Early in February, when helping my mom to complete her cataract surgery, I took a nasty fall resulting in a broken driving leg; my right leg. This experience resulted in the top five tips I learned from the first four weeks of being in a removable air cast:

1. When things get tough, it’s better to slow down before forging ahead.
Slowing down to analyze your best marketing approaches, your most wanted sales products or services, and putting creativity into your selling is imperative. Rushing through your “as usual” activities will not serve your sales recovery.

2. Learn to ask anyone for the help you need.
That advice, “ask for referrals,” doesn’t get too many results with a sticker on the back of an envelope or the phrase printed on the back of a business card. My introvert and shy friends please take this stretch: learn to ask for the help you need. If you need someone to make a call for you, ask. If you need someone to put in the good word for you ask. New sales in a down economy won’t happen with a passive approach.

3. Decide to follow a leader’s advice.
If you are on a sales team and your sales manager has some advice, particularly from a time they weathered a recession, then be open to putting their advice into action. Get a mentor, pay a coach, listen to a leader who has the experience.

4. Acknowledge your helpers.
When I called my husband to check on portability of health insurance, we determined he was my only way home to get me and my car home. I told my friends I was nominating my husband for “husband of the year award.” I was genuinely appreciative and grateful for all he was doing to help me during this restless time. What I didn’t even expect was his turning the notch up on his help. People want to go the extra mile when you remember them in meaningful ways.

5. Go slow again when the cast if off.
While not as dramatic as the cry “Freedom,” in the movie Braveheart, it was exhilarating when the doctor told me, “You can take off the cast now and drive.” Following his advice to “take it slowly, a little bit each day,” seems also wise advice to salespeople who get creative, hatch new ideas and want to triumph in a year that otherwise might lead their business – nowhere.

The tough economy is like a removable air cast. You can either stay immobilized and keep doing things the same. Or you can steadily and thoughtfully be consistent with a new approach for selling in a down economy.

Who knows? You may not want to return to the pre-cast days if you get better results.

And if you want to sidestep your sales performance anxieties, overcome your fear of rejection and demolish your devastating doubts , you can join me every week on Sales Tips for Introverts free teleclasses!

Sales Tip – 5 Tips to Cast Off Lackluster Sales is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

“What determines how quickly things can turn around, is how quickly you can drop the fear and harness your imagination,” Andrea Conway. A recent sales call that would otherwise have left me no results for one year of follow-up, demonstrates the speed of recovery. When you join the creativity of introversion with the verbal mastery of extroversion, the results can be astounding.

On my ride over to the new client’s office, I could see him sign the agreement which was on the passenger side seat. I knew the dates on my calendar that we already agreed on – my Planner was open to that month. My feeling was calm and confident. Regardless of how things are played out with the media naysayers, it’s true that we can control what happens.

As I got out of my car I felt excitement increase to be able to help this new client get new clients for themselves. We quickly got into rapport as I sat in front of their desk. The conversation started to change to personal; I went with the flow. The prospect was telling me they just took a major hit in commission. My internal thoughts were, “I can help you get that back quickly.” Once we moved to the business I was there for I asked, “So are you ready to confirm our coaching plan today?”

It was no surprise to me when he said he would now have to wait because of this big financial hit. He just told me this! I let a few seconds go by before I spoke. My thoughts were that while true, what would happen to them if things got worst?

“What determines how quickly things can turn around.” I asked, “What if we could make this happen in an affordable way for you without me reducing my fee? Would that help?” Needing that thinking and planning time before I had something mutually agreeable, I asked him to tell me, what would be some options they think could work. Most introverts can't always talk their thoughts aloud that quickly.

“How quickly you can drop the fear and harness your imagination.” My mind was conjuring up some options, however, not being totally prepared for the turn of commitment as they spoke, I thought and pulled it all into a creative option.

The integrity of the value of my services is maintained because my fees weren’t compromised, and a salesperson on straight commission now is excited about increasing their own results.

What happened? My fear was less than my desire to help this new client. Any fear that floated, dropped as my imagination worked for a mutual benefit. Yes, right now the worldwide economy is weak but it still breathing and alive. Drop the fear, and harness your creativity to help your clients.

Uncover how your sales skills measure up with an honest and quick assessment!

Sales Tip – Sales Grow When Fear Drops and Creativity Rises is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

As an INTJ, if I follow this advice, which I do and will, there also has to be, "Carve out a little more quiet time."

What do you think? What else would be something simple to include in your sales and marketing in a down economy? Add you comment.

Survival Selling in a Bad Economy is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Anyone who sells has a goal to make sales. Maybe this undermines salespeople to be systematically planned and purposeful in sales follow up with their prospect. Just as with a new friend it is follow up that will turn a prospect into a customer.

Maybe you think, “I feel like I am bothering people so tend to put it off.”

You are invited to a neighbor’s house for dinner, like being invited to a prospect’s office for a meeting.

The dinner goes well; the sales meeting goes well. At the end of the evening your neighbor smiles and says, “Let’s get together again.” The meeting goes well and the prospect says, “I’ve got to think about this.”

How do you respond to each of these relationship events?

“Generally, I follow it for two or three calls and then let it go,” might be your approach.

You have a new friend you enjoy talking with. If you are an introvert in sales, you enjoy and are energized by the deep conversations. If you are extrovert, you love talking, period.

You have a new prospect and during your first meeting, you discover they have a problem when they open up to you. It’s a problem you can easily solve with your product or service.

You and a new friend really hit it off on first meeting. You are the first to call to get together again; your new friend is out of town and their voice mail picks up.

