Archive for Sales
House Beautiful’s Kitchen of the Year 2010
Posted by: | Comments
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid96360194001?bclid=91018212001&bctid=105241440001
On July 19, House Beautiful’s Kitchen of the Year 2010 honor was given to a kitchen designed by Jeff Lewis of Bravo show Flipping Out. Lewis, who is in the business of real estate sales, created a modern kitchen tailored to his own needs. His story reveals helpful rules for kitchen design:
1) Make it personal. (Use your own sense of style.)
2) Make it functional. (The practical use of space should dictate the choice of cabinets, islands, fixtures, and accessories.)
3) Make it inviting. (The kitchen tends to become the family or living room of the home, particularly on entertaining occasions. Everybody loves to congregate around food and refreshments.)
1.7 million iPhone 4’s sold!
Posted by: | Comments
In its first 3 days of sales, Apple’s iPhone 4 was purchased 1.7 millions times over in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Japan. The demand for the iPhone 4 exceeded the supply, however, and CEO Steve Jobs extended an apology to those customers who will have to do some waiting.
What is remarkable about Apple’s new product launch is the people behind the phone. The winning formula of any successful company is the quality and commitment of its workforce. According to business management consultant Tom Peters, there are no “bit players.”
“Totally Committed People Surging Toward Unimaginable Personal Enterprise Growth Opportunities Win” (#96 of The Little BIG Things)! In the business world, successful product launches are made possible by a team of outstanding men and women, not robots.
Real Estate sees pink
Posted by: | Comments
A generation ago, women needed male co-signers to purchase homes. Today, females comprise about 21% of borrowers (a jump from 17% in 1998). And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women surpassed men on payroll in 2009 for the first time in history. These are just a few of the remarkable trends noted in The Wall Street Journal. (”The Ladies’ Turn: Hungry to jump-start sales, more home builders are aggressively targeting women buyers. Will they bite?”)
How has the real estate market responded? Some builders are changing their strategies by offering massages, yoga, and cooking demos to bring female buyers through the door. The downside of the seemingly good news about women being empowered to buy is that obtaining mortgages today is more difficult for one-income applicants. And, women may end up paying more for mortgages than men, according to The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics.
With this shift, one thing remains steady — builders need to consider the values of both men and women when designing homes that pull at the heartstrings.
Social media and security
Posted by: | Comments
With the rise of social media use, businesses have to consider strategies for protecting their intellectual property and sensitive data. Sophos, a security firm, discovered that 60% of the 500 businesses polled believe Facebook to present the largest threat to company security. That does not go to say that Facebook has had more security woes than Twitter, MySpace, or LinkedIn. But the perception stands that Facebook is the octopus that reaches into more homes and businesses than any other social media platform currently on the internet.
Businesses will not likely block employee access to social media sites, primarily because these sites are increasingly used for marketing and sales tactics. Since social media lends itself to the casual exchange of information, now is the time for companies to create a chapter in the procedures manual — “Best practices for social media on the job.”
Rising toward success
Posted by: | Comments
Zig Ziglar once said, “The number one tool in your sales arsenal is your integrity.” In the media, we hear stories of how great business people or public figures fall, on account of an ethical or moral misstep.
Dr. Henry Cloud (Integrity: The Courage To Meet the Demands of Reality) argues that successful individuals embody three things — 1) A core set of Competencies, 2) Ability to build Alliances, and 3) Character.
Who a person is will ultimately determine if their brain, talents, competencies, energy, effort, deal-making abilities, and opportunities will succeed.
Integrity is not the thing that saves you; it’s the thing that makes you rise toward success.
The Difference Between Sales Success and Failure
Posted by: | Comments
Last week, I asked the question, “Is the sales mindset shifting?”
I want you to know exactly where I stand.
Selling is about being tough, confident, smart, adaptable, competitive, strategic, active, compelling, aggressive, professionally persistent, solution oriented, and slightly empathetic… It’s about hunting, and it’s about closing! If anyone is hoping to hear about a warm, fuzzy, cozy, softy approach to sales… it won’t come from me.
Sales people who win focus on…
- Cold Calling – This is the toughest part of sales. 1st priority… “opening the call”. Get that right and you will win!
- Emailing – Keep it short, sweet, and compelling.
- Follow Up – Provide a continuous flow of updates, new information, ideas, and solutions!
- Building Rapport – Making a connection, building trust
- Uncovering Needs – Asking great questions
- Applying Solutions – Matching appropriate products and services, building value
- Overcoming Objections – Understanding the real issues and easing prospect concerns
- Closing – Think like a bulldog… act like a kitten… get the deal!
