Salesprocessdiva

New Book for Sales Leaders - and special offers.. time sensitive

My sales effectiveness colleague, and AllBusiness blogging colleague, Keith Rosen, has a great new book out today with a special promotion going on through 4/17. I heard about the book at the end of last year, and have been awaiting its arriv
al - now it is here.......Get Keith's book 37% off and additional valuable materials here .

How do I build a world class team?

How do I transition from manager to coach?

How can I successfully integrate sales coaching into my practice?

How do I turn around an underperformer or determine when it's time to let someone go?

How do I create buy-in and keep people motivated without using consequences or threats?

How can I get people to solve their own problems rather than always relying on me?

How do I free up more of my time?

Do these obstacles sound familiar? The fact is, regardless of experience, most leadership efforts are doomed from the start. Managers lose talented people and maintain an atmosphere of mediocrity not because of a lack of effort but because they lack the coaching acumen as well as a defined coaching system to leverage each person's strengths and abilities in order to generate consistent, worthwhile results.

 

If you're responsible for coaching or managing anyone, especially salespeople, this remarkable new book from my friend and colleague, Keith Rosen will help you make the transition from manager to coach by developing the missing discipline of leadership - executive sales coaching. Most managers have never been trained to manage, let alone coach effectively. Keith delivers a tactical coaching system for managers, business owners, coaches and executives - anyone who wants a proven and powerful method to coach and develop true champions.

 

Endorsed by thought leaders such as Dr. Denis Waitley, Brian Tracy, Dr. Tony Alessandra, Anthony Parinello and more, Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions is the highly acclaimed playbook that fills the void between what great managers need to know and do as a great coach in order to:

 

· Turn under-performers into super-achievers, fast. (Under 30 days.)

· Attract and retain top talent.

· Motivate their team through the Art of Enrollment™, the new language of leadership.

· Empower their people to solve their own problems and become fully accountable using the L.E.A.D.S. Coaching System™ - rather than being dependent on you.

· Handle difficult people without conflict and determine when to let them go without collateral damage.

 

Brian Tracy said, “There is no other single activity to boost sales that works better than sales coaching and Keith's book, Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions, is the best ever written on how to do it well.”

 

Since the success or failure of any organization leads back to the actions and behavior of one person; the leader, it's critical for every manger to upgrade their leadership style and approach. You'll discover how to facilitate a coaching conversation that fits your management style, as well as the strategies of the world's greatest coaches through dozens of case studies spanning over 15 different industries and professions, a 30-Day Turnaround Strategy, coaching and communication templates, a library of masterful coaching questions and an easy-to-follow coaching process to leverage each person's fullest potential and develop a team of winners.

** 72 HOUR BOOK EVENT ENDS THURSDAY**

  Purchase Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions by April 17 and enjoy access to hundreds of dollars worth of additional materials from Dr. Tony Alessandra, Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins, Jim Cathcart, Jill Konrath, myself (Lori Richardson), Dave Lakhani, Bob Kantin, Dr. Rick Kirschner, CanDoGo.com, AllBusiness.com, SalesDog.com and more. You can spend hundreds of dollars separately or you can invest about $20.00, order one copy of Keith's book today and spend not one penny more. Look at the resources you get here.  

Plenty of books espouse new management and leadership theories for managers, but few show you how to actually coach your people on a daily basis in a way that creates measurable change. Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions provides a proven methodology and tactical strategy for coaching that bridges the gap between theory and execution so that you can achieve unprecedented results -today.

Remember, this time sensitive event ends April 17 at midnight. I encourage you to get Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions and the additional materials from an impressive group of people who are supporting this book. You'll be glad you did. Click here to learn more. 

Get Keith's book 37% off and hundreds of dollars worth of additional materials here.

 

Phrases that Command Attention in Selling

It is always good to think about what you are saying over and over again each day when you are a seller. Over the years I've compiled a list of power words and phrases that get attention - or move people off of their "homeostasis" - and grab a bit of attention.

That is what we need, after all - a moment to get someone's attention. I don't mind if ultimately the decline my offer - but I want them to at least hear what it is that I have to say as a seller, don't you?

