Mind Set for The Long Haul

Sales people have the reputation of over inflated ego, zealous confidence and unwarranted bravado. When the average person hears the words ‘Sale Person’ they imagine someone loud, aggressive who is rudely determined to take their money. Getting from this preconceive notion to an empathic sale is no small task.

Reputations are most often what they are for good reason. As a person who works with a team of sales people, I can tell you that we are prone to develop rather large egos, and wear them proudly in front of others. Why?

Our egos are often a self defense system to help us deal with the continuous rejection and failure of our jobs. Even the best sales person is likely to hear “NO” more then they hear yes, and the ‘NOs’ are always louder. So we can compensate by focusing loudly and often obsessively on how good we are, taunting others with the success we have had and conversing in ‘one-upmanship’ conversations. This becomes our façade’, our outer shell to our colleagues and clients.

The mind-set of the true professional sales person isn’t about flaunting ego, it is about setting goals, working hard, and appreciating others. Developing a strong inner self dynamic that reinforces our self esteem and builds our character from the inside out is critical if we want to survive in sales for the long haul. While an outer ego will work for a while, eventually we will find ourselves running on empty, dissatisfied and quitting – if not sales entirely, our current job.

There are a few things that we can do to build our mind-set from the inside out.
1. Learn -Commit to learning every day. To combat an ego of know-it-all-ism, spend time regularly learning more about sales. There is always something new to learn, and exciting people to teach us. Learning helps keep us humble. Allow yourself to say, “I didn’t know that.”
2. Educate -Help someone else. Surely there is someone in your team, company or industry that needs your help. Make some time to have coffee regularly with someone new to sales and help them learn how you have had some success.
3. Exercise – there is nothing like being physical to remind us of our limitations and motivate us to improve. Regular exercise, even just a brisk walk for 30 minutes four times a week, will do wonders for your inner mind-set. Exercise reduces stress, creates health and feeds the brain.
4. Read – The power of reading is becoming a lost art. I suggest actually reading from a book. Take your mind and energy away form electronics, phones, schedules, and emails and sit with one of those old fashion paper and cover things called a book and read. You will be amazed at the affect it will have on you.
5. Nothing – when is the last time you spent time doing nothing. I’m not suggesting becoming a sloth, but 15-20 minutes of time to relax, unwind and let you mind and body let go is a powerful tool. Put a note pad next to you so if some ideas jumps in and demands your attention you can jot it down and tend to it later, then relax.

Our mind-set is simply what we set our mind to do. If we set our mind and goals to become a balanced, mature person who is successful in sales, we can remove and leave behind that protective shell of boisterous ego.

What Do You Do?

It seems like a rather harmless and benign question. We hear it so often that we don’t really give it much thought. Someone strikes up a conversation with you and asks, “So, what do you do?”

This apparent mundane inquiry should be heard by the sales professional as a call to action. With such an open invitation, you can begin to develop a relationship that will be either future business or a referral for new business.

Do a quick search on “60 second introductions” or “My elevator speech” and you will find rich resources and clues to why you should have several creative and intentional response to the “What do you do” question.

One source can be found over at the Powerful Presentations website.

Craig Harrison has some good counsel on how to compose your self-introduction including a number of free tools you can download to assist you in the process.

Bottom Line – DO IT! Those casual conversations are yours to turn into opportunities. During an economic time when we are all working harder to reach our sales goals, this is one way you can work smarter. Be prepared and be different.

Here is a draft of one of mine from a few years back (some names have been changed to protect the innocent)!

I’m Kim Williams with “Acme” Improvements. We free homeowners from the worry and effort of repairing and improving their home. Through seasoned project managers who oversee every job and designated, trade-specific workers, we save time and money for home owners allowing them to focus on living in their home rather than struggling with it. For over 16 years, we have been a one-stop provider of proven solutions for all non-crisis home maintenance needs- from the shingles to the foundation. We ask for no deposits and guarantee our work so there is no financial risk. Our customers have peace of mind about their home improvements and repairs because we are committed to completing our projects on time and are licensed, bonded and insured. At Acme we seek a lifetime relationship with each of our home owners and are committed to serving their home repair needs again and again!

You or your friends can get freedom from home repairs. Do we sound like the right fit for you?
Set aside some time to work on your What I Do introduction.

FIVE TOP DON’TS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Social Media Marketing – using tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Digg – is a hot topic in the worlds of both Internet Marketing and Traditional Marketing. If you are considering stepping into the world of Social Media, here are five common and deadly mistakes to avoid.

1. Don't rush. Take time to learn about Social Media and how it works. Before you rush to set up that LinkedIn profile, take time to write, edit and plan your content. Understand the difference between Company and Personal profiles and don’t mix the two. Know the advantages of choosing an appropriate Twitter ID, before you just select the first thing available and start building followers. Having something well structured and crafted in your Social Media profiles will win the long race over something fast – just to get started.

With sites like Digg or Stumbleupon, take some time to become involved in the community and learn the ins and outs of the different categories. Nothing will kill your great article faster than submitting it in the wrong category – just because you think it’s a “Technology” article instead of “Science” doesn’t make it so. Learn the norms and get a feel for the community before jumping in.

2. Don’t forget your overall marketing strategy. Social Media should work with, not outside, of traditional marketing. What are your goals? How are you taking your brand to market? Blasting out a poorly strategized campaign that doesn’t compliment your brand image is a surefire way to confuse and disorient your audience. Craft your desired message, make sure it’s aligned with your overall objectives, and THEN start engaging.

3. Don’t PUSH. Virtually all forms of Social Media are about being popular and seen as welcoming to others. While traditional marketing might scream “buy me,” Social Media needs to be invitational and position you as an advocate for your potential clients. Remember, your audience has spent time and effort building up their online network and image. A pushy, “sales-y” intrusion into their social community is the equivalent of hitting up your dinner party guests for an investment in your ergonomic toilet seat venture. Don’t push – respond.

4. Don’t go it alone. Social Media Marketing is a fairly new way of going to market with your product or service. Be certain to consult with others about what they are doing successfully and reach out to professionals for advice and direction. There are scores of “social media gurus” flooding Twitter right now, simply because it’s a low cost medium and fairly easy to build a large network of followers and throw out some buzz words. Turning this into measureable and meaningful business results is something else entirely.

Be wary of anyone who tells you that you can’t handle your Social Media Campaign. It may be a little daunting at first, but once properly conceived and set-up, most Social Media requires only measured attention.

5. Don’t do everything. Social Media and Social Sharing tools are as numerous as the days are long, and trying to incorporate every possible Social tool into your marketing will leave you diluted and make it difficult to measure results. Once you decide on your goals, select the Social platforms that will help you accomplish those goals best.

Social Media Marketing isn’t a fad. These internet based tools are transforming the way companies position themselves on the internet. Get started. Be deliberate, strategic and measured, but get going.

Top Three Social Media Strategy Questions

One of the hot, buzzing, exploding topics right now is Social Media – LinkedIn, Face Book, Twitter, etc. These emerging marketing tools are defining themselves as real players in the industry and even the most conservative of groups is taking notice of their impact.


Everywhere, companies and individuals are asking, “Should I be on LinkedIn? Do I have to do Facebook? How do we use Twitter?” Well, before we go running off to set-up, invest time and money, or personnal in Social Media, let’s stop and ask a couple of questions.


1. What are my current marketing goals? A wise company or individual business will regularly review marketing goals against ongoing trends and revenue needs. We need to begin to address the questions of Social Media by clarifying our goals.

2. Of these goals, can Social Media help me achieve them? If so, which venues are most helpful? If I am targeting a specific demographic, which Social Media are they using? Study the forms of Social Media, or attend some workshops on the subject. You Tube has a great channel on LinkedIn (how is that for using one to learn the other?).

3. How will I measure the results of my involvement? Social Media tends to be cheap in money costs, but higher in time costs. What are my measures? Remember, we can only manage what we can measure.

Along with these questions, we do well to realize that Social Media is much less about selling to a client base and more about creating an environment for our clients to sell for us. Social Media creates followers, friends, fans, and groups. These groups in turn use that same media to speak about you and your product.


Begin your consideration of Social Media by clarifying your goals and then utilizing the tools of Social Media that best accomplish those goals. Your marketing will be LinkedIn, and Tweeting in no time – FaceBook it!

Socratic Questioning

Socratic Questioning is an old and complex system of seeking to learn more about thoughts, issues and thinking by continually asking questions.

In selling situations, questioning serves a variety of purposes – gathering critical information, uncovering a clients purchase points, and establishing credibility to the particular product or service you are offering.

What are the questions you need to ask today? Here are some examples of possible questioning approaches.

1. In your understanding, why are we meeting today?
2. What do you hope that I can offer to you?
3. Have you had others meet with you about this?
4. Do you have concerns I need to know?
5. What would be the ‘best case’ solution for you?

These are general questions, of course and you will want to tailor them to your specific situation and service. Take a few minutes and write three questions you can ask today.