Sales Make it Happen --- by Adrian Miller

Want to End the Year With More Revenue? Here's How!

As salespeople we all start the year with lofty goals of increasing revenue. Yet, the reality is many, very talented professionals fall short of achieving their targets because they are simply not utilizing fundamental revenue-increasing strategies.

December is not the time to start scrambling for business. Now is the time to think differently, try a fresh approach and hopefully meet, or exceed your goals. The famous Albert Einstein quote “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” certainly applies here. The same tired techniques are comfortable yet they will always bring the same disappointing results. Are you ready to reach your goals? Great! Here's what you need to do now:

Dig deeper into existing accounts.

Hey, they already know you and love you. You have credibility and demonstrated competencies. Mine the gold that's already within reach.

One way to do this is to begin with a little sleuthing. Peruse your account's company website on a regular basis. You can find valuable information by reading their press releases, company blog and other news items that are continually being updated on their site. Are there any new or upcoming projects that might require your products or services? What about mergers, acquisitions, or changes to their corporate structure? Have there been any new decision-makers hired recently? You might be surprised by the plethora of new opportunities that are prime for the picking. And you can out about them just by a little detective work and by simply, asking. (Many sales reps stop actively probing once they have landed an account and are servicing the business!)

Cross-selling is another way to dig deeper into your existing accounts. Never assume that a customer will only continue to buy what you've sold him or her. If you are not regularly introducing new products or services, you might be leaving potential business on the table that your competition just might take.

Become a strategic networker.

Develop a networking plan of action and follow through with your action steps. Screen events carefully and don't miss opportunities to make valuable connections. Set concrete networking objectives such as establishing a number of people to meet. Quantify the results of your networking efforts, and nix networking strategies that haven't been effective.

Initiate an effective touch point management program.

Falling off the radar screen is never excusable for a sales professional. There is excellent technology available to help you stay in touch. Email communications, especially those with value-added information or links, are well-received and take very little time to execute. Establish a set number of contacts that you can make each week and stick with the plan. Once you've lost contact with a customer, they're almost always gone for good, and for sure, you have to work harder to get them back. Business redevelopment is costly and unnecessary if you are diligent about staying in touch.

Refine your sales platform and value proposition.

Take a hard and critical look at your strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities (SWOT). The market is not static, and you should be continually reevaluating your position in it. A SWOT analysis is not a one-time event!

Outsource all activities that cost you time and don't bring in or drive revenue.

It's an easy trap to fall into – devoting too much of your time to taking care of administrative and clerical tasks. The reality is if you're spending your time filing, you're taking away from your time that you could be generating sales. Work smart and outsource your non-sales tasks to someone who can assist you.

Adrian Miller
Adrian Miller Sales Training
www.theblatanttruth.com
www.adrianmiller.com

Sales Makes it Happen articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Legacy/index.html

    1682 -William Penn lands in what will become Pennsylvania. He originally called it Sylvania, but the King changed it to Pennsylvania in granted the charter.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PENN/pnintro.html
http://www.2020site.org/penn/pennsylvania.html
    1815-Birthday of Daniel Emmett DeCatur, creator of words and music for the song “Dixie,” which became a fighting son for Confederate troops and unofficial “national anthem” of the South, born Mt. Vernon, OH, and died there June 28, 1904.
    1837-Birthday of African-American folk artist Harriet Powers, now nationally recognized for her quilts, born in rural Georgia.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/oct29.html
    1863-Battle of Wauhatchie (Brown's Ferry) concludes: The troops of Union General Ulysses S. Grant open a supply line into Chattanooga, Tennessee, when they drive away a Confederate attack by General James Longstreet. Although the Confederates still held the high ground above Chattanooga, the new supply line allowed the Union to hold the city and prepare for a major new offensive the next month. After the Battle of Chickamauga in northern Georgia on September 19 and 20, the defeated Union army of General William Rosecrans fled back to nearby Chattanooga. Braxton Bragg's Confederates took up positions along Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge to the east of the city. The Rebel lines made a semicircle around the city, and Confederate guns closed traffic on the Tennessee River. As a result, Union supplies had to come over a rugged mountainous route from the west. This line was vulnerable to a Confederate attack, and it made the Union's hold on Chattanooga tenuous at best. On October 23, Grant arrived as the new commander of all western forces. He immediately ordered two brigades to attack Brown's Ferry, where the Confederates were blocking river traffic to Chattanooga. The Yankees captured the ferry on October 27, then held off a counterattack to maintain control. On the night of October 28, Longstreet mounted a much larger attack to retake the crossing. The Confederates possessed superior numbers but could not pry the Union troops from the river. In the dark, the Yankees held and Longstreet withdrew his forces before dawn. The Union suffered 78 killed, 327 wounded, and 15 missing, while the Confederates suffered 34 killed, 305 wounded, and 69 missing. The Battle of Wauhatchie was one of the few Civil War engagements that took place at night. As a result of the battle, the Tennessee River was reopened for the Union and supplies reached Grant's troops. One month later, Grant drove the Confederates from the mountains around Chattanooga.
http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/tn021.htm
http://roadsidegeorgia.com/int/1471
http://www.149th-nysv.org/Battles/wauhatchie_cr.htm
    1902 -- Fredric Brown, American writer birthday.. One of the most ingenious American crime, mystery writers, and also wrote science fiction to overcome — as he said — the too real aspect of detective fiction. He also wrote television plays for Alfred Hitchcock series. “Martian Go Home” was one of his best sellers. His other notable novels include Night of the Jabberwock (1951) and The Deep End (1952)
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/fbrown.htm
http://www.hycyber.com/SF/brown_fredric.html
http://members.tripod.com/~gwillick/brown.html
http://www.ebookmall.com/alpha-authors/Fredric-Brown.htm
    1917 - The temperature at Denver, CO, dipped to zero, and at Soda Butte, WY, the mercury plunged to 33 degrees below zero, a U.S. record for the month of October.
    1921 – Birthday of Bill Mauldin (Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist: [1945, 1959], created G.I. Joe and Willie) Killed in action.
http://www.stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/bill-mauldin.html
    1922-Composer/arranger/trumpet player Neal Hefti Birthday
http://web.mit.edu/klund/www/hefti.html
    1923 -- "Runnin' Wild" (introducing the Charleston) opens on Broadway.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000058RB/
avsearch-musicasin-20/002-4023470-8873669#product-details
    1925- tenor saxophone player Zoot Sims born, Inglewood, CA.
http://members.aol.com/plabjazz/zootsims.html
    1925- History records “Howard Johnson's “ as the first franchise chain. The chain got it s started when Howard Dearing Johnson, the proprietor of a drugstore in Quincy, MA, began making ice cream with a hand-held crank to sell at the soda fountain. Unable to finance additional restaurants on his own. he began franchising his name and the formulas for his ice cream and other specialties. The first restaurant to which he granted a franchise, in 1932, was on Cape Cod. Eventually, the chain had 600 restaurants across the country. Johnson's innovations included the use of a central commissary to supply all franchises with food of consistent quality and the sitting of diner along highways.
    1929- Major Stock Market Crash as prices on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted and virtually collapsed four days after President Herbert Hoover had declared “The fundamental business of the country ... is on a sound and prosperous basis.” More than 16 million shares were dumped and billions of dollars were lost. The boom was over and the nation faced nearly a decade of depression. Some analysts had warned that the buying spree, with prices 15 to 150 times above earnings, had to stop at some point. Frightened investors ordered their brokers to sell at whatever price. The resulting Great Depression, which lasted until about 1939, involved North Amer­ica, Europe and other industrialized countries. In 1932 one out of four US workers was unemployed.
