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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Sales Tweet #159

by Rick Baker
On Feb 24, 2011
Sales Tweet #159 The Boss thinks Ernest Seller knows how to do one thing well - repeat mistakes.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
And, would you believe it…the Boss put that into one of Ernest’s performance reviews. When the Human Resource Department saw it they shook their heads.

Tags:

Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

Am I a salesperson?

by Rick Baker
On Feb 23, 2011
(The Am I a Sales Person? quiz)
 
Some folks are horrified by the thought they will be placed in a sales role. Some folks are horrified to have the word sales on their business card. Some folks are horrified to have the word sales at the top or in the body of their role description. “What! I have to show people I am a salesperson – what a stigma…what an embarrassment!
 
The energy sector got around the problem by calling its commercial folks ‘originators’. [That sure cleared things up.]
 
Other folks argue everyone does sales. “You wanna talk your kids into doing this or that – well, that’s sales.” Or, “You and your spouse disagree about your next vacation spot – well, that’s gonna require some sales too!”
 
Gitomer says something like, “People hate to be sold, but people love to buy”. And, he has written many sales-help books, including a Sales Bible.
 
Anyhow, the debate - to sell or not to sell - rages on.
 
Regardless of all the stress and strain around being called a salesperson or the logic around selling versus enabling people to buy, the root question remains – Am I a salesperson?
 
If that is your question then you will want to answer it!
 
You will want to know whether or not you are a salesperson.
 
But, how will you know for sure?
 
Here’s a way to start: you can take ‘The Am I a Sales Person? quiz’:
 
It goes like this…
 
The Am I a Sales Person? quiz
 
The perfect scores are 0 and 100…ie, extreme scores, one at each end of the spectrum. 100 means you really are a salesperson. 0 means you really are not a salesperson. [So, if you score below 0 you must round up to 0. If you score over 100 you must round down to 100.]
  1. Start by giving yourself 50 points. That proves you have an open mind on the topic. No matter what outcome, you will have the comfort of knowing the quiz started at even keel.
  2. If you are still reading this Thought Post then add 20 points.
  3. If that last line was the final straw and you have now quit reading then subtract 40 points.
  4. Check your calendar – from today forward, how many hours are booked as sales calls? If there are less than 6 hours then you could be a salesperson. On the other hand, you could be a troubled sales manager. Use your judgment on this one: either add or subtract 15 points.
  5. Do you have a goal to generate Profit for your organization? If you answer ‘absolutely, and I know those numbers’ add 50 points. If you answer ‘I think my boss mentioned something like that once’ subtract 25 points. If you aren’t sure then stop taking this test and either find such a goal or agree to a score of 0.
  6. Do you wish you had closed a sale last week? If your answer is ‘sort of’ then add 10 points and buy a motivational CD. If your answer is ‘no’ then add 25 points and take a day off next week. If your answer is ‘yes – very much so’ then subtract 25 points and buy a how-to-sell CD.
  7. Check your calendar again – if you have less than 6 sales meetings booked and you have tremendously skilled support folks who do that sort of detail work to keep you on track then add 35 points.
  8. When you see those front-door signs that say something like ‘No Solicitation’ do you wish you had a new job…if your answer is even close to ‘yes’ then subtract 75 points.
  9. If you have decided to ignore the limitation of a maximum score of 100 for this quiz and insist you scored more than 100 then give yourself another 25 bonus points.
  10. Do you read and retweet @WFCRickBaker ‘Daily Sales Tweets’ to business friends? Score as many points as you want…I appreciate having you as a follower on Twitter.

Sales Tweet #158

by Rick Baker
On Feb 23, 2011
Sales Tweet #158 Ancient advice: better to have broad mind than long face.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Body language is a powerful source of communication. While none of us wants to be robotic or unnatural, there are times when we should refrain from wearing our feelings on our faces.

Tags:

Humour | Thought Tweets | Wisdom: Surviving the Test of Time

A CEO does only three things

by Rick Baker
On Feb 22, 2011
That’s what I read on a ‘scroll’ in my friend’s office last week.
 
My long-time friend, Rob Kirkby, founder of Energy Advantage, has a plaque standing a few feet from his desk and chair. The scroll on that plaque caught my attention. I asked if I could take a picture and write a Thought Post about it.
 
Rob agreed…
 
Here is the picture…taken with my BlackBerry
 
A CEO does only three things:
 
Obviously, I was in a bit of a rush…the picture is a bit fuzzy.
 
Here’s what the scroll says:
 
A CEO does only three things
 
Sets the overall vision and strategy of the company and communicates it to all stakeholders.
 
Recruits, hires, and retains the very best talent for the company.
 
Makes sure there is always enough cash in the bank.”
 
Business Leaders spend much time thinking about best practices. I know Rob is a very thoughtful fellow…there is no question he has spent much time thinking about best practices, including the best practices of his role - the CEO.
 
When I saw ‘Rob’s scroll’ my first two thoughts were about key success factors and vital signs for business performance. Key Success Factors are the very-most-important things we must get right in order to succeed in business. Vital Signs are our way of describing specific business tasks we must monitor if we are to achieve our Goals in order to succeed in business.
 
When I saw ‘Rob’s scroll’ it was clear Rob had decided key success factors and the daily vital activities for his CEO role. I say daily vital activities because Rob can not avoid seeing his scroll every day, every time he sits at his desk. So, his scroll stands as a constant reminder…Rob’s benchmark for action.
 
For me: ‘Rob’s scroll’ provided an excellent reminder about many things required for excellent Business Leadership… recognize what’s most important…keep it simple…monitor daily vitals…remind yourself…breed good habits…and lead by example.
 
Thanks for this great illustration of leadership, Rob!
 
A link to Energy Advantage’s website: www.energyadvantage.com

Tags:

Entrepreneur Thinking

Sales Tweet #157

by Rick Baker
On Feb 22, 2011
Sales Tweet #157 Ernest Seller has a lot of big ideas...that's why his head often becomes swelled.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Here's an example of Ernest's thinking: the difference between antiques and junk depends on who is selling what to whom.

Tags:

Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

Sales Tweet #156

by Rick Baker
On Feb 21, 2011
Sales Tweet #156 Trying times... the terrific time to try.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
If you need any help with that, heres a link to a book I found to be helpful - http://www.jeffblackman.com/growthtools/stopwhining.htm

Tags:

Beyond Business | Thought Tweets

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