Here's my favorite phrase when trying to reach someone through voice mail, courtesy of my husband:

It's not urgent, but it is important.

Try this phrase next time you can't get ahold of someone but DO have value to offer them. Post your comments or send me an email as to how successful it was for you.

Seattle Networking Takes A Turn for the Better

We have lots of great networking happening in the Northwest. I was appreciative of a new effort, though, to bring quality and thoughtfulness to a social networking mixer - like the one I attended a couple of weeks ago.  It includes being in an environment with a gong.

Check out my post that I write for The National Networker on the new Seattle Network.

What new ideas are you seeing out there when it comes to networking and connecting with others? Send your observations in - you may win a prize!

Live Event: Ways to Grow Revenues through Alliances

Statistics show that 70% of all business alliances FAIL.

Alliance, channel partner, and joint marketing agreements are not new. They just don't always work very well.

Why? Not enough forethought into the goals and deliverables from each party participating.

That's why I'm excited to be hosting an event here in Seattle this Wednesday called Megatrends For Megabucks: Business Alliances that Grow Revenues. You can learn more about it here.

It will be fun to team up with Seattle attorney, university instructor and negotiation pro Jeanette Nyden, as well as executive coach Amy Hedin of Human Point.

Attendees are CEOs, company presidents, and heads of sales who want to enhance their alliance partnerships, strategize for new alliances, and grow revenues and profits.

Innovate, Create, and Re-create

Michael Port blogged about my son, Leon, who recently went from being a professional athlete to a corporate gig. Michael's right, I AM a proud parent, and really impressed with the quality of the article written by Brian Compton of NHL online.

A Great Book Recommendation for Anyone in Sales

Excerpted from Selling Power's Sales Management Newsletter, 9/4/2007, Fifty Experts Share their Secrets, by Heather Baldwin -

"Wouldn't it be great if you could tap into the expertise of 50 top sales gurus without the cost of hiring them all? That's the idea behind Top Dog Sales Secrets, edited by Michael Dalton Johnson.

This new book collects the wisdom of 50 sales experts and puts it into one place, organizing their advice under major topics such as prospecting, cold calling, stalls and objections, sales skills, value, customer relationships, and more. Here's a brief look at some of the insights experts share in this anthology"

 For more information, go to: Top Dog Sales Secrets

I've read this book, and HIGHLY recommend it for the inspiration AND the skills that one will learn or "re-learn". It is easy to read, entertaining, and very broad in topic selection. Kudos to Sales Dogs!

Thirteen Ways to Establish and Build Credibility

I meet up with an amazing group of women business consultants periodically. Recently the topic was on ways to build credibility. I love the thirteen points that the group came up with:

·        Keep your word.

·        Present your materials professionally

·        Be consistent

·        Only work with people you like, trust and respect

·        Follow through

·        Disclose your business process

·        Make clear agreements

·        Build trust and minimize risk

·        Have the courage to walk away or say "no"

·        Make eye contact

·        Be honest

·        Balance character and competence

·        Build trust; clarify purpose; align systems; unleash talent

What items would you add?

I've Been Tagged by Jill Konrath

Occasionally I've been tagged by someone to offer some facts about myself. Typically I was so slow to respond that I missed out on the fun.

This week, however, is different. I was tagged by sales expert and all around great woman, Jill Konrath, who is putting on a first-ever event for women in sales, called Sales Shebang (more on that later). The way this tag game works, I am to list eight little-known facts about myself - so here goes:

1. I used to play the concert marimba and vibes - yes, I was a percussionist in high school!
2. I attended the Continental Auctioneers School in Mankato, MN four years ago and became a fundraising auctioneer.
3. I love to buy local and support local business - that's one reason why I like Biznik so much
4. I live in two countries (makes it easier to buy locally!) - Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC.
5. I could write a book on how slow the US Immigrations office is - and I may
6. This summer, we went to Aruba, and it is my new favorite place.
7. I love ice hockey, and have NHL pay per view each season
8.  I have blogged at All Business on sales topics since early 2005.

There you have it. I'm interested now in hearing from other fellow bloggers, so consider yourself  TAGGED:

1. Keith Rosen - Executive Sales Coach
2. Denise O'Berry - Small Business Expert
3. Brandon Hull - Sales Team Tools
4. Lisa Haneberg - Author on Management and Focus
5. Lisa Dennis - Customer Service and Biz Building Expert

These are all great people to know - check them out!
 

Find Web 2.0 Tools to Help Grow Your Business

Over the past months, Biznik has been improving and developing in big ways.  What is Biznik? The tagline is "business networking that doesn't suck" - but don't think this is just a cutesy site for an alternative in networking -- it is much more.

Simply by joining Biznik as a member (for free) you can immediately benefit by Google Search once you set up your profile. Set up as a "Houston Hat Maker" and soon, in Google, you may be pop up first in that search.

What is great, though, is that this untapped resource will allow you to set up face-to-face meetings with other entrepreneurs (indie biz owners is the preferred term at Biznik) and you can host a meeting on any topic, charge a fee if you'd like, or host it for free to get critical mass.  Biznik even includes video on the site to show you how to use many of the features.

I love this community and recently became a paying member, after lurking for free for quite a few months. Check it out, and see how it can help you meet other local business owners to support local business, business referrals, and even new friendships.

Women in Sales - Participate in a Groundbreaking Study

My colleague and B2B sales expert, Jill Konrath is working with The Center for Sales Innovation to reach out to women in business who make a living calling on corporate accounts through an innovative study. If you are a B2B seller of products or services and a woman, please consider participating in this study. It's not too long, and you can read more about it from Jill here.

New Words to Know.... Are You With It?

Since much of the readership of this blog is the baby boomer generation..... I am compelled to ask occasionally as to whether you (regardless of your age, but particularly if you are over 35....) are keeping in touch with what our younger generations are thinking about and what words are surfacing that you should know (assuming you don't).

First of all, we used to use the word WIDGET in training to mean a small, hypothetical gadget. It actually meant a small, mechanical device, like a knob or switch. The term originated in the 1920s during the Industrial Revolution.

Now..... widgets are back... and they are cool.

Window gadget. The basic building block for a graphical user interface. A widget is a window with a particular appearance and behavior. "widgets" is the collective name for buttons, sliders, menu bars, title bars, and all the other paraphernalia that windows can have or contain

AVATAR: In Hindu mythology, it was the descent of a deity to the earth in an incarnate form.... now it is an image representing a user in a virtual reality space, such as Second Life.

Speaking of Second Life, have you seen this virtual, 3D world? Are you aware of the potential and possibilities for things like training delivery and coaching through this world? Definately something to look into - especially to see what Fortune 500 companies and retailers are getting on board.

Why is it important to keep up on this? The world is changing.... keep up or fall behind... the choice is yours. Thoughts?

On Excellence, Exit, and Return for Ken Griffey Jr.

Being a native Seattleite, being a baseball fan, and having raised a baseball-loving son in this city, I could only smile from ear-to-ear when seeing the 3-1/2 minute standing ovation for the return of Ken Griffey, Jr. to Seattle last night in the ballpark known as, "The House that Griffey Built".

Apparently there was some talk that Griffey would get booed because he left here after 11 years of playing his heartout each game. But from an exit standpoint, he left to take a cut in pay to be closer to his family. Deep down, no one can really fault a player for doing that. We've lost so many other great players who simply wanted more money...... and miraculously stopped performing here while they held out for a trade of some sort.

But Griffey Jr. was different. He came here as "the Kid" and left here as a family man. I think both my son and I grew up with the Griffey era (I was a young mom). We have so many great memories. Oh there were the great plays, and the anticipation of what was next, but also off field stories of autograph sessions and volunteering. I remember getting to a game at the old Kingdome once and seeing a very nice car parked diagonally nearly inside the venue. A ballpark usher was watching it and told us that Griffey had arrived late that night and the usher was watching the car until someone moved it.