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1930s/1930smusic01.html
http://imusic.artistdirect.com/store/artist/album/0,,301462,00.html
    1934-Birthday of alto sax player Jimmy Woods, St. Louis, MO
http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=product&id=1927008906&clink=
dmmu.artist&a=b
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=519095601/
ut=0cea001161ce67c0
http://www.mediawars.ne.jp/~mundo/collect/file/jimmy-woods.html
    1936 -- Singer Hank Snow makes his first recordings, "Lonesome Blue Yodel" & "Prisoned Cowboy."
http://www.hanksnow.com/
http://www.harborside.com/~wchope/hanksnow.htm
    1944---HAJIRO, BARNEY F. Medal of Honor
Private Barney F. Hajiro distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 19, 22, and 29 October 1944, in the vicinity of Bruyeres and Biffontaine, eastern France. Private Hajiro, while acting as a sentry on top of an embankment on 19 October 1944, in the vicinity of Bruyeres, France, rendered assistance to allied troops attacking a house 200 yards away by exposing himself to enemy fire and directing fire at an enemy strong point. He assisted the unit on his right by firing his automatic rifle and killing or wounding two enemy snipers. On 22 October 1944, he and one comrade took up an outpost security position about 50 yards to the right front of their platoon, concealed themselves, and ambushed an 18-man, heavily armed, enemy patrol, killing two, wounding one, and taking the remainder as prisoners. On 29 October 1944, in a wooded area in the vicinity of Biffontaine, France, Private Hajiro initiated an attack up the slope of a hill referred to as "Suicide Hill" by running forward approximately 100 yards under fire. He then advanced ahead of his comrades about 10 yards, drawing fire and spotting camouflaged machine gun nests. He fearlessly met fire with fire and single-handedly destroyed two machine gun nests and killed two enemy snipers. As a result of Private Hajiro’s heroic actions, the attack was successful. Private Hajiro’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit, and the United States Army.
    1944--*OKUBO, JAMES K. Medal of Honor
Technician Fifth Grade James K. Okubo distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 28 and 29 October and 4 November 1944, in the Foret Domaniale de Champ, near Biffontaine, eastern France. On 28 October, under strong enemy fire coming from behind mine fields and roadblocks, Technician Fifth Grade Okubo, a medic, crawled 150 yards to within 40 yards of the enemy lines. Two grenades were thrown at him while he left his last covered position to carry back wounded comrades. Under constant barrages of enemy small arms and machine gun fire, he treated 17 men on 28 October and 8 more men on 29 October. On 4 November, Technician Fifth Grade Okubo ran 75 yards under grazing machine gun fire and, while exposed to hostile fire directed at him, evacuated and treated a seriously wounded crewman from a burning tank, who otherwise would have died. Technician Fifth Grade James K. Okubo’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.
    1944--SAKATO, GEORGE T. Medal of Honor
Private George T. Sakato distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 29 October 1944, on hill 617 in the vicinity of Biffontaine, France. After his platoon had virtually destroyed two enemy defense lines, during which he personally killed five enemy soldiers and captured four, his unit was pinned down by heavy enemy fire. Disregarding the enemy fire, Private Sakato made a one-man rush that encouraged his platoon to charge and destroy the enemy strongpoint. While his platoon was reorganizing, he proved to be the inspiration of his squad in halting a counter-attack on the left flank during which his squad leader was killed. Taking charge of the squad, he continued his relentless tactics, using an enemy rifle and P-38 pistol to stop an organized enemy attack. During this entire action, he killed 12 and wounded two, personally captured four and assisted his platoon in taking 34 prisoners. By continuously ignoring enemy fire, and by his gallant courage and fighting spirit, he turned impending defeat into victory and helped his platoon complete its mission. Private Sakato’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.
    1950 — Detroit's Wally Trippett established an NFL record with 294 kickoff return yards against Los Angeles. The record has since been broken by Tyrone Hughes but his average of 73.5 yards per return still stands.
    1953—Top Hits
You, You, You - The Ames Brothers
No Other Love - Perry Como
Oh - Pee Wee Hunt
I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know - The Davis Sisters
    1953-The sale of the St. Louis Browns from Bill Veeck to a group of Baltimore investors was completed, and the American League's most hapless team became the Orioles.
    1954- Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge record “Trumpet Kings” album, Verve.
    1956 - John Cameron Swayze and "The Camel News Caravan" were replaced by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on NBC-TV. The "Huntley-Brinkley Report" clicked so well that the respected newsmen reported nightly until July of 1970. “Good night Chet. Good night David. And good night from NBC News.
    1957--Bobby Helms records "Jingle Bell Rock". By December, it will be in the US Top 10, eventually selling over a million copies and becoming a Christmas standard.
