It’s time for a bit of good news….

The economy stinks. Unemployment has never been so high. The banks are crooks. Everyone is broke. Consumer confidence is at an all time low. There have never been so many foreclosures. All the foreclosures were done wrong. Wall street needs another bailout. There aren’t any jobs…. It’s so depressing! And that’s just the nightly news…what’s going on?
A conversation on a nationally syndicate talk show I heard on the radio last Friday got me thinking about this subject… The host mentioned that his wife was a Realtor in the Philadelphia area. The host talked about the conversation he had with his wife- that there were a lot of great homes on the market, that interest rates were at all time lows, and that she was working with a lot of buyers…but she was frustrated because she couldn’t get any of them to “pull the trigger”… Most Realtors ask “why is this, because it’s happening to me too.”
I, like the host, think it’s because of all the bad news that everyone is hit with everyday… From everywhere… Everyone is so pessimistic… There is no positive outlook… No confidence in the economy or the markets… No good news coming over the airwaves or the nightly news… But we all know it’s there! So it’s time to start hearing it. I for one am going to make a conscious decision to talk only about the good…anyone and everyone is talking about the bad… So who needs to hear more of it! Like ol’ blue eyes used to so, ” start spreadin’ the news….”!

Are you keeping a sales journal?

Are you keeping notes on your sales activities? Do you have a place to put ink to paper and track the what, when, who, why, and how of your daily interactions? Do you have notes on that customer or prospect? Do you track how many times you speak to them? Do you take notes on what works and what doesn’t when you make a call, or present a product, handle an objection, or make a pitch? Because if not, then you are missing more opportunities, and probably working many times harder, than you should be… Ever watch a baseball game where they show the manager and the pitching coach in the dugout? Usually, you see one or the other looking into a three ring binder- know what’s in there? Notes. Notes on every pitch that a batter has faced from every pitcher in their career, at every point in the game, and at every count in the at-bat. The notes are deep and meticulous? Why? So they know how to pitch the guy to get him out. Your notes on your prospects should be this in depth as well, so you know how to hit the home run. What did you say? How did you say it? What did you wear? What time of day or month was it? What worked and didn’t? You see, if you start keeping a sales journal, you’ll have a something to turn to when you can’t figure out a customer, or when you need a different technique to close- and it will help you see what works, and more importantly, what doesn’t. With a written journal of your sales, you’ll have a picture of your skills. Try it for 30 days… Guaranteed it will change your sales game…