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Article ArchiveThese articles are organized into five areas: You are free to use material from these articles in whole or in part on your web site, eZine (email newsletter) or other publications as long as you include the attribution below and also let us know in advance where the article will appear.
"This article is by Michael Stammer of JUMProductions. Michael's web site is a comprehensive resource on selling for companies that want to sell more, easily. For free sales resources and results oriented tools visit http://www.jumproductions.com."selling
Get Your Business Cookin'!
Do you know what it costs you to get out of bed every day? Here are three steps to creating a "cookbook" knowing what that number is and for managing your behavior to be sure you reach your goals....
Dealing with Problems Up Front
A common problem people have in sales (and with life in general) is not effectively dealing with problems that keep occurring over and over again....
"Just send me some literature!"
Before you invest money, time and emotional energy be sure that you have an agreement with the other person about the next step....
How to Avoid The 10 Most Common Selling Mistakes
These are some of the most common mistakes salespeople make....
Five Hidden Weaknesses .... that, once overcome, will dramatically improve sales
Recognizing these weaknesses is the first step in dealing with them....
Growing Your Referral Tree
When you really understand the impact that referrals can have on your business you will do to great lengths to growth them. See if this article doesn't convince you of their value....
Artful Follow-ups
Ten simple steps to help you follow up more effectively....
A Week of Excuses
I thought I would have some fun and see if I could come up with a simple list of reasons NEVER to make a call ANY TIME of ANY DAY, just in case you need some excuses....
Orange Juice - Dealing With Negative Customers
If there is anything most of us really hate to deal with it’s the difficult, angry, irate customer. They can test us, scare us, infuriate us. But they can also be the greatest potential for business. Let me tell you the story of Barbara....
The Three Big Questions
These core questions that I address both as a coach and as a salesperson....
Play Your Own Game
Suzie's team had lost. But she still knew she was a winner because she had played at a new level, a level where she had never played before.... marketing
That Was a Talbot's Ad?
My wife received a very odd and very expensive piece of mail a few days ago. I know it was expensive, because first class postage, heavy cardstock, and full color photographic printing don’t come cheap these days. I knew it was odd as soon as I saw the look on her face....
A Lady of Letters
I've been knocking around the personal and business development industry for over twenty years and I regularly get reminders that it's not the "rocket science" stuff that creates success....
I Didn't Know You Do That
A few months ago I was talking to a friend I've known for about five years. I mentioned in passing some sales training I was doing for a group. "I didn't know you do sales training," he said. Now how did I had let that happen....
Too Little, Too Late
From the first day I met her I recognized that she was going to be successful. What puzzles me is the lack of “getting it” shown by her bosses. They have essentially driven a loyal high producing salesperson right into the arms of their competition....
Mother-in-Law's Foot
The tests were inconvenient. We were all exhausted from the driving and the waiting. But we were happy to do it because Dr. Brill was treating her like a HUMAN rather than as a CASE.... life skills
End of the World (Again)
Now is the time to turn to the core values that define who you are as an individual and as a company. Look to your customers good as your personal mission. Find out what they really want from you, for themselves and what they are dreaming of and fearfully avoiding. That is the kind of passion that will keep you at the top of their mind and, most importantly, in their hearts....
Souvenirs and Celebrations
It's bad news when the Statue of Liberty won't sell....
Get the Real Message - some tips on better communication
What do a grade school nurse, a software engineer and a corporate coach all have in common? The answer is that all three have lived the experience of receiving messages that were never actually sent....
"I Don't Like Beans!"
One beautiful spring morning Adrienne was in her garden watering and suddenly she realized: "I don't LIKE beans!" Yet she had gone out or her way to plant them....
The Woodcutter
There once was a man traveling through a forest who came upon a woodcutter hard at work. The traveler could see that the woodcutter was obviously a powerful and dedicated tradesman....
OK. Just sit there and BE mad!
I found Millicent yowling in a large planter outside my apartment window at 3 AM one spring morning in 1975. She weighed about 7 ounces, was covered with fleas and looked like some kind of cantankerous punk-spiked white rat....
Let People Know What You Want
Suddenly, small gifts began to show up at the writer's home or workplace that were zeroed in on her special interest. Some of the items came from people with whom she had corresponded, some from those whose own blogs she referred to in her journal. Each was on-target to her preferences and completely unexpected....
Use the Difficulty
The director started yelling at actor Michael Cain and told him, "Use the difficulty!" Caine, of course, had no idea what the director was talking about....
Doing the Right Thing
In his book "The Man Who Listens to Horses," Monty Roberts tells the story of his early days starting his own horse ranch. He really knew horses and had a special way of gentling them instead of the traditional and violent method....
Hope is Not a Strategy
About a year ago a man came into a training I was doing totally pumped about an account that he expected to land. I recognized the danger signals of euphoria in him, almost always a message to me that there is something wrong....
Lost and Found
Sometimes the answer is just so obvious you can't past your own upset to find it....
15-Minute Workday
Bern was a veteran of the brutal enterprise of door-to-door selling. When it’s hot, you're hot. When it’s cold, you're cold. And every day you have to be on those doorsteps, one right after another, whether anyone likes you or not, if you intend to eat....
Going for the Win
Winning or losing can be come a habit. It’s largely a state of mind and what shows up in the “real” world is just a reflection of what is going on inside. And once you get a taste of what winning is like you never want to let it go.... growing the company
When the company doesn't need another you
If you're attentive (and honest), you may be surprised by how often you want to make yourself the centerpiece of talk that rightfully belongs to the firm....
Felix The Flying Frog
"That's man for you. Blaming on his shoes the faults of his feet" from Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett....
First and Last(ing) Impressions
David Thomas, the CEO of Wendy's, put an apron on over his suit and ran the grill so that the manager could run the store and take care of the customers.... networking
Social Capitalism
I asked Lee how she was able to do so easily what for so many people in the room seemed to be a struggle. "I spend two hours every week just thinking of how I can put other people together" was her reply. That works out to about 24 minutes a day, which adds up to 100 hours a year - the equivalent of two and a half workweeks every year....
How to Give and Get Better Leads (tips for networking and leads groups)
Members of networking teams are measured for the number and quality of leads given. There are two kinds of leads....
Tips for Effective Networking
Just a few tricks of the trade....
12 Step Networking Program...How to Effectively Work a Room
My special "12-Step" Program....