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Browse published articles attributed to Patricia Weber, with full-archive search.
In 1998 I wrote my first book, Sales Skills for An Unfair Advantage: 104 Sales Tips for People in a Hurry. Sales professionals still seem to be in a hurry! With speed in mind and a focus being to help in particular, here are 35 tips to help introverts and shy to sell more easily. Sales ...
Many introverts I speak with, particularly prospective clients, are relieved to know it’s really okay to be an introvert. In the business world or even in personal life in, being around what can seem like mostly extroverts, we can feel alone, even alienated. The guilt of not being able to fit into extroverts ways can often lead to either extreme isolation or going overboard being something we are not. I know because I’ve done both. One of my ezines for caregivers, another life situatio I am in, inspired this post for me.
The introvert myth continues to perpetuate possibly because of the use of the word most often as a noun, not a verb. Let's first look at how we commonly use the word as a noun to label people and then on to why the negativity of it just doesn't hold up to any truth. Did you know that introvert and extrovert, the words, are actually verbs too? Yes; we introvert and extrovert, all day long. That being the case, neither is better than the other. It's simply action. At work or in your life at times we find ourselves - researching, planning, writing, editing - all introverting actions.
The fall season is a time when things change. It’s also a good time to continue to get more balance in our work and life. Have you seen the life balance wheel? You identify areas of your life important to you, and rate them anywhere from 0 to 10. All-encompassing balance can include areas ...
My mom, 80 years old, prays a lot with Rosary beads. When her financial planner went on a trip to Italy in 2006 she brought back Rosary beads from the Vatican as a gift for my mom. My mom carries them with her everywhere. Then one of the connecting hooks broke making it like one long piece of ...
In the early 1900’s con men would try to sell parts of the Brooklyn Bridge to immigrants in the USA. This is what coined the phrase, “If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you!” Then the Verrazano Narrows bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge formally ...
Unlike real barbed wire being cheaper, easier and quicker to use to get results to better control livestock and land, sales reluctance is costly, stubborn and slows down a salesperson’s success. If a salesperson’s product or service is that valuable, a salesperson will want to have various ways ...
People who are shy can be either introvert or extrovert. So much research points to this. One researcher, Be ardo Carducci, psychology professor and director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, finds there are far more shy people than introverts. That means that you can also have an extrovert preference and be shy.
SOS, is known in Morse code as a universal distress signal. For salespeople, a “Save Our Ship,” becomes a “Save Our Sales” distress call. While everyone selling likely has their own SOS, here are five common sales calls for help. 1. Cancelled appointments Are you confirming any appointments ...
The traffic light, patented in November 1923, happened before selling became labeled a profession. Over the years some salespeople may stray from the ethical and altruistic meanings originally given to the profession. Traffic lights and roundabouts, however, have always stayed their purpose. ...
Salespeople naturally take advantage of mobile cell phones regardless the modes of travel. In general, it makes the job of selling easier and allows them to maximize each selling minute of the day. The catch of using this invaluable sales tool is the likelihood of never unplugging ourselves to ...
In a recent article, “5 Networking Tips for People Who Can’t Network,” the author stated that the most likely reason that people don’t network effectively is because they think of themselves as introverts or shy. How ludicrous. Besides, that’s not what my findings are in an ongoing online survey! People don’t network effectively because their thinking about it is wrong. They only start to network when they need something: a job, a customer, an employee or a connection to help them. Networking is something that is part of life.
While National Entrepreneurship Week falls in the last week of February in the USA, and the rest of the world who celebrates it, does so in November. This year may find the timing ripe to have entrepreneurs save economies around with the world, with joint ventures. Whether it's labeled joint venture, partnering, collaboration or cross-promotion, here are ten ways to get started: 1. Start out with a paper and pencil task, or use your word processing program. Give thought to, and write down, all the characteristics you want in your ideal joint venture partner.
The annual Doublespeak Award is given to some public figure whose language is deceptive, evasive, jargon or confusing or euphemistic. While usually associated with public figures and corporate environments, some salespeople easily fall into the doublespeak traps without knowing it! Here are the ...
If you suffer from low or no confidence, or whatever your self-confidence indicator may be, this can translate to something minor or major which leads to low sales. Just as cars have become more sophisticated with warning lights, a salesperson who is in tune with their own kind of indicator ...
