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My brother was sitting at the gate waiting to board the plane. He would be travelling overseas to study for the next six months. As his “big” brother he asked me for some ‘words of wisdom’ that can help him make the most of his time abroad.

 

I gave him the following challenge:

meet someone new quote

A man by the name of Steinar Skipsnes took on a New Year’s Resolution in 2016 to meet someone new every day of the year. I invite you to read about his full experience here.

 

Since reading about his experience I have urged my salespeople to take on the challenge – at least for 30 days.

 

Here’s why (and I quote from Steinar):

 

“At the beginning of the year, before approaching someone, my heart would start pounding and I’d have this internal dialogue of, “I don’t want to do this… this is uncomfortable… how’s this going to play out?”

 

But I was committed. I was determined to push through any fear to see what could happen.

 

Lesson learned: The fear of rejection is way overrated.

 

Fearing a lion makes sense. Fearing a situation that you could face rejection in doesn’t, yet so many of us do.

 

Why?

 

We care too much about our egos. We care too much about what people think of us (people we’ll never see again!). It’s ridiculous and irrational, but it’s reality.

 

The fear of rejection does nothing but limit us. It does nothing but put self imposed handcuffs on us that impact our decisions and limit our potential, when there is nothing but upside. It’s all about perspective.

 

For example, if you ask someone something and they say “no,” then great, that just gave you an experience interacting with someone that you can adjust in the future for a better outcome. It gave you an experience that, compiled with others, will help you overcome any negative feeling that you now feel from rejection. If the person says, “yes” — fantastic, a door is open to something you’d never have otherwise experienced.

 

After this sunk in for me, approaching people became a completely different world. The nervousness fell away, and I no longer felt a sting of rejection when someone said “no” or walked away.”

 

To really discover your full potential, you have to accept rejection, not fear it, but learn from it. To get comfortable with it, you have to dive in head first and experience it because like a virtuous circle, the more you experience it, the more it loses its power, and the more it loses its power, the more free you become to accomplish whatever it is you want.

 

If you remember nothing else from reading my blogs, please remember this. It will change your life.

 

Happy Tuesday & Happy Selling!

Kevin

Meet Someone New Every Day!

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We’ve seen these 3 words before.

 

We’ve seen – and written – these 3 words before.

 

“Just checking in…”

 

But is that true? We’re not just checking in. We’re actually trying to accomplish something!

  • We’re desperate to hit our quota
  • We’re lost on how to re-connect with prospects
  • We’re trying to close that deal that seems stuck

 

So we send the dreadful “just checking in” email.

 

The problem is: they don’t work.

 

Prospects feel like you’re virtually ‘poking them’, making them reluctant to answer. So not only is it unlikely to get a response, you can even turn prospects against you.

 

Here is the key: make sure each follow up email adds another piece of value or information to the prospect. It’s not easy! I can personally attest to sometimes sitting 15 – 20 minutes thinking – what more can I share with this prospect than I haven’t already told them – before sending off my follow up email.

 

Here are just two examples of how to replace the “just checking in”:

 

  • I read just your blog / article / LinkedIn post (look up something about your prospect before emailing)

I was thinking about how much this product/service can really make a difference…

 

blog

 

Another idea that I find gets a high response rate is to send along a funny cartoon or gif with your follow up email. It does help if the cartoon is applicable to the subject at hand (which is not always easy to find ;)).

 

Happy Tuesday & Happy Selling!

Kevin

No, You’re Not “Just Checking In”!

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I admit. I am as guilty as they come. I used to start all my emails with “I hope you’re doing well”.

 

Anyone who gets a lot of email is familiar with the stock “I hope you are doing well.” It’s the business email equivalent of small talk that begins with “How are you?” We all know that etiquette requires us to answer with “I’m fine. How are you?” The line is so ubiquitous it’s become meaningless.

 

While many opt for completely doing away with the niceties and getting right down to business, for those of you too formal, here are some alternatives:

 

  1. Something personal. “I read your article about [topic] on [website] last week. You hit the nail on the head when you said…”

 

  1. Value their time. “I know you’re swamped, so I’ll be brief.”

 

  1. Small Talk. “How are things in New York? I hope you’re keeping cool during the heat wave.” or “Hope your summer’s off to a great start. Is it vacation time yet?”. How about “Hey, it’s Friday! I hope you have some cool plans for the weekend.”

 

Well my dear friend, I’ll skip the formalities and just sign off… (we still have to work on the “Sincerely’s”)

 

Happy Tuesday & Happy Selling!

Kevin

Hope You’re Doing Well?!

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