– Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–1944)
French aviator and writer

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Sales influence…

How are you kicking off your salesday?

Are you preparing your mind with solid thought, information, and support? Are you allowing the right radio or TV personalities to get you ready (are any of them good… share one)? The right news or material? The right people at the office?

Be careful to what you give your attention. It all has an influence on you. (And kicking it is much more fun than mediocrity… or worse.)

Feed your mind well. It’s where action starts.

(And life’s too short to be mediocre.)
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If you’ve not seen it (outside the money hours or on a well-earned break)… an inspiring 1-minute Apple ad on "Thinking Different."
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In case we missed you on Friday… How to avoid annoying (and be SalesBright).

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– George Cecil (1891–1970)
American advertising copywriter

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Sales risk…

Comfort. Risk. Both are enjoyable.

One we strive to create. One we try to minimize.

One can make us lazy. One can make us stronger.

When did you last risk failure? When did you last leave your comfort zone?

212 challenge… Step out of your comfort zone once more each week and create over 50 additional opportunities for excitement, challenge and possibility each year. This is what life’s about.

It’s been said that youth is wasted on the young. By taking risks, we assure life isn’t wasted on the living.

212 commitment… Risk. Attempt. Fail. Succeed. Once more each week.

(from the book, 212° the extra degree® – what’s 212?)
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Q1 printable JustSell calendars for Two-Twelve (one less syllable… and a year long reminder to give it that extra degree of effort).

Area code and state abbreviation charts are here.
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Today’s quotation is from a correspondence school advertisement in 1921. George Cecil was writing as William Lawrence.

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– Lance Armstrong (1971 – )
American cyclist
7-time Tour de France champion

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Sales challenge…

Too many people are losing productivity on a particular day of the week because of a Flintstone-like mentality perpetuated by sitcoms and morning radio personalities. (Search Twitter for the word "Mondays" today for proof.)

It’s getting to the point where Tuesdays are the new week. (Wednesday is hump day, Thursdays are almost Fridays, Fridays are practically the weekend and Mondays… They’re for ramping up.)

It’s time for a little LUKSA (it’s Polish for "let us kick some @$$"… not really… just an acronym we made up).

Could you help inspire a "let’s kick some @$$" Monday morning start to the week? Could you spark a little positive revolution and help someone break out of the TGIF mentality (or yourself if it applies)?

Wouldn’t both be more fun (and profitable)? How about just starting it at home?

Get a LUKSA printable reminder here.
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1 minute from Nike to get you revved up. I watch this at least once every couple of weeks. I love how it builds and then pops at 0.38. Sick good. (That’s really really good.)

If you know a teenager who wants to care, pass it along. I shared it a few weeks ago at talk with some high school students and it seemed to connect nicely.
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In case we missed you last week… Here are our results to our "What’s the worst thing about meetings?" survey (and the solutions – whether you’re leading it or attending it).

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– Hillel (30B.C.–10A.D.)
Babylonian scholar

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Sales time…

Today is 20% of your salesweek.

Two salesdays are 10% of your month. (A salesmonth is made up of roughly 21 days.)

To lose only two salesdays each month to fatigue or a desire to wait for a better day to make the call would be to lose more than a full month of salesdays each year.

Imagine if your income reflected your slow days… and know that in the long run, it probably does.

47 salesdays remain in the quarter. Tic toc.

(Who should you remind? Get your printable salesdays for 2012.)
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What if you checked email only 3 times a day?

Since November 2010, we’ve been doing this as a team at JustSell to see if it helps us.

Here’s what we’ve learned.
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Today is one month out from Christmas day.

In the SalesQuote we published on the day after Christmas, I highlighted some history of the day and suggested that the date itself was arbitrary and that we should carry the holiday’s spirit every day. A few subscribers were a bit annoyed with some of what I said (the original "Merry Today" post is here).

I just came across another piece written about a 100 years ago by a preacher that says what I was trying to say, but so much better. It’s called "Keeping Christmas" – something I plan to remind myself with on a weekly basis (about a 3-minute read). I hope you enjoy it.

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– Soren Kierkegaard (1813–1855)
Danish philosopher and writer

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Sales thoughts…

Sometimes, if we don’t have success after repeated attempts to do something, we can lose confidence and eventually give up trying. It’s called "learned helplessness" (we learn to be helpless).

Sales check: Any areas where you and your team have stopped trying (or try, but with little commitment) because prior repeated failures and/ or a perceived inability to succeed has trained you not to try? In prospecting and customer contact efforts? In motivating and improving team attitudes and cooperation? With customer care improvement initiatives?

If so, what can you start doing today to minimize any "learned helplessness" that may have set in? (Maybe have a Cross The Line discussion.)

To see (6-minute video) an interesting take on the concept from a class at Penn State Erie and to learn a little more about the person behind it…
click here.
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In case we missed you last week… Here’s how to best handle the objections of your prospects and customers.
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If you’ve not seen it or need a reminder to dump your excuses, here’s 1 minute from Nike.

