Diva Sales Tips

I live in the country surrounded by a forest of trees. There are bird feeders everywhere and each morning I sip coffee while I watch the hundreds of birds flying in for the buffet.

It truly is a daily joy.

But NOT this morning.

Why?

Because I goofed-up!! I’ve been away on business in both Barbados and Montreal and you guessed it…

The bird feeders weren’t filled for 14 days!

SLAP!

So as I was sipping my coffee this morning there were only a few stragglers flying in.

The food had been replenished. But the birds had given up on me and flown the coop to someone else!

You’ve Heard Me Say This Before

Selling is all about relationships. When people know, like and trust you. And if you’re around them enough (with permission of course) on a consistent basis, with something unique, valuable and compelling for them – customers will choose you.

But they won’t if you’re fickle.

What’s My Definition of Fickle?

It’s just like my mistake of not feeding the birds. No food, poor offer, no follow-up – they disappear.

Just like your customers. (Do you really think a 10% sale motivates anyone to do anything??)

4 Ways You’re Being Fickle:

Years ago I had a goofy boss who looked and acted like Yosemite Sam.

Yosemite Sam did however, have a great piece of advice for me when I was going through a nasty sales SLUMP.

Honestly it was a dry spell that was so dry I had sand in my mouth.

I wasn’t closing any deals and it felt like I was losing contracts far more than I was getting them.

He looked at me with his one eyebrow and said…

“Go out and sell something small.
It will build your confidence.”

I’m sure I rolled my eyes but I went out and sold something ridiculously small.  ( I kid you not – I think I sold a non-profit agency some commercials that totaled $300.)

It was easy. Why? Because I thought it was small and therefore I didn’t feel pressure.

But I had BROKEN THE DRY SPELL.

And I went on to sell something a little bigger.

And then a little bigger than that.

And before you know it – I was back in the game!

Are You Stuck In A Sand-Dune?

Maybe you’re having a sales slump right now and quite frankly, you’re feeling a little depressed about it.

You’re probably faking it to your customers and everyone else but deep down you feel DREADFUL.  You’re freaking out in fact.

It’s easy to fix. Get out there and sell something small.

Contact one of your old customers who loves you and fill an order.  Offer a Blow-Out offer they can’t resist and let them know it only happens once per year and it’s because they’re such great clients.

You’ll break the sales DRY SPELL, it will increase your confidence and you’ll be off and running and selling BIG DEALS again.

Trust me. It works!

Make sure you post a comment about how you overcome ‘dry spells’.

And don’t forget to leave your website too!

Love from your bossy Sales Diva,

Kim

P.S. I’m devoted to helping as many women entrepreneurs and women in sales as I can.  If you know of someone who would love to learn HOW TO SELL THE RIGHT WAY, then please encourage them to sign up at www.salesdivas.com and we’ll get them on the track to success!

Last Friday I hosted 12- 12 year olds for a birthday collage party for my niece.  Everyone had scissors, glue, a pile of magazines, poster board and I said…

“No rules! Just put on the poster all of the things you’d like to see this year -
everything you love!”

It was wild – if you saw clouds of “snow” over my house – it wasn’t snow at all…it was little pieces of paper from my 12 Edward ScissorHands!

I really loved watching the girls – they were yakking up a storm, lots of laughing and I noticed 2 very important things.

Things that apply to you too Lady!

Do You Have Second-Guess Paralysis?

50% of the girls went crazy clipping stuff – honestly they had so many pictures they had to flip the paper and use the backside.

The other 50% had collages that were almost barren.  Just a few random pictures.  And what did I hear them asking?

“Do you guys like this picture? Do you think I should use it? My collage is ugly…”

They were stuck.  They had what I lovingly call Second Guess Paralysis.  They didn’t trust themselves.

Of course I jumped in and told them their collage was off to great start! I  then asked what kind of food, flowers, movies, actors, pets, animals, fashion, places in the world, books, music etc that they liked ….and their 12-year old sparkling eyes LIT UP….and immediately their collages started filling up like crazy too!

(They had no idea they’d just been Diva-dized)

The second thing I noticed?

