses. Period. You will get more meetings. You will get more “no’s” which you can move out of your pipeline. You will get more “yes’s” which you can move into your pipeline. You will get ideas and inspiration! You will be a communication machine!

Putting the Universe on Notice

When you get in touch with EVERYONE (I mean everyone! Not *JUST* customers!), you are telling the universe that you are open for business! Not in a “woo woo” way – although, we all have heard that when you create a true intention that the universe moves to fulfill on that intention. I don’t know much about that, but I DO know about this natural law called INERTIA.

A body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. Why argue with natural laws? You fight authority, but authority always wins. If you put things off, you will get put off by others!

If you want to BREAK THE BACK of RESIGNATION, you are going to first have to get your body in motion. Which means – it will take some extra energy to get you moving, but once you do, it will ACTUALLY take extra energy to STOP being in motion! Inertia is your friend or your mortal enemy. You get to say!

Take the 20 minute challenge!

I challenge you today to take the 20 minute response game on! For one week, play the game of getting back to EVERYONE within 20 minutes, then tell me what happened! I think you will be amazed!

Love ’em ALL UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

 

Spice it up a bit this week!

Spice it up a bit this weekIt’s mid-winter.

It’s mid-quarter (sort of).

The bloom of the New Year has worn off a bit – and it’s too early for Spring Fever.

So, what can you do to spice it up a bit?

This week, I want  you to come up with some BIG reward for yourself. Something to put a little action in your step. Pick something that you rarely do for yourself, like take an afternoon off, or that great bottle of champagne, a massage, a night full of guilt-free TV. Something you don’t normally do, but will really enjoy.

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

NOW, pick a goal to accomplish this week.

A S-T-R-E-T-C-H goal. Maybe it’s an extra ten cold calls. Maybe it’s getting your CRM all-the-way-up-to-date. Perhaps it’s setting up 3 extra meetings for next week. Whatever, it is…put THAT at stake this week. Make sure it’s an ACTIVITY goal – not an outcome goal. Activity is always the key!

If you hit your goal – you get the reward!

Then, tell someone else about your game. Your spouse, your boss, a fellow salesperson. (It doesn’t work if you keep it to yourself).

Get to work! Have some fun! Blow your goal out of the water and ENJOY your reward.

It’s too easy to get on the treadmill of doing, doing, doing – make sure you’re taking great care of YOU when you win.

BONUS EXERCISE

Write a comment and tell me what your goal and reward are for the week! I want to see you get CREATIVE!

Let’s get spicy and…

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

DANGER! Maybe THIS is why you aren’t meeting your goals!

A good friend of mine complained to me yesterday that she hadn’t met her sales goals in over three years. Danger! This is why your are missing your goals!

THIS IS DANGEROUS!

“Dangerous?”, you ask!

YES! DANGEROUS!

Confidence is EVERYTHING and if you are not meeting your set goals over and over and over… it is worse than creeping gangrene!

What did we do?

We looked at her sales cycle. Interesting.

Her shortest EVER time to close a deal is 3 months. THE SHORTEST has been 3 months … from first conversation to signed contract. Last year she closed a deal she has been working on for TEN years. This person has a business with a LONG sales cycle. Average closed deal is 18 months.

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

BUT, she keeps setting quarterly and yearly goals. NO WONDER she is missing the mark! Her goals are not in-line with her true time horizon.

And here is what is ESPECIALLY deadly!

When my good friend is looking at what she needs to have happen this year, she feels hopeless and un-motivated. Of course she would! She has NO control over what is going to happen this year – what she did six or eight or nine months ago will dictate what happens this year. The subconscious realization of this brutal fact keeps her from being motivated now.

I mean, REALLY! It’s LUCK to her when she closes a deal. The activities that led to them are so far in the past.

Know what we did?

We started to create her goals for 2015 and 2016. Looked at “what are the deals I want to close 18 – 24 months from NOW”.

NOW she has power. She realizes that what she does today affects future years. YAY!

Also, the added benefit is that when she understands that what she does TODAY affects her success, she does exciting things, takes action NOW, which will DEFINITELY impact her performance THIS YEAR, TOO!

Do yourself a favor.

Look. Are your sales goals aligned with your sales cycle?  If you are a month-by-month producer, then preparing for one or two months from now is probably appropriate. If you are a year-over-year producer – start thinking WAY out! Your results will become WAY OUT!

Love your future UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Be part of something BIG!

Have you ever wanted to use your talents to make something GREAT happen for someone else?

Pretty sure you have!

Recently, the publisher of the Salesforce.com blog told me that she is DYING for Marc Benioff (CEO of Salesforce) to recognize her efforts to support the sales community.

SO, let’s help Jennifer win her game, shall we? (It’s easy, I promise!)

I spend HUNDREDS OF HOURS animating this video (don’t believe me? try animating a video!)

http://youtu.be/HsblniyanTo

You will LOVE IT!

So have fun watching me take my first ever steps, but please hit SHARE, too. If you help us, we can go viral! How fun! And Jennifer will be abl to keep her job! Works for everyone.

Thank you for being awesome!

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Grl

I’m drowning!!! Top 5 Tips for Overwhelm!

Ever just get OVERWHELMED???I'm drowning!!! Top 5 Tips for Overwhelm

I am!

I just got back from an awesome-sauce conference and I’m headed to Dreamforce next week.

What’s a girl to do?

With email backlogging and laundry spilling over and thank you notes to write and expense reports to submit and deals closing and prospects calling and presentations to make … and the dogs are DYING for a walk! THEN to get ready for the next week!

Welcome to an OUTRAGEOUS life! 

Yep! If you are having the overwhelms, it simply means you are living an OUTRAGEOUS life! You are up-to-stuff!

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

Here are my TOP 5 tips for having it all work (notice I didn’t say – having it all handled!)

Number One: WRITE it all down! 

YES. Take a minute and dump your brain into a messy to-do list. Everything you can think of that needs to be handled. This will only take a short time (I promise).

Number Two: COMMUNICATE before, during, and after!

Chances are you could’ve predicted that you were going to be somewhat submerged for a bit of time. Right?

Chances are that people expect you to be available to them if you are up to big things and have loads of responsibilities. Right?

(BTW, I am TERRIBLE at this one!)

So, BEFORE you go away to that conference or on vacation or into a maelstrom of a meeting-packed week, TELL people. Tell your family. Tell your friends. Tell your co-workers. Tell your clients. Tell your prospects.

DURING the time you are away, set ALL of your email accounts (personal and professional) with OUT OF OFFICE settings. Let people know what they can expect and the best way to reach you if it is ASAP or SOS! (I give people my “text me” information.)

AFTER you get back, look at who needs attention (review your checklist) and write a quick note letting people know when you can respond (make sure you put it in your calendar to respond at that time).

Number Three: CANCEL and RESCHEDULE and JUST PLAIN CROSS OFF things that are not a priority.

Do a quick review of your messy to-do list and quickly take stock of the things  you MUST do right away to keep your momentum.

Everything else is not CRITICAL (NO it is NOT all critical) – cancel it, reschedule it, or toss it out.

Number Four: ASK FOR HELP! 

Chances are that someone else in your life has a little more space than you do right now. Ask them to help out. Be sure you are available to do the same for others when you can.

Number Five: BREATHE and then FOCUS! 

I like to keep reminding myself to FOCUS on what I am NOW DOING. We believe we can multi-task. But, we can’t. And pretending that we can puts us in HOT WATER.

If you have it all written down, it will not be lost. Focus on the task at hand. Cross it off when it is finished. Move to the next item.

Soon, the waves will subside and you will have some time to re-group. The few minutes you take in steps Number One – Four will give you HOURS of extra productivity and TONS of peace of mind.

And don’t forget to…

LOVE YOUR OUTRAGEOUS LIFE UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Hidden Mysteries Week – The Formula for Wealth Part III

Hidden Mysteries Week - via Dan Brown and The Lost SymbolThis week, we are exploring Dan Brown’s hidden formula for wealth (as interpreted by me) in his Best Selling book The Lost Symbol (you can read yesterday’s post to get caught up).

Yesterday, we explored the progression we uncovered that says: P→P→P→W

Today we’ll consider that the hidden formula is actually closer to P+P+P=W

Although, I think the real fun comes tomorrow!

Instead of the very linear, and obvious progression that we could glean from Peter Solomon’s wise words to his son, Zachary, as he passes along the family fortune – let’s look into something a little deeper. Something that resembles the concept of SYNERGY – when the outcome is greater than the sum of its parts.

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

So, in this formula, when I combine Productivity, Prosperity, and Philanthropy, they become Wealth – greater than the sum of its parts. Each one inextricable from the equation.

A tad ho-hum? Perhaps. But, we’ll finish with the punch line tomorrow. Can you see it?

In the meantime, I’m going to go work on the Productivity part of the equation. What IS it about summertime?

Love your life UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

The seduction technique…an age-old winner!

Are you more attracted to that woman you can’t get, the one who makes it seem like it’s all available The seduction techinque...an age-old winner! to you, but you’re not sure you’re up to the challenge? Or are you interested in the woman who STALKS you? (Fill in gender as it makes sense for your situation!)

People want what INTRIGUES them!

And they run away from things that chase them.

Find a way to attract your customer!

Very few of us have a product that we are not willing to sell to just anyone who’s willing to buy it. Fair enough. But, I invite you to think a little bit differently.

Where does your product or service become available to only the “exclusive” ones?

I have a very good friend who is a wildly successful representative of a Brand-Name investment group.

When she sells her product like any old investor can come work with her, she grinds it out and doesn’t get many interesting and cool clients.

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

When she positions herself as if “Are you the kind of investor we would take? Worthy of our services?” business sky-rockets.

Take a look. How can you make YOUR customers feel like they are in the pool with the “cool kids”? Figuring this out is your ticket to unquestionable wealth.

When you DO get the “cool kids” to sign on, make sure you service the hell out of them and let them know that they are the “in-crowd”. They will be references for you like crazy.

CAVEAT: To do this strategy well, you must be three things:

1) The best at what you do
2) Relentless in delivering an experience once someone has climbed on board
3) Make sure your “cool kids” stay the “cool kids”. Keep reminding them that they are in THAT game!

