Birds Teach Me About Selling
I learned a lot about selling from the birds I tried to feed today
Your product or service must be wanted by a hungry audience.
Your audience wants to enjoy your product or service in surroundings of their choosing.
Your prospects won't become customers if they think the risk is greater than the potential reward.
Some prospects will never take what you give them even if it is perfect for them.
Sometimes your audience isn't hungry.
Are You Willingly Giving Away Your Freedom?
As we celebrate our nation's 233rd birthday this July 4, it is important to remember that our freedom came at a heavy price. Men and women who personally sacrificed and continue to sacrifice to provide us with liberty should be thanked and remembered in reflective thought and prayer. We are truly blessed to live in this most favored nation.
Yet every day we continue to sacrifice the freedom we have been so graciously provided. While each day we debate how current or past political climes have diminished our freedom, it is not the purpose of this writing. It is time to take a serious look at our individual freedom and how we willingly give it away when we become dependent upon a job. According to a recent article Why Americans hate their jobs, "A majority of Americans now say they are unhappy at work." (The Week January 7, 2010)
The greatest loss of freedom in America happens on Monday morning. Millions of people climb into their cars and funnel into the rat race. There they fight and struggle to maintain a lifestyle they have built based on the income provided by the job they have selected. Whether by ignorance, influence, or indifference, most employees have built an invisible yet totally effective cage they now live in. They are imprisoned by their jobs, trapped by the need to provide for a family and maintain a lifestyle.
The idea that each person is free is long forgotten. Each week many will fear the loss of "their job" not realizing it isn't theirs, it belongs to the employer and he or she has full control over who will own "their job". Sadly, many will find that even their employer has little or no control over who will stay and who will go as companies we never imagined would go out of business disappear from the landscape. Circuit City went from good to great to gone leaving thousands unemployed.
There is hope. We still enjoy individual freedom in this country and we should exercise our freedom with great vigor. We are free to choose where and if we will work and we're free to create our own work should we choose. Here are four steps to ensure you maintain your freedom:
- Find your passion. What is it that you were uniquely designed to do? Many will have to spend hours sifting through the years of work they have done for the money to get to the essence of who they really are. Everyone has a purpose. What is yours?
- Remember that you are the CEO of your own personal services corporation. You have the option to choose to sell your services to one client (your employer) or to open up your own shop to serve many. Entrepreneurship is the single greatest tool to ensure independence. The first step is to realize that you are already in business for yourself. Who do you choose as your customer?
- Examine your current line of work to find an opportunity. While you may not believe your current work is your passion, there is likely a good reason you chose to work in the field you are in. Is there a place where your passion and your experience intersect? That's where opportunity lies!
- Exercise your freedom. Don't remain trapped by the current situation. Think of the countless hours you likely waste each week that could be put to good use developing your own business that will provide added income, opportunity, and freedom.
Every person in the United States (the world for that matter) should approach his or her work as a business owner. How well are you using the resources you currently possess? Everyone has time, talent, knowledge, experience, expertise, passion, and property they can leverage to create greater value for their customer(s). That may mean becoming more valuable at your current job or opening a small business to serve others.
Honor the sacrifice made on your behalf by those men and women who provided you with freedom by approaching your work as a business owner. When you work at a job for one employer, give it your very best. No one ever created a better life by giving it anything less. You made the choice to work where you work. Remember that you are selling your services to your employer. You receive both money and experience as payment for your services. Learn how to do your work better than before and your services will be more valuable to your current employer, future employers, and future clients.
Treat your work as a business, and treat your business as an opportunity. Entrepreneurship is the greatest exercise of freedom.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Ask The Million Dollar Question
Asking questions skillfully and listening carefully can improve your networking and sales success. When you learn to ask The Million Dollar Question you can super-charge your results.
It’s called The Million Dollar Question because it can literally make you a millionaire. People from all walks of life find this one question to be so different from anything they have ever learned that they just can’t stop talking about the impact it has on their careers.
The Million Dollar Question cannot be asked as a stand alone question. It is used in the context of a conversation and only after a considerable amount of questioning skillfully and listening carefully. As your conversation continues, ask the person you're speaking with for their card and be ready to write notes on the back as you ask questions. Genuine interest is required to use the question wisely.
So what’s The Million Dollar Question?
“I’m in the public quite a bit, tell me (insert name), in the course of my day, how will I recognize a good prospect for you if I see one? (Yes, WOW is an appropriate response right now!)
You see, most people are so busy thinking about themselves and how they will benefit from this relationship that they fail to recognize that it is NOT about them, it is about the person they’re in front of. The person you are talking to will hesitate at first because this kind of question is so rarely asked. It shows you truly are interested in them.
Often people who are asked this question appear puzzled at first since they rarely come in contact with people who are genuinely interested in helping them. Do not despair. As you build your skill asking questions and listening to answers you’ll become adept at discovering ideal clients and prospects for the people you meet too.
Clearly you can see the benefit of asking The Million Dollar Question but remember that you must take care to record what you’ve learned. Be certain to record what you’ve learned about the person you just met on the business card you asked for earlier. While you don’t want to promise that you’ll be on the lookout for referrals, you will have implied that you are. And subconsciously your mind will go to work seeking a solution.
That’s it. While it seems simple it is rarely done and rarer still are those who do it regularly. If you do you will stand out from the crowd, be known as a caring connector, and people and resources will magically appear in your life.