The girls that were ROCKING right out of the gate – did this:

“Hey everyone – I’ve got a picture of a dog – anyone need it?”

“Hey guys – I need a picture of a cat – do you have one?”

Get the picture?

What Are You Paralyzed About?

Are you currently feeling stuck about …

• How to jump in on social media?
• How to get new customers?
• Your lack-luster sales?
• How and why you should network?
• How you can get media coverage?
• Your website/ezine/blog?
• Fill in the _____________?

Listen cupcake – I know what you’re up to.

You’re trying to be PERFECT.

You don’t want to SCREW-UP.

You don’t want anyone to laugh at your “collage”!

Gotcha – didn’t I?

Guess what? You’ve got the basics down – all you need is to ASK some questions.  Who can you help and WHO can HELP YOU?

Here’s your Sales Diva Dare.  If you want to be more successful then you need

to step out of Second-Guess Paralysis.

Within the next 48 hours I want you to TAKE ACTION on something you’ve been stalling on in your business. (Yeah – THAT THING THAT JUST POPPED INTO YOUR HEAD)

Share how Second-Guess Paralysis is affecting your business and what you’re doing to overcome it, in the comments!

Love from your bossy Sales Diva,

Kim

P.S. I’m devoted to helping as many women entrepreneurs and women in sales as I can.  If you know of someone who would love to learn HOW TO SELL THE RIGHT WAY, then please encourage them to sign up at www.salesdivas.com and we’ll get them on the track to success!

When you’re a Canadian you have to learn how to love winter.

Three years ago I started cross country skiing. It’s an incredible work-out, the scenery is stunning and the hot tub afterward is pure heaven! (Plus I look really cute in my outfit)

A few weeks ago I skied 8 kilometres. (5 miles)  My boyfriend who is Super Athlete said “OK – we rocked the 8 km – next week let’s do 16 km.”

Stubborn, competitive fool that I can sometimes be, I said with a smile…

“You got it!”

Sunday rolled in with turquoise skies and the trees were covered with white frosting (it looked like something from Chronicles of Narnia).

As I was gliding along for the first 8 km, I thought with an evil grin …

“Hmmpf – this is a piece of cake!”

Then something happened.

At 10 km I started to feel a little grumpy. “How much longer?”

• 11 km.  I started to grumble. “Who cares about stupid frosting on trees anyway?”
• 12 km.  An old man with an apple-doll face whipped past me.  “My ass hurts!”
• 13 km.  “Cross country skiing is man’s worst invention.”
• 14 km.  “I hate my boy-friend and he’s going to pay for suggesting this!”
• 15 km.  “I’ve officially hit the wall.  But I WILL NOT QUIT. Besides who’s going to drag me out of the frozen back-country?” My bottom lip wants to quiver.
• 16 km.  I slowly skied over to the parking lot where my beloved was waiting.  I was a huffing, puffing, red-faced, sweaty disaster and definitely NOT feeling cute.

“You did it Kim!!”

I held up one grouchy finger and said “You can’t talk to me for 10 minutes.”

Why?

I was writing this article in my head of course!

Have YOU Hit The Wall?

I’ve been in sales for over 20 years.  I’ve sold millions and one thing I know for sure is that there WILL be times when you HIT THE WALL.

You’ll feel stuck.

You’ll feel broke.

You’ll feel indecisive.

You’ll wonder why NOTHING is working.

You’ll wonder why customers aren’t buying.

You’ll also wonder why you’re not making the money you deserve.

You will want to quit.

You will want to run.

You will want to back-out.

My Bossy Sales Diva Advice?

Keep going.  Try a new approach.  Ask for help.  Invest in yourself. PRESS ON.

Success is closer than you think.

Later I was relaxing in the hot tub with a beer and Clamato juice (that’s a Canadian mixture for you), once again enjoying my “frosted trees.”  My 16 km misery seemed soooooo far behind me.  Then a BIG SMILE crossed my face.

I realized I had pushed myself 100% further.  A 100% increase in distance in 2 hours.

Was it painful? Yes.

Was it easy? No.

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Of course you know what’s coming next.

I’m pushing for 20 km this week! (And look out apple-doll man!)

