JBI (Just Buy In)

If you my friend are measuring your success in the game of sales by focusing on the setbacks you experience every day, let's change that mind set right now. Instead let us focus on each and every comeback we experience. This way everyone else around you will constantly believe that you are the luckiest salesperson in the world.  You see most people focus on the loss. YOU need to stay focused on the gain and let the losses go and move forward to a better result. Mindset Monday! Share your thoughts and let us keep the conversation going. I am Michael Hinkle and let us connect on LinkedIn.

What are you doing today to keep your focus set on the future? In sales it is important to have a very well-defined sense of direction, and you have to be self-motivated. These are two of the most important skills to possess. How do you refine and develop these skills? This is what I do: 1. Every time I have a sales call or any interaction with a current or potential client, I review the meeting once it's over and pick out all of the things I think I did right. I do not evaluate the meeting with if or if not, I got a sale. I look for the things that I did better than the last time I was in front of a client. 2. I remind myself that this is a long game, and I am in for all 4 quarters. After all it is the score of the game at the end that counts. You got this now go out there and get it done. I am Michael Hinkle connect with me on LinkedIn and let's keep the conversation going.

I have some great news to share today! Next week I travel to Reno NV to spend some time in a recording studio working on my next project. I have, in conjunction with Leadership books, decided to produce a video course based on my book Treasure Hunt. This will allow a greater number of readers to access the tremendous lessons that I have rolled into my book with me as your tour guide. In addition to the course, I am also expanding my speaking engagements as well. I look forward to the new adventures that await me and hope that those Sales Professionals out there that are all looking for that competitive edge join me and together we create a new dynamitic in the world of sales for the future. A career in Sales is hard but the more we hone our craft the easier it is to succeed in this highly rewarding career field. I am Michael Hinkle connect with me on LinkedIn and let us keep the conversation going.

As a salesperson WHO really pays you for the work you do? Some peoples answer to that question might have been just now, my employer. Others like me believe that they are paid by the client who actually pays the employer for the hard work you put into landing the deal. This sounds like a very small issue but if you think about it, you will realize that focusing on the one that cuts the check to buy the product or service you are selling should be your focus. So simply stated I am challenging you to focus on the one that pays you for your time, and when it comes to sales that is both your employer and the customer from which your employer derives their income to pay you. I am Michael Hinkle, let us connect and keep the conversation going.

Are you telling or selling? Telling is all about what you perceive to be the problem and the solution. Is that what the client really feels? Selling is finding out what the problems are per the client and presenting solutions that you can provide them. Huge difference between the two! You have two ears and only one mouth, use them proportionately please. I am Michael Hinkle and let us keep the cpo0nversation going on LinkedIn.

Have you done an inventory lately on your reputation? The one thing that speaks the loudest about who you are is your reputation. I have done several posts on your brand and your reputation several times in the last year or so and that is because it is the one item that stays in the room after you leave and arrives in the room long before you do. Is your word your bond? Do you consistently do what you say you are going to do? Do you not only take credit for the success you have with your clients but take the blame when things do not work out? It is easy to hide from problems and blame others when thing go wrong, but does that do the client any good? In my experience I have found that almost no one is interested in why something failed to achieve the results they were seeking. Instead, they want someone that will take immediate action to get them where they wanted to go in the first place. So next time the world blows up around you DO NOT play the blame game, instead play the I AM GOING TO GET THIS CORRECTED game. I post these thoughts because Sales in an occupation and a career not a job. I am Michael Hinkle and let us keep the conversation going join me on LinkedIn and let's chat.

While AI is quickly becoming mainstream in the business world today are you choosing to use it wisely? I recently had brought to my attention that various sites are now reviewing people's photos on their posts to determine if the image has been enhanced through the use of AI. In addition, as an author I have had to sign disclaimers every time I have submitted an article for print in a publication to verify that it is an original work not computer generated. So, what might be a good take away from these actions? One possible thought might be that people in general want to know that when someone shares with them well thought out ideas that indeed these ideas were created by a person not a computer. You ask why does that matter? For me there is a simple answer. I want to know how can I get better at what I do, and how I can I continue to grow in my business? Well since I work with fellow human beings, I guess the most important thing in creating and promoting my credibility is that I am sharing the real thoughts of a real person not some predetermined response programmed into a computer system that has no emotional intelligence nor a human side to the decision-making process. I know that sounds a little harsh, but it is not meant to be. Instead, it is a call to not overlook the creativity of Human beings on connecting and assisting fellow human beings. Not creating picture perfect images nor unrealistic expectations of real human skills as identified by a computer. Now for the other side of the coin. Yes, AI has become a very useful tool for salespeople to rely on. Using AI to assist you in maintaining close contact with an account and helping you to stay organized is an excellent use of AI. But once you let the human contact with your accounts become something that you use AI for exclusively you may very well one day cause the client and the company you work for, to question why you are a part of the process when the computer is doing everything for you. While I did not have AI to use during most of my career, the one thing I did see on a regular basis in my career was an ever-increasing need for companies to eliminate redundant and less effective solutions to clients problems. DO NOT TAKE YOURSELF OUT OF THE EQUATION. I am Michael Hinkle and connect with me on LinkedIn and let us keep the conversation going.