You are currently browsing the UpYourTeleSales: Coaching over Coffee weblog archives for February, 2009.
25. February 2009 by Lynn Hidy.
Here we are at the end of another month…
A time when telesales people are either
Either way we pile on the organizational stress factors - sales managers pushing for every last dollar - product managers trying to get to goal themselves by making up specials - you know the drill.
Plus our customers… yup they know it is the end of the month and they are looking to see if you will “give them a deal, if I can get you in that car today”.
safety tip: before you keep reading, remember I am NOT saying to stop calling. I am NOT saying don’t close a deal.
My advice?
So what are you going to do for the next couple of days, along with every month end week for the rest of your telesales career, to make sure you don’t drop your value to quick close a deal? Register, log in, and let us know.
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19. February 2009 by Lynn Hidy.
I’ve been thinking a lot about talent lately.
I’ve decided I want to live a life where I wake up in the morning excited to do whatever it is the day brings in work and outside of it. That doesn’t mean there aren’t tasks and activities I’ll stop doing because “I don’t feel like it”. It doesn’t mean I will accept “incompetence” in myself - rather I will either bring myself up to the required base line of competence OR figure out another way to get to the end result (like the whole website thing… I’m never going to be great at creating either a design or the functionality I want. Instead of sitting here kicking myself - I’m hiring two fantastic women to do it for me: one for the graphics and the other for the functionality).
As I read that last paragraph it sounds all Zen and mystic. It’s not very real world tips & tricks that I typically put in my posts. Can’t have that!
This week I am going to challenge you (and myself) to STOP doing something inefficient or ineffective. It may be a process, a prospect, a task - don’t do it for ONE WHOLE WEEK and see if anyone notices. Yup, that is it. One thing that isn’t working, stop doing it.
Good Luck! It is going to take more effort than you think to discard one thing. Don’t give up though, think how awesome it will feel after the week is over (like the sun coming out on a cold winter day - it may not be summer, but for one moment your mind is tricked into remembering being on the beach with your toes in the sand).
What are you going to stop doing? Register, log in, and let us know.
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16. February 2009 by Lynn Hidy.
Here we are on Monday morning and I’m going to make you think about blame, not too inspirational at the outset, but stick with me - promise I’ll pull it around!
On Friday we talked about the importance of proving your sales intuition is right. This is about what happens when we ignore the bad premonition side of intuition…
When your gut is telling you:
What do you do then? Ignore your sales intuition because you don’t’ like what it is telling you? I know there are times I have - inevitably I was right, my inside feelings were right *sigh*. Then what? You play te one game that is no fun to play - we put our token down and play…
the Blame Game
I should have… I could have… I would have…
You should have… You could have… If you only would have…
They should have… They could have… If they would have…
Bottom line is that the reason the Blame Game is no fun to play - is that no one wins! Here is the best part of the bad premonition side of intuition…
If we listen to our gut and ask the same questions I talked about Friday to prove our good sales intuition feeling are right to “them”… we can turn around our bad premonition and win the deal!
Even if we don’t win - we sure feel better about the lessons we learn and many times can win the next one!
This week - work on not using “should”, “could”, or “would” and see what happens! Register, log in, and let us know what you gain.
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13. February 2009 by Lynn Hidy.
Something inside me decided that Friday the 13th was the perfect day to talk about Sales Intuition - the feeling inside when you KNOW you are going to:
Don’t you love that feeling when everything went right and was working out just the way you planned? Lots of salespeople have that feeling, then move right past it.
Why? Well someone, somewhere told them their gut wasn’t enough (you know the sales manager who wanted the numbers to back up that feeling? I know that sales manager - it was me!).
Instead of ignoring your sales intuition start with it and move five giant steps forward in the process! You just passed go & collected your $200. Look at “them” and remember they are trying to help you win the game, which earns you much more than that passing go token amount.
Take your gut and put it into the formula your organization needs. Why? That is what is going to tell you when the commission will come in! Think of it from the customer’s perspective:
now for the one that makes most salespeople - the most uncomfortable
Look at all that “stuff” as confirming to yourself that your gut is right!
Monday we will talk about the other side of the gut feeling……
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9. February 2009 by Lynn Hidy.
Great Question from Ann-Lynn “Is there anything we missed that you wished we had gotten to on the call” at the end of product manager/tech support calls.
One of my favorites is “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”
What is your favorite question to end a call?
Posted in overheard | Print | No Comments »
5. February 2009 by Lynn Hidy.
Hello,
As I have been working on my UpYourTeleSales identity, it seems that I keep seeing examples (positive & negative) of branding in my life. You know, like when you buy a new car and then start seeing them all over the road (which is better than my recent experience… you know when you buy a car in the summer and then because of the recession keep seeing commercials advertising it for $5,000 less than what you paid)?
Today’s example is a woman I know who truely is The Sales Diva.
You bet your sweet… never mind… YES.
How do I know? Well this morning I was looking at an article and saw EcoStiletto, yup ecologically friendly “reduce your carbon foot print” shoes.
What did I do? Emailed Kim of course! Not only because she loves shoes, but to share with her that her branding works. How? Well I saw Stiletto and immediately thought of her and the High Speed Stiletto Sales Camp she puts on for her clients (because who wants to wear boots and get all sweaty).
What do you do to make sure your customers have a consistent AND memorable experience on the phone? What is YOUR brand?
Let us know, register & post a comment.
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5. February 2009 by Lynn Hidy.
A few of us met to talk about chapter 3 and our action items. Here they are:
As with any book club and bad winter weather, a few people weren’t able to make the meeting (with one participant admitting she hadn’t read the chapter). Well that is how it goes - I’m still finding ideas expressed in new ways, action items I had forgotten, or concepts I’ve never learned, - and will not only continue but continue taking action each week.
How about you, what are you learning?
Posted in Book Club: Field Guide To Sales | Print | No Comments »
2. February 2009 by Lynn Hidy.
A great quote on how to decide to either keep calling or drop an account you’re prospecting into.I always ask myself “if I opened the phone book and randomly called someone would I have as much or more of a chance to sell something?” If I answer yes, I stop calling the prospect!
How do you decide when to continue on being persistent and stopping the madness and moving on?
Posted in overheard | Print | No Comments »