Some salespeople focus intently on just getting the sale. After all, in the end a prospect’s decision to buy from you is the goal! What happens when you focus on “getting the sale” to the extent of being blind that there are other pieces to the process? Sometimes you lose focus of what selling ...
Do you listen to your self-talk? What is your self-talk saying? How is your self-talk serving you? If your self-talk is more negative, and sounds like a snake’s rattle, it will scare you off from moving forward. This is poisonous thinking for people who are in the business of selling. Most of ...
Did you ever notice on an automobile dashboard that some of the lights are green, orange or red? And sometimes multiple lights come on? Red lights and two simultaneous lights scream, “Call your auto repair of choice immediately.” The next three sales action indicators for a sales person can ...
While November 10th is a general Forget-Me-Not Day, salespeople can take advantage of it to build into their follow-up plan if they have missed a few touches throughout the year. It would be especially beneficial for those customers whom you haven't seen in a while. You don't want them to forget ...
Being raised Catholic, on All Saints and All Souls days we would meditate about the most saintly and then the people we most loved who had passed away. What if as salespeople, we set out similar holidays: All Sales Do’s and All Sales Don’ts Days. Turn your focus from your don’ts into just the ...
Salespeople can take lessons to start their day off right from Kellogg's Pop Tarts pastries, created November 19, 1965. Pop Tarts are the simplest food item, so why wouldn’t a salesperson want to make their days that easy? 1. Pop Tarts have a sugary filling sealed inside two layers of ...
Let’s start with what many may agree with and make the comparison between good soldiering and top selling. Veterans Day in the USA, Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falls on November 11. It may be difficult to totally decide what makes a good soldier, but here a few ...
When a salesperson steps back to take in the big picture of selling, often their main focus is to get a prospect or ask for a referral. These are pieces to puzzle of sales attraction. But this is only one strategy in the process. There are at least three strategic pieces: sales attraction, ...
Do you have employees who act less than desirably with customers? Is there someone who is anything but a team player? Have you noticed a pattern in someone being late or calling in sick? These few recognizable symptoms may be of employees who work in an environment that may not be motivating to ...
Even a small sales slump can bump some salespeople into a sales reluctance spiral. A whopping 34.7% of survey respondents admit to either taking days to get over a lost sale or they just give up and surrender only to get deeper into a sales slump black hole. Have you ever had this happen to ...
Someone claimed November 7th an International Tongue Twister Day. A tongue twister, a phrase or sentence, usually that rhymes and because it has similar sounds, can cause some mispronouncing. For a salesperson, these familiar seven tongue twisters are in honor of the sales trait twisters. 1. ...
November 8: Dunce Day. Salespeople don’t wear dunce caps, at least not on purpose. The dunce cap is named after a 13th-century philosopher, John Duns Scotus, born in Duns, Scotland. He believed this conical shaped hat increased learning potential using the theory that knowledge flows from the ...
It was 4:45 pm, on a Friday. Abiding the cardiologist orders to take it slow and no straining, my husband took the elevator from our garage to our living area. Then I heard the elevator alarm go off and thought, “THAT little devil is playing with me!” And I kept about my unpacking, totally ...
Let’s do a quick review of the first four of my top 7 top producer secrets: First, Step away from the talk. Any negative talk about this is going to pull you right into the vortex of a downward spiral. Take actions that get you away from the gloom and doom. Second, Flex more muscles. Now COULD ...
Going back to the basics in sales tips is like starting a new exercise program. Muscles working out in an established routine may no longer respond to toning or strengthening. Sales skills in your regular routine may never get a tune up. Like physical exercise, why not tune-up your sales skills? ...
‘Gunk’ is usually what that nasty stuff which collects in the engine and other car parts is called if you don’t change car fluids regularly. But gunk can also refer to bird poop, splattered insects, even some soap scum that sits on the surface after washing a car. Just like this wide variety of ...
My dog, Chanel, is awesome. With a petite size tennis ball in her mouth she stands at my office door when she is ready to go out and play. She stands there with eyes on me until I say something like, “Let’s go play!” Many salespeople are mystified about how to get a prospect to listen to them to ...
