sales help

“Jeffrey, come down to the office, there’s a guy here who has cookies for you! They’re those Biscoff cookies, the ones that you like.” How could I resist? I love those cookies. I’ve eaten them for years, predominately on airplanes, more predominately on Delta. They also have them in the Delta lounge, and occasionally you can find them in the grocery store.

I read Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive by Harvey Mackay in 1992. It was a life-changing, and career-changing, book for me, and millions of other readers (hopefully you). The #1 New York Times bestseller Swim with the Sharks contains a hundred short business lessons that are both impactful and actionable.

In my early intensive days of learning sales and attitude (1972-1973), I was taking a four-hour sales and attitude training class EVERY DAY from 8am-noon. Every day.

All of my fellow learners (there were nine in the group) immediately took a lunch after the training – except me. I scheduled a sales appointment every day at 12:01pm.

SCENARIO: I need buttons for my upcoming Social BOOM! book launch. I want 1,000 buttons with the word BOOM! on them for people attending the launch party. Buttons will be an easy way of identifying who has registered and who has not. The buttons will also be a souvenir from the event.

Are your sales (finally) on the increase? It seems as though there’s a slight sales surge going on, but no one’s talking about it much – probably because no one wants to jinx it. The economy is still very fragile, the world is even more fragile, and with elections taking focus, politicians of all sorts are finally realizing that jobs and small businesses are the priority. That only took three years.

The social revolution has changed the way you sell forever. Only problem is, most salespeople have no idea of that – YET! As business social media evolves and matures, all salespeople, executives, and entrepreneurs will expose themselves for who they are and who they aren’t WAY BEFORE a sales call or sales meeting of any kind takes place.

THINK! – About what have you learned from your father and mother. Their wisdom has been the foundation of your philosophy, your belief system, your personality, and your achievement. They influence and affect your attitude towards yourself and others. Parents (and siblings) also influence your social habits and philosophies. They shape your self-image and your self-esteem.

I owe my positive attitude to Napoleon Hill. During one year of daily, four-hour intensive sales and positive attitude training back in 1972, I was fortunate enough to expose myself to his success principles. Each day one of the eight guys on my team had to give a book report on a chapter from Think and Grow Rich. Since there were only 15 chapters in the book, we reviewed it in its entirety every three weeks.

Think about the pile of business cards on your desk, of people that you’ve never really connected with, and certainly have never provided value for. Then think about the number of people who you could be adding to your network; people who could really be enlightened by you and discover your depth (or lack of it).

1. How many of you have some social media involvement? (Almost everyone raises their hands.)
2. How many of you wish you were better at it? (Almost everyone raises their hands.)
And keep in mind this is from a (supposedly) sophisticated group of people. They all have smart phones, most of them get personal Facebook notices on their phones, but for one reason or another they have chosen not to enter the world of business social media.