We were always amazed with a Ken Griffey, Jr. performance and never knew what amazing thing might happen between his incredible hitting and unbelievable fielding. He loved the game - and everyone knew it. He had a smile to light up a room, and some of the fantastic highlights about his return to Safeco Field after more than a decade are on the Mariners website. If you are a student of excellence, and want to see a class act, then sit down and watch the MLB video as he is honored and remembered. (you have to click on the "Mariners Honor Griffey" camera or just to the right of it)

Welcome back, Ken Griffey, Jr!  Your sttiving for excellence made many of us better, and more enthusiastic, and even a bit smiley.

The Product Factory - Create products that help your business soar

I encourage everyone to have a fun summer, but also to work on accomplishing business goals during the same time. As someone who works to do as I say, I am participating, for a second time, in Michael Port's and Mitch Myerson's Product Factory to create more e-products, and I am very excited about it.

Last week I saw Michael Port speak in front of about 1,500 at an international conference. (The same conference where I had the honor of being the "live auctioneer" and we raised $40,000 for a single item). Anyway, Michael is just tremendous. He is a master change agent, and inspires others to be the same. I was just thrilled that I had traveled to Dallas to be a part of this event.

So I got to thinking about it, and realize that an area of deficit for me is in products that reinforce my message to professional sellers and those learning to be a more professional seller.

It's not too late to join us. The next session begins on June 18th and here is the fantastic overview of what we'll do each and every week:

Module I - Research and Development
Module I is designed to aid you in defining your product or program, assessing the needs in your market place and developing clear, compelling value-rich content that over-delivers on your promises to your customer.

Week 1: Create your Product Factory Big Picture Project Plan

Every successful businessperson knows that in order to produce a successful result, you must begin with the end in mind.

Week 2: 7 Simple Rules For Producing Remarkable Projects

You will learn proven product management principles that will guide and ensure your success on every project you do hereafter.

Week 3:

4 Strategic Steps for Developing Your Value-Rich Content

We take the guesswork out of content creation, the #1 biggest fear for most product creators, and lead you to an organized and effective framework for your project.

Week 4: Manage Your Work and Gain Momentum

The #1 reason people do not achieve their intended goal is a lack of consistent action and focus. In this week, we create a system that will ensure you stay on track.

Module II: Finalizing Your Content and Assembling Your Product
Module II gets you into action around finalizing your content, designing an eye-catching package and choosing and setting up your delivery and fulfillment systems.

Week 5: Crafting Your Content with your Sales Strategy in Mind

At the Product Factory, our goal is to not only complete your project but to teach you how to MAKE MONEY with it. With that in mind, we'll teach you the psychology of sales as you develop your content so you're not left holding a product that won't sell.

Week 6: Making Your Packaging Stand Out

You only have one chance to make a first impression. We have enlisted some of the top graphic and production specialists in the industry to feed you resources that you can use immediately to package your signature product.

Week 7: Technical Considerations when Producing Your Product

To make sure you get your product to market FAST, we have enlisted the top technical experts in the industry to teach you everything you need to know about audio, video, digital delivery, self-publishing, professional publishing and more.

Week 8: Online and Offline Ordering and Fulfillment

Many new product developers often get confused around taking money and delivering products. In this session, we will demystify this topic and show you exactly what you need to do to earn money and deliver products worldwide.

Module III: Marketing and Manufacturing Your Product
In this module you will learn how to effectively and successfully market and sell the products you create worldwide.

Week 9: The Copywriting Crash Course

In this session, you will learn our profit producing formula for writing attention-grabbing copy that sells.

Week 10:

The Product Factory Best Kept Offline Marketing Secrets

Let us show you the 7 Core Self-Promotion Strategies so easy to implement that you can hit the ground running with them immediately.

Week 11:

The Product Factory Best Kept Online Marketing Secrets

For our next book, we have interviewed 24 of the top online marketers in the world and have distilled the essential strategies and tactics that will ensure your product visibility throughout the internet.

Week 12: Affiliate and Fusion Marketing Strategies

A key to success in product distribution is creating powerful partnerships that exponentially increase the reach of your marketing messages.

Week 13:

The Product Factory Awards Ceremony and Product Unveilings, and Product Factory BIG Promotional Mailing

Celebrate the successful completion of your product or program with up to 1000 live potential buyers on this very special call, and see your finished product promoted to over 50,000 of our dedicated newsletter subscribers. More about this once your enroll

So, for more information, go here, and let me know if you did!

