I’m sure you’ve experienced frustrating seasons during your sales experience–you know: a rut, a plateau, a slump, a funk, an extended period of boredom…. You weren’t hitting your goals or your potential. During the summer, Chris Adams (one of our Sales Directors at Southwestern) called me and asked for some ideas-specifically, help in re-motivating or [...]
Southwestern Sales Talk
Currently Browsing Lee McCroskey
I formed my habits, and my habits formed my future. Whether it’s selling books with Southwestern in the summer, or recruiting friends back at school, or playing the piano, or speaking in public, if we practice long enough, we get good at it. Your habits are proficiencies born out of practice. Some are conscious, some [...]
“I’ve been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” –Mark Twain Twain had it right: your mind is powerful! (So is mine.) Our imagination can be a useful ally or a discouraging foe. How often do you worry or fret over the negative possibilities of a sales call? Or even avoid [...]
I don’t know if you’re a fan of Hell’s Kitchen. It’s the reality show where contestants compete to be the head chef in one of Gordon Ramsay’s famous restaurants. As I watch a number of presumably good chefs in the kitchen with Ramsay-turned-Lucifer, it’s amazing what his withering invective and saliva-spitting criticism can do to [...]
Not much time. But people we meet are forming opinions of us in as few as two seconds. The student booksellers with The Southwestern Company are keenly aware that when the door opens, those next seconds determine success or failure. In just two seconds, all of us are forming an impression—of a salesperson, a customer, or of a company. [...]
I’m a fan of Tony Robbins. Ever since I attended his one-day seminar (no fire-walking, thanks), I’ve enjoyed his psychological insights. As a sales trainer at The Southwestern Company, I’ve used his best-selling book, Awaken the Giant Within, at Sunday Meetings. It provides some useful insights about how to get in the right frame of [...]
I like simple–simple ideas, simple concepts. (Perhaps I am just simple.) Several years ago, I came across a recording from Dan Sullivan, president and co-founder of The Strategic Coach, based in Canada. His organization only coaches entrepreneurs who make six-figure incomes. In his audio, entitled “How the Best Get Better,” Sullivan states there are four ways [...]
Last week, I posted a short blog about behavior and goals, and how they had to match in order for you to feel purposeful and feel like you were making progress. I received an interesting query from one of our Southwestern student managers regarding habits: “Why do you suppose it’s so difficult to match one’s behavior and decisions to [...]
Recently I was meeting with one of our students who had sold books with The Southwestern Company for the summer. We chatted about his experiences and I congratulated him on what had been a challenging and rewarding time in our summer program. Then he asked for some advice on how to become a Great Presenter. [...]
Well, the season ended rather abruptly a couple weeks ago with a close and heartbreaking loss to the Ravens. I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to be there live. All the air seemed to leave LP Field as Kerry Collins, the quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, heaved his final pass to try and get a [...]
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