Category: Uncategorized

  • 7/18/2025-On this day, Nadia got a 10

    Daily Quote

    “I don’t run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet.” Nadia Comăneci

    SKILL

    In 1976, at the age of 14, Nadia Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the Olympic Games in Montreal. (Uneven bars, if you’re curious.)

    At the same Games, she received SIX MORE perfect 10s for events en route to winning three gold medals.

    (Standing O, anyone??)

    So why is this important to you, Olympic Athlete Seller?

    Nadia’s accomplishments are a reminder to shoot for 10s.

    Nadia wasn’t competing for average. Neither are you.

    DO

    Nadia was the first gymnast to successfully perform an aerial cartwheel-back handspring series on the balance beam.

    What is your aerial cartwheel-back handspring?

    While you should always focus on “development areas”, don’t forget about your strengths. Today, think about one of your superpowers and plot a way to push it even further. Toward a 10.

    Aspire to be the person your manager turns to when needing a model for that one special skill that everyone else STINKS AT! Not you.

    OOMPH

    By now, you’re curious about what “perfect” looked like in 1976 to the gymnastic judges at the Montreal Games.

    Sit back and enjoy Nadia’s grace, athleticism, strength…and perfection in this highlight clip from her timeless Olympics performance.

  • 7/17/2025-10 weeks to win your Q3 goals

    Daily Quote

    “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” Thomas Jefferson

    SKILL

    To consistently rank in the TOP 10%, you must work on your non-revenue goals each day of the quarter. Most sellers take a goal vacation during the first 30 days of the quarter…but you’re not most sellers.

    A good example of your non-revenue goals is:

    “Grow Acme Inc by 25% this quarter,” and…

    “Improve my ability to deliver the company’s value proposition to different types and levels of buyers.”

    Acting on your non-revenue goals each day of a quarter will help you hit your revenue quota.

    DO

    Q3 is 16% done, so today’s DO is to put in serious time against your skill and account goals! Don’t spend another day this quarter not working on your goals.

    Review the goals you wrote a few months ago, move some boulders up the hill, and record your progress at the end of the day.

    If your goals need adjusting — even 16% into the measurement term — that’s okay. Edit them. Goals are meant to stretch you, and be attainable.

    OOMPH

    Stay as obsessed about hitting your non-revenue goals as you are with hitting your quota.

    And if you need a break from all the intense focus today, watch these crazy and funny futbol goals in this Short.

  • 7/16/2025-The 5-minute pitch meeting

    Daily Quote

    “Success doesn’t necessarily come from breakthrough innovation but from flawless execution.” Naveen Jain

    SKILL

    Even before Covid brought universal acceptance to PJ-wearing video meetings, interaction times between buyers and sellers have been shrinking.

    This is not a green light for you to cram more into less. Just the opposite. You must perfect time management F2F selling skills, and map out every minute of every meeting.

    Think of this new era as “parking meter selling*. With each passing minute that you demonstrate your ability to run a quality meeting, the buyer will reward you with more time. Say something smart or ask a strategic question that interests the buyer…another quarter gets dropped into the slot, offering more time in the exchange.

    DO

    Practice running a pitch meeting in five minutes. (If you can run a power-packed FIVE minute meeting, you certainly can do it in 10 or 15!)

    And because you’ll be judged more by the questions you ask versus the pitching you do, focus on researching your prospect’s business to ask the most relevant questions.

    “What is keeping you up at night?” should be replaced by, “I’ve studied the woo-woo initiative your company launched and learned XYZ….what is your assessment of your progress to date?”

    Follow that up with, “What do you need help with from partners like us?” and you’ll earn a few more minutes in the meeting.

    OOMPH

    So you got your customer to commit to a 5-minute “catch-up quickie.” Great.

    Now what?

    Good news: engagement techniques are the same if the meeting is five, 10, or 30 minutes long.

    If you can sit still for 12 minutes, you WILL be inspired by Charles Duhigg’s TED Talk titled, “The Science Behind Dramatically Better Conversations.”

    It’s a gem!

  • 7/15/2025-“You NEED to see this proposal.”

    Daily Quote

    “I passionately believe that it’s not just what you say that counts, it’s also how you say it – that the success of your argument critically depends on your manner of presenting it.” Alain de Botton

    SKILL

    You work hard to get to the proposal stage with your prospects, so why do you hit “send” and ask the proposal to close the deal for you?

    Proposals don’t close business. You close business.

    If you think your buyer is going to review your proposal the second you send it over, you’re mistaken. While it’s the most important thing to you at the moment, it’s not viewed that way by the buyer. (Sorry.)

    You must do everything possible to present your proposals personally to your prospects. Even if you get 5 minutes of their time on Zoom to review one crucial part of your proposal, that’ll make a big difference.

    DO

    Fight, scrape, claw, bite – or do all of it – to get time with your prospect to review some of your proposal. (Notice the emphasis on “some”.)

    This is where Champions can really help…and why it’s good to have junior Champs as well as senior Champs on your side.

    This approach relies on your ability to get your customer to commit to a 5-minute phone meeting. One thing is for sure: sending an email asking for feedback will most certainly produce crickets.

    Note: the art of the 5-minute pitch meeting is covered tomorrow!

    OOMPH

    Oh, to be Don Draper….the ultimate closer.

    Even though Don exists in our minds, his unparalleled ability to present ideas and proposals is good entertainment…and good modeling.

    Let this 2-minute Mad Men clip inspire and inject you with the same confidence and courage Don wields.

    Your proposals are nothing more than a digital file unless you bring them to life…they’re begging for “salespersonship” to get them closed.

  • 7/14/2025-“Agendas aren’t my thing.”

    Daily Quote

    “Effective performance is preceded by painstaking preparation.” Brian Tracy

    SKILL

    “Meeting agendas are old and crusty…my dad used meeting agendas. I personally like to be fluid…I like to run my meetings in real-time…yeah, that’s it. Agendas just box me in – I’m a bird…no wait, I’m an eagle who needs to soar. And my clients love my meetings ‘cuz we laugh and horse around. That’s the way it should be, right? By the by, I’m one helluva relationship seller. They wanna have fun in meetings, right? But, hey, I’m all about bid’ness, too. I’m always throwin’ out smart lines and witty witticisms. And then POW, I deliver a great value prop…umm, once in a while. Oh sure, I ask a few questions here and there, but I like to keep things loooooose ‘cuz HEY, that’s what clients want and love right? My clients…they love me…!”

    DO

    Prepare an agenda for every pitch meeting.

    USE the agenda that you’ve prepared in every pitch meeting.

    Agendas keep the meeting on track. Agendas keep you on track. Agendas signal to your customers that you truly care.

    It doesn’t matter if you’ve been selling for a year, five years, ten, or twenty…use meeting agendas.

    OOMPH

    Had Dr. Evil created an agenda for the meeting you see in this classic Austin Powers 2-minute clip, he would have been better prepared for this disaster of a gathering. But it’s funny!

    Not saying Dr. Evil only needed to focus more on meeting agendas…but….

  • 7/12/2025-Mindfulness/Self Care

    Daily Quote

    “See if you can allow gentle self-acceptance to coexist with the active drive for self-improvement.” Kristin Neff

    SKILL

    This weekend, don’t even let the word “skills” enter into your brain. That’s for Monday through Friday.

    While skills development and self-driven improvement are the backbone of why you visit MySalesDay regularly, take a page from Kristin Neff’s book and leave it alone for a few days.

    DO

    Whether it’s archery, bird-watching, javelin throwing, or napping…do something for you today that fulfills your inner joy.

    Costco and Home Depot can wait. Save those visits for Tuesday night after work.

    Today needs to be about you.

    Isn’t there a hammock or chaise lounge out there somewhere calling your name?

    OOMPH

    …or if you want to laugh today, then get started with this funny and sharp-witted yoga instructor in this Short. See how she skillfully parodies her class in this bit titled, “Passive Aggressive Yoga Instructor.”

    Her tongue is finely tuned, and she’s hilarious. (The comments on the YT page are juicy, too.)

    Laughter is a great part of mindfulness too.

  • 7/11/2025-Adam and Eve negotiations

    Daily Quote

    “Successful negotiation is not about getting to ‘yes’; it’s about mastering ‘no’ and understanding what the path to an agreement is.” Christopher Voss

    SKILL

    Since the world was created, negotiating has existed. (Ya think Adam and Eve didn’t negotiate a bit about what happened after that apple incident?)

    Undoubtedly, you have developed some strong negotiating moves over the years, but let’s refresh three core truths for kicks:

    1. Setting high goals gets you more. The formula is simple: ask for more, get more.

    2. Establishing a Plan B gives you flexibility…and helps get the deal done.

    3. Everything is negotiable. BUT, don’t give unless you get.

    DO

    Today, set goals for a deal you’ll soon be negotiating.

    What specifically do you want?

    Write all of it down! The goals you state are important because they will guide your preparation and negotiation prep.

    Once you establish your negotiation goals, you’re ready to build a proposal. And, as you’ve learned, Negotiation Rule #1 is to be aggressive with your “ask.”

    After you build your aggressive “ask” – your proposal wants – work on your Plan B. What are you going to concede when the other side pushes back?

    OOMPH

    Most of the time, Shark Tank is not a great place to learn about the finer points of negotiations because, well…because it’s a TV show.

    But it’s the best we have right now.

    In this particular clip, you’ll witness the pitch-woman stand her ground and not negotiate because she knows exactly what she wants. She stands up to the “BS” (Bully Sharks) and exercises a key negotiation right: she says “no.”

    Not budging is undoubtedly a valid negotiation tactic, just be prepared to hold an empty bag if the other party walks away.

  • 7/10/2025-My product can do 154 neato things

    Daily Quote

    “Any damn fool can make something complex, it takes a genius to make something simple.” Albert Einstein

    SKILL

    If a stranger stops you on the street and asks what time it is, do you launch into a three-minute rambling description of how your Rolex works?

    No…you tell him what time it is. (Duh.)

    The gravitational pull you feel to explain every last detail about your product in pitch meetings is understandable: you’re inundated with product training and all-hands meetings that glorify your offering’s bells and whistles.

    “Knowing your product” does NOT imply you need to share everything you know about your product with your customer.

    Fight product info overload! Find out what they care most about.

    DO

    Knowing your product inside and out is great, but knowing how to translate product features into value is best.

    Use the “So What…?” trick to help you emphasize value and benefits.

    When pitching a customer today, imagine a dialogue box with the words “So What…?” appearing in a bubble above your head. The bubble is there to remind you to explain why the customer should care about the feature you just talked about.

    You can apply this hack directly: “So what that feature means to you, Bill Buyer, is this…”

    It’s not the buyers’ job to decipher features from benefits.

    OOMPH

    In this 4-minute clip from the movie The Guilt Trip, Seth Rogan realizes his features pitch is losing his audience, so he pivots and saves the sale with a great selling move.

    Once you perfect the art of translating product knowledge into what the customer cares about, you can, like Seth, amp up customer engagement and create demand.

  • 7/9/2025-“Put your manager on the phone, please.”

    Daily Quote

    “Decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight; indecision, a dull one that hacks and tears and leaves ragged edges behind it.” Gordon Graham

    SKILL

    While you think it might be smart to treat everyone on the buy side like royalty, you still have to determine how much decision power each buyer wields. Until you know who can say “yes” – and who can’t – you risk spending too much time with those who don’t carry weight. (Ever hear this goodie? …don’t take NO from someone who can’t say YES.)

    Don’t assume every buyer you meet with has equal decision-making power. And stop assuming that lofty titles infer decision clout.

    Uncover where the decision-making power lies on each account… and spend your time with those* buyers.

    DO

    Ambiguity has no place in The Sales Life.

    Your job is to eliminate ambiguity in your conversations.

    Your job is to find out if the buyer can say “yes” or “no.”

    Ask, “How much buying decision do you own?”

    The buyer may not be able to put a percentage on it, but you’ll hear clues as to where this person stands in the chain.

    OOMPH

    Determining the power base of buying committees is pretty easy…all you must do is ASK.

    In this Short, you’ll get a repetitive dose of “Who’s in charge, here?” Simply replace that mantra with something more tailored to today’s theme by asking, “Who owns the decision, here?” Ask it in every meeting.

    If you feel you lack the confidence to ask that question, immediately seek time on your manager’s calendar or email Michael@MySalesDay.io. Seriously. You can’t go another day in your sales career without learning that sacred skill.

  • 7/8/2025-“How am I differentiated??” (Gulp.)

    Daily Quote

    “Don’t just say what you do well, show what you do differently.” Jack Hanson

    SKILL

    Your meeting with a prospect is going great…you showed a few key slides, you asked some strategic open-ended questions, and the good vibes are flowin’.

    Suddenly, the barometric pressure in the room changes when the buyer asks how you’re different from your competitors. (Yikes…did the lights just flicker?)

    How much time on the clock do you think you’ve got ’til you must reply with a cogent, smart, articulate answer?

    DO

    Practice your value prop today.

    It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been selling, you need to own your VP. Owning a VP means memorizing it and then practicing it so it doesn’t sound memorized.

    Practice means role-playing. Yes, role-playing. (It’s not below you.) It’s the only way to train for the moment when a customer asks you to explain your differentiators.

    BTW, you get about 1.762 seconds before responding to your buyer in a cool, calm manner that sounds intelligent and human.

    OOMPH

    While this 2-minute clip of Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute, and Jim Halpert role-playing in The Office is hilarious, you may want to follow a different practice protocol. (Boy, that Jim, he’s devilish!)

    Your practice sessions should be serious, but it never hurts to have a little fun with your BFF seller during your session, too. A few giggles and yucks won’t hurt. Focus, but keep it light.