Month: February 2023

I want to talk to you about a very important skill.  Do you know how to be broke?  Yes, I’m going to talk about how to be broke!

I’ve had people ask why I would go from making 6 figures a year to $30,000 a year?  I’d rather make 30K working for myself than make 100K for someone else. Always bet on yourself. After all, you are your greatest asset.

Making sacrifices is part of the building phase of building your own business.

I have been reading and studying about business for 15 years at least.  I have not found any material that talks about being broke in business.  

Most successful business people want to focus on their achievements which presents an illusion of a smooth ride to success! This is not the case for most of us. What do we do? Let’s talk about some specific tips I have for you today.

1. Always make a plan.

• Learn to live on less by trimming unnecessary expenses.
• Understand that things may not be as bad as they seem. Good things can come from difficult times.
• Know that this is a sacrifice being made for a specific purpose with a goal in sight.

2. Communicate your plan.

• Explain your goals to your family. Help them understand the sacrifices you plan to make.
• Communicate with your creditors. Ask how they can work with you in time of crisis.
• Know your breaking point. A successful business is not worth more than a happy marriage or a close family relationship.

I’m here to tell you, “I have not had a smooth ride to success.” Success is hard! Going through difficult times will help you know that you can make it no matter what you go through!

Have a plan and work your plan and success will come. 

Happy Selling,

David

Is your pipeline a water tap or a sewer line?

Too many salespeople have a pipeline that is really nothing more than a sewer line because stuff is just plugging it up. I’m talking about prospects that are sitting there, but not going anywhere.

So how do I keep this from happening?

I want to ask you five questions to keep you on track, and help you choose prospects that don’t slow down your workflow.

1. What firm evidence do I have that this opportunity is going to materialize?
   The key word is firm. It’s not your belief, nor is it your gut hunch or simply “a feeling.” What are the facts that the customer shared with you? Without evidence, your moving forward with the prospect is baseless.

I see too many salespeople chase deals and then they can’t close them. They get so close to the finish line, but they can’t get them across it because they never got the facts up front. Of course, the prospect was a nice idea, but they never had any intention to buy.

2. Is the opportunity sizable enough to warrant my time? I see salespeople putting a lot of deals into their pipeline just to make themselves feel busy, but they’re so tiny.

They’re so small that they’re never going to really materialize any level of business. And as a result, it’s just not going to happen. In your pipeline, you need a mixture of deals.

You need large opportunities that are going to take longer, but they’re continually moving–not plugging up your pipeline. Then, any smaller ones that pop through on a regular basis, those keep you fed. This keeps you motivated, and keeps you in the game. But if all you have is small deals, you’ll be working your tail off and not really making any money.

3. Do I know the barriers I need to remove in order to close this opportunity?

I see a lot of customers who are very enthused. They’re gushing, “We want to buy this!” But then you present the offer and they say, “Oh, well I need to take it to management.” And it doesn’t go anywhere because management, or whoever is the decision maker, was never brought into the mix. This is a big issue here with salespeople! You must consider the possible barriers early on.

The question I love to ask is, “How have you made decisions like this in the past?” I asked that early on, because I want to find out their methodology. What’s the process? Who are the people they talked to? How long does it take? Once I understand all those little nuances, I can be aware of those barriers and get them out of the way early.

4. Is this an opportunity that will generate sales for me at a later date?

Top salespeople value their time, and they want deals to be closing in the current period. They’re not willing to sit there and spend tremendous amounts of effort on a deal that won’t close for several years. Now, I have closed big deals that have taken months. I’ve also got some deals that are not going to happen for three, four years. That’s fine. I stay in touch with them. We continue to nurture, but I don’t waste selling cycles on them until we get closer.

Well, what’s the definition of “closer”? It’s going to vary depending on the type of deal, and the size of the deal.