It took trust for your prospect to tell you their situation. You’ve opened up a new relationship. They just expressed regret that the timing is off.

How do you respond for the next step for your friend? And your prospect?

So here's the question:

Whether you are in business to business or business to consumer sales, it’s about relationships.

What’s your assessment of how sales follow-up can be similar to new friendship follow-up?

How would it help you if you decided, selling is a lot like building a friendship?

Leave your comment below:

Sales Tip – Think About Sales Follow-up Like Meet the New Neighbor is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Join me on Mondays for Monday Motivation guaranteed to demolish your devastating doubts: visit http://www.askpatweber.com

How anyone can find their own empowerment during a time of uncertainty is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

- Pick up the tab for someone’s lunch at a restaurant without them knowing.
- Visit an animal shelter to see if you can help the volunteers.
- An old idea and most appropriate is to pay the toll for the person behind you.
- If you walk by or park near parking meters, find one to put money in that is showing the time is about to expire.
- Take some baked goods to your local fire department: my husband did this one year and the people loved it!
- Let someone else go ahead of you when in line at the bank, grocery store or some other shopping place.
- Send a card to your doctor’s receptionist just to say you appreciate them. I did this last year and the lady called me to thank me! It was a triple win: she said it was JUST what she needed, I felt good and I'm certain other patients ended up seeing her light up. Use my sendoutcards account to send an unexpected card to anyone you know. The cost including postage is on me!
- Smile at anyone you see today.
- You know all those coffee mugs that you have received at meetings? Donate your extra ones to a church.
- Call up a friend or two to do some good deed as a small group.
- Hug all your friends you get together with today.
- Get up early on a Saturday, brew some coffee and call some neighbors over to join you for a cup. One of my neighbors went from house to house with a full thermos on our street one year.

Any act of kindness will bring a smile on someone’s face on the worldwide holiday. This idea for salespeople is to clear your self of being afraid of rejection. There is not a thing you need to expect in return with these random acts of kindness. You only need to act, it will be fun and you will rev up your positive energy. Who knows, maybe you might even attract an unexpected benefit. Salespeople, take your kindness to the world today.

Join me on Mondays for Monday Motivation guaranteed to demolish your devastating doubts: visit http://www.askpatweber.com

Salespeople Use Kindness Day to Sidestep Sales Anxieties is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Words That Change Minds

and, a true genius with NLP. You will be inspired by her words, regardless of your introvert or extrovert preference:

"Have you ever felt like the dove that left Noah’s Ark in search of dry land only to find more sea than ever and nowhere to land? Or perhaps you have been valiantly resisting the urge to bail out during all the disastrous news because you are determined to avoid buying high and selling low. And just when you were thinking it couldn’t get any worse… " Read more on Shelle's blog

Economy Survival for Introverts and Extroverts is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

So what is the secret to selling such luxury while the market is still in free fall? Go to the eighth paragraph and first sentence.

How can you use this philosophy?

Salespeople still sell well in this economy! is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Do NOT get beaten down with all this.

Just a quick review before I get to the sixth thing that top salespeople do to avoid devastating affects:

Top salespeople CHOOSE to be a thermostat of sales results, not a thermometer. A thermometer measures temperature – like you finding your sales go up in a good economy or down in a downturn. A thermostat controls the temperature in your home – like you deciding to take some actions to regulate your own sales results.

Top salespeople choose not to be uncomfortable with a thermometer’s ups and downs. They either repair or replace the malfunction!

The top seven things I’ve found in 32 years of sales and sales management is that top producers don’t fall victim to negative chatter. Instead they:

First, Step away from the talk. Any negative economy or recession pulls you right into the vortex of a downward spiral. Take actions that get you away from the gloom and doom.

Second, Flex more muscles. Examine all the ways you get prospects – and start rev up the way that works best for you. Speaking in public, referrals, networking. What is it for you?

Three, Be renewed: relationships, resize, repeat, repackage. What avenues can you renew?

Four, Invest in yourself. NOW is not the time to have your head in the sand or turn the other way about new ideas and professional development.

Five, Treat yourself. Strategizing – like resize, repeat, repackage, and tactics along with them, are important now. Stop from your constant doing and take time to plan.

Six, Take a more global perspective. Weather is different all over the world. What is the size of your sales world that you could pay attention to a larger or different territory?

Seven, Follow up like your life depends on it – because it may!

We’re on to top secret number 6.

My husband and I have a Ferrari as one of two cars in our car collection. Hey. If you are a car enthusiast you know if it's not a daily driver, it's in your collection whether one or two. We enjoy fairly mild weather in Virginia. My son lives in Seattle, not so mild; much more prone to rain fairly regularly. Odd though; (I’m thinking out loud), when I visit there’s not much rain until my husband follows me out. Anyway.

My point? We drive our Ferrari where the weather is mild and sunny. We would never own a Ferrari, I doubt we would, in Seattle because of the upkeep it would require. If you are currently suffering from a sales decline could it be that you want to change who and where you are marketing? Could it be that the territory you have chosen is stuck in the problems of the US economy? If so, then who could you market to who is not? There are many industries thriving right now.

The off track and lesser watched news is reporting about bicycle sales soaring! Imagine that! Some people are buying more bicycles. What else could people be ready for? Many people are in pain right now. If you have a product or service you may want to reposition it to target that pain.

If you are in a geographic area there is a sector not affected by all the media hype about, “our misery!”

So whether you go larger and cast a wider net or go deeper to find out how to position what you sell for people to better identify with how it can help them, take a more global perspective on what is going on in the world.

Top Salespeople Secret Number 6 During a Recession is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer