Quote of the Week

"If your work is becoming uninteresting, so are you. Work is an inanimate thing and can be made lively and interesting only by injecting yourself into it. Your job is only as big as you are." -- George C. Hubbs

Sometimes the constant routine of cold-calling, prospecting, and e-mailing can get a little - dare we say it - boring. Think about it. How can you inject a little of "you" into your routine?

Don't React - Respond!

For the past week sales expert Keith Rosen has been discussing the "Top 10 Most Common Mistakes in Selling" on his blog. Number four on the list is about reacting to your clients rather than responding.

This common mistake pops up when your customer says something like "Your price is too high." At this point, "salespeople often switch into a defensive mode, thinking about a past experience with a similar customer, and react accordingly," says Rosen. "Remember that re-action is any action you have taken before. So, if you are continually reacting from the 'same place' you are going to continue to generate the same result."

"'Your price is too high' is not a question you need to defend," explains Rosen. "Instead of answering it, respond with a question such as, 'Before you ask me why my price is high, why do you feel the other price you got is lower?'"

Switch your thinking from a "react" mindset to a "respond" mindset and you'll see the difference in your relationships with your customers, and your sales.

Keith Rosen, The Executive Sales Coach, is one of the foremost authorities on how to assist people achieve positive, measurable change in their attitude and in their behavior. He is a well known and engaging author, speaker, and coach. Learn more by visiting Keith's website at www.profitbuilders.com.

A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea

Motivator and speaker Bob Burg has written a new book with co-author John David Mann called The Go-Giver. It's an eye-opening parable about Joe, a harried young salesperson on the brink of failure. He's short on his quota - with just a week left in the quarter. Prospects are dim - that is until Joe meets the enigmatic "Chairman" whose friends reveal to Joe the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success, with intriguing results. Think The Celestine Prophesy for business people.

If you're not happily accomplishing what you want in your career, and earning what you deserve, you owe it to yourself to read The Go-Giver. It will change how you think about success and what it takes to manifest it.

Today only, they are having a one-day sale where you can get the book at a 20% discount and receive a $297 set of amazing videos for free! This is over ten hours of world-class training videos recorded at the "Extreme Business Makeovers 2007" event with people like Bob Proctor, Bo Short, Cameron Johnson and Stephanie Frank. Visit http://www.thegogiver.com/amazon today!

Help the Gatekeeper Out to Reach the Decision-Maker

As someone who has worked as a receptionist, I know how difficult it can be to evaluate whether or not to transfer a call to your boss - especially when you're told "I'm a close, personal friend" or "He's expecting my call, we spoke this morning" (when you really didn't!).

You don't need to resort to lies to get past the gatekeeper - being friendly and having a concise value proposition does wonders! You can also appeal to the receptionist with the following approach from sales trainer and author Andrea Sittig-Rolf:

Receptionist: "ABC Company, how can I direct your call?"

Salesperson: "Hi, my name is Andrea Sittig-Rolf and I'm with Sittig Incorporated. I'm hoping you can help me. I'm looking for the person in your organization who would make a decision regarding sales training. That wouldn't be John Jones, would it?"

Receptionist: "Oh no, that wouldn't be John Jones, that would be Bob Smith."

Salesperson: "Great! Can I talk to Bob, please?"

Receptionist: "Sure, I'll transfer you."

"Believe it or not, most of the time, this technique works and will get you to the person you need to talk to," says Sittig-Rolf. "The idea is that the receptionist doesn't want to bother John Jones, the CEO, with a cold call from a salesperson. It's almost a relief for her to be able to transfer you to Bob Smith, someone below John Jones on the org chart at the company."

Sittig-Rolf continues, "Even if you are unable to speak to Bob Smith during this particular phone call, at least now you have the name of the person you need to talk to for the next time you call."

Andrea Sittig-Rolf is an author, public speaker, and entrepreneur. Her unique sales training program empowers salespeople to schedule appointments with qualified prospects the day of the training, resulting in a pipeline full of new opportunities at the end of the day. Learn more at www.sittiginc.com.

The "Goody Two Shoes" Approach to Networking

Many people mistakenly look at networking as collecting as many business cards as possible, or having a lot of contacts on LinkedIn. While it's great to have all those contacts, what happens when you call them? Hard to believe they're going to remember and want to help a person they barely talked to at a conference.

Networking and motivation expert Josh Hinds has seen this situation many times, and offers advice to help you build a network built on value and trust.

"One of the hardest things for people who are beginning to embrace professional networking to grasp is that it's not simply about sharing their product or service, but rather about first building some basic rapport with the person they've just met," says Hinds. "It's about creating value for others first."

"This 'goody two shoes' approach to networking ensures that you will not only be thought of in a favorable light - you will remain there for as long as you're willing to commit to keeping that connection going. The more value you create for the people you connect with - the greater the likelihood that they will not only end up a customer of yours, they'll even seek you out as a trusted advisor when they have a need that they feel you might be able to help them with."

Here are some of Hinds' tips for building value with those you meet:

• Upon the initial meeting, take a sincere interest in the other person first. Then let them know that you're always meeting new people and would be willing to keep an eye out for potential sources of business for them - you can even ask what their ideal prospect would look like. Be careful - you can't just give this idea lip service - you have to be sure to actually send referrals their way as you run across them.

• Be on the lookout for things of interest to the folks in your network - and pass them along to them. It's a terrific way to stay in touch, while being valuable to others.

• Every so often drop a quick e-mail, greeting card, or note to someone you may not have touched base with in a while. Something as simple as 'It's been a while so I just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you' can do wonders to position yourself in a favorable light.

• Be on the lookout for opportunities that will be of benefit to those in your network. Doing so is as easy as keeping your eyes open for news you might read, or listening to what others have to say.

Josh Hinds is a speaker, trainer, and author on topics such as networking and personal branding. Check out his popular newsletter at www.GetMotivation.com.

Quote of the Week

"If you are not moving closer to what you want in sales (or in life) you probably aren't doing enough asking." -- Jack Canfield

It's as simple as that: ask for what you want. If you've given a great presentation, answered all your prospect's questions, created value, and feel your prospect would benefit from your solution, then ask for the sale! You'd be surprised how few salespeople do this. Your prospects will be impressed with your confidence.

SalesDog Quick Tip

It's the beginning of a brand new year. If you're like most salespeople, you've probably made a resolution to work harder to achieve your goals. While we encourage you to do this, we also want to stress that working smarter is even better than working longer. You'll work smarter using this quick tip from sales expert Jill Konrath.

"Always debrief your sales calls," says Konrath. "This is the only way you can get better."

Ask yourself:

• What went well?
• Where did I run into problems?
• What could I do next time to get even better results?

Implement this strategy, and you'll get more effective results.

Today's tip comes from Jill Konrath, Chief Sales Officer of Selling to Big Companies.