I came across an article this morning on a book review. Here’s the link:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3001086/failure-only-option-if-success-end-goal
Key points verbatim:
“Unfortunately, many of us don’t pursue the trial because we are fearful of making errors. ”
“Jim Owens, former CEO of Caterpillar Inc., told us we actually learn more from our failures than we do from our success. He states that our most important lessons as leaders come from our toughest losses.”
“Mistakes are part of taking healthy risk. They provide us with new ways of thinking and give us new insights into how we can improve as leaders. Real failure doesn’t come from making mistakes; it comes from avoiding errors at all possible costs, from fear to take risks and from the inability to grow. Being mistake free is not success. Still, we avoid challenges and hide mistakes. We don’t like to talk about them and bring attention to them. It’s safer to look the other way or sweep them under the rug.”
My 2 cents: Looking back, when I started my company, I had no freaking clue of what I was doing. I had a vague idea but like the mirror after a long shower, it slowly but surely has become more clear each and every day.
Every email, sales pitch, etc that I put together has been refined and tweaked countless times. You don’t know until you try.
Expecting to get it right the first time is pointless and unrealistic.
I’m consulting with 2 guys right now who started their own tax, accounting, and financial consulting firm. I’m proud of them they started. My advice to them was to network, pick up the phone and start reaching out to prospects and don’t worry about failing. They’ll perfect their pitch in due time. You can only read so many sales books and articles.
I can have you read a ton of books and watch a lot of videos on how to ride a bike and you’ll have a lot of knowledge.
OR
You can hop on the bike, take action, and learn how to ride successfully on your own despite falling down numerous times. But you’ll gain invaluable experience and wisdom.
I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000 and hope you have a great Friday!
Book Review: The Pumpkin Plan
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerI finished Mike Michalowicz’s book, The Pumpkin Plan” on my Nook last night.
Brunt, brash, sarcastic, a little profane at times but straight to the point.
If you own your own business or thinking about it, read this book. Read more
Should you ask a prospect, “How are you today?”
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerI recently read Kelley Robertson’s blog post titled “Stop Being So Darn Polite”.
Here’s the link: http://fearless-selling.ca/stop-being-nice/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=stop-being-nice”
Key takeaway for me:
Don’t ask a prospect or an executive, “How are you today?”
Replace with some follow options: Read more
Renewing my driver’s license and sales prospecting
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerA while back I happened to look at my driver’s license and noticed it needed to be renewed soon.
So last Friday, I drove down very early to get my license renewed. I’ve heard the lines are notoriously long. So I left my house at 6:45 am and arrived at 6:49 am. There were already 4 cars there. It was cold, dark, and windy but bearable.
At 6:53 am, I got out of my car and walked to the main entrance door. First in line! Then everyone else did the same thing. The guy behind said he’d been there since 6:15 am. Geesh! Read more
Muhammed Ali and Sales Prospecting
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerI came across this quote recently by the great boxer, Muhammed Ali:
‘”I hated every minute of training but I said to myself, suffer now so you can live the rest of your life as a champion.”
What’s this have to do with sales prospecting?
Pay the price now, enjoy sales success later. Read more
Are you overqualifying your sales prospects?
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerWhen you proactively pick up the phone and reach out to prospects, the goal is to set up a meeting.
If you have done you’re homework, you should target companies that have money.
Obvious but sometimes we fail to forget this.
If they are the right company in the right revenue range, they have money. It’s a matter of do they want to spend it with you. Read more
Should You Prospect During the Holidays?
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerThere’s an old story on the Internet that’s been retold over and over again.
From Snopes.com:
“A man answers a classified advertisement offering an “almost new” Porsche for the ridiculously low price of $50 and finds that the woman really is selling the car so cheaply, because her husband ran off with a younger woman and asked her to sell the car and send him the money.”
Whether it’s true or not is irrelevant.
My personal commute to work is 1.2 miles each way. 2.4 miles total. I currently drive a Honda CRV with low miles in proportion to how old it is.
I can go 2 weeks without filling up. Am I in the market for a brand new BMW X5? No! If I came across one for $1,000, would I? Read more
Post Election and Sales Prospecting
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerFinally! The 2012 Presidential Election is over and we can get back to normalcy.
I read an article by telephone sales guru, Art Sobzcak.
Here’s the link: http://smartcalling.com/2012/11/heres-the-change-you-control/#more-601 Read more
3 Lessons From Last Night’s Presidential Debate That Applies to Sales Prospecting
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerMy wife and I watched the 2nd presidential debate town hall style last night between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
Disclosure: I’m a registered independent / non-declared voter.
Here’s 3 lessons you can learn whether you’re supporting Barack Obama or Mitt Romney: Read more
What should women’s skirts and sales voicemails have in common?
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerAnswer: They should be long enough to cover the subject but short enough to keep it interesting and arouse curiosity.
(I read Michael Hyatt’s blog article this morning and stole this quote from him.)
Sexist? Yes!
True? Yes!
When calling on sales prospect to set a meeting or appointment, should you leave a voicemail?
My opinion is yes. You have a 0% chance of getting a returned call if you don’t leave a message. Yeah, there’s a rare chance that someone will look at their caller id, see an unknown number, and call it back.
But executives are very frazzled and busy and if they get called by numerous sales reps a day, do you really think they want to walk right into a sales trap?
If you leave a voicemail, at least your chances of a returned call go up to 1%.
Keep your message short, sweet, and to the point and say something that arouses curiosity that they want to call you back and want to hear more!
Does Sales Prospecting Success Come Through Trial and Error?
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerI came across an article this morning on a book review. Here’s the link:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3001086/failure-only-option-if-success-end-goal
Key points verbatim:
“Unfortunately, many of us don’t pursue the trial because we are fearful of making errors. ”
“Jim Owens, former CEO of Caterpillar Inc., told us we actually learn more from our failures than we do from our success. He states that our most important lessons as leaders come from our toughest losses.”
“Mistakes are part of taking healthy risk. They provide us with new ways of thinking and give us new insights into how we can improve as leaders. Real failure doesn’t come from making mistakes; it comes from avoiding errors at all possible costs, from fear to take risks and from the inability to grow. Being mistake free is not success. Still, we avoid challenges and hide mistakes. We don’t like to talk about them and bring attention to them. It’s safer to look the other way or sweep them under the rug.”
My 2 cents: Looking back, when I started my company, I had no freaking clue of what I was doing. I had a vague idea but like the mirror after a long shower, it slowly but surely has become more clear each and every day.
Every email, sales pitch, etc that I put together has been refined and tweaked countless times. You don’t know until you try.
Expecting to get it right the first time is pointless and unrealistic.
I’m consulting with 2 guys right now who started their own tax, accounting, and financial consulting firm. I’m proud of them they started. My advice to them was to network, pick up the phone and start reaching out to prospects and don’t worry about failing. They’ll perfect their pitch in due time. You can only read so many sales books and articles.
I can have you read a ton of books and watch a lot of videos on how to ride a bike and you’ll have a lot of knowledge.
OR
You can hop on the bike, take action, and learn how to ride successfully on your own despite falling down numerous times. But you’ll gain invaluable experience and wisdom.
I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000 and hope you have a great Friday!