5. Do I have a plan to maximize this opportunity without negatively impacting other opportunities?

Here’s what I find happening: Salespeople will get this piece of business, and it’s a great piece of business, but it winds up sucking up so much time and energy they don’t have time to do other things. In fact, that customer’s relationship in the industry can block them from being able to do business with other potential merchants . This is a much bigger issue than people realize.

I see this with solopreneurs like us. Solopreneurs are really guilty of this. We wind up with a bad mix of business. We have business that looks great today, but because it’s so difficult to execute and implement, it takes us forever. And as a result, it holds us back.

Let’s work our pipeline and prioritize our prospecting and make the smart decisions.

Happy Selling,

David

Good Friday morning everyone, 

A part from the Bill Murray film  we discussed yesterday, what does that mean? In fact, the spring celebration  has nothing to do with  living the same day on repeat.  What is Groundhog Day all about? 

Today I’ve brought together all you need to know about Groundhog Day in this Friday’s Top 10.

Here we go from the home office in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania The Top 10 facts about Groundhog Day, 

and there’s no Bill Murray in sight…

10. Groundhogs, otherwise known as woodchucks, are rodents. They are one of the few animals that do truly hibernate throughout the winter, often building special winter burrows for their winter sleep. 

9. The legend goes that when the groundhog comes out of his burrow from hibernation, he will look for his own shadow. 

If it is sunny and he sees it, he will take fright and go back into his hole. Winter will then carry on for another six weeks. If it is cloudy and he doesn’t see his shadow, then spring will arrive early. 

8. The tradition began in Pennsylvania in 18th and 19th centuries. Based in ancient European weather lore where badgers were used to predict the length of winter. 

7. The legend of Groundhog Day has been spotted in two old British songs. In a Scottish couplet, it says: “If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in the year.” 

In an English song: “If Candlemas be fair and bright, come, Winter, have another flight; If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, go Winter, and come not again” 

6. Every year on February 2, all across Pennsylvania there are early morning festivals to watch the groundhogs emerge from their burrows. Punxsutawney holds the biggest Groundhog Day celebration in America, where over 20,000 people attend each year. 

5. In some areas there are German-Pennsylvanian Groundhog Lodges that hold big parties with traditional German food and skits. Pennsylvanian-German dialect is the only language allowed – if you speak in English you have to pay a small fine as punishment. 

4. The most famous groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil, who has apparently been making predictions in Punxsutawney for over 125 years. Residents say that Phil is given a magical potion every year to give him long life. 

3. The chosen groundhogs are kept in electric-heated burrows, and are said to utter their prediction in ‘groundhogese’ which is then ‘translated’ by a representative. 

2. The groundhogs are looked after by the Inner Circle, which is a group of local dignitaries who are responsible for carrying out all of the Groundhog Day celebrations. They traditionally wear formal dress, including top hats, on Groundhog Day. 

And the # 1  facts about Groundhog Day is…

1. The accuracy of the groundhog predictions is a matter of dispute – some Pennsylvania residents say that the rodents are accurate up to 90% of the time, whereas some studies say they are accurate only 35% of the time.There you have this week’s Friday’s Top 10. Let’s sit back, recharge and enjoy the weekend. 

Have a great weekend,

David 

Happy Groundhog day everyone, 

Today is Thursday February 2nd, a most peculiar American holiday.

If you’re reading this with a feeling of déjà vu, then you may be thinking about Bill Murray’s1993 comedy ” Groundhog Day .” And for us  as sales people,  perhaps there’s something you can learn from this unique film.

For the handful of those who haven’t seen the film, the Bill Murray character relives the same day over and over again-aware of everything that has happened each time. All those around him experience the day normally, while he’s trapped in an endless loop. Between you and me, I would sorta like the time loop at least for a while.

Back to the article. If there’s a teachable moment in the film, it’s when Murray avoids a slush-filled pothole-having stepped in it on several previous versions of February 2nd. From that moment, he changes his behavior on a grand, comic scale, based on knowledge of “preordained” events.

Predictability – Of course sales professionals cannot literally re-live a particular day-even if they urgently want to. (Who hasn’t experienced a disastrous call and wished for a do-over?) However, one thing we can do is observe predictable human behavior. In the movie, we can easily see the behavior patterns of characters-aided by the time-loop storyline, but not necessarily dependent on it. In particular, we can observe and predict the cringeworthy behavior of the film’s only sales rep, “Ned the Head.”In real life, we don’t need time travel to predict what someone will say or do. Behavior patterns are often shared. An astute observer can learn from others’ cues as well as their own experience, anticipating what someone’s response is likely to be. This is a crucial sales skill. Good salespeople are usually students of human needs, and the outward signs that reveal them.

Repetition – The film’s primary plot device is constant, seemingly meaningless repetition. A humorously poignant moment for Murray is the lament by a despondent, working-class character that “every day is the same, and nothing you do matters.” While literally true in the movie, repetition in real life can serve a different purpose. 
We can choose to make repetition a positive experience.The next time a sales call feels like déjà vu, take the time consciously to note the patterns. Write them down. What was said? How did you respond? Does a particular objection keep recurring? You get the idea. And be sure to discuss these repeating patterns with your sales colleagues. If they’re experiencing the same thing, you can be halfway to a better approach.

There’s also a literal way to apply the repetition principle: rehearsal and role playing. Whether you do so live or with online sales training, learning by repetition and feedback is a key to success. Practice what works, by watching what your coach and successful colleagues do, and repeat until it sticks.

Habits and Insights – In his award winning 2011 book,  The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg (available on Audible) points out that our habitual actions are not inevitable destiny. They can be changed and reinvented to avoid failure and foster success. The Bill Murray character did not succeed by remembering the same events of February 2nd, and planning a rote response. He succeeded in changing his habitually destructive behavior when he (eventually) gained new insights into himself, and responded genuinely to outside cues.

We as a salespeople succeed when we are genuine, engaged, and perceptive-not when we follow a rote set of procedures. By developing the habit of genuine connection, we will instinctively know how to meet our customer’s needs, and wake up on February 3rd,  and perhaps have a Top 10 list from the movie GroundHog Day….. 

What movies do you learn a particular sales skill from? 
happy Selling,

David

I bet you didn’t know February is “Prospecting for Sales Month.”

If you’re wondering who made it the official “Prospecting for Sales Month,” well, it was me.

Yes, I decided if January can be “diet month”  then February could be something important with regard to something so crucial to our business growth.

The reason I’m declaring this for February is simple.  It’s the start of a new month and for most salespeople, it means the start of a new quota.  One reason salespeople get behind is they wait too long to develop new leads.  This is the sole reason why I say February is “Prospecting for Sales Month.”

As you put together your prospecting plan, allocate time each day — or minimally, each week — where you are actively engaged in prospecting.  This does not mean thinking about prospecting or gathering information on potential prospects.

No, this means actively calling on prospects.

Another task to do in February is to make sure you start right away prospecting on those merchants who may take the better part of the year to turn into a customer.   You know who these are. These are the big kids on the block — the prospects who when you turn them into a customer, they will create a significant amount of new business.

Too many times I watch salespeople put off going to work on these big fish prospects until it’s too late to make an impact in the current year.  

What happens is the salesperson sees that the opportunity for getting business this year is most likely not going to happen, so they shift and prospect with small fish.  End result is the salesperson never winds up going after the big fish.

One final note on why I’m declaring February as “Prospecting for Sales Month.” It is because it’s also the best time for us to get in front of a lot of business owners, build or add to your pipeline. 

More importantly, Making calls early in the year as a tool to open up new opportunities will result in big payouts later in the year.

It’s February, Let’s leap into it! (No leap year this year, BTW)

What are you waiting for?

It’s time to get your sales prospecting machine moving.

Happy Selling, 

David