I was recently given this pickle with a sandwich I ordered. It’s since become a symbol for me of The Pathetic.

A grown-up allowed this pickle to be put in a bag by another grown-up and then given to a customer (me… and probably you). You see, a pickle should be firm and crunchy and add value to the experience (or it shouldn’t be included).

The first grown-up is the manager who poorly hired, poorly trained, poorly developed, and/ or poorly held accountable the second grown-up. The second grown-up is the person who allowed himself to be distracted from his potential and being valuable.

This is not loving your people (prospects, customers, or team members) and this won’t encourage a customer to return. Coincidently (or perhaps not), the staff had a similar level of enthusiasm as the pickle.

We’ve all served up our share of metaphorical pickle flop (including me). Most of the time, it’s just laziness rather than a lack of awareness or interest in doing the right thing.

So let’s encourage each other to expect more from ourselves (and be SalesTough). Let’s do what we can to make our customers exceptionally happy rather than marginally satisfied, at best.

(I know. It’s just a pickle.)

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It’s been said, “People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.” I love that.

If you’ve not seen them, our new pocket cards are a great way to reinforce the fundamentals of being more valuable at work (and in life).

Each of them make great handouts and topics for discussions with your team. I even use them with the kids on my soccer teams* (212 and this version of Be Resilient). If you’re already using them, I’ve got some quick ideas below that you might like.

(What leader could you encourage today by forwarding this pickle story?)

Tips for using pocket cards

1. Start now. Why hold back your thoughts for improvement until the weekly, monthly, or quarterly meeting? Every day something isn’t shared is a day lost without that knowledge (and you’re trying to create a great team, not a mediocre team, yes?). Leadership is about solid and ongoing reinforcement… daily (not monthly or quarterly). Small, frequent, and consistent communication on fundamentals makes it more likely the fundamentals won’t fall through the cracks (which seems to have happened in too many places). Use a card to start a conversation that helps keep things top-of-mind. Have it waiting for someone standing in their keyboard or placed on their desk.
2. Follow up. Talk with your team about the fundamental you’re using. For a more personal touch, do it individually – maybe a 5-minute talk. “So, what do you think about that Ego idea?” Then listen (completely) and if appropriate, share what you like or don’t like about it. Ask in what areas they feel they need to improve. To encourage truth, first share where you need to improve. This’ll increase the chance of you being seen as human and clear the air for a more valuable conversation.
3. Reinforce. Come back to each issue frequently – especially when someone models a point particularly well… “Congratulations to Bob for being awake and seeing that opportunity last week. That’s what we’re talking about when we’re creating our own luck.” Privately, or in a group setting (if you’ve got a particularly killer-high-trust-I’ve-got-your-back-you’ve-got-mine team) address any mistakes quickly so they don’t continue. If you made the mistake, even better to share in a group setting… “I missed that opportunity to Smove yesterday with the Hendricks account. I should have had more of a sense of urgency in handling the proposal they requested.”

* On a personal note… If you have kids who play rec soccer or you’re a beginner coach, I’ve got a few ideas for you on my personal blog.

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Copyright © 2010 by Give More Media Inc. This was written by Sam Parker. If you’d like to tell people about it somewhere (e.g., blog, newsletter, Facebook, social media), please reference Sam Parker of JustSell.com as the author and link directly to the article. Excerpts are great but please don’t publish the article in its entirety without advanced written permission (email Sam using the address at the bottom of this page).

Imagine a world without ego. No…

• Toes to step on
• Feelings to hurt
• Fair shares to grab
• Territory to defend
• Fault to allocate
• Back to watch
• Last words to get
• Ideas to hold back
• Embarrassment to bear

• Battles to win
• Knowledge to prove
• Entitlement to have
• Encouragement to withhold
• Credit to seek
• Grudges to hold
• Jealousy to feel
• Revenge to take
• Hidden meanings to construe

To be no ego…

1. Be humble. Understand you are a (small) part of the world. Service and patience should be your top priorities.
2. Be teachable. Focus on what you can learn, rather than what you know. Remember that almost everything you learn comes from the work of someone else.
3. Listen more. Make every effort to truly understand what others are saying (beyond just words). Allow a gap of silence before responding. Ask questions (and listen, again).
4. Appreciate people. Enjoy others’ contributions. Don’t squelch ideas or defend territory. Encourage more.
5. Relax. Let go of the need to be right or win every time.