Ready to seduce? I promise you, it is much more effective than chasing.

(Remember prom?)

Love your “cool kids” UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Fake it ’til you make it?

Fake it 'til you make it?When I was first getting started building my Investment Management business, I was terrified of meeting with clients. I had the education. I felt confident that I could help, but I was afraid to ask for the business. I was afraid I could not connect with the customers.

What to do about my insecurities?

So, I came up with this great idea. I was a big fan of Law & Order at the time. It was when Angie Harmon was on the show playing a no-nonsense, beautiful, composed attorney. She always kept her cool and she always had it together. And, she looked great doing it!

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

I decided I would “be” Angie Harmon in every meeting. I dressed the part and I acted just like she would in all of the conversations.

It worked like a charm.

Every meeting I walked in with the confidence and poise of Angie Harmon. I listened like she did. I spoke calmly and clearly just like she always did.

I constituted myself as someone successful. And people responded.

People opened up to me and I found it easy to take my time to hear what they wanted and make solid recommendations. Then, I confidently opened the conversation to ask for the business. I calmly pulled out the paperwork at the right time. And the prospects became clients over 80% of the time – in the first meeting.

Find the person who you can “be” to take your business to the next level. Maybe it’s James Bond, or Cat Woman, or a mentor. Put yourself aside and act the part.

Soon, it will start to come naturally! And you will be who you wanted to be and enjoy the same success!

Love your icons UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Take the OFFER off the table…but, don’t take YOU off the table

Take the OFFER off the table...Don't take YOU off the table

When you take yourself away, you hurt yourself

Sitting in a sales meeting with a VIP at a company I would love to have as a client.

You know the one. The pretty big deal who would make a great addition to your core set of clients? A nice and pretty feather in your cap?

I was INVESTED in this deal

I had been working this deal like a good job.

I had traveled for hours to meet in person.

I looked my best, and I was prepared.

Things looked good

As we started to talk about how we could work together, this lovely VIP laid out the landscape. She shared with me how her systems weren’t working – how she wasn’t meeting her goals. (A-ha! I could help!)

THEN…Two really bad things happened.

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

Things took a turn for the worst

First, she said to me: “We don’t have budget for another solution AND I don’t have buy-in from my senior management to make any changes. It’s just not important to them.” (In other words, I CAN’T BUY ANYTHING FROM YOU)

The second thing she said was even worse. Next she said, “OK. Pitch me.”

(HUH?)

For a moment I could barely see straight

I was SO annoyed.

When she said “PITCH ME” – I was just floored. Here she was, completely wasting my time AND forcing me to be some small person who was going to give her a spiel. UGH!

Somehow, I regained POISE and PROFESSIONALISM

I remembered what a very successful friend of mine once told me, “Sometimes you will have to take the OFFER off of the table, but NEVER take yourself away.”

So, I paused and put myself on HER side of the table. She was in pain and wanted some help. I had nothing to offer. Not her fault.

I told her. “I have nothing to sell you. If you don’t have the budget and your managers won’t agree, then we don’t really have anything to talk about just yet.”

Then I laid out the plan

“I would love to have another conversation when you have more support from your execs and they see the value in putting money behind your efforts. Is there anything I can do to help you get that?”

She agreed that there wasn’t.

I stayed with her

When all of me wanted to storm out of her office and make her realize what a waste of time our meeting was and how badly she had insulted me, instead… we talked about other things.

We spent the next 15 minutes talking about personal stuff. The sales conversation was closed, but our relationship wasn’t.

Now, I’ve never sold to this company 

And neither have any of my competition, but she speaks well of me in our circles and we are friendly, and – who knows – Well, you just never know.

The moral of the story

Bring dignity to the sale.

Stand up for yourself. You are not a trained monkey with a canned approach. It would have been ridiculous and demeaning if I had given my well-prepared presentation.

Yet, love that other person UP! This VIP would NEVER have wasted her time with me if she didn’t need some help. I couldn’t help, but I could be her friend.

Take your offer away, but never take YOU away! 

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl

Writing the Manifesto

Writing the ManifestoHello my lovelies,

I am delighted to announce, that after three years of blogging, I am FINALLY writing my Manifesto (not the perfume shown here). I have named it:

The Irreverent Sales Girls Guide To Wild Success

I am thrilled to be doing this and it is flowing like water today.

Jeanine Wicker has dibs on the FIRST copy of the book. The first nine people who post “ME” on this article will get free copies, too, when it is complete! (Be patient).

Wondering how to go from 5 to 6 figures in sales? Check out this Free eBook: http://ebook.solidsixblueprint.com/solid-six-ebook/

What is this book I speak of? 

The book is, well, Irreverent. It is designed to break up all of the myths that hold me back and to STOP WASTING MY TIME. It might just do the same for you. It is short and fun and Irreverent (we said that already).

A sneak peek

Here is the Introduction:

“I hate introductions. I just want to get into it. Yet, I see the value for setting the context.

Here is the book that I wish someone had written for me.

I hope you love it.

The Irreverent Sales Girl”

Who wants in? 

Love ’em UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl