Self Confidence

A Businessman was deep in debt and could not see any way out.

Creditors and Suppliers were demanding payments. He sat in the park, deep in thought, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him and asked, "I can see that something is troubling you seriously".

After listening patiently the old man said, "I believe I can help you". He asked the man his name, wrote out a cheque and put it into his hands saying,

"Take this money, meet me here exactly one year from today... and you can pay me back at that time".

Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The businessman saw in his hands a cheque for $ 500,000... signed by Warren Buffet, one of the richest men in the world.

"I can erase my worries instantly" he realized. But instead, the man decided to put the uncashed cheque in his safe, knowing that it might give him the strength to work out to save his business and to use this only in case of dire emergency.

With changed thinking he negotiated better deals, restructured his business and worked rigorously with full zeal and enthusiasm and got several big deals.

Within few months, he was out of debt and started making money once again.

Exactly one year later he returned to the park with the uncashed cheque.

As agreed, the old man appeared.

But just as the businessman was about to hand him back the cheque and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man. "I’m so glad I caught him" she cried. "I hope he hasn’t been bothering you much. He always escapes from the mental hospital and tells people that he is Warren Buffet", saying this she took the old man away.

The surprised man just stood there, stunned! All year long he had been dealing thinking that he had half a million dollars behind him...

Its not the money, real or imagined that turns our life around.

It is our Self-confidence that gives us the power to achieve anything & everything that we want.

Have a Confident life..!!!

Perfect Sales Tip - Never Give Up

Ever wonder why prospects don't respond immediately to your emails?

There is a really simple reason.

They have more important "stuff" to deal with every day that is more important than your solution.

Yes, your product, service or solution might be the next best thing since sliced bread (where did that expression come?) but it's highly likely they have other, more pressing issues that need to be dealt with.

Allow me to share two recent examples.

A few weeks ago, I spoke with a prospect about training for his team. He and his colleague are very interested in pursuing this idea. However, after I sent a proposal it took almost several weeks before he responded and that was after I sent a follow-up email. His response included, "You can imagine the workload lately is certainly not slight, so please forgive us if we don't respond right away!"

The second example is a personal one.

A family member recently experienced a serious medical issue and I couldn't concentrate on work. It was difficult to concentrate and focus on work so I postponed calls, a few meetings and even declined some work because I wanted-actually needed-to deal with her situation.

Turmoil has always been an issue in the business, but in today's business world it has become even more prevalent. Turmoil, change and uncertainty has become the new normal.

I will go on record and say that virtually every one of your prospects has more important issues to deal with than implementing your solution.

Rather than get frustrated it is important to adapt.

Look at their business from their eyes.

Be patient.

Find ways to stay in contact with them.

But don't give up.

If you can find creative ways to keep your name in their mind and empathize with their situation you will stand out from your competition and eventually earn the business.

How to Sell

1.  Do research on my company before approaching me…

2.  Do create a simple, direct email headline, 3-5 key bullet points of what you want and why…

3.  Do create a framework for follow-up and stick to it. Every sales process is different, but in general terms, if you've introduced your company and followed up 2-3 times without response or progress, move on…

4.  Do share valuable insights with me. Send a relevant white paper or article with specific follow up to why this matters to me…

5.  Do attend conferences and events and meet me in person. Get your elevator pitch right and I'm likely to listen…

6.  Do have a great website (ideally mobile) that I can check out. Help me easily connect the dots between your outreach and what your company does…

Finally, remember that the way you position yourself at the beginning of a relationship has profound impact on where you end up!

How Not to Sell

1.  Don't send me an email with a picture of a cat in handcuffs with a headline that says "It will be Cat-a-Strophic if we don't meet. Gimmicks are always an iffy approach since you don't know whether the recipient will get your humor.

2.  Don't call my cell phone and leave a message to call you back on an urgent matter. I don't know you; it's unlikely it's urgent to me.

3.  Don't send me a threatening email that says we're losing out to our competitors, and then list the competitors and claim that they are your customers. Why would I work with a firm that's already supplying our competitors if you pitch it this way?

4.  Don't diss me because I haven't answered your unsolicited email. Just because you've sent me 10 emails about your service doesn't make it my responsibility to respond. And as a bonus, don't state "you're obviously not the right person in your organization to discuss this".

5.  Don't bait and switch me on Linkedin .... ie connect under the pretense of one thing and then immediately turn around and start selling.

6.  Don't send me a Questionnaire / Survey Monkey link asking me to explain why I'm not interested in your services. And then call me to see why I haven't responded to your Questionnaire.

7.  Don't send lengthy, overly technical emails outlining 10 benefits to working together without checking to see what business I'm in.

I like it when sales people recognize how busy we all are, which is why I appreciate a simple, thoughtful approach to Business Development