My Diva Dare To You?

What are you going to push yourself to do so you can GET OVER THE WALL that currently has you blocked?

Send me a note on my blog – I’d love to hear what you’ve done!

Love from Your Sales Diva,

Kim

P.S. I’m devoted to helping as many women entrepreneurs and women in sales as I can.  If you know of someone who would love to learn HOW TO SELL THE RIGHT WAY, then please encourage them to sign up at www.salesdivas.com and we’ll get them on the track to success!

I loovvvvvvvvvvvve Christmas.

Everywhere I look – the Christmas decorations are up, the lights are twinkling, Bing is singing  “ White Christmas” and all the entrepreneurs I know are focused on December sales.

And that is wonderful!

BUT here’s a little reminder from your bossy Sales Diva.

I know it’s important to be getting those last sales of the year.

But the Christmas Season can also be DEADLY TO ENTREPRENEURS.

How??

Welllllll, I have a CRITICAL QUESTION for you.

Will Your January and February Sales SUCK?

I was on the road speaking a few days ago and I asked this a similar question of the crowd.

“So ladies – how are your January and February SALES?”

The very scary response?

Out of a room of 100 women – I had MAYBE 3 people throw up their hands and say…

“AWESOME!!!!”

The rest of the audience was suddenly VERY busy looking in their purses, anxiously checking out their nails or their eyes were looking at the floor.

Not such a good sign.

As your bossy Sales Diva….and weekly Sales Manager  – lady – you got to get your act together.

Before you know it January and February will be here!

So you need to:

• Plan your sales and marketing 90-days ahead
• Book your tradeshow booth for the FIRST QUARTER of 2010
• Order your marketing materials
• Get your newsletter/ezine/Twitter/Facebook/blog campaigns ready to rock
• Figure out HOW you’ll attract customers in January and February
• Strategize the strategic alliances you want for next year
• And a million of other ideas I have but you’ll have to wait for them!

And if you don’t?

I can pretty much guarantee your sales will SUCK.

So there.

Love from your Bossy Sales Diva,

Kim

 

 

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Want Me To Speak At Your Conference?

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What a year!!!  I’ve been to so many wonderful cities this year speaking across the United States and Canada. (Paris – here we come!)

I was thrilled to be on the same speaker line-up in Vegas as Jack Canfield – the co-creator of Chicken Soup for The Soul (and getting a standing ovation is always a thrill too!)

And I was even featured on NBC Television. Yahooooooo!!

The bookings are already rolling in for 2010 and I’d love to help you at YOUR conference.

1. • Do your conference organizers need a keynote speaker or a break-out session presenter?
   • Do you have a group of sales people who like someone who is BOLD, SASSY (and fun!) and who has sold millions?

Then please send us an email at info@salesdivas.com and we’ll see how we can help.

Thanks for spreading the word!!

 

 

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Dazzle This Diva

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Pauline of Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd had a question for me last week about how to differentiate herself from other realtors (and show that she’s better)…but she doesn’t want to look like she’s full of hot air!

An old friend of mine always had a wonderful saying that she used with her kids:

“Don’t tell me – SHOW ME.”

Sit down with a pad of paper and a pen and do some quick jotting:

HOW AM I DIFFERENT?

• What is my unique specialty?
• How quickly do I sell homes/get listings/get maximum value for the home?
• Am I a sought after media source?
• Do I align myself with a charity?
• What is my WOW factor?
• Why do people choose me?
• What do I do that’s SPECIAL for my clients (that NO ONE else does?)
• How can I prove all of the above?

Then you create a series of drip post cards, make sure this is posted on your website, your business cards, your blog, ezine, Twitter, Facebook, signage and MORE.

You’re not going to attract everyone….what’s most important is that you attract the PEOPLE WHO ARE THE BEST FIT FOR YOU.

Good luck lady!

What do you do to make yourself stand out from the crowd?

Let me know at Dazzle This Diva

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Dazzle This Diva has been going strong for six months now. To keep it going for another six months, I need your sales and marketing questions!

Not only do you get Free advice from your Sales Diva, but you also get Free exposure to all my readers. That’s a lot of people clicking through to YOUR website.

