Michelangelo on Sweat

“If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”

–Michelangelo (1475–1564)
Italian painter and sculptor

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Sales evaluation…

Do your actions…

  1. create a positive buzz about you and your work?
  2. make others want you as a part of their team?
  3. make your employer cringe at the thought of losing you to a competitor?
  4. make your customers excited about referring you to their colleagues?

You want your actions to scream value without the need for you to say a word. This is where you want to be – with those in your company and industry – and with those to whom you’re selling.

This is what creates true economic and job security – the value you and your team create for others.

This is care (what it’s all about).

When you have the opportunity over the next few days, set a reminder to review these four questions at the end of each month. Then, give yourself a little (objective) attention by reviewing them and creating an action plan to improve in each area where you feel you should.

Easier said than done… still needs to be done.

Dig deeper and learn the 6 fundamentals of sales value (SalesTough #8).

(Luksa)

Curie on Confidence

“We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”

–Marie Curie (1867–1934)
French physicist and chemist
two-time Nobel Prize winner

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Sales challenge…

A simple challenge where everyone wins (you and those around you). No risk. No additional time required.

Within the next three weeks, set a 2-day period as your days (or your team’s days) to inspire others. Two days where you’ll put on blinders to anything negative and be the one in the office who everyone else can count on for words and actions that inspire and encourage. Two days where you’re the light for other people – your colleagues, your prospects, your customers – no matter what.

Allow nothing negative and focus only on your service to others.

Once you set your two days, fully commit to the effort regardless of the inevitable challenges, regardless of the weather (please, never the weather). Fall off the inspirational horse at 2:11 on the first day? Get back on at 2:12 – no excuses.

Remember, you wake with an option for your daily attitude. Challenges will come up regardless.

Choose positive. Spread it for two days.

Be SalesTough.

Not only will it be contagious… it might become a habit.

(Who could do it with you? Forward this idea to them.)

Blog Break and Infographics in the Media

After slogging my way through the summer while all my colleagues took leave I’m about to take 3 weeks off myself to sort some things at home and holiday abroad. I haven’t been posting much because of trying to kick a few projects into shape before leaving them for a while. I’ll be back 2nd week of December.

I’ll leave you with a fascinating set of videos I’ve found by Geoff McGee for a fellowship he completed at Stanford University. Its about data visualisation as a story telling medium and focusses on graphics in the media. What’s interesting about it is the same problems I’ve noticed in using neo-geo tools in education and outreach come up in their topic area. Points that particularly resonate with me:
  • Martini Glass Presentation: The importance of an introduction, context setting and explanation of what you can ‘do’ with an interactive web graphic or complex print graphic (section III: Telling Data Stories). Without this, your creation is just a set of pretty colours to the user. The Martini glass stem represents the video clip slide presentation introduction and the triangular glass represents the freedom of the user to explore the graphic on their own.
  • Attractive Does Not = Effective: A beautiful looking stream graphic showing box office results for movies with time is discussed in part IV, various commentators point out that it grabs attention wonderfully but then is difficult to interpret what it shows.