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March 3, 2015 by Brett Leave a Comment

A Sales Lesson from Green Eggs and Ham

A Sales Lesson from Green Eggs and Ham

Green eggs and ham

It’s not what you think.

It’s not Sam-I-Am’s ridiculous persistence (although there’s a lesson there, to be sure).

The sales lesson is in Dr. Suess’s economy of language.

He only uses 50 words in the children’s favorite. Yet he tells a complete story.

He does not waste a word. He uses each to move the story forward and create compelling interest. You want to know what’s going to happen. You want Sam-I-Am’s pluck to win in the end.

The rhythm and rhyme drives the action.

Again… only 50 different words, used perfectly.

The Sales Lesson

Get to the point. Use few words. Use them effectively. Focus them like a laser on the value you create for your client.

Be interesting and tell a good story, but don’t waste or use unnecessary words…or your client’s time.

——————–

In honor of Dr. Seuss’s recent birthday. 

Filed Under: Content Creation Experiments, Sales Experiments Tagged With: copywriting, dr. suess, green eggs and ham, sales, Selling, theodore geisel

January 9, 2015 by Brett 4 Comments

Why I Write, Sell, and Do Most Everything Else These Days

I honestly don’t really want to use this blog for blog challenges, but I am. This is from Day 2 of 10 Days to a Better Blog. I like John Saddington. An increasingly salty style over what appears to be a very compassionate, authentic heart. He is a smart kid who has created a bunch of stuff – a bunch of stuff. He’s more than worth a follow. I have no reason to brown-nose here unless he needs insurance for his various ventures. Then I’m his huckleberry. 

Today’s Challenge: Connect with why you write… 

I have no clue whether I write well or not. I have enough grammar sense at least to say ‘write well’ vs. ‘write good.’ But that doesn’t make me a good writer.

I love to read. I love words. I like to toss around ideas. I like to think.

Writing provides a way to get thoughts out and play with them.

Since words mean  lot to me, writing has become a method for me to offer up a bit of myself to others.

Again, no statement on the quality here, but I write because it is a way I can give something to others.  Writing has become one of my chief methods of telling individuals that I love them, respect them, and appreciate them.

Writing also provides a way for me to learn. If I simply think about something, I forget it. But if I mull over the idea and write it down, then it becomes much more real and more likely to become something I act on.

Writing provides a history. Journal after journal and a growing number of blog entries create a pretty clear picture of my life since high school. Probably too much navel-gazing, but that’s fine.

Hopefully, my writing will be something I can leave behind for my kids that might at least make them laugh even if I don’t teach them anything.

What Does Any of This Have To Do With Sales?

I was not supposed to go into sales. My English major self (with a graduate degree in ministry) never had selling on the radar. Luckily, we’re not always correct at 22 with all of our assumptions. It’s crazy how we feel like life has passed us by if we didn’t have the solid job, marriage, and family by 25 or 28 years old. I was an idiot back then (and might only now be crawling out of idiot-hood).

So sales… I’ve learned that selling isn’t about getting people to buy something. It’s about creating value.

I sell because it teaches me, over time, the importance of creating value. And this idea from selling has been ridiculously important for any of my attempts at writing. Writing isn’t only about any ability I might have to turn a phrase.

Writing (for me) is about taking what little value I can provide and putting it out into the world. It’s something that I think I have to offer, and I’d be a horrible steward if I didn’t practice and make a habit of taking the little that’s in my cup and pouring it out on the off chance it’s exactly what someone needs.

So I write because I want to give what little bit of experience and even wisdom I might have to others. If it helps you… wonderful! If it doesn’t… just chalk me up to one of the other billions of people who take up space on the interwebs.

In the meantime, I’ll continue to write, sell, and do other stuff in feeble attempts to make others’ lives just a bit better (and perhaps mine will improve in the process).

Filed Under: Content Creation Experiments, Mindset Experiments Tagged With: blog challenges, daily writing, habits, john saddington, Selling, writing

November 20, 2014 by Brett Leave a Comment

Any Favor We Receive Should Spark Generosity

Today, I spent what felt like 18 hours in the car.  I have the list of listened-to podcasts to prove it.

The first podcast was from College Wesleyan Church. The sermon was called “Better Lucky than Good.”  Rev. Steven Neff’s premise is that regardless of how faithful and how hard we work, sometimes it takes an act of God’s favor to catalyze that work to create success (he uses Naseem Taleb’s books Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan to back it up).

When we receive that favor, the proper response isn’t gratitude only. It’s generosity. When we receive favor or even the fruits of our hard work and labor, we should be moved toward generosity.

It was a convicting idea. What will I do with any success I achieve? Will I be a giver? Will I be a person full of grace and humility and generosity?

Should We Give Everything Away?

I don’t believe that is what we should do.

But I do believe that favor and outright, hard-fought success demands increased responsibility.

Therefore, while I continue on this Dan Miller 6-Month Content Consumption Challenge, I pray that I also develop a better eye for opportunities for generosity.

This generosity doesn’t mean that I give all my cash money away. It does mean that I seek opportunities to serve, give where I can, and speak encouragement and life into situations and individuals when I can.

It also means that much of the good that happens to me isn’t because I’m any better than anybody else. I might have done better at putting myself in a position to have better chances. It might mean that I’ve had plans and executed them. It might mean that my mom and dad did a decent job.

But even some of those things represent opportunities I’ve had that others don’t. I must steward those opportunities well.

When favor comes – when those ‘Black Swan moments’ come – I pray I’m ready to receive and ready to give.

Until tomorrow…

———————————-

Reading and Listening Today

I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t read too much today. l listened to 6 podcasts, but I didn’t read so much. I’m starting to wonder if I need to commit more time to reading vs. simply listening to content.

In addition to the sermon referenced above, I listened to episodes 101-105 of the Social Media Marketing Podcast with Michael Stelzner. I plan to write about these podcasts (in general) tomorrow, so I won’t go into detail.

Those podcasts are crammed full of incredible social media marketing strategies (I did a couple today). That’s what I want to talk about: the difference between strategy, tactics, and goals.

 

 

Filed Under: Content Creation Experiments, Mindset Experiments, The Dan Miller Challenge Tagged With: college wesleyan church, generosity, michael stelzner, social media marketing podcast, steven neff

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Hello!

Brett the sales experimenter and the challenge accepter Brett - Sales and Marketing Experimenter. I'm a reluctant sales professional. I didn't start out my career in sales and marketing, but I've grown to enjoy it. Here I discuss marketing, sales, productivity, and mindset experiments that will hopefully yield greater results and a more deeply satisfying sales career.

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Recent Posts

  • Is Sales Your Calling?
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Recent Posts

  • Is Sales Your Calling?
  • I Must Be Ruthless about My Time
  • 4 Ideas for Leaders with No Leadership Position
  • 10 Reasons Why Corporate Culture Determines Sales Success
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