A Bit of Humor....

Great cartoon from Sales Ladder today........

Create Your Own Video

I have a client who is also a good friend of mine named April Brown.

April is one of the most successful charity auctioneers in the West, perfecting her craft for the past 13 or so years.

Last year she decided to expand to the worldwide market and widen her opportunities. One area she dived into is creating her own video - and actually has a studio set up in part of her home office. She has multiple cameras and has done live and archived shows - take a look and feel free to contact herdirectly if you want to know how to utilize the tools she is using.

She also created and is selling a very cool audio CD, called Money is Marvelous, that shows you step by step how to put on the most successful charity auction you've ever done - telling secrets that no auctioneer has ever divulged (that I know of) without paying them a handsome fee. 

A Little Creativity, Please?

I write about it a lot, and talk about it all the time with clients. Being creative is possibly one of the most important aspects of success in the sales profession.

Listen to my interview with Clayton Shold of Salesopedia here, on why creatvity is important - no matter what you sell. I talk about some resources so that you don't just hear it, but you can actually take the next steps and do something about a lack of creativeness in your daily routine.

Check out some of my favorite books on creativity (see page 4 of the store) that have helped me in selling.

It Can Be Hard to Find Good Employees

Published in The New Yorker magazine, January 29, 2007, Page 91

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT

From the Key West Citizen

A busy store at

425 Front Street

is seeking honest, responsible, reliable & ambitious employees for part-time & full time positions.  Good salary with advancement opportunities for the right person.  Job duties include retail sales, stocking & cleaning.  Previous sales experience, with register responsibilities, preferred.  Spanish as a 2^nd language is a plus.  References will be verified.  If you get drunk, do drugs, call in sick or just plain don’t show up for work don’t bother applying; you probably have already worked here.

Three Stooges and Professional Sellers – What’s the Common Thread?

On a Monday morning after losing an hour for Daylight Savings time, I thought it best to have some fun for our Monday Morning Sales Inspiration Call. Coupled with being in the midst of hundreds of NASCAR fans this past weekend in Vegas, well - I'm seeing a lot of fun things to talk about.

For anyone too young to have seen The Three Stooges - you must be under a rock because their movies and images have been around in abundance for many years - but I'll give a very brief description:

From Wikipedia: 

The Three Stooges were an American Vaudeville and American comedy act in the first half of the 20th Century.

In a 1992 Seinfeld episode, Jerry explained to his foreign-born neighbor, "Well, they're three kind of funny looking guys and they hit each other a lot."

Parallels to professional sellers: that's easy. It's about entertainment, tenacity, and having fun. 

Entertainment: People choose who to buy from and do business with. Having a positive experience will cause people to do business with you. People want to feel good about their purchase decision, and if all things are equal, will do business with the person or company that makes them feel the best.

Tenacity: Again from Wikipedia -

Slapstick was a mainstay of Stooge humor. The key was that, no matter how hard anyone was poked, slapped, punched or prodded, the pain immediately went away, and no one was ever really hurt by it.

The Stooges were often shown as unemployed or at the least underemployed, working class guys. They persisted and often good things happened.

Having fun: This is the bottom line in professional selling. You need to enjoy it. If you don't - it will show, and you won't last at it. Think of the best servers in the hospitality industries - from restaurants to cab drivers to hotel staff. After spending four days in

Las Vegas

, we got a good taste of people who loved their work versus people who were really bad. More on this later in the week.

Your thoughts on the Stooges? Drop us a note.

Great Tools for Tracking Sales Projects

  I have been using Basecamp for a couple of months with great success. It tracks all of my client projects and I can manage information via the web. Clients can be invited in, and anyone can be updated with an email alert. It is a fantastic way to track files, messages, running conversations, and be a single location for everything relating to a particular project. Give it a try here ..... and let me know how you like it.

Humor Break for Sales Leaders and Sales Pros

here is a funny video from our friends at Selling Power. Why not create your own video about selling and send it in? If you do, be sure and let me know.

Wow, Gerhard..... to think that you wasted all that acting talent to run the Selling Power empire......or maybe that IS your secret.......