So send your sales and marketing questions to me now at info@salesdivas.com. Make sure you you include your name AND website!

OK – if you’ve been receiving my e-zine over the years (and if not – SNAP TO IT LADY!) you know that I love shoes.

Love. Love. Love

And I also love NICHE SELLING – when instead of trying to appeal to everyone (always a crappy sales strategy) you appeal instead to the hot, niche market that will love you!

A great example of this came across my desk this week and it cracked me up – you’ll love it:

http://shoetube.tv./

                                      So….your client or potential client told you NO.

And quite frankly, you’re feeling a little deflated. 

And you’re wondering what happened.

And it may have been for a variety of reasons.

1. Your product or service wasn’t positioned as UNIQUE enough.
2. They have a better relationship with another supplier.
3. Timing was wrong.
4. You were asking the wrong person to make the decision.
5. They’ve spent their budget already.
6. They just didn’t “click” with you and your company.
7. You weren’t the right fit. (or at least they FELT that way)
8. And a million other reasons too long to mention here!

 Remember The Last Time You Said No!

We say NO to many things every day. 

In fact, most consumers ARE NOT buying what is presented to them every day.  They don’t feel they have a need or want for it.

 TODAY.

But that can change lady – in an instant.

And if you’re someone who goes into a corner and says:

 ” Well, I’m NEVER contacting THEM again.”

… you may be missing out on some of the best customers of your life.

So even when you get a NO – make sure you act gracious – not desperate – and do this:

• Ask them for their advice.  What areas do you need to improve in your product or service that would make it easier to buy from you the next time? (and then don’t beg and plead that you can do that – it makes you look saaaaaaaaaaaaaad.)
• Follow up with a thank you card.  Thank them for the opportunity to present to them and for their time.   Don’t sound like you’re “canned”.   And the odds are that even the person that got the deal – won’t follow up with a thank you card.
• Stay In Touch.  Ask the potential client if they would like to receive new tips and information related to their business.  Stay in their radar once every 6 weeks or ask if they’d like to receive your newsletter (and that newsletter had better be amazing!)

Remember – things change. That’s part of the beauty of life and selling.

And the best way to REBOUND is to be pro-active with a plan. 

So there.

   OK – prepare yourself here.

What is the Number 1 Sales Tip for 2008?

 Quit having “I want the next shiny object” Syndrome and actually START and FINISH the projects/products you already have cooking! (Or should I say lukewarm or stone cold by now)

Nothing kills success faster than flitting from one thing to the other.  You’re not a butterfly lady – you’re in business.

So get focused and get the money rolllllllling in the door!

So there.

 

In business and in life – there will be times when you feel there are SO MANY OPTIONS.

And quite frankly, you don’t have a clue where to start.

Know what I do when the world starts to spin?

I head to my tree house.

Yes – I have my very own tree house sitting high above 3 1/2 acres of trees.

Two Perspectives For Fresh Thinking

The great thing is there are 2 perspectives from the tree house.  Both beautiful, both relaxing and both offering me fresh takes on the ever-changing landscape.

• The high one that overlooks the tree tops.
• The one underneath with a tire swing and a bench that looks into the field and bushes.

It’s basic but it does the job.

“And what is the job” you ask?

Getting my head together in a quiet place.

Can You See The Forest For The Trees?

Hey listen.

It doesn’t matter what state of growth you are in business or selling – at times it will feel overwhelming.

I have a fabulous virtual team of people helping my business grow but they still need direction from me.

The thing is – I need direction from me too.

So when all this sales stuff is starting to drive you crazy – go find a place outside with a pen and a notepad.

And ask yourself this question (the very same question I ask myself in my tree house every day)

“What is the MOST IMPORTANT THING I need to do to grow my business today?”

Don’t focus on a million things and get nothing done.

Instead focus on ONE THING TODAY that will help take you another level.

Following up with a client, preparing for a meeting, launching an e-zine…deep down you will know the most important thing that needs to happen.

(Probably the one you have been avoiding lady!)

It will give you clarity and keep you on track so you don’t have STUNTED GROWTH.

Who said so?

Your Sales Diva and her trees