Nothing complex. So what do you say? You up for it?

Speak no ego. Be no ego.™

(let’s make the world a better place)

Get the Be No Ego pocket card.

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– 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).

Get the Be Push Your Luck™ pocket card.

Get the Push Your Luck™ wristband.

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Copyright © 2010 by Give More Media Inc. This was written by Sam Parker. If you’d like to tell people about it somewhere (e.g., blog, newsletter, Facebook, social media), please reference Sam Parker of JustSell.com as the author and link directly to the article. Excerpts are great but please don’t publish the article in its entirety without advanced written permission (email Sam using the address at the bottom of this page).

Push Your Luck™ is a trademark of Give More Media Inc.

Sales results can be directly affected by the actions of your entire team – your receptionist, your implementation people, the people in collections, your delivery people. In some cases, you may not even know it.

Be the positive spark to others. It’s the right thing to do and it’ll help you sell (and retain) more as a result.

5 ways to radiate the sales culture…

1. Through your interactions with other departments, help people understand and embrace that it’s the customer who keeps the lights on (metaphorically and literally). Don’t encourage, condone, or contribute to negative discussions about your customers. Focus instead on how your organization helps customers solve their challenges and improve their business or personal lives. Never say anything about the prospect or customer you would not say directly to their face.
2. Positively reinforce those individuals who are helping the sales process by publicly praising their actions. If your sale was helped along by a particular individual, maybe a note or small gift is in order. Depending on your commission structure, perhaps a cut of deal would encourage future assistance. What if each individual in the organization received a commission when the sales rep sold something? Not a bonus, but an actual commission.
3. Invite members of other departments out on sales calls to help them get a better understanding of the process.
4. Create a one-page sales newsletter (or longer if necessary) that advises everyone in the organization of where the sales efforts are being focused and the present results of those efforts.
5. Help boost morale so that everyone is as positive as possible during the sales day (other departments might call it the business day – that’s okay – love them anyway). This will help eliminate some of the indifference your customers may sense when calling on your company. If you call in from the field and someone answers the phone in a dull or bothered tone, ask them if they’re having a bad day. Then (in the right tone) explain to them that it’s definitely coming across over the phone and ask them if there’s anything you can do to help.

Now go sell something.~>

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Warren Buffett (1930 – )
American  businessman and philanthropist

resilience: noun: an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change (from Merriam-Webster)

We all fail from time-to-time (our doing, someone else’s doing, something else’s doing, a combination of each). It’s life.

To be resilient…

1. Focus on results. Embrace the fact that results are what we’re all really after. Effort and attempts are great first steps, but we need to act with commitment to delivering (just like we want people to do for us).
2. Make lessons of failures. Minimize the tendency to make a mistake anything more than a lesson on how not to do something. We need to learn from our experiences and accept them as tuition for future success. And yes… Our mistakes might put us in a bind at times and have some uncomfortable consequences but again, that’s real life.
3. Continue on. Smarter.
4. Reinforce. Support each other (and ourselves) by continually reminding and encouraging one another to deliver on the first three points.

That’s it. Let’s practice it more.

Get the Be Resilient pocket card.

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Copyright © 2010 by Give More Media Inc. This was written by Sam Parker. If you’d like to tell people about it somewhere (e.g., blog, newsletter, Facebook, social media), please reference Sam Parker of JustSell.com as the author and link directly to the article. Excerpts are great but please don’t publish the article in its entirety without advanced written permission (email Sam using the address at the bottom of this page).

“Am I working like someone who makes $X thousand a year… someone who makes roughly $Y every money hour* of the day?”

Are you valuing your time at that level?

(If not, who will?)