    1957-Buddy Holly & the Crickets' "Oh Boy!" is released by Brunswick Records. It will peak at #10
    1958-Elvis Presley attends a Bill Haley concert in Stuttgart, West Germany while stationed there with the US Army.
    1960 - Cassius Clay won his first pro bout -- over Tunney Hunsaker -- in six rounds in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
    1961 - The top, pop song on the charts belonged to Dion (DiMucci). "Runaround Sue" was in its second week at the tiptop of the top-tune tabulation (it was in the top 40 for three months).
    1961—Top Hits
Runaround Sue - Dion
Bristol Stomp - The Dovells
Big Bad John - Jimmy Dean
Walk on By - Leroy Van Dyke
    1962 – John “Buck” O'Neil is the first black coach in major-league baseball, for the Chicago Cubs.
http://bestofbuck.com/800/bio.htm
http://www.nlbpa.com/o_neil__john_jordan_-_buck.html
http://www.annonline.com/interviews/960715/
    1962-Actor Sydney Poitier testifies before the House Committee on Education and Labor, condemning the lack of opportunities for black actors in Hollywood. Poitier was born in 1924 to poor farmers in the Bahamas. He dropped out of school at age 13 and later joined the U.S. Army. After his army stint, he became interested in performing and joined the American Negro Theater. He debuted on Broadway in 1946 and three years later made his film debut in a U.S. Army documentary. By the late 1950s, he was the leading African American actor in the country. In 1964, he became the first African American actor to win the Best Actor Oscar, for his role as a laborer who helps build a chapel in Lilies of the Field (1963). Other films include In the Heat of the Night (1967) and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). He began directing in 1971 with Buck and the Preacher. In 1992, he won the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, the first black actor and director to be so honored.
    1965-CAPTAIN HUMBERT R. VERSACE Medal of Honor
UNITED STATES ARMY for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Captain Humbert R. Versace distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism during the period of 29 October 1963 to 26 September 1965, while serving as S-2 Advisor, Military Assistance Advisory Group, Detachment 52, Ca Mau, Republic of Vietnam. While accompanying a Civilian Irregular Defense Group patrol engaged in combat operations in Thoi Binh District, An Xuyen Province, Captain Versace and the patrol came under sudden and intense mortar, automatic weapons, and small arms fire from elements of a heavily armed enemy battalion. As the battle raged, Captain Versace, although severely wounded in the knee and back by hostile fire, fought valiantly and continued to engage enemy targets. Weakened by his wounds and fatigued by the fierce firefight, Captain Versace stubbornly resisted capture by the over-powering Viet Cong force with the last full measure of his strength and ammunition. Taken prisoner by the Viet Cong, he exemplified the tenets of the Code of Conduct from the time he entered into Prisoner of War status. Captain Versace assumed command of his fellow American soldiers, scorned the enemy's exhaustive interrogation and indoctrination efforts, and made three unsuccessful attempts to escape, despite his weakened condition which was brought about by his wounds and the extreme privation and hardships he was forced to endure. During his captivity, Captain Versace was segregated in an isolated prisoner of war cage, manacled in irons for prolonged periods of time, and placed on extremely reduced ration. The enemy was unable to break his indomitable will, his faith in God, and his trust in the United States of America. Captain Versace, an American fighting man who epitomized the principles of his country and the Code of Conduct, was executed by the Viet Cong on 26 September 1965. Captain Versace's gallant actions in close contact with an enemy force and unyielding courage and bravery while a prisoner of war are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect the utmost credit upon himself and the United States Army.
    1966-After topping the Cashbox Magazine Best Sellers Chart two weeks earlier, ? and the Mysterians "96 Tears" reached number one on the Billboard chart. Although he closely guarded his true identity at the time, the man known as Question Mark turned out to be Rudy Martinez, from Saginaw Valley, Michigan.
    1966- formation of the National Organization for Women to "bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society NOW!"
http://www.now.org/
    1967-Hair, An American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, opened at the Public Theater in New York City. The composer was Galt MacDermott. The musical, which appeared during the Vietnam War, carried an antiwar message and aroused some controversy for its glorification of “hippie” values, including a nude scene at the end of the first act. The production moved to Broadway's Biltmore Theater in April, 1968.
    1969-Historians consider this the day the Internet was created. The first connection on what would become the world wide web was made on this day when bits of data flowed between computers at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute. This was the beginning of ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet developed by the Department of Defense. By the end of 1969, four sites were connected: UCLA, the Stanford Research Institute, the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Utah. By the next year there were 10 sites and soon there were applications like e­mail and file transfer utilities. The @ symbol was adopted in 1972 and a year later 75 percent of ARPANET traffic was e-mail. ARPANET was decommissioned in 1990 and the National Science Foundation's NSFnet took over the role of backbone of the Internet.
