OK.  So you are ready to make a few phone calls and see if you can get an appointment with a prospective client.  You get the mandatory liquid beverage, arrange your legal pad and pens, go to the john, pick up the phone, put it down again, go out in the hall to talk to ..anyone..and, finally go back to your desk. 

STOP!  Before you make that call and get stymied by the gatekeeper (He’s not in, on vacation, cannot met with anyone till 2010), lets go exploring.

Why?  ‘Cause the more yu know about the person and the company, the more likely you will be able to charm the gatekeeper and, later, the prospect.

Google, google, google.  Look at all the media data on file.  Note important tidbits.  Google the persons name.  Make notes and have a few questions as a result of the search.

As Jeff Gitmer says in The Little Red Book of Sales Answers:  "Everything you need to know about a customer has been written by them or about them.  And it lives on the Internet.  All you have to do is uncover it.  AND USE IT."

It is getting so scary out there that sometimes I just want to cover up my head and cry. 

Then I remember all the triumps of the past when the situation was dark and bleak.  I overcame and went forward because I AM ENTREPENEUR.  And, so are you.  Read the piece at http:/blogmaverick.com/2008/10/23/the-cure-to our-economic-problems/  and see if you don’t feel better. 

Keep the Faith.

That’s right, I said 2009.  Even though you are knee deep in garland for Holiday 2008, I’m asking you to focus just a tiny bit on 2009.  Here’s the deal.  Plan on visiting your local Target, Walmart, Home Depot and so on sometime around the week before the actual Holiday.  This is the very best time to pick up sale items for…..next years Holiday. 

Of course, you have to be careful.  You don’t want to spend too much or purchase stuff that isn’t standard Holiday, prelit trees etc.  And you definitely don’t want a bunch of stuff that you will have to walk around for the next ten months because you are cramped for space.  BUT, if you have the space, buy judiciously, and have the extra bucks, you can save a bunch of money now. 

Just make sure you follow the above rules.  Happy Holidays. 

Yep, about once a month or so I takeJeffrey Gitomer’s Red Book of Sales Answers and read a chapter or two.  Like caviar, it is best enjoyed in small quantities and savored. 

It is small (less than 200 pages),  so it is not intimidating,  It is Red so it can be easily spotted.  It is well organized so it can be easily followed.  And, it is full of Sales Humor which is not just good for a chuckle but, also, helps embed  the message/lesson in your mind.  The old "one picture" maxim, if you will. 

I could regurgitate chapter and verse from this little gem but, instead, I suggest that if you did not pick it up when I first mentioned…do so now.  And , if you did and it has been a while since you read a chapter, do so now.  The crazy season (Holiday) is almost upon us and you need to start to fill the pipeline for green biz in January.  Start by energizing your SALES mind.  Now go out there and get ‘em, Tiger.

I just found out that a project I’ve been working on is most probably going to happen and its a Biggie.  Found out as I was driving down the highway alone in the car.  My first impulse was to open the windows and yell the news to passing cars; that’s just how excited I was. 

We All Need a Cheerleader   If you have co-workers, a significant other, or a close friend, you already have a cheerleader.  Someone who is there to smile, pat you on the back, give you the hi-five, and just tell you how fabulous you are.  This kind of response is better than a day at a Spa.  It also encourages you to repeat the performance and helps smooth over the times when things didn’t go so well.

Think about who acts as a cheerleader in your life and for whom you are the cheerleader.  Thank them.  Without our cheerleaders….the successes just would not be so sweet and the bad stuff would be even worse.  Now go out there and get ‘em, Tiger.