Sales people who fail focus on…
- Not Being Intrusive - Don’t worry about being intrusive. You’re either going to get the deal or you’re not. Make yourself a priority!
- Waiting to Hear Back - The top performer you are competing against isn’t “waiting to hear back.”
- Ratio of Calls to Appointments – If you are focused on ratios and percentages… you will lose. To win, focus on volume and “end result” goals!
- Networking Events – Please stop inviting me to these… they are a waste of time!
- Keeping Things Tidy – Is it just me, or do non-performers have the cleanest desks?
- Too Much Empathy – Sales people with high empathy don’t succeed.
- Research – Your best research and fact finding happens while sitting in front of your prospect.
- Being Perfect - You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to win!
What else would you add to these success and failure lists?
Check Out These Related Articles!
Is the Sales Mindset Shifting?
Posted by: | Comments
I’ve been thinking about things, and you know how I get when I’ve been “thinking about things.” Of course, I have to share it with all of you and get your opinion!
I’m wondering about mindset, and how sales people think. To share what I mean, I’ve got a couple of examples…
Recent Conversation:
I was talking to one of our business partners who I brought into a potential deal. I asked him…
“Have you been able to reach the prospect to discuss your services?”
“No,” he responded, and informed me that he had left one message.
To which I replied, “I’ll make another call as soon as I get back to the office.”
And he said, “As long as we’re not being intrusive… right?”
Recent Email Exchange:
I recently had an email conversation with someone who shared these thoughts…
“My feeling is that most people would prefer email communication over phone for several reasons:
- They can deal with it on their own time.
- They don’t have to feel pressured
- They don’t have to feel guilty for deleting an email where they might feel uncomfortable saying no on the phone.
- A prospect deleting my email means I can email them again later with a slightly different message… where I wouldn’t feel comfortable calling again after an outright no.”
Articles I’ve Read:
I’ve run across articles about “lead nurturing,” and most recently stumbled upon a blog post encouraging us to, “Stop Hunting Customers and Penetrating Markets – Start Speaking the Language of Caring.”
Ok, so I think I’ve shared enough examples to start asking questions. Is it possible for a sales person to do both… on one hand…
- Worry about being intrusive
- Be willing to have prospects deal with it on their own time
- Have a stop hunting mentality
…and on the other hand… also have the ability to…
- Be mentally tough enough to overcome the brutal challenges and the rejection to consistently exceed quota every month
- Be persistent enough to stay in front of the prospect
- Be hungry about attacking the market to find new opportunities
Can a sales person effectively manage this double mindset?
Do the most successful sales people exude one mind set more than the other?
What about non-performers… do they relate to one line of thinking over the other?
Check Out These Related Articles!
Looking back at 2009 – the iPod
Posted by: | Comments
Whether we prefer classical or jazz, hip-hop or alternative, country or pop, we move to the beat of our chosen music, and today more than ever before, music is not only accessible but transportable. On October 21, 2008, Apple reported to have sold over 220 million iPods. Since October 2004, the iPod product line has enjoyed the lion’s share of U.S. digital music player sales (over 90% of the market for hard drive-based players).
With the invention of the iPod and other music devices, our favorite tunes are available on-demand. According to wiki-statistics, the top 5 recording artists (worldwide) include The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, ABBA, and Queen (in that order). A recent WSJ article announced that Bing Crosby’s rendition of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” is the top selling song of all time. Guinness World Records pronounced that sales of this 67-yr old song reached over 50 million copies, with album and other sales taking the total above 100 million (WSJ, “The Best-Selling Record of All,” Roy J. Harris Jr.).
Viewers of Nightline know the question sometimes posed to musicians, “What’s on your playlist”? The answer is often personal and thoughtful, offering viewers a pocket guide into someone’s musical soul.
All I want for Christmas is a snood!
Posted by: | Comments

It seems that Americans this winter season have a number of things on their mind — H1N1, the 10% unemployment rate, and an uncertain 2010. The fashion industry is good at setting trends. This time around, it seems to have measured human psychology by creating the SNOOD — an accessory that is half-scarf, half-hood.
A Wall Street Journal article, “Can the Snood Save Christmas?” highlights the appeal of this latest accessory. “I love this idea of protection that it gives,” says Burberry’s Christopher Bailey, and Gap’s Simon Kneen likened the snood to “a Linus blanket.”
Retailers hope that the snood will beef up holiday sales by offering women and men warmth, style, and a feeling of security. In a time when the 401K may be lackluster, the chic snood promises bang for your buck.
post by pathways




