• $50,000   = $25 every money hour
• $75,000   = $37 every  money hour
• $100,000 = $50 every money hour (almost $1 a minute)
• $120,000 = $60 every money hour (a dollar a minute)
• $150,000 = $75 every money hour
• $200,000 = $100 every money hour
• $250,000 = $125 every money hour (more than $2 a minute)

 Greater than $250,000 = You probably don’t need the reminder. (“Rich enough not to waste time.”)

*money hours: hours during the sales day where you can talk with prospects and customers

Now go sell something.~>

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This is the sign that should hang on office doors and walls. Its counterpart (the No Soliciting sign) is hypocritical and stifles opportunity.

We get it. No one wants to be bothered with things they don’t need. But good salespeople don’t do that. (Contrary to the cliche… A great salesperson would never sell ice to Eskimos.)

We suggest removing the “No Soliciting” signs from your office walls and doors, and creating a specific block of time each day/ week/ month when salespeople are welcome to come in (or call in) for a 5-10 minute sales discussion.

Four possible benefits…

1. You may find you need/ want the product or service they’re selling
2. You might learn a better method of selling that you can use in your sales approach
3. You could find your next sales superstar
4. You create a little good sales karma in the world (remember… you sell something too)

Extra benefit: Those words (no soliciting) are nowhere near your sales team.

(Get a Soliciting Encouraged computer wallpaper. The sign above is something we made for our office window.)

Now go sell something.~>

Prepare with that in mind and you’re more likely to create something wonderful… your opening statements, your responses to the standard objections you hear, the follow-up voicemail messages you leave, the email responses you send, the reasons you give for why someone should buy from you.

NORC

It’s not that your prospects and customers shouldn’t care (or never care). It’s that if you approach your contact preparation in a less egocentric way, and in fact, by being hard on yourself (just as your prospects and customers can and will be), you’ll be stronger for it and ultimately help your prospects and customers see the value of your offerings much faster (or qualify them much faster so you can invest your sales time in better places).

They’re busy, just as you are. If they’re doing their work, you’re a distraction until you have something of interest to them. Getting and keeping their attention isn’t an entitlement. It’s an opportunity and privilege.

No one really cares. NORC.

It’ll make you stronger.

Now go sell something.~>

(Frustrated with your marketing department’s brochure and corporate messaging work? Maybe a gentle (or not so gentle) NORC reminder will help? Be patient with them… they’re not sales professionals.)

• Defeatist (accepting, expecting, or being resigned to defeat)
• Cynical (contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives)
• Vindictive (seeking revenge)
• Blame/ Fault (who cares? what are we going to do now?)
• Wishful (do what you can to influence the deal and keep moving)
• Self-pity (get over yourself… complain less… especially to yourself)
• Worrisome (it won’t help, costs time, and can drag you down)
• Jealous (want it? earn it)
• Pre-argumentative (the imaginary argument you have to prepare yourself for the argument that may never happen)
• Post-argumentative (the imaginary argument you have where you’re quicker than you were in the actual argument)
• Procrastinatory (if you’re going to procrastinate, you might as well do something fun instead of thinking about how bad it is that you’re procrastinating… dummy)

Get the pocket cards and wristbands.

Some definitions provided by Merriam-Webster. Most popular thoughts provided by your JustSell team.

They’re not our thoughts, you understand. We have friends with these thoughts.

: ) & ~>

(that’s Smile & Move®)

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Be careful to avoid working to get the needs of your paying customers and highly qualified prospects “off your plate”. These are the people who deserve your attention and time.

Technology has allowed us to communicate by monologue – in one direction – sending or leaving a message in the written form (email) or oral form (voice mail) and then moving on until we receive a response. This can cause us to get lazy in our service efforts — creating gaps of needed care and attention and subsequently weakening relationships that might otherwise build stronger barriers to competitive entry.

If this connects with you (even slightly), consider changing your salesmind.

Keep your customers’ and (qualified) prospects’ needs “on your plate.”

Follow through with all service needs and requests until your customers and prospects confirm their needs have been handled. Gladly give them your continued attention and increase the chances you’ll become (and remain) their resource.