    1969—Top Hits
I Can't Get Next to You - The Temptations
Hot Fun in the Summertime - Sly & The Family Stone
Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley
The Ways to Love a Man - Tammy Wynette
    1970 - Neil Diamond received a nice package: a gold record for the hit, "Cracklin' Rosie".
    1973 - O.J. Simpson set two NFL records this day. The Buffalo Bills' star running back ran 39 times for 157 yards -- and he rushed for a total of over 1,000 yards in only seven games.
    1974-- President Gerald Ford signs law that forbids credit discrimination on the basis of sex. In November, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board announces an end to discrimination in mortgage lending. (1995 backlash finds many mortgage lenders reverting by insisting on spousal credit/income.)
    1977—Top Hits
You Light Up My Life - Debby Boone
Nobody Does It Better - Carly Simon
That's Rock 'n' Roll - Shaun Cassidy
Heaven's Just a Sin Away - The Kendalls
    1977--A 30 year old Rocker named Marvin Lee Aday, who uses the stage name Meat Loaf, releases his landmark album "Bat Out Of Hell". Since that time, the LP has sold over 43 million copies worldwide.
    1981 - Loretta Lynn received a gold record for her album, "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2".
    1982--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson released "The Girl is Mine", which will rise to #2 on the Billboard Pop chart.
    1982- Car maker John DeLorean indicted for drug trafficking in a government sting operation; later acquitted
http://www.bigtexas.com/dmc/
http://www.delorean-dmc12.co.uk/john_z_delorean.html
http://www.babbtechnology.com/Collect/index.htm
http://www.deloreanstore.com/
http://www.who2.com/johndelorean.html
http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20010927.html
    1983 - After four weeks at #1 on the pop music charts, Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" slipped to #2 -- replaced by "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.
    1983-Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" marks its 491st week on the Billboard album chart, surpassing the previous record holder, "Johnny's Greatest Hits" by Johnny Mathis. When it finally fell off of list in October 1988, "Dark Side" had set a record of 741 weeks on the chart.
    1984 - Golfing great Tom Watson won his sixth PGA Player of the Year title; the most won by any golfer since the award was first given in 1948. Jack Nicklaus had accumulated five of those titles.
    1985—Top Hits
Saving All My Love for You - Whitney Houston
Part-Time Lover - Stevie Wonder
Miami Vice Theme - Jan Hammer
Touch a Hand, Make a Friend - The Oak Ridge Boys
    1987 - Severe thunderstorms in Arizona produced wind gusts to 86 mph at the Glendale Airport near Phoenix, baseball size hail and 70 mph winds at Wickenburg, and up to an inch of rain in fifteen minutes in Yavapai County and northwest Maricopa County. Arizona Public Service alone reported 2.5 million dollars damage from the storms.
    1988 - Wintry weather prevailed in the Upper Midwest. South Bend, IN, equaled their record for October with a morning low of 23 degrees. International Falls MN reported a record low of 11 degrees in the morning, then dipped down to 8 degrees above zero late in the evening.
    1989 - Thunderstorms developing along a cold front produced severe weather in Oklahoma and north central Texas during the late afternoon and evening hours. Thunderstorms in Oklahoma produced weak tornadoes near Snyder and Davidson, and produced hail two inches in diameter at Altus. Large hail damaged 60 to 80 percent of the cotton crop in Tillman County OK. Nine cities in the northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date as readings warmed into the 70s. For Marquette MI it marked their fifth straight day of record warmth. Arctic cold invaded the western U.S. Lows of 7 degrees at Alamosa CO and 9 degrees at Elko NV were records for the date. (My daughter in nearby Lamoille said it was zero degrees.)
    1996-The National Basketball Association got set to launch its 50^th anniversary of all time, ten of the 50 spent significant portions of their careers with the Boston Celtics.
http://www.unc.edu/~lbrooks2/50.html
    1998 - Hurricane Mitch (Oct 22-Nov 4, 1998), one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever, made landfall, slamming into Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and other Central American countries. The real story was not the wind but the rain. Slow movement of the storm caused heavy rain, resulting in widespread flooding and mudslides. Over 10,000 people were killed, another 10,000 were missing, and some two million people were affected in some way by the storm.
    1998 - The space shuttle Discovery blasted off, returning 77-year-old U.S. Senator John Glenn to space some 36 years after he became the first American in orbit. Glenn was part of a crew of seven astronauts shepherding scientific payloads on the shuttle mission.
    2001-- Matt Williams becomes the first player in World Series history to hit home runs with three different teams. He homered in the Fall Classic for the Indians in 1997 and the Giants in 1989.
http://worldseries.mlb.com/ws/index.html
http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/worldseries/2001.html