Simply Successful

I’ve rarely done a post in true internet marketer fashion, so let’s have fun with one.

Today, as I was driving down the road, in my brand new Camry, listening to my pay-for-play Sirius Satellite Radio, with the wind blowing thru my George Clooney buzz cut, I head some of Bon Jovi’s new country album.

As many had done before him, Jon and his mates have doubled, then doubled again and then doubled again his prospects, or audience, by merely joint venturing with some other, like-minded, music makers.

LeAnn Rimes brought her fans, Big and Rich brought their legions, he’d already scarfed up the rabid Sugarland fans, etc.

Here’s some facts and figures I’m sure you didn’t know.

Bon Jovi has performed at over 2500+ concerts, sold over 120 million albums and had done shows in over 50 countries.

They didn’t have to join forces, they chose to do so because it doubled and re-doubled their audience with no extra effort.

They would have had to play guitar, sing, play drums and produce every one of the 12 songs anyway, but by doing so with some of their peers, they’ll make more money faster and have an evern bigger “list” for their next product.

Stop trying to hog all the glory. Join forces with some of your competitors, which is ultimately what each individual music star is, and make life easier for both of you.

Thanks to USA Today for this story and to Todd Plitt/USA Today for the photo.

Salesmen turn into Sales Managers, who turn into Vice-Presidents and then into CEO’s.

Why do sales oriented people make the best managers of people ? Because to be successful sales people, they have to learn how to manage themselves, their co-workers and their customers.

Managing yourself is the foundation to this whole building project. Unless you learn to manage yourself, you’ll not have any co-workers to manage, let alone any customers.

Self-management is an art. It’s one that few sales people learn enough about. The one’s that do are the one’s that rise to the top of the ranks and eventually they’re placed in the leadership of others.

Here’s 7 Simple Steps To More Effective Self-Management :

1) Do the things that count. Don’t waste your selling time on things that you can do on your off time. If you ever form this bad habit, you’ll find it hard to break.

2) Never give yourself an alibi. Face the facts. Face the truth. Face the music.

3) Don’t Blame Others. Take the heat you create. Don’t look for a fire fighter to put out your fires, do it yourself. Another bad habit you don’t want to form.

4) Be honest with yourself. If you want to listen to a kidder, turn on the Comedy Channel. In business or in life, if someone tells you that you stink, they’re not kidding, they’re trying to help you. Believe ‘em.

5) Don’t be a slave to fads or whims. Stick with simple, tested, tried and true methods and work them like a borrowed mule.

6) Be firmer with yourself than you are with anyone else. If you want to get tough with others, practice on yourself first … and then you may not have to bother the others.

7) Boss yourself more than you do others. If you want someone to toe the line, be an example, not an exclaimer. ‘Nuff said.

7 simple maxims, truisms or whateverisms to live and work by.

Feel free to add to the list, afterall, your life’s been on a different road than mine and we haven’t even driven the same number of miles, much less the same route.

” I can give you a six-word formula for success: Think things through - then follow through. “

Those words from Eddy Rickenbacker were true some 50+ years ago and they’re still true today.

If you want to become a salesman of value to your customers, your company and yourself, hopefully in that order, you need to do just that.

Think Things Through

You know who the account is.

You know what they buy that you sell.

Whoop-de-doo.

What do they need that you don’t sell that you can bundle with what you do sell ?

Who do they buy from that sells a product that’s not as well suited for them as yours is ?

Who can you get to tell them about that product ?

They’ll believe someone else about 309 times faster than they will you, because you stand to gain from it.

Get testimonials from your current customers that are specific to their needs.

Put them on a PDF that can be downloaded from your website.

Have a white paper written that addresses their problems.

This is sales, not rocket science. It ain’t that hard.

Then Follow Through

This is the simple little maneuver that seperates those who sell from those who wonder.

In golf, the follow-through is a direct reflection of what happened just before impact.

In sales, the follow through determines whether or not you ever make an impact.

Just like me, every other business person keeps a running tally of all the promises you make that you never keep.

When those con’s outweigh the pro’s of doing business with you, we drop you as fast as we can.

Being the dud that you are, it’s a long time before you even notice you’ve been replaced.

If I’ve gone through enough stock to have to reorder several times before you come to ask me what happened, you shouldn’t even try to call me, you should mail me an apology first, then send a note asking me to call you when I have time … if I ever do.

Follow through, after you’ve thought it through and I’ll be good to you, for you and because of you.

Simple.

I saw a post over at Blogging pro about a meme going around where bloggers talk about what makes them successful.

It kind of mirrors a conversation I had with a fairly new salesman the other day, so I thought I’d share some of the things I told him.

He asked me how I was able to have so much in common with so many different customers.

After a few minutes of thought, I came up with a few things that I do that help me be more successful.

1. Read several newspapers every day. I always read USA Today and 1-2 local newspapers very day to stay current. It keeps conversations going, which can lead to more time with a customer, which can lead to more sales.

2. Observe people at every opportunity. I take time every day to place myself in a position to watch and listen to people. the world is a living breathing textbook. Human behavior and the knowledge of it is a major key to making moew sales.

3. Test and track all sales attempts. If it’s worth trying, it’s worth tracking. I keep copious notes about how customers react to certain situations. I keep track of all the samples I leave with them and how they respond to using new products.

4. Make more calls than you take. If you don’t make phone calls, you’re an order taker. If you make calls, you have a shot a being a salesperson. It won’t make you one, but it’ll be a great start.

5. Start before and work later than your competitors. My customers start early and work late. Their salesman has to do the same thing. My cellphone’s always ready for a call from a customer. I can’t count the number of times a customer has called and said he didn’t think I’d be working yet or still working.