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– Walt Disney (1901–1966)
American entrepreneur & entertainment icon

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Sales thought…

Always seeking certainty before taking action can severely limit productivity. In some cases, the evaluation and search for certainty is more costly than a potential failure due to action.

Worst case scenario for a wrong move is generally nothing more than an education (1 of the 4 points to better resilience).

Consider getting in the game a bit earlier the next time an opportunity arises. Avoid the "paralysis of analysis" and risk the uncertainty.

Make contact and Just Sell.

Avoid the top 3 sales hobbles during the money hours… (1) Talking with people who can’t move the sales process along (2) Over-the-top research before making contact (3) "Crafting" or "drafting" a script, email, or letter
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I can’t stand how good this 1 minute is from Nike. I’ve seen it over 50 times and it still gets me. A great weekly boost and reminder of what it takes to make good things happen (hint: it’s work).
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Resourcefulness & Resilience by Disney (Smovish principle #9)…

• First company went bankrupt
• Lost the rights to his first successful cartoon character (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit) along with most of his employees
• Had a nervous breakdown
• Won his first of 22 Academy Awards on a cartoon that he’d completed in black & white but then redid in color from scratch (Flowers and Trees – 1932)
• Made it through the Great Depression with merchandising deals of Mickey (watches, dolls, etc.) and through World War II by producing propaganda films for the US government

Today, the company employs over 150,000 people and has $40 billion in sales.

For Disney fans, I love the DVD about his life, Walt – The Man Behind the Myth – fantastic.

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– Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948)
Indian activist

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Sales luck…

"Diligence is the mother of good luck."

- Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)
American statesman, scientist, and printer

luck: noun: a force that makes things happen

You want more luck? Be the force that makes it happen…

1. Prepare. Work hard to be ready for the opportunities that are important to you. Research. Practice. Perfect.
2. Be awake. Pay attention to the people, events, and things around you. Evaluate logically and trust your gut instinct.
3. Take action. Put yourself out there. Explore. Be vulnerable. Make contact with people. Take risks.
4. Expect positive results. Optimism improves your chances. If (when) you fail, embrace the lesson and continue on, smarter.

That’s it. Now go be lucky (and sell something).

(inspire someone with a Push Your Luck pocket card or wristband)
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If you’ve never seen it and need a little push to get going… Terry Tate might work (video). The ‘pain train’ kills me (at 1:15).

As you’re prepping your mind for a new year, you might also enjoy my thoughts on the forgotten reason we do what we do. You can watch that video here. If you have kids, you might find this video helpful that I put together about helping students see the big picture (especially with the impending snow days approaching).

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– Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)
English pioneer of modern nursing

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Sales reminder…

Objections are a requirement to a successful salesday. It means you’re engaging your prospects and customers and helps you move the sales process along (or end the process with an unqualified prospect).

When there’s an objection, it’s one or some combination of 8 possibilities.

When you’ve hit a wall with a prospect, check your sales opportunity against JustSell’s 8 objections (and get a printable reminder).

All along, make sure your qualifying continually (use our guide here).
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I started a Distraction Diet last week and it’s been fantastic.

If you haven’t already, I’d love it if you joined me. Visit this link to read about what I’m doing (or trying my best not to do).

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– Irish proverb

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Sales goals…

19 salesdays remain in the year.

If you’ve not already gotten started on setting your goals for 2012, now’s the time.

Here’s our guide for your downloading pleasure. Let it be your framework.
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Remember… Companies and people will buy this month and people will make decisions for 2012. Use every salesday completely.

Even if people don’t take action now, seeds will be planted.

Don’t waste a salesmoment and don’t let anyone (including yourself) sell you on anything else. Be SalesTough.
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New Q1 printable JustSell calendars are up for the year Two-Twelve (one less syllable… and a yearlong reminder to give it that extra degree of effort).

Area code and state abbreviation charts are here.

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– Ethan Lipton (1971 – )
American music artist, playwright

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Sales attention…

Beginning at the top of the next hour and through the next 48, challenge yourself (and your team)…

When you begin a discussion with a customer, prospect, or colleague, give that individual your complete attention until the issue at hand has been fully addressed.

Every single discussion. Every single interaction. The entire 48-hour period.

Don’t let a phone call interrupt an in-person conversation. Don’t let your email distract you from a phone call. Don’t let a passerby, instant messenger, ithing, droid, or berry take your attention away from someone standing right in front of you (or on the phone).

Remember… Sales is an interpersonal profession (and you’re a grown-up).

(Dig deeper and get 5 tips to giving better attention.)
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"Your business is to fix his attention on the stream. Teach him to call it ‘real life’ and don’t let him ask what he means by ‘real’."

C.S. Lewis (1942)
from The Screwtape Letters

Louis CK’s version of that thought here (funny 2-minute video).
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Today’s quote was from a song in the credits of the film, The Shift (Stars Dr. Wayne Dyer). While I didn’t find it to be great as films go, I did find it valuable. It’s available on Netflix and here.

Here’s a link to the song and video on YouTube. Lipton and his orchestra can be found here.

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