When Deals Stall...

Here are a series of questions to consider (thanks, Hubspot / Leslie Ye!):

1) If money and resources were no object, would you be willing to start with our product today?

2) What’s holding you back?

3) When would be a good time to buy?

4) What are your company’s other priorities right now?

5) How can I help you get the resources you need to sell this to the decision maker?

6) So is X goal no longer a priority for you?

7) What happens to those goals if you don’t act now?

8) When are you hoping to achieve X goals by?

9) If I call you back next quarter, what circumstances will have changed?

10) What’s going to be different next quarter?

11) How are you performing against your end-of-year goals [as they relate to your product]?

12) Here’s the timeline for ROI if we start in X months. Does that work for you?

Quote of the Week

"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
                                                                                               - Napoleon Hill

Coping with the Not-So-Good Days

One accomplishment leads to the positive energy needed for another. But what happens when accomplishments start to wane and the cause seems to be partially rooted in stress cause by outside forces?

Look within and push out those negative vibes. This too shall pass! Remember, you are a winner and you know it. You will do whatever it takes to make push things forward and make sure all the right pieces fall into place. Do more NOW - don't wait for your glow to be as bright as it was; it will come back.

See also: How to Recover from a Bad Sales Call

Euro Trip 2015!

It's been six years since my husband and I traveled to Europe. In 2009, we were incredibly lucky to stay in Boeblingen, Germany, for three months as he worked on a project. We traveled to many places during this duration - Constance, Paris, Interlaken to name a few of my favorite.

This year, we started our journey in Corfu, Greece, where we were met by other travelers from all over the world who were taking the same boat and bike trip through the Ionian Islands via a tour company called Island Hopping.

Our German hosts, Catharina and Patricia, were amazing and showed us many adventures and special places along the Ionian Sea. Pictures cannot do the scenery justice. The water was crystal clear and blue beyond belief, and the flora of Greece gave pleasure to the eyes. We spent eight days biking through mountains and celebrated over glorious views of islands and small villages.

Each night, our boat docked at a new place and we were given a history lesson before gorging on delicious Greek food, including the most flavorful tzatzki and feta cheese I've ever tasted.

We even danced, shouting Opa! when the opportunity came.

Our tourism was coming at an odd time for the Greek nation, as their debt crisis was making global news. However, the inhabitants of the remote locations we were visiting didn't seem phased. Overall, the Greek people we encountered were joyful, proud, and happy to share their beautiful scenery and culture with us.

Other highlights from our bike-centric excursion: seeing the Tour de France's start, riding Dutch bikes in Amsterdam, and experiencing Copenhagen's bike infrastructure firsthand.

Panagiota, the boat that carried us through the Ionian Islands -Island Hopping /InselHopfen Tours

SalesPro Milestones

+1 Lead Generated at a Networking Event
+1 Totally pleasant COLD CALL (it didn't turn into an Opp, but positive conversations fuel my day)
+1 Using Google Alerts for prospect company updates (+1 more for getting responses!)

How to Close a Sale in 8 Steps (HubSpot)

Wednesday inspiration from HubSpot (link):

Tweets to ponder...

Happy Monday! Here is a very inspiring Twitter feed to start your week:

https://twitter.com/DalaiLama