Top salespeople have similar habits to collector car enthusiasts. A car collector or enthusiast can have what is referred to as a ‘daily driver,’ or an every day driving automobile. A ‘trailer queen’ car simply goes from a heated and air-conditioned garage to a trailer for transportation to a ...
It was the 1938 Pimlico Race that Seabiscuit outraced Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Why? Experts say that Seabiscuit held with the pack and was trained to start from the gate with a burst of speed right from the starting bell. It’s important that as a salesperson you find your starting bell - ...
Some history claims that the first happy hour was held in a local pub in Ireland. Others attribute that this before dinner reduced price drinks event started in the 1920’s as the Navy’s slang for its on-ship entertainment. Regardless what is true, introverts and extroverts would design a Happy ...
How quickly a salesperson gets over a lost sale determines how much attraction for a new customer happens on the next call. Finally, after being out boxed in the first nine rounds, in the 10th round of the World Boxing Association fight in Las Vegas, George Foreman became boxing's oldest ...
Sales reluctance holds many salespeople back from the results they want to achieve in business. It can strike a salesperson in any part of the sales process, from prospecting, networking, follow-up and/or asking for a decision. Sales slumps can even bump some salespeople into a sales reluctance ...
Last week my husband and I attended an awesome 4 day work conference! I decided to sit in on both days of business presentations hoping there would be a nugget or two I could share with you. Presenting to an audience of 100 to 300 top producers were executives of a large company. While overall ...
You have a sales presentation planned; your laptop dies; you spill coffee on your only presentation copy, and the client moves the appointment time earlier. The Chaos Never Dies holiday is perfect for you, if you need to stop and acknowledge that chaos is part of life. If your sales aren’t where ...
I’ve been listening to one of my favorite coaches at www.blogtalkradio, Dave Buck, and his first question is still lingering on my mind. He asked, “Do you really think it’s all about producing or working while under stress? If we are tired of producing and consuming under stress, what is next?” ...
Imagine the novelty of steam powered brass machines getting to the first USA automobile show in the snow! Then imagine the newness of making your first sale. Getting that first or first few sales is tough but exhilarating. Think back to that first success and find the basic elements. Then when ...
What are a salesperson’s treasures? How do you find them? Treasures were found in King Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt in November of 1922. These treasures had remained uncovered even after looters had stolen so much over the years. So what and how are the treasures that selling has for you? They’re ...
The salesperson’s strategy for sales results goes beyond a passion to “get the sale.” The heart of effective and easier selling is filled with a desire to be of help to the customer. The sales attraction strategy hinges on dissipating and minimizing limiting beliefs. Once those are out of the ...
Salespeople, what do you have to lose by writing to Santa for what you want? Since 1952 or 1953 children have been writing letters to Santa, so why not write your own Dear Santa letter? Mine would go something like this:nn”Dear Santa, You know who I am and how old I am and that I have been a ...
Political mud-slinging attack campaigns are an approach that isn’t often found in selling. Some salespeople get fearful and defensive as soon as competition is mentioned. Others, those who usually win against the competition, know a productive approach. Commercial ads, like Apple’s Mac versus ...
If you sell and want inspiration from Broadway, The Sound of Music by Rodgers and Hammerstein has just the song to sing along for sales confidence. One of the songs in the play which debuted on Broadway on November 16th, 1959 is I Have Confidence. By doing a review of just six phrases in the ...
What can salespeople learn from Ben Hur and Mickey Mouse? Both the movie and the cartoon premiered on November 18th in different years. In the debut, the first public appearance or the introduction, salespeople hold at least four stars, four ideas, to better engage their prospects in making that ...
My husband was stuck in our home elevator for 75 minutes. The inside elevator door latch had no hinge for him to grab and my attempts to remove the outside door hinges failed. A community police officer couldn’t budge them off either. And the eight firemen, who repeated all the same steps and ...
Follow up in sales is critical. On a recent podcast I talked about how the sales process includes a certain degree of timing. Particularly critical is the timing between a salesperson’s follow-up and a prospect’s pain point to want, not just need, what you sell. Unless you have a crystal ball to ...
While autos can go a day or sometimes more before a fill up is required, introverts who sell will discover accelerated sales results with a daily routine centered on three areas: release techniques, comfortable marketing activities and targeting those activities to identified prospects. One ...