First, I'd like to give kudos to the person on LinkedIn who made mention of "investing" in yourself. Can't remember who it was and it might have been Earl Everson. Earl, if it was you, thanks for giving me the idea to write about "investing in your sales career". If it wasn't you, I'll have to make sure that I thank that person.
Okay, first, I'm not much for doing videos. I like videos but don't enjoy seeing myself in them. Does anyone else feel that way? I guess I just like to write. Do you invest in yourself to further your sales career?
Investing in yourself can come in many flavors. Purchasing sales books, hiring a sales coach (something I never did, nor did I want to, guess I'm hard-headed), purchasing software, a new notebook, setting up a home office, the list goes on and on. One of the biggest investments you can make is in how to spend your time wisely. I recently caught a tip on LinkedIn that everything you do should be calendared. Setting a time for each task, whether it's 5 minutes or 30 minutes, will help you stay on track.
Throughout the years, I've never shied away from investing in something that will help me get better at what I love to do. One of my recent purchases is a Ricoh 65" Interactive Whiteboard and that is $4K investment that I will turn into thousands. The plan to is to develop videos using the board to help educate my clients on the benefits of having one, two or twenty!
Sales people
I'm amazed at how many salespeople in our industry don't make the investments that can lead them to the top of sales success. The opportunities are out there and a small monthly investment of only one hundred bucks per month or less can be the difference of always being at or above quota.
When was the last time you attended an industry event? When was the last time you wrote some type of content? When was the last time you used LinkedIn to increase your connections? When was the last time you posted something on LinkedIn? Why don't you have a client email list and send them educational content each week or each month? When was the last time you sent a client a thank you note for that recent order? When was the last time you gave a shout out for one of your favorite clients on LinkedIn? When was the last time you asked a client for referrals?
Most of the above questions only involve your time, why not take some time before or after work hours to invest in your sales career?
Constant Contact
Did you know that you can get a free 60-day trial for Constant Contact? After the first 60 days, the cost is only twenty bucks a month for 1-500 email addresses. Think, it's only 75 cents or so a day! If you ask, Constant Contact will actually do your first template for FREE. I've been using that same template for five years now. Once a week I send more than 2,000 emails to our Print4Pay Hotel members. Once a month I send to 30 of my top Stratix accounts. These are the accounts that I need to stay in front of. Out of sight equals out of mind!
LinkedIn Pulse
It's free! A place to write and share your blogs on LinkedIn. I know at least six people that write a blog each week on LinkedIn. Not me, because I do it here, but all of these people have kept at it week in and week out. Those people are now very successful and have developed some outstanding numbers of followers and connections. What's the key? Commitment, week in week out, set aside the time and don't stop after three months. It's a long-term commitment, but after 12 months, you'll probably gain thousands of connections and followers.
Video
Getting more and more popular every day. Still not sure if video is for me, but I've been toying with the idea. Check out Earl Everson, Larry Levine, or Dale Dupree; they've all made the time commitment and dedication to "keep on posting" (ah, that should be my line). Each one of them has thousands if not tens of thousands of connections. It's not easy, but what the heck in this life is easy?
You Owe it to Yourself
Why am I in sales? Have you ever asked yourself that question? I certainly have and the answers keep coming back the same.
- I love helping clients
- I enjoy solving problems
- I enjoy making what I want when I want
- I'm in control of my own finances
Make the investments whether it's time, a product, a book, a coach, a trip, software; it will be worth its weight in GOLD.
-=Good Selling=-
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